Lanek’s first targets within the city gates were the guard posts on either side of the gate. He had no hope of finding any weapons or armor in them, assuming that the guards had likely been roused, armed, and sent off to stem the tide of monsters from the Ashen Depths. However, if the guard posts contained cells for detaining people or even a small sleeping area for the guards, he me may be able to find some old blankets and clothing that could be very useful for his camp.
Come to think of it, how did any of the fabric used in the guild last this long? Back home, synthetic fibers can last for a long time in landfill, but I don’t know about centuries… Is it more “magic” or is it the materials and processes used here?
As with most doors in the city of Caelis, the doors of the guard posts were smashed into pieces. After listening at the door for a moment and hearing nothing, Lanek entered the first post. The room was relatively small and consisted of a basic desk with several chairs and benches scattered about. He could see another broken door leading to a small hallway and two more doorways.
Entering the hallway, he saw that one doorway did indeed lead to a cell. However, the guards of Caelis apparently didn’t worry about keeping detainees comfortable as the cell was completely empty. The second doorway had several empty weapon racks and ransacked trunks.
Swearing silently at his luck, Lanek entered the other guard post. This one had the same layout as the previous one, but the rooms were clearly used for different purposes. The main room looked to be a common room for the guards while the other two rooms bore the trappings of a private office and a records room respectively. All three rooms held nothing of use, although he did see several light orbs that he took great pains to not even disturb.
Well, that sucks. It looks like the guards didn’t sleep near the gate.
Lanek surveyed the street ahead of him and wondered which one would have the best odds of providing him with something useful. He decided on a two story structure that he guessed to be an inn from its appearance despite the lack of a sign.
When he entered the structure, Kazuma followed him inside and settled down next to the shadows next to the doorway. Lanek felt particularly grateful for the furball at that moment. He would not have been nearly as confident entering these buildings alone and without someone keeping watch.
Lanek’s assumption had been incorrect. Judging from the shelving and counter, this had likely been a shop of some kind. It was not as upscale as the shop that Sanguineus had come from, these were simple shelves and not glass display cases. Due to every shelf being empty, he was unable to tell what the shop had been. This close to the gate… Maybe a general store or outfitter for travelers?
Searching the first floor for a few minutes turned up another light orb that he avoided like the plague. Surprisingly, he also found an intact and locked door. If the door had survived this long it was unlikely he could get it open quickly or quietly. Okay, look for a key upstairs. I really hope the owner didn’t take it with him.
Once upstairs he found a bedroom, bathroom, and a kitchen. He rummaged around the kitchen and turned up several mugs, plates, and bowls. Lanek eyed the dishes briefly before leaving them on the small kitchen table. If he didn’t find anything else of use, he would come back for them.
The bathroom had nothing of note for him to loot, but the bedroom was a different story. Upon entering the bedroom, Lanek smiled broadly at the sight of a sheet and blanket before swiftly shoving them into his pack. Finding nothing else of use, Lanek returned to the first floor and stared at the locked door before looking at Kazuma.
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“Kazuma.” He whispered at the cat. The cat glanced at him and trotted over. “Do you think you can get into the room and unlock the door?”
The cat looked at the door before fading into mist to flow under it. Lanek waited nervously, hoping the door could even be unlocked without a key. He sighed in relief as he heard a loud thunk from the door before reaching out and opening it.
Finally, some luck! On the other side of the locked door was exactly what he had hoped for, a storeroom. Stepping inside, he saw shelves and storage trunks lining the room. However, his attention came to rest on an unexpected sight at the far end of the room. Sticking out from behind the last shelf was a pair of boots.
Not liking the implication of boots resting at the angle he was witnessing, Lanek crept closer and peered around the corner. His suspicions had been correct, the boots appeared to still be attached to a body. Resting next to a skeletal hand was a key.
Lanek looked at the skeleton with pity. The poor person had obviously locked themselves in here to hide from something or to possibly ride out the dungeon break. Did they die of thirst? Hunger? Or take themselves out? Not that it matters, any of those options would have been a horrible way to go. I hope you rest in peace and I’m sorry for looting your home.
He picked up the key and slipped it into his pocket. Who knew when a storage room with a sturdy door might come in handy? He could even use it to store loot that he picked up on forays deeper into the city until he could transport it to his camp.
His spirits lifted when he spotted several packs similar to the one he currently had on a shelf. Awesome! The bedding didn’t leave me with a lot of room in my other pack.
A shriek in the distance forced Lanek to pause in his looting and look at Kazuma. The cat gave a pointed look at the storage room door before taking up his lookout spot near the entrance. Breathing in heavily to keep the memories of the monsters living in this place from overwhelming him, Lanek closed and locked the storeroom door before returning to his looting.
The storeroom turned out to be a treasure trove for Lanek. A single shelf was able to provide him with rope and twine that he promptly shoved into his new pack. There were even nails sitting on a nearby shelf.
Another shelf provided him with a hammer and one of the best tools he could hope for in his situation: a mattock. The only downside to this particular mattock was that it had a pick on one end rather than an axe blade, but he could live with that considering the small axe he already had.
Turning to the storage trunks, he found several cloaks, saddlebags, bedrolls, and other traveling gear. Grabbing a dark brown cloak, Lanek tossed it on. He walked over to the skeleton and briefly eyed the boots before shaking his head in disgust at himself. I’m not desperate enough to take clothing off of a corpse.
Resting next to the final shelf was a final gift, presumably the shopkeeper’s last line of defense if the room had been broken into, a wooden club. The club itself appeared to be roughly a meter long and covered in round metal studs. Damn, I wouldn’t want to get hit with that.
Having been lucky enough to find useful loot to fill his packs, Lanek ran back upstairs and threw a bowl and mug into the pack with the blanket. Hefting both packs and the studded club, he looked from Kazuma to the shop’s entrance. The cat simply nodded at him, as if confirming that it was safe. Lanek ran out the gate and several meters into the tree line before dropping everything aside from his chain whip and studded club.
Clearly having expected him to keep moving away from the city, Kazuma eyed Lanek in confusion. Lanek turned back to the city and stared at it for a few minutes.
I don’t really want to go back in there, but I didn’t find any books or maps. Should I leave that for another day? What about experience? Should I try hunting the monsters in the city? I’m going to have to fight eventually if I want to get stronger and survive.
Lanek shook his head at the situation he found himself in and approached the city gates once more. It hadn’t taken him long to find useful loot and it was still early. It only made sense to be go back in.
On his way back into the city, Lanek stopped at the storeroom to grab an empty pack before turning to Kazuma. “Alright, I need to go deeper into the city. I need to hunt, to get stronger. It’s going to be dangerous and I know you don’t like it here. You don’t need to come with me.”
The cat considered him for a long moment, long enough that Lanek wondered if the cat thought he had lost his mind. Just as he was expecting the mist cat to leave him, Kazuma growled before walking past him and down the street.
When Lanek turned to follow, he felt not one, but two pulses of emotion. One from Kazuma and another from Sanguineus. If that wasn’t disturbing enough, they both gave off the same emotion: blood lust.