The town of Jacu turned out to be a walled rectangular city up against a carved-out portion of a small mountain range. It had been shocking to find the mountain after exiting. Perrin guessed it had been hidden by the Wayward forest. Honestly, he was just relieved they had made it out of that creepy place without issue. The continued absolute silence as they walked below the towering black trees had been unnerving. It had felt like walking into a trap waiting to be sprung, but gratefully, nothing happened.

The sun was slowly sinking on the horizon when they reached the gates. They entered without issue, and the group was ushered to the Governor's gated home. The hateful glares shot Mazikeen and Perrin's way by Hagatha continued. It was never when she thought they were looking, but Mazikeen always seem to catch the woman then smiled widely at her. Hagatha would go pale, looking away quickly.

He'd chided Mazikeen over it. He didn't want to make the situation any worse. She eventually stopped, but only after she appeared beside the woman in the carriage during a nasty look. Hagatha had screamed and tried to jump out of the carriage, only for Mazikeen to appear leaning on the door she was trying to exit. When the woman tried to go the other way, Mazikeen was walking beside him again. Looking bored as if nothing had happened. Needless to say, Maze had a mean streak.

One last nasty look by Hagatha, a token for quest completion and some local currency from Floriana later, the duo was off to find an inn for the night before traveling back to Toggi's shop. Mazikeen tried to convince Perrin to stay in the shrunk again, but he refused. He wanted to stay in an old school Inn like people do in the books. The longer he was here, the more he wanted to fully experience this place. It was designed for him, after all. He had no choice in that, of course, but he felt like once he left this place, things wouldn't be the same. He wouldn't be the same.

They found an inn close to the gate where most traveling merchants were staying. The sign had a dog pissing on a tree, and it read "The Tree's Bark." Perrin thought the sign was hilarious, but Mazikeen only snorted, rolling her eyes at the low humor.

They walked into a relatively noisy room full of bustling noises and conversations. Light teal-colored serving women with large butterfly wings handed pints to cheerful dwarves, demons, and elves. It was precisely what Perrin imagined a storybook inn would look like after a hard day of work. A bar in the back had one of those triangle eared humanoids similar to the one Toggi killed in the arena. Actually, the longer he looked at the proposed innkeeper, the more he thought the thing looked precisely like the Grax that supposedly died.

Making their way to the bar, the inn keep turned to them after filling a wooden pint. "What can I do you fooooooor…" he said as his eyes went wide at seeing the duo.

"It's you and you." He pointed at them. "I saw your fights in the arena. Gods take me. You two were savage. Savage I tell you. Ayeee Tina." He called back to a side door to the right of the bar. The smells of stew and banging pots came ringing out of the opening.

"What! You triangle ear'd bastard? I'm trying to feed this crowd before the kill us all."

"Just come here your crusty old bat."

"I swear, Jesse gives me that cast iron. No not that hot one ya idiot girl. Do ya fae only have tits and an ass? Use yar damn brain girl." Said Tina in a gruff brogue voice. A loud squeak came from a much more feminine voice before a neon blue hair serving maid came running out the door, holding her bottom.

The owner of the gruff-voiced woman, Perrin assumed, walked out behind the dainty maid in an apron holding a cast iron pan. She was tall and thin with silver-blonde hair tied up in a bun. Pale blue eyes with more smile creases than frowns, lined a face with delicate features. He wasn't expecting the woman to be an elf. She sounded like a dwarf, or at least what he expected the dwarves to sound like. He hadn't paid much attention to the ones as he walked in. She moved towards the inn keep in a threatening way. The pan was an impressive size.

"Alvin, I told you not to bother me during rush hours, didn't I?"

"Tina dear ha-ha… let’s talk about this," the innkeeper started backing away from the angry cook.

"Ya didn't think I was serious did ya now? Men never learn ya just have to keep teachin the sam…. It's ya and ya?” She said almost precisely like the now sweating inn keep did.

"I wouldn't have bothered you dear, but we have… have the famous guests. You can put the pan down sweetie." He said placatingly to the surprise faced woman.

"Ya tha one that help killed Grax in the arena." Tina said as she pointed at Perrin with the pan.

He backed away when she pointed the massive thing at him. He had a feeling they may have to fight their way out of here if the cook started swinging that iron around. Mazikeen put her arm around his waist, holding him in place.

"Yes ma'am." He said confidently, grudgingly feeling safer with Mazikeen's presence.

"Ya got manners to then boy" She nodded. "Trained him early. Smart of ya las. If you don't this is what ya end up with." Tina half-heartedly swung the massive iron pan that, he guessed, her husband deftly dodged. "Alvin, ya shit, you better take care these two. We owe them for getting rid of that ass of a brother of yours." She swung at him again, and he ducked under the swing.

"Of course, dear. Could you plea…" he ducked again, and this time the pan missed him by a hair.

"Just shut up ya toad." She turned to Mazikeen and said, "Las if ya be needing anything special to drink or eat just let my old ball in chain here know and I'll be taking care of ya. Grax was scum and caused more problems than ya could imagine around her for us. We do be owing ya and your man for that. We pay our debts. Jesse ya daft girl, go prepare the nicest room we have."

"Yes ma'am," Jesse squeaked, her rainbow-colored butterfly wings fluttering as she ran up the inn’s stairs.

"We thank you for your kindness Mistress Tina. How much do we owe you for the meals tonight and the morning? We will be needing 2 days’ worth of travel rations for our trip back east as well," said Mazikeen.

"Don't ya be worrying about ya head about that las. We do be owing ya like I said. The rations will be ready for ya at the bar when you leave in the morning after breakfast. Find a seat and I'll bring ya out something hot for ya bellies." She said as he moved back into the kitchen.

The innkeeper wiped his sweating face with a rag and looked back over to the duo. "Give me a moment and I will have you a table ready. Sky, please get our guests a table quickly please."

"We are full right now Alvin. They are going to have to wait." Came a voice behind them. Perrin turned around to see a pretty neon orange-haired fae with blue-gold wings.

"Sky do I need to come back out there? Kick Earl out. I know his wife be getting mad if he stays any longer." Tina said from the kitchen.

"Yes ma'am." Sky moved over to the left corner, where a fiery-haired dwarf sat surrounded by pints. "Earl deary, you need to get home."

"Juss une more Ky," said Earl drunkenly.

"Mistress Tina said it was time to go." No quicker than the words were out of Sky's mouth was Earl halfway out the door.

Perrin snorted at the drunk man's quickness to follow the cook's request. He then pulled on the collar of his cloak. He was pretty sure he would have been running out the door too. The thought of getting hit with that pan was not appealing at all, and if she swung it at her husband so casually, he had no doubt in his mind that she would test out the hardness of his head no problem.

"Over here you two. I'll be back in a moment to take your drink order." Sky said as she finished wiping down the table and collecting the mugs.

They made their way to the small table and sat. Perrin noticed notifications jingling in his bottom left vision and decided to take a look while they waited for Sky.

Welcome to Jacu City

The walled adventures city of the west. Home and headquarters of the Adventures guild of Daedra. Many quests and unique items can be found in Jacu. Please see guild staff or merchants to suit your needs.

City population: 65,000

City Reputation: Neutral

Current City Governor: Nevill ReJacu

Congratulations!

You completed your Quest to escort the Merchant to the neighboring town in the west. Please turn in the quest token to Toggi to collect your reward.

Nice, I bet I'll probably see my reputation when I get back to that starting town. On second thought, I probably don't want to see that. Okay, good, good, we completed the quest. I wonder if I'll get any XP for that when I turn in the token. Speaking of XP… let's check and see if my level up will work now… Well, shit, of course, it won't. This place really does hate me.

"Did you get a notification on entering the city?"

"Why would I get a notification lover?" She looked at him quizzically.

"This is a game world Maze. You are playing it with me. You should be getting this stuff at least."

"I'm sorry lover. I don't see anything. We will have to ask Dio about it when you meet him officially, I guess."

Sky came back to take their drink order. Perrin ordered an ale and Mazikeen a wine.

"Maybe. It just seems stupid you wouldn't be a part of this as well. You think it's because you weren't in the system's database. I mean technically you shouldn't even be here."

"That could be the reason. Well, what did it say?"

"Nothing much more like a welcome brochure to a city. Jacu is the headquarters of the Adventuring Guild in Daedra. You know the spill quest etc. We will probably have to come here on the regular once I can finish my anima structure and start infusing my body. It's blocking my level ups still. Which is pretty frustrating. I don't know what kind of effects they are going to have on me but I'm sure they will be beneficial." He sighed.

"Have you decided what kind of structure you’re going to build?"

"Not yet. You said yours was different. So, I'll explain how mine works. I basically have a night sky full of stars reflecting on a pond that stretches to the horizon. I snag stray thoughts off the pond and place them in the sky as stars."

"Ah yes I've heard of that one but never actually met anyone who used it."

"How? I thought you've been to all the planes and are thousands of years old." He said in a playful mocking manner. She kicked his leg under the table. "Oww that hurt." He laughed, reaching down to rub his shin.

"Remember when I told you about the Enoch plane?"

"Yeah, they made the wine that if I took a sip of would make a big ba-da-boom out of me."

"Exactly. That particular anima cultivation method was designed there. The Enoch’s were what we called a High human race." Perrin started looking at her skeptically. "I know you don't know what that is so give me a moment to explain. Essentially, it’s the peak of human evolution. Time on that plane ran strangely. One visit you could go and spend ten years only to have a day pass in other planes. Another time, a day outside would be a hundred years inside. Regardless time passed much faster there. Anyway, it happens to be a plane that produced humans. They were very advanced in anima's use and its functions. And I mean very advanced. Our home plane was also advanced, but those advancements were purposed towards ascension. The Enoch people were scientists and artisans made into one. Their advancement was geared towards the betterment of the race. They had evolved past wars and strife among their own kind. It was a wondrous place that I wish you could have seen Perrin. Everything they created was masterworks of art. The way they used anima was like watching poetry made flesh."

"Why would that plane be destroyed if it was so peaceful."

"It became the center of knowledge for those of us who could travel to different planes. It was the first place that was hit by the war when it broke out. It was thought that if the Enoch stepped in, they would have the capability of preventing Drefen from succeeding in his plan to overthrow the current power structure."

"Okay don't know who Drefen is but I can see the situation. Sleeping giant. Take it out before it decides to stop you."

"Drefen is what everyone calls “the enemy” and your right. It's still not clear if the fighting was meant to get so far out of hand. The powers at that level had been untested inside a plane. When so many Mantles unleashed their full power the plane literally started cracking and shattering in someplaces. The last thing I saw as I was escaping was the Enoch’s planet being sucked into a spacial tear thrice the size of the world. We aren't exactly sure what happened but all we know is that the Enoch plane is no longer reachable and anyone that has tried to brute force their way in has never returned."

"That sounds… horrific. I couldn't imagine that happening to Earth. We definitely have the capabilities of destroying the world but fortunately we haven't managed to be stupid enough to do that just yet."

"It is quite horrific. The void which exists outside of the planes is not a place you want to be. It's not like space. Space lacks air and protection from solar radiation. Things that can be solved with anima. The void, on the other hand, is precisely that—a void of nothingness. Only fully ascended can survive there. I was only able to be there due to my companions.”

“Why would you even go to a place like that then?”

“It's where the demon race used to be before your former self-created the Ways so that everyone could travel between planes safely.”

"Used to be?"

"Yes, I was surprised to find the demons here, to be honest. I was certain we had wiped the race out during the Ways War. I'm not talking about the blue ones we saw walking around either. Those are powerful. Many of them even as powerful as I. No, the ones I'm talking about are the Titans and Odin class demons. They are like drifting mountains and ooze chaos power."

"Hold up, chaos power sound pretty cool. You didn't call it anima so it must be something else right?"

Sky walked over and sat down their drinks and two bowls of steaming meaty stew. "If you need anything else you let me know honey and I do mean anything." Then she winked at Perrin.

He watched her walk off, swaying her hips. Mazikeen kicked him, hard. "Dammit woman not so hard and what was that for. Good lord." He rubbed his aching shin that she had somehow managed to kick in the exact same spot. She ignored his question like she had done nothing.

"Chaos power is something only demons can use." She said waspishly.

"And it comes from…"

"I don't feel like talking to you right now." She said and promptly ignored him for the rest of the meal.

What's her deal? I don't belong to her no matter what claims she is trying to lay on me. For a matter of fact, that goes for any of those crazy women.

Sky collected their dishes, and the neon green-haired fae Jesse, led them to their room. Perrin swapped out his armor in the inventory for his boxers and crawled into bed. The day's travel wasn't really that exhausting, but he felt drained. He couldn't explain the feeling. He had an inkling that maybe it was the armor. He couldn't tell for sure. The fight with the monkey crabs had wiped him out, so he'd have to keep an eye on how it affected him over the next couple of days when he had downtime. He watched Mazikeen get ready for bed as he drifted in thought.

I want to work on my construct, but I'm too tired. I still don't know what shape I'm going to use anyway. I should probably talk to Maze about it more. If she will talk to me. Idiot woman. The girl downstairs was pretty enough.

He might try to sneak a hug or a kiss from her, but she wasn't Mazikeen.

It's hard to compete with that perfection. It's really distracting to even look at her sometimes. Those purple eyes and full lips that just beg you to kiss her. And when she smiles, I wish to take her into my arms and go somewhere private. Pull her on top of my …

Mazikeen punched him in the ribs. "For fucks sake woman why are you beating on me."

"Because you're stupid and a man." Then she snuggled into him like he was her pillow and closed her eyes, smiling. Cheeks faintly red.

A red notification popped up in his center field of vision, followed by persistent alarm bells in his head. He mentally poked at the notification to see what was going on.

Update: City of Jacu

The Governor of Jacu has passed away, and his son Allister ReJacu has ascended to Governorship. Long live the Governor.

Update: City of Jacu

Your reputation with the city of Jacu has been dropped by 3 ranks.

Current average relationship: Hated

Additional information:

The hated status signifies that you will be attacked on-site by any loyal citizen of Jacu.

Warning!

A bounty has been placed on your head at the adventure’s guild for crimes against the governess’s personage.

Conditions of Bounty: Kill on site.

Warning!

A contract with the Assassins Guild has been taken out on you.

"Maze," he said in increasing panic. She jerked up and looked at him.

"What is it Perrin?"

"We need to get the fuck out of here right now."

He could hear footsteps running down the hallway outside before it stopped at the door. The door frame cracked as the bar blocking the door crumpled in. Tina was standing in the broken doorway with her massive frying pan. A crazed look plastered on her face.

"Oh, come the fuck on," he cursed aloud.

I hate this fucking place.