A forlorn atmosphere shrouded the convoy as they continued. Saddened eyes looked at the few empty seats. Yichén was the only one who managed to remain somewhat positive. A fiery will to grow stronger burned within him.
Tepo and Yerive were silent as well. Their heads were caught in the feeling of being close to death. Especially Tepo felt his confidence take a hit.
Frustration became a permanent companion as he remembered the hopeless feeling of looking death in the eye. Even the moment of seeing the female soldier effortlessly block the attack didn’t sit well with him.
Tepo clenched his fists. Soon they would reach their target! This would be the starting point of his rise!
About an hour later the convoy came to a stop. The warriors left the train with mixed emotions. Once outside, Tepo immediately had to squint his eyes.
Star Valley Hub City was a large city placed directly beneath one of the large holes in the overworld. A bright light engulfed the entire city.
Outside the train, a young boy ran up and down. He had a box in hand containing cloth strips with shaded glasses, handing them to all the warriors.
Tepo and Yerive felt left out as the alliance warriors formed groups to relief their grievances or slowly began unloading the caravan in a bad mood.
After a short conversation the two friends said goodbye to Yichén and Song Xing before leaving the Blue Alliance Camp. They followed the path, passing a large gate and finally entering the Star Valley City.
The two friends held a short discussion, deciding to relax for a bit before continuing their way. Since the city was similarly overgrown like the rest of this world, it was easy to find a lush park and meditate for a bit.
Tepo breathed evenly as he concentrated on his chest. He noticed the Force of Natural Perception appearing again. He could only guess that it came from the various alliances and Seven Strikes.
Taking this as a good omen the young man recovered his spent force for a while before he and Yerive carried on.
Both their eyes were focused on the clearly visible golden bridge reaching towards the sky. Luckily this city had no big castle blocking their view. It only had a few huge towers which vaguely seemed to gather the light above them.
But Tepo and Yerive weren’t interested in finding out more about the Star Valley City. Since they were familiar with the procedure, they approached the soldier’s office and registered.
After a short while the two friends left with a group of a few dozen travelers.
A new dungeon awaited them. It was a large desert interrupted by many differently styled buildings. But without a sun in the sky a biting cold froze everyone’s bodies. They even had to rest in an archaic temple shortly to avoid serious injuries.
Fortunately, no more danger appeared, however. The group safely reached the next portal.
The world changed around Tepo and Yerive. They found themselves on a high platform. Immediately their eyes opened wide in surprise as they observed the scenery before them.
“So, this is the World of Nine Suns…”
What appeared in the two friends’ vision was a single city. But it was gigantic! It sprawled over multiple hills, leaving almost no spot devoid of buildings. It dwarfed every city Tepo had seen so far, with its population probably closing in on a hundred million.
Overall, the buildings looked of a good quality, showing of this world’s wealth.
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A large barrier hung above the city, protecting it in its entirety. It was hard to see past it, as everything was dominated by nine large suns in the sky.
Suddenly Tepo frowned faintly. He felt a strange warmth entering his body. It surprised him since it clearly felt invasive.
The young man connected with his core. If the energy was malicious the Core of Time would surely warn him, but it stayed quiet.
Thus, Tepo could only ignore the energy as he descended towards the ground.
Once they had solid ground under their feet, Tepo and Yerive felt overwhelmed. They arrived at the plaza in front of the golden bridge, engulfed by a dense crowd of people.
The buildings around them appeared much taller from here, making it hard to orient oneself.
“Tepo… how do we reach the forum now?”
Tepo hesitated for a moment. Unfortunately, Quill didn’t tell him much about this world when handing him the tokens.
“Let’s just ask around. The forum should be famous enough.”
With Yerive’s agreement Tepo pushed through the crowd and reached a crossroad. He looked around, searching for someone who might not be annoyed at their question.
A young boy fell into Tepo’s eyes. He spoke with a kind smile on his face:
“Hey, can I ask you a question?”
“Hmm? Me? Ok!”
“Thank you. Can you tell us how we get to the Forum of All Knowledge?”
“Oh, that’s easy. Just follow this road, turn left at the Lionhead Gate, then right into Urádo Street, reach the Sky Piercing Obelisk…”
The boy continued to talk for a good five minutes. With their heads spinning Tepo and Yerive did their best to remember the way. Just as they were about to leave and try their luck, a woman hurried towards them.
“Xarru! Honey, what are you doing? I thought you were right behind me!”
The woman was flustered as she quickly hugged the young boy.
“Mommy, I had to help these big brothers! They don’t know the way!”
Xarru had a proud expression. He expected praise from his mother since he was more knowledgeable than two adults.
The woman was just about to scold him for running away but when she looked into her son’s big eyes, she could only sigh and pet him on his head.
“I’m sorry. We didn’t want to trouble you.”
“It’s ok.”
The woman shook her head at the polite young man.
“Did you just arrive? You don’t know the way?”
“Yes.”, acknowledged Tepo.
Yerive wore an embarrassed smile as he added:
“But your son did a good job. I’m sure we can find our way now.”
Hearing this the woman suddenly chuckled.
“That’s what everyone thinks when they arrive in Nine Suns City.
You are underestimating how complicated a few streets can get. Here, let me help you.”
With those words a small cake appeared in the woman’s hand. Tepo rose a brow, surprised that a random mother here was already a warrior. He looked out the woman’s outstretched hand.
“Here, take it.”
Tepo grabbed the cake with some confusion.
“What is this?”
“You will see in a second.”
Suddenly a small white figure shot out of a road nearby. Tepo was almost about to defend himself, but the figure was too fast. Before he could understand the situation, the cake in his hand had vanished.
A small beast revealed itself. It wasn’t bigger than a human head with a round body and a tail ending in a fluffy pom-pom. It floated in the air, circling Tepo as happy whistling noises left its small mouth.
“Say hello to Fluffy. These cute little beasts have been trained by the Hub City Alliance to help travelers with orientation.
As the city expanded, they have also guided many locals over the years, and now no one can imagine the city without them.”
The little beast whistled happily. As Xarru put out his hand, it even approached him and let the boy pet its fluffy, round body.
“Wow!”
Yerive exclaimed with big eyes, eliciting a faint smile form the woman.
“You can buy those cakes in many places in the city. After feeding a Fluffy, just tell them where you need to go.”
“Thank you. This will help us a lot.”
“Ahh, don’t mention it. I hope you find your way! Xarru, say goodbye. We are already late.”
“Bye big brothers!”
“Bye.”
“Bye Xarru.”
After the mother and son left, Fluffy looked at Tepo and Yerive with its big black eyes.
“Ok Fluffy.”, spoke Yerive with a smile on his face. “Can you show us the way to the Forum of all Knowledge?”
The while ball let out a short whistle, did a spin in the air, and lazily began floating along the street.
Tepo and Yerive could only trust the woman’s words and follow the small beast.
Subsequently they experienced what it means to be in a big city. They followed endless roads, walked hills up and down, passed gorgeous monuments. Humans and other races lived together in peace. All kinds of stores offered everything one could wish for.
But there were so many people everywhere. Constant noise engulfed the city. Some merchants yelled to attract customers while injured warriors spewed crazy words on the streets.
Sometimes finely dressed people with their heads up in the clouds had their guards push away the crowd.
Tepo frowned the further they got. He was surprised as they buildings around them got more spacious, with the first gardens starting to appear. Their quality rose consistently until the two friends finally arrived in front of a large square made of pristine white stone.