Chapter 550: Barbarim

The group brought their luggage to the Inn that had been chosen by the guide from Baram. Avalin and Leon were tired enough to go to bed immediately, so Eiro made sure that they were sleeping and chose to leave some shadow guardians here in the room, just in case something might happen, although he quite doubted it.

If anyone dared to even step foot into their room, Eiro would be there in an instant, and he would be there ready to kill whoever the intruder was. Either way, after the two of them fell asleep, Eiro, Armodeus, Koperia, James, Jess, Krog and Ariella chose to go for a walk around town, and to the Demon's surprise, the others chose to just stay at the Inn and take a nap, or simply have some fun alone.

"Is that a problem?" Clementine asked with a slightly worried expression, but Eiro immediately shook his head, "Of course not, stay here and relax. It is getting quite late, after all." He said, and quickly looked at the others, "Make sure not to hed to bed too late, I don't know how long we'll stay out. And Felix, Sammy, you two are in charge, alright?"

"Yo, what, why those two? I mean, I get Felix, he's the oldest, but why Sammy instead of me?" Arc asked confused, "And we're 16, we don't need someone to be in charge in the first place!" He complained with a clear pout.

Eiro rolled his eyes and placed his hand on top of Arc's head for a moment or two, "I'm mostly asking them to make sure that you don't bother the other customers."

"Oh." Arc replied immediately, "Yeah, that makes sense. But at least bring me some liquor for doubting what an adult I can be."

"I'll call you an adult when you start shaving. Rudy's got you beat in that." Eiro said with a light smirk and a wink, and Arc immediately looked over at Rudy, before walking up to him. He leaned forward, and looked closely at Rudy's skin, "S-Stubbles... He really has stubbles... my little brother is getting a beard, but I'm not..?"

"Heh..." Sammy let out lightly with a big smirk, "Actually, both of your little brothers have more facial hair than you."

Arc looked back at Sammy for a moment, realizing that Eiro did have to continuosly trim and shave parts of Leon's face to make sure fur didn't suddenly cover every part of his face, and then slowly looked at the ceiling, "I despise this cruel fate of mine..."

"Oh be quiet, you'll get a beard someday, I'm sure." Eiro laughed slightly, patting his son on the back as he headed out toward the door, "Oh, and make sure to keep the nets in front of the windows. There are a lot of bugs around here." 

"...Of course..." Arc looked down at the ground with a bitter expression, but then immediately raised his head, "Oh, if you don't want to bring me liquor, bring me some candy or something. Or meat. Anything edible is fine, honestly." He said immediately, his tone switching from sad to ecstatic in nothing but a moment, just like always.

"I'll think about it." Eiro said, as the group of adults made their way out of the Inn. As they left, the guide walked up to them, "You are going out to explore, I assume?"

"Ah, yes, we just wanted to take a look around a little." Ariella replied quickly, and the guide lightly smiled, "I happen to have grown up around here. I know a nice little spot where you could have a drink if you want. It's rather secluded, and more untouched by the merchants than other parts of this city."

The group looked at each other and finally decided that it seemed like a good idea. They could still go sight-seeing some other time, maybe on their way back.

"Then go ahead and lead the way." Eiro replied to the guide, who quickly nodded his head, "Of course, I will gladly."

And so, the group followed the Guide. For a while, they followed the main road running through the city, but it didn't take long until they reached the older, more traditional parts of the city, where small Baram bars and restaurants could be found. Everyone seemed greatly welcoming toward Eiro and the group, and even chatted with them as if they were locals for a few moments. They stopped at some smaller shops and stalls every once in a while, where there were some things being sold that interested them a bit more than the sort of stuff that merchants tried to get rid of in every major trading city like this.

Small, handcrafted trinkets that were supposed to bring luck. Small, and weak, magic items that were made traditionally by methods passed down through the generations. Armodeus was particularly interested in the small workshops that the group passed, with their open fronts where it was possible for him to see what was going on inside. It was as if he wanted to jump in and help out immediately, but luckily he was able to hold himself back for now.

And it didn't take long until the group found the bar that the guide was leading them to. It was kind of in the back-alley of a back-alley, but in a cozy sort of sense. There were lanterns set up along the walls, and a few locals were just sitting there and chatting with the owners of the pub. It seemed incredibly inviting to everyone, although it looked like this group might already be a bit too large for this small place.

"Get some tables and chairs out here, please." The guide said, and the owner of the bar quickly looked toward him, "Kimmi, my boy! Long time no see!" The owner exclaimed with a broad smile on his face, before he quickly walked into a room in the back of the bar. He grabbed some fold-up chairs and tables from there, and carried as many as he could out. Of course, Eiro quickly went to help him carry everything, and with just those tables and chairs, the bar had been extended out into this alleyway.

"Could you bring us some grilled meat, and some Barbarim?" Kimmi, the guide, asked the owner, who immediately nodded his head, "Right away!" 

And so, as the group sat down at the tables that had been pushed together to form a larger table, they looked at the guide curiously, "So the owner knows you, huh?"

"Ah, yes. He's an old family-friend." Kimmi quickly replied, and it didn't take long until the first round of drinks were brought to the table in the form of small shot-glasses carved out of dried and hardened sugar-cane.

It seemed like some sort of light golden liquor with a somewhat sweet scent to it. Curiously, Eiro was the first to grab it, and quickly poured it into his mouth, holding it in the for a while.

"Ah, you shouldn't do that. I heard that people from the north are not quite used to spice." Kimmi pointed out, and Eiro raised his brows as he started to feel what he meant. It was quite spicy, as well as sweet and fruity. It tasted quite nice.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm good with some heat." Eiro replied quickly, "But it is really quite good. It's made from sugar cane, I assume?" The Demon asked, and Kimmi looked back somewhat surprised.

"Yes, exactly. How did you know?"

James scoffed lightly as he tried the Barbarim as well, and then said, "Eiro is the owner of the Five of Pentacles, he's got ultimate perception. He could probably taste this drink the moment we entered the alley." He pointed out, before slowly starting to cough. James really wasn't good with spice in the slightest, so he was struggling a bit. All the others seemed totally fine with it, though.

"Oh, you possess one of those artifacts?" Kimmi asked, "How did you come across it?"

"It was my father's. And when he passed away, I inherited it from him." Eiro explained, and quickly looked at Armodeus, "He has a card as well. He has the Four of Pentacles, which is the card of ultimate dexterity."

"Dexterity?" Curiously, Kimmi looked at the elder dwarf as well, and Armodeus somewhat awkwardly replied, "Aye, I'm a craftsman, y'see? I need to be good with my hands."

"Hm, interesting." Kimmi replied, "So these cards are the reason why you two are so skilled? In combat and craftsmanship respectively?"

"..." Both Armodeus and Eiro stayed silent for a few moments, and Koperia quickly laughed at how baffled they were, "Those cards require proper power to be even used properly, so no, they're no the sole reason why they are so skilled. They helped them get to where the are though, but that can be said about any old tool." She pointed out, and Kimmi looked at her curiously.

"Then are you an owner of such an artifact as well?"

Koperia shook her head with a smirk, "No, I'm not. I'm more on the gift-giving end, rather than on the gift-receiving end. I've been dabbling in what it takes to create artifacts myself for a while now."

Kimmi raised his brows confused, "Then does that not mean you are quite powerful yourself? Did you participate in the tournament?"

"Oh, no, I don't bother with such matters. I'm not interested in killing the Monster King as long as he doesn't directly bother me, my work, or my toys." Koperia pointed out with a smug expression, and Kimmi looked back and forth between Eiro and Koperia for a few seconds, "Then are you more powerful than Lord Daemonherz?"

"I-" Koperia said, wanting to agree immediately, but she slowly looked at Eiro with a slight squint, "That... is indeed a good question."