A Small but Cozy Town

[Arius POV]

Seeing the town in front of me, various different emotions were swirling inside me. I felt relieved that we survived the journey. I felt happy knowing that I am finally in the town, a goal and wish I'd had for a few years now. But these positive emotions were dulled down by the realization that I need to do a lot more to live this life. This time it was Big Brother Jaque's arm, next time it could be unthinkable.

Still, overall, the fact that we've arrived in the town called Erlabyn got me so excited that I couldn't help but smile.

Walking into town, I see many houses on the side of the main stone road with many other roads branching off of it. The houses here were 2 or 3 stories high, they were mostly made of wood with some being made of stones. Walking around the road, I see many different people walking around. There were many families of demi-onics walking around, some having tails, others having fur and horns. There were groups of people riding horses that pulled wagons of different coloured ores, some of which glowed different colours in my eyes.

"Big Brother Jaque, why are there so many people with wagons of rocks?"

"Oh, them? This is a mining town, Arius, the main product of this town is Karthin ore! A basic ore used by beginner engravers and craftsmen."

"Where does the ore come from? I don't see any hills or nearby, in fact, it's all flat ground around here."

"Great question, to be honest, I don't know the specifics but I do know from my days as an adventurer that all the Karthin is sourced from a local S.T.A."

"There's an S.T.A. here!"

"Yep, located a few kilometres west of town."

I never thought that there would be an S.T.A. so close to me all this time.

In one of the books, I read(stole) from Sister Arielle, S.T.A. stands for Spatial Terrain Anomaly, they started randomly appearing across the continent some 50-odd years ago. They completely warp the area around them, some will turn the surroundings into lakes, others into forests and others even into caves or volcanoes. When entering the portal at the middle of a S.T.A., you will be brought to a new world filled with treasures and monsters. It is said that the profession of adventurers was founded primarily to combat the increasing amount of monsters.

A few years ago, after I learnt of the existence of S.T.A., I always wanted to go see and explore what it looks like inside. But after what happened yesterday, I think it's better not to go for now.

"If you want to know more about the process, I know someone who's personally involved with everything."

"Really! You promise?"

"Alright, I promise."

"Hey, you two! Don't leave me out of the conversation. I want to meet them too!"

With smiles on all our faces, we continue following Big Brother Jaque as we walk down one of the roads that branched off the main path.

"Brother Jaque, you haven't told us where we're going yet."

"Oh right, thanks for reminding me, Lorraine. We're right now heading to my master's workshop. Once we get there, I'll introduce you guys to him. He gives rooms to all his apprentices so you guys will stay the night there."

While Big Brother Jaque was still explaining everything that we will do we arrived in front of a giant house made of stone with a massive chimney on top of it. Even from the outside, I could feel the heat coming out of this workshop as well as a lot of banging, hitting and clanks of metal.

Brother Jaque, unfazed by all the commotion, moves forward and lifts up the drapes that acted as a door before entering and disappearing behind the drapes.

"Hey, wait for us!"

Not wanting to be left behind, holding each other's hands, Lorraine and I quickly lift up the drapes and went inside.

"..."

"Wow!"

That was the only way to describe it. In front of me was a large open room filled with countless different tools and instruments, there were so many people there all working on different things. There were men and women, demi-onics and humans, and even a few people from the demon race with their black wings and horns. They were refining ores, smelting metals, tanning leathers, and creating different things. The heat of the furnaces tickled my skin with the sound of work and everyone talking and helping each other out. Somehow, someway, I felt like I was at a home away from home.

"Ewwww! It smells sooo bad in here. Disgusting!"

While I was feeling right at home, Lorraine was feeling the opposite. To be fair, it smelt of sweat, metal and burning coal, definitely not the best smell overall. But come on, it wasn't the worst smell we ever smelt.

"Come on, Lorraine. We've been through a lot worse. Remember the...incident."

"Don't bring THAT up!"

After hearing what I said, Lorraine's body twitched and her face went pale. It was to be expected after experiencing the incident. A year ago, one of my older sisters at the orphanage, Sister Merigold decided to make food for the entire orphanage to celebrate her coming-of-age ceremony. It was the first time I'd ever seen her in the kitchen.

Don't get me wrong, her food was delicious! I have no idea what she put in there for it to taste so amazing but it's what happened after that gives me the chills. The next morning, literally everyone who ate Sister Merigold's food had to go to the bathroom. One by one everyone had their turn and by the end of it the smell, to the deity above, the smell, it was in a league of its own. The rest of the day, anyone who tried to use the bathroom would faint from the smell. It was THAT bad! Thank the lord that the washroom was located outside, else we wouldn't be able to live in the orphanage anymore. Later that day, Sister Lisa got rid of the smell by burning the entire washroom to the ground with her fire spell. To this day, the incident has given everyone the chills.

"Arius! Lorraine! Hurry up."

While Lorraine and I were reliving a traumatic memory, Big Brother Jaque, who disappeared in the workshop, yelled out to us while waving his hand and leaning on a wooden pillar. Quickly running over to him, I notice that someone else was with him. It was a girl who was a little younger than Big Brother Jaque with an annoyed expression on her face. She had scales running down her cheeks in a cool pattern and verticle pupils. Those pupils are really creepy! Also, unlike the rest of the people in the room who were covered in sweat and wearing simply the bare minimum, the girl was in a sweater and jeans.

"You two are two little slowpokes. Here, let me introduce you to a good friend of mine. This is Stella Erlabyn. Stella, meet one of my beloved young sisters and brother, Lorraine and Arius. I'm pretty sure You and Lorraine should be the same age."

"Hello! Nice to meet you two!"

"Hello."

"Hi..."

"OH My Gosh, little Arius! You're so cute!"

Before I finished speaking, Stella pulled me in for a hug and started rubbing her cheek against me. Surprisingly, the scales on her cheeks weren't hard and point as they looked. They were soft and cool just like Big brother Jaques.

"waaait, I feel like I heard the name Erlabyn somewhere, wait...Isn't That the Name of this Town?!!"

"Oh, let me put you down for a second little Arius. Ahem, ahem, yes. My name is Stella Erlabyn, the great-granddaughter of Ceris Erlabyn, the founder of this town!"

Standing there with her head raised high, her speech would've probably earned a round of applause if it weren't for the fact that she was in a sweater and jeans. Her clothing didn't bother Lorraine as she had the word 'wow' plastered on her face. Big Brother Jaque on the other hand was just trying to hold in his laugh.

"Ha... ha...a...ha, HAhaha! Stella, who are you trying to fool? Lorraine snaps out of it, after being her friend for years now, there's one thing I've learned about Stella. She's not noble like at all! Hahaha!"

"Hey! Come on Jaque just when I thought I got one of them!"

"Hey, hey! Don't get mad at me now!"

"Who else would I get mad at?! Also, you keep trying to slitter your way out of explaining why your arm is completely black, hurry up and tell me!"

"I'll tell you in a bit when I meet with mast..."

"WHO'S CAUSING A COMMOTION SO EARLY IN THE DAY!!!"

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Dakria's Discovery: After carefully analyzing the S.T.A. at Erlabyn, I've noticed that there are a large number of encryptions and a concentrated magical area laid deep within it. At a center of an S.T.A., there should exist either a core or a portal of some sort. More information is needed...