While Alec was cutting through the line, he noticed a couple people in his peripheral vision about to object to his action. However, the guards - that were still following closely behind him - put an early stop to any potential protests with their deferential demeanor towards him.

Not minding this, he kept walking forward and soon reached the main entryway, which was closed. Before he could ask the two guards behind him, one of them inserted a key into a small opening in the door, which opened a smaller door just wide enough for one person at a time. Although one of the guards did not enter it, remained bt the larger gate, single-handedly opening it despite its immense size and metal construction.

Removing his attention from that surprising feat of strength, Alec noticed the other guard gesturing with his arm. Leading Alec towards the gatehouse connected to the wall.

Passing a number of doors, Alec entered the tower-like building. There, at a distance through the open he saw over half a dozen individuals clad in armor. Some wore helmets, while others did not. Half of them were engaged in activities like playing cards, while others cheered on those who did push-ups while balancing tables or chairs on their backs.

From that distance guard next to Alec cleared his throat audibly, alerting his colleagues who gazed in their direction. In a split second, the door to the room was closed and reopened, now completely different from before. With all the furniture neatly arranged and not a single card in sight.

As soon as they entered the room, all the other guards acted as if they were noticing their presence for the first time.

"Lieutenant!"

They stood up and performed a salute, to which the guard next to him responded with a stiff nod, while Alec suppressed a smile using all of his self control.

Next, they climbed the stairs to the top of the tower, where Alec saw the battlement of the roof and the back of a man in armor with a head full of gray and black hair. He was without a helmet, and a large shield hung from his back. The guard behind Alec then stepped forward and saluted before exclaiming.

"Captain! I have brought the holder of the Royal crest!"

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The Captain then turned around, revealing a face marred by a couple of scars but with a neutral expression that momentarily made Alec think of his shooting trainer. He then opened his mouth to speak.

"At ease, lieutenant. You can head back to your post now."

The lieutenant next to Alec then spoke again loudly with the same fervor before marking his leave.

"Yes, Captian!"

After he left, only two individuals remained on the top of the gatehouse. The first to initiate conversation was the person just addressed as the 'Captain'.

"Welcome to Brightfort. I am the Captain of the Guard, in charge of the city's defense. Before you enter the city, there is one thing I must ask of you. Will you please light the beacon before the end of the day?"

"What?"

Tilting his head slightly to show his slight confusion, Alec noticed the Captain of the Guard point towards the inner part of the city. Even from this distance, he could see a large statue resembling a certain Dragon skull-wearing individual he knew.

"You will find it in the city square right below the first hero's statue. Feel free to make any request if you would like to."

Folding his arms together Alec took a moment to think before making his reply.

"There's something I have to ask from you."

To which the Captian of the guard responded.

"Yes, what is it?"

"What would you recommend as the best place to buy clothes here?"

There was a brief pause and a change in the person's expression in front of Alec. He recognized something between surprise and a slight reminiscence, which the other quickly shook off before responding.

"Pardon me, I just recalled something. The shop I would recommend is Iron Thread and Needles. You can find the shop just two streets over from here."

Alec then said the last words before leaving the gatehouse.

"Thank you. Have a good day."

"You too."

He then headed downstairs and again passed by the guards who were acting civil. After finally leaving through the gatehouse, Alec gazed at the large gate where the two guards were standing, doing their job at their assigned post. Both of them noticed Alec's attention and gave him a polite nod, which Alec returned before moving on.

While heading towards the direction of the shop he was told about, he remembered that he had no semblance of money. Out of habit, he checked his pockets for money, in doing so he felt a paper inside there. Which he pulled out and read the words written on it in his mind.

'Check inside the shawl.'

Doing as suggested, Alec carefully inspected the shawl cape, finding seven gold coins inside a secret pocket. Looking at the currency in his hand, and then at his surroundings, he made a brief assessment about the level of this civilization.

'Almost looks like I have time-traveled to medieval Europe. But I'm sure things like this weren't present back then.'

The target of his thoughts at the moment was towards carriages being moved by extremely large goats. Looking at this also made Alec think of the great strength that the guards wearing the armor showed, making him consolidate the fact that this was a completely different world with its own separate history.

Passing by a really scarce crowd and crossing the streets, he then noticed a shop with a really large needle on top of it. This caused him to think.

'Even if this isn't the shop I am looking for, it still makes me curious what they sell.'

Pushing through the door in order to enter the building, Alec saw a variety of clothes on hangers, shelves, and mannequins, as well as many armor sets hanging on the wall.

By the counter sat a boy a couple years younger than Alec, whom he noticed a second late due to having to look over the table.