4 Act 1 - Permit Part 1 (4)

"Ah, Amar, you've come back from your trip I see. You didn't bring anything back?" the wall guard who seems to be close to the man said.

"I can't believe the Kelger Trading Company is not selling anything nor buying anything to merchants like me. I think they went bankrupt," the man said.

"That's a shame. So what did you do with your things that you're about to sell?"

"I sold it off at the market. Its a little cheaper than what I want, but I need to go back with at least some money,".

"That's good... uh, who's this lad here that you brought with you?"

"He's a traveller that I happen to meet on the way here. I thought that I could bring him here and show him around,"

"That's good, but does he have a permit?"

"Not yet but I'm taking him to the Town Center to get one,"

"Good, well have a safe trip and welcome to Joules,".

The guard is very nice. I felt very welcomed here.

The town is very crowded with people doing whatever it is they're doing. Its also very clean, not like what I heard from stories of European medieval cities where they throw their waste on the roads.

"What do you think of the city, Mister?" the man asked,

"Its very clean. I like it here," I said.

"Well, the Empire is very strict to even the slightest thing,".

We finally arrived at the Town Center and we walked inside. There was what it looks like the receptionist and I went towards her.

"Excuse me, I would like to get a permit," I said.

"Well, you need to sign here and then you can get a three-days permit," she said while handing me a piece of paper.

"Three days? That's really short," I said.

"Well, you could add in a day for two bronze," she suggested.

"Ahh, well I'll think about it," I said and left to meet the man outside.

"So? Did you get your permit?" he asked.

"Well I was about to but it was only for three days. Can we visit the guild? I want to see the permits there," I asked.

"Alright, lets go,".

He took me there but then a question suddenly hits me. Why do I need a permit and he doesn't? So I asked him that.

"Well, that's the advantage of being a merchant. You can stay anywhere and anytime you want. Not only that, I'm a citizen of Joules. So I don't really need a permit,".

We finally arrived at the Town's Guild. And I could see many adventurers hang out near it. There's a board on the wall with papers pinned into it and many adventurers are reading it so I think those are where you'll find quests.

I entered the building and there's even more adventurers inside. I head over to the receptionist and met with the Guild Lady.

"May I help you?" She asked.

"I would like to get a permit," I said.

"There's three types of permits you can get, sir. There's a one-week permit that costs 10 bronze. A one-month permit that costs 30 bronze. And a year permit that is one silver,".

True, the guild's permits are longer, but they have prices and I don't have money.

"Ugh... I don't have the money," I said.

"Well, you could borrow money from us but you still need either a permit or an Adventurer Membership to do so. Or you can join the Adventurers for a life-time permit,".

Well, this is a little bit- wait? Life-time permit?

"Life-time permit? What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Being an Adventurer allows you to have a life-time permit and the ability to stay in any Empire towns and cities,"

That sounds good.

"Alright, I'll become an adventurer," I said.

"Okay,- lets see... that would be 35 bronze,".

35 Bronze. . . where would I get 35 bronze? Is there literally no way of earning money without having to actually have money?

I finally gave up and went outside to meet the man again.

"So, how did it go?" he asked.

"Its good but they all have prices," I said.

The man laughed and said, "Well, its the Empire, nothing is cheap,".