I slow my pace into a walk. I’ve finally arrived, well into the afternoon.

The road has long since transformed from one made of dirt to a neat, cobblestone pathway up until the iron gates of Ochseid. The gate is designed in a yett manner, adding to the already intimidating appearance of the city before me.

Rising into a slope, I’m greeted with walls at least twice as high as Kralbed’s, made of an ominous-looking thick and dark stone. Battlements line the top of the walls within my immediate vision, which is admittedly not much due to the nature of the pine-tree infested landscape.

I can only assume the residents have to do battle with hordes of monsters regularly, or other humans. I don’t have the insider knowledge on that quite yet.

There are two heavily armored guards manning the front of the gate, each carrying a halberd of identical size.

They seem much more suitable for their job than the pathetic excuses for security that were in Kralbed. Although I know that there’s no real way for me to be discerned as anything other than human, their rather official air is still somewhat daunting.

I back out of the vision of the armed men and enter the forest to the left side, thinking about the different ways that I could potentially get into the city.

The only reason that I didn’t want people in Kralbed seeing me enter through the front gate is that most of the quests accepted were in fairly close proximity to the town, so it was probably better for me to be known by as few people as possible if someone were to ever see me kill a newbie.

The same people were always in town early, so they would undoubtedly become familiar with my appearance. Thankfully, the receptionist, being one of those people, never really did anything. That was the best-case scenario.

I also had to be especially careful about annoyingly observant people knowing which direction I arrived in town from, considering that I was always taking care of Ma. If anyone knew where I lived, they knew where she lived.

That’s already been proven the hard way, but isn’t super applicable anymore to my current situation.

Thankfully the guards back home just sat around and picked their nose, so I didn’t really have to worry about the leaving part. Generally.

Since I don’t know where the adventurers of this city normally are assigned their quests, I’d say that it’s a reasonable risk to be out in public once or twice to ask around. That means I’ll finally be able to really talk to adventurers, rather than just hear out their last words.

After careful deliberation, I decide to just walk through the front instead of trying to scale the wall or some other such method of sneaking in.

As a necessary precaution, I decide to rid myself of every bag I have in my possession. Although it’s wasteful, and I would like to keep most of these items, I’m a stranger in these parts and should act accordingly. These guards aren’t just going to let me through without a careful searching, that much is guaranteed. What’s even more certain is that if I walk in with a dead man’s bag, I’ll have the whole city on me in no time.

The only things that I end up keeping are the rock, light plate armor, my shortbow, my quiver, my dagger, and all my silver coins. I decide to remove the rock from the chest and place it in the inside pocket of my cloak.

I’ve already had the pleasure of having to use most of my medical supplies on my fucking face, so the dumping is not as wasteful as it could have been.

The rest of my supplies I bury deep into the forest.

Bye pink backpack, you will be missed.

I walk up the cobblestone road to greet the two guards, more than a bit nervous.

“Hello!”, I say to them, not really sure of how to engage in conversation.

“State your business, traveler”, demand the two guards, simultaneously.

Creepy.

“I’m an adventurer looking for a place to stay and a guild where I can earn a little money from slaying monsters”, I state as confidently as I possibly can.

After scanning me up and down, they nod at each other and begin to search my person. Since I’m carrying my weapons openly, they aren’t very concerned about them. It’s probably a cultural thing.

However, when they find the rock, they begin to question what it is.

“What is this? Some sort of magic item?”, the guard on the left inquires.

I’ve already thought of an excuse, having prepared for this particular question.

“Honestly, I have no idea. Some merchant scammed me into buying it, and I followed through because it looks valuable. I don’t actually know if it is. Do you?”

The guards look confused. The one on the right speaks up.

"No... we don't. Do we look like jewel appraisers to you?"

"I suppose not".

They buy it. They hand the rock back to me and signal for another two guards to raise the gates from the inside of the city.

I walk through, and am thoroughly amazed.

The city is much bigger than I could’ve ever imagined from outside. The forest and gigantic walls surrounding it do a good job of hiding its sheer scale. Almost the entirety of it, like the road leading up to it, is on a small incline. The main path leading through the city is entirely made of cobblestone, branching off into different areas in a tree-like fashion. The path is lined with stores of various kinds, one of the largest and most noteworthy being, “Richie’s Blacksmithing: Armory and Weapon Shop. It’s actually massive, and likely for a good reason.

Now I know why those guards looked so well-geared.

The rest are also relatively large buildings, such as the magic store, grocery store, and inn. They don’t compare to the blacksmith’s, but I’m sure they serve their purpose.

I also notice that they don’t have names like the blacksmiths' does and instead opt to use a more symbolic signing. The magic shop has a crescent moon carved into wood, for example.

Assigning my priorities, I decide to scout out the inn first.

I find one rather quickly, even though the streets are starting to get dark. Most of the road is lit by torches hung from each individual building, so it’s pretty likely that night activity is common here.

I enter the inn, and it has a very warm feel to it. Almost the entirety of the inside is made of wood, from the tables to the framework. I guess it’s what humans would generally call, “homey”, but considering I lived in a hut for how long, I myself don’t quite fully understand.

I rent out a room from the young lady at the front desk, take the key, and quickly make for my room upstairs.

After I throw all my stuff onto the floor, I jump onto the bed to get some rest.

It’s comfortable. Really comfortable.

The bed is so comfortable in fact, that it bothers me. I miss the solidity of the dirt, the reliability of it.

The mattresses are filled with wool and feathers, making me feel like I’m sinking into it. The bed’s cotton sheets are much smoother than my old hempen bedsheets, and the material doesn't gain any traction when I rub my face against it. It’s… unnatural.

I get up from the bed and lie on the wood floorboards, only using the cloak as a cover for my still-armored body.

Much better.

I close my eyes and try my best to fall asleep.