6 Tread Carefully

Atreus squints his eyes and raises his hand, his pale skin lit up in a basking yellow light. He lowers his hand as his eyes adjust to the brightness, "Oh..." the boy mutters to himself as his eyes scan a massive city with homes and shops bunched together, extending as far as his little eyes can see. His vision roams to the oval-shaped plaza surrounding him, and the massive crowd of people walking to and fro. Atreus sees small animal ears on some people, and is reminded of the less than friendly man in the dungeon.

The boy is taken aback as he witnesses this, and his mind flips to all of the stories that each of these people has. Atreus looks up at his father, who stares out at the sprawling city bathed in warm sunlight. Just like the two of them, each of these people have trauma, loved ones, and a distant dream they wish to reach out and take for themselves.

Minutes pass like this until Kratos notices several eyes drawing to their presence. Being a big person can help in battle, but with the Greek god being nearly seven-foot-tall, he sticks out like a sore thumb, even in a crowd, "...Keep moving. We need to find out where we are," Kratos says, stepping forward and down the steep steps before him.

"Yes, father," Atreus says, looking behind him at the door to the dungeon, but something else attracts his attention, causing him to walk backward with his mouth ajar, "Woah," his neck cranes up to a tower splitting the clouds. His eyes slowly notice every nook and cranny as he stares at the tower, but one thing stands out to the boy; a window, large by any window standards, but only a speck to the rest of the gargantuan tower. It sets between the hard stone hundreds of feet from the ground.

A shiver travels up Atreus' spine, and he quickly turns, joining Kratos again, "Are they even watching us here? Who is it?" Atreus mutters to himself.

"Hmm?" Kratos hums, glancing at his son.

Atreus raises his eyes to Kratos, "Oh, it's nothing," he says, but his awkward smile tells otherwise.

Kratos sighs inaudibly, his eyes scouring the people bussling around them. His eyes meet others only for a second, and bigger men with even bigger swords look away awkwardly when meeting the Greek God's gaze. He meets the gaze of the people behind him, but a similar avoidance occurs. It seems most of these people know when they see someone they shouldn't play around with.

"I figured there would be quite a few people, but... Even I'm becoming a bit anxious with all of these eyes on me. I suppose not a lot of these wankers have ever seen a severed head before, not breathing anyways," Mimir chuckles.

Kratos grunts, "Yes, These people seem to be... Civilized," he says. And his words are not wrong, as Kratos sees the sheer number of people, some with weapons and armor, and some just wearing plain clothes, he notices that most of the people seem to be somewhat happy.

Continuing through the crowded streets of the unknown city, Kratos and Atreus let their eyes roam to the brick buildings surrounding them and the remarkable craftsmanship of each structure. At a time, long ago, Kratos would never have thought of these kinds of things, but it seems his time in Midgard changed him more than he thought.

The God of War glances down at his son, "Atreus," he calls.

Atreus is broken from his admiration of the new setting, "Yeah?" he says, craning his neck.

Kratos hums, his steps long and swift, "I believe you are more interested in this city than myself... What do you think we should do first, boy?" he says.

"Hmm..." Atreus hums, putting his hand to his chin, seeming to think about the question more deeply than his father had intended. A moment passes, and Kratos hears a low growl coming from Atreus, nearly inaudible due to the ruckus of the city.

"Oh... Maybe we should get some food?" Atreus says, chuckling slightly.

Kratos grunts, "We will need money for that... And I do not know if our Hacksilver will be accepted here," he says, his fingers rustling a bag of coins on his hip.

Atreus hums again, his eyes roaming to a building on his right. He begins to walk towards the building, and Kratos follows behind him. They reach the building within seconds, and Kratos scans the brick building, at least three stories with different colored banners hanging from the walls. In between the two sections of the building jutting into the street, a middle section sets farther back with a double door and elaborately designed transom set above it.

Atreus stares at a parchment stuck to the brick wall, his eyes squinting hard as he mouths the words entering his vision. He reaches to his hip and pulls a notebook out. The boy jots in the notebook in silence, his father watching with distracted eyes.

Atreus turns, "It's a different language, but basically it says that we can trade those magic stones for money here," he says nonchalant, closing the notebook and replacing it at his hip.

Kratos nods, and the duo walk towards the wooden door of the building. Mimir chuckles, "Brother, your boy is really something. I fear his knowledge of languages will surpass mine... Sooner than any of us think..." he says, "...So much for smartest man alive."

Kratos hums, watching Atreus as the boy opens the door and skips into the building, "...Yes, I believe he will," he says.

Kratos steps inside of the warm and comfortable building, his eyes scanning the blue and green tiles studding the floor and green sofas organized on either side. A wooden counter sets before him, extending across nearly the entire room. Behind the counter, a few women and men stand there in sleek black vests. They speak with men and women in groups with swords, bows, staffs, and other weapons attached to their person.

Atreus stands in the middle of the room, staring at one of the women at the counter. With brown hair cut in a bob framing her face, pointy ears poking out from her hair, and thin glasses, the woman smiles and waves at Atreus.

"Atreus," Kratos calls to his son. The door behind him opens, and someone bumps into him, a small boy with white hair. The boy looks back at Kratos and his scowling expression and seems to nearly jump out of his pants, "I'm sorry!" the boy yells as he runs up to the counter. The boy seems to be about the same size as Atreus with short white hair, huge red eyes, a brown garb and pants, and black boots.

Atreus walks up to Kratos, looking back at the less than brave boy at the counter. He turns back to his father, "Who was that?" he asks.

"I do not know..." Kratos says, kneeling down in front of his son, "...I must speak with you about something Atreus, and you must listen," Atreus nods, and Kratos places his hand on the boy's shoulder, "...We are in a new place, boy. A different world even, and with that, we will be questioned more than we are comfortable with. At the worst, we will even be cast out from the city... I understand your excitement, my son, but you will need to tread carefully. Do not answer questions about our past, and if you must, then do not give more information than is needed."

Atreus listens to every word as if his life depends on it, which it very well may. He nods as Kratos finishes his words, "Yes, father. I'll be careful," he says.

Kratos nods back, "Good," he pats Atreus' shoulder lightly and stands.

The duo arrives at the counter, the boy from earlier nowhere to be seen. The woman from before smiles up at Kratos, her glasses flickering with a bright glare of the sunlight beaming from the windows, "My name is Eina. How can I help you?" she says.

Kratos hums, pulling the bag from his waist and setting it on the counter. He extracts the purple crystals from the bag and sets them on the counter. One crystal is clearly larger than the others, "We want to trade these in!" Atreus responds.

Eina smiles back at Atreus, "Very well. I will be right back then," she says, taking the stones and disappearing through a door behind the counter. Minutes pass as Atreus and Kratos scan the comfortable room, and Atreus notices a particular smell, much like the smell of his home in Midgard. A gentle lavender scent, mixing with other herbs to make the comfortable room even more livable. A smile plasters to his face, and while Atreus misses his home for a single moment, the thought of exploring this city drowns his mind quickly.

The door creaks open, and Eina steps light back to the counter with that same friendly smile. A grey bag plops against the wood counter, "1200 valis," she says.

Kratos nods and takes the bag, hanging it with the bag he stored the stones in before. Eina leans onto the counter, smiling at Atreus, "I've never seen you two before. Are you new to Orario?" she asks.

Atreus glances up at Kratos, and the man nods. The boy looks back at Eina, "Yep," he says.

Eina keeps her smile, "Have you thought about joining a familia? If you want to reach the lower floors, you will need their help," she says.

Atreus furrows his brows, "Familia?" he asks.