《Tied to Infinity》Chapter 3
Advertisement
The guard looked at Richard and lowered his spear, grinding the butt of it into the ground. He shook his head and sighed.
"By the gods, Nalgaet! It's barely midday, and you're already too drunk to stand."
For the second time, Richard stood speechless. He was able to understand the human. Nalgaet replied to the guard, saying something that Richard still didn't understand. Then what the other guard had said clicked. It wasn't that Richard couldn't understand this worlds language. Nalgaet was just drunk with a thick Dwarven accent. A wave of relief rushed through him. He wasn't in as much trouble as he had thought.
"I'm so sorry." The guard was addressing Richard now. "I had to step away to take care of a disturbance, and it seems Nalgaet took that as an opportunity to try and beg booze money off whoever he managed to catch coming through."
Richard couldn't help but laugh. So that's what the Dwarf had wanted. Thinking back, he could now make some sense of what the Dwarf had said. "No harm done. But is he usually this drunk while on duty?"
"Oh, he's not a guard. He's just a local drunk." The guard scratched the back of his head. "Look, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this. I'm not supposed to leave the gate unguarded. A fight broke out just around the corner, and it would have taken longer to call the city watch than to just take care of it. I didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt."
Richard nodded. "You were trying to protect people. No one's going to hear anything from me."
A tenseness left the guard in front of him. "Thank you. I could get have gotten in serious trouble." Nalgaet snored loudly, the sound echoing off the sides of the walls. "Ugh. He's going to be out for a while." The guard leaned the spear against the wall and moved to Nalgaets feet before looking up at Richard. "I don't suppose I could convince you to help me move him out of the middle of the road? You know how heavy Dwarves are."
Advertisement
Richard wanted to make a good impression as he had questions about the town, so he would help the guard and ask what he could while they moved Nalgaet. "Sure thing."
He moved to the opposite side of the guard, and together they lifted the Dwarf off the road. He was surprisingly heavy. Even between the two of them, it was a serious effort to move Nalgaet. Unfortunately, that meant that Richard didn't get to ask his questions. They got Nalgaet moved to the side of the gate where they sat him down, and he immediately slumped back over.
"Thanks again... I'm sorry I never even asked your name."
Richard stuck out his hand. "I'm Richard."
The guard clasped Richards forearm in greeting. "It's nice to meet you, Richard. I'm Leven."
Richard smiled. "Nice to meet you too, Leven." As they unclasped hands, Richard figured now to be as good a time to ask his questions as any. "Hey Leven, it's my first time in town and, I was wondering if you could answer a question or two for me." Leven nodded. "Awesome. So as I said, I'm new in town, is there a good place to stay or find quick work?"
Leven thought for a minute. "Wel,l for us there's not really much, of course. If you follow pretty much any road through town towards The Gray Pinnacle, you'll come to the main barracks for the city guard. The pay's not great. But, you get a bunk, and your meals are provided for you. Right next to them is the main headquarters for the Explorers of the Gray. That's the local adventurers guild that explores the mine systems through The Gray Pinnacle, clearing out any monsters, making sure things are safe for the miners, stuff like that. They're always looking for new members. Monsters reproduce faster than they can keep up with, so they're not normally too picky about who joins. The pay's better, depending on what jobs you take or what monster parts you bring back. Some lucky bastards even manage to stumble on treasures from back when this was just a Dwarven city. Just know that you're taking your life into your own hands if you work with them. As far as places to stay? Not a lot of Human-friendly places here, even though they're not supposed to discriminate. Your best bet there would be to find a human-run Inn."
Advertisement
Richard was trying to take in all the information Leven was providing him. At the last couple of lines, though, he had a new question. "They discriminate against humans here?"
Leven looked at him as if he had asked if water was wet. "I mean, it's supposed to be better here than other places; The free city of Bolgarum and what not. I was born here. So if this is better than other places, I don't want to go anywhere else."
"But you're one of the city guards. They even have you protecting one of the entrances to the city. Surely that means humans are treated better here than elsewhere, right?"
Leven barked a bitter laugh. "I'm only trusted here because I'm expendable, and it's the least traveled road in the kingdom. It goes through the Yavisi Forrest, to a town whose only purpose is to top off your supplies before you cross The Painted Desert. And only merchants looking to trade with the lizards are crazy enough to go out there." His expression changed to a curious one. "If you're coming through here, though, you should know that."
Richard tried to quickly think of an excuse. He didn't want to go around claiming he was from another world after all. "I'm from someplace very, very far away. I managed to get myself lost and happened to find this road not too long ago." He hoped that was vague enough to work.
Leven shrugged. "Well, I'm not sure how you managed to wind up here. Hopefully, you get back on track soon." He was pensive for a moment before asking, "Is it really that bad for us other places?"
"I guess it's not too bad where I'm from. Not that discrimination doesn't exist there or anything."
Leven nodded. "I guess it really is the same everywhere, huh?" Richard made a non-committal noise in his throat that he hoped Leven took as agreement.
'Where did that god creature send me?! Humans are some kind of second-class citizens here or something?' Richard thought. 'I didn't expect to be heralded as a hero or anything. I just wanted a chance for a fun adventure after a boring life behind a desk.' He sighed internally. 'I'll just have to make the best of it.'
Outloud he said, "Thank you for all the information Leven, I appreciate it. I'll leave you to focus on your job. I don't want you getting in trouble if they think you're just goofing off and talking."
"You're very welcome, Richard. It really was nice to meet someone who doesn't look at me like I'm something on the bottom of their shoe." Leven smiled and slid his hand under his leather chest piece. Pulling it back out, he tossed something towards Richard. Richard instinctively snagged it out of the air and looked at it. It was a silver coin. Richard looked back at Leven who winked.
Richard realized that he hadn't even considered money while checking what he had on him. He didn't even know how much a silver piece was worth."Are you sure?" That was all he could manage to think to say.
Leven nodded. "You promised not to say anything about me leaving my post. You helped me move Nalgaet when there was no way I could have done it myself. And more importantly. Humans need to take care of each other."
Richard smiled and closed his fist around the coin, turning to enter the city proper.
Advertisement
- In Serial57 Chapters
Villager Three
Kira Hawthorne was just another teenage girl until the day a 'god' told the world their 'realm' was getting assimilated, since they lost some War no one on Earth even knew about. A System is installed on the whim of a very old and capricious god. Kira immediately gets trapped in a pocket dimension, and emerges to find a once familiar world turned foreign... And very hostile.
8 206 - In Serial56 Chapters
Dr. Z's Zombie Apocalypse
[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] Doctor Abraham Henry Zolnikov has spent the last seven years isolated in his orbital laboratory, watching the Earth below descend into chaos. A biological virus combined with a nanite programming virus have combined to create flesh eating, mindless abominations that hunt all other living things for food. Human civilization fell in a matter of weeks. There has been no indication of any living survivors on Earth's surface for over two years. As far as he knows, he is the last living human in the entire solar system. Then one day the power begins to fail on the space station he’s called home for over a decade. Stepping outside the lab will be risky. But remaining means certain death. The good doctor is a curious man, however. If he manages to survive, who knows what hidden secrets he will discover?
8 384 - In Serial77 Chapters
Long Shadow
No destiny, no choice, no hope. Our protagonist, a coward summoned to a world meant for heroes; a new world with new rules and old cruelties. Join him on his adventures as he must deal with menus, monsters, and mysteries in this litrpg fantasy. Thomas Goodwill was an average boy with an average life, all that changed when he woke up in a new reality. Now, out of his depth, damn near out of his mind, he must learn to survive in a game-like reality with no reloads, checkpoints, or save scumming. He does, however, have a drunk snake. Thank you for reading my first story, hopefully, the first of many to come. This will be my main story and is meant to help me practice and hone my skills as I slowly produce more complex ideas. It's a litrpg in which I want to only lightly focus on the mechanics as I don’t want to pad out the word count with math and number tables and while I want to add a few of my own twists here and there, overall I’m going to keep this story close to generic as possible so that I don't let my inexperience lead me into a corner. Thanks again to all willing to leave a review or some constructive criticism, without you I'd never improve. Unfortunately, Cover art is by me.
8 554 - In Serial11 Chapters
The Head That Wears The Crown
It's a tale as old as time. Boy goes to funeral. Boy gets sucked into a different world. Boy has to lead a settlement. Boy has to lead a settlement? Boy has to lead a settlement. This is a story about that settlement, and some other stuff. Maybe. Disclaimer: Not sure if it qualifies enough for a gore tag. There is a description of someone's death somewhere in this, but I don't think it is descriptive enough to justify a gore tag. Disclaimer part deux: I initially started writing this as background for another story but got so into it I just ended fleshing it out a bit. Disclaimer part tres: People love reading disclaimers don't they? It's why I've included so many. They're just for you. Disclaimer part four: I know, this is getting egregious. You're starting to find it less funny. Just wait till the twentieth disclaimer, it will start being funny again. Disclaimer part five: I'm kidding, this is the last one. I don't promise I'll read every comment or message, but I certainly welcome your feedback. Disclaimer part six: I lied, it wasn't the last one. I wrote this story without breaking it down into chapters. It just goes, that means that the chapter ends when it ends, not when there is a convenient break in the story. That means that it's very annoying for you as a reader since chapters can end mid sentence. Hah! Sucker! Disclaimer part seven: Get ready for slow updates. Who knows when this will continue. Toss it on read later and come back in fifty years. Disclaimer part eight: Cover Photo by Arthur Ogleznev on Unsplash
8 157 - In Serial11 Chapters
Avant-Garde: Awakening
Avant-Garde: Awakening is the first installment of that three part series that follows the path of an orphan named John as he searched for the answers about his past. Along the way a greater mystery unfolds that has the potential to change everything we know. What happens when the people who have the answers you seek also have ulterior motives that can change the face of humanity and the solar system forever? This hard-hitting, action-packed, violent, space epic is sure to satisfy your suspenseful cravings and delivers a decisive plot that will compel you to continue reading till the very bitter end. C.K.Stang provides a unique and thrilling outlook on a possible future for humanity where we have accomplished so much, expanded so far and yet, learned so little.
8 153 - In Serial8 Chapters
I'm sorry
Raph and leo get into a fight. Leo runs off and gets injured badly. He gets home but can his brother's save him or not? Can Raph make it up to Leo or not?
8 102