Chapter 8- The City

After leaving the Lord's office, Alaster and Isabella rushed out of the estate. Alaster made sure to stop by the training ground to inform his instructor that he would not make it to their training session. To which he simply nodded and waved the boy away with a smirk.

They ran out the gates, waving to the guards stationed there, and entered the city streets.

The City of Onigas was divided into five sections, each with their own walls. The outermost section were the slums, the most heavily patrolled section where the poorest of the citizens lived. Due to its proximity to the city's outer walls, it allowed the City Guards to keep a close eye on it. The wall separating the slums and the Residential district stood three meters tall.

The Residential district was the largest portion of the town, being where the majority of trade and commoners dwelled. It was uniform and kept clean. Patrols of Guards could be seen occasionally, but order was typically kept by the people themselves.

Then there was the Military District, with a four meter wall separating them. Each of the walls were heavily guarded, but this particular wall was riddled with guards at all times. The Military District was where the majority of weapons and armor were made and maintained. As such, most blacksmiths called it home. The district also had many training fields and barracks throughout.

After the Military District, the Nobility or wealthy of the city lived in their estates and manors. The wall stood as tall as the Military District's, but was not as guarded, it did not need to be. While the City Guard were powerful, needing to repel not only monster attacks, but the threat of invasion from other Kingdoms, they were not as powerful as the Guards of the Nobles.

All the City Guard were Intermediate Classes, they ranged from the lower levels to the middle level, but the Noble Guards were at the high end of Intermediate at the minimum. A few were even Experts. These Noble Guards were the ones that truly kept the peace, not that anyone would dare cause trouble past the Residential District.

The Noble district was where the Siphas Estate dwelled, though they lived next to the wall of the final District, the Lord's District as it was called. It was basically just the City Lord's home and office, but the City himself was rumored to be approaching the heights of Expert while every Guard in his home was high Intermediate at the minimum, and most were Experts themselves.

The wall of the Lord's District was nearly as tall as the Outer Walls, standing six meters, while the Outer Walls stood at seven. When Alaster had first arrived, he always wondered at them and their Guards every time he passed, but after nearly three years, he had mostly grown used to it. Though he could still feel the auras of the Lord's Guards.

Even an unclassed child, such as he, could feel the power these Guards radiated, even when they tried not to.

Isabella and Alaster had quite the journey ahead of them, as they had to transverse two districts to get to the Residential district and purchase what they needed. They had made this trip many times before, as Isabella loved shopping and was quite proficient in bartering. She never complained about walking so far, as the Family Carriage would only be used for official travel.

They quickly settled into their usual pace, with Isabella constantly talking about one thing or another and Alaster quietly and absently listening, while focusing on their surroundings. After all, he might be the quiet child that the Siphas Family had taken in, but he was still an employed bodyguard of Isabella, and he took it seriously. Even in the Noble District, he stayed vigilant.

They soon passed the Noble Wall, Isabella showing her Identity to the guards. The Military District was really the only part of town, Alaster was truly interested in. Even before his family had been broken, he had always been fascinated by the weapons and armor. He had even considered becoming a Blacksmith of some kind, at least before.

Now, while his fascination remained, it was more geared towards how he could use it against the people who took his Sister. However, his childish excitement blossomed in his heart at the thought that as soon as they finished getting him clothes for that night's party, he would come back to this district and get his own sword. Every man dreamt of having his own sword.

They passed various City Guards as they walked, either going to or coming back from a shift.

At the Military Wall, Isabella once again showed the guards her Identity Card and they opened the gate. Once through, it was as if they were hit by a wave of sound. The sound of a busy city in the midst of a nice day. Traders shouted their wares, hoping to attract customers. Commoners walked from one place to another, talking to each other loudly to be heard, and only adding to the mess of volume.

Of all the Districts, the Residential District was Alaster's least favorite. And unfortunately for the boy, soon to be young man, it was also Isabella's most favorite. He hated the noise and chaos of the city, while she reveled in it.

She knew exactly where to go, as she had gone there numerous times, and quickly led the way. Alaster ensured that he was never more than a step away from his charge, as he kept a hand near to at least one of his hidden weapons.

The crowded area would have given Alaster a heart attack, trying to protect Isabella. Anyone could just casually brush past her with a knife and be gone before Isabella even realized she had been stabbed. However, luckily for his young heart, Isabella's fine and colorful clothing immediately declared her a noble. Or at least very rich, and they cleared the space around her for two meters at least.

The store they were heading to was close to the Military Wall, being specialized in catering to the rich. They did not need to yell their wares around. Isabella entered the store, with Alaster quickly following and closing the door, muting the noise.

Even after spending nearly three years in the city, he still had not grown used to it. He could actually feel his shoulders relaxing as the sound was much quieter within the store.

The store itself had even employed a Wind Mage to Enchant their walls, helping to mute the outside hubbub. Lord Siphas' office had similarly been enchanted, but with a much more skilled Mage and much more carefully.

Used to the Rich and having quality material, the store employed a pair of guards, one of whom stood at the doors while the other stood at the other end of the room, just before the backroom where the clothes would actually be made and fitted. A thick curtain hung over the doorway to protect the privacy of anyone being fitted, and the Guard was there to keep it closed.

"Morning John." Alaster greeted the large man guarding the front door. He had been dragged to the shop enough times to at least know the names of the staff.

"Mornin' Al." John returned.

Alaster nodded to John's brother, Vince, who guarded the backdoor, as he was too far away to talk to, at least not without disrupting the constant peace of the store. Vince nodded back.

The Store itself was filled with rows of stands and mannequins with clothes. Of course, these clothes weren't actually the ones the customers bought. No, this was a high end store. Anything the customer bought would be specially fit to them. The clothes on display were simply to showcase the skill and designs of the tailors.

Isabella quickly ran to around, looking at all the men's clothes, but she could not help be distracted by the dresses that caught her fancy. Alaster lagged behind, trusting the area enough to give her some space.

"Al! Come look at this!" She called, beckoning Alaster closer, "What do you think?"

Displayed on one of the mannequins, was an outfit that even Alaster had to say was amazing. The dark material was contrasted beautifully with silver and buttons and red lining.

Alaster did not say anything, which to Isabella spoke volumes of his approval. Even she knew that Alaster did not care for clothes. It was one of the few things he vocally made his dislike known. So the boy not saying anything was a high praise.

Isabella looked at the plaque for its name and quickly scurried over to the counter, where an attendant stood, ready to help any customers, even if Alaster and Isabella were the only ones currently in the store.

By the time Alaster walked over, Isabella had already told the attendant what style they wanted. The young lady was already walking away to call one of the actual seamstresses. She returned a moment later with an older woman holding the back curtain.

"Welcome back, Lady Siphas. I hear that we are doing a fitting for your friend?"

Alaster recognized the woman. She had made many of his clothes that Isabella had forced him to use. He had to admit that she knew her craft, and was quite skilled in it. However, she refused to acknowledge him herself after she learned that he was not an influential person. Personally, he did not care.

But the Seamstress would never ask him opinion about the clothes and would only ask Isabella, who would then ask for his opinion and vice versa. It was very inefficient, which is what Alaster disliked. Well, that and standing still for a prolonged length of time and being poked and prodded.

However, for the sake of the occasion, Alaster kept quiet and not a moment too soon, they had a bag with the new clothes. They left the store and were once again in the streets.

The pair quickly made their way to the Military Walls and were allowed to pass.

"So, what class are you hoping for?" Isabella asked with wide eyes.

It was truly an impossible question as there were literal hundreds of Beginner Classes, potentially thousands. And more were being added to the known list constantly.

"A Mage Type. Casting magic would be amazing!" Alaster replied with the usual response to that question, as most kids wanted to cast magic, though few would be able to. However, that did not diminish the boy's desire.

"What about you?" Alaster returned the question, a little more than slightly hoping she would go off on another long tangent until they got to the weapon smith.

"Same! I want to be a Warp Mage, just like Sir Colius! He can go where ever he wants!"

"Want to see new places?"

"Yes! I love Onigas, but imagine all the unique places out there! And I wouldn't need to pay for special shipping if I could buy the stuff from there."

At this point, a patrol of City Guards walked past, dragging between them a large and heavily scared man in chains. Alaster subtly moved himself between the man and Isabella and walked a little slower and away from him, Isabella doing the same subconsciously in order to stay with Alaster.

The City of Onigas was largely peaceful and safe, but that did not mean it was at all times.