Chapter 53 Well Met.

  Lloyd Drangur wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. His aide, who had greeted the duo, hadn’t been very informative. There were only so many active double platinum level adventurers running around at any given time, even so, they were as varied as the colors of the rainbow.

  Upon entering the entry room, Lloyd was met with a pair that were just as different from each other as he had expected. One was a proud knight in well kept armor that was probably worth more than Norrip. She had an air of power that practically seemed to vibrate the space she occupied, even when she wasn’t actively flexing it.

  Lloyd was very good at reading people and he knew instantly that he would get along well with the more straightforward of the two. He could tell that she was the honest sort by her bearing alone. Her relaxed posture meant that the duo were not there to cause any trouble, based on her slightly open stance, Lloyd figured it would be quite the friendly encounter instead.

  The man next to the knight was a complimentary contrast to her open power and straightforwardness. He looked cool, calm, and collected but something about the sharpness in his eyes, that no amount of casual smirk could hide, just sent chills down Lloyd’s back. The man’s lack of visible weapon but scuffed- ‘Wait?!’ Lloyd mentally yelled to himself. ‘Are those dragon scales?!’ He tried his best to keep any shock from his face but had honestly no idea how well he hid it. What Lloyd did know was that the man was dangerous. Not the kind of danger that a maximum level paladin or sorcerer was, not the kind of danger that a ruler with a stick up their behind was, no, more like a trained magical assassin that made a living making people, and dragons apparently, disappear.

  Even through all the danger and power that was in front of Lloyd, he realized something that most others in his position probably would have missed: Under all of the power, and the countless bloody battles, they were still people. They were people who had arrived for one nonviolent reason or another. Their weapons were sheathed, their stances were open, and their faces were friendly. They were still just people, damned powerful people, but people nonetheless.

  —

  Isaac and Lenna took in the man that they assumed to be the local lord as he entered on the second floor. There was a staircase that wrapped down along the wall towards them from the exposed landing that used to have three closed doors on it. The man was positively massive for a human. He had no features to imply that he was of mixed blood which meant that his large frame was just an example of human extremes.

  The lord wore a simple sea blue blouse and brown pants that matched his brown boots that were laced with sea blue laces. He stood well over six feet tall, around six feet four inches if Isaac had to guess, and looked like he weighed over two hundred and twenty pounds with nearly no fat on his body. His proportions were even a little comical as his top half heavily outweighed his bottom half. His muscle mass looked like it came from countless days on the sea hauling nets and rigging, but his legs looked like they had suffered from his desk job. His hair was a mix of sun bleached brown and gray that was pulled back into a low ponytail while his beard was kempt and close to his face but still very full.

  As the giant of a human eyed the duo, he held his composure despite being able to see exactly how outclassed he was in the power department. There was only one hiccup and it was when he was looking at Isaac. The duo both saw his eyes widen momentarily before his expression returned to a stern but neutral gaze. He grinned at them after a moment and spread his arms wide. “Greetings travelers.” His deep voice resounded through the relatively small room considering his volume. He started casually walking down the stairs to meet them with a pace that was politely fast but not rushed in the slightest.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Well met.” Isaac replied with a nod.

  “Hello.” Lenna added with a nod of her own.

  “Indeed.” He replied to Isaac and then nodded to Lenna. “I am Lloyd Drangur, the lord of this fair town, though if you are here, I am sure that you already knew that.”

  “Hello, Lloyd.” Isaac said and offered the much larger man his hand. Lloyd took it without any hesitation and then shook Isaac’s hand, with a firm grip that was very obviously restrained to keep from crushing Isaac’s much smaller hand. “I am Isaac Wexler, the Lord of Darkness itself.”

  Lloyd nodded along with Isaac’s introduction but seemed to hitch at the very bold proclamation. To claim to have total dominion over something as esoteric as ‘Darkness itself’ was nothing short of a blatant call for anyone and everyone to challenge him for the position and title.

  Isaac didn’t let him get hung up on it for too long however, as he immediately went on to introduce his mate: “This is Lenna V’Nova, my wife, the Lady of Hellfire.”

  “It is a pleasure.” Lloyd said almost without realizing it as his mind was still trying to process the pair’s titles. Whoever had chosen them, whether they were self made or given, was an insane person.

  “Likewise.” Lenna replied. “We-” Lenna stopped herself as she fully processed what she was going to say before it left her mouth. “I would not like to impose, but-”

  “Oh not at all!” Lloyd cut her off with a grin. “Come, join me in the sitting room.” He offered them and waved towards a door off to their side. The aide was already waiting next to it as he seemed to know his lord extremely well.

  “Alright.” Isaac replied with an amused smirk and a nod. It wasn’t often that they were showered with real hospitality from a stranger and Isaac was all for it. Isaac and Lenna took a seat on the sofa that sat opposite a pair of sofa chairs, one for an average sized person and one sized for a goliath, where Lloyd took his seat.

  “It is not often that we see adventurers of your rank out here.” Lloyd began as soon as they had all sat down. “Based on how little of a hurry you are in… sightseeing or a guild enforced patrol?”

  Isaac chuckled. “Sightseeing.” He confirmed. “For Lenna and my honeymoon, we decided to explore a bit of the world. We thought it only fitting that we begin our ‘Greatest Adventure’ with an adventure.”

  Lloyd was a pleasant man, if a bit loud of volume at times, who was also an amazing host. The trio talked for a while until Lloyd’s wife, a normal sized woman with dark brown hair and eyes with a muted tan, entered and asked many of the same questions that Lloyd had. Lloyd’s wife, Clare, was nearly a decade younger than him and it showed. His skin was marked with decades under the harsh coastal sun while hers was not. His hair was sun bleached and graying while hers was still vibrantly brown through and through. Something that Isaac and Lenna hadn’t noticed until Lloyd rolled up his sleeves to eat, because of course Isaac got them invited to dinner, was a pair of rope burn scars that covered his forearms and palms. The discoloration on his palms was much less than the rest of his arms because it had taken a moment longer for the rope to burn through his gloves than it had to burn through his shirt.

  Upon asking about the scars, Lloyd had recounted a tale of wrestling with a whale that had gotten caught in one of their fishing nets. It had been a team effort, but at the beginning of the engagement, he had been forced to hold one corner of the net that was not anchored to anything. The corner next to him had come undone from a poorly tied knot and he had reached out and grabbed the rope without thinking. According to Lloyd, for almost half a minute he had held half of the net as the whale tried to escape. He had to hold it until the ropes could be retied behind him by the other men on their fishing vessel and once they were done, he had almost passed out from the pain and exertion.

  In addition to Lloyd and Clare, five children ranging from the age of thirteen to four also joined them at the dinner table. Throughout all of the adults' conversations, Lenna’s helmeted head hadn’t been brought up even once. It had only taken the six year old ten seconds to ask why Lenna still had her helmet on at the dinner table. Once Lenna had explained to them that it was necessary for her to see in bright places, and the curtains had been closed and a few lights dimmed, she had removed her helmet. The oldest boy visibly blushed and his sister elbowed him hard enough to elicit a yelp.

  All in all, Isaac and Lenna enjoyed their visit with the Drangur family. It had been a nice experience and experiment. It proved to the duo that they didn’t always need to use Sera’s letter of introduction to get good food and a warm bed from the nobles of the Kingdom of Altia, they only needed the letter when hospitality didn’t come naturally. Soon enough it was dawn and the pair were seen off by the baron and his family. At some point, while Isaac and Lenna were taking up Lloyd’s time, the men that were supposed to collect his tax paperwork had finished their task with the help of the aide. One of the caravanners had also entirely switched out his inventory of fruit for one of fish that he was ready to take to Port Vespera. With all of their business taken care of, the caravan was back on the road and headed for Port Vespera once again.