“Alright, we’re here. Time to get off.” As the carriage gradually came to a halt, Wells and Valyr looked at the building before them, its size making the government building they entered back then in Clossbay pale in comparison.
Though the walls of the building seemed to have been made from rough cut stone, its exterior was lined to the brim with exquisite carvings, serving as a stark contrast to the feeling of modernity the overall design gave off. Spanning five stories tall, the two were certain that the building in front of them was the largest they’ve come across so far.
If one were to exclude Valyr’s past experiences, of course.
“Where are we?” As Braum, Madeline, Neia slowly made their way off the carriage, Valyr posed the question to the three as he picked up all of the things he had brought along for the journey.
“The Imperial Production Guild.” Hearing these words come out of Braum’s mouth, he then paused his actions for a bit, wondering if what he had heard was correct. Fortunately, a bit of reassurance from Madeline and Neia was enough to dispel those doubts.
“Is Valyr going to head inside, then?” Carrying the items he had brought along with him as he made his way down, Wells decided to ask the question that popped up in his mind, only to be told in response to leave his items in the carriage in the meantime.
“Not today, unfortunately.” As Wells did what he was told, Madeline let out a soft sigh as she shook her head. “Though it would have been nice to just have Valyr enter the guild right now so our escort mission would be considered complete, there’s still an order to everything that we have to follow.”
“It sucks if you ask me, but we don’t make the rules.” After that, she shrugged her shoulders.
“We’ll have to notify the guild of your arrival first before you could enter without a problem,” said Neia soon after, prompting Valyr to nod as he asked Braum and the others if he put the weapons he forged for the Blacksmith Guild in the carriage for now.
Responding to Valyr that he could leave the weapons in the carriage for now since the Imperial Production Guild is considered the hub of the Blacksmith Guild, Braum continued where Neia left off. “With that in mind, I’ll be heading to the guild to set up the meeting you’ll be attending tomorrow, while Neia and Madeline will be in charge of finding your lodging during your stay within the kingdom.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Wells asked in response to the question, getting off the carriage before taking in a breath of the kingdom’s air.
“Not really.” Braum shook his head as he flashed an apologetic smile. “Us three are enough to handle everything, much less to say if Paul and Tyrst are with us.”
“In any case, feel free to do whatever you want in the kingdom for today, though remember to come back here before sunset.” Already getting the idea behind Braum’s final statement, Wells and Valyr nodded as they assured the trio that they won’t cause any trouble, eliciting nods of affirmation to come from the three in response.
However, just as Valyr was about to get off the carriage while only carrying the most basic of necessities, Braum quickly stopped him from doing so.
“What’s wrong?” Unsurprisingly, a frown appeared on Valyr’s face as he wondered why Braum stopped him from getting off the carriage. Fortunately, after pondering over the possible reasons why Braum did it, it did not take long for a look of understanding to appear on his face.
“I guess I don’t have to remind you.” Noticing the look on Valyr’s face, Braum bitterly smiled. “Unlike in the other places you’ve been to in the past, many people in the kingdom are quick to recognize people that originate from the Zeihardt clan. Aside from the fact that they’re one of the oldest clans of the human race, the silver irises you and other people from the clan have are easily noticeable.”
“That problem is only worsened by the fact that we’re in the capital city of the kingdom right now, which means that almost every person you might come across will quickly figure out who you really are.” Listening to Braum’s explanation, Valyr wryly smiled in response as he put on the Half Wyvern Armor he had brought along before getting off the carriage.
“I guess I’ll be stuck wearing this armor whenever I head outside?” Letting out a low sigh as he posed this question, bitter smiles crept up on the faces of the others.𝗈𝐕𝒍𝐞xt.𝗇𝓔t
“Not necessarily.” Braum slowly shook his head in response. “If you have [Polymorph] or any other skill that allows you to change some of your features, you’d be able to roam the streets of Algerie City unhindered. Though, if you really want to be safe, you could activate stealth magic and the like.”
‘I guess the choice of not picking up any magic along the way so far is biting me in the ass right now.’ As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr wondered why he hadn’t picked up even the simplest of magic in the first place. Sure, picking up magic would effectively double the number of advancements he would have to unlock in the Innovation branch of his Technology Tree, but having to allocate Technology Points into it was not mandatory.
Pondering over the question for a bit more, feeling as if there was more to the reason behind him not picking up magic, Valyr eventually came to the conclusion that he did not really have a need for magic so far, which he did not find any fault with. In fact, the only time he thought about possibly needing to learn magic was to spatially compress his armor so it could become portable.
With him finding the answer to his own question, Valyr eventually nodded in response to Braum’s words as he told them that he’ll pick up the skill along the way, causing Braum and the other two to nod in agreement.
Seeing as they had nothing else to talk about for the meantime, the five eventually went their separate ways. Braum and the other two were headed to the Imperial Production Guild, while Wells planned to roam around the streets of the city and familiarize himself with it. As for Valyr, he planned to pick up magic along the way while he went sightseeing.
Though, before all of them could truly part ways, Valyr stopped them in their tracks as he asked them for a favor.
“Ah, right. If any of you come across some Shadow Serpent Essence along the way, could you help me get it?”