Chapter 204. Heading out in Style.
“Ah, it’s dusk, I’m glad we didn’t get here during the middle of the day. All the fun stuff happens at night,” Gary said as we stood on the hillside overlooking Somhagen. As always, the doorway portals of the various summoned beings lined the hillside, and traffic was busy both coming and going from the city.
“What exactly are you planning to do in the city?” I asked.
“Hey, buddy, I don’t pry into your business, don’t pry into mine,” Gary warned.
“Got it, for now, I need to check out the second tier of the city. Are you planning to tag along the whole time, or are you going to go off on your own?” I asked.
“I’ll stick with you at least until the first gate, after all, you’ll need to declare me as your guest to the guards. After that, I’ll meet up again with you before you leave. Don’t worry, I have ways of knowing when you’re leaving and I’ll find you easily enough,” Gary replied. Just about everything he said, even causal conversations like this had a creepy vibe. He was going to somehow know when I was ready to leave the city, and he could also track me.
“Let’s get going,” I said, walking down the hillside toward the road.
“Boring. Hold up, Rico. There’s no walking for us, you’re rolling with Gary now,” Gary said. I could see mana building around him, and a moment later, what looked like a carriage car appeared. Instead of wheels, long wooden poles were fastened to the bottom, and a pair of those big demon guys were holding onto them, ready to hoist the contraption up once we were aboard.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“A palanquin, duh, don’t you have those in your world?” he asked.
“Uh, you know, I think we did, it’s kind of outdated now, though,” I replied. It was something I now recognized from old movies and maybe a history class back in the day.
“Outdated, huh, we’ll have to chat about that later. For now, hop in,” Gary replied. I was a bit concerned about him seeming to take an interest in my world, and I kicked myself for even mentioning that something was outdated.
With no good reason to decline his offer, I opened the door to the cabin and stepped in. Gary followed behind me and we sat opposite each other on soft, velvet covered cushions. The pair of demons hoisted the palanquin up smoothly and began to walk toward the road. Their pace was quick, but the ride was surprisingly smooth. I had sort of expected to be jostled and bounced with every step, but it was no worse than a car driving slowly on a gravel road.
Before long, we were approaching the gates to the city, having passed through the tents and temporary buildings that constituted the tier zero section of the city outside the walls. Thankfully, Gary remained silent during our journey. I felt like every conversation with him was a dice roll where it was only a matter of time before a number I didn’t want to see came up.
“Halt and state your business,” one of the guards said as we approached the gate.
“I’m Rico Kline, a summoned being heading to tier two of the city. This is Gary, my guest,” I said as the guards looked inside the palanquin. He stared at us both for a moment, likely getting some sort of system confirmation on our identity. Who knew what kind of skills and abilities that the city guards in Somhagen possessed.
You two are authorized up to the second tier. Please be advised that you are responsible for any actions and harm caused by your guest. Also, these two may not enter and are required to leave the area immediately,” the guard said, gesturing toward our two bearers as he spoke.
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“Don’t worry, we’re not going to cause any problems for you. Now, hop out Rico, so I can send my boys on their way,” Gary said, exiting the palanquin and motioning for me to follow. Once outside, Gary snapped his fingers and a portal opened that the demons walked through with the palanquin, disappearing a second later.
“I think I’ll hang out here for a bit Rico, you can just smell the desperation on some of these suckers. I’ll catch up with you when you’re ready to leave,” Gary said before walking off toward the tents and crowds of the outer section of the city.
Glad to be rid of the creature, I continued through the gates and into the first tier of the city. I was still a bit nervous over what trouble Gary might get into, despite the system enforced agreement. With him on the prowl, I pitied any poor soul in the outer ring of the city who was desperate enough to sign a deal.
He wasn’t my problem, and I had a lot to do, so I put Gary out of my mind and started hoofing it toward the gateway leading to the second tier. I had been in the first tier of the city multiple times, both for regular visits, and once to just visit the arena. That was another thing I had to decide on. Did I pay for an entry into whatever arena challenge was at the second tier of the city?
From what I learned in the database back home, it was generally a good idea to participate in the second-tier arena contest. After that, unless you had a class build that you felt was dominant, it would often cost you more in entry fees than what you could reasonably hope to earn. I was confident in my new class to deal with the tier two arena, especially after I got a chance to visit the Summoned Market and shop around for new gear.
About the only concern I had was my limited time working with the new lineup. If the arena challenge was something combat related, I stood a good chance of placing high in the rankings. Before I could deal with the arena, I had to find it. After a brief stop by the guards at the gates to check my eligibility, I was sent through.
It was fully dark now, and the second tier was brightly lit with magical lanterns, and several shops had even more elaborate lighting displays. I felt like I was in a European Christmas market, despite the weather being nice and warm, even at night. One peculiar feature of this tier was that the arena was almost right inside the gate.
A large courtyard with temporary booths selling food and other items of interest to the arena viewers covered a large open area. Just beyond the booths, the arena structure rose up several stories. I wasn’t going to stop in the arena just yet, but the smell of the food did make me look for a bite to eat.
The choices were myriad, and I settled on a stall that had a large, flat grill with slices of meat and fresh vegetables cooking on it. The food was served in a thin bread that was somewhere between naan and a flour tortilla. I ordered one, and a mug of fruit juice to wash it down. The makeshift sandwich was well seasoned and a bit spicy, which I enjoyed. In no time, I’d scarfed it down.
“Thanks, that was great,” I told the older man working the stall.
“Always glad to have a happy customer. Anything else I can get for you tonight?” he asked.
“If you don’t mind, I’m looking for the Summoned Market. Can you point me in the right direction?” I asked.
“Not a problem, just follow the road that skirts around the arena. Turn onto Via Sangre and follow it for a few blocks. You can’t miss the bright orange building,” he offered.
“Thanks again,” I replied before walking onto the road in front of the arena. It was strange that the system translation for the street names on this tier made them sound Latin. I suppose it fit with the whole arena thing, and I wonder if someone from ancient Rome had been a summoned being and brought back the concept of the arena to our world.
The streets seemed safe enough. A few guards patrolled and there was brisk traffic everywhere I went. As I made it further into the city, each ring was going to get a bit smaller than the previous one, and it was only a short walk before I located the iconic orange Summoned Market for this tier. The building was quite a bit bigger than the shop on the first tier, and I hoped that meant I’d have an even better selection than before.
“Welcome, Summoned Being. I am Cambre, how may I assist you this evening?” A slender, older woman in the orange robes of the market asked as I approached.
“Hello, I’m looking for several items, spells, abilities, and gear for my class. Can you point me in the right direction?” I asked.
An employee of the Summoned Market, the being known as Cambre, has asked to inspect your class information. Will you permit this? Y/N.
I accepted, knowing that the employees were supposed to be bound by the system to not reveal our information.
You have granted limited access to the being known as Cambre. Once your shopping has ended, all access will be revoked.
“Thank you, now let me see what we have to offer the class of Foe Commander,” Cambre said, going still and silent as she stared off into space, likely going through some system data.
“I think we have just the thing for you. Please, follow me,” Cambre said, leading me deeper in the well-stocked store. I had a good feeling about this visit, it was time to spend some summoning points.