"We made it." Erica sighed tiredly.

Zilian took a deep breathe as well. After being trapped in the caves for several days, they had another day left of travel. Now they had finally had made it to Greyus, and much like the other city Kartick, this city was surrounded by farmlands and massive walls protecting an inner city. The entrance to the city was just past two huge wooden gates which stood firmly right in front of the two.

The sun had set an hour ago just when they first got out of the forest and upon seeing the city was nearby, they decided to head right to it rather camp another night out in the cold. Zilian stood before the massive doors, grabbed onto a large door knocker and knocked twice.

A small door barely big enough for a pair of eyes to peep through opened. "Who's there?" A disgruntled voice demanded.

"Just a couple of children." He answered nonchalantly.

"Where do you come from?" The voice asked again in the same tone.

"From Kartick." This time he sighed loudly to show how tired he was, there really was no need to waste time like this.

"You have papers?" He asked.

Zilian was confused, Fale said nothing about this, "Papers?" He asked him confused.

"Yes, if you came from one of the other Conditioned Cities and visiting another, you would be given papers proving it." He explained.

"I wasn't aware of this." Zilian told the mysterious man, this must be some misunderstanding.

"Kartick is three days off, you would have known when you left."

"We left Kartick almost a week ago!" He exclaimed annoyingly.

"A week you say?" He did not wait for a reply, as he slapped the flap shut. He heard some hushed whispering behind the door, and then opened the flap again. "I am afraid we can't let you in. Without proof of who you really are, we can not risk this city." He asserted their demise.

Now he was upset and smacked the gate, "Come on! We're just a couple of kids who want to sleep inside somewhere safe."

"Don't you feel safe enough with that sword?" Eyeing the sword tied to his belt.

Thinking up an excuse real quick, "This is just so I am a little safer out here. You know, war and everything. Or did you forget there's what’s going on out here?" He figured an argument would annoy the man into letting him in.

"Like I said, we can't risk it letting you in here."

He closed the small door again, obviously dismissing him. He pounded the door, attempting to get their attention again. "Open up! We're supposed to meet our grandfather here!" Zilian shouted.

Erica placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. Let's camp out here, we don't have to be inside to meet Ferry. Besides, it's late Zilian."

He sighed in defeat, she was right that it was late and he did need to rest. They would have figure out what to do tomorrow. He turned around to leave and find a spot where they could set up camp, but then the voice called out to them as the small flap opened again.

"What was your name?" The man asked.

"Why does it matter?" Zilian contended, he found no reason to offer them anything if they would not give something back.

"Just tell me your name." He replied flatly.

He hesitated and shrugged, "Zilian." Not like he had anything to lose in giving his name.

"Zilian? And you lassie?" Asking Erica the same thing.

She answered freely, "Erica."

After giving their names, he closed the door followed by the sound receding footsteps from the door. He guessed he only wanted names to go on a report, so Zilian turned to leave again. Suddenly a loud he heard a wooden creak, and upon looking back he saw the large gate doors were opening. A man welcomed them in, shaking their hands feverishly.

"Welcome to Greyus. Glad you made it, Fale wouldn't leave us alone until he heard you made it safely." He informed them hastily, his face even seemed a bit blushed from embarrassment.

He tipped his head up to see eye to eye the tall man, "Fale asked you to wait for us?"

"Yes. Even had us try to scout for you yesterday."

"How did he tell you? We're several days away. He couldn't have made it before us." It did not seem possible that he would have been worried so soon.

"I see that you come from a small village. We use Messenger Birds to send reports and messages in cities." He explained briefly.

He continued, "Anyway, name is Zacke."

"Zacke you said?" Erica asked.

"Yeah. Why do you ask, we know each other?" He seemed confused from the puzzled look.

She drooped sadly, "No, just a friend we used to know."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"I see. Well, come on inside. You must be tired, we'll get you to Melamel right away." He urged them inside and closed the door behind that, securing them safely inside the city’s inner barrier.

"You know where we are going?" He asked because he did not recall telling them their destination.

"Of course. Fale was very descriptive of what to do." He held both of him and Erica by the shoulder, giving a securing ambiance.

Zacke led them down the quiet streets of Greyus, only a few roused shop owners stood outside in preparation of the morning business. The lights of bedrooms spilled out onto the streets, further increasing the calm ambiance and relaxing stillness. This city seemed much more decorated which made it more unique. The roads were wide, made from clay bricks and separated from the center by potted plants.

Zacke waved his hand in Zilian’s face to get his attention. Zilian shook his head back into reality, "Sorry, what did you say?"

Zacke, clearly annoyed, repeated himself, "I said we're here. Melamel Inn."

He looked up and saw the sign that read Melamel Inn. They stepped inside and found a young woman behind the desk, reading through some papers much like back at Kartick. She interrupted her reading to attend her new guests, nudging the papers aside.

"How may I help you?" She offered.

Zacke answered, "Here's the missing kids of Fales."

Her eyes widened, "Oh! Welcome to Melamel. Good that you're finally here."

Zilian asked as he tipped his head puzzled, "Am I really that famous around here?"

The lady answered, "Nah, just here at Melamel and everyone in the Guards."

Zacke patted him in the back, "Come on, let's get you somewhere to sleep."

The lady grabbed a couple of keys from behind her desk and led them upstairs. He followed her down long hallway, just like the Inn back at Kartick. She stopped at the fourth room on the right, pressed the key in and unlocked the door.

She handed them their room keys after having opened two rooms, "Here's your keys. I hope you guys get a good night’s sleep."

She turned to leave, but Zilian caught her attention.

"How about paying?"

She replied, "Don't worry ‘bout it, we'll take care of it tomorrow. I see ya’ll are tired now, so night." She then went down stairs.

Zacke waved goodbye, "Take care, see you tomorrow maybe."

"Bye." Zilian waved back as he left.

Him and Erica both parted ways into their rooms, both too tired to even say good night. Zilian closed and locked his door, settling himself in his new abode. A nice little night dresser sat next to the bed, and a small desk stood under the window. To the right of the night dresser, a small door closet pressed against the wall. Across the room on the other side, a single door led to the bathroom. After taking a quick peek into the bathroom, he found a simple shower and a rack with fresh towels.

He threw his pack on the desk, unbuckled his sheath and tossed it alongside his pack. He was tired and wanted no more than good night’s rest on a soft bed.

~---~

Zilian finished dressing himself, he only now noticed the state of his apparel, “Erica and I really do need a new set of clothes.”

Since Farame had yet to make it here, they decided to take the time and buy a fresh set of clothes. Something must have seriously kept Farame behind, considering he and Erica were late by several days. However, once he arrived and reunited with the two, everything should play out smoothly. The trip to Kenplar Estate afterwards should be relatively easy.

He went to the sink and washed his face, trying to wipe off the look of sorrow. Mauris, Charlee, Zacke, all of them gave up their lives to rescue others. Their selflessness was comparable to what his own father had done nearly a year ago. He gave his life for him and the last thing Zilian did was steal and argue with him.

After wiping his hands and face on the hand-towel hanging from the wall, he stepped back into the main room and buckled his sword that was leaning against the desk. A knock rapped against his door.

He ran to answer the door and saw Erica waiting there. "This time you got dressed before I knocked." She teased him.

He smiled lightly, "Yeah. I guess." Shrugging it off since he was usually the last one ready.

"Something wrong?" She sensed something was bothering him.

"Nah. Never better, especially since I got a bed finally. Let's go." He looked away to avoid eye contact, last thing wanted was burden her with his own worries. He had no idea where to start, or how to even explain that the sword was more than what it seemed.

He nudged the worries aside and stepped alongside Erica, locking the door behind them. They walked out the hall downstairs, then out past the door and into the main street.

"We are we going?" Erica asked after they had paused and scanned both directions.

"I don't know. You're the one who said you wanted to go somewhere." He replied raising his hand defeatedly.

"Sheesh, you are so forgetful." She rolled her eyes.

"You're testing me? If you don't know where to go, I'll just get back to sleep." He threatened by doubling back.

"We were going to get some clean clothes. This is my first time here in a while, so I do not know where the stores are at. Where do you think they might be?" She argued.

Zilian stopped a pedestrian that was walking by, "Excuse me sir. Mind telling me and my friend where the stores are at?"

He grunted and pointed his thumb behind him, then strode on without waiting another moment.

Zilian pointed down the same direction, "I think it is that way."

"Of course you do." She poked him hard, making his ribs sting.

He let Erica lead the way down the road, and after a few minutes of walking they found themselves standing right in front of a clothing store. He stepped inside the windowless store, walking past several armless sculptures. They were made out of wood and wore the clothes they were selling. Zilian found the scene rather bizarre, the faceless and armless things unnervingly lifelike. He turned to check with Erica, but she was busy pressing a dress against herself as she stood in front of a mirror. She then grabbed a blouse from another hanger, comparing them both.

He could tell she was going to take a long time here, so he helped himself to a fresh set of clothes too. He checked some clothes to try out, grabbing a beige shirt and brown pants. Seeing himself on the mirror, he pressed the shirt against him.

The day rolled by with Zilian and Erica choosing clothes for themselves. They finished buying what they wanted by dusk. He was wearing a brand new beige shirt and dark blue pants, taking the advantage to buy a spare set of brown pants and an orange shirt. Erica was wearing a blue blouse and black pants, having also bought a long sleeve coat and brown cloak.

While Erica was taking her time choosing new clothes, he took the opportunity to restock on food and camping supplies as well as a map since the old one they had was soaked. As they return to the Inn and climbed the stairs, before they both went in their rooms, Zilian got an uneasy feeling.

"I wonder what's taking Ferry so long." Erica voiced his thoughts.

"Don't know, must have been held back by something. He’ll surely be here soon." He answered positively. Despite his optimism, he could not but help feel something had gone seriously wrong and they would not being see him anytime soon.