A Promising Newcomer
The streets of Rodel were paved with firm, flat bluestone, yet they bore none of the intricate, impractical decorations.
The variety of goods in the shops lining these streets paled in comparison to those in Breeze City, not to mention the noticeable hike in prices.
While the city's guards and their families benefitted from royal subsidies, sparing them the worries of inflation, the same could not be said for everyone else.
Among the hustle and bustle of passersby, adventurers in their distinctive garb outnumbered the merchants, who themselves seemed in a hurry, unwilling to linger.
For a city striving for stability, the presence of adventurers was more a curse than a blessing.
The saying goes, when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Even adventurers of humble origins could match the might of a formal army and, in certain environments, even surpass it.