It took a week to wrap up the investigation of the alley battle. During the week we continued being pampered at the inn and enjoyed the hot spring. We had been found innocent of any wrongdoing with the one-sided slaughter labeled as self-defense. Better yet, the Red Fang had been forced to pay a fine for the attack. What was left of the mercenary company wouldn’t be bothering us for a while.
I had also gotten to know Narsus better during the past week. We had several meals together and he told stories about the mercenary company and Lux. The island was evidently famous for its mercenaries even though there wasn’t much need for them on the island itself. Their services were always needed on the continent as wars and other conflicts were common.
It was a slow period with not many conflicts ongoing which was why most of the mercenary groups were back at the island for R&R and training. Ashen was home to the Red Fang and Shooting Comets while the bigger outfits were based in East Harbor. West Harbor and Lake City didn’t have any permanent mercenary companies calling them home for some reason.
I was still wrapping my head around being rich. Back on Earth I was certainly not rich, being in the middle of middle class. Beyond figuring out where we wanted to live and what house to buy, I wasn’t really sure what we would do with all the money. I hadn’t seen anything in the shops I wanted too badly, and I already had the best two girlfriends a guy like me could hope for. I was still secretly hoping for a magic bag of my own but would need to locate one first.
I liked the hot springs but nothing else about Ashen was very pleasing to me. Between Red Fang being based in the city, the horribly confusing streets, and the close proximity to the volcano it just wasn’t for me. After some discussion it was decided, we would head to Lake City next. When we wanted to sell our next batch of items, we would visit the capital. Lake City was supposed to be picturesque and relaxing which sounded good to me.
After checking out of Ash Inn and saying goodbye to Narsus and the Shooting Comets, we headed north. This time instead of a coach we decided to walk. The girls were tired of the city and wanted to stretch their legs, especially Lin. I could tell Shadow was happy to be on the road as well. She hadn’t done much in the city, preferring to stay at the inn. She had definitely gotten bigger again but I still had no trouble picking her up. If she got much bigger, she would be the same size as a large dog.
Lake City wasn’t too far. Only one day by coach or a couple days by foot. The road to Lake City started out by going through the jungle after leaving the cultivated areas outside Ashen. The road itself was pretty much the same as the previous road we had traveled down which meant it was easy going. We weren’t in a hurry and took our time.
Wagons occasionally passed us going between the cities. We didn’t run into any problems during the journey from either bandits or wildlife and camped by the side of the road the first night. Shadow took off now and then to explore the jungle and usually came back with a trophy to show us her hunting prowess. After we made camp, Lin and Lux went off to do some hunting as well. They came back a while later with our evening meal. The second day had us breaking out of the jungle and onto the open plains.
Beside the road we started seeing farm after farm. Fields stretched out into the distance to where I could just start to see the huge lake. I was told it was just called “the lake” since it was the only large lake on the island. When we got close to the city, I could see it didn’t have a wall around it and was very rustic looking. It gave me an Old West kind of vibe with dirt streets and elevated walkways alongside the wooden buildings.
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The dirt road went all the way around the lake with the city following the road on either side of the lake. The buildings only went three quarters of the way around the lake, making the city u-shaped with the lake in the middle. This meant there was still plenty of lake front property available. Wooden docks covered the shores of the lake with lots of small boats out on the water. Apparently there was even a boat taxi service.
Ann mentioned we could make our money stretch farther if we moved here as land and food prices were cheaper compared to the other cities. There weren’t as many amenities or shops though. “We are finally here. I’m ready for a bath.” Ann said, stretching her arms over her head. “It’s been a while, doesn’t look like much has changed though.” Lin replied.
“We’ll head to our usual inn.” Lux commented, leading the way. There would be no hot spring unfortunately and it didn’t look like there would be any fancy inns. I suppose I had been spoiled in Ashen. The people in Lake City dressed a little more subdued with drab work clothes being prominent. I guess it made sense with most of them being farmers, ranchers, or fishermen.
The inn Lux guided us to was simply called Lake Inn. I should have known, rolling my eyes at the lackluster name. It looked clean enough and was a two-story wood structure painted white. The receptionist seemed to remember the trio and in no time we had two rooms rented as usual. The rooms were plain but decent enough.
There was a communal bathing area on the first floor that consisted of a sunken bath although there was no hot water. A nearby well was used to wash off before entering the large bath. It still felt good to get clean and soak in the water after our journey. After cleaning up we ate a meal at the inn and relaxed in our rooms since it was already getting dark.
The next day the girls wanted to show me around the city. It would take all day to walk around the lake which is why there were boat taxis. Most businesses had their own docks which was convenient. We mostly walked but did take one boat trip to a weapon shop on the far side of the lake that Lin was excited about. Shadow and the girls accompanied me while Lux went off on his own to start researching houses and land for sale.
If we had to build a house it would take quite a while or so I imagined. With magic around you never knew. On the one hand it would be nice to design the layout ourselves but on the other hand I didn’t really want to wait and have to stay in an inn for that long. I decided to let Lux worry about that for now and we would see what he was able to find later.
Most of the boats were simple row boats with only a few larger sail boats. On the trip across the lake I could see several fisherman with their poles in the water. Ann explained that in Lake City, there were usually only freshwater fish to be found since they had no easy access to the sea. Occasionally they would get a shipment in from one of the other cities, but most residents preferred the freshwater fish anyway so there wasn’t much demand.
Speaking of the sea, the lake seemed to be only a few miles off the coast. With the steep cliffs it was difficult to reach the sea itself and there were no sandy beaches, only jagged rocks. There was one lighthouse situated in the distance, overlooking a point. It rose a good three stories so was the tallest structure around. Some kind of magic crystal lit up the top of the tower which could be seen even in the daytime. “Since we will be in the city for a while, we should check out the lighthouse sometime.” I mentioned as we crossed the lake. “I don’t mind. The view is amazing from the cliffs.” Lin replied while Ann nodded in agreement.
The weapon shop seemed pretty normal from my inexperienced eye. Lin and Ann knew the owner however, so that had something to do with why they liked the shop. I didn’t see anything I needed in particular so just looked around. Lin and Ann looked around briefly as well but mostly chatted with the middle-aged human lady who ran the shop.
After that we didn’t have much else to do so walked back to the inn while window shopping, finding Lux sitting at one of the tables. “I found a few listings for homes that are for sale. We can check them out tomorrow.” Lux announced. We all agreed and looked forward to house hunting in the morning.