Vitmori POV

The trio of what I now know are adventurers were an odd but friendly sort. I suppose you would have to be a bit odd to willingly risk your life on what is likely a daily basis for money. They were fairly quiet during the majority of our walk, likely out of respect and maybe a small amount of intimidation based on the image they had conjured for me.

Regardless, with just a little bit of encouragement, I managed to get them talking as I asked questions about the town we were going to. The guy with the club, who has since introduced himself as Rantz, did most of the talking since he was apparently the local of the trio. He called the place, Sunspot Keep, it was a fortress that was built nearly a thousand years ago and has since developed into a thriving but relatively small city. It's not much when compared to the capital of the Hegemony, however, he's proud of his frontier town and speaks highly of the people he's grown up around.

It was around then that the guy in the robes, who introduced himself as Cecil, pitched in, telling me about the local guild that handled all the mercenaries and adventurers in the area, as well as about the services the local businesses offered. I could tell he was not so casually fishing for some information on what I intended to do during my stay in town, which I didn't mind since it seemed he wanted to endear himself to me as much as I wanted to do to them before this whole ordeal of mistaken identity.

The pale canine girl, who turned out to be some kind of dogkin rather than a wolfkin, introduced herself as Lily for the sake of being polite. Beyond that, she didn't say much besides the occasional grunt or hum in response to passing comments from the other two, more intent on listening and looking around than being a part of any sort of conversation as far as I can tell, which I can relate to. She seemed to be clearly fond of her two friends, and I get the impression she often finds other people as tolerable or not tolerable and isn't sure what to make of me yet.

From what I know so far, while there is no dungeon around this town, the untamed wildlife of the frontier and Lichtdren's Folly provide plenty of opportunities to hunt for materials and food. However, with that said, there's still a stable farming and ranching culture around the fort, with food being brought in from farmers in smaller villages that are under the fort's protection. Beyond that, there is a bountiful mine nearby; while it isn't considered a dungeon in itself, there's steady work to serve as guards for local miners due to it having connections to various underground biomes that have monsters and aggressive flora that occasionally surface. All in all, it's a generally quiet town, but there's always something to do to keep the money and materials moving.

It wasn't much longer until we crested a hilltop and a massive clearing filled with farmland and other buildings came into view, a fort sitting in the middle of it all with two layers of stone walls. Based on what I can see, residences and businesses reside in between the outer and inner rings of the fort, with the fort itself residing in the inner ring.

I can't help but take a moment to admire the view, it may not be anything like my home world... But the idea that I could see a stable and thriving town like this just fills my heart with a feeling of joy that I can't properly describe. It took everything I had not to run forward like an excited child and race to see the town close up and be around all the people. Maybe if I was alone... But alas, I now have an image to maintain and thus follow the trio of adventurers down into the outskirts of the frontier town.

It was late into the afternoon and the streets were moderately busy with activity, people coming home from work, others going to work, with all sorts of vendors hawking various goods and knickknacks along the main road. I'm vaguely reminded of the border markets back in my grandfather's hometown and I'm filled with several lifetimes' worth of nostalgia. Sure, the languages and culture were different, but there's no mistaking that ambiance, that's for sure.

There were many looks tossed my way as we walked among the people, though as far as I could tell it was mainly glances of curiosity as they mainly looked at Legosi with interest as he walked closely to my left. Freyli still rode his back, eagerly looking at all the new people and even mewing at curious children who walked close by. As for Basmori, he ducked away into my shadow as soon as he realized just how many people would be around and decided he'd rather just stay out of sight rather than deal with the crowd.

As we neared the walls, I could sense Cecil stealing glances at me as he seemingly built the nerve to talk to me again. I offered him a small smile, pretending to notice the third glance when I quirked a brow at him. "What is it, Cecil?"

He stiffened at being 'caught', but smiled as he eagerly grabbed the opportunity to engage in conversation with me as he stepped up closer beside me. "Great mage, I don't mean to be forward but what should we call you? I understand if you don't want to give us your real name for the sake of anonymity, but we still need to call you something."

That was... Fair enough. I suppose being the nameless stranger wouldn't get me very far all things considered. I was about to just give them my name when I had second thoughts; after all, Vitmori will soon be known as the Druid of Lichtdren's Folly. If I build a name during this expedition of mine; for better or worse, it'll likely be easier for me to go by a different name if I need to travel again. A different name... Damn... After naming so many others, why can't I think of another name for myself? Um... "You can call me... Vito." I say after a minute of mulling it over.

Cecil grins with clear delight as he bobbed his head. "Very well, Vito. Do you already have a place where you plan to spend the night?" He asked curiously as we stepped into a line as we approached the gate of the outer ring of the fort town.

I of course had some memories of how things worked in this world and knew I had to find an inn of some kind if I wanted a place for the next night or two to work from; especially since I didn't want my cubs or Legosi to have to stay on the streets while I handled things. I didn't plan on leaving right away at least since I did need to shop around to complete my look and get my hands on more of the local currency for potential expenses and general buying power. "Well, as I mentioned before, I've never been here before." I then look at him more directly and offer a bit of a smile. "Where are you staying?"

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Cecil looked clearly delighted by the question, standing a little straighter as the line moved forward. "We're staying at the guild's apartment complex, it's quite comfortable with a number of useful amenities." He explained before considering something. "However, as you aren't affiliated with our guild and likely not registered in the continent's listing given your desire for anonymity, you won't be able to get an apartment for yourself... Especially since they're reserved for adventurers who intend on staying in the area for at least weeks or months at a time. But you can stay with us!" He mentioned excitedly, though that earned him a disapproving look from both of his friends.

I chuckled a bit but shook my head at his offer, I definitely wouldn't be taking him up on that offer, even if the others approved. "Thanks, but no thanks Novice... While I certainly appreciate the offer, I need my space."

At that, Rantz let out a sigh of relief before looking over at me. "I can help you find a good inn, one that'll allow your... Err... Familiars to join you." He offered, seemingly needing a moment to find the word to describe my beasts.

Familiars eh? I'll need to remember that term... "Thank you, I'll have to trouble you with that then." I say as I bob my head at Rantz's offer, though Cecil looks clearly dejected by my decision.

Soon enough, we were near the head of the line as we approached a row of four guard stations. It reminded me of a customs station at an airport; there were guards posted all around, though it didn't look like they were all that vigilant to me; it seemed like today was just another day for these people and they clearly weren't expecting anything to happen. From what I can tell, most of their attention was given to the incoming merchants and supply caravans, shooting the shit with most of the drivers and casually inspecting the outermost crates in only some of the carts or the bags of some of the travelers. If this is how lax they are, then I can't even imagine how often things are allowed to slip by.

When it came to be our turn, the trio approached as a group and I followed closely behind as we walked up to one of the guard stations. The guard in question clearly recognized the trio, though gave me and Legosi an odd look as he checked me out and noted my lack of boots. "Hey you three, how did the hunt go and... Who's your new friend?" He asked as he glanced over at me again.

I looked over to Cecil, wondering just how he intended to get me through the gates without being scrutinized by the guards like he said he would. Cecil just flashed a small smile as he leaned forward on the guard's station and silently placed down three silver pieces before speaking up. "The hunt went well, and this is Mister Jon Smythe." He said simply before pulling away.

The guard smiled a little more, casually placing his hand over the coins while writing something down in his logbook. "I see, welcome to Sunspot Keep, Mister Smythe. I hope your stay here is uneventful." He said almost pleasantly before waving us along.

I couldn't help but be vaguely amused by that whole exchange, it was painfully simple to get passed the guards without much scrutiny. Then again, I likely wouldn't have been able to do that all by myself... Between the trio being known and likely trusted by the guards, along with the bribe, the guards were willing to look the other way and allow me to enter without being checked.

As we made our way through the gates, I was greeted by an equally busy main road with people of all sorts making their way to wherever they needed to be. The first thing I noticed was the increase in quality when it came to the overall infrastructure. There looked to be some kind of streetlights with crystals instead of lightbulbs, the roads were properly paved whereas most roads outside the wall and beyond the main road looked to be dirt and gravel. The buildings looked better designed and much more maintained; that's not to say the buildings outside the walls weren't nice and maintained, but there was just a... A more noticeable difference in effort it seems.

The people looked better too, again, not by much, but it was noticeable if you were to look for it. It was like the difference between upper-middle and lower-middle-class earners. They were both middle class, but one group bought name brands while the other bought generic ones.

I'm vaguely reminded that I'm again without boots, but that'll be something I can take care of later... Looking at the trio, I follow after them as they seem to have a clear destination in mind. "So, what was that all about at the gate?"

The trio looked vaguely surprised by the question before Rantz snapped his fingers in realization. "That's right... You said you've never been here before, of course, you wouldn't know." He reasoned before offering a kind smile. "Regarding the business at the gate, well... Money, Might, and Merit are everything here." He explained as he held up a finger for each thing he mentioned. "For those who aren't known or established merchants, mercenaries, or adventurers, there's a nine copper tax to enter the city and you're often subjected to a physical and magical screening to ensure you are not a threat. Of course, if you are a local and have the identification to prove it, the tax is only two copper pieces and there's no search." He then shrugged a bit before flashing a small smile back at me. "Lily is a good judge of character and doesn't think you're a bad guy. You may be some kind of powerful mage, but we would have ditched you and taken the loss of our goods if we sensed something was off about you, even if Cecil protested." He mused before looking ahead as we approached a rather grand-looking building.

There were a number of armed and armored individuals milling about, eating and drinking at various tables, looking at boards with notices, or talking to a variety of receptionists. We didn't stop inside though, instead going around the building and approaching some sort of stall with a number on it. Cecil piped up this time as he took a placard with the same number as the stall. "Vito, if you could place the boars and blood in this stall, I'm gonna go turn in the results of our hunt." He explained diligently while opening the stall doors, taking a key that had been left in the keyhole as he watched and waited.

I did so, carefully stacking the boars and placing the jars of blood around the stall as neatly as I could manage while the trio looked on, still seemingly impressed by the display. However, once I finished, Lily grunted almost expectantly as she watched me. "Cart." She said in a soft, almost whispering voice.

"Right, if you could leave our cart with Lily, she'll go put it away in our storeroom while I help you find an inn." Rantz explained while Cecil locked up the stall and made his way off into the building we passed.

"Ah, of course." I reply as I gently set the small cart out for them, Lily taking it up by the handles as she walks off and leaves me alone with Rantz... Well, alone with Rantz, Legosi, and Freyli.

Rantz watched her go off before turning to look up at me. "Come on, I know of a good place. I kinda grew up around the family and I know they would be willing to put up with your familiars at a reasonable price if I vouch for you." He explained as he waved me along.

"Sounds good to me." I mention agreeably, patting Legosi's head and Freyli's back before moving to follow after Rantz.

As we walked and weaved through the hustle and bustle of the town, Rantz would occasionally steal glances back at me, but not saying much until another few minutes had passed and he looked at me again. "Listen, I know I probably don't have a place to ask this of you... But... Well..." He scratched at the back of his head before looking at me again. "Give Cecil the time of day, he was really excited to meet someone like you and is hoping to at least learn something from you or get a little bit of advice. I don't know if that's a big ask since I don't know much about magic, but he's usually not this outgoing and confident."

I couldn't help but offer a kind smile as I simply bobbed my head. "I'll be around for a couple of days at least, I don't know what exactly I can offer him, but I'll see what I can do."

At that, Rantz flashed a small smile. "Thanks Vito... Come on, let's get you to that inn."