Cyberserk & Vampiress

A Treat from the Mice

Early in the morning, Dan had breakfast alone. Koreima had made it clear to him that she did not want to be in the company of a man who smelled of death. The young man knew that vampires had a special relationship with those who died and were reborn. Such citizens were considered filthy and of no interest to vampires.

The swordsman ate and remembered the party at King Arador's palace. He had spent an unpleasant evening in unpleasant company. Delicious food and drink and the disgusting interest of the nobles in his person. The insolent aristocrats expressed a desire to take over his training!

Dan didn't want different outsiders interfering in his affairs. Tom always found time to visit the Grossroads library and learn new lessons. The young man was satisfied with his advisor and did not want other teachers for himself. Dan had no interest in participating in the various intrigues and parties of the local aristocracy. 

Little mousy Snif walked over to the table and held out a tray to the swordsman.

"What's this? Snif, I don't eat paper," joked Dan.

The mousy didn't answer anything, but his muzzle took on a strange expression of consternation and solemnity.

"This is an invitation for Baron Raven. From the great leader of the Mouse Nation," the mousy whispered. His look showed that even whispering about a great leader is a great honor for an ordinary mouse. Dan didn't want to offend the pleasant Snif and nodded his head. The young man picked up a small piece of paper and read the message. It was an invitation for an audience from the Count of Quick Tail.

There were seven great clans of each nation in the city. The heads of these clans were the Overlords and decided the most important matters of Grossroads.

The mice were interesting citizens of the city. Everything the young man understood about mice could be expressed in two words. Stealth and usefulness. The mice kept quiet about their successes. In the city, mice did many useful things and were highly respected as masters of peaceful crafts. The structure of mice prevented them from acting as strong warriors. The Adventurers' Guild did not have a teacher from the mouse folk. But there were enough groups in the guild that was successful in clearing dungeons. The mouse miners were a very solid organization and were no less famous than the gnomes as masters of the Miners Guild.

In any case, the Overlord's invitation could not be so easily refused. It was not pretty and could have caused a lot of trouble for any citizen. Den Raven liked mice. They stayed out of his business with the brashness of gnomes and the insistence of vampires.

The young man did not delay his visit to the head of the Tail clan. He was curious to see what he would get out of a conversation with the great leader.

There were several magnificent ancient buildings in the aristocratic part of the city. The castles of the ancient clans of gnomes and elves adjoined those of vampires and mice. The orcs did not want to buy the land and built their residences in the usual areas of the city.

The young man approached the gate, which was guarded by a mouse with a long thin sword and no armor on his body at all. Dan knew that mice rarely wore metal armor and preferred protective gear made of leather. Mouse gear didn't have much protection but invariably added extra points of attributes to its user. 

The guard asked about the man's purpose and nodded respectfully when he saw the invitation paper. Dan made his way to the domain of the Tails bloodline.

The mice were showing their thriftiness. There was no park and all sorts of beautiful but useless recreational facilities on the property. Raven thought he was in the realm of an agricultural magnate. On all sides of the narrow pathway to the Tail Hall were low greenhouses. Buildings with glass walls and roofs allowed for the cultivation of useful herbs for the apothecary and culinary craft. Alchemists and Artifactors also needed especially valuable plants to produce valuable artifacts and elixirs. The laborious mice paid no attention to their guest and went about their business. Occasionally, the mice would cast a glance at the man and immediately return to their work.

The Tail Hall building did not please the young man. He saw a strange structure that most resembled a strange pyramid. The not very tall pyramid had several floors and looked too plain and unattractive.

At the gate to the residence of the clan Tail swordsman was met by an important mouse, who was well aware of the young man's purpose. Dan made his way into the building and was escorted into the hall to meet the head of the clan. Inside the pyramid, he experienced another disappointment in the mice's taste in architecture. The narrow corridors reminded him of dungeon atmospheres. He didn't like being in an enclosed space. There was only one nice thing about the dungeons. Sometimes the tunnel led to a small room with guards. It was always nice for Dan to be in a room where the walls didn't surround the adventurer closely.

The guest room bordered the corner of the outer wall of Tail Hall. Large windows let in plenty of light and the room was pleasing with decorations on the walls. Dan had long known that mice were great masters at growing various herbs and plants. In the hall, he saw many beautiful plants that were all valuable ingredients. When the young man tried to identify some flowers and herbs he saw only question marks in the descriptions of the mysterious plants.

The landlord did not linger and Dan bowed respectfully to the Overlord Quick Tail. The mouse was dressed in a beautiful costume and had many precious rings on his paw fingers. Mice were very fond of different rings and jewelry.

"Now we'll eat some delicacies and talk," smiled the mouse and pointed his tail toward a small table with two chairs. Several mice entered the room at once with trays, and Dan realized he liked this kind of conversation starter.

"I'm glad to meet the head of the Tail clan," the young man smiled. "I have long known the renowned culinary talents of your clan."

Mouse nodded his head and laughed. He liked what he saw. The Baron was stupid and naive. But he was a very useful man who could do the Tails family a great favor. The servants left the room and the Overlord began a simple conversation. He was not about to play complicated games with this man.

"Baron Raven. The first aristocrat of the bloodline of men. I want to speak frankly and directly. Do you mind?" Tail put several pieces of assorted food on his plate and filled two glasses with a purple-colored drink.

"The business attitude doesn't bother me. The main thing is that the terms of the deal don't spoil our appetites," laughed Dan. He liked this solid mouse. Dan hated to see the insincerity on the faces of the nobles in the palace. Sometimes the girls he knew were annoyed by the look of their strained faces. But the muzzles of mice and orcs were unclear to a man. It was hard to tell what emotions the creature was feeling from the muzzle. The magical and wondrous folk were more interesting than elves and vampires. What were elves? Human-like wondrous creatures. Mice are also wonderful creatures but they are completely not like humans.  Mice are original and caused a lot of interest among the players. To meet intelligent animals of the unusual structure was a shock.

"Appetite is important and I'll try not to embarrass you with my words. It will be difficult, though. You are a complicated man, swordsman Dan. Do you know of the legendary Legacy of the Grossroads nations?"

Dan was not prepared for this question. The abrupt beginning of the conversation embarrassed him. But it didn't make the drink taste any worse. The young man cut off a piece of meat and began to chew it slowly. Delicious flavor and magical eating!

[You ate the meat from Master Humble Tail's recipe. + 12 to Strength for 4 hours]

[You have eaten bread from Master Mustache Tail's recipe. +12 to Body for 4 hours] 

[You drank the Clear Day Brew from Master Snotty Tail's recipe. +12 to Intelligence and +12 to Speed for 4 hours]

With food like this, no mice are afraid of any rivals! The young man tasted the culinary wonders for the first time. Even the king's party had humble dishes with +4 to attributes. Dan chuckled and thought the mice had a special sense of humor and a knack for humiliating other citizens.

"Delicious cooking. This is the first time I've tasted such great food," admitted Dan. "I'm familiar with the legends of Legacy. My counselor has managed to read several stories on the subject."

"Sooner or later you'll encounter more conversations on the subject. I prefer to handle the business directly and to the advantage of the parties. We don't care about fools. But I'm sure most of the Overlords of Grossroads consider you an Heir," Count Tail said calmly. "I don't want to bother you, but my case is very complicated. You come up with the requirement of an ancient assignment. I am not interested in the Legacy of Men. I need your help in capturing Mud Hill. This place can be compared to Zangar Castle. The only place my kin mice can't take control of. Would you like to hear an interesting story?"

Dan nodded his head. He didn't see a quest offer from the game system. He didn't want to talk about himself. It was always better to listen to other wise creatures.