Chapter 11 – Sites, sounds and taste.

A red sun that was slowly fading into yellow was gradually rising on the horizon.

The land and buildings were blanketed by an orange hue of light. A wide river flowed by beside this dimly lit town. Sounds of water flowing by the rocky shoreline permeated the air.

A lodge lay in a corner of this town. This lodge exuded a unique aura.

It was like a lone first snowflake that had descended to the ground. It looked beautiful and yet not out of place. As if it would shine regardless of where it was placed.

Amidst this lodge. In a large room at the left end of the building, a boy was soundly sleeping. A young maidservant was quietly opening the door to this room so as not to awaken the occupant.

This was the Four ways Melody Lodge in Two Fang City. The girl was fen and she was entering Adam's room as she did daily to wake him up.

In her green cheongsam that seemed freshly pressed she made her way to the sliding windows at the other end of the room.

The Four Ways Melody Lodge was a very formal place for the people of this world. The locals of the city saw it as a majestic construct with a formidable owner.

If you were to ask Adam, it would be more apt to call it a Japanese styled lodge from his previous world that catered to artists and the like.

This was true. The architecture of the lodge was very similar. The smell of wood was infused into the halls of the establishment.

"It's another new day. Today is a very important day for the young master." Fen was whispering to herself. Her hands reached out and gently pulled aside the sliding paper windows.

A fresh cool breeze flits past her and enter's the room. The hazy orange light of dawn slowly trickled into the room as well.

Taking a deep breath in she lost herself in thought for a moment.

'today the young master will undergo the initiation for adventurers.' A slightly worried expression appeared on her face.

'I have looked after the young master for all these years. His ability is definitely not subpar and he is a born scholar. Why does he insist on taking on such a dangerous line of work?' She was truly puzzled. Since he was able to read she had sat with him every day explaining and reading with him a multitude of books and attending every lecture given in the lodge.

He was a genius when it came to understanding and learning the various occupations of the arts. He was also getting to the stage where he began to ponder on their intricacies and formulate his own theories.

So why would he give up this seemingly easy and safe lifestyle for something where he would risk his life on a daily basis?

If she knew that the answer to him was as simple as 'I have already lived an easy and boring life.' How shocked would she be?

She would think these things but never voice them. In the depth's of her mind, she already had an unwavering trust in the actions of her young master.

He was not a reckless person who did things without thinking. She knew this better than anyone else.

Coming back from her thoughts she got to waking the sleeping Adam up.

He was curled up in a futton with a fluffy fur blanket that was tightly wrapped around him, keeping that dastardly cold wind of the morning away.

Adam had always been a heavy sleeper.

A truly monumental task lay in store for Fen.

....

Making his way to the dining hall was the newly awoken Adam. He had quickly freshened up and made his way toward here.

He did not show it but his anticipation was simmering on the brink of overflowing at this point.

He had stayed quiet the whole morning just to maintain his composure.

Reaching the dining hall he pushed the sliding door aside and entered.

What greeted him was the vast room with an empty table and one of the maidservant's waiting at the side for his arrival.

"Good morning young master." The girl said in a gentle tone with a smile.

"Good morning big sis." Taking another quick glance at the empty table and corridor behind him. He asked "Where is my mother? Is she not feeling well?" Yuki would never miss breakfast. This was the one meal she and Adam would always share. Adam was accustomed to walking into the room to find his mother already sitting there waiting for his arrival.

This turn of events immediately caused him to worry.

"No need to worry young master." Seeing his expressions turn into worry and concern, the girl immediately tried to console him. "The Mistress headed out early to the Guild. To make preparations for the young masters visit today!"

"Oh! Then it's fine." Realizing that his concern was unwarranted he relaxed. Joy replaced his anxiety from a few moments ago very quickly when he heard the latter of the girl's sentence.

'She kept her promise.' He had already convinced his mother yesterday but her going to the guild finally solidified their deal.

"Young master hides it very well but he truly cares for mistress deeply." The girl interrupted Adam's moment of joy with a light giggle at the end.

"Of course!" Fen said in a chiding tone from the back. As if to say that the matter was an obvious one.

A tinge of red appeared on Adam's cheeks.

"Big sister's! I will go and sit. As for breakfast, I shall wait for mother to return." He immediately changed the topic and walked over to the table rapidly.

The two girls shared a secret giggle then made their way toward the table too.

…..

Adam had a quick breakfast when Yuki got back and left immediately.

If he had not, he might have ended up with an entourage of six of the girls working at the lodge accompanying him.

'you would think that it's a bit exaggerated but all the times that I asked her to go outside before, she always sent those girls with me.' He sighed internally.

Adam had never truly experienced the city. After all, how could you see the sites if you were surrounded in a circle by a bunch of girls?

He was forced to go directly to his destination and back on all his previous trips.

To the locals, the young master of the Four Ways Melody Lodge was almost like an urban legend. Some had even made myth's and ghost stories to scare their children around him.

Standing at the entrance to the lodge Adam strutted out the main gate 'alone'.

Fen who was heavily instructed by the mistress to not stray a single step away from her son was hot on his trail.

Looking back at the entrance of the lodge he saw Yuki standing barefoot there. Waving at him gently. Looking as though she might cry.

His heart softened. He turned around and walked back to her. Giving her a hug he said "I will not go overboard. I shall be back soon. Bye!"

He turned around and jogged out the gate to the street.

"That silly boy!" his actions had soothed her. Yuki understood that he only said that to comfort her. He was bound to roam around the city and she had also made preparations for that.

Fen seeing her target jogging out. Immediately called out "Young master!" and sped up to catch up to him.

....

Adam was currently walking through a street that had stores set up on both sides of it with the occasional street vendor. The hustle and bustle of the city, the sounds of the vendors and the smells of food and spices instigated a nostalgia in him.

"Big Sis Fen, where are we?"

"we are on blue lane street young master. This is the commercial street of Two fang city where all the renowned stores of every profession within the city can be found." Fen had been out on multiple occasion's to run small errands. She had paid visits to this street too often because of the concentration of store's here.

It did not hold as much glamour to her as it did for Adam who was experiencing it for the first time.

He did not know where to look. His gaze darted about constantly.

The street was wide. Enough to let two carriages travel side by side on it. The stores on each side occupied the whole ground floor of all the buildings on each side with the top floors being residential.

Some store's where even 2 or 3 floors in themselves. Occupying a whole building.

Looking around these stores he noticed that all of them had something in common. Along with their name's and services provided all stores had a plaque displayed in plain view at their stores. Even the street vendors had this plaque.

The plaque had a very official certificate look to it and a bold golden insignia.

Seeing the gaze of her young master investigating the plaque's Fen preemptively provided an explanation to him. "Those are the guild's certification for a profession class. As young master knows there are as many profession classes as there are careers."

"To regulate so many people the guild has made it mandatory for all stores to display their professional rank's to customers. This sets a standard for a store."

"So that's how it is." This was like rating a store in his previous world. Over here it was a lot more professional. There was a standardization system for the level of service provided because the person's skill level was analyzed.

In his previous world analyzing skill was an impossible task for all stores.

"That gold insignia should be the Guild's mark then I suppose."

"Absolutely correct young master."

"umm, big sis Fen… Is it ok if we get some street food?" Adam could not control his desire to taste the local food. He wasn't hungry as he had just eaten but the desire for food always seemed to transcend just hunger.

"Of course young master. The mistress has already instructed me to let you roam around a bit. She even gave us some coins to spend!"

"She did?"

"Mistress loves young master more than you realize. She is only stern with you because she does not want to spoil you. She does not wish the young master to become a reckless person with distorted values just because she wants to give you everything you desire." Fen had admiration flash through her eyes as she spoke.

"I see." He never knew that his mother always thought so far ahead for him. He always saw her as eccentric and sometimes overprotective.

Today he truly realized the depth of her love.

"we shall only eat one thing then go straight to the guild!" He did not wish to make his mother wait too long for his return.

Walking by they saw countless stalls.

'Three-horned deer skewers!', 'Fried copper clawed rooster leg', 'Tender horn Rabbit stew', 'Flame bull steak'...

Just looking at the food stalls one could tell the variety of different monsters that inhabited this world.

Fen suggested the deer skewers so they walked up to the stall.

Adam noticed the plaque and read it.

'Certification of authenticity by the Guild of Two Fang city.

Level 4 Beginner cook.'

"Beginner?" A confused look playing on his face.

"Hahaha! If it isn't the little young master of the Four Ways lodge and Fen" With a bellowing laugh the vendor welcomed the two. He was a tall robust man who went barechested. His tanned body would put to shame most aspiring bodybuilders.

"You know me?" Adam was shocked. He had never left home without an entourage completely blocking the world out.

"You are the famous green-eyed young master! It is my honour to welcome such a well-known figure to my humble little stall." Fen and the other girls of the lodge were also very well known because of their mild and respectful manner of speech and personality.

'I guess rumours have spread about me' He guessed his unique eyes were the culprit for his infamy. If he knew about the myths and ghost stories he would truly have a headache.

"Two skewers please, we are in a hurry!" Fen ordered for them.

"coming right up! 6 coppers per skewer. Would you like to pay now or later?"

"Here." Fen took out 12 coppers and handed it over to the vendor.

Copper was the lowest denomination of currency. Then there was silver.

100 copper made 1 silver. Above silver was gold.

100 silver made 1 gold.

Even Adam a sheltered young master was privy to this knowledge. After all, he would see the customer's to his lodge pay for their stay.

Within a few moments, two skewers with sizzling meat on them were handed to the two.

The meat was juicy beyond compare. The aroma alone would leave one salivating.

He did not know what it was about the food of this world but it was worlds apart from his previous world. Whether it was the magicules that all living forms ingested or the strange beasts and plants of this world, even the most basic food was better than any Michelin star chef cooked dish.

Chomping down on the meat, Skewer in hand and occasionally puffing out hot air from their mouth's, Fen and Adam started walking towards the direction of the Guild building.