God Complex - Vol. 1

XIV. Duplicity-Part IV.

Large golden earrings were hanging from her ears. Thickly penciled in eyebrows with dark blue eyeshadow that could be seen above deep red lips. Jun guessed she was older by her wrinkles and sagging skin.

She wore a low cut white dress with medium length sleeves underneath a dark green apron. The same thick metal circle necklace as the workers at the dock could be seen wearing was hanging from her neck as well.

What intimidated Jun the most about her was not just her holding a massive knife, but that she was taller than him and had muscled and weathered arms and hands.

As most women who weren't adventures in the East did not look as burly as her. And even adventurers didn't look like her as well.

The woman finished polishing, or whatever she was doing with it, her knife and put it underneath the bar.

She was smoking a cigar which she grabbed with two fingers and blew out a puff of smoke that caused Jun to start coughing. It also didn't help that the tavern already had a pungent alcohol and sweat smell already.

She did a small laugh at Jun coughing.

"So what do ya want with Perenykisk?" Jun glanced down at the ground before looking at her.

"I just want directions is all," Jun said plainly, trying to get his calm demeanor back in the process. The woman laughed again before taking another drag of her cigar, blowing the smoke out to the side this time.

"Sorry to tell ya kotlana," Jun cringed at the word, "but carriages don't run at night. Well not anymore. So unless if ya want to walk in dark and get eaten by zodiz or fazrakiór, then be me guest."

Does this damn hag have any regard for others? Jun thought exasperatedly.

"Um, what is a fas...ra...ki or?" Jun managed to ask nervously as he raised his left hand. The woman sighed.

"Fazrakiór is demon who was previously human. They harass people at night and—"

The woman's gaze wandered at Jun's injured left arm and jumped back a little bit.

Jun heard as she exclaimed in another language before beginning to mutter quickly to herself. As she was muttering to herself, she was doing some gestures along with touching her necklace multiple times.

"Um..."

Jun was at a lost for words, the woman's sudden actions and muttering perturbed him. He shuffled in place uneasily as he waited for her to finish, calm down, or both.

Eventually after what seemed like forever the woman stopped doing what she was doing. The woman patted her forehead with a handkerchief that she pulled out of one of the pockets on her apron.

"Izecuprasz," she took a breathe before continuing, "but I know there be no bears wandering in these streets. What in world were ya attacked by! I swear if it fazrakiór!"

She talked sort of quick which combined with her accent made it kind of hard for Jun to understand her. But he managed to understand her point that she was trying to get across.

"Oh I am fine!" Jun waved his hands reassuringly at the woman as he spoke. "It was just a spirit in the East is all. Not a big deal."

The woman eyed Jun as she looked at his injured arm, then at his armor on his other arm, and finally at his covered bow on his back.

"Are ya łowalup?" Her voice had an air of suspicion to it. It also didn't help that her narrowed eyes were looking down at him as well.

"Uh, I'm not a wova—" Jun decided to stop trying to pronounce these foreign words, "I am not that."

"Ah, I was about to say. Never heard of kotlana becoming apart of łowalupi. Only strong Westerners are one." Jun bit the inside of his mouth.

Is she trying to insinuate that my people are weak? He thought bitterly as his eyes began to wander to the back bar behind the woman.

A large barrel, which Jun guessed contained liquor, had the strange script written on the front of it. Shelves upon shelves held various bottles of different types of alcohol. From clear spirits to rich colored beers.

And finally his eyes noticed a sign hanging on the wall. It had common written in big letters saying "NO MAGICK".

He thought it was strange to spell "magic" that way but the sign still got its point across either way.

"So...is there any other way that I can get to Perenykisk?" Jun didn't want to be in this tavern any longer than he had to.

"Well first of all ya can't be meandering around with bleeding arm for heavens sake! People think ya demon." Jun then watched as she walked over and opened a door that apparently went to a room behind the back bar.

"Anabieta!"

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1 A derogatory Yimpanian word for someone who is from/born in the East. A mixture of the word kotlet (Yimpanian food) and fengana (Easterner in Huazan). It was made into a term a year ago after the fall of the Miyamotos.