Meat Soup And Wine

The tavern was right in the centre of the small town, and as the only two-storey building it was impossible to miss. There was a flag with a barrel flying on top, one that Richard was surprised to see. He hadn’t noticed it at all when he’d arrived yesterday, which showed just how much his perception was improving by the day.

The two large doors of the inn were also unique in this small town. Most houses simply had open spaces, mainly because a door was a dangerous thing when one couldn’t see properly or control their strength. It was easy to slam into a wall by accident, and a light push could instead end up using one’s full strength.

Richard considered a number of things as he saw the double doors. They could be a checkpoint to see whether one qualified, or they could be a simple safety measure. He had already considered tying some rope across his house, a simple action that would be devastating to anyone who hadn’t yet adjusted.

As he observed the place, a middle-aged man walked over from the side. Glancing at Richard with surprise, he nodded and smiled, “You just came here, but you’ve learnt to be careful. No wonder Old Barduch likes you. Come in!”

Richard followed the man inside and was immediately greeted by a noisy scene. The place was a lot larger than it seemed from the outside, and the law distortion here was even lower than in the rest of the town. There were seven tables in total, and more than thirty people of various races were laughing and chatting around.

One bulky person exclaimed, “Remember how that lizard had its nose in the air when it walked in? It said it was some legend or something, haha! Eight days later, and all its meat has been eaten!”

Another one laughed, “That was four days ago, you dimwit! How does someone like you dare to boast that you can walk around the wastelands? I think you can’t manage a single kilometre!”

The first one blushed, “It was definitely eight, no, seven days ago! How could it be four?”

The two burst into an argument, with others quickly joining the fray. Richard was left puzzled, as he had seen the fight occur only minutes ago. Had another reptilian come over? But this table had mostly the same people, how could there be such a coincidence in a plane with such distortion?

*Clang!* His thoughts were interrupted as a large bowl was thrown on his table, bringing his attention to a woman who was significantly bigger than him. She snorted at his confusion and placed what looked like a wine barrel down as well, the hair on her arms standing up as she flexed, “Your stuff, kid.”

“Hmm? I didn’t order anything,” Richard said with confusion.

“Old Barduch already paid for you!” she seemed somewhat annoyed. Richard suddenly noticed that all the eyes in the inn had focused on his food and wine, but she slammed her large hands into the table and leant over, “You better eat and drink this obediently! Don’t you dare walk over my arts!”

The woman then stared at the people who were just arguing with contempt, “Time is the thing most people talk about in this damned place. Everyone thinks their understanding time is accurate, and no one can win because there’s not much of a way to disprove them.”

“So when did it happen?” Richard felt his heart throb.

“Obviously just now. The meat was still bleeding when they brought it to me.”

Meat? His expression changed, his gaze landing on the soup in front of him. It was black and oily, looking like the water after cleaning old pots, and there were several pieces of meat that had been chopped into various sizes and boiled within. He couldn’t tell the source, but hearing what the woman said his heart went a little weak.

Richard had always had reservations about eating intelligent life. Thankfully, the reptilian wasn’t really humanoid, and he’d had some experience in the Land of Dusk where even a mouthful of water was difficult to find. Skaven meat was an unrivalled delicacy there, and anyone who survived the damned place had to have eaten many other intelligent beings.

“This is the only place you’ll get food in this damned place,” the woman added as she saw his hesitation, leaving for the kitchen right after.

A buff man walked over to Richard right after, “If you’re not eating that, give it to me!”

“How about we eat him together?” someone suggested. The man had started a commotion, and more people quickly surrounded Richard with unkind gazes. Some even had daggers drawn, and a cacophony of voices quickly rang out.

“FORGOTTEN MY RULES?” the woman’s voice rang out from the kitchen.

The first man didn’t seem to be moved, roaring back, “You damn whore! Just because I follow your rules doesn’t mean I’m afraid of you! Don’t you dare come stopping me, or I’ll be nasty!”

The woman snorted, her rage seeming to subside a little as she sneered, “You can’t break my rules, no matter what.”

“Ha, alright then, we’ll just pull him out. I swear, I’m going to fuck you one day! Kid, come out quietly and I’ll make it more bearable.”

The tanir named Bloodtooth suddenly joined the commotion and barked as he pointed at Richard’s scabbard, “I don’t want to eat it, but that’s mine.”

The brawny man frowned for a moment before relaxing again, “That’s spatial equipment. Don’t you dare pull those swords out!”

"I just want it as a stick."

“If you’re that confident, do whatever you want. But be careful not to cut off your head.”

Space was distorted in the Darkness as well, and spatial equipment suffered as a result. It didn’t lose its effectiveness, but upon activation the release point could vary significantly. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to draw a sword and have it come out at one’s neck. Thus, if one didn’t understand enough of the surrounding laws, the sword case was indeed just a stick.

As a spatial expert himself, Richard naturally knew this. However, this exchange made it clear that the people in this tavern weren’t simply good-for-nothings either. No simple people survived the Darkness.

“Why are you dawdling, kid? Don’t test my patience!” a vicious voice rang out beside Richard, someone sending a chop towards the back of his head. It would daze on hit, and its trajectory was surprisingly stable with very little deviation. The attacker was clearly powerful, and rather adept at perception and bodily control as well. He had to be ranked quite highly in this small town.

Another leg shot towards Richard’s waist. It seemed like these people were running out of patience and couldn’t wait anymore. However, a flash of light seemed to freeze time itself, allowing everyone to watch as Richard grabbed a sword, pulled it out of its case, slashed, and then returned in one motion. The entire process was clear and with a distinct rhythm, but no one could react before two flopping sounds broke the stifling silence. A hand and leg fell to the ground, their owners finally realising what had happened as they fell to the ground and started wailing in agony.

Everyone else in the inn went silent, retreating far away but still afraid of moving too fast. Richard’s eyes glowed with annoyance as they landed on the first aggressor’s body, and another flash cut through the noise. The man cried hysterically and tried to fight back, what seemed like wild claw attacks actually being fairly well-adjusted to the laws of this place, but the light passed between his fists and dug into his neck. The cries suddenly stopped, the body freezing in mid-flight before collapsing to the ground.