40 Agitated and burdened by the season!
Odd would be the best way to describe life in this city, at least that was what it felt like for William. There weren't any particular aspects that threatened him, on the contrary, everything here was just too peaceful!
The recent meet-up with that governor was a good example. That good man insisted on giving advantages to the heroes, and treated them like loyalty as well!
Another good example was how a bull-drawn carriage was set up for the small group, just so they could travel to the first walls in peace!
With that aid considered the main point remained firm, these heroes were treated beyond well here! There was no visible hustle so far, even though William and the gang tried to treat an actual problem!
Perhaps that was just how privilege worked, to be valued beyond the common folk. It was beneficial for sure, but the sense of unfamiliarity was what made things weird!
Anyway, although they had these advantages to their side, the task at hand still became problematic. The first issue was related to distance, and it agitated them the most so far!
It was no secret that the city of Fik was massive, for that same reason it required some effort to reach the first walls where the issue resided.
These couple of friends lived behind the fourth walls, which was basically near the middle of the domain! Paired with how this city stretched about four kilometers circularly wide, travel itself was a glowing problem.
The lively characteristics on every street managed to slow them down as well. By a rough guess, it could take a couple of days for them to reach the spot they aimed for! It could surely overwhelm them.
Bored already, Olivia decided to blurt out. "So uh... how do you feel?"
Such a question felt like it came out of the blue, but the lady had her own agendas behind her wordplay. In fact her question was a tad calculated!
"Eh, kinda bored." William half-mindedly answered.
Shamelessly enough, she teased. "Ah, well there aren't any animals for you to fight here, so yeah it's easy to get bored."
Although her joke seemed targetive, it was just a random reply at best; she just wanted to allow a new topic to bloom.
The issue she wanted to talk about was far more sensitive, but it was evident that her friend was clueless about the matter.
Yet it was important to explore a specific conversation, so Olivia had to introduce her thoughts slowly. She had to make a few thoughts loud and clear.
That was why she softly asked, "So... is your snake kind going through the, you know?"
"What do you mean?" The younger man asked.
Such a clueless reply made the lady feel uncomfortable, she even crossed her legs just to hide a couple of details!
Yet although flustered, she still pushed the topic forward. "You know... the seasonal thing, about population and stuff. The stuff that keeps us from going extinct, you should know what I mean..."
"Huh?" The boy muttered once more, he was truly lost.
At this rate it was no surprise how the system swooped in, and scolded. [She's talking about the breeding season, don't be so dense by the love of common decency!]
"Oh," He sighed.
Now he thankfully was a bit caught up, so the boy finally answered. "Dunno if I'm feeling anything special, am I supposed to get horny today or something?"
It felt odd to hear the boy be so direct about this matter now, in fact it could disturb most snakes. In this case, Olivia just mumbled through some gibberish sighs.
At last she could properly speak out, "So this is not your season hah? That's uh... inconvenient."
The disappointment on the lady's face was painfully visible, yet William remained utterly clueless. He didn't bother to figure out what the other meant, and eventually focused on a partially different topic.
Quite shamelessly he expressed, "The hantonic disease doesn't even let me transform, so I don't really remember what my species is. Or like, when I'm supposed to fuck."
As reddened cheeks along with waves of embarrassment struck the albino snake, she had to avoid eye contact entirely in exchange! It was no surprise how she blurted out some gibberish words as well.
William was a tad baffled at first, but he had grown familiar with such gestures. Likewise, he didn't mind the other's outburst so much.
To the brunette's convenience, a well-known face helped break the awkward tension. One man of admittedly firm posture walked in the wooden carriage, and carried quite a hearty smile across his face too!
"You two lovebirds wanted to leave without me, that's not fair!" He first shouted.
Of course this man was the general, and he was more than eager to join these two, regardless of what the matter was. He shouted about this fact too.
"We're friends now and whatnot! Why do other people tell me about the stuff you wanna do, but you two little bastards don't tell me anything?" Hakoon bluntly asked.
The big man invaded their personal space as he carelessly sat down, and of course he expected a couple of answers too! Yet contrary to what was demanded, William just chased a topic that triggered his curiosity.
"Who told you that we're on the move? It hasn't even been an hour since we left my house." The boy pressured.
Quite shamelessly, the general loudly spoke. "Governor Zeka's men woke me up, he didn't want you two to handle the traitors all alone!"
This was yet another example of just how valued each hero was in this city, the care was tremendous! Yet this topic couldn't have stretched any further, because the same loud man picked up a scent.
Carelessly enough, Hakoon even asked about it. "Hah, why does it smell like piss in here? Who did I scare so much, haha!"
Right after he asked that question, Olivia tried to conceal herself a bit more. She put one leg on top of the other and tried to play it cool.
Moments later, the same brunette said. "Your nose is stupid, that's why. Now tell me, does anyone have a plan? How are we gonna catch the traitors?"
The conversation after that point was unimportant, as it was mostly used to evade other topics. As for the task at hand, the odds and ends were already predictable!
Given the responsibilities, it was obvious that only the guards had the opportunity to embrace betrayal. For whatever reason, a few men had likely chosen to endanger a bunch of citizens!
Now regardless of that concept, the group still had to go over there and tamper with the actual issue themselves. It was the best way to figure out a solution!
...
Night time has struck across the city and this small group of friends lurked below its vast darkness. They felt tired right now, and sought an Inn to spend the night on.
The most tiresome portion of their day was related to travel. They had to sit and stay idle for a few hours. It was a hassle to be so tolerant, especially since the city's bustling atmosphere eventually irritated them even further!
Even though such odds were tiresome, this day had occasionally given them a couple of good things as well.
They had a goal to chase as a start, which was obviously better than to walk aimlessly or waste any more time! They managed to travel enough to embrace that same task as well, so those couple of aspects were fairly progressive!
Anyway, the whole task they chased today, had to be put aside for now. A new, perhaps more worthy distraction suddenly struck the team! From the looks of it, they couldn't search for a cozy Inn just yet.
"In the name of king Kantemos, I won't let you get out of this alive!" Hakoon shouted with all his might.
The big man had enough reasons to yell, as some snake was dumb enough to attack him! Specifically, someone cut the general right underneath the chest!
It was tricky to figure out the motive of this whole attack, but the situation was swift to accelerate either way! While his friend faced that one enemy, William started to count other suspicious heads in the perimeter!
Before they knew it, the little group was surrounded by not one but seven men! Hakoon has beheaded the initial attacker, but that brute contribution wasn't enough!
These enemies still counted six in number, and didn't seem quite average either. Most of these men were big and the baggy dark clothing they wore, didn't help hide those well-toned muscles whatsoever!
That aside, the weaponry they carried seemed exquisite as well! So by now, the challenge which William and his friends had to face, seemed beyond difficult before it properly started!
The actual reason behind this battle was still a blur, but neither of these friends were too curious about its details. The little group had already been tired out by the long trip, but they didn't plan to back down under any circumstances!
William was a bit happy about this confrontation even, he thought. "Let's see how smart these bastards are... bet they can't take a couple of shocks!"
