I looked down at the food on my plate. It looked like a steak, same coloring and everything, but Jeriyan had said it came from something called a huero. It looked like beef. There was some kind of sauce covering it, along with what looked like potato but was again called something else. It looked good, so I sliced off a piece and ate it.
Tasted like really good steak. The sauce was tangy, like barbecue. I glanced at Fred, seeing he was going to town on his. Never come between a Texan and steak.
“This is good,” I said, taking a drink of the ale.
I’m sure it had some name from the planet of the species that made it, but the System translated it as ale. And it was good. Not as good as the Solacetown Heights Ale, that the Northtown Brewery made. I had been a craft beer fan Pre-System and a couple people in Solace had gotten Creation Essences and became Brewmasters. So we had a bit of a craft beer competition going in Solace.
And I didn’t encourage it. Nope. Not me.
Jeriyan had brought us to a restaurant in the Entertainment District. Touch the obelisk, think Entertainment District, and there we were. It was set up the same as the Market District. The obelisk in the middle with four streets leading off. The elf, I was pretty sure he was an elf but he hadn’t mentioned what his race was yet, led us down one of the streets. We entered a restaurant.
The front had looked like something I’d seen in the Lord Of The Rings movie and Rivendell. I missed those movies so much. Made of a yellowish stone like material, intricately carved with flowing towers and balconies for the three story building. Inside was pretty elegant, with similar architectural features. The first floor had tables scattered around with four columns in the middle, arches connecting to pilasters along the sides. Everything was carved with symbols of leaves, swirls and such. The tables weren’t set up in any pattern, more random with plants placed to provide privacy at each table. A bar was set in the back with doors into the kitchen.
Elegantly dressed elves, similar to Jeriyan, roamed the floor dealing with the assortment of customers. Those were a variety of different species and I was glad to see I wasn’t the only one wearing dirty and bloody armor. I’d worried that I should have changed first but it looked like it was pretty common to go out to eat after running the Tower.
A server stood at the door, bowing to Jeriyan.
“Are there any open rooms upstairs?” Jeriyan asked.
“Yes sir. Second on the left.”
“Thank you.”
Jeriyan led us to a staircase in the corner, going up another floor. The private room was good sized. About fifteen feet square with no windows but paintings on all the walls. A wooden bench ran along the three walls with a heavily carved wood table in the middle, high backed chairs all around. Enough for twelve people, but the three of us took one end with Jeriyan at the head.
Immediately a waiter came in, taking an order from Jeriyan.
“Since you are new to the Crossroads, I assumed this would be a good place to eat as the cuisine in the Entertainment District is as wide and varied as the people of the Multiverse. Our cuisine is mild compared to most.”
“This reminds me of home,” Fred said, taking another drink of his ale.
“Thank you. I will compliment the chef.”
We didn’t say much as we ate, enjoying the food and the dessert that came out later. It was some kind of fruit with cream. Pretty good.
The waiter took the plates and brought another round of drinks. Fred and I each had another ale but Jeriyan had what looked like a glass of white wine but with a far more golden color.
“Thank you for the food and drinks,” I said, holding glass of ale up.
Fred understood my meaning and did the same to his. Jeriyan gave us a confused look but then seemed to understand and raised his glass. I clinked mine to Fred’s and Jeriyan did the same.
“Here’s to new experiences, new worlds and new alliances,” I said.
“Hear hear,” Fred said.
“Indeed,” Jeriyan replied.
Seeing the both of us take a drink, he did the same.
“On Earth.. Sorry… Terra, we call that a toast and you do it to commemorate an occasion,” I explained.
“Ah, we have similar on Cryim,” Jeryan explained.
He had us hold our arms out, left hands palm up and right hands palm down. Jeriyan placed his right hand over Fred’s left and his left under my left. So I put my left under Fred’s right. The elf bowed his head, so I copied the gesture. Jeriyan started to speak, words in his language that the System translated.
“To new allies that join us in the glorious journey across the eternal sky.”
He moved his hands, so we did the same.
“Now,” he said. “I believe it is time to talk business.”
“I’ve been looking forward to this,” Fred said, leaning back in his chair.
I really wish Katrina was here for this. She was so much better at the business stuff. Fred saw my slightly worried expression and smiled.
“Don’t worry Nick, I won’t fleece you too much,” he chuckled.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Thanks,” I replied dryly.
“Are both your territories in the same biome?” Jeriyan asked.
“No,” I answered. “Solace is mostly in the northeastern part of the continent we share, but also swings east, staying in the northern quadrant. There’s thousands of miles between us. The northern part is heavily forested with tall mountains with snow covered peaks. Fred’s territory is more plains and deserts.”
“We have mountains but they aren’t as large or dense as the northern chains,” Fred added. “Further south the United American Alliance territory has forests but they’re more what we call a jungle. Hot, humid.”
“So it sounds as if you both have Resources the other doesn’t?”
“I guess so.”
“Yeah.”
“Excellent, so we can do business with you both,” Jeriyan said. “The Sunrise Formation is always looking for new Resources to bring back to Cryim.”
“Is your Faction the only on your planet?” I asked.
“No,” Jeriyan replied with a sad note. “Unlike your two Factions, Cryim is more like what you said about this Subutei and his Faction in relation to yours. Cryim is a world at war with itself.”
“Sounds like Earth,” Fred said. “There’s a dozen or so strong Factions that have control over most of the Planet. We have yearly System Controlled World Councils that if it wasn’t for the System rules, we’d probably all kill ourselves.”
“That sounds much like Cryim,” Jeriyan remarked. “The worlds of the Multiverse tend to be two types. Ones like Cryim and Terra are more common. Multiple Factions all working with and against each other to gain power back on their homeworld. Then there are those where only one Faction controls the entire planet. Those are the hardest to work with and tend to be the most despotic.”
I thought about Subutei Shen Li, the guy was Mongolian and Chinese and considered himself the next Genghis Khan or Emperor . I wouldn’t call him a despot but the man was so arrogant that he thought only he was capable of ruling the new world. Reminded me of Doctor Doom from the old comics. So sure of himself and his abilities, that he couldn’t understand why everyone didn’t agree that he was the only one that could and should rule. No one else was capable of it.
But in all the comics when Doom did take over, he did a crappy job. I was afraid Subutei would be like that. No way would I let anyone become the dictator of Earth, not even Fred.
“What kind of Resources are you looking for?” I asked.
“Almost anything. Unique crafting materials are always wanted. And we would have such from our world to give to you. Nothing from the Infinite Tower as we are able to get those Resources ourselves. But,” he said, holding his hand up to stop interruptions again. I wondered if interrupting people was common in his culture or it was just an odd mannerism that Jeriyan had picked up. “We would be interested in unique items from your world made with Tower Resources.”
“Wouldn’t your people make the same kind of items?”
“Sometimes. Arcanum is slightly different on each world. It has a different…” he paused, searching for the right word. “Flavor, I guess is how you can describe it. So a sword made on your world would be different from a sword made on Cryim. Even with the same enchantments, there would be some differences. There are also cultural stylistic differences. Leather armor might look different from world to world. And some people on the worlds of the multiverse enjoy wearing equipment from another world. It can be a status symbol.”
“That makes sense,” I replied. “So it’s better to craft with the Tower Resources on our world and not the compounds?”
“Just so.”
Now I was annoyed with myself. I knew I should have learned more before just jumping into it, but that wasn’t my style. I felt like I might have wasted a spot putting a Crafting Hall into the Compound. Could I remove it and replace it with something else?
“As you are both new to Crossroads and as incentive for our business dealings, I will provide some advice on your Compounds and the most efficient uses of them. I will admit that I am not a first generation Adventurer. Cyrim has been opened to the Multiverse for one hundred and fifty years. I am a second generation Adventurer but focus more on the mercantile side of the Sunrise Formations interests.” He took a drink from his glass, looking at how little was left.
With a frown, he glanced at the door. I guess the waiter was supposed to have checked on us. He tapped a specific sequence onto the corner of the table. There was a quick flash of light as each tip tapped. Must be some kind of signaling device.
“Compounds are little more than a place to rest without having to go back to your home planet. It is a good place to store items for your shoppe in the Merchant District. Or items for future trades. We all have Spatial Storage but with multiple people, using the Compounds as storage makes more sense. Especially when you have dozens of people coming to and from your home planet. Your crafters will find that they can get more increases by crafting in the Compound but that is just for Leveling purposes. It is still better to make products to sell back on your homeworld.”
That was good. It meant the Crafting Hall wasn’t a complete waste.
“Training is better in the Compounds thanks to the presence of the Infinite Tower’s Arcanum in the Crossroads.”
“How does that work? Aren’t the Crossroads Districts separate dimensions?” Fred asked.
“Yes, but they are all connected by the Arcanum of the Infinite Tower. People tend to think that one of the Crossroads Districts is the central dimension and everything, including the Infinite Tower, are connected to it. That is not true. The entirety of Crossroads is connected to the Infinite Tower in the center. Think of the Districts as encircling the Tower using its Arcanum to provide the connections and portals.”
“That makes sense,” Fred remarked, holding his empty body.
The timing was good as the door opened and the waiter walked in. He looked extremely chagrined and embarrassed at the sharp glare he received from Jeriyan. But at least he’d brought the next round. I quickly finished off my drink so he could take the glass.
With a fresh round, we each took a drink as the waiter left.
“Can our Guests train in the Compounds and gain benefits as they are below Level 100?” I asked.
“Yes,” Jeriyan replied. “It might be better than anything they can do on your planet but it won’t be as beneficial as it would be for someone over Level 100.”
“Interesting,” I said, taking another drink, which was getting empty.
This time the waiter timed it right, showing up before we were dry. Jeriyan gave the other elf a curt nod.
“So let’s talk business,” Fred said, finishing off his ale but not taking a sip of the new one yet. That was the thing with Fred, he seemed all bluster and roar at first, but when it came time to focus, he could be laser focused. “As you say, there’s no real point in dealing for anything available in Crossroads. That means stuff unique to our worlds. Nick and I are from the same planet but have access to some different resources. What would you be interested in?”
