“So this is Astera…”

From atop the flying ship, Leona basked in the marvelous view of the coastal city, the vast blue expanse shone brightly with the light from the sun. Even from afar it was possible to see the bustling docks with ships coming and going, the crowded center of the city filled with stalls of vibrant colors that made the city standout from above. Though considerably smaller than the Arcadian capital, Londrian kingdom or dwarven citadel, the city was still completely surrounded by high walls that extended all throughout the land on both sides until each met the ocean with two large towers on each end.

“One of the biggest trading centers despite not being part of any kingdom.” Phoebe calmly explained as she steered the ship towards the edge of the city. “Well… unless you consider Nara as a kingdom.”

Leona raised an eyebrow as she asked.

“Is it not?”

“It’s more like a city than a kingdom really. I heard many things happened during the Great War, by the time I was born it was already just a city by the elders’ standards.”

“I see…”

“You’ll most likely encounter many other races you haven’t seen before. None of them in particular has anything against humans or high elves for that matter but just steer clear of staring. Some can be… quite unique with their reactions.”

She nodded.

“Duly noted.” She turned to Krieg who was standing near the railing, staring at the distant city. “Do you remember anything from this place, Krieg?”

“Other than the docks, no, not really.” He had a faint smile on his face. “It is still as busy as ever from what I see.”

‘It’s good that he is in high spirits.’ Leona was glad for the moment, but something felt off about that place. Much like Londria, the mana in the air felt stagnant. ‘I just hope this is just a coincidence…’

As they reached closer to the city walls, some of the soldiers wearing brown uniforms stationed on the defensive structure began to enter in combat formation with a few aiming their rifles at the flying ship, however once a man wearing a red bandana came from the city, they lowered their weapons.

The ship landed safely a few meters away from the city gates and the same man who stopped the soldiers from shooting approached the ship with three of his men in tow. As Leona saw them approach, she gestured to Krieg and Phoebe to do the same as she climbed down the ship.

“Greetings visitors of our fair city.” The man wearing the red bandana opened his arms and met them with a big smile. “For what do we honor your visit?”

After bowing slightly, Leona lost no time with introductions as she needed answers.

“Hello! I’m Ravness, a merchant of Londria. I’m after a man called Murakano. Do you know of him?” Despite not knowing the man’s reputation, given how it was the captain of the Londrian army who recommended him to her, there was little reason for her to hold back. “I’m friends with the captain of the Londrian army and she said to look for this person to-”

She stopped mid sentence as he lifted her open palm.

“Alright you lot, back to your posts.” He said while turning his head slightly to the side. “And do not say a word of this to lady Charlotte or I’ll cut your pay in half.”

“Yes sir!”

The three soldiers behind him saluted before heading back to the main group.

“Now then…” He turned to Leona specifically. Without having to put up the friendly face, he reached for his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. “So? How was she? Olivia I mean.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Wait, are you Murakano?”

“The one and only, lady.” He lit up and puffed out a white cloud of smoke, his dark brown eyes had a hint of loneliness in them. “Been a while since I heard this name though.”

“Captain Olivia and her family are in good health, we were told you could help us here in Nara.”

He scratched the side of his head before throwing the cigarette on the ground and stepping on it.

“Seeing how you actually know her, I’ll help you in whatever way I can, but for now let’s get this… ‘thing’ out of the way and talk in the city.”

He pointed to the ship behind them which prompted her to look at Phoebe and nod. Without wasting time she went back to the ship as Leona concluded the conversation.

“Where should we leave our ship?”

“Anywhere just not in the middle of the road, I’ll make sure the soldiers get some tarp to cover it up.”

“Did you hear that Phoebe?”

“Yeah.”

Leona turned to the man and bowed.

“Thank you for your assistance, lord Murakano.”

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

“Eh… it ain’t nothin’.” He turned around and began to briskly walk towards the city gates. “I’m afraid I’m not much of a host, but care to accompany me to the city? We can talk about our mutual friend on the way.”

After a brief pause to glance at Krieg who gave her an ascertaining nod, she decided to follow his brisk pace a few meters diagonally behind him.

“After you.”

The path they walked was a beaten flat dirt road, not great for walking on foot but at least it was better than trudging through swamps, tall grass or deep snow as Leona experienced before. As they walked, she began to notice they were a few ways away from the city and just how big it really was now that she stood on her own two feet on solid ground.

Minutes passed as Murakano lit another cigarette before asking a peculiar question.

“Say young lady Ravness, you are no merchant are you?”

“Huh? Where is this coming from?”

“Now that I had time to think about it, that ship wouldn’t have nearly enough space as a full caravan, plus you would’ve said something about your merchandise being in the ship when I mentioned we would just throw a tarp on top of it.”

Leona’s eyes widened in surprise. Thinking about it herself she realized that would be what a real merchant would do and recalling stories she heard in the household, some even go as far as sacrificing people for their own profits. She could simply chuckle whilst admitting defeat.

“I have to say, I didn’t even consider it before you said it. Just who exactly are you Murakano?”

“Former bodyguard of the far east. I worked under one of the most influential families as the protector of their eldest son.” He sounded proud of himself for a moment until he continued on with a less cheerful tone in his voice. “But that was only until those things arrived.”

“Death angels?”

She asked.

“Yes. Despite my best attempts to protect him, he was the one who saved me from certain death. It feels like fate is taunting me by letting me live out my days here.”

“I know that feeling…”

Krieg muttered under his breath.

They reached the city gates and the soldiers stationed there greeted them by saluting. Shortly after, Phoebe managed to bring the ship close to the city walls which prompted the man to give orders to the soldiers around.

“I don’t want anyone touching this ship. Cover it up with a tarp and if anyone comes by, shoo them away.”

“Yes sir!”

He then turned to Leona as Phoebe joined them.

“I assume you’ll need a place to stay in the city for a few days?”

“I was actually looking for a way to head to Nara.”

A few of the soldiers who heard her saying that shared a few nervous glances around each other. As whispers began, Murakano quickly dwindled them by giving a stern look towards the ones mumbling which made them stop.

“This is not a good place to talk about this.” He looked around, seemingly checking if anyone nearby could hear them. “Follow me, I’ll show you the inn and we can talk there.”

Leona looked to both Phoebe and Krieg who nodded in a silent agreement before turning to the man again.

“Very well, lead the way.”

The streets were quite different from any other city they have been before, instead of the wide and open avenues of Arcadia or the narrow corridors of buildings like Londria or Akrapocalis, Astera was a conglomerate of narrow and open streets alike in a slightly declining terrain. Houses were mostly clumped up together in order to occasionally form free passages in between their gaps, it felt truly like a maze. They kept walking for a few more minutes until the residential district gave place to the stores and restaurants in the middle of the city and unlike the former district, it was a large open space with a few stalls in the middle of the oval plaza that served as a gathering hub of adventurers, merchants and residents of the fair city.

“Wow…”

Leona was at a loss for words seeing just how many people were walking around carrying all manners of merchandise, food, trinkets and all in between.

“By your reaction I can assume it’s the first time young lady Ravness came to this place?”

“Yes, I’ve never been here before. It’s even more crowded than Arcadia…”

He raised an eyebrow but decided to just keep heading towards the inn. The smell of food in the air made Leona feel the hunger even more prominently as she kept swallowing down the saliva in her mouth that formed from just thinking about what kind of meal she would be able to have once everything was settled.

“Here we are.” Murakano stopped and turned around. “This is Toril inn. It’s owned by my liege.”

“Huh… are you sure we are in the right place?”

Phoebe asked, feeling a bit intimidated by how they were attracting glances and whispers. Though with reason, he was in front of the tallest building around the entire plaza. The oriental theme construction was mostly made of carved and polished wood, treated with the weather conditions of the coastal city in mind, the large open entryway was under watch of two soldiers armed with halberds which one of them saluted Murakano as he went in first.

“I think we should follow him.”

Leona wasn’t unfamiliar with nobility affairs such as meeting another family in their most luxurious accommodation yet, it made her heart race a little seeing how everything was new in her eyes.

Inside the building, paper lanterns hung from the high ceiling illuminated the place with a gentle warm light, most of the staff were wearing fancy white and red kimonos as they walked with thin trays while serving meals and drinks.

As Murakano went in, two young women and one older man of the staff members went from behind the counter in order to greet him in person.

“Welcome back. Lord Murakano.”

He shrugged off the stiff greeting with a tap on the man’s shoulders.

“Glad to be back. See if you get some food and drinks for my guests, put it on my tab.”

“Very well my lord.”

He went to the back of the spacious hall where there were three tables on an elevation of the wooden floor.

Despite having their weapons, Leona, Phoebe and Krieg were afforded free entry by the guards and were also greeted by the same staff that addressed Murakano.

“Welcome to Toril inn, may I have your names?” The youngest black haired woman asked politely as she bowed. “As esteemed guests of the lord I must address each of our fair visitors properly.”

“Ravness Frostleaf.”

Leona answered while giving a slight bow.

“Krieg.”

“Phoebe Hawkeye.”

Both of them followed Leona’s example.

“It’ll be my honor to serve you. Lady Ravness, Lady Phoebe, Lord Krieg, please come this way.”

They followed the young servant and as they made their way through the main hall, Phoebe could feel stares coming from other guests and staff members alike. After they sat down, the same young woman left a warm towel on top of the table in front of each of them before heading off to the back room where the kitchen was.

After seeing there was nobody near them, Murakano leaned over the table and asked Leona directly.

“So, tell me. What is the future queen of Arcadia doing in a town so far from her own kingdom, Princess Leona?”