Over the remaining few days of their journey, Adam got more than a light workout. Although Martin had been left behind to clean him up after fighting the dire wolves and goblins, shifting back to his human form had left him clean of blood and mostly uninjured. The bites and scratches he had sustained were reduced to bruises and scabbed over scratches when he changed back. After brushing off most of the dirt, the older man insisted that he would be wearing the same clothes until just before they reached their destination.

What followed were more fights. Sadly, none of them went quite as well as the first. Adam was shocked to discover that he had done well on his first real fight. Not good exactly, and certainly not as well as a trained combatant, but certainly better than someone normally does with their first real fight. To make sure he stayed humble, Martin threw him into every fight he could until they left the forest.

Adam proved that he had mostly been experiencing beginner’s luck, rather than actually being a good fighter. Luck that didn’t extend to his next fights. With the restriction of not using his bear form unless he received permission, Adam got pretty beat up. By the time they exited the forest that evening he was a bloody wreck.

Three stab wounds from goblins, two in his left thigh and one in his left arm, and double that number from forest spiders, mostly on his abdomen, although he also had one on his shoulder and another on his right arm. A single dire wolf, either more intelligent than its predecessors or more experienced, had nearly ripped his arm off. It had popped it out of the socket, while simultaneously throwing Adam into a tree. The resulting broken ribs, and the aforementioned arm, required Martin to save him and one of the guards to heal him.

In the end, he added three dire wolves, a half dozen goblins, and four forest spiders to the list of things he had killed. Along with whatever experience he had been left over from killing Harold, it was enough to jump him to level 7. Actually, he couldn’t say that for certain. Martin hadn’t let him check his mindscape until the night before they arrived at Sun King City, when he’d made him rapidly enter and exit until he had a splitting headache. Concerned about his new duties, Adam refrained from spending that skill point as well, leaving him with two points in the case of emergencies.

Before heading to sleep that evening, Martin sat him down for a discussion.

“I've been pushing you pretty hard these last few days, so I am unsure if you have noticed the changes, or know what they mean,” Martin started.

“What changes?”

“The days are longer, the temperature is rising, and we are surrounded by fields.”

“I noticed, but I didn’t think it was all that important?” Adam turned his statement into a bit of a question. He was getting the impression that the things Martin mentioned had more meaning than he realized.

“I think I’ll have the duke send a message back to the temple of the Queen of the Night. The lack of education in that orphanage of yours was criminal. Anyways, how much do you know about the cities in the Plains?”

“Um, they are places where people live? Aren’t they pretty much all just like the Queen of the Night City?”

Martin facepalmed. After a moment he rubbed his head and muttered, “Yeah, definitely sending that message.” Coughing, he sat up straight and launched into his lecture.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Each of the cities in the Divine Plains is ruled by the priesthood or representative of the god or goddess that the city is named after. So Queen of the Night City is the responsibility of the priesthood of the Queen of the Night, and Sun King City is run by the Sun King’s Chosen, the descendants of the Sun King’s last avatar.”

Adam opened his mouth to ask questions, so many questions, but stopped at Martin’s raised hand. “Let me finish first. Many of your questions will likely be answered in time.” He cleared his throat, sipped some water, then continued.

“Each city is more than just a place to live, they are also places to reside under the power of a god. Each guardian deity influences the energy and people of their cities. Night City not only has longer nights and shorter days, they also respect and even revere those that work in the night. Thiefs, assassins, whores, actors, and a host of others are more respected than other professions because they more closely match the blessings and domain of The Queen of the Night. They celebrate the skills that are prevalent in these professions as well, practicing deception and disguise in their day to day lives.

“This doesn’t mean the people, the city, or the goddess are evil. Far from it. They are neutral in almost everything. They don’t take sides in the conflicts of the gods, the wars of man, or the intrigues of their employers. Night City specializes in getting a fair price for the work that they are the best at doing.”

“Wait, wait. You mean all of those people that me and the boys used to steal from were thieves?” Adam couldn’t get his head around it. Not only was his home a whole city of thieves, killers, and whores, but he’d never known?

“Well, not all of them, obviously.”

“But why didn’t anyone tell us?!”

“Most likely they thought you all knew. They were probably proud of the way your little gang fit so well into the ethos of the city. Little boys playing at being thieves like the grown ups. To them it would have been like a game, or a training exercise. Other than their professional leanings, the people of Night City are just like anywhere else. If you had really been causing trouble, something would have been done.”

“I can’t… How did we never know? Why…?” Silence reigned for a time before Adam shook it off. He wasn’t done processing the newest revelation in his life, not by a long shot, but the info on Night City was less immediately necessary than similar information about Sun King City. Sighing, he motioned for Martin to carry on.

“Sun King City, The City of the Sun, or Sun City are all appropriate names. As the city isn’t run by the priests, the recognition of the connection between the god The Sun King and his city isn’t as strictly enforced. That doesn’t mean that the connection doesn’t exist. In many ways Sun City is the exact opposite of Night City, yet the two are strong allies. Here they are more forthright, holding to the value of a man’s word, a hard day’s work, and the honest truth. That makes them fairly blunt, but trustworthy. Merchants post a fair price, and don’t barter for the money. Instead they do it for entertainment, skill practice, and an excuse to gossip.

“One of the biggest differences is in the classes you’ll see here. We have a preponderance of priests, paladins, fighters and farmers. Not necessarily good aligned classes, but leaning in that direction. And yet the city is still neutral, just like Night City. Got any guesses as to why?” Martin was taking his new duties seriously, particularly as they followed along the lines he had already chosen. Adam needed a significant increase in his education, so he was attempting to work on it.

Thinking over everything he had heard, Adam tried to come up with a reason. Mother Knows Best had even kicked in, giving him more basic knowledge of both cities and their people. It took him a while to realize that it wasn’t the cities that were important, it was the deities. He had to really search his memories to find bits and pieces of conversations he had overheard in the markets and taverns of Night City, as well as the religious teachings of the orphanage to find the information he needed. “The Queen of the Night and the Sun King aren’t deities of good or evil. They are Gods of Nature, and Nature doesn’t take sides.”

“Exactly. Now I’d tell you about the rest of the differences, but I think you can see them for yourself,” he said, sweeping his arm towards the city that rose behind the hill they were cresting.