Guardians: The Last Elder

Chapter 14: The Mead of Poetry

"Knowledge is power, power corrupts. Study hard, be evil."
~ Anonymous

(A/N:- Just wanted to quickly add that that quote is like my all time favorite. It's awesome lol, wouldn't you agree? Also, a warning that this chapter is a long-ass one)

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He led me to a bar. As soon as I stepped inside, I cringed at the overpowering smell of alcohol and body sweat, almost making me nauseous. It wasn't like one of the nice, polish bars back in my town. It was crowded and stuffed with creatures, some I knew and some I didn't. Good grief, I needed to go read some of those mythological books.

Creatures mingled around, drinking from giant mugs overflowing with beer, talking and laughing drunkenly. Two dwarves and a goblin were singing loudly, completely off-tune but in a bizarre way, it was almost delightful. One of the dwarves was beating the table to provide the beat and the goblin was playing an accordion. We passed through it all. 

The old dwarf, whose name I learned was Grimm, led me to one of the more secluded corners. There was a worn out blood-red curtain hanging from an archway. He parted it and went inside, gesturing me to follow. I hesitated for a second before stepping inside. I found myself going down a rickety old spiral staircase with stone walls surrounding it, dampening the noise from the room we just crossed. I clung to the banister, my eyes trying to adjust to the darkness. Finally, we entered inside a room made with those same stone walls. It was a giant contrast from the other room. It was almost isolated, with no music or jolly, drunken laughter. There were a few table occupied with dwarfs, almost all of them old and shriveled. There was a small bar in the corner, empty.

Grimm led me to one of the vacant tables and sat down, not before pulling a chair for me. After we were both seated, he said, "So, here we are. It is a lot more secure and secluded than the market area and completely away from prying ears, don't you think?"

"Are there any? I mean, prying ears?"

"There are always prying ears, biscuit," he said. "Now, you wanted to ask me some questions, eh?"

"Right." I cleared my throat. I opened my mouth but then closed it again. A little startled, I realised I had no idea how to form my questions without revealing the situation behind it. Shit, maybe it wasn't a good idea following him here. Well done, genius, my subconscious said.

I focused my gaze on Grimm, who was looking at me, waiting patiently, his mouth set into a smirk as if he was enjoying himself immensely. I frowned.

"Do you not know what you want to ask me, biscuit?" he asked, his eyes lit in silent mirth.

I was tempted to flip him the finger, most assuredly because he was right.

"I, uh...just wanted to know a few things about weapons," I started cautiously, no longer wanting to stall. Maybe I could form a faux story as I talked.

"You mean the sort being used by the Hooded demons on the victims?" he asked casually.

If I would have been drinking tea, now was when I would've spit it. I felt my jaw drop and the blood drain away from my cheeks. Well, so much for being sly with my questions.

"Y-you know?" I stuttered.

"As I said before, I know a lot of things, Miss Young. There are few things, if not none, that I don't know. It is kind of my job, you see, to be familiar with everything going around me. Did you honestly assume I would not be aware about the morbid cases of murder happening on the surface world?"