The Last of his Kind

by Greed720

He'd been in a brutal, life and death battle. A foe that was so far beyond him that it was a miracle he had survived, let alone wounded it. However, despite his many feats, and the skills and abilities, he had honed and developed; he was unable to triumph over his destined enemy! Or at least not yet, his surroundings might have changed, but his adventure was not finished, not yet!

5. Chapter 5

AN: So the reception to this story has continued to be brilliant, and honestly it has. The amount of support I have received has been phenomenal, so thanks a lot for that, I really appreciate it!

With that said I hope you all enjoy the next chapter and continue to leave reviews and support my story! Also please feel free to PM me is you have any questions!

Thanks a lot for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Elder Scrolls of Danmachi.

( - )

(Last Time)

From behind the green haired elf, he could also see their goddess sending him a burning, curious look, one which was partly curious, partly hungry, and partly cautious.

Meeting her gaze for a moment, Azoth knew without a shadow of a doubt that whatever the divine being was planning, it wouldn't end well.

Pushing that thought away for now, Azoth instead started heading for the tavern, ignoring the nervous, wary, excited and curious people around him as he did so. "Come on then, Loga, how about that drink!?"

"Urgh, fine!" Bete groaned in response, following after Azoth, the rest of his Familia and the crowd following his lead.

( - )

Chapter 5

( - )

(With Azoth)

Groaning as he sat up, Azoth, once again found himself in the unenviable positon, for the second time in as many days, of not knowing where the hell we was.

Looking around, he could tell that he was in a small room, a room which had wooden walls, and a low sloping ceiling. All of that was obvious from just a cursory look, as too was the fact that he was lying on a large, wooden framed, double bed, a set of thick, green, unfamiliar looking, wool sheets covering his naked form, and a large, and admittedly very soft, pillar cushioning his head.

As places to randomly wake up, and Azoth had unfortunately been through this experience more than once in his life, went, this one was not bad. The room was warm and cosy, and his bed, pillow and blankets were clean and very comfortable.

In fact the only real problem he had at the moment was that his head was throbbing with pain, and his throat was as dry as a desert on a particularly hot day.

It was a familiar feeling, one that he had experienced many times before. It was the feeling one would get in the morning after having drunk far too much the night before.

Groaning again, Azoth, pushed the blanket off of him, uncaring of his nudity as he instead placed one of his pale hands to his head, desperately trying to concentrate as he summoned up his magicka and cast his spell, 'Fast Healing', a sigh of relief leaving his lips as he directed the restorative magic to his head, soothing his headache and washing away the linger effects of the alcohol from the night before.

He may not be a pretentious Winterhold College Mage, even after all he had done for them, the ungrateful bastards! But he had at least picked up enough spells and tricks, and honed his control over Magicka enough, to call himself an adept spell caster.

Which was probably a good thing, after all he tended to rely on his adept level spells when he was in a fight!

A guy would be a pretty piss poor spellsword if he couldn't cast any spells.

Sighing in relief as he felt his hangover fade away to nothingness, Azoth, cut off his spell and instead looked over to a nearby bedside table, his violet eyes lighting up with delight they locked onto a tankard of what looked like water.

Grabbing the tankard in question, Azoth, after sniffing the water and checking for any untoward using his enhanced sense of smell, then drained the mug in one go. A trail of water dripping down his chin as he smacked his lips and put the tankard down.

He might not be very good at Alchemy, in fact woeful would be a good word to describe his attempts at the craft. But he had enough experience using potions and poisons to tell when something might have been interfered with.

And even if he didn't his werewolf constitution, and the healing factor that gave him, would keep him alive long enough for him to use a bit of Restorative Magic to purge the toxins from his body.

"Right," Azoth muttered to himself and sitting up straight in his bed. He was much happier now his headache was gone. "Where in Oblivion are my bloody clothes?"

Looking around the otherwise empty bedroom, Azoth, didn't see a sign of his trousers or his shirt. His Ebony armour, battle-axe, sword and dagger he could all see piled up in a corner of the room. But the rest of his clothing, well they were gone, even his undergarments…

"Hmm, curious." Azoth muttered, unashamedly pushing himself out of bed and standing up completely in the buff, his gaze going from the door that was on one side of the room, to a set of wooden shutters that was set into the wall on the other side.

Crossing the room, Azoth threw the shutters open and blinked as sunlight streamed in through the window, a slight hiss of discomfort leaving his lips for a moment as his eyes adjusted from the comfortable darkness of his room to the brightness of the sun. Before, after several seconds of blinking and cursing, he managed to focus on the view outside the city.

There were a row of large, well-built, wealthy looking town houses opposite him, and looming up behind them he could see a giant, colossal tower in the distance.

"The Tower of Babel," Azoth muttered to himself, his memories from the last day flooding back to him.

Alduin had defeated him, he had awoken in a new realm of existence disconnected from both Akatosh and Meridia. All pretty standard stuff for the Dragonborn…

He had then toddled along to the nearby Dungeon City, Orario, and then went straight to the pub after having a run in with a short, yet busty goddess. After which he had met Mia Grand, had a friendly chat, and then met the pretty elf girl, Ryuu, flirted with her and got shot down. Still pretty by the books for him, especially the flirting with a fellow elf and the getting shot down bit. Unfortunately more often than not that happened to him, or at least it did when he tried it on with High Elves.

Either way after that he had then eaten some dinner, pretty good too from memory, and then gotten himself involved in a brawl with a different kind of werewolf than what he was used too.

Ah yes, Bete Loga.

He had then proceeded to kick the guy's arse, then gone on to swindle a half a dozen free drinks out of the other Adventurer and his mates.

With him having invaded their table and drunk himself silly with the members of the Loki Familia, at their expense, mostly listening to the stories of their adventures down in the Dungeon, and their bantering with one another. With him occasionally throwing out an anecdote or story of his own from; 'the far north', the place he had vaguely told them he had come from.

Again getting in a fight, and then getting drunk and making friends with said person, all pretty standard behaviour for him.

But yes, overall it had been a good, if somewhat strange, night.

Admittedly he hadn't spoken a huge amount about himself when with the Loki Familia, not with so many other big personalities surrounding him, like those two Amazon girls, Tiona and Tione, and the loud drunk dwarf, Gareth, and his equally drunk companion, Bete.

But still, he had listened a lot, his fascination with this new place and culture over taking his natural tendency to tell tall tales and brag a bit.

That said though, thinking on it now with a clearer head, it was probably a good thing that he did do such a thing. He remembered the way Loki had looked at him, he'd already got her attention, the last thing he wanted to do was encourage the tricky red head into pursuing him, or at least no more than his punch up with one of her Executives already had.

Divine Beings, from his experience, always tended to be pains in the arse, even the nice ones.

Sitting back down on his bed a few moments later, and rubbing his temples, Azoth, quickly began to remember all the things he had learned last night.

He had found out the different races that resided here in Orario.

The tanned, sexy, dark haired women he had seen, well they were apparently an entirely female race called 'Amazons',

The short stock men and women he had noticed, they were 'dwarfs'. Not the Dwemer he had heard of in Skyrim of course, after all he very much doubted that a dwarf would be amused if you referred to them as 'Deep Elves'. Or as just short stock humans for that matter. Though admittedly there were apparently exceptions as far as dwarfs being short and stocky went, Mia, despite being just a little short than him, was also a dwarf.

The animal people he had seen, well they were as varied as the animas in the animal kingdom, and apparently included the werewolves, like Bete Loga. And yes, that had been a bit of surprise. Werewolves here in this world were born, not made. Though admittedly a part of him did wonder if he could use his beast's blood to make another Werewolf like him, if the desire too, ever occurred to him? It was certainly be food for thought, even if he very much doubted he would ever have the inclination.

Shaking his head as his thoughts went off on a tangent, Azoth instead went back to thinking over what he had learned last night.

Oh yes, the blond child and Captain of the Loki Familia, Finn, it turned out he was not a child, like he had thought, but instead a forty something year old 'Pallum', which was a childlike human, or Halfling, a race that apparently had much longer lifespans then normal run of the mill humans.

Azoth scratched his chin at that.

Yes, he had picked up a lot of useful information, and got a lot of free drinks, and all in return for him offering very little. Though that was more due to the rowdier members of the Loki Familia distracting and talking over Finn, Riveria and Loki when they tried to question him. That and the trio in question also getting drunker and drunker as the night continued and they were plied with more and more booze.

"Which of course means that his is the Hostess of Fertilities guest room." Azoth muttered to himself.

He remembered now, after the Loki Familia had buggered off, he had been so hammered that Mia had told two of her waitresses to take him up here and let him spend the night.

Which, considering what he knew of the dwarf woman thus far, meant he would probably be shelling out a lot of gold later this morning when it came to squaring his debt with the woman.

Azoth let out another groan at that, even as he got up and headed for the door.

First things first, before he started worrying about his dwindling finances, he first needed to find out where in Oblivion his clothes had gotten too.

It was he stood up and turned towards the door though, that said door opened, and a grey haired human maid stepping into the room, Azoth's freshly washed and dried white padded shirt, and dark brown trousers in her hands.

"Morning…" Azoth said instinctively, blinking in surprise as the girl not only entered the room without knocking, but then proceeded to go bright, burning red, the neatly folded pile of clothing in her arms falling to the floor as she instead clasped her hand to her bright red face and let out a squeak of shock and embarrassment.

"Er…" Azoth continued, before he looked down and saw the problem. He was still fully naked, and had just given her a full frontal view of his 'Ebony Blade'. "Sorry about that!"

Quickly grabbing the pile of clothing off of the floor, Azoth, quickly pulled on his under garments and trousers, rapidly covering his modesty. After which he pulled on and buttoned up his freshly smelling padded white shirt.

"You can look now," Azoth then said to the still pink cheeked, and deliberately not looking, Syr, a slight smile on his face as he saw her peek through her hands, no doubt making sure he was indeed decent first, before putting them down. Her face still a fiery red colour as she struggled to maintain eye contact with him. "Sorry about that."

"I-It's f-fine, but M-Mister A-Azoth should know better than to flash a young maiden!" Syr replied back, starting off a little shaky and embarrassed, but quickly regaining her bluster as she finished off her attempt at scolding him, by giving him a stern look.

"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right." Azoth allowed, flashing Syr a smile now, even as he saw a dusting of pink return to her cheeks. "But then again, you really should knock before entering a gentlemen's room…"

"I thought you were asleep!" Syr cried back defensively. "After the amount you drank last night, Mama Mia, said you'd probably be sleeping till at least late morning if not later!"

"Yeah, well I've a strong constitution!" Azoth replied, ruffling his messy, and slightly greasy white hair as he did so, before he sent her a smile. "Is there any chance of me having a bath or a wash, or something?"

"I-I can run you one, but you know Mama Mia is going to charge you extra for it don't you?" Syr replied, blinking in surprise at the upfront request before quickly recovering her bearing.

"I'd gathered as much," Azoth replied dryly, he had honestly expected as much from the kind, yet stingy dwarf, speaking of which, after a moment's thought he decided he had to know. "You don't happen to know exactly how much I already owe, do you?"

"Twenty three thousand valis, plus another four hundred for the bath." Syr rattled off promptly, making Azoth blink in surprise as she did so. "That's for the food, drinks, room and bath. She'll also expect you to buy a breakfast too, you know for the imposition of us having to put you to bed…"

"Ha! Well that's fair enough," Azoth nodded. "You don't happen to know how much that would be in gold do you?"

Syr shrugged in response to that.

"Never mind then." Azoth replied easily. "I'll probably head down and see Mia now then."

"You do that and I'll run you a bath, I'll call for you when it is done." Syr nodded, giving him a quick smile as she did so before she then bustled back down the hallway, only for to then pause for a moment as she reached the stairs to look back at him. "Oh and you can probably leave your armour and weapons in your room, at least until you check out, they'll be pretty safe there!"

Azoth nodded at that, even as Syr then disappeared from sight and he turned and pulled on his armoured boots, and then buckled his belt around his waist, his sword, Dawnbreaker, his pouch of gold coins and his Daedric dagger hanging off of the belt. It was just a shame he had lost his satchel full of potions and soul gems back when he had been fighting Alduin.

Heading downstairs a few minutes later, passing Syr on the way down, his axe and armour still in his room. Azoth quickly made it down to the main room of the tavern, only for him to see that it was much busier than he thought it would be, despite it only, apparently, being early in the morning.

"Adventurers getting a good breakfast in before heading down to the Dungeon." Mia called out to him from behind the bar, answering his question before he had a chance to ask it.

"Good morning, Mia." Azoth nodded, smiling at the brown haired dwarf as he did so, before he sidled over to the bar and took the same seat he had sat on the night before.

"Yes, a good morning indeed," Mia smiled, her eyes glinting in amusement as she then proceeded to place a large plate in front of him; a plate filled with sizzling sausages, a hunk of bread, and a chunk of cheese. "I hear you've already flashed one of my girls…?"

"Accidently." Azoth replied promptly, not batting an eye, or rising to her words for a moment. "And thanks for the breakfast."

"Aww, you're no fun! I had at least hoped to get a blush and a stutter from you." Mia sighed good-naturedly, leaning against the bar as she did so.

"I am not a child," Azoth replied dryly. He was a man, he had had lovers and was completely at ease with the opposite sex. Did Mia really think that he, a seasoned Adventurer and warrior in his twenties, would start stuttering and blushing like a child at the mildest of provocations? "The food's good by the way."

"I know it is." Mia grinned, even as he continued to wolf the food down. "So what do you have planned for the day, Azoth? I'll be honest after the amount you drank with the Loki Familia the other day I didn't think you'd be up until at least noon!"

"I'm no lightweight!" Azoth chuckled, swigging from the tankard of water that Mia had also put in front of him. "As for my plan. Well, first off I'll have a bath, and then I'll clear my tab with you…, speaking of which how much do I owe, in gold?"

"Straight to the point eh, I like it." Mia chuckled, shaking her head as she did so. "All things considered I'll let you off for twenty five gold coins."

"Seems reasonable." Azoth nodded, and honestly it did. Plus the bonus was that although it would hit his finances hard, it wouldn't completely impoverish him.

"Yeah, well it would have been a lot more if young Bete hadn't covered most of your drinks last night…" Mia chuckled again, shaking her head as she did so. "I tell you, you young Adventurers, you always find ways to surprise me. Not ten minutes earlier the two of you were at each other's throats, fighting, and by the end of the night you were the best of friends!"

"Meh, sometimes you just need a good fight to clear the air and break the ice." Azoth shrugged, polishing off his breakfast and then downing the last of his water as he did before he sat back stretched, and then yawned.

"So after your bath, what is it you plan on doing? Do you reckon you'll want to rent the room out for another night?" Mia pressed, taking the now empty plate and tankard and passing off to one of the cat girls, Anya or something, as she did so.

"No, I doubt it. I'll be heading to the Tower of Babel to see Hephaestus." Azoth replied, shaking his head as he did so, before sending Mia a smile. "But I'll be back here again, probably regularly. It's a good place, and I like the vibe. The staff aren't bad either…" Azoth sent Mia a wink as he said the last bit.

"Careful elf, you'll go breaking my girl's hearts if you keep acting like that…" Mia replied in amusement, her smile widening as she then leant forwards, and continued darky. "And if you went and did that, then I'll have no choice but to break you in turn…"

In response, instead of gulping or paling, Azoth, just sent her an amused smile. "Really, does that ever work?"

"You'd be surprised." Mia chuckled, shaking her head. "But come on, you really are no fun, you couldn't even give me a slight flinch?"

"Oh right, sorry." Azoth laughed, after which he put on a faux scared look and gave a dramatic flinch.

"That's more like it elf!" Mia laughed, slapping her large hand on the bar in amusement.

Azoth sent her a smile in return, even as he pulled out his coin pouch and started counting out what he owed.

"So Hephaestus eh, do you have something to present to her as an example of your craft?" Mia asked, taking and pocketing the gold he shoved over to her, an interested glint in her eyes as she then looked expectantly at the elf.

"Sure do," Azoth replied, unsheathing his Daedric knife and spinning it in his fingers with practiced ease, a showy trick, and one that had no real practicality in battle, but still, it looked pretty damned cool all the same.

Eyeing the dagger, Mia took it in her hands when it was offered to her and quickly began to examine it. "It's an odd design, not too gaudy, but a bit… I don't know, demonic looking, all the same. Still it's got a perfect edge, it's well balanced. Not sure what the metal is, but it feels light and yet still strong."

Azoth nodded as he heard her words, watching her closely as she examined the dagger carefully, testing the edge with her thumb, after which she took a few practice slashes and stabs with it.

"Enchanted?" Mia asked, looking down at her hands as she did so. "I can feel the tingle of magic in my hands, it's odd though, a bit different to the magic swords I've wielded before back when I was an Adventurer. It feels colder in my hands, and the magic it's giving off, it feels… odd, it's hard to describe."

"That's probably because that dagger was probably made in a very different way to the magic weapons that are created here in Orario, and using different metals and ingredients too." Azoth shrugged, not batting an eye at her admittance to having once been an Adventurer. It had been pretty obvious. Instead he took his knife back, when offered, and sheathed it back in his belt.

"A new kind of Smithing eh, I'm guess that's from the far north?" Mia asked, as she folded her arms, her eyes narrowing shrewdly as she met the Snow Elf's intense gaze head on.

Azoth's lip quirked upwards as he heard that. "You know it!"

Mia grinned again. "You do like appearing mysterious don't you, elf?"

"Of course I do, dwarf." Azoth shot back, "Where would the fun be otherwise?"

Mia laughed out loud at that response. "You have a bit of spine in you, don't you, Azoth!? I have to say I like that, all too often kids nowadays are too nervous and too soft!"

Azoth sent her another wry smile at that comment, but said no more, instead he looked over to the stairs, his attention drawn to Syr as she bustled down the stairs and looked over at him. "I've drawn a bath for you, Azoth, you should probably get in there now whilst it's still hot!"

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Azoth nodded, pushing himself off of his seat as he started making for the stairs, giving Mia a nod and a grin as he did so, and Syr a wink as he passed, his grin getting more devilish as her noticed her cheeks once again going a bit pink.

It was time to tidy himself up and have a wash, after all it was not every day that you met a goddess.

( - )

(Sometime later)

Leaving the Hostess of Fertility an hour or so later, Azoth, once again strode through the streets of Orario, his weapons once again sheathed on his back and waist, and his armour covering his form, save of course for his helmet which he instead just held at his side in one hand.

After having bathed he had done his best to clean his arm, scrubbing away the grim and blood that had encrusted the joints and which had filled the many cracks, gouges and scratches that covered the once gleaming set of Ebony armour.

It hadn't done much good, the armour was all but ruined, and although it did admittedly give him a more ferocious and intimidating aura, it was no longer up to the job of properly protecting him.

After cleaning out some of the deeper gouges and gashes in the armour, and then putting it on, he had been startled to see that the white of his padded shirt could be seen in several places. This alone had set his heart racing as he saw evidence of just how close to death he had come in his battle with Alduin.

Still, despite the armour no longer be fit for purpose he had still pulled it on and buckled it up with practiced ease. After which he had strapped Dawnbreaker and his Daedric dagger to his belt, and Wuuthrad to his back, and then stepped outside, pausing only long enough to give Mia and the other waitresses that were working today a quick farewell.

Noticeably Ryuu had not been among their number.

This all led him to where he currently was, forging his way through the packed streets of Orario, passing by merchants selling their wares and groups of armed and armoured Adventurers who were heading down to the Dungeon, his helmet held under one arm, whilst his other hand rested absentmindedly on the hilt of his sword.

Noticeably, the people he passed in the street were occasionally looking at him, and not just because he was a tall, white haired elf wearing a set of ravaged black armour.

No, some of them were looking at him and muttering to one another as he passed, almost as if they recognised him.

Shifting his head as he headed for the nearby tower, Azoth, couldn't help but try to listen in on what some of the people were saying.

"You heard me, that guy, the armour elf over there, he fought with Vanargand from the Loki Familia. He beat him too from what my mate told me!"

"Hey you see that elf, I heard from a friend of mine that he and Bete Loga, you know that Level Five wolf guy from the Loki Familia, yeah that guy, yeah they apparently threw down outside the Hostess of Fertilty last night! Heard it was brutal!"

"Apparently he is a First Class Adventurer from out of the city, yeah I know, I thought that was impossible too!"

"I'm telling you right now, I was there and I saw it, that guy has a skill or something that turned him into a massive wolf, and no I was not high on mushrooms! Ok well I had had a couple, but I know what I saw!"

Rolling his neck, Azoth, grinned to himself even as he waded through the thronging crowd and began walking up the steps to the colossal tower in front of him.

Turns out he had already started getting a reputation, despite him having only been in the city for a single night.

But hey, what was new?

He was the Dragonborn, the Chosen of Akatosh, the ultimate dragon slayer, the bane of the undead and the Champion of Meridia. In the five years he'd been adventuring he had long since gotten used to the fame and adulation his feats gained him.

It was one of the perks of being him!

Nor would he have it any other way. He was no tragic hero who fought against evil and went on quests for no other reason than it being the right thing to do.

Screw that, he was an Adventurer, not a saint! Sure he did many good deeds and was even charitable at times, but he always had a reason for whatever he did; fame, adulation, women, money, weapons, magic grimoires etc. He did good things, but not for free, but for reward.

And why shouldn't he, he might be a hero, but did people honestly expect him to risk his life for no reason? Was that a reasonable expectation?

Shaking his head at that thought, Azoth, instead came to a stop just in front of the tower, a slight frown on his face as he leant back and looked up at the monumental tower in front of him.

It was eerie, but for just a moment he had felt like someone, or something, was watching him, and he wasn't talking about the people passing him by, some of whom still stopped and stared or muttered to their companions about him and his run in with the Loki Familia the other day.

No, this was something else.

The only thing he could liken it to was when he felt the eyes of his patron on him when he was raiding some ancient tomb and killing off all manner of Draugr and undead beings.

Whatever it was that was watching him, it was powerful, and almost certainly divine. More than though, it was not entirely benevolent; just amused, curious and dare he say it, hungry…

"Probably some god or something." Azoth muttered under his breath. He had only met two thus far, Hestia and Loki, and although those two played around at being 'human', and appeared benevolent enough. He was not fool enough to think that all the gods and goddesses that had descended to the mortal world had good intentions.

Divine beings were capricious, alien creatures. Despite what they might say, or how they might act, Azoth knew better than to take them at face value. He had met enough Daedric Princes to know that not all Divine Beings were good.

Looking up at the tower, Azoth, felt the gaze leave him a few moments later, even as he narrowed his violet eyes, scanning the many windows and balconies that jutted out from the hundreds of metre tall tower.

Shaking his head at this, Azoth, pushed his concern about nosey gods aside for the moment, and instead continued on up the steps.

He was about to meet a goddess as is, he didn't need, or want for that matter, to start worrying about what some meddlesome deity might or might not be up too, not at the moment anyway.

With that thought in mind he walked to the entrance to the tower, walking alongside a number of other mages and warriors as they entered through the colossal doors overhead. His violet eyes flicking to his right as he entered and then noticed a pair of oddly dressed humans; both of whom were wearing white, smart shirts, black cotton trousers, and what looked like black, sleeveless, form fitting, button up tunics over the tops of their shirts.

They looked pretty smartly dressed, it was a good look.

Either way, these two human, one a man and the other a woman, seemed to be monitoring those entering the Dungeon. One or other of them occasionally picking out someone at random and questioning them, before sending them on their way.

"Guild officials, maybe?" Azoth mused to himself.

Mia had told him about the Guild, the large group that oversaw the management of the city, the Dungeon, and the different Familia's that inhabited the city. A very important and influential positon to have, especially because the Guild acted as the city's bank too, and cashed in monster soul gems and 'drop items' for 'valis', and also leant out money to new Familia and Adventurers, with interest tagged on.

Thinking on it now even as he began to walk towards the duo, both of whom froze up and began to look nervous as the heavily built, armoured Snow Elf, complete with intimidating weapons and a scar across his face, approached them, the entire of Orario was effectively one big Warrior's Guild.

The Familia's were different cliques within the Guild, but all of them still paid dues, and still did what was asked of them by the Guild.

It honestly was a pretty interesting concept. An entire society based off of the concept of a single, large, overarching Guild.

And apparently it was a model that had worked for over a thousand years now.

"Excuse me, you two humans!" Azoth called out, a friendly smile on his face as he approached the nervous pair.

"E-erm, how can the Guild help, sir?" The female Guild worker, a pretty human girl, with odd pink coloured hair, asked.

"I'm new to the city, but am already an Adventurer." Azoth began bluntly, getting straight to the point now, after all he didn't want to waste either their time or his. "That said being new to the city, and recently Familia-less, I am here to see the Goddess Hephaestus, up on the fourth floor."

"Oh, ok," The pink haired human nodded, seemingly calming down now she knew Azoth wasn't going to snap or shout at her for one reason or another. "Well you are more than welcome to head on up to the Fourth Floor, Goddess Hephaestus is usually in one of her shops on that floor, or in her private workshop. I'll send word up that you're coming."

"I appreciate it," Azoth nodded, once again smiling down at the short woman. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." The girl replied, giving him a little bow now, even as he turned and walked passed her, not heading for the Dungeon like the majority of the crowd, but instead heading up the stairs with a dozen or so others.

As he did so, he couldn't help but hear, courtesy of his werewolf enhanced hearing, the girl turn and mutter to her colleague.

"Wow that guy was scary. But seriously do you think it's him, the one who had a punch up in the streets last night?"

"Maybe, if he is though I wouldn't want to be the one to give him the official warning from the Guild about fighting in public places…" Her male companion replied, his own voice noticeably more nervous that hers.

Grunting as he heard this, Azoth couldn't help but roll his eyes. Pointless bureaucracy. Apparently it existed even here, in another plane of existence.

Still, he wouldn't kick up a fuss over something as insignificant as a verbal warning about misbehaving in public. If he had a gold coin for every time a hold guard had warned him, he probably would have had enough gold to buy a palatial town house in Solitude by now.

( - )

(A few minutes later)

Stepping out of the stairwell on the Fourth Floor of the Tower of Babel, Azoth's violet eyes widened slightly as he suddenly found himself standing in what looked like another city high-street, and an upmarket Solitude type one at that.

The floor was massive, and the corridor running through it was wide enough for two wagons next to one another to ride down quite comfortably.

In fact the only thing that stopped this from being a classy, upmarket high-street at night, was stone roof overhead, the presence of which necessitated the flaming torches and glowing magic lights that dotted the walls and lit up the store windows. All of which gave the floor a pretty distinct vibe.

Crossing the hallway, Azoth's eyes flicked back and forth as he saw dozens of shoppers of all different races moving around, some in couples, some in groups, and some just by themselves. But all of them still looking wealthy and very well to do, even as they browsed the different stores fronts.

Stepping through these crowds of punters, his natural size and intimidating armour parting the throngs of shoppers around him, Azoth came to a stop in front of the grandest and most impressive looking of the shops in his immediate vicinity.

Just looking through the window, Azoth, could feel his throat constrict slightly. Weapons of all different kinds were displaced within, alongside elegant looking staffs, beautiful jewellery and gleaming armour. Much of which was studded with jewels, or embossed, or plated with gleaming gold or silver.

Narrowing his eyes as he looked closer, Azoth, with the expert eye of a Master Blacksmith quickly started analysing the different weapons that were being shown, ignoring the price tags, most of which showed prices which were in the millions, as he instead focused on the shape of the weapons and on the minute rune like writing he could see on some of the items.

From initial observation the weapons all looked well-formed and well crafted, despite the excessive gaudiness of some of the decorations.

Of course he couldn't tell whether they were in fact strong and well-built from just a glance, but he assumed, based on the fact that the Goddess of Smithing owned the floor and thus the shop, that nothing less than the most peerless of weapons and armour would be displayed in her grandest store.

It was all very showy, and obviously, based off of the price tags and the number of Adventurers on this floor he could see wearing expensive looking weapons, quite the prosperous business.

That said showy, gaudy things were never really Azoth's forte. Sure he could do it if he had too, but mostly when he forging and crafting, he focused on practicality and utility above all else.

A weapon was a tool, no more and no less. It was an instrument of death, one which could be used to both defend and attack.

Prettying it up was all well and good, but only if the tool could still do the job it was created for.

A sword, in Azoth's mind, was something that should never be relegated to piece of art, something that could just be hung up on a wall to look pretty and gather dust!

No, it was something that should be used. Something you shouldn't be afraid of battering and breaking, so long as it fulfils the purpose it was created for!

"Ah excuse me, is sir just browsing, or is he looking to buy a new set of armour?" A naturally soft and sweet, but still strong and confident voice called out, attracting Azoth's attention as he looked sideways and saw a small, childlike girl looking up at him, a Pallum he suspected from initial observation.

"Ah no, I'm afraid not…. Er?" Azoth replied, turning to face the girl fully as he did so. His violet eyes taking in her small, yet noticeably mature frame, her short, collar length pink hair, hazel brown eyes and cherubic features.

"Lisbeth." The now named Lisbeth replied, her hands on her hips as the four foot something girl looked up at him curiously, her hazel brown eyes regarding his armour and weapons before focusing in on his face.

The girl was noticeably wearing a smart, red dress with puffed up sleeves and red ribbons on it, a dress that just about covered her knees and which wasn't obscenely tight like something an Amazon would wear, over the top of which she had a leather apron, like something a blacksmith would wear.

The two items contrasted quite oddly, or at least in Azoth's mind.

"I'm a member of the Hephaestus Familia, and one of the Smiths that are now, not only allowed to sell my works in one of the shops on Fourth Floor, but am also allowed to put Hephaestus's mark on my best works!" Lisbeth added on somewhat defensively, the short, pinked hair Pallum, shifting slightly under Azoth's curious gaze. No doubt she thought he was judging her, or looking down on her, either due to her perceived age, or small stature.

"Pleasure," Azoth said after a moment, blinking slightly as he noticed that he was staring. It wasn't like he was trying to be rude or anything, he'd just been a bit taken aback by the girl's abrupt arrival and question. "The name's Azoth, and no, I am not here to buy anything or to replace my armour."

"Oh," Lisbeth replied swiftly, ignoring his introduction as she instead focused on the last words he had spoken, her eyes noticeably narrowing. "Why are you here then?" Azoth opened his mouth to reply to that, only to be cut off before he could as Lisbeth forged on. "Oh and I'll warn you now, Lady Hephaestus, very rarely buys other Smith's works, and even then she'd only buy the most exceptional of items, so if you're here to sell something then I really wouldn't bother!"

The girl's tone, although not rude, was distinctly blunt as she glanced at the sheathed sword at Azoth's hip, and the large axe on his back. Her hazel eyes narrowing slightly as she no doubt noticed the glowing jewel that was embedded in Dawnbreaker's cross guard.

"Ha, well I am afraid that Hephaestus wouldn't be able to afford either my axe or my sword, even if I were willing to sell them." Azoth chuckled, shaking his head in amusement, and not taking offense in the slightest at the girl's words.

"Lady Hephaestus," Lisbeth corrected sharply, her cheeks puffing up slightly as she once again placed her small hands on her narrow hips and scowled up at Azoth. "And don't get too cocky, you might have a magic weapon or two, but Lady Hephaestus is the Goddess of Smithing, it takes a lot to even gain her interest, let alone impress her!"

"Noted," Azoth nodded, a bemused smile spreading across his face as the tiny, fiery tempered girl scolded him. This was certainly not how he had expected his day to go. "But no, I am actually here to see your Lady Hephaestus, I was hoping to join her Familia."

"Huh," Lisbeth hummed, her gaze turning more analytical now as she eyed, Azoth, up and down. "Well you're welcome to try. I'll take you to her now in fact, she's in the back of the shop. But I should warn you too. She only accepts the best of the best. You might have been a good Smith in whatever town or village you came from, but this is Orario, the big city. So, yeah, you know, don't get your hopes up!"

"Thanks for the words of encouragement." Azoth replied dryly, once again taken aback by the odd, childlike girl's attitude, even as she turned around and headed into the shop.

"Well come on then, I'll take you to her." Lisbeth called back over her shoulder at him, even as she entered the shop and nonchalantly strode past the different displays, salespeople and shoppers. The pink haired Pallum instead heading for a large, metal studded, wooden door at the back.

"Right," Azoth muttered, a bemused smile still playing around his face, even as he entered the shop, and ignored the attention he seemed to get as he too headed for the door, and the impatient looking girl next to it.

It was time for him to meet this, Goddess Hephaestus.

( - )

(At The Twilight Manor, the home of the Loki Familia)

Rolling over in his bed, a loud groan of pain issued forth from Bete Loga's mouth, even as he leant over the side of his bed and hurled. The sound of retching and spattering of sick hitting the bottom of a bucket sounding out throughout the room and beyond, as he yet again started groaning and complaining, both about drinking too much; shitty elves, tomatoes and his throbbing headache.

Far below the werewolf's room, sitting around an austere room with green leather sofas, book filled bookcases, and polished, expensive looking tables and chairs, were three other members of the Loki Familia, and their goddess herself, Loki.

All three of them currently tuning out the sounds of the ill werewolf upstairs, as they instead took sips from their delicate cups of tea.

"Poor old Bete, he really can't handle his drink can he, eh!" Loki cackled loudly, her red eyes flickering over to Gareth who she knew had drunk probably twice as much as Bete had last night, and yet was sitting here looking perfectly relaxed and well.

"He's still young, and prone to getting overexcited." Gareth chuckled, stroking his beard in amusement as he heard the Familia's two Amazon twins laughter sounding out from above, the two mischievous girls no doubt already heading up to tease the hungover werewolf. "He'll grow out of it soon enough."

"You know, if you gave him a potion, Riveria, then you could save him from his current torment?" Finn mused from nearby, taking a sip of his own tea, even as he looked over at the tall, coldly beautiful, High Elf opposite him.

"How would he ever learn if I did that? Hopefully the pain of dealing with his hangover will teach him to know his limits in the future." Riveria replied calmly.

"Ouch, cold." Gareth laughed again, shaking his head at the green haired elf's actions.

"Haha, that's just like you, mama!" Loki cackled joyfully.

"Don't call me that," Riveria shot back at the mischievous red haired goddess.

"Well," Finn spoke up, changing the topic of the conversation now, even as he saw Loki's red eyes gleam with glee as she turned to Riveria. No doubt the immature goddess was on the verge of causing the elf more trouble. "I think it is time we start talking about this Azoth character that we met last night."

"The elf," Gareth nodded. "He was pretty tight-lipped about himself last night wasn't he?"

"I'm surprised you noticed Gareth, what with how much you were drinking last night?" Riveria shot back, her tone slightly acerbic.

"Haha, well yeah, sorry about that. The kids were having fun, and were being a bad influence on me." Gareth chuckled slightly in response, his face going slightly pink at Riveria's light admonishment.

"Even so you are right, Azoth, let very little slip about himself last night. From what I saw he was more interested in questioning us, than in giving up too much about himself." Finn cut in, his young looking face furrowing into a slight frown.

"That does not necessarily mean that he may wish us harm. From what I saw he was a reckless, but still pleasant man." Riveria finally spoke up, her tone lightening as she did so.

"Yeah, he didn't seem bad." Gareth nodded. "In fact I would say he was a good guy, and I'm usually a pretty good judge of character!"

"Hmm maybe, but still, his existence makes me worried." Finn replied, putting his tea down now and rubbing his thumb slightly as he did so. "I find it odd that a person like that, even if he did come from the 'far north', could exist in this world without any of us at least hearing about him…"

"The world is a big place." Gareth shrugged. "I doubt even the gods know all of its secrets."

"What do you think, Loki?" Riveria pressed, looking to their goddess now, who for once looked slightly serious.

"I agree with Finn, there is something, odd, about Azoth, and I don't just mean his name. There is something almost, unnatural, about him." Loki said after a few moments.

"So we keep an eye out for him, and if or when we do deal with him, we make sure he isn't up to no good?" Gareth concluded, a frown on his face at the thought of treating the friendly elf like that.

"I wouldn't go that far, but I would say that we should at least be cautious when dealing with him, or at least for now, or until we get to know him better." Finn replied, raising his thumb as he did so. "My thumb didn't ache when I met him. But even so, I think it would pay to be at least a little cautious when dealing with him."

"I would agree." Riveria nodded, "He could either be a potential ally or a possible enemy, until we know for sure we should step lightly around him."

As Riveria said this, a sudden roar of anger sounded out over head, even as the sound of the Amazon sister's laughter and loud fottsteps rang out quite soon after.

"Ha! Poor Bete!" Gareth chuckled, shaking his head at the Amazon sisters' antics as he did so.

( - )

(On the top floor of the Tower of Babel)

Sitting back in her throne like chair, Freya, the Goddess of Beauty, couldn't tear her gaze away from the city below.

Just moments ago she had seen the strangest, and yet most beautiful and enthralling soul she had ever seen before.

Where most souls, all of them until now actually, had a single colour. Its shade and vibrancy depending on the individual's strength of will, potential, personality and past lives. This new soul, it was one that she had never seen the life of before, it was different than anything she had ever seen or felt before.

The soul was immensely powerful and bright, that much was obvious.

But more than that, it was kaleidoscopic. Instead of being just one colour, it instead was made up of tens, no hundreds of different dazzling, bright colours and shades. All of which were combined into an ever swirling mass of vibrant, shining colour within this being's body.

Honestly, she doubted she could ever, even in this mortal's life and her immortal life, pick apart all the different colours and shades that made up this man's soul. They were so fused together, and swirling and shifting around so chaotically within him, that she genuinely found it difficult to tear her gaze away from him.

This entity, this being, whatever he was. Was unique, truly unique, a once in a lifetime gem.

From just the glimpse she had seen of this white haired elf in her mirror, she had fallen in love.

How could she not?

This elf, he had a soul like no other.

A coy smile spread across Freya's lips at that thought.

This elf would be the prize jewel of her Familia, her collection. The single most valuable and priceless soul she would ever take, and who knows, maybe he might even be the one to truly steal her heart once and for all, just as she was going to steal his.

Freya's smile widened at that thought, her violet eyes practically glowing in the gloom of her room, even as she continued to stare hungrily down at the city below.

She couldn't wait to see that elf again, just so she could bask in the glorious, unnaturalness of his kaleidoscopic soul!

( - )

AN: So we're finally out of the tavern and on the move again! Next chapter, the talk with Hephaestus and whatever follows. I'll admit I was tempted to include that interaction in this chapter, but then I decided, with this being an important meeting and Azoth's first proper interaction with a god, that it deserved more than being squashed hurriedly into the end of a chapter.

Even so I am quite looking forward to writing it, and to developing the world of Danmachi and the characters within it, before canon characters and additional characters I will be bringing in.

Even so I hope you did enjoy the chapter, even if there was not as much action as the last chapter. Still we did get to see some things from both the Loki Familia and Freya, oh I wonder what she might be up too?

That said next chapter should be exciting, as should the ones after that, as although I will have Azoth impact on both the events of Bell's adventure within the Danmachi verse, and the Sword Oratoria storyline, I will also have him going off and doing his own thing. After all he has his own aims and desires, and although he'll be involved in some prominent events, he will still very much be his own independent character who will have his own adventure.

After all that damned One-Eyed Black Dragon, Alduin, isn't going to kill himself!

Thanks a lot for reading, I really do hope you all enjoyed the chapter and leave a review!

Please do check out my other stories if you have the time or interest.

Thanks a lot for reading, and I'll catch you later.

Greed720.