Church bells rang out in the silence. Morning dew collected on the tree’s leaves and dripped down onto Suran. Rousing himself from his slumber, he came to just pawn dawn, the sun steadily climbing the sky. He wasted no time in getting up and stretching himself out, immediately heading toward Natalya’s. A travel companion was not something he was keen on, and he contemplated simply departing without her, but he had already agreed to the proposition and renegading on that would leave a sour taste in his mouth.

Greyson and his knights were setting up in the town center again, preparing for the day. Suran was in no mood to chat, so he snuck around the edge, avoiding the gaze of the knights. He was eager to hit the road and would not accept any delays.

Suran trotted through the streets over to the house. One by one, people began to leave their homes and fill the streets, beginning their work. Approaching the door, Suran gave a knock. He took a step back and waited for a moment, but no one answered. Knocking a second time, Suran called out her name this time. From behind the door, he heard loud grumbling and the shuffling of feet.

Natalya answered the door, her shoulder slouched, bloodshot pupils, and dark bags under her eyes. With all of her groaning, she could have been mistaken for a zombie. Suran could look past the fact that she had just woken up, but it was her attire that made him double take. She was wearing a thin, white, long-sleeved tunic that clung to her breasts and loosely draped over the rest of her body, flowing down to her upper thighs. Her legs completely naked.

“What the hell do you want at this hour?!” She croaked out.

“Seeing as it is morning, I wanted to leave as soon as possible.”

“Oooooh yeaaaaah! I forgot we had something like that planned out. Come on in and I’ll grab my stuff.”

Suran cleared his throat instead of walking in past Natalya, “Do you want to put on some pants first?”

Natalya groggily glanced down, “Eeeh, not really,” and she looked back at Suran right in the eyes. “Putting on pants would mean putting on panties too, and I, for one, enjoy being comfortable in my own home.”

Not wearing pants was one thing, not wearing panties was entirely something else. The shirt hung just low enough where it was impossible to tell, every slight movement rustling it tantalized him even further. The only reason he believed her was because it was obvious she was not wearing a bra either.

Noticing Suran’s gaze, Natalya developed a shit-eating grin and gandered at him with devious eyes. She stretched her arms out wide, pulling her shirt dangerously up, teasing as to what was underneath. However, he stood there with astounding resilience, not becoming flustered for even a moment.

Her grin flipped into a frown, “You’re no fun! Fine you win. I’ll get dressed…” She slammed the door shut which was the first thing that threw Suran off guard.

A few minutes later, the door opened and a more presentable Natalya appeared. A short-sleeved green shirt and a pair of brown pants clothed her. Nodding his head in approval, Suran finally entered the home. But something caught his leg, causing him to trip. The dead body stabbed in the neck remained untouched by the door. Trekking through, he settled himself down at the dinner table. He was not surprised to find her dead mother still sprawled on the floor.

Natalya swooped into the room, “Want to eat something before we leave?”

“That would be ideal.”

At the signal, Natalya began to work her magic in the kitchen, dancing around with multiple pots and pans. Anyone at first glance would think she was just flinging stuff around, but Suran could tell that there was a science behind her sporadic movements. A short time later breakfast was served. The menu was smaller than yesterday, but not lacking by any means. From eggs to bacon to break to pancakes, she had all. Without any regard to decency, Natalya plopped down in her chair and began to stuff food down her throat, while Suran savored every bite.

In moments, Natalya devoured a majority of the food, finishing with a burp, “So, how was it Suran?”

“Filling,” Suran replied, gently wiping his mouth with a napkin. He rose from his chair, “It’s about time we get going. I don’t want to waste any more daylight.”

Natalya left the table and scurried over to the bed, hoisting up a large backpack and slinging it over her shoulder, “Alright, I’m set! Got everything we will need in here!”

The bag weighed down on her shoulders, causing some concern for Suran, “Want me to carry that for you?”

“Hell no! All my cooking supplies are in here! There is no way I would anyone carry these. It’s my entire life ya know?”

“Suit yourself.”

Leaving the house, the pair went to the other side of the town with the warehouses, and followed its main road South and out of the town. Not a single cloud dotted the sky and it was not oppressively hot, creating perfect travel conditions.

“Following this road will take us all the way to the capital!” Natalya informed Suran, pointing down the road.

He said nothing, simply nodding his head and walking ahead to take the lead. He recalled it was a two-day journey by foot, and did not want to waste any time and arrive there too late into the night.

For a time, they traveled in silence, with only the sounds of nature populating the air. The road joined the river, running along its side. Fish teemed in its pools in the grassy plains several animals roamed. Suran had not seen creatures like them before, but he was not interested enough to take a closer look.

“Soooo, Suran, tell me about yourself,” Natalya questioned, breaking the silence.

“What do you want to know?” He dryly responded.

“Tell me where you are from!”

“…A far away place.”

“I’m not that stupid, of course you are. I meant like what type of place was it and things like that.”

“It was a pitiful place, but it was home.”

“I know what that feels like. Alnwick was the definition of a hell hole for me. How about your age, hmm?”

“Why do you want to know so much about me? It would be better if you didn’t ask me anything.”

“Well, I have a right as your travel partner to know about you, so excuse me Mr. Socially Awkward Child. Now are you going to tell me your age or not?

“13,500,000,000 years old, give or take a few billion,” he answered rather flippantly.

“Come on, man. You don’t have to act like that.”

Suran kept walking, letting silence fill the air before answering, “…Fine, I’m 26.”

“See? How hard was that? And I’m 23. Anyways, what did you do before coming here?”

“Meaning?”

“As in a job, you fucking deadbeat.”

“I was a soldier.”

“Ooo, a soldier? Tell me what that was like! What weapons did you use? Are you good with a sword? Did you have to fight in a lot of wars? How many people have you killed? What about your comra-”

“Enough,” Suran cut Natalya off, stopping in place, “I understand you want to know more about me and want to talk, which is fine, but there are certain things I just don’t want to talk about, so please stop asking me these questions.”

“…A-alright. I got it… sorry,” Natalya’s voice wavered off, her outgoing personality silenced. A button somewhere along the line was pressed, triggering Suran’s anger. Natalya was not content with her answers, but Suran was giving off an intimidating aura and she did not want to press her luck.

In silence, the two continued their journey. No further questions were asked and no further discussion was to be had. They ate sandwiches Natalya prepared for lunch, taking a short break. Clouds began to roll in at the close of the day, but Suran kept pressing forward as the sunset, not setting up camp till it was pitch black out.

Collecting some loose wood in the area, Suran lit a fire and kept it stoked for part of the night. Despite the warm weather, Suran felt shivering cold. Natalya slept almost instantly, worn out from travel, but sleep came extremely difficulty to Suran that night.

Suran rose at the crack of down, and silently prepared himself, washing himself in the adjacent river. Afterwords, he prodded Natalya awake, who reluctantly got up. Dark clouds were gathering in the sky, an a rough wind was coming in, signaling that a storm was coming. Suran picked up the pace, forcing Natalya to skip a proper breakfast much to her dismay.

A few solid hours of travel was logged, before a torrent came down. The duo ran in the rain, getting soaked by sheets of rain. In the distance, a massive castle dominated the landscape.

“Look! Its Castle Valcadia! That means we are at the entrance of the valley to the capital!”

“Then lets hurry and get out of this rain!”

At the prospect of shelter, the two doubled their pace, mad dashing towards the castle. The castle was designed to withstand the greatest of sieges, multiple layers of walls and barricades standing tall. Upon arrival, guards at the gate graciously greeted the travelers and ushered them in, providing a fresh change of clothes and a fire to warm up. The rain washed away all the energy, forcing the two to retire at the castle for now.

“Need something?” Suran asked Natalya who was staring intently at him, sitting on a carpet next to the fire.”

With a sigh she fell back with her legs pointing straight at the ceiling before abruptly falling down, “Nooope. Just wished these people gave proper clothes,” she whined, “These clothes are loose in all the wrong places and too tight in even worse areas. Not to mention their horrible color.” The clothes were brown and puke green.

“At least you have dry clothes.”

“Well yeah, I have clothes,” she launched herself upright, causing her breasts to flail under her shirt, “Not too sure about underwear though,” she continued with a playful grin and lecherous eyes.

“Didn’t they have underwear available?”

“It’s more comfortable this way,” she pouted at Suran.

The guards came by and informed them that the storm would not let up for the day, making travel impossible for now. Without anything else to do, Suran called it a day and simply rested.

When morning came, Suran allowed for a short breakfast before heading outside of the castle. The ground was soaked and covered in puddles, but the overcast had cleared up and the air felt fresh and clean.

Right behind the castle, was the grand opening of a massive valley. The river flowed through and began to divide over and over again. Walking through the opening, a massive city sprawled out on the shore of a glimmering ocean. Nestled in a depression in the ground between two ridges, the city consumed the entire valley.

Even though it was right insight, it took a considerable amount of time to reach the city gates, with the sun already setting by the time Suran and Natalya reached them. However, the day ending was not the only problem they came across at the gates.

“What is going on over there?” Natalya murmured, pointing out a massive group of people with wagons and carts.

“No idea…”

It was difficult for them to hear each other because the crowd was chanting and yelling. As they got closer, they could discern the various cries:

“There is no way we are paying this!”

“How am I suppose to feed my family?”

“This tax is outrageous! How can we compete?”

Making their way through he rowdy crowd, Suran made note that majority of these people had wagons full with grain.

“Quiet down!” An armored man shouted with a row of guards behind him, “If you want to sell you good, you have to pay the tax. No exceptions.”

The crowed roared at the guard, surging forward with fury, but the guards stepped up and beat them back.

Somehow, Suran and Natalya made it to the gate without being swept up by the rioting farmers.

“You there!” The guard in charge strolled up to the pair, “What is your business here?”

“Here to visit the Adventures Guild.” Suran met the guard.

“That’s it?” The guard asked with a sigh of relief.

“Yes.”

“Good, if you were selling grain we would have to throw you out. New, stringent city taxes on the selling and production of grain has been causing quite the uproar. Anyways, if you are here to see the guild, you might want to know they are closing up for the day. They are situated by the harbor by Alexander’s Circle. You won’t be able to make it in time.”

“Then we would have to go there tomorrow? Is there an inn you could recommend?”

“Aye that I can. Down the main raid you will come across the Sleeping Boar inn. Reasonable prices if I say so.”

“Thanks.”

With a nod, the guard let Suran and Natalya through.

The street was extremely wide and packed with all sorts of people. Even though night was coming, it was obscene on how many people littered the streets; it was a challenge on walking through. On the streets, the sights Suran saw surprised him: tall, pale white men with pointy ears, people clad in fur with tails, and anything else he could think of. The diversity of humanoid figures was immense and tickled his curiosity.

He almost missed the inn, getting lost in the throngs of people, if it were not for Natalya paying attention and dragging him to the side. Entering the inn, they were greeted by a massive bald man situated by a counter.

Suran casually walked up, “Would like a room with two beds. How much would that be?”

“A silver and 50 copper,” the man grunted out.

Suran rummaged through his coin purse and laid out three silver coins. He opted for two nights simply because he did not want to deal with change.

“Second floor, third room down the hall,” he instructed, scooping up the coins.

Suran led Natalya up a winding staircase to the second floor and down the hall to the third room. Opening it up, they found a cozy little room with a small table for two accompanied with the desired two beds. A small nightstand was situated next to both beds, and a window overlooking the main road was housed in the middle of the wall.

“Soooo, Suran, what’s the plan for tomorrow? Go straight to the guild?”

“Actually, no.”

Natalya cocked her head, “What do you mean? I thought that was settled…”

“I said it was only a lead. I don’t know even know the first thing about adventuring so I’m not sure if it would be the right profession for me. The plan is to explore the town and collect some information. I need more information before making a decision on what I want to do.”

“How boring… how logical,” Natalya groaned out, flinging herself onto a bed.

“No matter what I intend to do, I still have to make a living, and I better find something I can actually do.”

“Sure, sure” Natalya waved him off.

Suran gazed out the window, watching the throngs of people below. The city was full of life, and he felt anxious deep down. He had no idea where the currents of time will take him, but tomorrow the next phase of his life awaited him.