Novelux Smokestack Hostel & Bar

[Chibi Pika]

Located right on the edge of downtown Novelux and only a stone's throw from the industrial district was the Smokestack Hostel & Bar. While it wasn't exactly pretty from the outside, with its soot-stained brick and rusted metal fixtures, the place made up for it with cheap drinks, decent bar food, and reasonably clean accommodations. You wouldn't catch anyone from the upper society here, but you'd see plenty of workers, tradesmon, and out-of-towners passing through. One could easily come away from an evening spent in the bar with a whole mess of rumors, from the dealings of Lennox Fermlein to the movements of the Vanguard. How much of it was true was another story entirely.

The upstairs windows had a good view of the harbor, with the Battle Dome just barely visible. Moreover, the upper balcony also made for a good entry and exit for flying mon...

<><><>​

“We probably will need to speak to each other again, now that your group has reached Novelux." He paused for a bit, considering, then added, "I'll ask Farin to find you where you're staying. We can arrange something then."

That was the last thing Valere had said to the Wayfarers before making himself scarce at Sparkwright Polytechnic on the day that the Covenant's plot to kidnap the university's namesake had been thwarted. True to his word, not long after the Wayfarers had made their way back to the hostel that night, Gladion would have found a note establishing contact, and the shadow of a familiar Noivern fading into the night.

That was then. It had been some weeks since, and the Wayfarers had had much to contend with, from the spread of shadow-corrupted dungeons, to the efforts to return Cipher to Earth, to the fierce battle in the depths of the Voidlands. But now, with the group returning to Novelux to follow up on Articuno's request to investigate the shady operations happening within the Covenant, there was finally the opportunity for a meeting.