It started sprinkling so Chuck slept in the truck cab that night. It rained on and off but by morning it had stopped. The wagon was covered so he hoped none of the cargo had been damaged. The road was well constructed, so the road being wet wasn’t a problem. Chuck started early again and by midday the forest had turned into grasslands. As he stopped for a break, he thought he could smell the sea. By the afternoon he started seeing farms and fields again and by late afternoon he crested a rise and caught a glimpse of the sea. Roads started branching off but he kept to the main road that was heading toward the sea. The traffic grew heavier and people looked at the pickup in shock. Chuck thought he must be close and drove as fast as the wagon and traffic would allow. He hoped to reach the city before they closed the gates.

Finally he was able to see the capital city. It was nestled against the coast with two large light house towers on either side. Ships of all sizes were in the water and at the numerous docks. In the middle of the capital was an actual castle which took his breath away. It was pure white with spires reaching towards the sky. “Now this is what a fantasy city should look like.” Chuck thought to himself. Not that he didn’t like Axtol, but this was just more impressive. The size was also impressive and it looked to be at least three times bigger than Axtol. He hurried and got into line for the massive gate, causing a commotion. The other wagons gave him a wide berth and seemed to be afraid of the pickup.

Soon guards showed up to see what was going on. The guards all wore metal armor and carried halberds. When they saw his pickup, one of them ran back to the gate and a large bear beast person dressed in gold rimmed metal armor came back. “Ah, you must be the otherworlder from Axtol. You arrived sooner than expected. I am captain Lux, it is a pleasure to meet you.” Lux said bowing his head politely. “That’s right. My name is Chuck Miller, nice to meet you.” Chuck replied. Lux was at least 8 feet tall and had black fur. There were old scars on his face and one went down towards his left eye which was covered by an eye patch. “I have something to report to the guard.” Chuck said moving to the back of the pickup. He uncovered the bodies and then showed the heads while he explained what happened. Lux frowned as he inspected the remains and the wagon Chuck had towed. “These boxes were in the bandit’s hideout and the rest were in the wagon when I found it.” Chuck said, pointing to the cargo. “It seems the rumors about otherworlders are true if you took out an entire bandit gang on your own. We have been getting reports of missing merchants on that road but were never able to find anything. Please follow me and we’ll get this sorted out.” Lux said gesturing to Chuck.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Chuck got in the pickup and followed captain Lux by the other wagons and through the gate. He parked by a gatehouse and Lux had soldiers help unload the boxes from the wagon and take the remains. Chuck unhooked the wagon from his truck and was going to remove the bandits weapons but Lux said he could keep them and would get the bandits loot too if it wasn’t claimed. “You will get a reward so just stop back here in a day or so. I believe a few of these had bounties as well.” Lux said glancing at the heads. “The families will be happy that you returned the bodies and the road will be safer now, so you have my thanks.” Lux continued. “Do you know a good inn to stay at?” Chuck asked since it was getting dark. “Ah yes, about that. It seems the alchemy guild has a room reserved for you. I sent a runner so they should be back with someone shortly. Oh, here they are now.” Lux said glancing behind Chuck. A lizard person hurried over and bowed to him. “Greetings otherworlder, please allow me to show you to the guild. You may address this humble apprentice as Liss. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” Liss said, bowing deeply. “Uh, sure. You can call me Chuck.” Chuck said scratching his head. “Well then let’s get going, I’m tired. I’ll stop by tomorrow.” Chuck said waving to Lux. “Hop in.” Chuck said to the nervous looking Liss. He opened the door for Liss who carefully got in, looking around the pickup in wonder. “Tomorrow’s going to be another busy day.” Chuck thought yawning.