Outing

Chapter word count: 1985

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The street wasn’t as empty as he had imagined it’d be.

There were still a few people walking about.

The lit torches also gave a surprising amount of light.

Further down the street Airot realizes he stood at the same spot where he had been summoned by Vryko.

The lively lobby of a nearby building caught his attention.

Its doors were wide open and stood three-stories tall.

There was nothing that differentiated it from the other buildings. But upon a closer look it had the same symbol that Elfein gave Airot on their window.

It didn’t have any fancy sign board or an eye-catching display. The symbol was just loosely drawn on a piece of parchment that was taped to a single window.

‘I guess this is it.’

Entering the building and taking a look around, Airot could see the folk that gathered here.

The lobby looked akin to a tavern, similar to the bar that Simon found Dolen at. But unlike all the previous locations, no one here looked particularly interesting. There were a solid amount of them here, though.

It wasn’t crowded but it was lively.

Airot headed to the front desk with the badge Elfein gave him. He placed the badge on the desk.

“Ah, hello there. Welcome to our humble inn. I don’t recognize you, but seeing you have our badge means you want a room for the night.”

“Yeah, that’d be nice.”

“Alright then,” the receptionist passed a single key. “Your room’s on the second-floor,” they pointed to the nearby staircase.

Airot headed to the staircase but before fully ascending them a large applause came from a sizable group.

Turning to look at the commotion Airot saw someone enter the inn.

It was a slightly familiar face, not one that he had known but one he had seen briefly.

It was the guy with a black coat, the one who was talking with a library assistant near Airot when he entered the library.

For a second they locked eyes, but the man quickly joined the others at the bar table.

Airot retreated up to the second floor, where his room was located.

From the hallway he could see that the place was surprisingly stable. It wasn’t breaking apart nor creaking.

He reached a door with the same number as his key. The key unlocked the door and Airot could enter the room.

The room was reminiscent of a hotel’s. There weren’t any applications around, probably since they were useless, but there was a sizable single bed with nightstands adjacent to it. With a large cabinet across the bed, likely where a TV had been. There was even a small desk to the side with a notepad and a few pens. By the desk was a single window.

The bed was clean and tidy with a single piece of chocolate on it. Airot took it and ate it.

‘I wonder if these rooms are prepared by a yapper.’

He trotted over to the desk with the notepad. He grabbed it along with one of the pens.

‘I guess I should make a few notes.’

He wrote down a few notes with poor handwriting.

He noted down a few vague locations.

“southernmost district - where I first entered, has Zoren’s nurse office”

“the library of panseah - center of city, big tower”

“Vryco’s station? - he stays there to move people”

After writing those down, he flips to a new page and continues his noting spree. This time on the people he’s met.

“Elfin - library helper, student of the library’s owner? wind yapper”

“Vryco - transportation guy, dust portal yapper?”

“Narrow or Narrowah - doesn’t like his full name, some visions yapper? old guy, knows a lot”

“Simon —Herbgills— - his last name is weird, bubble yapper, friendly guy”

“Zoren - southernmost district doctor guy, healing yapper?”

‘That’s about everyone I’ve met… Maybe I should put Dolen.’

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“Dollen - can blast away things, unhealthy looking guy, repulsion yapper”

Seemingly finished with his notes, Airot looks over them.

‘I can’t share yapst names… That includes writing them, right? Maybe I should try…’

“Simon —Herbgills— - his last name is weird, bubble yapper, friendly guy - yapst: fear of crying”

The ink that wrote “fear of crying” thickened and spread. It felt as though it was brought to life and multiplied.

It acted like flowing blood, but ceased after a few seconds.

The ink began retracting back, boldening and highlighting the yapst name.

After a moment to stabilize, it turned blood red.

Nothing more happened.

“W-Well, that’s definitely something…” Airot, stunned, blurted out his thoughts aloud. “At least I’m not harmed,” he checks himself.

‘I wonder… if that’s normal…’

He was left untouched.

With that turn of events, he took a step back and left the notepad and pen on the desk.

Turning to his bed he decides it’s time to sleep.

Before getting onto the bed he turns his head outside the window. The black night sky, which he hadn’t seen in years, still looms overhead.

‘A good night’s sleep. I hope writing that down didn’t jinx it for me.’

Airot got into bed and under the blanket.

He snugged himself in and covered his entire body, even his head, only leaving his face exposed to the outside.

Being warmly covered made him feel comfort and safety.

His eyes shut, and he drifted to sleep.

By the time he awoke sunlight was already entering through the window.

Getting up to go to the window, he saw the sun directly above in the sky.

Just as it always was. Nothing’s changed there.

Getting out of bed he felt a strange, forgotten feeling.

Ignoring the tingling he looked towards the door and realized there was a second door.

Upon entering one would see a small hallway instead of the immediate wide room, exactly like a hotel’s.

This second door was on the wall aligned with the exit but not in the hall. Airot had missed that last night.

He went to open the door and was greeted with a bathroom.

The tingling he felt familiar yet couldn’t name was now brought to memory.

“Oh... nature’s calling,” he muttered his revelation aloud.

He proceeded to do his business.

The bathroom looked rather normal.

‘Strange… I haven’t had to do this since I stopped needing to eat.’

Finished with his deed, he flushes and marvels at the working water.

Turning to wash his hands, the sink’s faucet works.

‘No electricity yet there’s working water? Well, at least that’s something.’

With that done he leaves the bathroom, eyeing the desk he grabbed the notepad and pen he used last night and left the room. Back out to the hallway on the second floor he went to the stairs.

On the first floor the lobby and adjacent bar was less crowded.

Not really having anything planned he thought he’d just wander around the city.

Before reaching the exit the receptionist called out to him.

“Ah! Newbie! Just to make sure you know, the badge you brought gives you a total of seven free nights here, so you can come back six more times. After that any other night would cost you.”

“Alright, I’ll be back tonight then,” Airot waved.

“Also, don’t stay out at night, some crazy killer recently appeared around here.”

‘Right, I heard something about that.’

“I won’t, thanks.”

Having exited the inn Airot was out on the street.

He looked down both directions figuring out where he should go.

‘I’m not in the mood to read, and if I go there again I might be forced into doing more work.’

He strolled down the opposite direction of the library in hopes of finding something interesting.

As Airot had already grown to expect, none of the buildings were particularly notable.

They had the same architecture with very minor structural changes. Their condition was the main differentiating trait.

Aware that the only identification the inn had was a flyer on a single window, Airot noticed that was the norm for most buildings here.

There was a shabby paper stuck to a front window with either a symbol, a description, or both on places of business. Airot wasn’t particularly interested in any of them.

His trek led him pass a few intersections but every street looked the same with the same buildings, in fact the layout was pretty much identical.

The only feature that was different for these copy-pasted streets was the damage they had from, presumably, yapper battles.

As he pondered over this he realized his stomach was growling.

He thought of ignoring it but he truly felt hungry.

With no idea of where to eat he thought of going back to the inn since it had a bar.

Just as he turned around a man in a green and white tracksuit jogged past him.

Airot turned his head to follow them but the second it took for him to do that the jogger was already three buildings down.

Without going any further they stopped and jogged in place.

A second past before they turned around and dashed towards Airot. Stopping just in front of him.

He looked Airot up and down.

“Hey, you’re new, aren’t you?”

“Me? Well, yeah.”

“Do you want to run uphill with me?”

“What?”

“You sounded hungry. I know a good place for a meal.”

“Ah, sure.”

Without saying anything more the jogger grabbed Airot by the collar and began bolting down the street. Airot was lifted as if he was weightless.

They then shifted Airot into being wrapped around their arm like luggage.

The jogger was definitely faster than both Simon and Dolen in their fight.

‘No doubt about it, this guy’s another yapper.’

Airot felt like vomiting but he didn’t have much in his stomach to throw up.

They dashed through streets in just minutes.

Before long they reached a large maintained road breaking the format of repeated streets, though on the other side of the road were the same buildings.

The road was also curved, though slightly.

Instead of continuing straight the jogger turned to follow the road.

Airot noticed that he was picking up speed.

Adjusted enough to speak, Airot asked, “Is this just a normal jog for you?!”

“Hm? Not really, I’m running a little since I have you with me. I’d pace myself more on a normal day.”

“So this is your running speed?”

“Nah, I’m being mindful of you, y’know? My running speed would be a bit faster.”

“In between a jog and a run, either way this isn’t normal.”

“I guess so.”

Leaving the conversation at that, the jogger neared a small clearing with a hill at its center.

The hill had a single building on top of it. One with a different design. It looked to be made of white marble and had pillars surrounding it.

There was a dirt road leading up to the entrance, but unlike the dirt road on the outer edges of the city when Airot first entered this one was clean and even decorated.

“How fancy,” Airot admired.

“That’s Roman architecture for you. Also our stop,” the jogger let Airot down.

Airot stumbled a little but after stabilizing himself he prepared to walk up the hill.

The well-kempt dirt road neatly connected with the prior paved road, so it would be a smooth transition.

The dirt road seemed to have three paths, one leading straight ahead of the building and two for each side. The side paths connected with the paved road they were on.

The back of the building was directed at the Library of Panceia, with a steep cliff behind it. So no one could walk up to the back of the building.

Anyone walking up the hill would end up in front of its entrance.

Taking in the view of the fine stone edges around the road and sparsely placed flowers beyond it, Airot took a step towards climbing the hill.