The next morning I started packing after breakfast, the ring had opened up long ago and it held enough wealth to buy whatever I wanted. Hell it had enough gems in it to buy myself a title and lands in almost any kingdom.
I had sorted through the weapons long ago and found the ones I liked.
Staff of travel- legendary staff of the magus, this staff is attuned to all elements and can be used to harness them.
It was a six foot piece of ebony wood, it didn’t look like anything fancy but it held a power that could be unleashed in physical attack was enough to make it top tier to me.
Rings of Elven blades- each ring transforms into dark mythril blades capable of being infused with all elements.
These were like the staff, incredibly powerful and had the benifit of being hidden in two simple rings worn on my ring fingers. The black storage ring stayed on my right middle finger aside from that I wore no jewelry. There was plenty of good jewelry around but nothing that would add to my power really.
I loaded some food and a spacial camp to the black ring but left everything else here. The spacial camp was a portable cabin, it would exist in a rift and I could step into and sleep peacefully anywhere with it. I did end up adding two more outfits to the ring as well. A simple set of travelers clothes that were enchanted with self repair and self clean and my original clothes. I was wearing a set of hunters leathers, that’s what they looked like. In fact it was a complete set of dragon leather armor.
Forest dragon armor- made from the hide of an elder forest dragon willing donated at its death. This is as solid as any mythril chain mail but moves silently and has almost no weight. To all outward appearances it looks like simple hunters leathers and boots.
The armor was comfortable and easy to move in, more importantly it would stand out in the woods or any city. I had thought about changing my appearance with a magical mask but in the end I just didn’t care for now. I did take a few minutes to cut my hair up to the middle of my back, then magically braided it to keep it out of my way. That was all I had for now, I couldn’t imagine needing anything else, with that I teleported out of the house that had become my home. For the first time in more than two years I stepped into the wilds.
I immediately jumped to a tree, in one leap I covered fifty feet to land on a branch and started moving through the trees. The hum of the woods surrounded me again but now I could feel its life thrum around me. It’s magic singing out to my core, it welcomed me as one of its own. The song of the woods filled me with its energy making me move faster. Trees blurred by as I moved, not going in any particular direction just enjoying the freedom of movement. My momentary run was interrupted by a soft tug to my left, the spell sensed a dragon there.
I shifted my direction to face the pull and by mid afternoon I was in the woods just outside of cultivated fields. Miles away a keep stood on top of a hill over looking the farm lands around it. A town, human if my guess was right and somewhere inside was a dragon held captive. I had a decision to make, I could go in like wrath and ruin destroying everything in my way as I freed the dragon.
I had to admit the temptation for this was strong, partially because it was direct but mostly because it wouldn’t involve talking. I knew that wasn’t possible, well okay it was possible but it wasn’t the path I would take. I would go in and try and free the dragon as peacefully as I could. At some point I needed to enter to world of humanity again and it might as well be now.
I jumped down from the tree o was perched in and start walking toward the city in the distance. After crossing a field I managed to find my way onto a road, shaking my head once in annoyance I started walking toward to distant town. Annoyed or not I found myself whistling as I walked, a smile slowly gracing my face as I thought. For the first time in my life I would be entering a town with plenty of coin, life wasn’t what it used to be.
“Good ta whistle while ya walk young fella.” A gruff voice carried over the creaking of his wagon.
“Aye it is!” I responded cheerily to my surprise.
“Climb up on the back of ta wagon, no sense ta walkin unless ya want ta.”
“Far enough, my thanks for the ride.” I replied climbing into the back of the wagon as it passed me. There was enough room around the carrots to sit comfortably.
“Kint getcha past da guards o’course, have ta pay your own way after all.” He warned me.
“Won’t be a problem, it’s been a fair road.” With that we fell into a peaceful silence, enjoy the pleasent warmth of the day on the back of the rocking cart. His mule wasn’t fast, but it kept a steady pace and within an hour we reached the gate.
“End of the road young fella.” The gruff old man called as he slowed the cart.
“Appreciate the ride sir, good luck in the city.” I hopped off the cart and walked toward the guard at the far side of the gate where people on foot waited to enter the city. It wasn’t a long line and in no time I was facing a stone faced city guard.
“Reason for visiting Murica?” He snapped out in a flat bored tone.
“Relax away from the wilds.” I smiled at him when he glared at me.
“Costs a gold an ya better ave enough coin for an inn or you’ll find the dungeon uncomfortable.”
“Of course.” I smiled handing him a single gold coin. I didn’t bother trying to talk to him past that, he waved me through and I entered the city.
The first thing to hit me was the stink of civilization, it almost double me over as I tried not to stumble. The worst part of my increased sense was this, the overwhelming noise and smell of a city. I staggered out of the road and found a quiet place along the wall to sit down. It would take a few minutes for my senses to adjust. Another man was crouched beside me on the wall, gasping out his own trouble.
“Damn cities.” He cursed. “Been in the woods too long.”
“Same.” I managed to gasp out, my senses were slowly easing back. In another few minutes I would have a handle on it and be able to function.
“Fucking every time.” He said slowly getting to his feet, evidently his sense were recovered. “Take your time, it doesn’t get easier but it does get better.”
“Thanks.” I nodded my thanks at his retreating back. In another five minutes I managed to get it all under control and could move. I stood as another hunter fell back into the wall gasping just as I had been. Guess I wasn’t the only one coming in today.
I merged with the traffic heading away from the gate, the smells were still bad butt I could tolerate them. My perception expanded out slowly so I wouldn’t drown in the thousands of signals in the city. I mapped the city in my mind, three rings increasing in wealth with each ring toward the lords manor at the center. I casually mapped my way into the center district, wealthy enough to be less crowded but not so much I would stand out.
Weaving though the streets I made my way to the area and looked for an inn, my first priority. There were several on the border but they didn’t look like what I wanted. I grabbed a meat skewer from a street vendor and bit into the greasy meat, tasted like pork so that’s what I decided to think of it as. Eventually the crowd thinned as the level of wealth rose, ahead of me I could see an inn roaring just in the middle of the block. It looked nice but not overly done. Walking across the street I caught the sign out front, The Peacocks Rest, the gilded signed swung on a post outside the door even as I walked inside.
“Welcome sir, how may we serve you?” The pompous man behind the counter almost sneered down his nose at me.
“A suite please, what’s the best you have?” I asked, ignoring his sneer.
“The roost,” his sneer faltered for a minute at my request, “it’s ten gold per night.”
“I’ll take it for a ten day.” The look of shock on his face when I pulled out a single platinum coin to pay for it was worth its weight.
“Yes of course sir, I’ll have you taken to it immediately. May I have your name sir?” He had gone from haughty sneer suck up I. The face of my obvious wealth.
“Syn..” I hesitated, I don’t even remember the last time I had used my surname. Did I even want to use it now? “Just Syn will do.”
“Of course sir, please follow the boy.” Wealth evidently meant I didn’t have to deal with questions. “He will lead you to your room.”
“Fine, send up some wine and a platter or meats and cheese’s please.” I turned following the boy up the steps not even waiting for an answer.
The room was nice but the best part was the balcony that occupied half the roof. I had hoped for a true penthouse so I could come and go without questions but this exceeded my hopes. It was one of the tallest buildings in the area and gave me a great view of the city. I sat casually waiting on my food, not even bothering to inspect the rest of the room. My perception had taken it all in, the two bedrooms flanking the main room. Both clean and presentable, the beds were big enough and should be comfortable. It would work but compared to the luxury I had become accustomed to it was nothing. The bath had running water but just a tub. A knock at the door told me my food had arrived, interrupting my thoughts.
“Come in.” I called out and heard the door open. “I’ll take it out here thank you.”
“Yes sir.” A female voice answered. Her footsteps walked toward me, when she appeared with a tray. “On the table sir?”
“That’s fine, just leave it there.” I flipped a gold coin to her after she set the tray down. “Thanks.”
“Just ring if you need anything else.” The smile she offered when she pocketed the coin said she meant it in more ways than the menu. It wasn’t on my mind, because it was stuck running in circles.
So far I had been operating on autopilot, letting my training guide me into the room but now I was starting to think. I had taken the penthouse of a high end inn for a week, that was going to get some attention. Good and bad, good because Merchents would know me before I got there, at least those that worked with the inn. Bad because unless I missed my guess the underworld would also know if my arrival and with no backers I made a good looking target.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Then again maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. If thieves came after me I would use them to get me to thier boss, that would start my process. Thieves knew all the cities secrets. Now I just had to wait for them to make a move. It wouldn’t be tonight, probably not anyway. Likely it would be tomorrow if I went out tomorrow and acted like a stupid rich no name. Sadly with a sigh I realized that would mean I had to go shopping tomorrow, that meant people. Fuck I hated people.
I spent the evening enjoying the view while eating my meat and cheese. You can tell a lot about a place by their cheese, this selection told me this city had some good trade. It was a border town for sure, the wild meats offered on the platter verified that. All that was true but the variety of cheeses, including even one from the eleven lands, spoke to a diverse population. It took be back for a minute when I realized this was learned knowledge from a book rather than that of life experience. I had to be more aware of that difference, learned knowledge lacked depth compared to life experiences. It was good, the crisp bite of the poison added to the flavor of a creamy cheese cultured from mountain fire goats. A dwarven delicacy I found I liked, thus the added sleeping draught bothered me.
Before going to bed I checked the area for a bolt hole, there was one a few miles away. I could feel it’s welcoming barriers, it was odd but it almost called to me like home. I could be there with a thought, gone in a blink and somehow that reassured me. With that safety net in place I managed to crawl into bed, almost casually casting wards that would have awed me not long ago. Well not long by the outside worlds domain, to me it had been a couple of years.