"It's pretty cold out..." Bromy remarked hopping off the card, he was followed by Alex.

Before them was the massive drawbridge made from blackened wood.

Tall, moss coated walls stood around the city.

Two nervous-looking guards looked at the duo, both wearing the jGuardian mini-robes.

"A-are you the guys sent here by the jGuardians?" asked the guard on the right, he was a skinny guy, he wore a metal helmet and green tabard with a symbol that resembled the big cathedral in the centre of the city.

"Yeah, we're here to find this alleged killer," Bromy said waving a quick goodbye to Pedecree who was already on his way out.

The other guard, a shorter, stumpier man dressed in similar clothes butted in.

"The killer is real! Don't say "alleged" like they're not!"

Bromy looked over to the man.

"Right, and how exactly do you know he's real?" asked Bromy.

"Well... the murders, obviously,"

"Mm, and instead of thinking that crime is on the rise you come up with one super murderer?" Bromy asked with a bored look in his eyes.

"Why you...-!" the short man began but was cut off, from behind, a grey-haired man looking like he was in his early twenties walked up, he wore a black suit that looked a little too big for him with a thick, gold trim.

"Now, now! No need to fight!" he said lifting his hand as a greeting.

He wore glasses on his face.

"The jGurdians have a point, it could be multiple people, but I was hoping the doctor they sent over would care to inspect the corpses before we make any claims about the killer," he said with a smile.

Bromy looked at the grey-haired man.

"And who might you be?" he asked.

"My name is Dylan, I'm something of a... town-leader!" he explained, still wearing his smile.

"Tch..." one of the guards scoffed quietly.

"I see..." Bromy extended his hand towards Dylan.

"I'm Bromy, I'm here to check the bodies and catch the murderer," he explained before lighting a cigarette.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"And I'm Alex, I'm here to browse your shops and catch the killer!" Alex exclaimed proudly.

"I see, we have already paid for a place for you to stay, I'll bring you there!" Dylan explained before gesturing for Bromy and Alex to follow.

Alex looked around the town, it seemed to be tense, yet full of people.

Most of the buildings still seemed deserted, though a fair amount of people opened up businesses.

Large glass windows, cobblestone walls. some wood.

Grey-green tiled roofs.

Tall, round chimneys that smoked endlessly.

"Pretty messy, right?" asked Dylan with a chuckle.

Alex snapped back towards him.

"Eh? Oh - no, it's just pretty... industrial!"

"Mmm, I'm trying to encourage more factories and processing plants to open up here before they appear anywhere else," Dylan explained.

"Nice to see you caring for your town," Bromy remarked half-seriously.

"Well, I did study economics back on earth, I'm just doing my part to help..." he said sombrely.

They walked in silence for a bit.

Suddenly, a frogman with chestnut hair charged out from inside one of the alleys, screaming and covered in blood.

Dylan turned to Bromy but before he could even say anything, both Alex and Bromy already had their weapons drawn.

"So fast..." Dylan thought.

From inside the alley came a sound of barking, followed by a few dogs, large, black-furred and with foaming jaws.

The frogman fell to the ground and let out a scream as the dogs fell on top of him and began viciously licking him.

Moments later, the frogman opened his eyes in shock, seeing the crazed beasts now licking him.

"What the?!" he exclaimed.

Bromy lowered his hand.

"Soothe beast, a level thirty druid spell allowing the user to calm any beast equal to or lower in level."

Bromy breathed a sigh.

Dylan rushed over to the frogman, kneeling down to be on his eye-level.

"A-are you alright?!" he asked.

"Not thanks to you, dickhead! Look at what your dogs did?!" he exclaimed gesturing to his ripped clothes and bite wounds.

"I'm deeply sorry! We have a healer!" Dylan said gesturing towards Bromy.

"Yo..." Bromy said lifting a hand.

"No, screw you!" the frogman stomped off into the adjacent alley.

Bromy and Alex looked awkwardly at Dylan who got off the ground and patted his clothes clean.

"He seemed pissed at you specifically..." Alex remarked.

"Yes... this city was and to and extent still is suffering from a rat issue... my plan was to release a few dogs from the mini-dungeon in the prison, some of them got loose and multiplied in... days... still not sure how that works..." Dylan admitted with a sigh.

"...nice..." Bromy said walking over to the massive piles of trash lining the walls.

He kicked it and a dozen rats poured out.

"This town is really looking like 1880s England... and you should know, disease was at an all-time high back then..." Bromy said shooting a warning glare at Dylan.

"R-right..." Dylan nodded.

"A-anyway, let's get moving!" Dylan said awkwardly as he walked ahead towards the inn which was still a ways away from them.

As Dylan walked he saw a light-green haired man sprint in front of him, his black coat waving in the wind.

In his hand was a bunch of papers that were sent flying upon their collision.

Dylan fell to the ground, opposite him sat Felix.

"Oh, sorry!" Dylan exclaimed.

"Dylan?" asked Felix rubbing his now bruised head.

"Oh, it's just you!" Dylan said breathing a sigh of relief.

He stood up before he extended a hand towards Felix to help him up off the ground.

Dylan helped the man pick some paperwork off the ground and handed it back to Felix.

"What's got you in such a rush?" asked Dylan jokingly.

"I was home pretty late and I overslept, that's all..." Felix said in a groggy tone.

"You really don't need to overwork yourself like that! You should have just asked me for help!" Dylan said turning towards Bromy and Alex.

"These are the guys sent by the jGuardians!" Dylan exclaimed.

"Bromy and Alex!"

"Oh, a pleasure to meet you guys! I'm just the paperwork guy around here, feel free to ask me anything!" Felix said with a smile.

"They seem nice!" Felix thought.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too... I'd like to get a look at the corpses as soon as possible..." Bromy said looking to Dylan.

"Well... the office is just around the corner, but what about the inn-?" he was cut off by Bromy.

"Alright, lead me to this so-called "office", Alex, you go do your shopping," Bromy said shooting him a thumbs-up.

"Alright!" Alex replied excitedly.

"Where should we start?" asked Alex looking down to his blade.

"They're here..." Thal said softly.

"The shops?" asked Alex.

"No, the demon king!" Thal exclaimed.

"Oh shit! Where?!" asked Alex, his eyes darting around the street.

"I can't tell exactly... their presence is dispersed around the city like smog... but they're here for sure!" Thal exclaimed.

"...hmm...."

"In that case..."

"Let's go shopping!" Alex exclaimed putting Thal away into his scabbard before making his way towards the shops they saw near the entrance.