The group resumed their journey to the city gates. Both Narcha and Eiwin wore grave expressions, retaining none of their previous eagerness to return home. Rog didn't seem affected by the news, but Red had never seen the man worry about anything before either.

"What were they talking about?" He asked Eiwin, tracing her steps.

The boy considered staying silent during these last few hundred meters of his journey, but the sudden change in atmosphere was something he had never seen the group go through before. If there was anything he needed to watch out for in the future, then he would like to know about it as soon as possible.

"...Remember when I told you about the possible causes of the destruction that created these ruins?" She answered his question with a question of her own, albeit a rhetorical one. "The monster horde explanation is considered the most credible one. Countless monsters all driven into a frenzy and obliterating everything in their path... There's nothing quite as destructive in the world."

Her words didn't bode well.

"Didn't that man say they would be held back at the mountains?" Red continued.

"That's what we hope for, but there's no way the Sects can guarantee none of them will breach through." Eiwin shook her head. "If a particularly strong monster gets through and reaches us, then..."

Suddenly she caught herself, noticing how worrisome her words sounded.

"Sorry, I said too much." She looked at the boy with an apologetic look. "This is not the first horde this town has had to face before, and despite how difficult they are to deal with, we are still standing. You're too young to worry about this, just focus on growing up healthy and strong while your seniors handle this kind of stuff."

She smiled.

"It's our duty after all."

This was not comforting at all for Red, but he put it at the back of his mind for now. He was getting closer to the town, and a more detailed image of the landscape became discernible.

On the outskirts of the town, there were large fields with different kinds of plants. These plantations circled all around the base of the hill, following the contour of the incline, and out of his sight. The youth was not able to recognize any of the plants.

Amid these fields, there were even a few grazing animals that Red likewise didn't recognize. Farmers tended to these areas with metal tools and some of them even greeted the group as they passed by. The people looked far weaker and less armed than the mercenaries from before, and the boy couldn't help but think he had gotten the wrong impression of what to expect in the town.

Almost ten minutes later they reached the sea of buildings and the town proper as Narcha referred to it. The houses were built using a mixture of stone bricks and wooden planks, while also adapting the ruin's structure quite smartly into their constructions. In a way, the more Red looked at it, the more he noticed that the layout and size of the buildings were defined by the ruined foundation which stood there before. This mish-mash of material looked anything but pretty and it gave the town a very disordered look. However, this was the biggest display of human ingenuity that the boy had ever seen.

Activity increased as they wandered further into the town. Dozens of people were moving quite frantically here and there, and most of them either ignored or didn't even seem to notice the group's presence. Their clothes were, unsurprisingly, an upgrade when compared to the slave's clothing. Men wore laced tunics overlaid with vests, baggy breeches, and leather boots, while most women used long dresses that reached well down their ankles. A few of them even sported straw hats or woolen caps, protecting them from the sun overhead.

However, not all of them dressed the same. A few individuals seemed better off, wearing more intricately designed clothes made out of fur and other expensive materials. There were also quite a few people sporting leather armor and carrying all kinds of weapons with them. Some of those even wore uniforms and were simply standing around, watching and guarding the streets. The ongoing activity and hubbub of conversation were almost too much for Red to handle at once, and he felt himself getting dizzy from trying to process all the noise and movements, which only got worse farther ahead.

"It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but you'll eventually get used to it." Eiwin told him after seeing his hesitation.

The boy nodded, but he couldn't see himself ever adapting to something like this. The dirt road beneath them eventually gave way to a dark stone pavement, seemingly built of the same material as the ruins.

They walked in a straight line for a while longer, and as he thought, the noises started to become louder further in. In fact, the youth could even smell the scent of spices and cooked food as he made his way deeper in.

"Got a new shipment of goods, straight from the Empire!" A particularly loud man dressed in fancy clothes screamed at the top of his lungs.

Looking over, Red saw he was standing in front of a large stall with all kinds of fruits and meats on top of it. A lot of people were gathered around the place, talking to the merchant and his workers and haggling to buy the goods. The boy was quite interested in examining the products, but Narcha seemed to be in a hurry and he was already struggling to keep up with her large steps.

The road ahead started to open up, and many other similar stalls could be seen lining the sidewalk. All sorts of things were being offered: cloth, cooking utensils, even weapons and armor in some cases. The ones that attracted the boy the most though, were the food stands. The smells coming off of them were even better than the meat Rog had cooked for them a few days ago, and he couldn't help but have his gaze drawn over.

"I'd like to buy you some, but I'm not carrying any money..." Eiwin smiled apologetically.

"Money?" Red asked, confused.

"It's..." She struggled to answer his question, before abruptly pointing forward. "Look, it's the city square!"

Further ahead the road suddenly opened up into a large plaza, where the activity seemed to reach a crescendo. More than a dozen stalls, even bigger compared to the ones Red had seen earlier, were lining up both sides of the space. A crowd of people gathered around these places, negotiating with the merchants tending to the stands, and more of them joined by the second, coming from other roads. City guards seemed to be present en masse here too, directing the people and watching for any troublemakers.

What caught Red’s attention though, was a large rectangular pillar in the middle of the square. It stood three meters tall and was broken off at the top, meaning it was probably even higher in the past. Certain symbols and drawings were etched on the surface of the dark structure, but the boy had a hard time examining them from afar. Not to mention, the area seemed sealed off by the guards, who gathered around the column as a basis of operation to watch the whole square.

For some reason, Red felt a faint familiarity with the pillar, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. He wanted to ask Eiwin about it, but holding any sort of conversation in this place without screaming was virtually impossible. Thankfully for him, though, it didn't seem like they would stay here for long.

Narcha weaved through the crowd and shoved them apart if someone was in her way, earning herself quite a few curses. When her victims turned around and recognized her appearance, though, none of them pursued the matter. Soon they were past the square and onto another road leading further up the hill. While there were still quite a few people around, it was more manageable to walk, and Red felt like he could hear his own thoughts again.

A bit further away he saw a particularly large building that served as another center of frenetic activity. People wearing all kinds of armor and holding different weapons walked in and out of the place, carrying heavy bags with large smiles on their faces. He couldn't quite see what was happening inside the place, but he could hear loud laughter and a particularly strong smell flowed into his nostrils. Although the atmosphere radiating from the building somewhat disgusted Red, he could see that each person hanging around the place looked and carried themselves like a warrior.

Seeing they were walking in that general direction, a realization came to his mind.

"Is that your guild?" He looked at Eiwin.

She wasn't the one that got to respond, though.

"Our guild?!" Narcha spoke up with indignation. "That place is full of weaklings who can't even hold a candle to the people of our guild!"

She didn't bother to lower her voice, and it earned her many hostile gazes from some people nearby. The warrior didn't seem bothered by it though and instead met their eyes directly as if challenging them to do something about it. None of them moved forward.

'Does she have any friends in this place?'

As they passed by the building, even Red himself received some unfriendly looks, and he couldn't help but question Narcha's methods in his mind. She might be strong enough to intimidate them, but what about him? If they thought he was associated with her and decided to create trouble for him instead, there's no way he would be able to take them on. However, Eiwin and Rog didn't seem too worried about those people either, and soon enough they were far from their vicinity and turning into another road.

Around here, the crowd lessened substantially. In fact, there were so few people that Red couldn't help but wonder whether or not they were still in the same town. A few minutes later, even the number of buildings started to diminish. The boy looked around suspiciously, but he was able to confirm that they were still in the center of the town.

"Master Hector doesn't like to live near other people." Eiwin once more was able to see his confusion. "He says it's too noisy."

"I never thought there would be such a quiet place in the middle of the town." Red commented.

"There's not." Rog spoke up. "Hector just kicked everyone out from the area and made it so. You had to be there to see it, it was very vi-"

"Look!" The younger woman interrupted. "We're here!"

Red looked in the direction she was pointing. He was greeted by a tall wooden fence that had seen better days. In between the cracks, he could see the hints of a large yard and a set of buildings that weren't in much better condition. The place looked big, and the youth was able to see the hints of other houses in the back.

The faint sounds of conversation and metal striking against metal reached him even from this far away, but it was almost completely silent compared to the rest of the city. Narcha walked up to the wooden gate and swung it wide open with all her strength.

"Hector!" She cried out loud. "We're ba-"

Suddenly a large iron utensil flew with lightning speed from somewhere within the building and hit her straight in the forehead. The woman reeled back from the impact and held onto her head in pain.

"STOP SCREAMING DAMN BRAT!"