11 Incident at the Gates

Fort Iron Gates was a towering fortified complex. The tall black walls that encircled the place seemed to be made of a single slab of hard stone. Grim looking guards, wearing dark-colored plate armor, patrolled the perimeter from the safety of the wall.

There were two ways to enter the Fort: first, was the elevator. It was used to bringing people from the First or Third Level to the Second Level.

The second entrance, the most used, was the giant steel gate on its northern side. The Iron Gates, that gave the name to the whole Fort. The left panel of the gate was engraved with what looked like a giant arm with seven fingers and the right panel had a more detailed incision of a hammer with a long handle.

The whole thing shined with a sinister luster, and people that came near to it could hear strange echoes coming from the gray metal.

A stone-paved path led in orderly fashion hundreds of people inside the Fort. There was a numerous group of armored guards that stopped the various travelers, got their information down and collected some taxes before letting them pass. The flow of people continued night and day, always bringing new people inside the Fort.

Most traveled on foot and in small groups. They were armed with sword, spears and other close combat weapons. Their sculpted physiques and the life-filled pressures that they emanated made it clear that it was fighters.

Between the hundreds of people moving towards the city, there was also a black haired woman in a ruined gray robe. She was currently cutting a large vine filled with spines from a strange plant that grew on the border of the path, using a long black knife.

Near to her feet was a bag filled with several thorned vines. Her hands showed some light cuts. She didn't pay too much attention at first and the various spikes had wounded her several times. Now, however, she had learned her lesson and was focusing all her attention on her task.

"It's been a while since I had some fun, this place truly earns its name as the Cave of Horrors"

Blue felt her a hand slapping her on her left tight. She jumped forward, falling right inside a bush filled with thorned vines. A scream of pain emerged from her throat as the spikes cut her body.

"Hahaha, Angry Sun, are you trying to kill her before letting us play a bit?"

Blue came out of the thorny bush gasping for air. Her gray robe was rapidly staining in red. Although she wasn't heavily injured, there were numerous little cuts on her skin that stained her whole body in blood.

A tall blond woman, wrapped inside an old iron armor started to move towards her. She had a large scar running across her face, but somehow she still looked attractive.

"Come here pretty, I need some action... I've been traveling with two ugly fucks and an asexual moron for weeks…"

A bald youth and two identical looking men followed the tall woman. The two twin men wore the same brown leather armor. One held a large two-handed ax on his back and the other had a giant crossbow.

The bald man was the only one who didn't wear any kind of armor nor he did have any weapon visible. He wore a blue monk robe and walked around barefooted.

"Angry Sun, we are almost here… can you wait until we get in the city? There is a Red District for you to quell your bodily needs…"

The bald man in blue looked slightly annoyed. He pointed to the large gates in the distance, trying to remind the blond woman that they were very near to the Fort.

The woman shrug, making her armor clink with a metallic noise. "I hear that this Fort's Red District is quite expensive." She then pointed to the woman that was still trying to regain her breath in front of her. "She's free... "

The monk rolled his eyes and stopped talking. It seemed that they would have to wait. The two twin brothers simultaneously slapped him on the back.

"Hahah, brother Lao you should join us, it's fun" said the ax-wielding one. "Virginity isn't a requirement to enter the Yellow Temple" murmured the other.

"What about being alive?"

A collected voice echoed in the air as a youth in a simple black robe walked towards the group. Two black eyes scanned the area, before stopping on the woman in gray riddled of injuries.

Before anyone of the people could respond to his first question, the youth gave them another one. "Are you guys looking to die?" There was no threatening tone to his tone, it was almost as if he was making calmly conversation with a friend.

The tall blond woman pointed at him with a hand, the other running to the wide saber attached to her side. "Are YOU looking to die? Because I can help you with that!"

The crossbow twin smiled. "We found her first boy. Go away, before you hurt yourself" He couldn't feel any vitality coming from the young man in front of him. Probably it was a young fighter that just opened his first meridians and thought that he was on the top of the world.

'Boy?' Sif almost wanted to explode in laughter at the comment. 'I'm well over a century old and this baby is calling me boy?' He couldn't help but find it funny somehow.

"What are you laughing for?" said the blond woman, starting to unsheath her weapon.

A low threatening growl came from behind the black-robed youth. A small white creature that was barely visible under several large bags, appeared throttling behind him. Two red eyes gazed at the group of warriors before the youth, making all their expression change on the spot.

'This pressure…' the blue monk eyes narrowed. A red line of energy formed around him, darting towards the youth and the small creature. However, before it even came close to their bodies, the small sphere exploded against an invisible wall.

"Energy Shield…" murmured the young bald man, his eyes shining with longing.

The two twins' faces darkened and they rapidly stepped back. Even the aloof woman made a couple of steps back.

"Hahaha, it's a young master summoner… I'm sorry, I'm truly blind! Of course, you can have her" laughed the crossbow wielder. Sif was quite surprised about how fast the man could completely change his tone.

The tall woman wanted to say something, but giving a look at the little beast she decided to stay silent. That creature gave her a very bad sensation. It was definitely a bronze ranked creature and this guy was using it to carry a couple of sacks, like burden beast. This wasn't normal at all. Maybe he was from some rich House?

Sif shook his head. "She's already mine. I sent her to collect some herbs and you guys blocked her work and injured her." He took a couple of steps forward, looking directly in the eyes of the tall blond Fighter. "So now, what should we do about this?"

Silence. The group of Fighters knew that they chewed more than what they could this time. A Summoner had a very different status than a Fighter. There were countless of the latter, not so many of the former. The majority of the major powers would always try to concur in favor with Summoners, especially young ones that still had potential to grow.

If this would have happened in some remote region, maybe they would have the possibility to try and kill the young man in front of them. However, now there were too many people around and the commotion from a fight would attract the attention of the guards. If people of Iron Gates came to see what was happening, they would immediately side with the other party.

In this moment of hesitation, it was again the crossbow twin to talk. A flash passed through his eyes as he gave a rapid look at the injured woman and the little bag at her feet. He bowed his head and then smiled, showing all his shiny white teeth. "Of course, it is all our fault young master… please accept this as a repayment." He passed rapidly a small bundle to Sif. The latter formed rapidly an energy probe with a small quantity of Earth Energy and sent it inside the package.

He could have used his Willpower, but wanted them to see that he was checking the inside of the container. A satisfied look appeared on his eyes.

'What a smart guy…'

Devil Nightflower Petals. This guy wasn't stupid and probably had some formation in poison making. He immediately understood that he wanted to craft some poison to weaken magic beasts from the vines he ordered Blue to harvest. Devil Nightflower Petals weren't that precious, but they were incredibly useful to mix together toxic material. A very good gift indeed.

"And of course it wouldn't be appropriate to travel with a servant in such bad shape, this is a set of clothes for her and a little thing for her injuries." He continued taking out a green gown and a small jar filled with a dark paste.

Again, Sif sent an energy probe to check the content of the jar. It looked like some form of ointment filled with Life energy. 'Interesting… Vitality Ash was used to crafting medicine…' He never even thought of doing that.

"I'm Sif, what's your name?"

The man smiled. "I'm Veruno, this is my brother Golden Arm and traveling with me there is the young Lao and Angry Sun." He presented his entire party, pointing them out one by one.

Sif smiled back. He liked this guy. "The poison on your darts would benefit from some Green Cytrus. The smell of the Blue Killer Eyes Flower is too strong… maybe it won't warn bronze beasts of your presence, but stronger creatures will immediately find you." The young man then started to walk away, followed by Blue and Luna.

Veruno's eyes shrunk. This youth… was able to perceive the poison on his weapon? And he even gave him suggestions on how to cloak it better? "Brother, I think we just avoided complete disaster…" he meekly murmured to his twin companion. Then he gave a bad look to the blond woman on his left side. "Next time you should just wait until a Fort and spend some coin on the Red District"

…

A couple of hours after the encounter, Sif finally arrived under the Iron Gates.

Behind him was Blue, in her new green gown. It was a very simple dress that followed the natural curvaceous body of the woman. Although it covered completely her legs, it left her arms naked. The black ointment from Veruno had worked, helping her close the wounds and stop the bleeding, but it didn't make the injuries disappear completely. Her face and exposed arms were completely riddled of many small scars.

Following them was the small Luna with the baggage.

Sif looked curiously at the large metal panels while waiting for his turn to enter the Fort. He could feel some form of suppression coming from the large doors. 'This should be some kind of attack formation…'

An invisible ripple moved out from his body, expanding for one hundred meters until it touched the surface of the panel with the big arm.

'This is much stronger than I thought'

He could feel countless powerful souls trapped inside an incredibly complex array. The weaker one was dozens of times stronger than a bronze soul. This meant that the array was powered by at least thousands of silver ranked magic beast souls.

His Willpower moved around the array a while, but sadly it could touch only a little fraction of the lower side of the complex rune system.

Soon, his turn to face the guards came. There were a dozen groups of guards under the gates, each group processed the travelers separately.

Sif moved towards the first group that freed itself, and stopped in front of what looked the leader of the guards: it was an older woman with long white hair coming out of her helmet. She wore same black plate armor as everyone else, but had a red line on her chest piece.

The guard gave him a rapid look and then noticed the woman behind him. A golden light shined in her eyes. "She's a prisoner, she should be out there min-." The harshness in her voice died out when she saw the little white beast under the several bags that followed the woman in green.

The prison guard gave a better look at the young man in front of her. It took her only a couple of breaths to sense the invisible barrier around him and her old face immediately stretched out in a warm welcoming smile.

"Of course, if you need a servant it's ok."

Her tone changed completely, becoming more respectful and friendly. "But I would advise you to leave this criminal behind and go find a more suitable companion.." She rapidly pushed a small medallion inside Sif's hands "My Eagle Paradise's Pond has many well-mannered servants that can accompany you in all sort of matters… and they definitely look more… pristine. While you wait to make your choice you could also enjoy our gelid ponds, the best for a body tired after a long journey."

Sif smiled, putting away the small token. Of course, she wanted him to go and check out her faction's private business. "Of course, I will keep it in mind…"

The guard asked his name and registered it down on a tablet. Sif asked her where he could shop for some Summoner gear and she gave him a couple of direction, before sending him on his way.

She didn't even ask for a tax, just asking him to remember to visit Eagle Paradise's Pond.

It was noon when Sif finally entered in the Fort, directly moving towards the Market District.