Rest

The group was in a large room, at the tavern recommended by the Mayor. There were several beds in the room, convenient for a Party. 

"After constant walking, I can finally touch another bed..." Azael said as he lay down on the bed

"Quite convenient that the only room available was a large one with multiple beds...." Invidia said as she sat on her bed

"Don't complain." Daemon said as he laid down on his bed, "We've slept within each other's vicinity already, this is the same." 

Zaphira was sitting down on her bed, a blue flame above her finger as she smirked, "Hehe." She said, "That's true." 

"Put that away." Invidia snapped, "You could burn the whole place down." 

"Relax." the tiefling said, "You're quite stuck up sometimes." 

"Excuse me for wanting to finish the job as quickly as possible." Invidia said as she began to comb her hair, "My friend is waiting for me." 

"What even happened? From what Daemon's friend said, the polymorph curse is months old at the very least." Zaphira said, "You've been caring for her ever since?" 

"It is none of your concern." Invidia said, "Just know that her name is Ruby, she's a Half-Elf, and she's my dear friend. That is all." 

Lydia, who was laying face-down on her bed, looked at Invidia, "Something bad must've happened, right?" She said, "What kind of Druid purposely curses another person?" 

Zaphira and Invida both looked at Lydia. 

"All of them?" Zaphira said, "You do know Druids can be total pricks, right?" 

"What?" Lydia said, "B-But most of them should be guardians of Nature! That's not what they told me!" 

"Druids are Guardians of nature." Invidia said, "But the majority of them are extremists. They are willing to kill to protect nature, even cast curses like Polymorph." 

"I have heard of Druids releasing swarms of insects on villages simply because they accidentally broke a branch off a tree." Azael chimed in, "They're intense. But then again, not all of them are bad." 

"True." Zaphira said, "Hey, Daemon, you ever encountered Druids?" 

"Yes, plenty. There's two Druids that are Diamon-Ranked." He said as he rolled over, "Anyways, you guys can keep talking as loud as you can, but don't ask me questions. I'm going to sleep." 

"Why can we talk as loud as we can?" Invidia asked

"Because it won't bother me...." Daemon said without turning to look at her, "Obviously....anyways, wake me up when its early morning or something bad is happening. You have to shove me because I'm a heavy sleeper...Goodnight..." 

And in a matter of seconds, the group was able to tell that their leader and the legendary Black Dragon, has dozed off. 

"Huh." Zaphira said, "Back when we camped, I never noticed how easily he falls asleep." 

"He waited until you all fell asleep first." Invidia said, "I would stay up and keep watch and he would tell me to sleep as well." 

"Is it because you're an Elf or because you're a ranger." Azael asked, "That you're able to stay awake so easily." 

"Hm...." Invidia said, "Both, probably." 

"Ah, that's nice." Azael said as he yawned, "I may be a Monk, but we're all susceptible to sleep." 

"I got a spell to keep you awake." Zaphira smirked, "Want to test it out? Lydia?" 

They looked at the young fighter, she had already dozed off, her head laying on the pillow in front of her. Invidia and Zaphira were captivated by the innocent cuteness that she had, merely looking at her as she slept. 

"Hm, guess she was tired." Zaphira said

"She's been under some stress." Invidia said, "It takes a lot of mental strength to get over what she experienced. Not everyone is used to assassination attempts." 

"That's true." Zaphira said, "Hey, Azael, you kicked one of the other guys through a window?" 

"Yea." Azael said as he merely looked up at the ceiling, "I'm not sure if he survived, it was a three-story fall. And I kind of kicked him hard in the head...." 

"Monks killing, huh?" Invidia said as she leaned against the bed frame, "How interesting." 

"There are no rules against killing in my Temple." Azael said, "So long as it is in defense of one's self or the defense of innocents. If it can be avoided, that's for the best, but if it's not, well..." 

"Well, Drahan can be rough sometimes." Zaphira said, "Can't be a pacifist all the times. Why learn all the powerful martial arts that a Monk Temple teaches when you can't throw down once in a while. I'm surprised that there's a temple that teaches you how to be a Monk and a Cleric." 

"Worshippers of Syn, the Sun Guardian." Invidia said

Azael looked up at her, "How do you know?" He asked her

"The White Spine borders Drahan and Teo'varna so Elves are bound to visit Windsearing Temple." Invidia said, "Legend has it that back in the day before an event changed the climate of the White Spine, the Temple was founded to be closest to Syn. The Sun Guardian would then tell the Monks to learn the way of Healing to aid Drahan in times of healing. How convenient, it was the Monk Tristan who descended from the Temple to aid the Drunken King during the Great Wars." 

"I'm surprised you even know that." Azael said, "Yes, that is true. Tristan was a Hero who became legend after the Wars ended, being granted land by the Drunken King." 

"You know." Invidia said, "I never understood why he was called that; The Drunken King." 

"He wasn't always King." Zaphira said, "The Original Royal Family was killed off during the Wars and Drahan was left in chaos, the armies destroyed and no king or leader to fight back. A Man rose up from the Ashes of a town that was burned down by the forces of Shigekuni and brought the fight to them. After years of building the rebelling forces and fiercely fighting back, the Man took back the capital that was renamed after him; Ashborne. And after winning the Wars and pushing back the Armies, he was declared King." 

Invidia nodded, "I heard a bit of that tale." she said, "I'm not fully versed in Drahan history." 

"Yea." Zaphira continued, "He became known as the Drunken King because of how much he would drink during his reign. He wasn't a bad kind of Drunk, he was just a Drunk, a goofy and fun one.. From what I know, he invited all races from all over the world to repopulate Drahan. The people love him, all races. From Elves that immigrated from Teo'varna, to the Drow that escaped the Shadowlands. Everyone loved him and jokingly named him the Drunken King." 

Azael nodded, "His bloodline is still thriving." He said, "The blood of the Hero-King, Ashborne. The King right now is a descendant of his." 

"His name is Ashborne? I thought it was the name of the Royal Family." Invidia said

"No, it is. That was his surname." He said, "I honestly forgot his first name, it's funny. Everyone who talks about him laughs about the fact that he's simply known as The Drunken King. All in good spirits." 

"A King who drunk his trauma away, showing nothing but kindness to his people and fierceness to his enemies." Zaphira said while smiling, "He showed Tieflings so much kindness, something that my people did not experience back then. The concept of acceptance from other races was so foreign. Because of him, we can walk the streets without being yelled at by commoners. Although some will yell at you for different reasons.....like wanting to get spit on by you..." 

"What kind of people do you hang out with?" Azael muttered

Invidia nodded, "I heard nothing but good stories about that man." She said, "They say that my King, Daermathor, offered him a daughter as a way to apologize for not aiding Drahan. But the Drunken King refused, simply because he was already in love." 

"Ha!" Zaphira said, "The Drunken King had two wives and three concubines, and not one of them was an Elf? That's hilarious!" 

"It's because Lady Lywinn was very young back then." Invidia scowled, "Right now, she's the wife of the Head of House Thoron, the house this Noble is a member of. Be respectful. " 

"Change of topic." Azael said sitting up, "I always wondered.....I heard that Warlocks get their power from a Patron.....what does that mean?" 

Invidia looked at him, "Warlocks get their powers by signing a contract with an other-worldly being." She said, "Their magic is similar to Wizards and Sorcerers, save from some other powerful spells that are unique to them." 

Zaphira nodded, "Yup." She said, "That's true." 

"Who did you form a contract with? Or what, that is." Azael asked

"You can't ask a Warlock that." Invidia scolded, "You could get them in trouble with their Patron!" 

"Oh, my apologies." Azael said, "I didn't know." 

"It's fine." Zaphira said, "I'm allowed to speak of them, but not say what they are or say their name. So if I am to speak of my Patron, I will refer to them as 'they'. It's part of the contract." 

"Wait." Azael said, "When we embarked on the journey, you said you learned Magic on your own. Was this after the contract or before?" 

"Can't say." Zaphira said with a frown, "Sorry." 

"It's fine." Azael said, "I have a feeling that you haven't shown us all of your spells." 

"Nope~" She said, "I can say the same about all of you. Invidia has magic too, but as a Ranger, she uses it for her arrows and all. You, you only used one martial arts attack. What did you call it? Divine Stance?" 

"Yes." Azael said, "My Divine Stance is the base martial arts that a Monk from my temple should master." 

"It looked strong." Invidia noted

"Thank you." Azael said, "I've spent many days and nights to master it. All while learning how to master support holy magic. Bless, Heal, and many other support spells are in my arsenal." 

"If there's one that we haven't seen the full capabilities off..." Zaphira said as she pointed at a sleeping Daemon, "It's that guy." 

Invidia nodded, "True..." She said with a serious expression, 

"He's a Monster."