The Sun's Awakening

Chapter Four

When the first rays of sun entered Roman's room through sheer curtains to shed light in the room shrouded in perplexity... Only then did the answers become apparent. The sunrise brought resolution. 

From recent readings, he knew exactly where to travel to find what he needed and he wasted little time getting out of the castle, unseen, to get there. He shed himself of anything that linked him back to the royals. Anything that gave away his identity. Even going as far as to steal a peasant's shawl to drape around his shoulders to blend into the seedy tavern that housed all manner of creatures; from dragon shifters in their brawny human forms to mages lurking in the corners. 

Waiting for someone desperate to walk in. 

Someone much like Roman. 

Once a wolf –a hunter– pursuing his target, he unknowingly morphed into a bunny upon crossing that threshold as the devious beings in there sensed his deepest desires. Even the purest intent shifted somewhere in the heart and hid in the darkest crevices of that undead organ in his chest. 

Mages typically wore symbols. According to the books Roman implored these past weeks, one powerful enough to cure Ele from a defect she's had since birth, the mage needed to be powerful. And those of high stature were marked once their gifts showed potential. A branding scar, in the shape of an 'X', would be located on their necks and that's what Roman scanned every being for.

His eyes darted around the tavern. Taking every person in with great scrutiny. 

"How desperate are you, son?" The bartender, being no stranger to the lone traveler in search of power, needn't even look at the boy before nodding over to the farthest corner of the tavern. "You'll find them back there. They go by many names and the only thing they care about is fair compensation. Better than most in here."

Roman nodded to the man and made his way through the densely packed room. No one bothered looking at him, each one with their own reasons for being in a place like this. On the outskirts of Sepulchre- These people were either in hiding, on the run, or aiding those of the former. 

The place had a certain charm to it. 

If one enjoyed the feeling of impending death by a collapsed roof. Wooden beams supported the ceiling and most were damaged from the stone building shifting greatly over the decades. Mud attempted to cover and seal the cracks, to no avail. The royal vampire stuck out like a boiling blister in this crowd. By the way he sneered at any who got too close and how he didn't reek of booze, sex, and blood. 

Eventually, there lie only a table's length between him and the quaint, round table in the back corner that the bartender signaled towards. The person who sat at that table, slouched over it, barely became visible when a stool slid out to block his path. 

"Oi! Care to move before I piss myself?" Grumbled some old drunk. He had the audacity to jab his finger in Roman's chest and the close proximity made it apparent that it was a shifter. 

The second Roman smelled the shifting curse on his flesh, he attempted to circle around the bumbling moron to reach his true destination, but another hand fell on his shoulder to hold him back. 

Another shifter. "Hey there. I think my friend was talking to you. Why don't you watch where you step, pretty boy?" 

Now the scene gathered enough attention for Roman to take action against. Once a mere misunderstanding. Now? An assault on his personage. 

Roman lifted his upper lip to display a fang, fully unsheathed and ready to strike. He growled, low. "Now gentlemen, the misstep may have been all my mistake. But the confrontation is all you're doing. Do you want to settle this here or outside?"