Book 3 – Chapter 107

I was finally getting my first true look at what they considered a city in this world and wow. The city was incredibly interesting to look at. There was a mix of architectural styles that weren't much like any I remember seeing before. Their ability to raise solid straight walls enabled them to create shapes that wouldn't be otherwise possible in the relative technological period I'm currently in. It looked almost brutalist in appearance with its sheets of contiguous simple concrete shapes but was also decorated brilliantly with different kinds of paints, murals, embossments, and fancy embellishments. What was most noticeable to me was the distinct lack of columns, bricks, or distinct floor partitions. I would guess the outside walls are so sturdy on their own, traditional building techniques are just not as necessary when you can pull a solid wall out of the ground. ...or perhaps other material, considering some of the buildings are made from different kinds of stone.

"You look like you've literally never seen a building before," Silva said with a snort.

Bella laughed. "She did this the first time we came to Traehall as well. She led me around for maybe an hour before she even began to look for an inn for us. She even stopped and stared at the streetlamps."

I flushed in embarrassment. "The different architecture is interesting to look at!" When my party members gave me an odd look I remembered they didn't seem to have that word here. "Erm, the building techniques and the shape and design of the buildings here..."

Morrigan took another look at one of the nearest buildings. "Hmm, terra mages are often very involved with construction. And this place does seem to mainly feature buildings clearly made with terra magic. I can see why she would be interested considering Lilith comes from a place without any terra mages."

Silva tilted her head and squinted at me. "For once you sound like you come from the boonies rather than some noble's castle."

Torien cleared her throat. "I know it's not super exciting to follow wagons slowly through town but we should be looking out for threats. We are still doing a job right now, remember?"

On my left was one of the wagons full of Timber. Since our party is made up of less experienced adventurers we weren't guarding anything actually important. We were mainly just there to look scary enough no one would try to steal the wagon or something... not that it would be possible with the territorial uunas pulling the wagons.

Despite how amazing the sights are, this place has clearly seen better days. Looking around, the only people in this part of town were either in line to leave or barely coming in. There were a number of wagons with all sorts of goods or even filled with soon-to-be-refugees looking to get out of here. Town guards were walking up and down the path, trying their best to keep order between the cranky civilians coming and going. From what the priest of Morkinnen had said, this was one of the few parts of the city that had any kind of guard presence right now.

I nodded. "Torien is right. We should stay professional, I shouldn't have let myself get so far off task like that." I scanned the crowds and kept watch on the people who were nearby. I suspected that we would see some demon summoners among the people in the crowds but I haven't noticed anyone yet. I haven't noticed anyone in the black brigandine either but they would obviously be laying low since the entire city guard is looking for them here. Despite how chaotic the priest had made it sound, everything looked orderly here by the gates. Then again it was a gigantic city. I can only just make out the far wall of the city from here, faded off in the distance like mountains that towered over the mostly three-story houses. The wall isn't visible everywhere but there are occasionally roads that travel far enough through the city that you can see it.

The wagons began to slow to a stop. Being so far towards the back, it wasn't super clear what was happening but I was hoping that we had finally found a stable. Tarklin didn't want me to help check in the uunas this time since we might be splitting up soon. Apparently splitting up at the last stable had been enough of a headache for him.

After a quarter-bell or so the wagons and carriages started to be led off into a large building up ahead, presumably the stable. I continued to scan our surroundings as we got closer and finally relaxed when we followed the wagons in ourselves. The front of the stable was just a fairly large plot of land with a huge wall in front for privacy. The inside had enough room to store the wagons and carriages for the time being, either until we left or the merchants opted to sell them off somewhere. None of the fires or damage seemed to be near this gate but I kind of wanted to go see the extent of the destruction for myself. Perhaps I was starting to become a bit of an adrenaline junkie.

Tarklin and Fae suddenly came out of the carriage she had spent most of the trip in. Tarklin looked rather irritated, more so than usual. He scanned around before spotting me and heading over.

Tarklin put on a wry grin. "Sorry Lilith. As I thought this will have to be where we part ways. It was a pleasure to meet you and I wish we would have had more time to spend together. I would have at least liked to make time for that thing we discussed back at the dungeon." He gave me a wink that made my face heat up.

"S- Silva..." Fae stepped forward, in this moment her hardened façade was gone and she looked more like a young girl than I had ever seen her before. "Silva... thank you for saving my life. I'm sorry..." She quickly looked away. "I couldn't come to trust you more. You deserve better than a mistress like me." She looked over at me next. "Lilith, please treat her right. I haven't known you for long but I have seen how you treat your other sl- ...party members. I hope you will do right by her as well."

She turned to Bella last, her eyes had tears in them now. "B-Bella... thank you for being there for me... I wish we could have spent more time together, if... if you come across another deer beastfolk named Matilda... Please tell her I'm safe. It would mean a lot to me..." Bella stepped forward and pulled the young girl into a hug. We stood there for a while as Fae quietly sobbed into Bella's dress. Bella just held Fae as long as she needed while gently stroking her hair.

When Fae finally pulled away Bella kneeled down and kissed Fae on the forehead. "Stay strong Fae. Wherever this road takes you, know that it's never worth giving up. I know from experience that even the worst things in life can lead you to the best outcomes. Stay strong and keep moving forward, let this horrible experience temper you like steel, not break you like glass."

Fae sniffled and put on a big smile. "Thank you Bella. Even if your words are a bit cheesy, I know they're heartfelt. I'll do my best to keep moving and get stronger. Thank you for taking care of me." She bowed first to Bella, then to me, then finally to Silva.

Tarklin stepped forward and placed a hand on Fae's shoulder. "This is goodbye then. I'll notify the adventurers guild of your mission completion tonight and I already gave you your payment. Stay safe Lilith, Bella, Torien, Morrigan, Silva. May your trees stand ever taller."

I smiled. "And may the winds be at your back."

The five of us, plus Mimi of course, were now standing outside the stable watching the crowd continue by.

Silva sighed and scratched her head. "It feels weird knowing the young lady is leaving me with you. Not that I'm complaining of course, I honestly like you guys better. It's just weird, I was being trained to be her bodyguard and personal attendant for a while and now I'm... an adventurer?" She looked at me for confirmation.

I shrugged with a smile, "Among other things."

She sighed again. "Would it be weird if I asked you if we could get some drinks? I haven't had any beer for half a year now."

"Mmm, I don't mind." I looked at my party members and none of them seemed particularly against the proposition. None of them seemed all that excited for it either. "Er, what do you girls think?"

Morrigan looked a bit embarrassed. "Well, uh, I've never actually had any alcohol before. It's a luxury that few masters offer their... servants. How about you Bella?"

"I've never had alcohol either. My father was a bit of a drunkard and I didn't trust being inebriated around him after... everything."

I gave Bella a concerned look. "Are you uncomfortable around alcohol? Should we do something else?"

"Oh no! It's not like that! I don't mind if you guys drink, it... was my father I was more scared of than anything... I'll try some too, ...if that's okay of course."

"Right! Let's go to a tavern then!" I glanced at Silva's exposed steel collar. "They won't have an issue with slaves drinking in the tavern would they?"

Silva shrugged. "Some places might have an issue but your best bet would be an adventurer's bar. They tend not to worry about stuff like that and adventurers tend to drink so much that adventuring slaves are more likely to be included in the fun than other kinds of slaves."

"Alright, a bar then! Maybe we should find the adventurer's guild first and then we can go from there."

We walked for a while and quickly noticed how different the city seemed without the guard presence. Less than a half a bell's walk away from the gate and it was already like a ghost town. There were only a few people on the street and most of them looked like they were in a hurry to be anywhere else. The only exception to this was the occasional merchant confidently walking by with guards at each shoulder.

There were signs posted for the adventurer's guild regularly at intersections but it was rather eerie how little foot traffic there was. Eventually we followed the signs to the guild but only found a crumbled building with burn marks all over it. Across the street were four burned down buildings and it seemed easy to guess why. The only thing that survived what looked like an intense fire was a partially burned sign of beer mugs, showing that this building used to be a bar and their alcohol only made the fire that much more extreme.

Despite the buildings being made primarily of solid stone, it seems that something also made them crumble into destroyed piles.

"Gods, the fuckers burned down the bar too," Silva said with an irritated huff.

I scratched my horn. "The priest said they were targeting specific people in the city. Seems the guild and the guild's apparent hang out was included in the targets."

Torien crossed her arms. "So much for Tarklin's report then."

"I wouldn't worry, they'll get his report eventually," Morrigan said. "The bigger issue is what do we do now? The city is so messed up it's going to be hard to figure out what parts of the city are even safe to travel in right now."

"I mean, we could go from city gate to city gate. There's sure to be a bar open somewhere right?" Bella asked.

Silva sighed. "Maybe. Any bar lucky enough to be that close to a gate is probably charging a fortune or already out of liquor with the way those crowds looked. I've known lots of people that make a point to grab a drink before they go on a mission, or leave a city... or if they just feel like it."

I was going to say something when we heard a cry from a nearby alley.