Shadows of the Brewmaster: A Monster Girl Harem Fantasy Isekai (Bound by Two Realms Book 1) by David Sung

Author:David Sung [Sung, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-11-18T00:00:00+00:00

The Inn was a quaint, thatched-roof affair on the outskirts of town. The kind of place where you’d expect an old crone with a wart on her nose, stirring potions in a cauldron. Instead, I was greeted by a young woman with short-cropped hair and a toddler on her hip. She took one look at me and whistled.

“Swamp man needs a bath,” she said, setting the child down and directing me to a wooden tub in the corner. “Dunk yourself in. The herbs will draw out the toxins.”

I didn’t argue. The hot water was a kiss of life on my skin, and I sank in up to my neck, closing my eyes in exhausted bliss. The healer set the toddler on her lap and began knitting, the click-clack of her needles the only sound in the small cottage.

Time drifted. I thought about the cistern, about Eldritch’s memories, about Avalon’s ultimatum. In my old life, problems had solutions. Here, every choice was a compromise, every decision a potential catastrophe.

The cottage door creaked open, and a cold breeze snaked its way to the tub. I sat up, water sloshing over the sides, and saw Avalon silhouetted in the doorway. I didn’t know how long she could have been standing there. She shut the door and walked to me slowly, her movements less feline, more human.

“How is the swamp man?” she asked. I couldn’t tell if she was mocking me or making an attempt at humor.

“Less swampy,” I said. “The healer’s legit. How’s the town?”

“Worried, but hopeful.” She pulled a chair over and straddled it, resting her arms on the back. “We told them you’re working on a solution.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Not ‘we’re working on a solution’?”

She shrugged. “You’re the one with the power to fix it.”

“So you’re staying?”

“For now.”

I nodded, not wanting to push my luck. “Where are Sara and Mira?”

“Sara is talking to the head brewer. Mira is… somewhere.” She didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t press. “You need to tell them, Eric.”

“I will,” I said, though I wasn’t sure how or when. “Did you tell them?”

“I said you have a dark past. That’s all they need to know right now.”

I let that sink in. Avalon was giving me a chance, a gamble that I would come clean and not drag them down with me.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Don’t thank me yet. I’m still deciding.”

We sat in silence for a moment, the tension between us less acute, more like a dull throb. I thought about what I needed to do, the risks, the possible outcomes. None of them were good, but one stood out as the least terrible.

“I have a plan,” I said. “But it’s going to take more than just dark magic.”

Avalon tilted her head, curious. “What do you need?”

“Time,” I said. “And a lot of it. The contamination is deep, embedded in the very essence of the water. I can cleanse it, but it’ll take days—maybe weeks.”

“The army won’t wait that long.”

“I know. That’s why we need to buy time here, purify what water we can and hope the ale works.

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