"Lady Luna?" A deep voice came from behind them, as the Duke’s son interrupted the pair, his eye trained on the purple haired lady next to Gargan. With one quick look at the man, Gargan could immediately tell that he isn’t extraordinary. This man is not someone wanted to mess with.

 

Chiseled chin, well defined muscle, immaculate hairs, and the deep, soul piercing eyes, this man is one of the most attractive human Gargan has seen so far. Not only that, his attire of choice is top of the line, with the masterfully crafted suit of heavy plated armor covering almost his entire body, yet his movement seems to be only hindered by alcohol.

 

Yet, the current state of the knight definitely didn’t portray him as that. He actually looked miserable, as if he had been drinking the tavern ever since the early afternoon. His once-shining armor was covered in dents and leather-working fluid, and his face a layer of coal and soothes.

 

"Our airship is in pieces... That's the fourth one we've crashed... I don't know what to say to my father..." He ammented, and looked to the side, as if reminiscent about something painful. "How did you guys get back from the Slime Rocks so fast? Where's everyone else?"

 

If this lady knew this man, why was she here, staying next to a stranger instead of him? Gargan's drunken mind was quick to draw a conclusion. Lady Luna, as it seems to be her name, shouldn’t approach him, a stranger at a bar, if she is here with another companion.

 

The knight looked at the lady, awaiting her answer, yet nothing came, and he redirected his glance to Gargan, who is seated right next to the lady, who still now, didn’t introduce herself.

His eyes suddenly turned dark, as he saw how close they were, and how his arms was in Lady Luna’s

 

"Can you get your hands off my fiancée?" He said threateningly to Gargan. "I don't know what's your deal with Lady Luna, but the two of us are a couple. We've been engaged since we were six years old."

 

That wasn't good. Lady Luna seems to be just man's promised wife, yet she seems....scared? Gargan wasn't sure what the situation was, or is, but the lady does not seem comfortable at all, and even scared, as her eyes seem to dashed around.

 

"Evening, sir.....?" Gargan asked, playing to his drunken state, as he inquisitively asked for the knight name.

 

"Sir Gawrgaru, son of Duke Grogar, and that is the future Duchess that your hand is on." He answered, brown furrowed. "And I suggest that you unhand her right now."

 

"Ah, it was but a small mistake, sir honorable knight," Gargan executed a beautiful practiced bow. "But I am afraid that I could not.....As the matter stands, it was not me who seized her hand, Sir Gawrgaru." Gargan presented his elbow, which was tightly held on by Lady Luna. "And, how about we discuss this matter over there instead?" Gargan pointed to an empty table by the corner of the room with his wings, and swiftly picked up the two cups on the counter and marched over there, with the Lady still clinging to him.

 

"Oh, and please, can you keep our conversation at least civilized?" Gargan said, setting the cups on the tables, one for him, and one for the Lady, all the while looking into the knight's eye. He recognized the look in his eyes, anger and alcohol don't often mix very well. Terrible even. "Anyway, I believe, an introduction is in order. I am Gargan Kiri, an adventurer and Otherworlder, who only arrived on this wonderful island earlier today." He reaches out for a handshake, which the young noble reluctantly took.

 

"Well met then, Gargan." He said, not letting go of his hand.

 

"Well met." Gargan, unlike his usual self, did not back down this time. "Anyway, I believe the Lady herself doesn't seem to recognize you, Sir Gawrgaru. And, unless there is some proof of your earlier claim, I am afraid that I cannot let the Lady leave with you. I have seen many thugs who would…. acted these acts before, and I am not very comfortable to leave such a lovely lady with someone she isn’t comfortable with.”

 

The knight seems to be in deep thoughts, as he chews on Gargan word. This man, Gargan believe, to be one of the most well mannered noble he has came across, as Sir Gawrgaru show some understanding.

 

However, that still didn’t quite quell his anger, but turned it into disbelief, and he exclaimed, "How could Luna not recognize me?! Luna... ever since we were little..." He went on and on about their shared childhood, memories, first kiss, and everything in between. At this point, Gargan has started to zoned out and returned to his drink, leaving the knight and ‘his’ lady to debate whether he is her fiance or not, as the lady herself refused to recognize him.

 

That was quite a whiplash, as the knight seemed to admit his defeat was too easy....Something wasn't right, Gargan couldn't help but notice. He was drunk, but his perceptive eye still could pick up something from the young knight, but also, he was drunk, and couldn't really pinpointed it. But, the man was devastated, when Lady Luna flat out rejected him. Gargan was certain that there is something going between the two, but that is as far as his not-so-sober mind caught on.

 

However, he does feel pity for Gawrgaru, as no normal man would drown themselves in so much alcohol to the point even standing near him causes Gargan eyes to burn. Even through the little interaction they just have, Gargan's first impression to Sir Gawrgaru must have been terrible, considering he was caught linking arms with his fiancé, or someone that looked like her, and yet he still kept his calm and conversed in a civilized manner. Those nobles back in his world could learn a thing or two from this gentleman here.

 

"I am sorry, Sir Gawrgaru, but without the Lady's consent, I'm afraid that there is nothing I can do." He bowed apologetically, as his mind began to think of the situation behind this story.....Was there an argument between the two? Was there some sort of misunderstanding? Is this just a case of misidentification? Is this Lady Luna a shapeshifter who took her imagination?

 

For some reason, or for a very good reason, called drunkenness, Gargan's mind honed in on the last possibility... There were cases of skin-walkers and changelings assuming someone else's appearances, so it was not that far-fetched of a possibility. Except, Gargan forgot that this isn't his world.

 

"Now, if you would excused us, the Lady seem to wanted to tried all wines and ales this city have to offered, and I was chosen as her escort....." Gargan stood up, followed by Lady Luna, whose true identity is that of a shapeshifting dragon by the name of Ume...... and left the tavern, but not before Gargan paid for his drink, and asked for a message to pass to Sir Gawrgaru.

 

The message simply read: "This lady is not your fiancé, Sir Knight..... She may be just a skin-walker, or a shapeshifter who simply borrows your lovely fiancé image..... Don't lose your hope."

 

Leaving Golden Wings, and with the young lady in his arms, Gargan and Ume began to visit half a dozen other establishments, but most of it was blank in his mind....Maybe he shouldn't drink too much after such a long time abstaining from alcohol. One thing he knows, however, is that he isn't looking forward to the next morning.

 

After leaving the establishment, Gargan and ‘Lady Luna’ visited at least two taverns, and somehow, they have made their way into The District, much to Gargan's initial decision back at the inn. Along the way there, ‘Lady Luna’ has slipped away from him, but he didn’t mind, or realize, nor care. The hypothesized shapeshifter could go do her own thing, Gargan thought, as he toured the red light district. By then, Gargan couldn’t even stand up properly, and was staggering all over the place, and right into one of the largest, not prosperous, and house some of the most high profile ladies of the night of Aerelieth, some of which even have been summoned as companions to Dukes and Marquises all over Sky Archipelago.

 

The building was at least 3 stories tall, maybe 4. Or 5. Gargan didn’t really remember it much, beside the notion of it being really tall. And the door was large, too. Masterfully carved out of some kind of exotic redwood even. Clearly, this is a place to come if he wanted a good time, which he somehow was in the mood for. That is rare for him, as he was really reserved and rarely visited these places at all, if not for some very specific reasons, and fun wasn't ever one of them.

 

One could say, this is his first time to enter these establishments for nightly companions. He wasn’t new to these pleasures, however, but with a hired girl? This is the first for him. Stumbled over to the reception, manned by a humanoid demi-girl of a feline tribe, he asked for the catalogue, and the girl professionally gave him one, without even batting an eye at his current state, nor at his exotic figure.

 

That gave him hope, as he mistook her professionalism as her familiarity with his kind, and started to browse the book. There are elves, humans, dwarves, demis, and even beast folk too, none of his kind. No featherfolks, nor aarakocra! How could this be!

 

Everything then was a blur to him, as he couldn’t remember much of it the morning after, but he did remember that he had somehow provoked the Madam, who came over and assessed the situation when he demanded the receptionist to yield him better quality girls.

 

“TOO BARE!” He shouted, screeching and causing a ruckus at the lobby. “Do you not have any one that is NOT THIS BARE? OR MORE COLORFUL? Are all this place have are winglesses?” He complained, and drew too much attention to himself.

 

“This is a false advertisement.” He did not give a flying F, and turned to the Madame, and scolded her. “Paradise of Sky Archipelago! The best place! We have everything” He quoted their motto, “Hah, you don’t even have anything that is pleasing to the eyes. Are all of your girls colorless and lifeless? I feel sorry for whoever entered this pathetic excuse of a whore house.”

 

Gargan rages on and on, as the Madame and the receptionist tried to calm him down, but he was not cooperating in the slightest. The ruckus has drawn in a large crow, who almost certainly wanted to see who was brave enough to call this place, one of the best night houses, a ‘pathetic excuse of a whore house’. Some others were there for the exotic looking avian, and some others were there for entertainment and gossip.

 

As the crow grew inside, so did Gargan outrages, and soon, it will be the talk of the night, or it would be, if not for a certain event later that night….And the road started to jams, and businesses could no longer conduct their business. By now, Gargan has made himself the enemy of the district, by not only slandering the shining diamond of the district, but also causing a small blockade on one of the busiest roads there.

 

After another ten minutes of trying to calm the birdman, the Madame patient was gone, and she had her bouncers and guard removing the drunk avian from her establishment, and threw him out of the district, leaving him in a ditch somewhere.

 

Gargan tried to fight back, and managed to draw blood, but the cut wasn’t deep enough to call the bouncers any lasting injuries. His struggle, together with his monstrous strength was a great trouble for the escorts tasked with removing him, but they did finally succeed, and thrown in into a small alleyway, leaving the angry, rambling bird there by himself, which started to blackout.

 

The last thing Gargan saw was a column of flames burst out from the district, and into the night sky, momentarily illuminated the area brighter than the day could, before dying down. His last thought was, ‘Heh, people here sure know how to party, huh?’