The First Legendary Beast Master

When they turned down a narrow alley, Karl refreshed his armour, and sighed in relief when the tabard vanished, replaced with simple black dragon scale and metal plate armour.

That also deactivated the Guild Tag on his name, but when they came out the other side of the alley, they were still getting a clear zone around them.

Lotus pointed down the street. "Oh, an Inn. Should we get a room and see what we can learn at the tavern on the main floor? If nothing else, we can try the local food."

Strangely, for all the power of the residents, and the artistry of the stone construction of the majority of the buildings inside the city walls, the city of Drodh appeared to be on a nearly primitive level. There were beast drawn wagons in the streets, no sign of technology, and the interior of the Inn, visible through the open doors, used magical lamps, and smelled of wood smoke.

It wasn't strong, and a few seconds later, Karl located the source. There was a magic-powered smoker outside the Inn, which must be burning wood for the authentic smoked flavour.

So, perhaps the city wasn't as primitive as it looked, even if most of the buildings were simple wood and plaster or stone block constructs with slate tile or thatch roofs.

The Inn, labelled as the Laughing Dragon, was simple inside, but immaculately clean.

Karl led them to the counter, and the Innkeeper bowed politely. "Lord Rakshasa, how may I be of service today?"

As Karl recalled, that was a type of tiger demon. That must be what people here thought he was in this form.

"A room, or rooms for five. Then dinner and drinks for the evening." Karl replied, hoping that whatever the System translated his voice to sound like in the Demon's language wasn't too strange.

"Of course. Did you need to deposit anything in the rooms before dinner?"

Karl shook his head. "No, but we will check them first, if you don't mind."

The Innkeeper motioned for a serving girl, who had small wings on her back and curled horns on her head, with an adorable little heart - shaped tip to her tail, to lead them up to the rooms.

"So, what brought you to the laughing dragon? I know we're a bit off the beaten path, but I am certain you will enjoy your stay." The barmaid asked.

Karl chuckled. "Well, we took a shortcut to get out of traffic for a moment, and then our Nature Priestess saw your sign. What could be a better omen than a happy dragon?"

The Demoness shook her head in dismay. There were many reasons that a Dragon might laugh, and the answer was rarely happiness. In her experience, dragons tended to be cruel and egotistical creatures.

But there were two Dragon Clerics in the guest's group, and those sorts of Dragonkin tended to have something of a hero worship complex for the full-blooded dragons, and an even more severe one for the dragon gods.

The room was simple with bunk beds for six people, all oversized for Demons, who were often over two metres tall.

"That will be perfect, thank you." Karl announced once he had searched the room's corners and windows with a quick visual scan.

"Was there something particular you were looking for?" The barmaid asked.

"Rodent signs. I can see their footprints, filthy little creatures." Karl explained.

The Demoness did a double take, then nodded in understanding. If you could see that there had previously been rats running across the floor, it must be incredibly hard to find a good hotel.

But here in Drodh there were enough Demons with the ability to create repulsion charms that rodent infestations were only for the lowest of the low-class establishments.

Karl took out a notepad from his inventory and scrawled a few runes on it. If he did it right, that should be the simplest of security Talismans. It would inform him of the basic description of anyone who entered the room, then fall inactive.

Just enough to know if the room was not secure while they were away.

"What sort of charm is that?" The Demoness asked as Karl finished, her tail instinctively reaching toward the paper.

"Well, I had considered some fun protective charms for the room. You know, Divine Lightning, or uncontrollable orgasms. But I went for a simple intruder detection charm." Karl joked.

The Demon froze, her eyes going huge as she stared at Karl.

"Don't joke. Can you really do that?" She gasped.

"Create a protection charm? It's right there."

She shook her head. "No, uncontrollable Orgasms. I would pay very well if you could make one of those for me to... donate to a friend."

Lotus burst into a giggling fit. "Can you imagine the aftermath? Wait, it's not a male friend, is it? Because Eww. So messy."

Dana sighed and bonked the cleric on the head. "We're getting sidetracked. But yes, he probably can. I don't think that we should be making a reputation for pranks and trouble making on our first day in the city." Find exclusive stories on empire

The Demoness stared at her, confused. "Oh, I guess I didn't explain clearly. My friend is also a Succubus, and her husband is a little, you know. Not talented."

Now Karl was the one confused. Was this some sort of medical treatment she was asking for? Fine, he would make it, and then if there were problems, he would deny everything.

Karl wrote the Talisman, and heard a faint laughing voice in the back of his mind, not from one of his beasts.

He pointedly ignored the divine sign that he was about to do something dumb, and handed over the Talisman.

"It's single use, but it should last a few hours. Remember to focus on the target when you use it. Or when your friend uses it."

The barmaid tucked it in her inventory and gave him a happy thumbs up. "Let's head back down to the tavern. I will cover your first round of drinks."

Now they were making progress. And new friends, Karl discovered once the other Demons in the tavern saw that the server was bringing them free drinks.

Making friends with the staff tended to make you friends with the regulars as well, and Karl's group was odd enough to get a lot of interest from the early afternoon crowd.