They started to approach the large wall that separated the war-torn nation of Admia from the safety of Aquarium, and all Kenrich could feel was a sense of foreboding. More often than not, when they enter new towns they always run into some problems, and now that they were entering a new country, especially with them coming from one known for starting many of the ongoing wars, he expected this pattern to continue. Violet cared not for what hiccups they might run into though. With how far they have come, and how much they have survived, she did not consider the border patrol of a pushover nation to be much of a threat.
The wall was large and magnificent. It showed no signs of ever having been attacked before, and seemingly had no imperfections at all. Kenrich could only imagine how much a massive wall like this costs to build, but with not having to spend a single gez on water, he wondered if that balanced the costs out for Aquarium. The wall stretched into the horizon as far as they could see which made them believe that the nation was surrounded by this wall in its entirety. They were now within shouting distance of the front gate, and what they saw puzzled Kenrich, but annoyed Violet. All the guards that were on duty at the gate were sitting in a circle with their weapons laying in the dirt beside them. They were playing a card game of some sort. They did not seem to notice Kenrich and Violet coming at all. As they got closer, Violet made their presence known.
“So, can we just walk on in, or…?”
“Oh! Pardon us, miss!” A tall guard with a young face said, dusting off his greaves as he made his way off the ground. “We do apologize. We weren’t intending to ignore you. It’s just been a slow morning at the gate is all. We only need to ask you a few questions, then we’ll let you in.”
“You say that like you intend to let us in no matter what,” Kenrich said. “Are you not wary of us coming from Admia?”
“And you say that like you wish I would turn you away!” the guard laughed. “We don’t turn people away. Our only job is to record the kinds of people that enter, that is all. Now, what’s your business here in Aquarium? Are you refugees?”
“Does the queen hold that same sentiment?” Kenrich asked.
“Oh, of course! It’s by her orders that we don’t turn anyone away. She wants nothing more than to help anyone and everyone.”
“Is it common for visitors to be able to have an audience with the queen?” Violet asked.
“Hmm…” the guard held his chin. He was genuinely giving it some thought. “Citizens often get some time with the queen if they have a good enough reason, like a concern or suggestion, but I don’t know if she sees foreigners the same way. She’s a very nurturing person though, so I’m sure she does sometimes! Is that why you are here?”
“No. It was just a question I had on my mind,” Violet said. “We’re here to do some work at the guild. Is there one here?”
“Yes there is! Loch is like most cities in Aquarium, just follow the road straight out of the gate, and it’ll take you to the heart of the city where you can check out the board and see if anything is to your liking. We’ll let you through now, so welcome to Loch!”
“Loch, huh? Well, thank you,” Kenrich said.
“You both take care now!” the guard said, waving them off as they entered the city.
Once they entered the gate and made their way down the streets of Loch, Kenrich saw similarities and differences as he thought about the time they had spent in Fril a few weeks prior. Much like Fril, the buildings were all stone and very sturdy looking, but that was about where the similarities ended. There were large canals that seemed randomly distributed across the city. Kenrich thought it made sense that a place called Aquarium, which houses infinite water, would have something like that, but he was not sure of the purpose they served. They did not house fish, there were no boats, and no citizens seemed to be even acknowledging them.
Maybe they are sick of water, he thought, before realizing that was dumb, and that he was glad he did not say it out loud. A human being sick of water is a human sick of living.
Another easily noticeable trait of Loch when compared to Fril was how the people treated one another. In Fril, people never acknowledged one another out in public and just tried their hardest to get to where they wanted to be as quickly and efficiently as possible, while in this city, Kenrich noticed that everyone seemed to be having a conversation with someone. People of all colors, ages, and sizes were chatting with one another in friendly ways. Maybe this was the difference in Admian cities versus Aquarium’s cities.
“This place makes me sick,” Violet said, shivering.
“What? Why?”
“There’s something so fake about all this cheer in the air.”
“Maybe you just can’t stand being in a happy environment. Sounds like you’re a little homesick.”
“My childhood was mostly fine, jackass! There’s just something off about this place.”
“Coming here was your idea, so don’t get cold feet now.”
“I never get cold feet. Just watch your back. If what that old man said was true, then there might be Admian soldiers or members of the Coalition in this country just waiting for their chance at us.”
“I’m sure they wouldn’t want to cause a public scene, so we should be safe for now.”
“Even so, just keep an eye out for suspicious characters. Especially in the guild. We’re only going to ask for directions to the capital, so try not to make a lasting impression to any aspiring bounty hunters.”
“I’m more worried about you picking a fight with someone, so just let me do the talking.”
“People piss me off! And that was always your role, Ken, so work your magic.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
They made their way towards the guild at a slower speed than they would have liked with the great number of Hello!’s and How are you?’s that the citizens were throwing at them. Violet kept giving them all unfriendly looks, but Kenrich was happy to keep up appearances for the both of them. They were now outside the guild which was pretty standard for what they had seen so far. Like previously stated, most guilds are built under the same blueprints no matter the city or nation they are housed in. Violet got off of Atlas and tied him to a hitch outside before they entered. The feeling of deja vu Kenrich had felt managed to survive as they entered the guild as well due to another familiar sight.
“No, no, no! You’re not getting it! 200% profit…MINIMUM!!!” A familiar voice said at the counter of the guild.
“Don’t fucking tell me…” Violet said. “Not this jackass again.”
“Do me a favor and wait outside by Atlas, okay?” Kenrich asked. He felt a ‘lasting impression’ incoming. “I know you have a weird vendetta against all merchants that don’t sell you horses, so let me take care of gathering the info.”
“I’m gonna hold a vendetta against you if you don’t stop treating me like a rabid dog!”
“We aren’t supposed to make a scene, right? I promise that I’ll handle it. Spend some quality time with Atlas while you wait.”
“Whatever…” Violet said, before making her way out the door and over to Atlas.
She rummaged through her bag and got him a carrot. After giving it to Atlas, she felt happy for the first time since they entered Aquarium as she joyfully watched him chew with a cute smile on her face.
Kenrich, who was still in the guild, waited for his chance to ask the receptionist for directions but wondered if the loud, familiar voice would know. Unfortunately, he forgot about a previously made promise to that voice.
“Sir, please don’t spit so much when you talk. There’s no guild who will take this deal, so please give up on it for my sake and the sake of other guilds around the globe.”
“See! That’s how I know you weren’t listening! I’m not talking about total sales, I’m talking about profit margin. Working with me will slice those overheads in half! I can get you the same amount of product for half the price! Now, shake my hand!”
“You need to leave, or I will call for security.”
“I can see you’re not in a cordial mood today, so fine, I will leave. At least take my business card for when you change your mind though. But, wait too long and it’ll be too late! I’m heading straight to Paradise Falls to talk to Queen Puri herself, and I know someone as refined and intelligent as her will understand the profit to be made. Good day, ma’am. Please send my regards to the guildmaster,” the green-clad merchant then spun around and started walking towards the door.
“Just a word of advice, the receptionist is a little crabby toda- Hey, wait… Don’t I know you?” the man asked.
“Yes, I’m Kenrich. We met over in Fril at their guild. It’s funny to see you again in the same circumstances, Farrell.”
“Oh, Kenrich! It’s nice to see you! I could never forget such a polite young man such as yourself.” Farrell offered his hand which Kenrich accepted. “Where’s the gloomy lass?”
“She’s outside feeding our horse. What brings you all the way out to Aquarium?”
“Business of course! It’s always business. What about yourself?”
“We are trying to make our way to the capital in order to get an audience with Queen Puri. You wouldn’t happen to know the way, would you? We don’t know this land very well.”
“Oh-ho! My boy, what a chance meeting this is. This must be fate. I do know the way, and I also believe that you owe me a favor from last time…”
“Oh,” Kenrich had completely forgotten. “I suppose I do. Did you have something you needed a hand with?”
“I sure do! Two sets of hands actually. I’m making my way towards Paradise Falls myself, and I was going to hire some labor to help me make my way there, but if I can pay you in information and with being your guide there, I’d say that we can make a deal that benefits the both of us.”
“You could lead us there?! That would be wonderful! What was it that you needed help with?”
“Just some grunt work. I have goods that I need to transport to the capital so that I may convince Queen Puri to make a deal with me. She is not the type of person who shakes hands without seeing proof of a man’s words.”
“Will we be enough to carry it?”
“It won’t be a problem! You two will do just fine. Should we add your companion to the negotiations, or do you make the final decisions?”
Kenrich thought long and hard about this question. He knew that Violet would not like this idea one bit and would insist on finding the place herself, but Kenrich knew that this opportunity was too good to pass up. They could have a guide straight there, and he could ask questions to someone who actually knew about the country they were in, which would make him feel a lot better about their mission. Information is power after all. Those ignorant to the ways of the world are bound to be taken advantage of by it. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that no matter what he did, Violet would almost certainly not like it, so he took some initiative.
“I do speak for us,” he said. “And, I agree to your deal.” Kenrich brought out his hand for Farrell to shake who took it gladly.
“Wonderful! Being able to move all the inventory I purchased here for free is more than I could have ever asked for. Let’s go tell your companion the good news!”
“Sure…” Kenrich said. He was not excited about this.
They made their way outside, and saw Violet tending to Atlas with her back turned. After hearing the door close, she turned around and her eyes widened as she saw the two of them standing side-by-side.
“You did not…Did you?” she asked.
“We have…reached a deal. We can repay our favor too,” Kenrich said.
“You really trust this con-artist?! And favor for what?! All he did was tell us where that damn gem shop in Fril was!”
“And it was very helpful. It granted us more time which is very important right now, and this deal will grant us even more. He’s going to guide us to the capital.”
“In exchange for what?” She folded her arms.
“Just some grunt work, miss!” Farrell answered.
“I’m not a damn grunt!”
“We only need to help carry some of his wares, V. It’s a good deal for us.”
“Kenrich here told me he speaks for the both of you, so you should be happy he even values your opinion, miss.”
“Speaks for me?! My ass he does! The answer is no. C’mon, Kenrich. We’re leaving.”
Kenrich knew that he could not let this deal fall apart if they were going to get to the capital quickly, so he went over to Violet and mustered all of the charm and charisma he held and went to work at convincing her to bear with it.
“Please, V. Do this one thing for me.”
“I don’t trust him, Kenrich. For all we know he doesn’t have any idea how to get there. We’d do better just finding the place ourselves.”
“Do you trust me?” Violet put on a frustrated face. “After all we’ve been through, I can say without a doubt that I trust you…So, do you trust me, V?”
Kenrich could tell that Violet was about to break. He knew that she had a soft spot in her, and after all the training, near-death experiences, and actual-death experiences, he gambled on the belief that these all meant something to her, like they did to him. And, his gamble paid off.
“I do trust you, Ken, so fine. I’ll let you have your way, just this once. But, if this turns out badly, I will throw in your face the biggest ‘I told you so’ in human history. Got it?”
“Thank you, V. I’m happy to have your trust. I won’t make you regret it.”
Unfortunately, the coming events would prove again that Violet’s intuition is usually right.