9 Thump! Thump!

Breakfast was quiet.

So was walking around.

They picked their things up, paid the inn, and moved towards the guild.

It was misty-

Just like the day before.

Yet- Flint didn't feel sick like yesterday.

Or perhaps he just didn't care.

Neither said anything to the other.

There was nothing to say-

Ring-

The guild as usual-

Noisy.

Actually, it was perhaps noisier in the morning compared to the evening.

"Are there any Transporters here?" Anne said, in her big voice.

Lots of stares-

Lots of attention-

"I am one- what do you need?" A man stood up.

Blonde- odd glee-

"Been to Brooke?"

"Sure have."

"We'd like you to take us there."

"How much are you willing to pay?"

"The standard- 200 Silvers."

The man chuckled. "No, 400 at the very least."

Anne didn't smile. Actually, she didn't quite even glare. She just stood there- "No. NO thanks." She stared around. "Anyone else?"

No one stood up.

Perhaps she was expecting too much.

"Hey, hey. Even 400 is generous you know. We usually go for 500 silvers!" He chuckled.

Lots of chuckles-

Apparently, a small town like this didn't bother following the Guild Hall rules.

"Good for you. We're leaving-" Anne said, heading out.

"I can take you there-" A woman said- at the door-

Black clothes- one eye hidden behind an eyepatch.

Very-

Well endowed.

"Taking us there doesn't seem to be the issue," Anne said.

A mild grin. "250." Beautiful golden locks hidden in that hood of hers.

Now that Flint eyed her carefully, he could tell- that eyepatch, was sort of a tiara that kind of just drooped down... Then again his eyes were mostly on her chest and not-

Yeah- he looked away the moment the woman noticed... blushing ever so slightly. And that's when Flint also realized that his partner was already walking away.

Anne didn't even bother standing- she just went out.

Flint sighed- "Why not 250?"

Just outside, they stopped.

"I can't go back on my word now!?" She yelled.

Flint just-

Went back-

Found the woman-

"I'll pay the extra 50, don't let her know."

With that said, both came out of the guild-

"The hell were you thinking, running off like that?"

"Just negotiating. She agreed to 200."

Anne- slightly suspicious. "Just like that?"

"Yes-" The woman said. "He's a really bright kid- that's why." She smiled, spreading her hands to both of them. "Now, if you will."

Anne took the hand-

Flint did the same.

This wasn't his first time-

But his heart did race.

Mostly because the woman was quite close and she kind of smelled… nice.

"Should be common knowledge but never let go of my hand during the transport-" The woman said.

Reality warped-

The colors-

The light-

The world-

Vanished.

Replaced by purple-

The trio flew through a space of sorts-

Empty space.

The null.

***

Transporters-

As the name suggested, transported people and goods.

But instead of traditional means-

They could teleport.

The skill- and potential for learning the skill 'teleport' was really scarce- and thus very valuable. So, there were no restrictions on how much someone could charge on a single trip.

Some charged 100 silvers. Others- depending on the situation, 100 gold.

And this went for quite some time-

But eventually, the Guild Hall decided, it was best to limit a single trip, as long as it was in the same country to 200 Silvers, aka, 2 Gold, and to a different country to 5 gold and to a different continent to 50.

Not many ever ventured beyond the continent of Xercia however, so no one really wanted to go out either.

"How long will this take?" Flint said.

The world of purple.

The void- also known as the null.

Not much was here- apart from the floating black things with no eyes.

And through this place, the three were moving in breakneck speed.

"Should take about a minute more-" The woman said. "First time in Brooke?"

It was almost as though-

He was flying- or so Flint felt.

And yet-

At the same time-

He didn't feel an ounce of excitement.

'Once there…' He needed to find out what happened.

And then he needed a way to be stronger.

Anne didn't want him to continue-

But-

Flint wanted to.

He wanted to do this…

There was a chaos knight in Brooke- someone He'd heard before.

But-

Yeah-

Anne was right- he was better suited for defending. And he knew that well enough.

He didn't like that thought though.

"No," Anne said.

The purple slowly faded- replaced by light.

Sharp-

Light.

Swish!

A breeze passed by.

Warm breeze.

On a small hill-

The three had landed.

'Blue-' Flint stared-

Blue sea.

And a massive- really massive city just before the sea-

Covered in a semi-wall-

And in the middle-

A mighty castle-

Beautiful.

"So that's why you brought the packages to Dale- to make enough money…" Flint said.

"Why else would I go through all that?"

It made sense.

To travel fast- she needed money- and to make a quick buck she needed to transport some charcoal…

"My payment?" The woman asked.

"Here- all 200-" Anne didn't even bat an eye.

And though the woman didn't say anything-

"Here-" Flint also gave her a small pouch.

Anne had given Flint a good total of 30 silvers over the course of last few days.

And Flint had stacked up on the coins from the goblins too- coming to a staggering 57 silvers-

"Hey!" Anne flared. "Didn't we agree to 200?"

The woman smiled- "Yes but he agreed to an extra fifty-" She opened the bags, counted fast- and gave ten back to Flint.

"But-"

She again smiled. "It's nice to be trying to help out but you could have actually negotiated with me, you know… Since I was going to come here today anyway." She ruffled through his hair. "So young-" She licked her lips- "Wanna go somewhere private?" A sweet whisper-

Anne pulled Flint back- "Sorry, he's with me." That said, she dragged him towards the distant entrance.

"Too bad…" The woman giggled, walking behind them anyway.

***

The city of Brooke was one of the finest cities in the kingdom Borshall, directly sharing its borders with Frackin United. Yet, there wasn't much was here-

If anything, this city was the safest of the country- and perhaps one of the few that still stood-

A free city-

With a diverse population and various cuisines.

The plains near the city were relatively safe but a strong adventurer was recommended as a guard if anyone wanted to just go out for sightseeing or collecting herbs.

After all-

Though rare-

A certain type of monster roamed about in these lands-

A certain monster that was running straight for the duo-

Thump!

Thump!

Each foot weighing perhaps a ton- and each step shaking the lands-

"Troll-" Anne said. "Use the spell- but don't say it out loud. Never say it out loud."