101 Scrap City (Part 1)

Several days of travel left the four tired and grumpy. Their backs and bottoms were sore from the constant jostling of the carriage despite sitting in fluffy, luxurious seats. The weather had cleared, but that didn't mean much for the three. The air was trapped inside the carriage's cabin with them. It was cold, but the air was dry. Opening the windows didn't have much of an effect on flushing the air out. They felt time pass, each and every second, each and every bump. At night, they slept in the cabin's floor. Thomas slept on the cushions while the rest slept on the floor. The stench increased every day, for they had no reliable way of bathing. The rain had given them a single shower, but that was a few days ago. Doevm had long since abandoned the cabin, instead enjoying the slight breeze in his hair while he sat on the roof. Frey and Thomas were too nervous that they would fall off, so they stayed on the inside of the cabin.

The horses slowed as rustic buildings came into sight. The surrounding area was all flat farmland, stretching until it hit a dense patch of the forest's twenty-foot tall pinewood trees. Farmers whenever the carriage passed them, their baskets full of plants which grew mostly underground. The wide river that ran all the way from Petal Town to his place was full of people doing their laundry. The guard towers were more for show than function. They were just buildings made of stone haphazardly put together with mud. The same construction technique was used for the single, thin wall that stretched around the entire city.

The guards let them in when Wade flashed the emblem of the Virility household. 'I guess nobles don't get stopped at all,' Frey sighed as he remembered Doevm nearly attacking one of the guards back at the front lines. Doevm hopped back in the carriage, nearly throwing up at the smell. When they passed the front wall, the other buildings turned out, not nearly as "luxurious". Instead of stone and mud, the one-story wooden houses were in shambles. Wherever Frey looked, it was like he was looking at the houses back at Petal Town, except more impoverished.

"Is this your first time visiting a city out of Petal Town?" Thomas asked. Frey nodded. "Petal Town has better buildings because my father provides good opportunities for everyone. What you see here is the result of the typical noble, bleeding the people dry without a care in the world." He scowled. "In terms of wealth, this city is average."

Frey frowned as he looked at everyone. "I thought our city was poor. To be honest, I hoped our city was poor. So my position in Petal Town is the highest I can go?" he sat back down, almost visibly deflating. Thomas sealed his mouth, knowing he couldn't comfort him without sounding like one of those nobles that kept his men in poverty. "Maybe I can be a merchant? They're commoners, but they're rich. I just learned how to read and count." Pedestrians around the carriage winced as a sudden burst of laughter smacked into them. "Assholes," he muttered.

As they got deeper into the town, the shacks progressively got better, some even getting to the two-story mark. The wood exteriors were reinforced with steel. Potted plants allowed vines to crawl up the sides, adding life to the otherwise plain buildings. The buildings opened up in a small square. There was a singular fountain which continually spouted water, which children played in. They splashed, nearly hitting the carriage. What drew the fours' eyes wasn't the source of the water nor the opening, it was the statue of Arthur. In one hand was his legendary sword, pointed to the sky. In the other was a shield. His chin was pointed upwards, as if everything in the surrounding meant nothing to him. Under his foot, was a Lich's head. The flames had been extinguished, and the skull cracked. Various graphite were etched on it.

Behind Arthur was a man with a bucket, from which the water originated. Bits and pieces of jagged stone surrounded him in a poor imitation of a fire, which he threw the bucket over. Tucked under his arm was a book.

Everyone exited the carriage and read the inscription. "Dedicated to the hero Arthur, who defeated the evil Lich who had plagued these lands for so long. Also to sir Marble, who fought the fires that threatened to burn down our fair city. May you both be happy in the afterlife."

"Why is there a book?" Frey thought out loud. A random person turned to him.

"He took it from the Lich," the random person said. "When Sir Marble went to fight the fires, that one book was spared from the flames. Legend says the flames spread around it like some divine intervention had happened. He picked it up and became famous for using its teachings. His ancestor guards the king." He puffed his chest out. "And all from our little Scrap city."

"That's amazing," Frey lied, then turned to his group, who were reading the inscription as well. "Doevm," Frey said. "You don't look very happy, is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing," Doevm relaxed and took a deep breath. "Nothing but lies," he muttered so low that Frey thought he must have imagined it. "Let's go to the inn."

The carriage stopped just outside the finest inn in the city, the only inn in the city. The horses were led to the stables by the stable boy, and the carriage was pushed to the back. They all stretched their limbs, glad to finally be out of that death trap. The inn itself was just a little better than the shacks around it. The wooden sign at the front read: "Hero's inn." It rested against the large vine-covered entrance. The four entered, ending up in a bunch of tables and seats around a bar and fireplace at the first floor. After paying their room fees, the desk clerks gave them their keys. Doevm yawned.

Wade sighed. "We just got off the carriage and you're tired. You were just sitting all day. I can't believe this. How are you tired?"

"Beats me," Doevm shrugged. "I was sleeping more than any of you guys. I thought I would be wide-awake by now." They left most of their belongings in their room and met back at the base of the stairs, where Doevm's stomach growled, followed by Thomas's, which was followed by Frey's, then Wade's. "Is there some place to eat around here?" Doevm asked the waitress, who gestured to the tables behind them. "I'll get a waitress to attend to you guys in a second after I finalize the payments."

They followed her advice, sitting at the crooked, creaking tables around the bar, where a waitress soon appeared. "What would you guys like?" She was dressed in a simple cloth dress.

"Do you have any meat?" Frey glanced at the other patrons, nearly wincing at the salad.

"No, I'm sorry sir. We are temporarily out of meat due to recent theft...Would you like anything else?" She forced her smile even wider and tilted her head to the side as if speaking to a child.

Frey sighed as his gaze stopped at a bowl. "I guess I'll just get some soup made with some carrots or potatoes or whatever you have."

"And the rest of you?" The waitress's smile widened until it nearly left her face. "Would you like our famous Lich bone soup?"

"What's the Lich bone soup?" Wade narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't sound very good."

"It's actually just hard vegetables mixed with various seasonings to appear white. I assure you it's quite good despite the name." The waitress apologized. "We use the Lich as a tourist attraction so most of our meals are named after it, Arthur, or Sir Marble. Of course, the main attraction is unavailable right now."

"Unavailable?" Frey asked, sitting up straighter. "I wanted to learn about my grandfa- Arthur's accomplishments. Why is the main attraction blocked? Also, what's the main attraction?"

"The Lich's library." The maid waved her hands like triggering the flashback. "Long ago, when the Lich was here, it hid away in a library that none dared to enter. No one of course, except for the hero. After Arthur defeated the Lich, the vile creature set its library on fire. If not for Sir Marble putting out the flames, our entire town would have been burned to the ground along with the forest that used to be cover these lands.

"After extinguishing the flames, he helped us turn the burned down forest into farmland, then went to become a noble that served directly under the king. Sadly, the ruins of the library are being occupied by bandits now."

Frey stood up. "I can-"

Wade pulled him back to his seat: "We aren't here for that," he hissed. "We are on a tight schedule."

Frey sighed. "Do you have any other attractions about Arthur?" The maid shook her head. After serving everyone their meals, Frey downed his soup. "I'm going to look around a bit more. Wade, Doevm, can you look after Thomas?" Wade nodded, however, Doevm went upstairs.

"I'm going to go to sleep," he yawned as he climbed the steps, the key to his room jingling his pocket. "It's already sunset. We should really get some sleep." Frey narrowed his eyes.

'Is it just me, or is he walking too fast to be tired?' He shook his head and left the inn, leaving Wade and Thomas behind.