[Kara] Chapter 10: Restful Sleep (Patreon)

After some questioning, Kara revealed the truth about her promise to stop Levi— the human thief who stole from Alyona’s vaults.

“So Koros lied to get Hayder off your ass?” Caius asked with wide eyes.

“Pretty much, yeah,” Kara said apologetically. “I don’t actually have to do anything about Levi if I don’t feel like it, sorry.”

She thought that the elf would get upset. But instead, he doubled over in laughter, much to her surprise.

“That’s hilarious— and I should have expected that from Koros. Seriously, he pulled a similar stunt when I first came to Alyona. Not with Hayder, but with the other captains…”

“Wait, why would they be against letting you into the city?” Kara frowned.

“Because I’m an elf,” Caius said as he waved a hand off casually, turning away from her. “Same reason why they were against letting you into the city.”

“That really doesn’t explain anything,” she objected.

But he refused to elaborate. “And here I was, actually excited that someone was going to try to catch Levi for once. I thought I finally found a co-conspirator who was going to bring him in for good. Alas, I fell for one of Koros’s tricks.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kara eyed him curiously. “I was under the impression that the city guards are actively trying to hunt that guy down.”

“They are trying.” Caius nodded, before pausing. “Well, not as much as before. They used to be more active in their search efforts because Hayder was the one leading them. But even after delving into the lower tunnels a hundred times and never seeing Levi once, they’ve decided to spend their time and resources elsewhere.”

“So they’ve given up their search?”

“No, they’re still sending some patrols down into the lower tunnels. And Hayder wants to bring that ‘cursed thieving human’— his words, not mine— to justice. However, even he can recognize that the whole threat of a possible monster attack is far more pressing than some thief.” The elf waved a hand dismissively. “Which is very much fair. It’s not like Levi stole the Keys of Azad, anyway. Now that would be quite problematic.”

Kara might not have understood the full context of everything he said, but she got the gist of it. She crossed her arms across her chest. “So that’s why you want to be the one to find Levi. Because nobody else will?”

“Exactly— you’re smart, Kara. I like that about you.” Caius gave her an approving look. “But unfortunately for me, they won’t let me join the patrols going down to the lower tunnels to find Levi.”

“Why not?” She tilted her head at him.

“Because to them, I’m a kid… even though I’m like fifty years older than most of them,” he said with a shrug.

“Wait, you’re fifty years old?” Kara gaped at him.

But he shook his head. “No— I’m fifty years older than most of them. I am actually eighty-six years old.”

Kara rubbed her temples as she sighed, “I should’ve expected that. You’re an elf, after all…”

While her world didn’t have elves beyond in fantasy books, they generally were known to live long lives. The fact that Caius looked like he was maybe fifteen or sixteen, but was somehow four times her age, shouldn’t have taken her aback.

She did wonder how old elves in Xantos could live if they were still practically teenagers at eighty-six years of age. If she had to guess, maybe they could live up to five hundred years old. Perhaps even a thousand. Or maybe they didn’t die of old age. She didn’t know for sure, and it wasn’t the appropriate time to ask that question for now. It was something she could figure out later.

Caius crossed his arms as he continued, “Anyway, I’m not stupid enough to go down to the lower tunnels alone, so I’ve been looking for someone who is strong enough to accompany me.”

“And you were hoping that would be me,” Kara said knowingly.

“That’s right.” The elf smiled as he proffered her a hand. “You’re quite strong— you’re even stronger than Hayder. So what do you say?”

She placed a hand on her chin, muttering to herself, “Well, I did tell Koros that I was willing to look into that whole Levi situation. And also…”

I do want to speak with another human, the thought crossed her mind. Just to learn more about what humans in this world are like.

However, she kept that thought to herself. Instead, she shook her head as she faced the elf. “But I haven’t even been here for more than a few hours. I need some time to relax and settle down. Besides—”

Her eyes narrowed as she studied his face, then she looked back towards Angel. The bear cub was snuggling up to the dark elf woman as she averted her gaze from the bleeding orcs scattered across the street.

Kara shook her head as she faced Caius again. “Aren’t you the one who shot that magical arrow towards Angel when I first arrived?”

The elf froze. His entire body stiffened as a bead of sweat slid down the back of his neck. He looked away from the young woman.

“O-oh, that? T-that could’ve been anyone!”

Kara gave him a flat stare. “I saw your face. You were the only elf standing at the battlements.”

“Are you sure you saw me? Maybe that could’ve been your imagination…?” Caius said, not even convincing himself.

Her gaze bore into him, and he laughed nervously. Finally, she sighed as she crossed her arms.

“It’s fine, I guess. Even though you almost hurt Angel, you didn’t. And you helped me out here too. So no harm, no foul, right?”

Caius nodded eagerly. “I’ve never heard of that phrase before, but I agree with it.”

Kara rolled her eyes as she took a step back. She swept her gaze over the street of injured orcs. “So what do we do about these guys?”

And as she asked the question, a voice bellowed down the road.

“What is going on?” A group of drakenriders appeared from down the corner as Caius scoffed.

“Looks like the city guards have arrived. Just in time to be late… as usual.”

—--

Apparently, Caius was a known vigilante troublemaker here in Alyona, so much so that the city guards immediately understood what happened. He explained what happened to them casually, and they would have believed him. But then they saw Kara standing there to the side.

And a few minutes later, Hayder showed up.

Kara thought she was going to get into trouble there and then. But Caius intervened, placating the guard captain with ease.

“Are you absolutely certain that human did nothing?” Hayder asked insistently.

“She was just a bystander. I am being honest. You can even ask that lady over there.” Caius gestured at the dark elf woman— the prostitute who was being harassed by the orcs.

“T-that’s right,” she squeaked. “It was only Mr Caius who was involved with the altercation.”

Hayder narrowed his eyes. “I see.”

He didn’t look too convinced, but with no one willing to testify against Kara, he eventually took his leave, bringing the injured orcs in tow. Kara sighed in relief once he began to leave. But she didn’t expect to see Caius going with them too.

“Wait, why do you have to go?” she asked, watching him turn around to leave. “Weren’t you going to tell me more about that whole Levi-thing?”

“Sorry, but I have to explain what happened here to Koros.” The elf glanced back at her as he scratched the back of his head. “I’m under his direct supervision, you see. Which is why I occasionally get away with these things. But this time around, it’s going to be a bit of a mess, since it involves both dark elves and orcs.”

She gave him a quizzical look. “Wait, why does that matter?”

“Because tensions are at an all time high between them. Less than ten percent of our population used to be orcs. Now, it’s over twenty percent because of all the refugees coming in. The dark elves are unhappy with this change, and the influx of orcs are refugees, so they’re struggling to fit in. It’s a huge problem that Koros is struggling to deal with. And I was told to stay out of this whole mess so I don’t cause more problems.”

“But you got involved.”

“Yeah… I’ll have to apologize to Koros,” Caius said, waving at her and making his way down the street. “Anyway, we’ll talk more later, alright?”

“Right, but not today please,” Kara called out. “I still want to spend some time enjoying the city and finding a place to sleep.”

Unfortunately for her, he already disappeared down the corner. Now she was expecting him to show up the moment she found some downtime to relax. Or even worse— when she was about to fall asleep.

She was really looking forward to finding a place to sleep. It would be the first time she’d feel safe as she drifted into her dreams in a long time. After everything she had been through, she was almost excited for something as simple as a normal night’s rest.

“Well, he was nice… even if he did almost hurt Angel.” Kara placed her hands on her hips, before turning around. “Angel, how’s the—”

“Thank you.”

Kara recoiled as she saw the dark elf woman suddenly standing behind her. “Fuck, you scared me.”

“I do not know how I could possibly repay you,” the dark elf woman continued, her head bowed. “I should’ve known better than to offer my services to those orcs. But I had no other choice… and you stood up for me… how did you do that?”

She raised her head, looking up at Kara with round eyes.

“I, uh…” Kara looked towards Angel for help, but he didn’t offer her any. She didn’t know what to say. So she sighed and nodded at the dark elf woman. “First thing’s first, what’s your name? I’m Kara, and this is Angel.”

The dark elf woman blinked a few times, before shrinking back. “I am just a lowly prostitute. My name is unimportant—”

Kara scoffed, “It’s important to me. I’d prefer to call you by your name, rather than thinking of you as ‘that prostitute over there’, you know?”

“I—” The dark elf woman hesitated, before nodding. “My name is Arjin, and I am forever in your debt, Ms Kara.”

“Well, Arjin, it is nice to meet you too,” Kara said as she took Arjin’s hand and shook it, much to the shock of the prostitute. “And you don’t have to forever be in my debt. You can repay me by helping me find a place to stay for the night. Also, please don’t call me ‘miss’ when we’re like the same age. It’s too formal and it makes me feel old.”

“A place to stay? Is that really all you need from me in return for what you did?” Arjin stared in disbelief.

Kara looked herself up and down. “I would also like to find a shop to get some new clothes, but…”

She looked up and eyed the prostitute’s clothing— what was barely considered a shirt, along with some rags that resembled a miniskirt. Her lips drew into a thin line, before she shook her head.

“I think I can figure that out myself.”

“Are you certain?” Arjin asked as she placed her hands on her chest. “I can help you find some shops—”

“No, I insist,” Kara cut off the prostitute. “For now, I just need a place to sleep tonight, alright?”

And Arjin nodded. “Perhaps I could convince my innkeeper to offer you a room for a few nights…”

—--

Kara learned more about Arjin as they made their way to the inn. And it was an inn, the prostitute stayed at. She didn’t have a home here in Alyona. She was one of the many refugees who found herself in the Sanctuary City because of what was going on across the Xor-In Mountains.

However, her home wasn’t destroyed, much to Kara’s surprise.

“You mean you’ve never seen a nightmare before?”

“A nightmare?” Arjin gave a confused look. “If you’re asking if I have had bad dreams before…”

“Sorry,” Kara quickly corrected herself. “I’m talking about those mysterious monsters that have been going around and destroying cities.”

The prostitute shook her head. “Most of us left our home when we learned of what was going on around us. We thought it was a seasonal uptick in monster activity, so we believed it would be safer for us to seek refuge in a Sanctuary City until it passes. Unfortunately, it has been half a year, and judging by the number of refugees coming in every day, things are only getting worse.”

“I see…”

Angel trailed after the two of them too, of course. But he didn’t seem too keen to participate in the conversation… especially because he couldn’t speak.

They made their way through Alyona until they reached the very end of the cavern. There, a large tunnel burrowed its way further into the mountainside, and shabbily built houses began to pop up.

“These are the upper tunnels of Alyona,” Arjin explained as she lowered her head. She almost seemed ashamed about living here. “It’s not exactly… the nicest part of the city, but it’s where most refugees like me live.”

Kara swept her gaze over her brand new surroundings. Unlike the rest of Alyona, which was composed of buildings made of brick and stone, the houses here were made out of rock and mud. There were very few buildings here that seemed even somewhat stable. And they were small too, most of them only having a single floor. Everything was shoddily designed. It was clearly supposed to be the slums here, and it was far more densely packed here than in the main city.

Which was surprising, considering how Kara had already thought that the main city was quite crowded. There were also a lot more orcs gathered here in the upper tunnels. They were clustered together in their groups, hanging around small fires. While there were fewer dark elves in this section of the city, there was still a substantial population of them here, too.  Although… she wondered where they all lived, if they even had housing at all.

She wrinkled her nose as she eyed a small hut made entirely of dirt, smelling terribly of defecation.

“Don’t tell me you live in one of those.” Kara didn’t mind the scent or sight, so much as she had hoped her sleeping conditions now that she was in a city would be nicer than before. Even Angel looked disappointed by the very idea of staying in one of these ugly hovels.

But Arjin shook her head, much to their relief. “My inn is that way—”

She pointed towards a building that was built into the walls of the tunnel. Kara let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding, before following after the prostitute. They stepped into the cave-like inn as a rough voice piped up.

“Yer finally back, aren’t ye, Arjin?”

Kara saw a stout figure there, moving behind a stone counter. She couldn’t see his face, and he couldn’t see theirs either, but he must have caught a glimpse of them somehow as he called out to them, hobbling around to greet them.

“And I see ye have other guests, don’t ye?” It was a dwarf. Kara didn’t need to be told that the innkeeper was a dwarf as soon as she saw him. He was barely four feet tall, and he had a massive brown beard that was knotted together down the middle. He was also quite rotund, like he had an oversized beer belly. And for whatever reason, he was carrying a tray full of iron ingots with him. “Ye shoulda told me ye were bringin’ more customers— wait, what in the flaming forges happened ta yer face?!”

Arjin shrank back as he rushed over to her side, dropping his tray of iron ingots. They clattered to the ground with a clamor of clangs. The prostitute tried to cover her bruised cheek, before waving a hand dismissively. “O-oh, this? I’ve always had it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, will ye? Come here, I’ve got some healing ointments lyin’ around.”

“Wait, Mr Dammir—” She grabbed him by the arm, but he tried to shrug her off.

“Yer too damn stubborn always, aren’t ye? Well, ye can’t stop me from helpin’ ye recover faster. How are ye goin’ to continue doin’ yer job if ye have got a face like that?”

“That’s not it, Mr Dammir,” Arjin protested as she spun him around, and he wobbled where he stood. “I need your help for my friend.”

“For yer… friend?” Dammir furrowed his bushy brows. And then he paused when he finally saw the two other figures in the room.

Kara cleared her throat. Angel stood up on two legs next to her. They waved at the dwarf in unison.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Kara—” the young woman started.

But Dammir exclaimed, practically shouting over her. “I know ye!”

Arjin recoiled and covered her ears as the dwarf barreled forward, nearly knocking over a stone chair. That was right— he nearly broke a chair made out of literal stone.

He pointed at Kara as he looked at her, goggle-eyed. “Aren’t ye that human who caused a big ruckus outside of the city? Everyone’s talkin’ bout how ye fought off the First Company by yourself! How’d ye do it?”

“Me?” Kara blinked. “I mean, I didn’t mean to do it? They just attacked me, so I defended myself…”

“It was all in self-defense, eh?” Dammir guffawed as he took a nearby seat. He glanced back towards Arjin with a grin. “Ye didn’t tell me yer guest was the human herself! And her bear too!”

He eyed Angel, who just blinked back curiously at the dwarf. Kara glanced between them as they locked gazes for a long moment. And then Dammir exclaimed.

“Wait, is that an utlas bear?!”

Kara watched as the dwarf gushed all over Angel. She scratched the back of her head, before turning to face Arjin.

“Your innkeeper is quite… excitable, isn’t he?” she remarked offhandedly.

But the prostitute didn’t respond. Instead, she shifted where she stood as her face was shadowed over. Kara narrowed her eyes at Arjin.

“Uh, Arjin? Are you alright?”

Arjin was practically trembling at this point. Her breathing quickened, and Kara thought that the dark elf woman was going to have a stroke. But then, Arjin looked up and squeaked hesitantly.

“I didn’t realize you were a famous individual, Ms K-Kara…” She bowed her head as Kara stared in confusion. “I-I apologize if I disrespected you in any way!”

And Kara sighed, “I’m not famous. Also, why are you calling me ‘miss’ again? Didn’t I already tell you to stop that?”

It took a while to calm down both Arjin and Dammir. The former needed reassurances from Kara, while the latter managed to steel himself on his own. When he was finished gushing over Angel, he grinned and pointed a thumb at himself.

“I am Dammir, and I am tha smithkeeper of this place.”

“Smithkeeper?” Kara asked quizzically.

“Get it? It’s a mix between a blacksmith and innkeeper,” Dammir laughed even though it wasn’t a funny joke. “Because I incorporated my smithy into an inn.”

Kara looked up across the stone room. She saw weapons and armor hanging from the wall— that which she had thought was decoration when she first arrived. “This place was a forge?”

“Nay, it is a forge,” the smithkeeper corrected her. “It’s just also an inn now too.”

“I… see.”

Kara peered further behind the counter, and she could see an anvil, some tools, and the forge itself all built into the kitchen. Or maybe the kitchen was built into the forge. The design wasn’t exactly intuitive. It looked like an ugly clash between a tavern and a smithy, where there was no seamless transition from one to another.

It was a wonder how this inn even had any customers. It looked like it was barely livable, in its current state. And that fact made itself more apparent as Kara felt the humid warmth permeating the room— the heat from the forge.

At least there’s no need to pay for heating, right? Kara thought as she looked back towards the dwarf.

“So how exactly did ye befriend this lassie over here?” Dammir asked, practically smacking Arjin on the shoulder.

“Oh, we just ran into each other—” Kara started.

But the dark elf woman spoke over her, “Kara saved me!”

“Oho?” The dwarf eyed her curiously.

Kara just bit her lower lip. She didn’t want to be incriminated into having been a part of that earlier fight with the orcs in any way. But Arjin spoke freely without a care in the world.

“I was being harassed by these orcs who tried to steal from me, and Kara jumped in to stop them—”

“And then an elf by the name of Caius stepped in to help us both out,” Kara cut off the dark elf woman, emphatically gesturing at herself. “I did nothing but stand to the side and watch as he dealt with those orcs.”

“But you were still amazing in the way you stood up to them!” Arjin insisted as she faced the young woman from Earth.

“Right, but I didn’t cause trouble. I just sided with you. That’s all.” Kara felt like she was in court, choosing every single one of her words carefully.

Not that Dammir was paying any attention to what she was saying at all. His fist was clenched as a vein popped onto his neck. “Those damn orcs… they’re at it again, aren’t they? I knew that they must’ve been responsible for what happened to ye!”

“C-calm down, Mr Dammir,” Arjin said as she held out an outstretched hand.

He hissed, turning to her. “How can I stay calm when these damn orcs keep hurtin’ ye? I told ye, ye should quit that job already!”

“B-but how else can I afford to pay for my room? I can’t work any other job…” She lowered her head.

Kara tilted her head at that. But she didn’t say a word as Dammir harrumphed.

“And I told ye, ye wouldn’t need ta pay for anything until you can afford it!”

“But I can’t just exploit your kindness…”

“It would be a heck of a lot better than seeing ye get hurt—”

Angel glanced between the two of them as they continued to argue. His confusion was evident. Kara didn’t think he had ever seen an argument between two people who weren’t enemies before. So after a minute passed, she finally decided to step in.

“By the way, Dammir—” she spoke up, drawing his attention.

“Hm? What is it?” The dwarf asked almost snappishly.

“I was wondering, why exactly did you turn your blacksmith into an inn?”

And that question instantly caused a shift in Dammir’s demeanor. His scowl was gone, replaced with his beaming cheeks. “Because I am a businessman, ye see? I realized that there was goin’ ta be less space in tha city as more refugees arrived, so why not empty out some rooms and rent them out for some spare coin?”

“I see. And how much exactly do you charge per night for a room?” Kara asked as she tapped a finger on her chin.

Arjin was the one to reply. “He doesn’t actually charge much for a room either.” But then she scratched her cheek apprehensively. “Although… I guess that doesn’t make a difference to you, huh?”

Kara nodded as she pursed her lips. “Right.”

“What are ye two on about?” Dammir asked, glancing between them.

“You see, I am… in a bit of a predicament here,” Kara said as she scratched the back of her head. “I don’t actually have any coins on me to pay for a room.”

The dwarf frowned at her. “None at all?”

“Absolutely nothing.” She patted her pockets apologetically. “I, uh, lost all my belongings before I arrived in this city.”

And that wasn’t a complete lie. Kara did, in fact, lose every single one of her worldly possessions except for the clothes on her back before she found Alyona. But that was because she was ripped away from her life on Earth by force because of Zarkoth.

Dammir ran his hand through his scruffy beard in thought as Kara shook her head.

“Is there a way for me to pay you for my room tomorrow instead of right now? I promise you, I’ll find a way to pay you back by noon—” she started.

But the dwarf scoffed and waved a hand dismissively. “Bah, don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t… worry about it?” Kara repeated after him, puzzled by what he meant.

He nodded. “I mean, ye don’t have to worry about paying me back for tha room anytime soon.”

“Are you serious?” She stared at the dwarf in shock.

“‘Course I am,” he said as he hopped off his chair. “Yer tha lass who saved Arjin from those orcs. I owe ye that much at the very least.”

Kara blinked, before looking towards Angel. He looked like he was just as lost as she was. “I guess we’re getting a free room… after getting a free meal?”

“Also, yer the human who single handedly defeated the First Company. I don’t want ta get on yer bad side,” Dammir added.

And Arjin paused. “W-wait, should I be worried about that too?”

The dwarf just chuckled as he led the way up to the rooms of his inn. “Let me show ye where ye will be staying…”

And both the blonde girl and the bear cub followed him to their room.

—--

That night, for the first time since arriving in Xantos, Kara found herself lying on a bed. It wasn’t nearly the softest bed she had ever lain on. In fact, compared to the mattresses of Earth, it was built like a rock. However, compared to sleeping on a cavern floor or sleeping at the bottom of a ravine, this was heavenly to her.

There was no looming threat. There was no raging storm. There were no nearby monsters. It was a peaceful, quiet slumber for the young woman from Earth. So her eyes fluttered shut, and she drifted off to sleep.

However, when she dreamt, she didn’t dream of her life back on Earth. That was all but a memory to her. Instead she dreamed of the new life that she would live— of all the things she could now experience and learn in this world of Xantos. Even if it was completely alien to her, even if she was still adjusting to it, she was no longer alone or afraid.

She was safe.

So Kara’s dreams were nightmare-free.

Author's Notes: 

4.5k words. Just a quick note, I edited a little bit of chapter 8 to add this scene:

“Still, I appreciate it a lot.” Kara placed a hand on her chest as she spoke gratefully. Angel nodded beside her. “Even though you said I don’t have to do anything about that other human, I’ll still see what I can do, I guess.”

She couldn’t lie and say that she wasn’t intrigued by the prospect of meeting another human. There was the fact that she was, in fact, a human too. Even if she didn’t feel like one after everything she had been through. But she thought that speaking to one would ground her back to reality, even if he was… a lying thief.

And there was also the possibility that humans in this world might not have been carbon copies of humans back on Earth. So she might not have shared a kinship with whoever this guy was. However, she was still intrigued. Especially with what Zarkoth had told her about humans— how they quite literally stole magic from the dragons.

She was curious how it worked. If greatly it differed to her dragonsoul, or if it was similar at all. With the way Zarkoth had characterized it, it seemed to be more likely to be the former. But she didn’t know for sure. And while she could ask questions while in the city, the only way she could truly learn this fact was by speaking to another human.

So she made her decision.

“If you insist, I will not stop you. But until then—” Koros yanked a chain, pulling up a portcullis to allow entry into the city.

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