On the following day, Ali found himself doing delivery work. The old him would have hated the job but the current him knew the importance of it. Aok was giving his party members a chance to get familiar with the city. The more familiar they were, the better they could escape from danger. Getting lost in this city could cost them their lives and Aok emphasized on this point. Much of the city was divided up by the many factions. To trespass a faction’s territory would generally mean instant execution. For that reason, Ali found himself mostly running around the slums, getting familiar with the minor factions that stayed out of the major power struggles of Naeleph.
“I have a delivery of some apples!” Ali shouted as he entered a store.
After the exchange of apples for money, Ali headed to his next destination. The bag was getting lighter but Ali wasn’t bothered at all with the weight. He felt himself caught up by how peaceful the slums were. He never thought he would see a place where the slums would be an incredible place many call their home. Compared to what he heard of the faction’s territory, the slums appeared to be far better. In fact, the slums in Naeleph was a far better place than most city centers he had been to, indicating how prosperous the city had to be. .
Maybe that’s why Aok and Lorn set up their base here in the slums.
The teenager eventually made his final delivery near the edge of the slums. The store made small wood carvings that were on display on the many shelves in the store. After he got his payment for the wooden boards, he stopped to admire the masterpieces.
If such artisans are making the slums their home, what does the rest of the city hold?
The store owner stopped beside him to strike up a conversation. The teenager felt there was little need to hide the fact that he was new to the city. He suspected that was obvious as he was one of the newer faces. The two of them discussed the peacefulness of the slum when the store owner changed the topic to a business opportunity.
“How would you like to see the rest of the city?” offered the man. “I have a crate of carvings ordered by someone in a faction sector and need someone to deliver it.”
Ali had to admit the offer was very tempting. Aok emphasized the importance of needing permission to enter a faction sector. Such permission wasn't easy to acquire but it could open certain doors and therefore new opportunities. If the store owner was telling the truth and could give him a permission slip, he could explore a part of the city he likely wouldn’t get a second chance to visit. At the same time, his instincts told him that this was too risky. He was too new to the city and knew nothing about the store owner. Therefore, the man should have no reason to give someone like him such a task, especially when one looked at the benefits of the job.
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“What’s the catch, mister?”
“I have some business competitions who wish to intercept my goods. They won’t be expecting someone new to deliver my goods. My goods get delivered and you get to see more of the city. That’s a fair trade, is it not?”
In the end, Ali accepted the offer. He wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to familiarize himself more with the city as he wasn’t sure when another chance might come up. As he put the small crate into his bag, the teenager realized that there was another reason why the store owner picked him. Other people leaving with a crate would appear suspicious. If a delivery boy like him carried items, no one would even bat an eye. Once he packed everything up, the store owner handed him a permission slip. He opened it to see a document with a seal at the bottom.
“Remember to keep that safe! You need it for when you enter and leave the faction sector. Otherwise, you’ll be arrested and suffer a terrible fate.”
Ali thanked the man and left the store. It was still early afternoon so he decided to make the delivery into the faction sector. At this moment, he wasn’t familiar with the names of these sectors. The store owner gave him clear instructions so he just had to follow the directions without error. He eventually arrived at a checkpoint where dozens of guards blocked the street. One of those guards was checking for the permission slips. Anyone without it was arrested by another guard and hauled to somewhere else. Then, it was his turn to hand over his permission slip.
“Why are you here?” asked the guard.
“I’m here to make a delivery to a customer,” said Ali as he gestured to his bag.
A spellcaster walked over to cast a spell. A few minutes later, the teenager was allowed to enter the faction sector. From the conversations of the people lining up, he gathered that this faction sector was known as the Badger Sector. Each faction had taken an animal to represent them, though one couldn’t gauge the strength of that faction by the animal alone. With so little knowledge of the factions, Ali chose to simply make his delivery and absorb what he could. He didn’t want to cause any problems for himself and especially not for Aok and Lorn.
“Excuse me! Do you know where the Rashedi residence is?”
The woman was taken slightly aback when Ali mentioned the name. Once he clarified that he was a mere delivery boy, the woman gave him some directions and left hastily.
Am I going to regret taking this job?
Hoping he would make it back to the slums before nightfall, Ali followed the directions and arrived outside a building with a large gate. The hostility from the guards was obvious so the teenager had to steel his resolve. He wasn't there for nefarious means so he shouldn't have anything to worry about.