Chapter 12: A city in another world

Riley and Thalia arrived on horseback to the gates of the city. They had to line up in order to be inspected so that they could enter the city.

"Most human cities have this kind of security. They use a special type of crystal ball that identifies if you are a criminal or not."

"I killed those bandits though.. Will I be labelled as a criminal?" Riley asked hesitantly.

"I believe it can only detect crimes that occur within city walls, so you should be fine." Thalia said semi-confidently.

When they reached the front of the line, Riley approached nervously.

"Step up and place your hand gently on the crystal ball please!" The guard ordered plainly. It seemed to Riley he had been saying the same thing over and over all day. Poor bastard.

Riley slowly placed his hand on the cold surface of the crystal ball. He felt a tiny bit of his mana get drawn out. Then the crystal ball glowed white. Riley didn't know if that meant he would be free to walk in or get arrested on the spot. He turned to look at the guard.

"Move along. Next!" The guard yelled.

All clear. Riley sighed out of relief and went into the city with Thalia.

After paying 10 bronze coins to leave the horse at the stables by the front gate, they began walking on foot. Thalia seemed nervous walking into the city and held on to Riley's arm closely. Riley noted a few people looking at her with strange expressions as they walked by.

"Why are people looking at you like that?" He asked as a particularly burly man stared at her. Her grip on his arm tightened as they walked past the man.

"It's because I'm a dark elf. Elves do not particularly get along with humans. The church says that we are the spawn of demons and thinks only of humans as righteous.." she paused.

"That's why elves and demi humans are captured and sold as slaves.. humans think of themselves as above all other races which is why there has been war for so long." She continued.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Riley said solemnly. "Isn't your village a bit too close to this city then?" He asked.

"Our village is in a location that can only be discovered by a dark elf. The village elder maintains a magic barrier to prevent other races from finding us.. well I cannot consider myself one of them anymore. But I am lucky to have such a strong and kind master!" She said more cheerfully. She hugged his arm warmly as she said this and Riley could feel her breasts squish against him.

Their moment of bliss was interrupted by a scene that unfolded before them.

A young girl, small in stature was running in front of them. She had lightly tanned skin and short frayed shorts that showed much of her thick thighs. Her mid drift was exposed and her chest was only just covered by a faded white piece of cloth. However what really caught Riley's attention were the cat-like ears that stuck out of her light pink hair and a tail that followed behind her as she ran. She was clutching what looked like a brown paper bag before she disappeared into the alley in front of them.

Suddenly, two men with their swords drawn appeared behind her. They looked to be chasing her for whatever was in the brown bag. Although they looked much more exhausted than the nimble cat girl.

They ran into the alley way, looked around and then walked back out onto the street with angry expressions on their faces.

After turning a corner, Riley and Thalia found the town markets. The street was bustling with people and exploding with colour as storefronts with different coloured roofs and signs were packed into the street. They surrounded a large marble fountain which had a statue of a lady in long religious robes. She was holding a book and a staff which had a strange symbol on top. Before they could take another step, their noses were assaulted with a range of different smells coming from the sea of stores in front of them. Both Thalia's and Riley's eyes widened as they stared at everything the market had to offer.

They tried a number of different street foods. Chunks of roasted meat on a stick, cream filled pastries, fresh juices and crunchy fried bread balls with a sweet filling inside them. Riley was counting his lucky stars that he had money he took from those bandits as he wouldn't know what to do if he couldn't try all of this straight after knowing that it existed.

They had soon filled their bellies and agreed that they would come back another day to try more food that they didn't see earlier. Riley also stored some of the street food in his inventory. However, he knew that he needed to find a source of income before they could indulge themselves like that again as he was quickly running out of money.

"Is there a quick way to become an adventurer? That can be a good way to make some money right?" He asked Thalia as they sat on a bench in mild food comas.

"Yes they can earn a lot of money very quickly so lots of people become adventurers. But it's dangerous so lots of people also die."

"Well it's better than being indoors all day.. you wouldn't know where to go would you?"

"No, I'm sorry master." Thalia said bowing her head.

"That's okay, we can look around!" Said Riley enthusiastically.

They got to their feet and wondered around the centre of the city for a while until they found a large building that had the Adventurer's Guild symbol out the front which was two swords crossed over one another.

They walked inside to find a bustling room with a bar, kitchen and a service desk. There were people dressed in an arrangement of outfits. Some people were wearing armour and were clad with weapons while others were dressed in lighter clothes and hoods.

They passed a group of adventurers drinking heavily and walked up to the service desk.

"Hello there! How may I help you today?"

Riley was lost for words by the young lady he saw in front of him. She looked to have large dog ears that flopped down the side of her head. She had dark brown hair and freckles that accentuated the sweetness of her smile.

"Uhh.. hi there." Riley said as he regained his thoughts. "We were looking at becoming adventurers." He said hesitantly.

"Fantastic! Please follow me!" She said.

As they walked around the back, Riley couldn't help but watch the dog girl's plump ass away from side to side as she walked in front of them. She was wearing a long silky dress that draped over the curves of her ass. Not to mention her tail that also swayed from side to side, making the scene even more mesmerising for him.

"Please sign your names here and here" as she handed them a piece of paper.

Riley didn't know how to write so he handed the papers to Thalia who wrote everything down for him easily.

"Now. I will need you to place your hand on the crystal ball here." She ordered.

"Is this to see if we are criminals?" Asked Riley

"No no. This is to examine your level so that we can assign the right tasks to you." She smiled.

"Ah sure." Riley said awkwardly.

They both placed their hands on the ball and their levels magically appeared on the pieces of paper they signed.

"Perfect! Now here are your guild cards. You can use them to accept quests and move in and out of cities. However if you commit crimes such as attack other guild members, you card will hold that information and you will be prosecuted. Do you understand?" She said sternly.

Riley found her being stern quite cute, but nodded in agreement.

"Great! Now I will give you a quick tour of the guild and you will be ready to go!" She said brightly.

The dog girl showed them the notice board where they can select quests, as well as the kitchen, the bar and the rooms where people can pay to sleep.

"I would not recommend staying the night here though. It can get quite loud in the evenings so you won't get much sleep. Unless you're planning on joining in on the festivities that is!" She said to them.

"Where would you recommend staying? Riley asked.

"We'll my father owns an inn not too far from here! It's called the 'Sleepy Songbird'. I work there when I'm not working here. She said warmly.

"Sounds great! Thank you."

"It's not a problem! Well that concludes the tour. Welcome to the adventurers guild of Azalea!" She said with great enthusiasm. Riley could see her tail slightly wag as she walked off.

"Let's go to that inn she was talking about." Said Thalia. "You seem a bit tired master" she added.

Riley was feeling tired after all that food they ate recently. He could see that Thalia was also tired and teased her about it as they walked out of the guild.