Mon'Ter

Chapter 4: Town of Cloran.

A girl in the black cloak ran through the streets with bags filled with all the clothes she had bought, she didn’t want to keep the man outside the city waiting much longer.   

‘I can’t wait to visit a tavern or something with food! I’m sure Mon’Ter will enjoy some quality cooking too.’ Elyenora’s mind wandered back to food as she moved through the crowds of people.   

She soon left through the town gates, walking past the guards in an orderly manner before moving across the roads outside the town.   

It didn’t take too long before she made a turn into the woods, soon enough finding Mon’Ter in the exact same spot he had sat down in over an hour ago.   

“Mon’Ter, I’ve got you some clothes and a cloak to hide your physical appearance.” Eleyenora spoke up as she got closer to the beast-like man, “You should be fine inside with these.”   

Once she was next to Mon’Ter, Elyenora took out the clothing, cloak, and bandages.   

“Ely... These are... Human clothes?” Mon’Ter asked, grabbing the leather garbs with his claws to look them over.   

“Yes, I managed to get them at a fair price so wear them with pride, Mon’Ter!” Eleynora said with a grin, happy to have haggled the price down to two silver coins and oblivious to the fact she should have bought the items for even less.   

“...” Mon’Ter looked down at the leather clothes once more, speaking up softly. “Thank you... Ely.”   

“Of course, you needn’t thank me, this is the least I can do to repay you.” Elyenora replied, smiling with a chuckle. “Besides, I can’t really show you anything about humans if you can’t walk into town with me, now can I?”    

“Mmm...” Mon’Ter nodded, smiling a little at his new clothes.   

‘Human clothing... for me...’ The monster thought, seemingly happy at the idea of dressing as a human.   

It didn’t take long before Elyenora helped Mon’Ter with his bandages, covering both his feet and his one hand.   

Mon’Ter later went further into the woods on request of Elyenora, she told him to go put on his new clothing there after stopping him from undressing his rags in front of her.   

Mon’Ter couldn’t help but ask, “Why... Can’t me do it... Here?”    

“Mon’Ter...”  Elyenora sighed, “You can’t change clothing in front of others, it’s bad. Remember that, okay?” Elyenora softly scolded the monster, sending him on his way in his confusion.   

A few minutes later, Mon’Ter returned while wearing a fairly long sleeved, leather jacket that covered him well above his waist and tightly tied with a string slightly off-center. The sleeves of his jacket were wide and reached down to just above his wrists, they were decorated with a single thread lining and a decorative band.   

The jacket had a deep, rectangular neckline which would have revealed part of a modest cloth shirt worn below it, were it not for Mon’Ter’s thick, fluffy and currently still bloody white mane that could be mistaken for a scarf wrapped around his neck.    

His pants were simple, narrow and reached down to his hard leather boots. The boots were made from a pretty unusual leather, but were otherwise not any different from any others.   

Mon’Ter hid his tail in his jacket behind his back on request of Elyenora, knowing that just the tail could be rather frightening to others.   

Now, Mon’Ter simply had the appearance of a one handed exceedingly tall man with a fluffy bloody scarf, long black hair and a bandage covering his left eye  

“Ohh!” Elyenora exclaimed, smiling as she gazed at the newly reformed man. “You’re looking great, Mon’Ter!”   

“Thank... You?” Mon’Ter questioned, not knowing why it was a big deal that he wore the clothing.   

He was a nearly two meter tall monster with big sharp claws, of course he was great!   

That much was obvious, right?   

   

…   

After donning his cloak for even more of a disguise, both Mon’Ter and Elyenora walked back to the town, earning the watchful eyes of the guards to themselves.   

“Hey, girl. How many times do you plan on leaving and entering?” The chubby armored guard with a spear in his hand questioned while stopping the duo. “And now there’s another one... Are you up to something?”   

“Oh, I’m sorry sir. My friend here had been robbed by bandits, I met him on the roadside and all he had left to wear were some rags...” Elyenora explained in an apologetic tone, “I couldn’t leave the poor man like that, so I went to town to buy him some clothing, see?” She spoke and pointed to the newly clothed Mon’Ter.   

“Hm... Is that true?” The other, slimmer guard, asked while looking at Mon’Ter.   

“...” Mon’Ter remained silent, thinking about what Elyenora had told him to do in case of the guards asking about him, “Yes... Me had... Everything stolen... No money... No provisions... No clothing... Me can’t thank... This kind woman enough...” He spoke softly, struggling with the long sentences in the human’s language.   

“Oh my, he seems to be in shock still...” The second guard seemed to confuse Mon’Ter’s inability to speak properly for shock, “We should let them pass, I feel bad for this poor man... No need to burden him further, Loyd.”    

“Tsk, fine... But if they cause any troubles, then it will be on your report, Rild!” The chubby guard named Loyd pointed at the other, thinner one.   

“Yes, yes...” Rild agreed with a smile, already used to his friend’s antics, “Go on then, don’t let us keep you waiting any longer.”   

“Thank you, sir guardsmen.” Elyenora politely bowed in thanks, “You have my gratitude for all your well done duties, I hope you have a nice day.” She spoke with a smile and tugged at Mon’Ter to follow her inside of the town.   

“What a nice girl.” Rild turned to her, raising his hat-like helmet up a bit.   

“Bah! I don’t trust no pretty faces...” Loyd scorned.   

“That’s cause your wife cheated on you...” Rild replied.   

“She cheated with you, you scumbag!” Loyd shouted, howling abuse at his ‘friend’.   

“Well, what can I say? I’m a rather charming guy.” Rild smiled wryly, nearly earning himself a fist to the teeth by the fuming Loyd.   

…   

“Mon’Ter, Mon’Ter! Look! There’s a nice looking tavern over here!” Elyenora pointed out in excitement.  

From the outside it looked welcoming, peaceful and cheerful. Stacked boulders and intricate wooden carvings made up most of the building's outer structure.  

It was hard to see through the stained-glass windows, but the liveliness from within still can be felt outside. 

At the entrance was a sign with what seemed to be a big cat carved into it, it said ‘Mountain Lion’s Tavern’.    

“Tav... ern?” Mon’Ter asked.   

“It’s a place where they sell food, good food!” Elyenora explained.   

“Ooh... Food...” Mon’Ter’s stomach growled, his need for nourishment began to surface. “Me haven’t eaten... Since the big cat from the forest...”   

“Big... Cat?” Elyenora turned to Mon’Ter, a bit bewildered for a moment before realization dawned on her. “Ah! You... You ate the guardian?!”   

“Mmm... No idea what is that... But it was a bitter tasting kitty... Me no likey...” Mon’Ter said, seemingly pouting at not finding a better meal.   

“Wha-What...” Elyenora looked at him in amazement, sighing. “Haaaa... I’m glad you were still around when I came by... The guardian was what I was aiming for originally in search of help.”  

“But... It was weak...?” Mon’Ter asked, wondering how it would have helped in Elyenora’s situation.   

“A peak champion class monster is weak… Huh…” Elyenora couldn’t help but be bewildered at Mon’Ter’s point of view, “Well, I guess you wouldn’t know anything about the Spirit Altars.” Elyenora commented as the two walked inside the tavern through a thick wooden door.  

They were welcomed by a pleasant environment upon entering, it was as charming inside as it is on the outside. Several walls supporting the upper floor with lights attached to them. The walls were loaded with hundreds of memorabilia, all signed and most likely donated by past customers.  

“What… Are they...? These... Spitti Altars...” Mon’Ter asked in whispers.  

“Spirit altars, Mon’Ter.” Elyenora corrected softly, “They’re ancient sites where one can connect to the spirit realm, it can be done by talking to the altar’s guardian which is always the strongest monster within the vicinity and offering it a blood sacrifice.” She explained.   

“Blood...? Sacrifice?” Mon’Ter asked, wondering what she meant by it.   

“Well, when you form a contract at a spirit altar it is called a Blood-Spirit contract. You offer a piece of your body, and the more valuable and powerful that piece is, then the more powerful the spirit you form a contract with would be!” Elyenora explained.   

“Mon’Ter... Understands... But, what were you going to give... Ely?” He asked in curiosity as the two sat down at one of the tables, waiting for a waiter to come take their order.   

“Well, my most special trait would be my eyes. So, I was prepared to give one of those to the alt-” Elyenora got cut off by Mon’Ter.   

“No!” He shouted, reaching out with his bandaged hand to Elyenora’s face, placing his palm on her cheek. “You can’t... Lose your eyes...” Mon’Ter uttered quietly, his eyes filled with plea as he looked at her.   

“I... Uh... What? Wait, Mon’Ter... Go back to your seat, people are staring at us...” Elyenora said, blushing slightly from the embarrassment caused by her companion’s outburst while she was pushing Mon’Ter’s hand to the side.   

Many of the Tavern patrons had cast their gazes at the duo, the loud shout had earned their attention.   

Mon’Ter realized that he was being observed by a lot of humans. Feeling uncomfortable, he quickly sat down and apologized, “Me ish... Sorry...”   

When the outburst was obviously over, everyone returned to their meals and paid little heed to the cloaked couple.   

With a sigh, Elyenora spoke. “It’s okay Mon’Ter, just try not to outburst like that in public again if you can, we don’t want earning too much attention to ourselves...”    

“Yes... Me understands...” Mon’Ter replied, his gaze casting down a bit as he felt bad for what he had done.   

“And, well... Thank you, for the concern. I really appreciate it.” Elyenora thanked solemnly, still waiting for the waiter that arrived soon after.   

“May I take your order?” A lady in her thirties asked with a gentle smile plastered on her face. Looking at both of them, the lady giggled as she asked, "What's that before? A couple quarrel?"   

"No... It's just that my friend here easily gets surprised by things. It is alright now." waving her hand in the air, Elyenora smiled back at the waitress and said some excuse.  

"Oh, is that so?" raising her eyebrows, she still maintained her smile and asked again, "I won't pry further then. So may I know your order? Our specialty in this tavern is the ‘Roast Beef steak with cheese topping’ I suggest you try it!"  

“I would be delighted to! Please, two servings of your best cooking.” Elyenora ordered with a happy mood surrounding her.  

“Okay then, they’ll be ready soon and at your table. Enjoy your stay at Mountain Lion’s Tavern!” The lady spoke with a perfect employee’s smile, leaving the tableside to go make the cooks do their jobs.  

“I’m sure we shall, thank you for the great hospitality.” Elyenora spoke kindly, soon beginning to hum a melody to herself as she awaited her meal.  

“Ely... What ish that?” Mon’Ter asked, hearing the low humming tone of his new companion.  

“Oh? Sorry, it’s just that I’m a bit excited for the food. I always hum a melody whenever I’m excited over something, weird right? Haha~!” She explained, giggling to herself.  

“Me... Thinks it’s a nice hum... Very relaxing to Mon’Ter’s ears.”  He replied, giving his opinion.  

The two mostly made some small talk afterwards, Elyenora wanted to help Mon’Ter learn how to speak better and fix his pronunciations.  

Not too long after, the meals were ready for serving and placed at the duo’s table.  

“Enjoy your meals! They’re still hot so be careful!” The lady said and left the tableside once more. 

What was in front of them was a big steak, roasted to perfection with a melted cheese topping on top. No matter how one looked at it, it seemed very appetizing! 

“Oh, my goodness…” Elyenora spoke with shining eyes, she gulped. “I’ve been craving for this for the past days…”  

She took a fork and a knife, cutting into the tender steak as if with a hot knife to butter. She took out a small piece with a bit of melted cheese on it, placing it inside of her mouth and tasting the still hot dish. 

“Delicious!” Elyenora exclaimed, taking another piece out of the steak with her knife and fork.  

Smiling slightly after seeing Elyenora's happy expression, Mon'Ter quickly grabbed the steak with his hand and bit into it. His eyes lit up after the meat melted inside his mouth. Swallowing it, Mon'Ter asked Elyenore while he couldn't stop his hand to move for another bite, "What... ish this? Delicious..."  

"That's a roasted beef steak with cheese, good stuff!" answered Elyenora with a thumbs up to Mon'Ter. 

“Me has never… Eaten something so warm… Tastes good… No no bitter.” Mon’Ter spoke as he stuffed himself with the rest of the steak. “Me wants more...” 

“Hahaha, of course! I’ll order you a second one, just a moment.” Elyenora laughed and proceeded to order a second serving. 

Time passed and the two continued eating the rest of their food with gusto, after a while, both of them had finished their meal with a full belly.

Satisfied, Elyenora decided to simply lay back and rest in delight as Mon'Ter looked around the place. Everything felt foreign for him. That spark of curiosity made him observe his surroundings. 

It was rather noisy with a multitude of people enjoying their meals, conversations and discussions. With one table in particular being noisier than the rest. 

Men were shouting in excitement, yelling bets and numbers that Mon’Ter didn’t understand in the slightest. 

“Ely… What are those… People doing?” Mon’Ter asked, pointing with his bandaged finger towards the noisy table. 

“Mm?” Elyenora looked at where Mon’Ter had pointed. Seeing a rather interesting scene,  

There were over a dozen men, all gathered at the one table where a chained Orc was situated on one end, he was bulky and had dark greenish skin with tusks coming out of his large mouth. The orc was bald and had pig-like ears that stood on the side of his head.  

On the other side of the table was seated a human man with rather big muscles. 

The two had their arms interlocked with one another and were trying to best each other in the arm wrestling. 

The Orc seemingly didn’t break a sweat as the man struggled to push his hand down to the other side. Not long after, the orc simply moved his hand and defeated the man.    

“And that’s another one down!” Yelled a middle-aged man who wore a rather expensive garb, “Anyone else who would like to go toe to toe with my precious slave? One silver for a chance to win ten! Who’s up for the challenge?” he asked around, however none seemed to be willing after the last match. 

Looking at that scene gave curiosity to Elyenora. With a smile, Elyenora glanced back at Mon'Ter with a smirk and replied, "An opportunity to get easy coin~."  

Soon, Elyenora stood up from her chair and gestured her finger for Mon'Ter to follow her. Proceeding to where the bet took place, Elyenora pulled out a single silver coin and placed it at the table in front of the middle-aged man who had been holding the bet, "My turn." She said.  

The man scowled and tried to mock the girl. However, before he could even speak up his intention, Elyenora had taken a seat right opposite of the Orc and put her hand on the table, "Come on, big boy. Let’s see what you’re made of."  

"Hmph." snorting at the confident attitude that his new foe had, the Orc grabbed the seemingly weak, frail and thin hand of Elyenora with a strong grip, "Don't cry later on, female." He spoke with a gruff voice.  

Elyenora didn’t even bother to reply, looking back at the Orc’s gaze with confidence. 

“Tsk, fine then.” The middle-aged man spoke, “On the count of three we will begin. Are you both ready?”  

The new match seemed to attract quite the bit of attention from the rest of the tavern, many of the previously unamused patrons now went to look and watch the frail looking girl’s attempt against the burly orc. 

The orc grunted slightly, nodding to show he was ready. While Elyenora simply gave an amused smirk under her hood. 

Seeing the two were ready, the middle-aged man spoke up to start the match. “Fine, on the count of three then! Three! Two! One! GO!”