After speaking some more over the details with Dimri, he contacted mom to confirm everything before finally ending our discussion here. He headed to my home to speak with Mom further, while I went to auntie’s to pick up Durreg.
“I don’t mind going with you, but what’s our destination?” Durreg asked.
“We’re going straight to Thebos. I have a reward waiting for me!”
***
In a few hours, the two of us made it to the eastern coast of Kengir, where we headed southwest towards Tamery. After another few hours of relaxed flight, the capital city of the river country was finally visible over the horizon.
“Hmm… Strange. Is it me, or are there a lot less monsters than before?” I asked.
As we flew over vast swathes of land, monsters were definitely still there, though they were sporadic enough that only a few of them would be visible at a time from the ground.
“There’s definitely a lot less monsters around now – and their average ranks are higher. I saw a lot of rank C’s and the occasional rank B’s. We should ask when we’re in the city. While we’re at it, do you know where your friend’s home is?” Durreg said.
Oh.
“…I am sure it’s not going to be hard to ask around, right?”
Durreg sighed and shook his head as we landed in the open desert a few kilometers away from a road leading to the city. Drawing attention was the opposite of what we wanted to do for this trip.
***
“Welcome to Thebos. What is the purpose of your visit?”
Having waited in line at the city gates, a pair of guards questioned everyone wanting to enter – a woman and a foxman stood at the gate, while a few others stood on the twenty-meter-tall limestone walls to observe carefully. The stones that made up the wall were huge, so much so that a regular person would need to jump to reach its edge.
“My name is Durreg. I am here to escort my cousin on her trip here to keep her safe.” He said, gesturing for me to do the rest of the talking.
I nodded and took it from there.
“My name is Kiara, and I am here to visit the Temple of the Gods and meet a friend.”
The guards looked to each other for a moment before the woman answered me.
“Which district is your friend located in?” the Foxman asked.
“District…?”
Seeing my confusion, the woman elaborated.
“You must be a foreign visitor. You see, cities in Tamery are divided into districts by social classes, each separated by inner walls. To get from a lower district to a higher one, you need to pass through its gates after obtaining permission from the guards. Also, since Thebos is the capital city, we don’t have a Temple of the Gods. Each of the gods has their own temple here.” She said with a friendly smile.
Huh.
“My friend is Nicotris Sept, from House Sept. She asked me to visit her to meet with her goddess for some kind of reward.”
The woman’s eyebrows rose while the foxman narrowed his eyes.
“Lady Sept. Assuming what you said was true, then we have no reason to bar your entry. You should head all the way to the Noble District, where both the manor of House Sept and the Temple of Mett are located. The guards there will be the ones to decide what to do with you – this whole thing is far above my pay grade.”
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The foxman gestured for us to move forward, already turning to see to the next person in line.
“Let’s go.” Durreg said, moving ahead.
***
As we entered the city, I was immediately reminded of the slums in Kengir City. It had the same dirty, claustrophobic, and crowded living conditions. A few kilometres ahead, the next wall towered ahead, making our next destination easily visible.
“It shouldn’t take us long to get to the next district.” Durreg said.
As we walked along the winding, and tight streets of the local neighbourhoods, I quickly realized that this place was vastly different from Kengir.
“Hey, pass the ball!”
“Tackle him!”
“You’re not stopping me this time!”
“HEY! If you morons trip each other on the hard ground and crack open your skulls, I am gonna smack the lot of you to the Underworld myself!”
A bunch of kids were playing with a ball on the streets, while a woman yelled at them from her rooftop.
Immediately, the city of Hebnopet came to mind, where vibrant, tightly knit, racially diverse communities thrived. While the slums of Kengir gave off a sense of hostility, desperation, and poverty, this one radiated warmth and safety. Kids were playing in the street while women hanged clothes to dry was a scene that you would never see in that city.
“Is something the matter?” Durreg asked.
“Its nothing, I was just watching a little. Let’s go”
***
It didn’t take long before we made it to the first inner wall. When we made it, we only found a stone wall waiting for us. We decided to walk alongside it towards the first gate we saw, and we eventually found one. After waiting in line for about ten minutes, we finally got our turn.
“Welcome to the Trade District. To enter, please pay a five-copper poll tax per person.” The guard at the gate said.
“Just a moment.” I said, fishing for the coin purse I bought with Nico.
Eventually, I found it and pulled out a silver for the both of us. The guard raised an eyebrow at us.
“Really?”
“What. Is something wrong? Ten coppers are a silver.” I asked, confused.
“Aye, but that’s a silver shekel. Those have no value anymore beyond the metal they’re made of.” He said.
“Eh?”
The guard stared at me for a bit before sighing.
“…I see that you’re both a foreigner and wealthy. For future reference, the Pharaoh has decreed that two metal shekels are equivalent a single deben of the same metal.”
Scratching my head, I pulled out another silver coin and handed it to the man before he let us in.
***
The streets here were entirely different from the Peasant District. While the shops there were lively and had an informal feel to it, the ones here felt more professional. The streets were paved and mostly clean of sand, with the occasional worker sweeping the sand back into a container she dragged with her.
With linear streets and properly spaced shops, this place reminded me a lot more of Tyr. As we walked towards the next wall, I saw all kinds of stores belonging to craftsmen and merchants. The homes here were also a lot tidier than the ones in the earlier district, and the people didn’t seem to be as connected. People would still stop to talk to each other and strangers on occasion, but it wasn’t a common sight.
“Hmm… maybe we should come back here to check out a few of the shops when we’re done. I’d like to get my future sibling a gift from here.” Durreg said.
***
Following the same path, we ended up at the gate to the next district. This time, there was only a few people waiting in line.
“Welcome to the Administration District. Please provide me with your entrance pass.” the guard said.
I sighed in exasperation.
This gauntlet of gate requests was starting to feel like some kind of test or trial.
“Our business is in the Noble District. However, as we’re newcomers to Thebos, we aren’t familiar with the rules, and we don’t have the entrance pass that you are asking for.” Durreg answered.
The guard nodded.
“In that case, please submit five gold coins as collateral for a temporary entrance pass. If you do not return it within a day to any guard station, an arrest warrant will be issued for you and your coins will be confiscated to pay for the expense.”
I winced as I paid her two platinum shekels, getting a strange trinket in exchange.
“Each of you needs to keep these passes on your person at all times during your stay, as they serve to inform us of your location. Take care not to misplace them.” She said, before letting us through.
As we passed through the gate, I shook my head.
“Who knew coming here was going to be such a bloody headache? I am already dreading what the guards at the Noble District are going to ask for.”
“Well, at least we’re not being held up too much. A little questioning and queuing aren’t the end of the world. You might as well take the chance to sight-see; this is my first time in Tamery’s capital.” Durreg said.
“You’re right. I’ll ask Nico to give us a tour of the city. I should probably find something for Madeil too, and Nico’s advice might help.”
As we passed through the gate, the final district was in sight just half a kilometer ahead.