The large ornate brass doors of the city gate opened before them. The hinges making a slight noise at the strain of the heavy doors. They started to walk through, but were met with a guard. He was a little shorter than Synexus and wore silver armor marked with a tornado as a signet. Brushing the bright blonde hair out of his eyes, he met their gaze and spoke. “Welcome to our fine city of Gale, please follow me to the guard station to get a security screening.”
They followed closely behind the guard in silence while taking in the sight of the city. This was just the entrance, but there were so many people walking about. The streets were lined with lamps though they weren’t on since it was still early afternoon. The buildings were well constructed out of various stones and bricks. People were going about their daily lives in all sorts of attire. Some were dressed in fancy suits, or dresses that looked like they were made of the finest fibers. Others were in torn up clothing with bare feet walking down the paved road. Synexus had never seen anything like it.
The guard station was a simple black stone building with the tornado insignia on the front right above the glass door. Once through the door, Synexus was even more amazed. It had electric lighting and somehow the air was colder indoors than it was outside. Guards were filling out paperwork and interviewing travelers. Some poor soul was even being detained near the back and led through a hallway.
Their escort led them to a desk and signaled for them to sit down. He grabbed a form out of the desk and without looking back up said, “Alight this is just a standard questionnaire to get information on who you are and your intentions on your city. If everything is in order, we can have you out of here in five minutes. Now then, what is your name and business in the city?”
Kumo spoke before Synexus could, “My name is Kumo and this is Synexus. I’m from Whisper and he is from the Branch Settlement. We are travelers starting our journey and would like to procure a passage across the ocean to explore more of the world and get stronger.”
The guard scribbled down their answers at lightning speed. “Alright that’s simple enough. You should be able to find a ship down at the docks. You’ve come a long way through the forest, and I must admit this is the first time I had to write down Branch settlement on one of these intake forms. The last thing is to allow me to use a detection skill on both of you which will allow me to identify your intentions. It won’t hurt and it will basically just verify what you’ve told me.”
Synexus didn’t realize there were skills like that, but figured it made sense for a guard. He wondered if that was his class or just his job. Kumo went first and allowed him to use the skill on her. It took three seconds before he nodded then turned to Synexus. He nodded and felt a wave flow over him. It was subtle, but detectable. The guard nodded once again and then stamped two forms before handing them over.
“You two are all done. Enjoy our city and stay out of trouble. I suggest the Coast Inn. I know it has a boring name, but its close to the docks and the markets.”
Synexus finally spoke, “Thank you, sir…uhh sorry I didn’t catch your name.”
“It’s Blaine”
“Well thank you, Blaine. It’s nice to meet you.” With that they walked out back on to the bustling street.
People in Gale seemed to be kind of rude. Synexus was overwhelmed with the noise, the smells, and the large crowds they had to wade through, but he still managed to say greet people. Instead of greeting him back, they gave him a rude look. Kumo explained that big cities didn’t put an emphasis on good manners.
After an hour of walking and asking around, they found the Coast Inn. It was indeed by the docks like Blaine had said. If you had the right room, you could see the ships starting or ending their voyages. Synexus was completely astonished by how massive the ocean was. The Branch had described it to him, however, he was thinking it was a little bigger than a lake. This was something entirely different. It went on and on and on as far as his eyes could see. It was a sparkling blue, and the ships looked like bugs in comparison to the vastness.
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Kumo had to practically drag him away from the sight as they went through the door to the inn. She told him to let her do the talking since this was kind of new to him and he agreed.
“Hello, we would like to rent a couple of rooms during our stay in the city. We intend to be gone by the end of the two weeks if not sooner.”
The lady at the counter looked at them questioningly before saying, “are you sure you want two rooms?”
This left Kumo’s face red, but she nodded anyways.
“That will be one silver guin a night each. We serve breakfast in the main room right through those doors every morning until an hour or so before midday. After that we have lunch and dinner available at the bar through the doorway on your left.”
They paid, thanked the lady, and went upstairs. The rooms neighbored each other, which was good because Synexus didn’t want to be too separated. They also were able to get rooms facing the docks. Out on the balconies they could look out to sea.
After bathing and having a little rest, they met back up and walked down to the docks. Some of the ships were big and powered in unusual ways. Some were tiny and wouldn’t fit their needs. The captains were loud and yelling at their crew to hurry up or be careful constantly.
Synexus was mesmerized by the different ships. This was his first time seeing any and here he was in a forest of them. He wanted to know how they worked and what lay below the decks. His excitement must have been showing because Kumo said, “I forgot how sheltered your childhood truly was. You look like you’re in pure bliss, but we are on a filthy dock”.
“I’ve always loved technology and new experiences. These ships hold secrets, and I want to know them. Have you been on one before?”
“When I was a little girl, I came here, and we went on a leisure cruise around some islands off the coast. I don’t remember it perfectly, but I do remember the beauty. My mother was there, and we laughed and laughed all day watching the seagulls.”
“Wow, that sounds like an amazing memory. My only memory of my mom….” He was cut off by someone down at the end of the dock yelling.
It was a big commotion that caused heads to turn and watch. A man about their age was trying to calm a guy a bit younger down, but instead it was causing the young man to yell even louder.
“Me and my friend already paid you! What do you mean we can’t go with you now?!”
“Look, we will give you your money back. When we heard the son of the great Wazzarat family needed passage we assumed you already had your class.”
“What does that have to do with anything?! That was never part of our agreement!”
“You’re right it wasn’t, but we only have three class chosen on this voyage so far. Our crew is made up of youngsters like yourself looking to see some of the world before getting their class. We can’t guarantee safety if we don’t have enough class chosen and we really only have room for a few more people. We need to save those slots for any class chosen.”
“I don’t want a guarantee of safety! And don’t call me youngster. You’re like a year older than me if that.”
“I do not want to be on the bad side of your family if something happens to you and it’s not just your safety, but my crews and the other passengers. I’m sorry, but you came a little too late. This is my ship, and my final say is no.”
The man handed some guins over and the kid stomped off clearly not satisfied with the outcome. Synexus watched him pass before turning back to Kumo who he realized was already approaching the captain.
“Hi, excuse me, but if I’m not mistaken, I just heard that you have two seats open on your ship for class chosen.” Kumo didn’t waste any time getting to the point.
“Um, yes, I fear everyone heard that. You two are class chosen?”
“We sure are! Only by a couple of weeks, but we are already level 6 and looking for passage across the ocean.”
“And you can pay? This route we are taking would take two months and we charge two gold guins per head.”
“That isn’t a problem. We have the payment ready now and can be ready whenever departure is.”
The captain looked skeptical and thought for a moment. “Okay, I’ll take half your payment now and the other half when you board. We leave in six days at sunrise. Do not be late. You will need your own supplies. We have a desalination pump on board, but we recommend bringing some fresh water. The markets should have all you need, but keep in mind we have limited space. Class chosen get private quarters because we expect you to lay down your lives in the defense of the ship from monsters. Is that all clear?”
“As crystal, captain!”
With that they handed over one gold guin each. Their first night here they were able to accomplish their primary goal in Gale. The rest of the time would be enjoying the city, researching, and gathering supplies for their next adventure. Six days from now they would board the Windswept and sail under Captain Vorin.
