As the scene of the battle receded into the distance, I once again felt bad about the dead driver. I had wanted to take his body with us but there was no room. We were barely able to squeeze on board the wagons the way it was. Instead, I made a simple grave using my magic so animals wouldn’t disturb the body. Once we reached Ashen, we would inform the authorities and hopefully they would send someone to investigate and hopefully retrieve the body for a proper burial.

We reached the outskirts of Ashen by noon. I thought we might run into the loose Gazax but it must have taken off into the jungle. We had been slowing traveling uphill for a while and I could catch glimpses of the volcano through the trees every now and then. Supposedly it was extinct, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to believe that. When we broke out of the trees I could see it much better as it rose up into the sky with the top obscured by smoke or haze, I couldn’t be sure. It was mostly barren rock with clumps of greenery here and there along its sides.

Sitting at the base of the old volcano was the city of Ashen. The jungle stopped a few miles away from the city with rough, boulder strewn ground leading up to it. Farmers had cultivated small chunks of land between the larger rocks. There was no wall around the city and no real planning from the look of it. Buildings seemed to be scattered haphazardly around and it appeared to be roughly twice the size of West Harbor.

Shadow had been laying in my lap the whole time and I gently picked her up as we stopped by the checkpoint leading into the city. I gingerly made my way down from the wagon, feeling like an old man. It felt like my whole body was sore from the rough ride. The girls and Lux seemed to be perfectly fine which only made me sigh louder. Lux and the merchant went up to the guards while I hung back with the girls.

I didn’t have any identification but it didn’t sound like that would be necessary. We would just need to pay an entry fee to get into the city. The main priority was informing the guards about the ambush by the mercenaries and the death of their driver. Lux beckoned us over as we each had to give statements to the guards about what happened. We got some weird looks, especially me since I was still covered in dried blood. The rest were just dirty and all our clothes were a little tattered from the battle.

The guards wore leather armor with chain mail and held spears. One was an older human with a beard while the other was a blonde-haired elf. I couldn’t tell how old he was and idly wondered if they lived a really long time like in the fantasy stories back on Earth. They separated us and talked to us one at a time. I was a little nervous talking to the guards although they seemed friendly enough.

It didn’t take long and after the guards were satisfied we continued into the city, parting ways with the merchant. The guards seemed to believe us, especially after the merchant’s testimony. Since the mercenaries weren’t actually bandits with bounties on their heads, we wouldn’t be getting any rewards. We still didn’t know who had hired them, but Lux knew some people in town and would ask around. I kept on the lookout for anyone with the mark of the Red Fang but so far there was nothing.

Our next priority was going to the auction house. The sooner we handed over the items for the auction the safer we would be. “After the auction house, I want to find the nicest inn and take a long hot bath.” Ann said tiredly. “Sounds good to me, any suggestions?” I asked. “We never had enough money for any of the fancy inns so I’m not sure. We’ll have to ask around.” Linn replied. “I’m sure someone at the auction house can recommend a good place.” Ann continued. “It has to have a hot spring though.” Lin commented.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

We followed Lux who was the only one that knew where the auction was. The streets twisted and turned, and I was soon hopelessly lost. The buildings were similar to West Harbor except the roofs had wooden shingles instead of thatch. Everything was just as colorful including the clothing of the pedestrians. With a name like Ashen, I half expected the houses to be painted in shades of grey. There were slightly more humans than I had noticed in West Harbor and again everyone was good looking.

I carefully avoided staring at a gorgeous tanned brunette that we passed since I could tell Ann and Linn were watching me like hawks. “Definitely something in the water.” I mumbled. I was a little afraid I wouldn’t measure up to the standards of this new world. Sure, my physique had been improved but it was still my original body and face which I thought was pretty average. I tried to banish my insecurities as Lux led us to a large three-story brick building.

There were lizard folk guards in heavy armor on either side of the entrance that eyed our shabby appearance suspiciously. Lux ignored them and walked inside with thankfully no reaction from the guards. The exterior was fairly plain, but once we got inside there were decorations and finery on display everywhere. There was a large reception area with a stone counter that we approached.

Lux explained our purpose and we were ushered into a side room by the smiling cat girl receptionist. “Please wait here. We will have an appraiser look at your items shortly.” The receptionist bowed before closing the door and returning to her counter. There was a large ornate table in the middle of the room with plush couches along the sides. We started taking out the items that would go in the auction and putting them on the table.

Previously we had decided what would sell in the first auction. We would keep a few of the health potions for ourselves and the girls kept a couple of the birth control potions. Half of the remaining potions would go in the auction. Half the gems and jewelry would also go in the auction. Depending on what the summoning lightning rod was made of, it would be put up for auction as well.

With any luck, the perpetrators would think this was all our loot and leave us alone. Then we would sell the remainder in a future auction. We also had a few ornate weapons that would go in the next auction. The hope was the first auction would give us an idea of what things were selling for. If things went too low then we could try selling the next batch in the auction at East Harbor.

I had never been to an auction before so was looking forward to it. According to the sign by the reception desk the next auction would be in two weeks. Lin had to read the sign for me as I still couldn’t read common very well. I would have to redouble my studying. I really wanted a magical bag to match the others so maybe I could find one at the auction. Ann made it sound like I would be unlikely to find something like that at one of the stores in town.

After about 15 minutes an elderly looking dwarf in a fancy dark colored suit came in. I assumed it was a dwarf anyway by his short height, long beard, and muscular body. He had a monocle over one eye that shimmered so I assumed it was some kind of magical tool. The receptionist had worn a kind of business suit as well which contrasted greatly with the casual skimpy clothing of the people on the streets.

“I hear you have some items you wish to place in our next auction.” The dwarf said as he entered. When he got close to the table he did something with his hands and the table lowered to his height. “If they pass muster then there shouldn’t be a problem. We only accept the highest quality items in the auction.” The dwarf continued. His eyes seemed to light up after seeing what we had laid out for him.