9 To the Big City

After my conversation and stormy departure from Evelyn and Nolla's lives, I went home and packed my bags. I wore my father's leather armor. He always said it was his backup set of gear that now that I think of it objectively, was probably meant for me anyway when I took over for him as Eveln's guard. It didn't fit him well but was almost perfectly fit me. It was maybe a size too big but hey, I was expected to grow before I got this. I also remembered to take my sword with me after giving it the last proper cleaning it was likely to get for the next few days before stowing the whole thing in my father's old leather belt and sheathe.

After my evolution into an enlightened, I didn't really need to sleep much anymore. Only once every four days or so, and even then, only for a few hours at a time, so I didn't bother packing anything camping gear like a tent since I figured just my blanket and some earth magic to carve out a safe spot into a cliff or something would work out just fine. It also would help me to lighten my load.

By the time I was finished, I could already hear the sounds of the villagers and the knights talking at the village center even from inside. I made sure to duck into the pantry before leaving and grabbed my father's fancy bottle of alcohol he was storing. He said it was for when I married Evelyn, probably as a joke, but it was nonetheless of a decent quality. I walked out of my home, cringing a little at the brightness of the sunlight and made my way to the gathering.

"Alaster!" One of the elderly women who survived called out to me as the others turned. What I could only assume was the knight commander turned towards me with a faint but friendly smile on his face as he approached me with the old woman.

"Nolla said you weren't coming with us?" She asked, a bit of concern in her voice.

"Sorry, Aunt Pam. I have my own journey I must go on. I need to find answers and... clear my head." I said, a bit more reserved than I normally spoke.

Pam gave a soft smile before wrapping me in a hug as the other villagers all joined in, making it a massive group hug. We all had wet eyes by the time we broke up. The villagers gave me their blessings and Pam even gave me a scarf for the road.

'Winter will be here sooner than you think, so keep warm' she told me.

I turned to the knight commander who was standing nearby with an awkward smile. I'd assumed he'd know who I was and my potential if Nolla was in contact with the King as she said she was, so I felt like I could at least trust him enough with protecting the people here. I pulled out the useless wine bottle and presented it to him, much to his surprise.

"Unfortunately I am going in the opposite direction," I said, pointing with my thumb behind me down the road towards the border town with the Super Magic Empire. "It's probably not even close to the quality that he normally drinks but can you give this to the king as my thank you gift? It's kinda pathetic but it really is all I can spare."

The knight chuckled a bit before shaking his head. "It's fine. As a matter of fact, he will probably love it. His wife doesn't let him drink much so it would be the perfect excuse." The knight joked.

I raised my eyebrow in amusement. "Oh? Is there a story there?"

"Yeah but unfortunately the Queen has us all sworn to secrecy on the matter. Can't let the citizens know about how much the King likes to grope his wife's chest while drunk. Not even the statues are safe." He replied casually.

"You just gave up the secret though!" I asked in comic alarm.

"Oops." the knight feigned shock at his mistake but said the words in an almost monotone way.

"Are my people going to be alright?" I asked, more to myself than anything, elicitating chuckles from the knights and villagers eavesdropping on our conversation.

I waited for the villagers to pack their things and get settled into the carts the knights brought with them before turning around and departing on my own adventure. Strangely, I didn't spot Nolla or Evelyn during the goodbyes, though I could feel a set of eyes or two watching me from a nearby carriage. I waved at it after hesitating for a moment when I left.

I somehow felt that if I didn't then I'd lose something important in the future and it was high time I stopped letting fear cloud my actions.

...

It had been two days since I left the village behind and I was finally arriving at the gates of the large town that acted as the fortress city that stood in the way of any possible invasions from the Super Magic Empire. This city was named Duskhild. I mused that the name probably was originally something like Duskshield or something but was shortened over the years to be easier to say while I got in line for the queue to enter the city.

The line didn't take long and the entrance process was surprisingly quick too. I just had to touch a magic orb that glowed white if I was a criminal or red if I was a criminal. To be honest, it felt a bit weird to me. I could feel the magic being used to analyze my body and detect any magic used to hide who I really was, whether it be illusion magic or some kind of transformation spell.

I also felt that the magic was actually coming from below the wooden countertop that the orb sat atop and not the orb itself. If I had to guess, the orb just detected if someone was using magic while the actual magic device was secured below.

'Smart. Anyone trying to hide themselves would use magic on the orb to 'trick' it and it would glow red detecting the flow of magic power. The analysis would show who it was if it wasn't white to the guard behind the counter but for white glows the guard doesn't have to even pay attention to the readout.' I thought and admired the work of whoever created the system.

'Still though, my senses seemed to have increased. I'll check it out when I find an inn.' I thought as I passed through the gate and called out to a group of guards wo were huddled nearby, chatting casually.

"Excuse me!" I called out as I walked up to them. They turned to look at me, giving me the once over and noting the sword on my hip.

"Yes, son?" One of the older ones in the group asked with a smile.

"Do you know of any good inns around here?" I asked.

"Well, there's the Dancing Fairy two streets down and one street to the left. They've got great food and a place to drink... though you shouldn't be drinking at your age." He said but caught himself after noticing my age.

"Thanks. Now how about an inn that's good that you didn't get paid to advertise for?" I ask.

The small group chuckles as they hear me and the older man laughs a bit awkwardly before replying. "Well there is the Harpy's Den you can find it by following this street all the way down to the fountain over there" he said pointing to a fountain in the distance.

"Turn right and at the back of the third street, you'll find it. It's a bit run down but the food's the best and it's cheaper than anything you'll find advertised by us mooks at the front gate." He continued.

I smiled back at him and pulled out five silver coins from my coin purse. "Thanks, the first round is on me tonight," I said as I dropped them into his hands and began making my way toward the fountain.

"Damn kids. They grow up so fast nowadays." one of the guards said quiet enough for me to not be able to hear him if it wasn't for my super hearing.

"I know, when I was his age I was asking for where the brothel was." Said another.

"I remember that! You said you'd show the lady a good time then came back five minutes later looking all smug." Another one commented.

"I'd never seen a woman look so disappointed!" Another said as they all began to laugh. Well, all except the quick-shot.

I smirked, walking out of earshot of the commotion as their conversation blended into the background. I smirked as I continued onwards, trying to pick up on any useful information as I made my way to the establishment described by the old guard.

I heard a lot of shopkeeps talking about a string of kidnappings that had been going on recently and how most of the people kidnapped are prepubescent kids. Different shopkeepers gave different ages but I seemed to narrow it down to people between 10 and 14. I also overheard that it wasn't just girls but boys were just as likely to be kidnaped too.

Since I was directly in the strike zone for whatever crazed lunatic was after the kids, I made sure to keep my guard up in case anything odd happened as I made my way to the front entrance of the Harpy's Den. Also, no sooner did I think this did something odd occur. A group of men and women wrapped in cloth to hide their faces and wearing robes ducked into the inn's side entrance which was only briefly visible from the angle that I came upon the building.

"It's always something I suppose," I said aloud to myself but smirked as I pushed the front door to open it, secretly excited to get my first adventure started.

Of course, I had to stop smirking when the door didn't budge and a nearby bum yelled "Its a pull door!" to me from the end of the street.