Dance of the Gods

Sofie first showed her around the kitchen, since she was going to work here, she needed to know where everything was located. The kitchen wasn't as clean as the restroom in the back, but that was understandable. She showed where the pantry is, where every cooking utensil's place was and even how to use the stove.

When she was done explaining all that is to know about the kitchen, they moved into the main room of the inn. The room was huge compared to the kitchen, there were a lot of tables with people sitting, drinking and laughing. There was also a big bar, where James was currently pouring some liquid that was awfully similar to beer.

"This will be your main working area. You will have to clean the floor, especially when one of the 'nice' patrons vomits all over it. Also you will be taking orders and bringing out drinks or food, and just an advice speaking from experience. Don't be too kind, they will think you want something else from them..." There was a hint of sadness in her voice, which Veronica didn't notice.

"Okay... Thanks I guess."

'How amazing, I just have to be transmigrated into a world, which is way behind on gender equality and sexual harassment policies.'

Sofie said a couple more important advice when working, then they moved onto the communal restroom. These were the ones the customers used and of course it is Veronica's job to clean them.

It wasn't all too bad though. The Miles Inn was one of the best ones in the city, at least that's what they told her. The guests weren't too bad either, just the ones that came from the sea, she had to watch out for those.

Next they went upstairs and got shown a couple of rentable rooms, also her own room... Well, room was a big word. It was closer to a walkable closet. There was a small bed, a nightstand a small wardrobe and a little window. There was also just enough space that she could dress herself up.

'I kind of expected this to be honest, not like a barmaid will get the best room or the best salary. Speaking of salary, how much am I making exactly?'

Sofie was about to move on, when Veronica asked, "How much is 3 gelt?"

She looked at her with pure confusion, then slowly it changed into realization, then to pity.

"Oh yeah... You don't know... It is a good salary, for a barmaid at least. In the Free Cities and in the Dracon Empire we use three kinds of currency. 1 Gold Gelt is worth 10 Silver Eura, and 1 eura is worth 10 coppen. You can buy a kilogram of bread with 4 coppen and a nice dress of low stature for about 25 Eura. I can tell you other examples if you would like."

'Interesting, at least it is easy to exchange between them, no need for high level math. But did she say kilogram? They use the same measurements as on Earth?... Weird. I need to ask more about it later.'

'At least the salary seems to be good, or just the bread is really cheap.'

"No need, thank you!", she said it with a genuine smile. Sofie smiled back and they moved on, she didn't show Veronica the basement for some reason, not like she cared for it that much. When the nearby cathedral's clock sounded twice, they were already done.

"So this is about it, you have the whole afternoon to do whatever you want just be sure to come back before seven. We eat dinner at that time every day. Breakfast is at seven as well, but of course in the morning. Oh, I forgot to ask. Do you have any questions?"

'Well, if you don't know the answer to how to get back into my own world, then I don't think so.'

"No, I got everything I think." Sofie nodded and moved into the main room, leaving Veronica to herself. She looked around feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed, then with a sigh she moved towards the exit. It was time to see what this world actually looked like.

She opened the door, stepped outside and froze. In front of her was a bustling street, there were horse drawn carriages and people riding horses. In the sky airships moved around constantly, carrying people from one city to another. From the left a cool breeze brought the smell of sea into her nostril. And then there were the people.

They moved around at a brisk pace. Man who wore elegant suits and top hats. Some wore overalls, they were probably fishers or factory workers, maybe sailors. Then there were the woman, this seemed to be a better part of the city, since the woman wore makeup. Just a bit, not too much like in old movies, it was just a way to bring out the good features on someone's face. Their dresses were beautiful they stuck close to their body, but revealed non of it, the colors were of the autumn mostly, bright yellows, dark oranges, bleeding reds.

The fashion must have been related to the autumn's colors, but there were some who preferred vibrant blues, like sea water or rich greens, like the leaves on an oak in the summer. Then there were the really extraordinary ones. There were very few of them, but each had a different kind of artistic vision. These were colors and combinations of them which couldn't be connected to anything natural. Black dress, with a bit of white and purple or a pristine white dress with the colors of rainbows intertwined within.

The scene nearly gave Veronica a headache, but she centered her mind and began her exploration of the city.

She started walking towards the direction of the breeze. On the street she saw multiple shops and their display. One sold fishing equipment, another jewelry, the next was a barbershop, then a cobbler's shop, there was a tailor for man, judging by the suits in the display, but soon enough she found a woman tailor as well. The dresses were truly mind-blowing. Then she looked at the price tags, those were mind-blowing as well just for a different reason.

An amazing red dress with hints of yellows and oranges costed 25 gelt, then another this one a light green with darker undertones 27 gelt, a full black one with gold streaks 32 gelt.

'So, these aren't the kind of dresses Sofie talked about.'

As she was looking at the display a man and a woman passed her, the woman was holding onto the man's arm. She had a very expensive looking dress and the man had a similarly expensive looking suit on.

As they went past her they slowed down to look Veronica up and down, then at the displayed clothing. They moved on while constantly glancing back and snickering between themselves. Veronica looked down at herself, then back at the couple.

'Rich people are mean in this world as well. Awesome!'

Not very bothered, she moved on towards the harbor. She passed more shops as well, but at some point they began to change to either inns or places selling fish. After seeing and smelling the salted and smoke fish her stomach began to rumble, but she still had no money. With a sad sigh she continued.

A nearby bell rang four times signaling 4pm, she had been wandering for two whole hours, but it was worth it. The harbor was truly amazing.

'Didn't they say Hammon wasn't that big of a city? What small city has hundreds of vessels mooring in their harbor? And...Are?...Are those dreadnaughts? I mean they were made in this era of time, but why is there a whole fleet of them here?'

The vessels were stunning. A lot of them were still made of wood, which meant the industrial revolution didn't start that long ago. Most ships on the other hand were either fully or partially made of metal, with an engine powering it. Veronica's eyes weren't looking at these though, a bit further down there was one huge and a couple smaller vessels.

They were fully made of metal, with huge pieces of artillery on them, down the sideline it had many turret positions as well with large gatling guns. These weren't commercial vessel, but ones made for only one thing... War.

'What beauties, throughout my life I always loved machines of war, but seeing one of the famous dreadnaughts right before my very eyes.'

In university Veronica was a getting a degree in history and she wanted to specialize into historical battles, also she had a hobby of learning about the evolution of warfare and weaponry. It wasn't a hobby most girls would have, but she always liked firearms. Not what people used them for, but what they represent within humanity. A 'miniature' device of life and death.

'Well, at least I know that this world has very similar, or maybe even the same kind of weapons as Earth. I wish I could go and see them from closer, but they might shoot me... Also I should start heading back to the inn.'

The inn was about an hour walk away from the harbor, with a horse carriage it must have taken only about ten minutes, probably less. Without money she had to walk, which meant at least an hour of walking. Last time the bell sounded it was only 4pm, but who knows how long did she salivate at the dreadnaughts.

On her way back to the inn, she also saw military airships. The pedestrians became very annoyed, when she decided to stop in the middle of the sidewalk and just look at the sky. They even began to stare at her, when a goofy smile appeared on her face.

'I will definitely fly one of those airships! I don't care what it takes! Maybe this place isn't so bad after all.'

With these thoughts she made her way back to the inn. It wasn't seven yet, but she went into the kitchen anyway. Here she found Suze Miles preparing the dinner. Veronica walked to her and with a smile said, "Do you need any help?"

She was a bit surprised seeing her back already, but didn't question it. "Yes, thank you. Could you chop those potatoes up and put it in the boiling oil? I hope you like potatoes, because in this household we eat everything with them."

'Not the healthiest lifestyle, but luckily I love potato dishes. Also do they have the same vegetables and fruits? Maybe this is a parallel Earth or something. I actually still haven't noticed that much of a difference. If the nation and city names wouldn't be so different I would actually think that I just went back in time.'

"I love potatoes, what do we have with them?" Victoria was really hungry at this point. It seemed that transmigration takes a lot of energy. She was still smiling since seeing the dreadnaught and airship. Suze looked at her with a strange expression, then answered.

"Nothing much, just some pork cooked in gravy with some seasoning. You probably don't know because of your amnesia, but in the East Continent there isn't much that can be used as seasoning. The Dracon Empire trying to cultivate the plants used for seasoning, but still the biggest exporter is Monterra. They live on the western part of the West Continent, as far away from us as possible. Just saying so you won't get your hopes up that much, it is a simple dish."

'Monterra is it? 3 out of the 5, wonder what the other 2 is. Simple dish, I lived in a dorm for 2 years in university, with nothing just my scholarship to pay for food. The meals I had eaten would make this kitchen a five star restaurant.'

Veronica just smiled and pushed the potatoes into the boiling oil. She had enough cooking knowledge to know how to push them in, without making a mess or possibly burn herself. Suze watched her carefully, probably evaluating her experience in cooking. Eventually she looked her in the eye and with a small, kind smile asked, "Why are you keep smiling? You never stopped since retuning."

"Oh, it is nothing. I just walked down to the harbor and back. This city is truly beautiful and those ships and airships are amazing as well. And then there are all the colorful and breathtaking dresses. Since I saw them I couldn't wipe this stupid smile off my face."

She looked Veronica up and down a couple of times and began laughing. It wasn't the laugh like the previous one, this was a genuine and much weirder laugh. The ones everyone has, but only the people who are special to them know about. It made Veronica laugh as well and they kept going until there was a commotion behind them.

In the doorway stood a girl about 14 or 15 years of age. She had a very cute pink dress and her midnight black hair was tied into a bun on the top of her head. Her eyes were a mix of both her father's and mother's, it was grayish blue. She also had a bag with her, probably coming back from school, judging by those books. Next to her stood an even younger boy about 12 or so. He had short, dark blond hair and dark gray eyes. He just arrived from school as well.

'Just how many children did this woman have? And why do they just pop up from nowhere?'