Chapter 22: The Kid
The crowd disappeared after only a couple of blocks as Kir went away from the heart of the city.
Here, on the southeast side, the houses steadily grew more ramshackle and poorly maintained, crowding together with narrow alleys that Kir would never fit into with his wings. People hanging out on their front steps stared at him as he walked, and the few inns he saw were definitely not on the cleaner side.
The streets were clean even if the buildings were not, which made Kir wonder how the city maintained them. The first person Kir tried to ask about the Madame Dragon's location simply responded "Not here." It was a marked improvement, compared to the merchant's quarter.
The second person Kir tried to ask tried to get some coin out of him, and then when Kir turned out his pockets, he said he'd barter the information for Kir's boots.
Kir didn't accept that trade because he only had one pair of boots, and the man he'd asked scowled and said "Fine. Didn't know where it was anyway."
Two-thirds of the way to the wall, Kir saw that it had another gate, likely leading down to the docks. Since the few likely buildings close to it looked like bars instead of inns, he decided that now was a good time to turn around, since he wasn't about to get stopped at the gate for another "demon tax" or however they tried to delay him.
At the nearest bar, he saw a beastman who seemed half-otter like if he knew where the Madame Dragon was, only to get taunted by the beastman's fellow sailors. "Tell you what," the otter man said, "You let me use those horns as handlebars, and I'll take you there myself." He laughed, followed by the rest of the crew behind him, who all smelled piss drunk.
Kir flipped him the bird, then walked away as the beastman looked up. He didn't even care to insult him properly, he just wanted to leave.
He was halfway back to the market when a group of brutish-looking men blocked his path.