“State your business!” a tall guard ordered.

The party had made it to Skull City's giant stone walls. They were thick and had been polished white, giving the structure an almost reflective sheen. The heavy double doors were firmly locked, concealing the massive city beyond.

The tall guard stared at them through the slits of his helmet. Melly leaned forwards on her seat to get a better look at the guard. He wore a strikingly white cloak over dazzling armour. Melly could just make out stray strands of a blonde beard under his large yet entirely reflective helmet. Next to him stood a second guard who looked identical, only this guard had tuffs of black beard.

“Answer the man!” demanded the second guard. There was no humour in their eyes.

Clemiticus leaped off the wagon and strode towards them. Stopping feet from the gates, he bowed low and presented himself in his usual jovial idiom.

“Greetings! We humbly come before you as humble merchants of humble wares,” Clemiticus announced proudly.

Derrick, Nuecus and Melly shared looks. There was no way in Fanswald that the guards would believe such a bald-faced lie. What was with all the humble nonsense? Melly thought, exasperated.

After journeying for the past day, they found that the road leading towards Skull city was well kept and rarely travelled. In fact, they hadn’t spotted a single other traveller on the entire way.

The first blonde guard eyed the suspicious travellers, then asked, “You don’t look like any merchants I have ever seen. Where’s your goods?”

Clemiticus turned back to the wagon and spotted the giant hole in his thoughtless plan.

“Ah, we, um?” Clemiticus answered with an unsure tone.

The second guard squinted, then shook his head. “Very suspicious.”

A ringing sound resounded as the blonde guard drew his sword and pointed it toward them. The movement was swift and well trained.

“Where did you come from?” he asked in a deadly tone.

The second guard mirrored his partner and drew his sword tip just below Clemiticus’ chin.

“From the countryside,” Clemiticus spoke with an uneasy grin.

“And what do you sell?”

A flutter of wings broke the tension as the diminutive Skittles swooped down and perched onto Clemiticuses’ shoulder. The two guards stared at the tiny scarlet bird, overtaken by curiosity.

“Ah, pets and animals!” said Melly quickly. “We sell pets and animals!”

The two guards looked up at her, then eyed the rest of party members. Melly looked down and spotted Thea who had been sleeping behind them the entire time. She attempted to wake the town planner but was met with only a mumble.

The blonde guard lowered his sword slightly, then pointed towards the horses with his spare hand. He looked like he was making a mental count.

“I see only… One bird… and two horses. You only got… um, three animals. Hardly enough for a pet merchant! What else you got?” the guard asked.

Clemiticus' face brightened, then shouted, “Dog!”

The armoured men flinched at the sudden noise, but then gasped as a floating figure flew out of the wagon with a giant grin.

“Good morning!” Dog said cheerfully. The miniature whale wriggled its tail in a comical mimicry of a human wave.

“Holy gods! It can talk!” said the black bearded guard as his sword dropped.

“It waved at me,” said the awestruck blonde guard.

“We are merchants of extra ordinarily rare creatures!” Clemiticus lied.

The two guards nodded and moved aside and stowed their weapons.

“By all means, come inside!” they said together.

Melly rolled her eyes and patted dogs watery floatation device. “Good boy,” she whispered.

Dog’s smile widened as a sparkle of curiosity overtook him. “What’s this place? It’s so shiny!”

Melly nodded as she watched Clemiticus climb back into the wagon.

“Open the gates!” the blonde guard ordered.

A moment later wood creaked, then doors cracked open to reveal a straight long pale road. It stretched on from miles.

Nuecus gripped the reins, and the wagon rolled forward. Melly heard the old thaumaturge mumble some obscenities under his breath as they made their way through the gates.

“Wow!” Dog said.

Wow indeed, Melly thought as she surveyed the sprawling city unveiled before her. Massive didn’t adequately describe the insane scope of the place. Every single town she had been to so far could easily fit within the giant walls of the city, with plenty of room to spare. There were houses, inns, markets, and even a large row of green fields within.

Every road, wall, roof, post, and fence were painted a bright white. The streets were bustling with hundreds of people who all looked to be in high spirits. The sounds of children playing and laughing echoed from side streets. The adults busily ran errands while talking with their neighbours.

Nuecus drove the wagon forwards and began the long trek through the sparkling city. Faces turned up to see the strangers with bright welcoming expressions. Dog repeated his ‘human like’ wave at many of the locals who excitedly waved back with overwhelming interest.

“Why hello there, citizens of Skull City!” Clemiticus called out to the locals.

Melly was surprised to see almost everyone they passed wave back just as eagerly as the miniature whale. Turning around, she spotted a sizeable crowd had followed them.

Whispers of magical fish and circus followed in their wake.

Melly couldn’t help but think their flamboyant entrance when entering new cities was a bad idea. She turned to her father and asked, “do you think all this attention will get us in trouble?”

Derrick looked around at all the joyful expressions, then whispered back, “I do not know. Let’s see what we can gain from all this publicity.”

Melly knew all too well that her father had ulterior motives when entering a city. Most tourists went straight for a restaurant or a rest house to settle in and sample the local goods. Her father had the habit of finding the closest garbage heap, where he would precede to salvage anything and everything.

“You’re going to the dump, aren’t you?” she asked.

Derrick smiled. “You bet your bottom socks. A city this size will have an endless supply of treasure.”

Nuecus harrumphed, “Great idea, shorty!”

Melly sighed, “have fun.”

Clemiticus then ambled closer to her side and nudged enthusiastically, “We’ve got work to do.”

She eyed the loon who sat beside her. Clemiticus had yet to shut up about his overwhelming desire to obtain his sub-class. He had hinted frequently at what he was going to pursue, but had yet to reveal anything. Instead, he had spent most of the time coaching Melly on what her options were.

In the end, there was only one option that piqued her interest. Melly’s recent level up of archery had given her the appreciation of the craft. Many of the subclasses that Clemiticus had mentioned had no need for bows so she discounted those immediately.

One however focused on the bow and added a new aspect to the craft. Something he had called a ‘Hunter’. An archer with an animal companion. It was a simple enough concept. Train pet, shoot bow, and pet collects arrows. Some hunters even have animal companions that fought with them.

“Are you still happy with your choice?” questioned Clemiticus.

Melly nodded, then asked, “So how do I go about finding a hunting trainer?”

Clemiticus sat silent for a time, then brightened. Tapping on Nuecuses’ shoulder, he quickly shouted, “Stop the wagon!”

Clem turned towards the myriads of followers and called out, “Excuse me, joyful people of Skull city! We are looking for the Hunter’s Guild.”

The faces that had been filled with so much curiosity turned as one towards a man who was wearing a multitude of animal pelts. He was far taller than anyone else and resembled a deeply scowling brown bear.

“Well, that was easy,” commented Clemiticus. He paused for a moment, then looked around at his party. “Ok, new plan. Let’s split up. Nuecus and Derrick, wake up Thea and take the wagon to get supplies. Melly follow the dark stranger he seems trustworthy.”

“And you?” Derrick asked.

Clemiticus grinned.

“I have a date with destiny!”