Isekai For Hire Chapter 21: Screech

Read chapter 21 of Isekai For Hire by wk_rust on NovelPedia.

Screech Lorena spent the entire night lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Ren was still gone, maybe for good. She pushed herself up, exhaustion heavy on her mind, but she knew she couldn’t wait. Someone like Weaver wasn’t going to sit idle long before finding a solution to his problem, and Lorena had to beat him to it. She grabbed Rocky and slipped him back in her inventory, put her hair up in a ponytail, and left the Copper Lantern. Everything in the Trade District seemed to remind her of Ren. The smell of the boar meat, the young girl who sold her hair ties, the portal to the Mage Quarter that Ren had pranked her with. Harkyn was already sitting outside Elvenarr’s shop when Lorena arrived, his head in a thick book and occasionally flicking open a gold pocket watch. The outside of the shop was like any other in the Trade District. Large limestone walls with a nice bay window looking out onto the street. The view from the window was of a simple shop, wooden furniture and simple displays holding scrolls and glowing jars of mysterious powder. The inside of the shop lit something in her she thought she’d lost long ago—childhood wonder. She stood in the doorway and gawked. The inside of the shop was massive with a sprawling, towering tree that grew in the center of the room, extending further than she could see. Its bark pulsed with faint purple and blue light. But instead of excitement and joy, the scene just brought sadness as a question bubbled up from her subconscious. What would Ren have to say if she could see this? She watched a man walk up a short staircase that led directly into a wall, then he appeared on the floor above. Before she could glower even more she heard a screech, then looked down and nearly tripped over a small green creature with wart covered skin. It was staring up at her, crooked finger with black nails pointed up at her. It let out another screech, beady red eyes trained on her. Lorena recovered her footing and took a step back, hand hovering above her dagger. The creature closed the gap, then crawled up a nearby display, nearly knocking over several jars of colorful dust. It screeched in her face, its yellow teeth bared. “Don’t worry, it’s harmless,” Lorena glanced left, hand still just above her dagger, at the woman next to her. She was casually browsing a set of scrolls, unfazed by the demon threatening Lorena just next to her. “Stealth bypasses the package enchantments so Izul is rather wary of your type.” Before Lorena could process that statement the oddest looking dwarf approached, and Izul leapt off the display and climbed him like a decrepit tree. She used Identify, Lorv, Level 14, Warlock He looked hollowed out, his skin hanging loose on bones. His eyes were a crimson red, a few shades darker than Izul’s. He wore dark purple robes and walked with a significant limp, leaning on a simple wooden staff for assistance. “Heheh, excellent job Izul.” He reached into his robes and pulled out a pinch of purple powder, then gave it to the imp. Izul inhaled it, his eyes rolling back and glowing bright. Lorv stared up at her and grinned, exposing rotten teeth. Lorena took another step back, her hand now firmly clasped around the hilt of her dagger, instinct fighting for control. “Wellllcome to Elvenarr’s. I am Lorv, his aaassistannnt,” the dwarf elongated his words at random, like his mind was getting stuck mid-syllable. Ren would have found it hilarious, probably, if not a bit unnerving. He tilted his head toward the creature perched on his shoulder. “No. I am his assistant. How would you know—Whatever.” Izul hopped off his shoulder and left, darting between unfazed customers. “How may I be of assistance, young Rogue?” he trained his stare on Lorena and the hair on the back of her neck stood. Her mind flashed back to the feeling of Bale’s aura. It was nothing like this, but it had an eerie familiarness to it that set her on edge. She took a moment to compose herself, the total shock of this interaction s