Lia Maywaters smiled as she hopped down from the merchant's wagon. It had been a few days' journey from where her party had started their journey, but she was excited nonetheless. They had taken quest after quest escorting merchants between towns, offering them protection in exchange for a free ride and a few silver for their troubles. It was just enough to cover their food expenses on their journey and they had to take several detours before they could make it to their destination, but it was still far cheaper than the alternative.

Their party was a group of four with Alaric Ironlock, a cocky human with the shield tank class, being their leader. Thalis Mistfeather was an elven archer while Ruby Greyhelm was a dwarven warrior who preferred to use spears above all else. As for herself, well, she had a support class, specifically she was a bard. She had grown up in this kingdom and learned all of the favorite songs of the elven people from her parents. As she had grown up in an elven village where they shunned outsiders, she had been itching for adventure by the time she was old enough to be sent off to adventuring school, where she had met her current party members.

It was purely coincidence that their party had formed, but they now had a strong bond of friendship that bound them together. Thalis had been in the same class as her, but the others were met at the local adventurers' guild when they had gone to sign up and get their official licenses. It was required by their school that they participate in the guild, taking on quests, and doing their best to rank up during their time with the school. By the time they had graduated, everyone in her party was, at minimum, D-rank adventurers. Some schools had longer programs with higher standards for graduating, but her parents weren't exactly rich. Having come from a self-sustaining village meant money simply wasn't as important as it was in cities like this one.

They had set their sights on Bluelight Cove City after hearing rumors about it. Since they were all from different parts of the Rosefall Kingdom, some of them even having migrated from other kingdoms, they had decided to find a dungeon they could 'grow' with rather than prioritizing home for any one individual. With how big the world was and the fact that new dungeons only appeared every decade or so, there weren't exactly a lot of options within the kingdom. So, that had made the choice of where to go quite simple.

"We should make sure to stop by the guild first thing. Everywhere's a bit different, so we need to make sure we figure out the local rules and ensure we are registered and can accept quests."

Alaric stated. No one felt the need to argue as they trailed behind him. Lia checked out their surroundings as they walked through the city. It was interesting to see just how many different races were in the city, though the majority still appeared to be elven kind, like herself. Most of the buildings appeared to be older than herself with many of them either in disrepair or showing signs of having been recently renovated and repaired. Catching sight of a back alley, she turned her head, frowning.

Her village had been one where no one ever truly went without. Neighbors relied on one another and everyone had what they needed, even if they couldn't live in luxury. This was hardly the first time she had seen a back alley filled with the homeless. The way their clothes hung loose on their frames, torn at the edges, their skin covered in dirt, and their hair matted, made it clear that they had been that way for far longer than she could possibly guess. There were so many of them too, far more than had been in the city she had gone to school in. Granted, most of the buildings there had seemed newer with any buildings that fell into disrepair being forced to be taken care of or else they'd be torn down by the city. The local Lord wanted to maintain an image of a thriving city in order to ensure the city continued to flourish and the adventuring school ensured plenty of taxes could be collected year after year.

"You're not used to this, huh?"

Ruby said as she shifted her spear to her other hand. As the only other female in their party, the two had taken to looking after one another like the best of friends. None of them were in a romantic relationship, so it wasn't like she didn't get along with the guys in their party, but it just felt different talking with Ruby. Shrugging her shoulders, Lia tried to play it off as she said

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"I'm sure whoever is in charge of this place has a reason for not taking better care of their city. Maybe his wife is sick and he just needs some time to get things sorted out."

With a laugh, Thalis interrupted their conversation

"Oh, little dove, you really have been far too sheltered. This is hardly the only elven city like this. The last Lord wasn't any better, he just made the guards chase out the homeless, forcing them to relocate, and took away the property of those who couldn't maintain their buildings to his standards. Considering this city has been without a dungeon for a few decades, it's likely that the people here have been suffering as a result for quite some time. I think it's much kinder that the local Lord lets people live their lives, even as miserable as they may be. The new dungeon should improve things, with time, but none of that will happen overnight."

Ruby's expression was pinched as she threw a wary glance at Thalis. The woman was not a fan of speaking on the politics of other countries and was hardly about to discuss the matter at length. However, even Lia could tell that the dwarven woman didn't seem to think much differently by the way she dropped the topic entirely, letting the silence envelop their group once more.

The adventurers' guild was quite busy, crowded, even despite being late into the afternoon. Alaric was happy to take charge and handled most of the paperwork for their group, leaving Lia to observe her surroundings while she waited. After showing her guild card to the receptionist and signing her name on some paperwork to finish registering with the local branch, she went to sit at a table to wait until it was time to leave. The receptionist was very friendly and the whole process didn't take very long at all, even despite all the others lined up to turn in their quest.

Seeing the others were starting to group up, clearly ready to head out, she stood up to join them.

"So, what should we do about accommodations tonight? Is there a local inn or will we have to camp outside the city? Will that even be safe? Is the local [Monster] population under control?"

Lia asked, spouting off question after question. Thalis rolled his eyes at her as he replied

"Well, little dove, we're actually in luck. It seems that the local dungeon is some sort of weird hybrid and has rooms we can rent out for practically free. We'll have to stop at the market and purchase some small fruits to pay for the inn rooms, but it'll still be far cheaper than the usual cost."

Lia huffed, crossing her arms as she pouted. She hated that nickname yet he always used it as he made fun of how clueless and 'innocent' she was. He had been using the nickname for her ever since they had been in school together and it was unlikely he'd stop after so long of using it. She didn't really understand how a few berries could pay for an inn room, but it was already strange enough for a dungeon to even have rooms that could be rented. While she felt uncertain of whether it would be safe or not, she was hardly going to argue with her other group members.

Thalis was known to be good at collecting information and was always trustworthy with his knowledge on a number of subjects while Alaric did a good job of making decisions for their group. Even despite his overconfidence, he did a good job of protecting them both in combat and in their day-to-day travels. Besides, Ruby was known to speak her mind if she felt strongly about something and she wasn't saying anything now, so it would probably be fine.

It didn't take long before they were finally in the dungeon. The land bridge leading from the beaches of the city to the dungeon had been a bit scary. There weren't any handrails and she felt like it would be far too easy to fall off and into the ocean's depths below. Since she couldn't see the bottom of the water, that, honestly, felt terrifying to even consider. Still, it had been worth it when she finally got to lay down in a comfortable bed.

As her party was still new to the area and they weren't gullible to trust anything about a dungeon without experiencing it for themselves, they decided to rent two double inn rooms. The guys were in one room while she was staying with Ruby. It was surprising just how cozy the rooms were. The beds had sturdy wooden frames, clean-smelling sheets, and thick quilts. The fireplace seemed necessary since it was plenty warm, but it was nice to know they could cook their own food, should the need arise. By the time sleep took her, Lia couldn't help but feel like she was going to like it here.