The carriage approached the gate; the entrance to the city of Aquentia. High walls with the flags of Selediano–a red and black flag with a shield that had the wings of a dragon spreading from the sides. A long line of carriages and people were headed to and from the city gates.

The mud squelched as the civilians walked by–some with huge bags on their backs. Shael and I put perfumed cloths to our noses as a powerful breeze sent the most putrid scent of manure toward us.

We entered the gates, but the path up ahead was too narrow; the coachman turned to his left approaching a station where transport carriages were lined up close to each other. "This is your stop lad, and lady!" The old coachman said, a huge smile spreading across his face revealing missing teeth. In the city, houses were clustered. On the long stretch of cobbled roads, Houses on opposite sides of the road were huddled together.

I unlocked the chest and took a pouch from it ready to pay him, but he raised his hand stopping me. "Don't worry about payment, I already received quite a hefty sum from your grandfather!"

I raised a brow. Grandfather? he probably mistook Reinhold for a family member; that was good, no one caught onto us. I took the scroll Reinhold gave us from my pocket, my eyes darted from word to word as I tried to retain the information. It said that every two weeks, a convoy of two carriages always arrived at a tavern called: The Snoring Fox.

"Excuse me, can you please give us the directions for a tavern called: The Snoring Fox?" I asked, slightly nervous.

"You young ones have good taste don't ya?! He chuckled. "Cross the bridge you see in front of ya there, take a left to Swan street, and continue walking, you'll see the big ole sign! And the pretty building, can't miss it."

I smiled, "Thank you!" I turned around, my smile quickly fading. "Ok, Shael," I whispered. "When we find the tavern take a look around for some routes."

Shael nodded, "I can do that!" We took up our chests filled with armor and clothes.

As we walked closer to the bridge, a window from the top floor of one of the houses opened. A woman with a bucket threw sludge that stank horribly. Shael and I stopped dead in our tracks as the sludge splattered. Shael turned her face and held my arm tightly. We walked around the feces quickly towards the bridge. People walked from and towards it.

The scent that came from the river below almost made me reel. How could anyone live in a place like this?

We reached the other side of the bridge, and at the end was a junction. A road went straight down through the middle of a cluster of houses. In the distance was the castle belonging to the castellan of this city. The roof of the castle was red. Nine spires rose from the front end of the castle; the entire castle looked menacing.

They were two other routes but the street sign told me my destination. We took a left on Swan street and made our way through the thick crowd. Roofs were lit by the light of the sun but the ground was dim and gloomy. Vending stalls were set up on opposite sides of the street; some vendors sold untine, and others sold fire carambola. We walked down the busy street filled with the sweet smell of bread baking mixed with manure. The sound of coins rang as people bought and haggled.

We finally approached the Snoring Fox tavern and the old carriage driver was right, it looked better than all the other pubs and houses huddled on the thin streets. It had marbled walls; the sign on the front was made of gold; it looked like a palace. I felt a sense of accomplishment finding this place, but it was soon snuffed out. Seledianon soldiers, in their silver armor with red cloth wrapped around their waists, were coming in our direction. The man who looked to be the leader wore similar armor but he had more intricate designs on his armor compared to the plain silver look of his subordinates. They wore simple bascinets helms that covered their entire face and were able to see with the slits in the helmets. Their leader wore a beautiful silver morion helmet with red feathers.

My heart raced when I saw them approach, I breathed in and out slowly as I convinced myself that we weren't suspicious. We got closer to them, their leader stared at Shael with lustful eyes. Suddenly, he whistled at her. "Fine lady you got there, mage!" He shouted.

I gave a slight smile and looked forward, sighing in relief. I looked at Shael, who scowled in disgust. We stopped in front of the Snoring Fox and took a look inside. It was very full considering how early it was outside, men laughed while putting huge mugs to their heads not coming up for a breath of fresh air.

The chest I held was beginning to make my fingers sore. I nudged Shael with my elbow, bringing her attention to me. "We have to find someplace close to stay," I said looking around.

Shael adjusted the chest in her hands; an annoyed look on her face. "Where would we find a hotel in this piece-of-shit city?"

I looked around, and Just barely, I saw the sign of a hotel four houses down. If we could get a good room, we would have a perfect view of the tavern. I nudged Shael's arm again. "What is it?!" A tone of annoyance in her voice. I smiled, "We're in luck, Follow me!"

We walked pasts, multiple persons before we reached the establishment: "The Sanctuary hotel." "This is it!" I said excitedly. Shael sighed roughly, "Finally! We'll be able to put down these chests." In my right hand, I held the chest tightly to me as I held the door open for Shael. When she reached the other side she did the same for me. Inside, wasn't as stinking and bustling as outside. A single bartender stood at his counter cleaning glasses. They were six tables in all with only a couple of people sitting at them chattering and laughing. Shael and I walked toward the bartender's counter; our boots thumping the floorboards beneath us.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

We rest our chests on the ground, allowing Shael to give her arms a rest. "Are you the owner of this establishment?" I asked, trying to sound as confident as possible. He put the glass he was cleaning on the counter and came towards me. "Yes! I am the owner, mage."

"I would like to rent a room for two weeks please, and I would like windows facing the street outside. Can you get that done?"

"I could arrange that for ya! If ya got the money. Two weeks! That'll be two golden Seledianon marks." He said, now leaning on the table.

I grabbed the key to my chest and unlocked it, the pouch of money lay tied up over my armor. I unwrapped it and took out two Seledianon gold marks. I locked my chest and placed the money in his hands. He raised his eyebrows, "Ah! Rich, are we?" He said while bringing a book from beneath the counter. "Tell me young mage, is the pretty las your wife?"

I looked at Shael in surprise who also looked at me the same way in return. I pierced into her eyes looking for any sign of disagreement, but there was none. She tilted her head towards the old man as if to tell me to hurry and answer his question---I did so. "Uh, She is, we recently got engaged."

I turned to Shael who smiled at me and shook her head in embarrassment; I couldn't help but smile embarrassed at how awkward I sounded. "That's nice lad, anyway, Follow me." He said with a key around his fingers. Shael and I picked up our chest and followed the old man up the stairs that were next to the bar.

A long hallway with multiple doors stretched; five doors in all on both sides. We stopped at the first door. With a twist and shake of the key, he opened the door. Revealing a nice and pristine room, it wasn't perfect but it still looked and smelled good. Pressed against the wall that backed the other rooms was a single bed with red bedsheets and pillows with an elegant flower design on them. A drawer sat beside the bed. Next to the drawer, two windows overlooked the street and brought a nice glow of light lit in the room.

"This is the best room I could give ya for the amount of money you paid, hope it's to your liking." The old man said throwing the key on the bed. Shael rest her chest on the ground followed by me. "The room is perfect," She said with the best smile she could muster. The old man nodded and returned the smile before closing the door.

Shael sighed loudly and dropped herself onto the bed. "I'm so tired I could sleep for a thousand years," she said; her voice muffled from the pillow. I took the key from underneath her feet. "Ok then, you stay here, I'll look around."

I exited, locked the door, and slid the key into my pockets. I walked down the stairs; my feet thudding against the wood as I rapidly descended the steps. "You're heading out, already!?" The old man asked surprised. "Yeah! I'll be back in no time," I assured.

I opened the door almost bumping into someone as I exited. "Sorry."

I walked towards the Snoring Fox tavern, I reached the front of the tavern and saw something I stupidly missed. To my right, was an alleyway, with boxes and barrels stacked atop each other. A smaller and less well-built structure was connected to the tavern. My guess was, that it is used to bring in goods to the tavern.

For hours, I explored the city. I found barely any alleyways and the only way you could operate without being seen, was by going roof to roof. I quickly scratched that plan, if we wanted to capture a prisoner we wouldn't be able to go that route.

The sun was high, lighting the gloomy street that led to the hotel I was heading to. I opened the door to find the hotel's restaurant empty, The old man just leaned on the counter reading a small book. He slightly looked over the book and acknowledged my presence. "Good afternoon sir! Glad to see you return safely."

I nodded."Thank you!" As I walked towards the stairs. I reached the door to the room. I slid the key from my pocket and it exited with a jingle. I pushed the key into the lock only to find it already opened. My heart dropped. I opened the door quickly, Shael wasn't on the bed. She sat in a chair looking through a window close to the bathroom, her head resting in her hand that was propped on the window sill.

I sighed with relief. "Shael, you had my heart racing."

She got up from her seat, "Sorry about that, I saw you approaching the hotel but I didn't bother to head downstairs. Anyway, you can go and get some rest, I'll take the first watch." She said leaning on the sill.

"That's very kind of you but I'm not tired." Shael didn't seem to be a talkative person; that was good, I didn't know what to talk about either. "I'm going to wash up, I feel dirty," I said while walking towards the loo.

I entered and took off my clothes stepping under the metal pipe with the symbol of the water goddess. It was just like the one I used at my father's castle. It was a mystery as to how the old man downstairs acquired such an expensive utility. I poured magic into the symbol to activate it. Water began to gurgle before rushing out of the pipe. As the water ran down my body, I began to think about Shael, and how she acted. Was I ugly? Is the city making her annoyed? Does she hate me? I shook those thoughts from my head. I have a mission to complete.

I applied some soap and perfume and the smell soothed me; the stench of the city made me light-headed. Upon exiting the shower fully clothed in a plain black shirt and black breeches. Shael still sat at the window silent, eyes fixated on the Tavern. I stared at her face taking in her beauty. I inhaled. "Shael."

She turned her head to me with her eyebrows raised. "What is it?" I grabbed the key for my chest from the key holder. "It's time to lay out the plans for our task." She got up and stretched, "Right, I got lost in thought," She said while yawning.

I gestured for her to sit on the bed while I unlocked my chest. I took a piece of paper and a quiver, the paper was rolled neatly into a cylinder, and I spread it out on the bed beside Shael. She crossed her legs and shifted her body to get a good look at the paper.

Many thoughts were coming into my head at once; it was hard for me to think clearly, and get my ideas and plans out to Shael. I snapped my fingers multiple times trying to get myself to concentrate. I cleared my throat trying to dispel this nervous feeling.

I told Shael the plan for capturing the leader when he arrives. I told her about, the shack that was connected to the tavern, and how it could be used for distributing the weapons to our targets. "

"Here was the plan: We would equip our gear and exit the building. Our exit would depend on the time. If it is late at night, we will pay the owner of the hotel, go back to the room, and exit through the window hopping from roof to roof until we reach the tavern. If it is daytime, we would exit through the front door. From there, we would confirm if it is the smugglers or not. There was only one problem, we didn't know what they looked like; we will have to tread carefully. Our escape from the city will be by horse and carriage... if all goes as planned."

Shael leaned forward and sighed." Zarek, let's save us some trouble and just kill them, it is way easier than...what you just planned."

"Right! That is the second plan, if the first doesn't work, are you alright with this?" I asked her fearful that she might disagree.

She flung her hands out in front of her. "Whatever it takes to get out of this city...alive!" She said.