Monarch Of Darkness, Arsene

Glaring fiercely at that blasted trickster, I sat in silence within the gondola. Haven chased Lilith all around the city. We ended up lost after a few hours playing cat and mouse. Thank god, Almar, our elven guide, managed to catch up to us.

Paddling at the far end of the gondola with a bitter expression, Almar kept a steady pace within the clear azure waters, filled with various people.

"Auntie! Left me! Papa too!" Screamed the little dragon spitting fire from her small nostrils.

My god! Why is it I have another dragon in my possession? Did I really make kids with Tia? I have some fragmented memories of what happened, but nothing solid. You would think I would remember if I had kids.

"Sorry Arkanos, Mama was just playing a game with daddy. And she won, see daddy with sulking in the corner." Said Lilith, ferally grinning as my very shoulders began to sink inwards at her ruthless jeering. "He is a loser,"

"Screw you!" I fired off, witnessing my dear wife break into laughter.

"Papa is a loser?" said Arkanos, nodding in recognition, "I see, so mama is better than papa?"

Shooting me a darker evil smile, Lilith nodded, "of course, mama won today and last night. I asked daddy to break me, but he only broke one hole."

"My God!" I hastily shouted, covering little Arkanos's ears, through her fair silver hair, "You're bloody crazy! Don't say stuff like that!"

"Young Master, Mistress, we have arrived," Almar softly muttered, lowering his face that was marred crimson at Lilith's comment. "Just tell anyone the name of our hotel, and they will deliver you to us."

Docking at a rather crowded port, waves of chatter filled with various scents fluttered through the sea breeze into our faces. Storming my two senses, I felt a little turned off by the sea of people. I did, after all, hate being around such crowds.

"We did never get to eat anything, and it's afternoon now," Lilith suddenly said, "Shall we find something to eat as we look for a map?"

Pulling out a few Celeste, I handed our guide a few mid-grade stones before leaping onto the dock. "Of course, but no fish! I can already smell it in the damn air."

Following behind me, I could not help but notice the faint sigh of relief from Almar. Marking him to be my next meal, we proceeded through the massive strip filled with thousands of people.

"All are welcomed! Come and visit Caisa's Greatest Cuisine," Howled a rather massive man, handing out flyers. "You'll not be disappointed 10 percent off your first!"

"Million Year recipe perfected, eaten by kings and queens! Guarantied breakthrough into Demi-God," Screamed a rather sturdy man, covered in enchanted armor that glittered ever so slightly under the vibrant sun.

"Aged Wine, created by Sun Long! "Roared an elderly man, covered in sweat.

Swarmed by various voices, sounds, and smells, I somewhat felt a little overwhelmed by the intensity of this place. Grabbing hold of Arkanos as not to lose her, Lilith and I pressed through what seemed to be a never-ending crowd.

"It's crazy!" Lilith transmitted within my mind, "How are we going to find somewhere to buy a map? One can barely hear yourself speak."

"I have no idea; we should have just told a manager at the hotel. Places like that will just about do anything to entertain their guests." I regretfully sent back, pushing through hordes of people and beast.

"There!" Arkanos suddenly shouted, grabbing our attention. Noticing fewer people around the corner, we rushed ahead as a sign appeared just above our heads.

"Seventh Street" it read elegantly on a rather large signpost for everyone to see.

"Are you new to Caisa?" Said an aging woman, dressed in a simple grey robe, yet near her wrist, a strange golden bracelet told me a different story. I could feel a powerful presence deep within, glaring back at me with hunger.

Shock at the horrid power, contained within I swiftly nodded as not to give away that I could sense something off, "Yes, we are looking for a map of Alos,"

Chuckling the older woman's who's name, I could not see, grinned, and approached, pointing towards a large rustic store just a few meters away. "Mystic Wonders holds what you seek, darling. Be careful now. You seem to have a tail."

Cuffing my hands gracefully, I spoke, "thank you, For your help! As for the other people, well, there's not much we can do. I'm just too sexy; I always seem to grab the wrong type of attention more so than my lovely wife."

Clitting her tongue, Lilith smirked, "Oh really? Well, when a man tries to **** you, then tell me that!"

"Hey, while I can't remember her name, I 'was' raped by a woman. That counts, ok!" I shouted back, but I somehow felt I had lost this argument.

"Young people these days." Whispered the elderly woman with a soft scolding tone, "To think this is what you argue about. Take care, young man, same to you two ladies."

Cuffing her hands, Lilith and Arkanos waved the elderly lady off before making our way towards Mystic Wonders, as she called it.

Approaching the store off in the distance, I could see quite a few sets of men and women of various races talking amongst each other through the large bay windows that surrounded the door on each side.

Stepping in, a heavy scent of ink and old decaying paper hit me. Marveling at the almost endless documents, swords, and various other artifacts covering the walls, Lilith patted my shoulder.

"That old woman," She said as I shook my head in response.

"Strong, very strong."

"We need to go. I don't like being around people who can kill me in a snap," Whispered Lilith darkly. "She is the second one who we saw who can do that just today."

"I ditto that. After we get this map, we are out of here," I said softly, watching as a rather attractive fox girl approached with a cunning smile.

"How may I assist you?" She softly inquired, only to receive a slight frown from Lilith and Arkanos for some reason.

"We need a map of the Coast, or of Alos in general," I said, ignoring the chilling intent rising from those two. It was strange, but I did not give it much thought. If they had a problem, I was sure either of them would do something.

"But of course, but you must understand Young Master Maps are quite expensive, costing over a few thousand just for a map of the coast and millions for all of Alos as a whole"

"Just find us a map," Lilith uttered sharply, narrowing her chilling amethyst eyes.