Yet another two weeks slowly slogged by as Rex spent most of his time meditating in the carriage. There was very few accidents along the way, with no other bandit groups stopping them. The worst case they had to deal with, was a group of thirty goblins, clearly a hunting party from the rumored camp hidden somewhere within the nation, though according to the coachman, efforts to locate it were already heavily underway, the Monarchy of Sol doing its due diligence in finding and stomping out the cancer that such a goblin collection was.
They had crossed forests, fields of grass, some smaller mountain region as well as countless farm fields, growing many different plant cultures. It was rather obvious that while monsters roamed the world all around them, this region was rather empty of them, either through natural causes of made so with regular human intervention, resulting in the current situation. The people were mostly happy, even if tired from the hard work they were doing every day, though that was how life was in the countryside, whether it was more medieval setting or the times he lived back on earth. Farmers were hardworking people after all. Still, as far as he could tell, the royal family had done a solid job, creating a nation that valued their people, earning loyalty and support from all levels of society. Sure, there were local lords overseeing territories who were absolute asholes, or even monsters, but that was not too common here, though not avoidable in its entirety. Point in case, the prick lordling that was annoying Light's Oak.
Rex had asked his coachman about the general state of the nation, what with slavery being rather frowned upon and whatnot, earning a rather level headed answer from the man. Sure, it might have been much easier, were there slaves that would do the hard work for near no cost, but at the same time, crime and all sorts of dissent would spread among the people. The lack of slaves, human or otherwise, ensured that basically everyone was a local. Right now, everyone within the country, to some extent at least, so long as you were not from some incredibly remote place, would consider themselves an essential part of the nation, willing to bear arms, should it be necessary. Their royal family had never wasted the lives of its people without just cause. Sure, they were not the richest, or largest for that matter, but life was good enough as it was. And anyone craving for adventures could simply join the adventurers guild and sate said desire through their quests and dungeon diving parties. It would take quite the malicious acts on behalf of the royals to force the people to take up arms and rebell.
They were riding now a rather steep incline upwards, the road having changed from simple dirt one to one built from what looked like pavement, neat and quite uniformly cut rocks sat one next to another, the road stretching forward until the end of the incline. "We have almost arrived. Just beyond this small hill, one can finally see the capital, Solendiel. It is quite the sight if I do say so myself." The coachman spoke up, with them nearing closer and closer to the top.
"We shall see." Rex replied, slightly interested in what was so beautiful about this city for someone so traveled to speak in such manner about something he has seen countless times. Soon enough, they reached the top of the small hill, a breathtaking, yet unnerving sight at the same time, revealing itself before Rex's eyes. A large, seemingly bottomless pit lay in the distance, promising endless pain and suffering to those not careful enough to watch their step and fall down. In the middle, a huge, platform like expanse of land floated, as if unaffected by gravity whatsoever. The platform itself had multiple huge, though smaller than itself, islands floating nearby, connected with large, gothic like chain bridges that could fit three carriages one besides the other. Each of the islands, floating in the sky, was adorned with buildings of a specific type, creating an odd, yet fascinating sight.
The main island's walls were built of white, marble like material. Its walls were large, surely over seven meters high, or so Rex assumed from the distance they were at right now, some people surely patrolling the ramparts. Beautifull, precisely crafted mosaics and other pieces of art were could be seen as they approached closer to the gate that connected one of the smaller islands with the outside.
"Quite the sight, didn't I tell you?" the coachman asked, a knowing and proud smirk adorning his face.
"Damn. that is something." Rex replied, still focusing his eyes on the incredible sight before him. But, as they grew closer, he sensed something of about the place, not quite sure about the cause. It was only a few minutes later, that it finally hit him, a deeper understanding washing over him.
"The city is inside a dungeon, and can somehow be seen from the outside?" Rex half asked, half stated, earning a raised brow from the coachman, though he could not see it.
"Wow, you are correct sir. How did you know though? I have yet to met another who could deduce such a thing without prior knowledge and judging from your tone, that would seem to be the case."
"I just had this feeling, is all. But that would certainly make sense. If that were possible, I doubt there would be a place in the world, not aware of it. Unless of course such a thing would be held as some super powerful nations secret weapon or something." Rex explained, his mind working overtime to consume and assimilate the knowledge he had just gained from reaching another step further on his space law comprehension.
Once done with absorbing the knowledge, something that took him some solid ten minutes, during which they reached the gate, he returned to enjoying the peculiar sight before him, appreciating the wonder that now occupied everything in their path.
"Your adventurer's ID will suffice as a proof of your persona, and there is a small tax for people entering. It is a dungeon after all, even if the road to capital and the city itself is safe, one can always find stuff to hunt delving deeper inside. And with its rather special nature, you can expect the monsters inside to be equally special, fetching quite the price for their item drops in the neighboring countries " the coachman explained, earning a light 'thanks' in return from Rex.
"I don't see much of a traffic here. Would have expected it to be different, what with it being the capital and all." Rex asked, having his own explanation for said peculiarity.
"No wonder. The gate we are going to is used exclusively by adventurers guild and military. There are a few other 'main entrances' that have rows of people coming and going. The gate we are approaching is called the Red Gate. The ones open for public are the Green Gate and Yellow Gate. There is also the Teal Gate that is used exclusively by nobility, be it local or from other nations. The fact that nobles use their own, special gates ensure there are nearly no arrogant young master incidents, and the adventurers having their own gate, should they wish to use it, reduces the traffic even more on the main paths. Quite the generous approach, if I do say so myself." The coachman explained, his nose high in the air, clearly quite pleased with the ingenuity of his betters.
"Anything I might be interested in exploring within the city?" Rex asked, more moving on auto mode than anything.
"I suppose the gladiator arena is a possibility. Your age and special skills might be quite the trump cards, earning you quite the fame and fortune. Or, if knowledge is what you seek, Royal academy is another possibility. Though I would have to warn you, young masters and all. No doubt you understand." coachman spoke, grimacing at the mention of the latter.
"That bad huh?"
"The fringe cases are what makes it unpleasant. No matter how much you try, there are always those who think they are above the common filth, their families having protected and ruled the local areas for centuries. When such people see the true talent, they become bitter, lashing out at anyone in their range. Royal family does everything it can to remove such sentiment whenever it spaws, but you know how it is. Regardless, it one of the best places for an aspiring magician."
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"Yea, hard pass. School arcs have never been my thing. I would much rather use my time productively." Rex shook his head, making a joke only he himself could understand, leaving the driver slightly confused, though once he was aware of the nature of said joke, he ignored it, leaving it as it was.and continuing further inside. The transition between outside and the dungeon was almost imperceptible, with Rex noticing the slightest of shifts in the surrounding atmosphere.
"Right, I heard of some fancy auction houses. How do those work around here?" Rex asked, deciding to earn some additional knowledge before striking our on his own.
"Well, depends what it is that you need. Looking for some rare and expensive things to aquire? Just go and request a vip status. Costs a shit ton of money every year, but provides a private booth and absolute anonymity when bidding on anything. If you want to sell something expensive thought, I would advise to do so through adventurers guild. The power they wield ensures no on tries to fuck you over. While the more prestigious houses would never do it, at least not in the open, there are fair few tales going around, painting this or that establishment as one that would let greed dictate its actions, resulting in more than a single death of such, lucky possessors of treasures they should have never had."
"Anything in particular I should be doing in such a case?" Rex asked, not at all worried of the coachman doing anything untowards.
"Just ask for guilds special services. The receptionist should bring you over to a private room where you can then ask for their mediation in auctioning some goods. Of course, the guild takes five percent of the final cut, after the auction house has taken their ten."
"Thank you. A small gift of gratitude for the information provided." Rex replied, handing the man a small pouch with couple dozen silver coins.
"It is my pleasure sir." replied the coachman, smiling at Rex and slightly tipping his hat. "If you would excuse me sir, will have to focus on the road now. We are about to enter the more lively part of the city." he added, soon after reaching an intersection, revealing a large and bustling street, numerous carriages and people moving in some direction, clearly with a goal in mind. Along a rather large pedestrian roads, stalls of all sorts were erected, people hawking about the things they sold, ranging from all sorts of snacks, to adventurer gear and the like.
Rex was not meditating now, his eyes taking in the sights. Since they came in through the red gate, this smaller island consisted mostly of clay red buildings, with all sorts of curtains decorating the windows of buildings they passed by. On the red buildings, plaques made of dark wood, with light letters covering them, were placed, containing the name of the establishment and sometimes some light description of the business. Like 'Bairons Connections.' with slightly smaller letters below 'General goods.' Such shops, or businesses sprawled all along the street, creating a sense of market district.
After an hour or so of travel, they reached another gate, this one made of the same white marble like material as the central platform, indicating their destination. Going through a similar inspection as the one they received at the entrance, they soon walked through, crossing the chain like bridge to reach the main island. Crossing the bridge was an experience of its own, spending some five minutes on the massive, yet slightly swaying bridge was eye opening. The massive white wall, encompassing the central island was even more impressive from up close, countless artistic drawings covering it. Scenes of groups of men, fighting monsters, pushing them back, step by step, each one paved with the blood of their comrades, with maidens crying and awaiting the return of their heroes. Others, depicting duels between men in a grand colosseum and even more still, showing the life of everydays farmer, praising them for their hard work.
'Quite impressive.' Thought Rex, as he marveled and enjoyed the sight before his eyes 'They ensure that every class of their society is appreciated and valued. Makes for quite the effective way to bring everyone together. The lack of slaves and pure servant class makes it even more pronounced. Solidarity.' Rex could not argue with their methods, though he was also well aware how fragile such society could be. All they needed was a couple of incompetent rulers and all this hard work would go to waste. Stil, it had been a few centuries this nation had been around, proving that the concept worked.
The central island was much larger than the ones connected to it, white, marble buildings seen everywhere. much like in the Red island, marble white was the color scheme chosen hre, with curtains serving as the way to give one's own home some personality and uniqueness. Much grabner buildings stood on the side of streets, everything cleaned and maintained neatly, no such thing as slums anywhere in sight. Either there were none, or they had been moved god knows where, for while it was certainly not possible for random bums to gain access to the city from outside, those that succumbed to vices like alcohol, gamblings or drugs, for Rex doubted there were none in this world, would inevitably pool in the smaller streets, out of people's slights, if the ruling class took offence at their presence.
"I don't see no bums or other kinds of lowlifes around. There any special rules about that?" he asked, well aware that the coachman had his eyes on the road ahead. So, he listened to the man's explanation, his eyes remaining locked on the road.
"Aye. If the local guard finds such people, they offer them a choice- ejection from the city, where they can go as their heart commands, or join the purity legion. As for what that particular entity does and represents, ask at the guild, they should be able to explain much better than me. Should reach one of the two main guild halls soon anyways. And before you ask, there are two large branches in the White district, or royal garden as some poets tend to call it and one in each of the smaller islands floating around this one. The city is simply too large for a single branch to accommodate all the adventurers and quest givers. Plenty of smiths, alchemists and other artisans desiring for a fresh supply of materials and the like. Surely you plan to test your luck as well?"
"Probably, just to sate my curiosity, then again, one never knows how life turns out, though I want to travel around, explore the world and whatnot. Seems there would be plenty of adventures and excitement to go around."
"Aye, that there is. Especially if one runs across some undiscovered dungeon, or even better, ruins. Not to mention stumbling upon a city of non humans." Rex understood the meaning behind the last sentence. While humans, elves, dwarves and the like were somewhat friendly, engaging in trade with each other, sometimes the more intelligent monsters would do the same. Finding trusted merchants from the aforementioned races and using them as go betweens, enriching both sides and the man in between even more so. Eventually, if the trade if prosperous and long enough, said city might even develop their own embassies in some of the more human lands they trade with. In such a manner, more than one lamia embassies had been established in some human or elven, or better yet, dwarven cities, with the latter being the preferred case. Dwarves were so much more predictable and stable, being the stubborn people who honored their agreements to a letter. It was in such a way that some of the intelligent monster races, such as lamias, dryads and some other were considered friendlies most of the time, unless they attacked on sight. Some feral ones did so after all.
Species like vampires and werewolves were less tolerated, purely due to their ability to integrate among people without anyone being the wiser, as well as their insane combat power. And while there were undoubtedly some merchants who traded with both, well aware of the nature of their trading partners, such cases were few and far in between. In most cases, the merchants were blissfully unaware of the nature of their trading partners, earning a fortune for both sides in the process.
An hour and a half. It was the time Rex spent inside the carriage as it traversed the White district, Rex noticing numerous high class establishments along the way. One thing he noticed in particular, was the presence of adventurer guilds halls here. Everything from Hunter hall, to warrior or wind mage hall could be seen, and many more he must have passed by, simply located on a different street. Rex considered adding the topic to the list of questions he would have to ask at the guild, but since he himself held no desire to join any, he came to the conclusion that it would be a waste of time, for both him and the guild attendant. Eventually, the carriage stopped before a huge mansion, built of white marble and adorned with numerous monster skulls, creating majestic and imposing sight.
"We have arrived. Welcome to the Eastern adventurers guild of White district." spoke up the coachman, announcing their arrival. "I do hope the trip was bearable."
