We set out for Junction City after Morganna agreed to join us. Though she said she would only join if we made seeing the elves a near future priority. Of course I accepted, it was one of my goals anyway. Having decided to take the bandit leaders cart of ill gotten goods, we rode on the cart. Nix took the reigns, and Fenris walked beside us. We talked about our worlds to pass the time. Morganna was shocked at how humans on earth acted towards the planet. I don't think she would ever want to visit. Her world on the other hand sounded strange, but awesome at the same time. I wonder what tree people taste like? Could I even consume them?
She insisted that I not visit out of concern I would become a threat to her worlds recovery. Normally one would be offended by that, but lets be honest, she has a point. So no traveling to her world. Probably couldn't anyways.
Before we made it to Junction City we spotted a merchant caravan coming our way. It was small, but it had uniformed escorts, so probably a fairly well off one. They were wary of us of course, but after a bit of haggling the merchant bought the cart we had. I did this so I wouldn't have to worry about a tax for the goods entering the city, or stuff being stolen. With the gold I had left from the bounty, plus all the goods and cart sold, I had 134 gold, 47 silver, and 16 copper. Yeeehhaaa! I'M RICH!!!! Well, sort of. Nix told me I have about as much as a low noble house makes in a year. A bad year that is. So, I'm not rich, I'm upper-middle class? Meh.
Actually I would have made more selling it in the city, but like I said, lots of hassle. Too much paperwork. And, too many taxes!
Morganna had some ideas for possible powers, assuming that the creatures she knew weren't all dead now. There was this one species of turtles that had a shell stronger than steel, and could grow to the size of a house on average. They lived on an Island off the coast of the continent, not far from Elven territory. Of course all the information she has is a few hundred years old, so yah, there's that. I need information, badly.
Our journey was uneventful the rest of the day and by nightfall we could see the city. Much like Fort Triss, the walls were fairly tall, with towers spaced around. Though there appeared to be more than one castle, there were three. The castles were placed in a triangle pattern along the city walls, and in the middle of this triangle was a pyramid. A big- no, huge- obsidian pyramid stood dominating over the city. (Look up the pyramid from AVP for a visual) Also there was a small colosseum not far from the pyramid. One guess what the pyramids purpose was....
Obviously it was a temple, and probably to the lord of Chaos. As we approached the city gates, which had a line of people even at this time of day, we could hear the sounds of the city. Loud shouting, laughing, and sounds of partying were easily heard the closer to the gate you got.
After an hour, or what felt like it, we were allowed in the city after paying a fee of five silver each. Seems a bit expensive, but its not like I'm going to argue with them about it. The guards didn't even bother asking about Fenris either. First thing we noticed on entering the city was that there were alot of inns, and brothels along the main roads. As we didn't want to stay in a filthy bed that would probably smell like a mix of various bodily fluids, we ventured further into the city. The further we walked the better each neighborhood seemed to become, from putrid inns at the beginning, to decent, then nice. We would have kept going, but the really nice, fancy or outright decadent inns, were behind the inner wall. And the tax to get in there? Well, hows one gold sound? Yah, thats what I thought. I have the money, but all I need is a decent bed and a good meal, so that kind of spending seems unnecessary.
So for two rooms, and a spot in the stables( nice way to call it a cage ) cost me 40 siver. Meals and bath included. The beds were good, and breakfast was delicious. The inn included a list of locations within the city. Restraunts, casinos, parks, and for the more adventurers, fighting rings, the Arena, and the Temple of Choas. All of them sounded delightful, but I needed information so we headed towards the Guild first. The Guild was located on the other side of town, so we had a bit of a walk, so following the inner wall we passed by several plazas filled with merchants and goods. Various restraunts, stores, and other inns were dotted along the avenue. The road was filled with people, which surprised me given the amount of partying done last night. Also I'm certain someone has tried to pick my pockets twice. To bad for them my pockets are just part of my flesh, and unless they had a saw, it wasn't going to change.
While we were walking I began to think about my plans moving forward, and my powers. One in particular was on my mind. The sheild power would be useful next time I'm fighting, but I should be close to getting it. On earth I got it once I consumed enough bio materail, so maybe I haven't consumed enough? Should I find some people that others wouldn't care about going missing? You know, drug addicts, criminals, and the sort. Given what kind of town this is, I could probably consume people and anyone would think they left. Maybe the Guild will have some ideas. Speaking of it, we appeared to have arrived.
The Guild here was more or less the same as the one in Fort Triss, bigger and it had its own plaza, filled with various goods related to the Guilds profession. Weapons, armors, food and other gear were all available for view. We walked through the plaza, and into the Guild. The inside was different from the Fort Triss branch. Here the first room was like a tavern, bar, tables and stairs leading to rooms I assume. A door to the left led to the quest boards, a sign above the door pointed this out, so thats where we went.
Their guest board was, well it wasn't a board. It was a board, but it was the size of the wall it rested on.
"You guys can get some quests if you want. We'll be in the city for about a week or so." I said looking towards Nix and Morganna.
"Well, we could always use more money, right?" Nix said.
"Anything not to be bored." Morganna answered shrugging her shoulders. She didn't seem to care much letting Nix look through posts.
"Excuse me. Could one of you help me?" I asked to the recieptionists behind the counter.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"Sure, what do you need?" asked one of the ladies.
"Information. Both official, and the not so official kind, if possible. If not then a place I could get it." I said quietly, leaning towards them whispering. The ladies looked nervously at me and the others in the room, before motioning me towards the counter at the end.
"Ask her." was all the lady said, before going back to their papers.
So, I went to the last counter, and was greeted by a woman with a scarred face. Her face on the right side looked to have been ripped off, or severely burned. But her scars weren't what I found intriguing, it was the eyes. Sorry, the one eye. Oh my, the eye! I've seen them on people, and a few monsters that were truely ferocious. The ones that had seen hell, meet the devil, flipped him the bird and made it out alive. I love those kinds of eyes, lets me know what I'm dealing with.
"Secrets cost much. Pay now,.... or leave." she said. Her voice was raspy and grim like. It sounded like someone that your spirit would meet after death.
"How much?" I asked her.
"20 gold.... Ask questions after." said the scarred lady. I put 20 gold on the counter, and it vanished into her hands as soon as it left mine.
"I want to know of any strange monsters, variants or rare, either around here or being transported here. Fighting rings. Not the 'friendly tap out when your hurt' kind, I want the to the death, high risk, high rewards. People or monsters, it doesn't matter. Do you know anything along those lines?" I asked her. She eyed me for a bit, then she shufled through some papers, before setting some quest sheets on the counter. I took a look at them.
An armored wolf pack of aggressive varaints were attacking travelers on the northern roads, near the village of Burke. Heads or pelts of pack needed for verify completion. 80 silver.
Unknown creature, possibly a ogre or troll, has been spotted near Garisson Point. Has killed/maimed multiple parties sent to investigate, as well has hunters and livestock of nearby villages. 5 gold if troll, 10 if an ogre. If unkown or other creature reward will vary. Bring head to Garisson Point for reward.
Bandits have become increasingly active, and have begun to hamper trade routes. A subjugation force is being assembled to deal with them. Apply at the Guild or the city garisson. Quests starts in one week. 20 silver or more based on merits earned.
I guess they assumed the bandits wouldn't do anything but wait for garisson to show up. Oh, well. Could be fun.
The rest of the guests were for merchants going out of the city. They were carrying some pretty lucrative stuff, so they would likely be targeted alot. Maybe when I'm done here. I was done looking through the papers when I noticed a letter under them. It was plain looking except the wax seal on the bottom. A black fisted hand symbol on the wax.
The one with the fisted hand read: If you have received this letter, it means you desire to participate or spectate in sports of the highest violence. However to recieve the locations of such an event, you must first prove yourself worthy. Complete a quest from ' the scarred lady' in the Guild, and she will provide the rest of the details on completion.
No indication of who submitted the letter other han the wax seal. Still they seem interesting at least. But which quests to do....?
"I have a question about this letter." I said to the scarred lady.
"Ask." She said starring at me .
"Well, it says I have to complet a guest from you. But I would like to know what I'm trying to prove my self for. Is there anything you could tell me about this 'sport'?" I asked.
"Of course... The secret about this sport is..." She wispered, before crooking her finger at me, signaling for me to come closer. Which I did, listening intently. "The secret is... It's a secret, idiot. You play or you watch. But you earn it first." She said, a mocking smile on her face. I was kicking myself now. I mean, was I honestly expecting her to reveal the information I was supposed to earn? Stupid, stupid.
"Okay. I had that coming. So if you won't tell me anything, will you tell me what quest I have to do?" I said, still feeling like a moron.
"Well, since you made me smile, which hurts by the way, you can do all three of the those." She said pointing at the three guests I had read before. I stared at with a dead pan expression.
'YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?!' I thought.
"Your kidding right. Tell me your kidding." I said.
"No. Do the guests, come back, get secret. Go." She said before leaving her counter.
Fuck me sideways! Okay, stop complaining and lets think about this. We would have probably took all three guests anyways, but maybe not all at once. The black letter had me curious, and my insticts haven't failed me before. The other letter seemed mildly interesting so I'll check it out first. If its not worth it, on to the others.
So, I need a regional map, a detailed one, probably gonna be expensive. Or someone I can consume, with a detailed knowlege of the region. Like a guide. If I found one I'll consume him. Until then I would have to settle for a map, which the other ladies were able to sell to me. Next, I should tell the others about this. But should I bring them along, or split up and tackle the quests faster? No. I can't risk Nix getting overwhelmed and killed. Though I could send Fenris or Morgann with her. Hmm.....
If the bandit 'subjugation' takes place later enough, kill the wolves, kill the bandits and kill whatever is over in Garisson Point. Collect the rewards, prove myself and play a new 'sport'. Yeah, thats a good plan....
"So you want us to kill some overly aggressive wolfs led by some kind of variant, then help the army kill a bunch of bandits. And afterwards you want to go find some unknown monster that would be best to take on with a raid size party, with just us four. Are we going to slay the demon king afterwards?" Nix asked sarcastically.
After we had left the Guild we had found found a restraunt to discuss our plan of action. They seemed suprised I would want to do so much in so little time.
"Can we charge the entire emperial army afterwards?" Morganna teased chuckling.
"Jokes aside. We need to complete all three to get to this 'sport' thing. My instict tells me it'll be worth it, and its never been wrong before." I said.
"Well, to be fair these quests do seem to be the kinds you would benefit from. But I'm not sure if Nix and I are up for some of them. No offense intended, Nix, but your not exactly a skilled swordsman." Morganna said.
"Hey! I can fight, you know." Nix responded, sounding a bit hurt.
"You can fight against low monsters, and newbie recruits. But I doubt your ready to take on professionally trained veterans, or demons above medium strength. You need more training. Maybe you could find someone around here to teach you, with all the fighting rings here there should be someone able to." Morganna said.
"Maybe. But to properly learn anything would take time. Months of training and muscle memory." Nix said.
"Well, if its what you need to get stronger, than I don't mind staying here. I could always keep doing quests around here. Find a teacher and let me know when I get back.' I told her geting up from my chair.
"Wait. Where are you going?" Nix asked confused.
"Fenris and I will take care of wolf pack before anyone else gets to it. I doubt the garisson moves up the raid on the bandits, so we should be able to make it back by then. You two focus on getting stronger." I said before leaving the resteraunt. I fetched Fenris and we made our way around the inner district walls, and out of the city.
'Are we hunting again, Brother?' Fenris asked, he felt brimming with inticapation.
'Yes, we are.' I answered a feral grin forming on my face as we took of towards the village of Burke.