When we approached Megvuroz's white walls, it was hardly two hours since midday.
And when we entered the proper city, the sun was about to set down.
When Reuben had said that entering the city would be a hurdle, honestly, I thought he was exaggerating. But it turned out that he was even underestimating the Viscount's soldiers.
But just who the hell gives such orders? Well, I know who, but WHY?!
With that out of the way, let's concentrate on the recording.
Griz, Reuben, and even Azar had mentioned that Megvuroz was a different type of city, one of the old cities of the Kingdom. And when I saw the walls, I already felt its history. The white walls were far from being pristine as in Bigradh or Drogzilg but showed signs of mending and repairs. But even they did not hide the cracks and other scars of age.
The gate was also not one of the arched ones like in the newer cities. But an old-fashioned and impractical (well, in Reuben's opinion) triple gate system. This system meant that two fortifications, or gatehouses, were present in front and behind the main gate. Thus, to enter the city, one needed to pass three gates. Thankfully there was only one checkpoint at the first gate, with the others being for defense, or I believe we would have never entered.
The gatehouse was a square fortification with a small tower on each corner. The gate itself was about ten meters wide, ten meters tall. As for the gatehouse, it was the same, except for the five or so meters towers.
On the front towers, there were two banners on each. Almost at the same height, but the kingdom one was slightly higher. Megvuroz's or the Viscount's banner was a simple white line on the center of what appeared to be a black mountain.
A few guards in chainmail and armed with spears and shields stood to each side of the gate. As soon as we approached, they blocked our path, asking for the reason for the visit and so on.
Reuben talked while I stood there listening to their exchange. After a while, during which Reuben, as a good merchant, attempted to haggle an entrance without a full check, we still got one. And what inspection it was!
Two guards interviewed each (yes, EACH!) member of the caravan one by one. These two did not only confirm identities but even the reasons and work that each of us did.
Being at the front, I was the first one to be asked. Although I did feel like answering some stupid shit, I controlled myself and answered concisely. From there, Reuben motioned to me to accompany the four guards that went to examine our wagons, cargo, and even animals.
The guards were just absurd, commenting and asking about practically every nail and board of the wagons, what to say about the cargo, which they almost made us unload. Thankfully Reuben intervened, citing that the guards could do whatever they wanted, but he would not allow unloading merchandise on the road. Somewhere around here, I noticed that Azar was nowhere around and that Gris was surprisingly silent.
The process took at least three hours, and then I swore inwardly again as I heard the toll. I was present when Reuben paid the toll in Bigradh, and it was a couple of coppers less than eight silver. But here? A small copper per person, a town copper per animal, plus a silver per wagon! Damn, over two and a half gold coins!
And after all that, we still had to pass through two separate 'Identify Plate' sets located in the wall and rear gatehouse respective gates. I would love to see the guy that enforces such a crazy toll try and check himself on one of the plates. Would mark him as a criminal for sure!
***
Megvuroz was indeed a different city. Past the three gates, we found ourselves directly on the main street. It was at least thirty meters wide, and the wagons could travel it with no problem. To both sides of it, there was an enormous assortment of shops, bars, restaurants, inns, and whatever else, but not a single house. Each building had its own style, but overall the exteriors were polished stone, just arrayed in different ways. One could be a single floor tall, while the next could be three or even four stories tall. There was no system, and except for the more-or-less identical tiled roofs and that they started right from the street edge, I could say that it was just an assortment of anything that the local architects could invent.
What did surprise me was the lack of streets on one of the sides, namely the right one. It was as if all buildings on that side just connected between them. Reuben's mood was nasty (not that I can blame him), so I decided to avoid asking him. Thus, I went to find Bruno, as he had been here before. Actually, Gris would have been better, but since we approached Megvuroz, she avoided contact with anyone. I wonder why.
"Ah, well, this is an old city. And that means there are slums. Slums are bad for business, so they are usually hidden" He shrugged and a few meters later pointed me to a small passage between two walls, "An access to the slums. They are located behind the pretty stores and so on. Hidden from the so-called nice people. Hah!"
So basically, the logic was something around "What people don't see, doesn't exist" It made me remember the politicians on Earth, with how problems were hidden and not solved. I would have liked to learn more, but Bruno's knowledge was more on a need-to-know basis, so I decided to investigate by myself later.
What did surprise me was that there was no shit tax, and Reuben had not mentioned anything about shit duty either. This part did apply to Bruno, so he explained, "The toll for the animals is the local shit tax. And as it's not optional, no caravan tries to clean after themselves. Let the City cleaners do their job!"
Traveling in the caravan made me almost impervious to the smell, so I did not notice. But as Bruno explained, I did carefully look around. Our wagons drove in the center of the street, and there were some signs of previous animals indeed. As for the people on foot, or the ones browsing the stores, everyone walked on the sides, and it looked pretty clean.
I should say that probably the cleaners did do their job, as surprisingly even the center of the street looked only slightly dirty. I could see most of the pavement!
The people that were walking doing their things weren't anything unusual. Some men dressed like me in simple pants and shirts, while others sported more expensive tunics and vests like Reuben. Most women I observed wore ankle-length dresses, with the only difference being in material and adornments.
A couple did catch my attention, walking as if the city was their own and with two bare-chested and barefoot men behind them carrying a big box each. The man wore the local equivalent to a suit, consisting of brown pants and a brown coat over a greenish vest, with a painfully white shirt beneath the latter. As for the woman, she was probably the only one in a floor-length dress, richly decorated with something that I assumed to be pearls.
Inwardly I betted that they would be nobles, but surprisingly, they weren't. At least 'Status Screen' says so.
***
I did not ask about our destination, considering that we would reach it at some point in any case. And we did, slightly over half an hour later.
It was only then that I understood just how enormous was Megvuroz. Indeed, a half an hour walking the main avenue, and then another five minutes in a smaller street to the left to reach the Guild's compound. And even so, I had not seen any signs of the eastern gate!
"Stop!" I heard Reuben's command and how it traveled from driver to driver as the caravan came to a halt. After looking to the sides and seeing only houses, most of which were two stories tall and were built of stone and had tiled roofs, I wondered why we stopped here.
Bruno lightly chuckled while pointing towards the lead wagon, "You are looking in the wrong direction. Look in front of the caravan. See?"
"Hmm?" I did as instructed, but the only thing that I saw was a three or four-meter tall white wall. I had supposed it to be the entrance to some inner fortress or even the city limit. But now that he told me, I examined it more attentively. And by making a few steps to the side, I managed to discern a gate adorned with the Guild's sign. "Wait, you mean?"
"Yes, behind the wall. And wait to see the insides!" The driver on the nearby wagon exclaimed, answering in Bruno's place.
The sun had almost set down, with the last rays being the only illumination on the street. I learned that only wealthy stores and houses would have some lighting outside them, while Megvuroz seemingly had none of the light-posts with magic orbs as Bigradh did.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
I heard some clanking sound coming from there, which made me interested in what was happening. So to avoid missing something, I nodded to the driver and Bruno and started to make my way forward. I briefly stopped near the kitchen wagon to invite the girls to come with me. They had said something about cleaning up inside before and had not walked through the city with us. Angelique's head emerged from inside to tell me that I should go, and they would catch up with me shortly.
The gate was closed. But there was something like a doorbell that consisted of a metallic plate and a wooden mallet hanging from the wall nearby. It was that device that provoked the sound that from before. Reuben again hit the plate, but it was as if there was no one to open for us.
"What the fuckers think they are doing?" The mood because of the toll had not improved yet as Reuben cursed and spat on the ground. Strange, wasn't he supposed to know how much the tolls are? Or did it increase from his last visit?
The girls caught up with me, and the sun faded, plunging the street into darkness. And still, there was no answer from behind the gate.
"Lindar, go get Gris. And don't listen to anything she says. Drag her if needed, but I want her to come!" Reuben suddenly turned to me and gave the order. He was being slightly rude, probably because he was pissed. But, how the holy fuck he imagines me dragging her? And why would she refuse to come anyway?
***
After looking around and not seeing her, I began walking to the rear of the caravan. Each of the wagons was about six meters long, and with the beasts and spacing, the line was pretty long. Waiting in the dark probably did look very appealing to the drivers, as four of them had already taken out torches. Thus, I managed to reach the end of the line with no problem, and as Wilfried told me on my way there, Gris was indeed at the end of it.
She had dismounted and stood there with a vacant expression. Even after I called her, she did not react much, only turning a bit, not even enough to face me. An attempt at starting some conversation by asking her what's up did not work either.
"Gris, I do not know what you are thinking about, but Reuben wants you to come to the front" Whatever was happening, I considered that wording it as an order could work. Ignoring the fact that she was actually over Reuben in the Guild hierarchy, she was still technically the head of the guards. Right?
"Mmm" surprisingly, it did work as she nodded and began walking.
And I could not help but think, just what the holy fuck is happening to her? Since we moved out today, Gris was different from her usual confident and slightly boisterous self!
***
"Gris, I know that your mind is away, but please, concentrate. The Guild's gate is closed, and no one is responding. Do you have any idea what could have happened?" By the moment we returned, Reuben had calmed down. Maybe because of the girls who were standing close by, as if they had been speaking.
"...No idea, but maybe the second entrance will be open?" After shaking her head, as if she had indeed been away, Gris gave an idea. And before someone asked about the location of the entrance, she pointed towards the left side.
The street wasn't so big, being about 15 meters wide, and houses were on both sides of it. From the corner and up to mid-street, they were two-storied, while from there and to the wall, only single-floor buildings were present.
Since we turned away from the main street, I was slightly confused because most looked empty and showed no signs of people. In fact, I haven't seen a single person on this entire street!
A vacant-looking building leaned on the white wall of the Guild on the side that Gris pointed as well, so I immediately asked, "Second entrance? But there is a house there?"
"It's a fake house. Let's go" She again shook her head and motioned for Reuben and me to follow, making her way to what she called a fake.
I have to admit, at least to myself, that when she said those words, I thought that she had lost it. A fake house? A second entrance? But, it seems that I did not know enough about city-building. Or maybe guild-building?
With a single pull, the supposedly closed wooden door of the house opened. And behind it, there was no home. But a simple-looking roofed street. Or a corridor? The point is that it extended to both sides from the door, and even without any light, I was sure that it went far past the size limits of the one-story building that I had assumed to be a house. Well, now I am interested in what madman designed all of this.
Speaking of the lack of light, it took me a reminder from Reuben to start being useful to activate 'Light'. And then he reminded Gris about her 'Light' orb as well. Thus, in a record time of three minutes, a daydreaming Gris and an amazed idiot (Well, no need to be harsh to me. So let's say surprised tourist) illuminated the corridor.
Now with enough light, I confirmed my thoughts about the corridor. It indeed extended for a long distance, at least from the side of the main street. As for the Guild's direction, it ended near a small door. A door placed in the Guild's white stone wall.
Gris silently pointed, and Reuben was the first to walk towards the door. I followed after him, and noticing that the door had barely moved even with all his effort, I motioned for him to move away. The door had an iron ring in place of a handle, and placing both hands on it, I pulled with all my strength.
Even my strength, which was at least 50% higher than Reuben's, turned out to be lacking as to open it in one go. But in the end, I did pull it open with an assortment of screeching and creaking sounds that could probably wake half city. "Gris has her enchanted item or whatever +10 strength. She would have been better for this." I voicelessly complained to myself while peeking inside.
In Churg, the Guild occupied almost an entire side of the main square, while it wasn't smaller, only slightly more modest in Bigradh. Thus, I had expected to see something big, but I was mistaken. It wasn't big, hell, it was simply enormous!
Behind the door (and wall), there was a stadium-sized yard surrounded by dozens of small and big buildings. Some were utility ones, with double-sized doors and no windows, and some looked like living space.
The yard was illuminated by a few magic torch posts, something like permanently placed 'Light Orbs' on an iron pole. Under this light, signs of stopped activity were present all around. Buckets filled with water, boxes, and other things lying around randomly. And even a couple of spears near the door.
"Just what the Ten is going on?" Reuben asked as soon as he crossed the door. Taking a brief look around, he shook his head and turned around, only to bar out, "Gods damn you, Gris. Snap out of your daze and come here! Something happened."
After that, he motioned for me and asked to get Wilfried and the other three Guild guards. Which took a very brief amount of time, as Wilfried was worried about us taking our time. So he had moved towards the front, gathering the other three and sending the Churg guards to patrol the line.
***
I do not know if it was because of his previous words or Reuben did something while I went for the guards, but when I returned, Gris acted more like her usual self.
"Yond, Kalle, you two take the right side. Wilfried, Rolf, the left one. Try to act stealthily and take note of all closed doors. We will meet at the main office door. It is the building in the center. Got it? Go!" She gave a command even before we crossed the door, and the four guards immediately began acting.
It was somehow funny to see Rolf, who looked more like a dwarf (well, a bald dwarf), move silently, but surprisingly he did well. The one that was bad at walking without sound was Yond. A tall and usually quiet guy that I had almost not interacted with. With each step, his scabbard moved and hit the shield he had taken from his back, fully neutralizing the other three guys' attempt to maintain stealth.
"Reuben, you probably should head back and send someone for the City guards. Even if they are not needed, they should be present anyway. Lindar, come with me" Hierarchy aside, in a dangerous situation, the head guard was the one to command everyone, and Reuben nodded, showing that he would. I was surprised that Gris asked me to go with her, but well, no other thing to do but comply.
"Reuben, do me a favor and look after Kierra and Angelique. Don't let them decide to come search for me or something" I whispered before following after Gris.
She took the most direct route, which was crossing the yard. She did not make any sound while moving, and I imitated her the best that I could. Not that it was hard, considering that we were stepping on stone and I had nothing except my clothes and the small dagger on myself.
"Use your spells and try to find if there is someone alive around except us" As we reached the beautifully carved door that served as the entrance to the main Guild's office for Megvuroz, Gris whispered to me.
"Life radar" I had been thinking about using it before but restrained myself. As they say, [Initiative is punished] (and more often than not, it's true). But now that she asked, I immediately did. "Not here, but I see a lot of dots at some distance towards the north. Behind the office, and probably underground?"
The last part was a question indeed, as the 2d map was unreliable with elevation. The dots looked slightly dimmer (but the size remained unchanged) when something was above or below, and it was up to me what to make out of it. Still, considering that the building had only two floors, I doubted that it would dim by a third just from a three-meter elevation.
"Underground?" Gris thought for a moment, then half exclaimed, "Probably the basement. But why?"
In any case, she did not add anything or answer her own question, simply waving for me to stay put and then approaching the door of the building. She lightly pulled at the doorknob, and after confirming it was locked, moved towards the left, to the closest window. It was closed, as she confirmed after a few tugs, but a light thump on the window made one of the four panels shake.
The office had the same windows as the new-cities houses, made from polished animal horns. The material wasn't very transparent, but from Azar's explanation, it was almost ten times cheaper than glass. And easier to make from what I understood.
By the moment that the four guards arrived after making their respective half-circles, Gris had already loosened the panel enough for it to be taken out easily. The opening wasn't big, just about a square with twenty-centimeter sides, but it was enough for her to insert her hand and open the window from inside.
"Lindar confirmed that there are living people inside. They are in the basement. I haven't been here for a couple of years, but I recall the locations of the entrances. There is one in the kitchen, one in the main office, and one in that warehouse" Gris pointed towards one of the utility buildings on the left side before asking, "Wilfried, Rolf, is that door open?"
Receiving a nod in response, Gris half-closed her eyes and then drew a half-circle with her hand while explaining, "Each access leads to different places of the basement, and we do not know if all the doors on our paths will be open. So, like before, we will move in three pairs. If you see anyone, restrain them before asking questions."
After that, I used 'Life Radar' again to more-or-less point the direction of the gathering. With that information, Gris added a few explanations about the layout below.
And so, the operation 'Infiltrate the Guild's basement' began.