The sun rose in the sky the following day as the walls of Southport came into view. The previous day, it had taken me a few hours to clean up the rest of the bandit's camp and pack it all into my storage. So, what should have been a little over a two-day trip had turned into a three-day one. Like the one surrounding Forestend, I knew the wall had been built with massive blocks of stone, and Stone Crafters had merged those blocks into one enormous structure. The wall of Southport also extends into the water to fully encircle the city, creating a large enclosed bay that could only be accessed through a relatively small opening. Two large doors could just be seen on either side of the opening, which, I assume, in times of unrest, could be closed to prevent ships from entering the bay.

One difference from Forestend was that only one gate led into the city from the land. Even at this early hour, a long line of people already wanted to enter the city. As I neared the city, I realized what I thought had been a single line was, in fact, two lines, one for wagons and carriages and another for those one foot, which was the one that I got into. Predictably, the one for foot traffic was moving faster than the one for wagons and carriages, so only an hour or so passed before I was the next in line.

“Name and reason for entering,” the bored-looking guard asked as it became my turn.

“Melissa Cobber, and to delve the local dungeons,” I say as the guard marks something on the paper before him.

“Length of stay,” came the bored reply.

“Um, I’m not sure, probably a few months,” I respond

“Very well, that will be three silver for the entrance fee.” The guard said.

“I was told this would allow me to bypass the entrance fee,” I asked, producing my guild card, and the first real emotion appeared on the guard's face when he saw it: disappointment. So, I thought with a mental snort as I realized what was going on, he’d planned to overcharge me for the entrance fee and pocket the difference, thinking I was an easy mark.

“You're free to enter,” the guard said, then shouted behind me. “Next.”

Realizing it wasn’t worth it to make a big deal, I headed into the city. Like Forestend, the wall was almost twenty feet thick, with a long tunnel and large, heavy wooden gates at each end. However, where in Forestend, when you exit the tunnel, you find yourself in an open area with low buildings mostly made of wood. The same could not be said for Southport. The tunnel opened onto a narrow thoroughfare with large multi-story stone buildings. Horse-drawn wagons and carriages mixed with foot traffic, creating what could only be called chaos. As I make my way carefully down the street, it gradually widens into the largest market I have ever seen. Admittedly, I only had the market in Forestend to compare it to, but it looked like you could fit at least two of those into the space taken up by the market in Southport.

My original plan had been to ask the gate guards for a recommendation, but that was clearly a non-starter after that interaction. And, I thought even if that guard was amicable to giving a recommendation, I wouldn’t trust it as far as I could throw one of those ships in the harbor. I guess it's plan B, then. My second plan had been to find the Adventure’s Guild and see if they had any recommendations.

Gem pointed out.

I said,

Gem said patently,

I say, which got us both chuckling.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Excuse me,” I ask, getting the attention of one of the patrolling guards, “where might I find the Adventurer’s Guild?”

“Ah, you’ll want to follow this road out of the market and take the second left. It's about halfway down. You can't miss it, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” I say and head off in the direction the guard indicated. After a few minutes, I realized the direction left something to be desired. But I finally found the Adventurer’s Guildhall after a few wrong turns.

I complain.

Gem responded,

I counter thoughtfully, already thinking of a few ways that it could theoretically be done. Then I let out a sigh,

Gem said.

I say resignedly, Giving myself a mental shake before I could fully go down that nightmarish rabbit hole, I pushed open the door to the Guildhall and was immediately hit by the noise from within.

Having spent a fair amount of time in the Forestend’s Guildhall, I had assumed I would be ready for whatever Southport’s could throw at me. I had been wrong. For one thing, the hall was about double the size of the one in Forestend, with a full-blown tavern taking up half the square footage. It was clear the local adventurers availed themselves of it as there were only a handful of empty tables, and from the general boisterous atmosphere, the drink was flowing steadily even this early in the day. The reception area and the Request Boards took up the rest of the hall. Stanchions and chains created a relatively orderly queue snaking back and forth.

I commented as I took my place at the back of the queue.

I countered.

There wasn’t really anything I could say because Gem was right. However, that little perk only came after I’d spent a few summers working at the Guild, not because I was the Guildmaster’s daughter as some adventurers had thought. Of course, the real reason I had talked Dad into letting me work at the Guild was because Gem and I had wanted to figure out how the Guild had hooked into the System for tracking Guild Points and Requests.

The actual mechanisms whoever had come up with the System had used were amazing but also fragile. It had only taken me a few minutes to think of at least a dozen ways to make the entire thing come crashing down. It was probably out of sheer horror that Gem had decided I would redesign the whole thing from the ground up instead of the end-of-year project she’d already set me. It had actually taken me almost a year and a half to redesign and test the new Request Subsystem, as we’d come to call it before it was deployed. The amazing thing was that, as far as I could tell, no one had been any the wiser.

“Next,” one of the receptions called, and I realized that was me. The line had moved faster than I thought it would. “Hello, what can I do for you? Miss.”

“I’m new to the city, so I was hoping you could point me toward a good Inn. Also, I have a letter for the Guildmaster from the Guildmaster of the Forestend Branch.” I say.

The receptionist rummaged under the desk for a few moments before pulling out a sheet of paper, “This is a list of Inn the Guild recommends, and most of them give a discount to members. As for the letter, you can leave it with me, and I’ll make sure Guildmaster Williams gets it.”

“Thank you,” I say, taking the list, “but Guildmaster Cobbler asked me to deliver the letter personally.”

The receptionist gave me a long look before sighing, realizing I wasn’t going to budge on this. “very well if you’ll follow me.”