Chapter 33: Arrival

Gronan and Hazel had their turn to feed Sofi soon after me and both times it went much more smoothly than it had with me. As soon as Hazel raised her hand to the beast, Sofi snatched the food out of her hand and Gronan even got to scratch her neck. She hadn't marked her anger on the rest of the group, only me who she perceived as putting her in this world to begin with.

I couldn't blame her, she had been pushed out of her original habitat and had to survive by any means necessary in the forest - which she was arguably almost thriving with how many trint there were. And just when she had gotten used to that environment, I took her to this brand new one.

And now I've made a promise with Sofi, a giant bird. Well, my life certainly doesn't stop being interesting.

I felt the whole group's spirits were high as we continued our trek to the city of Hedrenshire, the one who looked the most down was Gronan but he simply said he just hadn't slept very well the last few days. Even so, he and the rest of us were clearly relieved that this was the last day we had to walk. And after a few hours of walking along the fences of what had now become trint ranches, the city came into view.

I felt myself give an awestruck breath. It was so far away, a mere speck on the horizon, but it was unmistakable. “Woah,” me and Gronan said at the same time.

“So you two finally see it?” Finn asked. “It looks even bigger than Vlatin.”

“It is,” Hazel answered. “We have made it to the trading hub and the biggest city in all of the Anestra Empire.”

As we walked toward the city, it just seemed to get bigger. There were massive buildings that were at least twenty stories tall and made out of seemingly stones. There were wires attached to all of them, going this way and that with clothes on some but many having massive, colorful banners. There were people in many of the windows and I could see one hanging out of an open window, talking to someone down below that the giant wall surrounding the city obscured. Along the wall were guard towers spread evenly across the wall with a stack of wood at the top of each I assumed to be signal lights.

The gate to the city was made up of two open, massive wooden doors with five guards standing beside them. All the guards wore shiny, silver metal breastplates and leggings. Four of them also adorned helmets that fully covered their faces and had red feathery mohawks placed in the middle.

The other guard had nothing to guard his face, revealing his gray hair with a big bald spot in the middle, bushy mustache, and inhuman, marble-black eyes. “Halt,” He commanded. “What is your purpose for coming here?”

Hazel spoke, “We are Adventurers, and we wish to officially join the Adventurers Guild.”

“I see,” He was silent for a moment. Perhaps he was looking over us but there was no way of knowing with his blacked-out eyes, it made me feel uneasy. “Your purpose appears genuine, you shall be allowed inside the Hendrenshire premises…given you provide us the toll fee of two gold.”

“The toll fee?” Gronan asked, “Is it normal to have a fee to enter a city?”

“No,” Finn answered before the guard could answer. “It’s not.”

“It is here,” the guard said, stone-faced. “Pay, or leave.”

“Why is there a toll here?” Hazel asked. “When there is not one in Vlatin.”

“We are not Vlatin, Mayor Clayton put the toll in effect last year for anyone not living in the city. And as I have never seen any of you, none of you live in this city.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Finn said. “We’re not paying that!”

“It’s just two gold,” I said.

“No!” Finn wheeled on me. “I’m not gonna give money to this asshole trying to steal our money.”

“It is to enhance the citizens of the city,” The guard said.

“Screw you! I’m a citizen of this empire, does that mean nothing?” He asked.

“Not to this city.”

Finn took a step toward the guard. In that moment, I saw the four other guards get tense, their hands going straight to their swords but the helmet-less one didn’t budge. “Why you-”

Gronan pushed him to the side so hard he fell to the ground. In Gronan’s hand was a small pouch.

“What in Gahen?” Finn asked angrily as he began to get up.

“Here,” Gronan dug through the bag. “Eight gold coins,” He handed the coins to the guard. He then took another one out and gave it to him, “For the troubles he caused you,” he nudged his head in Finn's direction.

The guard moved out of the way of the gate. “Enjoy your visit,” He moved his head entirely at Finn to make it clear he was looking at him. “And please, do not cause any further disturbances in our peaceful city.”

Finn glared at him, “Dickhead,” He whispered.

Hazel grabbed him by the arm, pulling him close to her and we walked through the gates.

As we stepped inside, my breath was taken away. For the first time, it wasn’t from a monster but the new world I found myself in. People were bustling about, all of them walking quickly on the nicely made cobblestone pathways to get wherever they were going, there was shouting in the distance, and towers began to surround us as we walked further into Hedrenshire. The towers weren’t massive, at least not by Earth standards, but there were so many of them, all of them made out of simple stone. I looked up to the many wires crisscrossing above me and saw that many of the colored banners had words on them. I read a red one that simply read “Keep moving onward,” and then another that was a deep purple with a white circle in the middle with words in the center that read: “Never Forget”.

What does that mean?

“Stop picking fights you can’t win, brother,” I heard Hazel say.

Finn sighed and said softly, “Sorry.”

In front of us, there were carts on the sides of the streets, filled with types of jewelry, weapons, food, and everything else I could imagine.

“Seems we are in the market district,” Hazel said. A man bumped into her in the crowd. “Can you tell me where the Adventurer’s Guild is?” She asked him.

He pulled away, as if scared at what she just said. He pointed down the road, “Down Main Street and then take a right on Fifth Street, you can’t miss it,” He said and quickly got away from us.

“Why the fear?” I asked Hazel.

She and Finn shared a look. “Adventurers have...a long history. Many are afraid of them in cities.”

“Really?” Gronan asked. “They were revered in District Two.”

“Hell, we seemed revered everywhere before now.”

“In the city it is different,” Hazel said simply.

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I didn’t get a chance to ask what she meant by that before the two of them were slipping through the crowd. I tried to push my way through to follow them but the crowd was so thick I could barely get three people in. I ended up in the middle of the crowd with people all around.

There were so many faces, so many colors. Someone yelled out through the crowd, “Get a fresh benja fruit! Fresh benja fruit!” It was the one distinct voice in the voice of many as they swarmed my brain. I couldn’t focus, there was just too much going on.

I could feel my heartbeat picking up, and my breathing shortening. What’s a benja fruit?, I thought absentmindedly. What does it taste like? I wondered if I should call out and get one. But I couldn’t, my voice was gone. I was no longer myself but just another faceless person in the crowd.

I had to get out of this situation. I pushed the person in front of me and they crashed into the many people around them. I began to shove my way through, causing people to bounce around like bowling pins. People were yelling, some of them in pain. I didn't care, they should've gotten out of my way.

And then I was out and I sucked in fresh air in relief.

I looked up to see Hazel and Finn in front of me, both of their eyes seemed taken aback by the sight of me. I turned around to see why. Several people in the outskirts of the crowd were on the ground, a few of them catching their breath as they got back to their feet. They looked at me with a flash of anger in their eyes before recognition came to them. Fear replaced the anger then and they went back to the crowd.

Soon after, I saw the top of Gronan’s head bobbing in the crowd and then he was out - slowly pushing through people to not hurt them.

“Not one for the crowds, huh?” Finn asked behind me.

I looked at my hands. “Did I push them that hard?” I didn't look very strong, I didn't even look that strong.

“You have to keep in mind,” Hazel said. “Adventurers are stronger than any average person.”

“Don't worry,” Gronan said. “I healed any that got even a bruise.”

That didn't make me feel any better. Well, much. If that was without even trying, I didn't want to imagine what would've happened if I were trying. I had an inkling about why people in the city had so much fear of Adventurers now.

“Come on, the Adventurers Guild is just a few buildings away,” Finn said. I forced my eyes away from my hands and followed him to a large building that was the only building made out of a different material I had seen so far. It was made out of some sort of slightly reflective metal, maybe even steel, with a big, wooden billboard attached to the side that contained symbols on it that I could understand: Adventurers Guild.

Outside, there was a man and a woman. The man had slicked-back hair, wore a black, and white scarf around his neck, and wore an unbuttoned gray suit. The woman had on a black dress that seemed to stick to her form. I felt like I was looking at two art gallery attendants.

The man spoke with a thick accent I couldn't place and didn't look at us, instead at the back of his hand which he had splayed out like he was inspecting every finger, “Watching the commotion in the crowds, I assume you all are the new Adventurers.”

“Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild,” the woman said, much more invitingly than him. “My name is Venelope and this is my partner, Lequin. It is unusual to have a whole party of Adventurers join before even being acquainted with the Adventurers Guild but it will make this easier.”

“Come with us,” Lequin said, putting his hand down. He opened the double doors, letting them fling open and he stood there for just a second as if he were making a dramatic opening in a movie.

The room inside was huge and was adorned with a red carpeted floor, made even more vibrant by the gigantic chandelier that illuminated the whole room. To one side of which was a small line of people, many of whom looked much stronger than us, several of which I was sure weren't human. Several had different colors of skin, others had scales, and one even had an octopus-like face. Lequin and Venelop ignored all of these people and went straight to a staircase ingrained in the wall opposite the entrance.

“This is the main lobby for the Adventurer's Guild,” Venelope said as she nonchalantly pointed to the line of people. “The booth there is our receptionist. You will go there for contracts, including special ones.”

“But first,” Lequin said, a mischievous grin touching his lips as he looked over his shoulder at us. “You must register your group upstairs.”

We walked up the stairs to the second floor and were met with a hallway with the same red carpet. The rooms on each side had glass so we could see inside. In one room was a man who was throwing knives at dummies, hitting each target with ease. “These are the normal training rooms, they are here for you to train normal skills for combat. No magic is allowed in these rooms unless to heal.”

“That is if you are caught using magic,” Lequin said.

“Don't encourage,” Venelope snapped. “The stairway to the next floor is on the other side of the hallways.”

We followed her to the next set of stairs which curved around much like the last set. Once more, there was another hallway with several doors but no windows this time. “These are the working quarters for our staff here at the Adventurer's Guild,” she opened the second one on the left and held it open for us. “This is the registration room.”

“Why so far from the lobby?” Finn asked.

She gave a slight smile to him, “The maker of this building likes the…” she considered our words. “Inconvenience.”

We went inside and were greeted by a woman sitting at a nicely crafted, wooden desk. Her hair was in a tight bun, she had small glasses that had a gold chain attached to the back of them which was around her neck, and she had on a white cardigan with a black shirt underneath. Her eyes were closed and she had her fingers laced together as she laid her elbows on her desk. At the end of the desk was a golden block with a name engraved into it: Brenda Grenwick.

“One moment, Adventurers,” Brenda’s voice was calm but commanding.

We all did as we were told and the room was silent for several moments until it was bordering on the uncomfortable. Finally, she opened her eyes and flashed us a small smile. “Hello, Adventurers.” She looked to the two who brought us in, “Venelope, Lequin, please go to the set-up room.”

They each nodded and left the room.

Brenda looked back to us, “It is always a pleasure to see new faces, especially ones that have already formed an affiliation with other Adventurers.” The way she spoke was formal and close to Hazel, if a bit more verbose. She reminded me of what I assumed a woman CEO would look like on Earth. “I heard that Milanda has already contracted you all to avenge one of our brave Adventurers. She must think of you all quite highly to do such a thing. Now, I must ask each of you a quite simple question, one with conditions I very much hope you all will agree to. Will you join the Adventurers Guild?”

Finn spoke up, “Why do I get the feeling that joining the Adventurers Guild would be a lot more complicated than simply continuing to get contracts.”

Her smile broadened. “Because it is. As Adventurers, official Adventurers that is, you pledge the remainder of your life to our service. That service being, to continually help the Empire.”

“Heh,” Finn snorted, “So finally an actual answer. We are helping the Empire. How so, are we lap dogs?”

I would’ve expected her to get mad at that question, but instead, her face didn’t change. “Effectively, yes. But you get much better treatment than a simple lap dog, you get the best of food, the most coin, and, of course, the best possible life.”

“As long as we continue to live.”

“Naturally.”

“I don’t want to join.”

“Brother!” Hazel turned to him, her eyes wide.

He shrugged, “I hate the Empire.”

“Don’t say that,” Hazel hissed, her voice slipping out of her usual formality.

“It is okay, I understand your sentiment,” Brenda said calmly. “Do not feel afraid to express your feelings around me, in the Adventurers Guild, we accept all opinions.”

“But I’m not in the Adventurers Guild,” Finn said sharply.

She gave one, small laugh. “Your words, they speak so assuredly. But your heart seems to be in a much different place.”

He sighed, “So you can read minds too?”

Brenda shook her head slightly, “I do not have to.”

He gave her a long look and he chewed the bottom of his lips.

“While he chews on that,” I stepped up to the desk. To me, there was no better way of getting back home than by joining. “Where’s the pin?”

“What pin?” Brenda asked.

I looked at her and saw her blue eyes - hadn’t they been hazel? - flash a small light. Pain seared into the center of my chest and I opened the top buttons as quickly as I could to see what was happening to me. The outline of the iris of the metallic eye in my chest was glowing a bright white and it was now a sword that was pointed downward.

I looked back up to her, “What the hell did you do to me?”

“Welcome to the Adventurers Guild. You have been branded with our crest, do not worry, though, as it is only visible to ones who seek it.”

“Nope,” Finn backed away to the exit. “No way in Gahen am I joining. Are you coming, Hazel?”

She looked at him for a long moment.

“Hazel?” He asked again. His face dropped then, it was as if he had just been shot in the chest.

She turned away from him and nodded to Brenda.

“I’ll join too,” Gronan said.

Both of them winced and their chest began to glow dully like mine had.

Finn sighed and he gripped the handle of the door.

“Brother,” Hazel’s voice nearly trembled. “You do not have to join if you do not wish to.”

He looked at his hand holding the handle, I could see his hand press into it as he gripped it hard. He let go of the handle suddenly and, with a heavy sigh, said, “I’ll join too.” His chest glowed just like the rest of ours but he didn’t react to the pain.

Brenda stood up and put her hand out widely to us, “I welcome all of you to the Adventurers Guild!”