Ichor Cell-Chapter 42: Luterra II

After a quick nap and several hours spent practicing his magic, Alex finally stretched out his legs and glanced toward the window. The light bleeding around the edges of the curtain was already fading, replaced by the amber hue of dusk. Down below, city life was in full swing, unlike Orenthia, where the streets were mostly deserted by sundown.
‘Now that I think about it, there’s a lot of strange stuff going on in that country…’
He mused, recalling Grenil’s earlier revelations.
‘Eh, we can look into it when we’re considerably stronger. For now, I’m just glad we left.’
He exhaled and stood, rolling his shoulders. “I’m bored. Let’s go see if we can fish for information from the innkeeper.”
Duran looked up from the chair by the door. “You mean have a polite conversation.”
“Same thing,” Alex said, stepping out into the hall.
When they came downstairs, the young woman from the morning was gone. In her place stood a rather rotund older gentleman with silver-streaked brown hair, wearing a stained leather apron over a simple cloth shirt. The man completed the look by polishing a spotless mug behind the counter and staring off into the distance.
Another man sat in a shadowed corner of the room, staring into the foamy contents of his mug as if it contained some great secret.
The barkeep looked up as they approached and gave them a polite nod.
“Evening, boys,” he said. “I was told we had new customers. Are you enjoying your stay?”
“It’s not bad.” Alex couldn’t bring himself to give a nicer compliment. “What happened to the girl that was here earlier?”
“Oh, that’s my daughter, Andrea.” The man smiled the smile of a proud father. “She covers the night shifts, and I do the busier daytime ones. She’ll be on in a couple hours if you want to catch her.”
Alex ignored the man’s strange attempt at pimping his daughter out and instead asked some general questions about the city and its surroundings.
The innkeeper—who eventually introduced himself as Harton—was more than happy to talk. Between wiping mugs and calling a few words to the kitchen, he gave them a loose summary of the city, its surroundings, and what it was known for. Luterra, it seemed, was situated right on the border between several larger nations, a stopping point of sorts.
The man was very vocal about his opinions on the various cultures mingling in this place. All Alex could do was keep nodding along, filing away what was relevant. Most of it was common sense, but hearing it from someone who actually lived here helped him build a picture of the place. Eventually, Alex shifted the topic toward adventurers.
“Ah, how to become an adventurer?” Harton asked with an amused grin. “That’s an easy one. You just head over to the guild hall and tell them you’d like to register. They’ll run you through a few tests—I won’t claim to know what they entail—and if you pass, they’ll hand you a badge. That badge means you’re officially a member. You can take jobs, get paid, and access the guild’s services. I heard the higher your rank the better the benefits you can access.”
“And what are these ranks?” Alex asked.
“As far as I know, they follow the normal classification system; Mundane, Supernatural, Disaster, Calamity, and so on.” The man shrugged. “I’m not the most well versed on this topic. I’m sure the guild receptionist will be more than happy to answer all of your questions when you get there. You’re in luck, the guild’s open 24/7.”
“Calamity?” Alex questioned, hearing the term for the first time.
“The tier above disaster. I once saw a Calamity tier attack being unleashed, you know?” The innkeeper explained, his features taking on a wistful expression. “A wyvern decided to attack Vitas, the capital of Prasanth. Terrifying creatures, wyverns. Larger than a house and strong enough to tear down a godsdamned castle, scholars are constantly arguing about whether they should be classed as Disaster or Calamity tier.”
The man glanced around the room before leaning in conspiratorially, lowering his voice.
“Between you and me, those scholars don’t know shit.” He went to spit on the counter, then thought better of it. “I guarantee you not a single one of them has ever even heard a wyvern’s roar, much less seen one up close. Putting one of those things in the same category as a Durnhog—a giant pig—is a joke! In one acidic breath, the beast melted an entire street into a puddle of goo. One breath!” The man held up a single finger, as if afraid Alex wouldn’t know how to count to one.
“Amazing!” Alex acted suitably impressed, desperately hoping for someone to rescue him from the conversation he had voluntarily put himself into. Duran stood beside him, an earnest expression of interest on his face. “That must have been terrifying!”
“Oh, it absolutely was.” The man nodded emphatically before breaking out into a grin. “And then I watched the thing immediately turn into a second sun.”
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Alex was taken aback by that. “What?”
“It attacked the capital. What were you expecting?” The man shrugged. “Some Calamity tier mage or another hit it with an explosion half the size of a city block and removed it from existence. I felt the heat from where I was cowering on the other side of the city. That event convinced the young me to move to the countryside and start an inn instead. The excitement of city life is not for me.”
“Uh…” Alex thought about what to say to that. “Damn, that’s crazy. Sorry you had to go through that.”
“Why are you sorry? It’s one of the most exciting events of my entire life, right alongside-” Just as it looked like the rotund man was gearing up for another story, the sound of someone’s footsteps came from the stairs. Turning his head with relief, Alex spotted his saviour emerging into view.
“Grenil!” Alex exclaimed, sending the innkeeper an apologetic glance. “You’ll have to excuse me, my friend is here now, and I have to go talk to him.”
The man looked disappointed at having his story interrupted but waved the apology away.
Grenil shuffled his way down the last few steps, muttering under his breath with every creak of wood. He spotted Alex and Duran at the counter and raised a hand in greeting. “Gods I envy the two of you, with how many years of my life have I wasted sleeping.”
“I’ll take the ability to sleep any day of the week.” Alex grinned faintly. “We’ve been talking to the innkeeper. Found out a few things about the city and the guild.”
“Ah, good.” The old man lowered himself carefully onto a stool, wincing as his knees popped. “So, what’d I miss?”
“Apparently,” Duran said, “there’s a guild hall nearby that’s open all night. Anyone can walk in and register to become an adventurer after passing a few tests. They use the same classification tiers as Orenthia, though there’s one above Disaster called Calamity.”
Grenil nodded thoughtfully. “Figures. Every country calls them something different, but the idea’s the same.”
The innkeeper, eager to remain part of the conversation, asked what he’d like to eat. Grenil ordered whatever they had and was soon handed a steaming bowl of stew that smelled far better than Alex expected given what they saw of the accommodations.
While Grenil ate, Alex filled him in on the rest of what they’d learned. The old man listened quietly, occasionally grunting his approval between mouthfuls.
When the bowl was empty, he pushed it aside with a sigh of satisfaction. “Well, that settles it. If the guild’s open all night, we might as well go now. No point wasting time.”
Alex and Duran agreed. They thanked the innkeeper for the food and information, then stepped out into the cool evening air. The sun had already set as the sky above Luterra was painted in deep blue and violet, and the first lanterns were flickering to life as they made their way down the street.
Compared to when they arrived, the streets of Luterra stayed lively even as night deepened. Lanterns glowed steadily along the roads, their warm light softening the stonework and scattering gold across puddles from a recent drizzle. Merchants packed up their stalls; taverns spilled laughter and music into the open air; the city felt alive in a way Orenthia never had.
Alex inspected the passersby as they made their way down the street. Although the overwhelming majority of the pedestrians were unremarkable to him, he quickly caught sight of something that made him widen his eyes.
“There are
elves
here!?” He gripped Duran’s shoulder in excitement as he stared at the tall, lithe woman with pointed ears crossing the street.
“It’s rude to stare.” Duran sent him a pointed look. “And could you please let go of me? You’re hurting my shoulder.”
Alex quickly averted his gaze and let go of the ghoul’s shoulder. A visible palm imprint had been left on the man as Alex forgot his strength.
“Sorry about that.” He scratched his head apologetically.
They walked down the main street for another minute before Alex stopped at an intersection, glancing around at the unfamiliar streets. “By the way, do we even know where we’re going?”
Grenil snorted. “I’ve been to a few places back in my day, but it’s my first time in this particular city. I’m just following you.”
“I’ve never left Crebes,” Duran shrugged.
Alex sighed and flagged down a passing man. “Excuse me. Do you know where the Adventurers Guild is?”
The man gave them a puzzled look before jerking his chin towards the town center. “Straight ahead ‘til you hit the big square. Can’t miss it. It’s got a big sign out front; a bunch of weapons and stuff all together.”
“Thanks.”
They followed the road towards the square.
Turning a final corner, they emerged onto a surprisingly large plaza. Covering what must have been at least a hectare, the cobblestone square was surrounded on all sides by entertainment or housing establishments. If it wasn’t an inn, it was a restaurant, and if it wasn’t a restaurant, it was an inn.
Music and laughter filled the air as crowds of people drifted to and from each doorway, mingling, talking, and generally enjoying each other’s company. Dominating the center of the plaza was a large fountain carved to resemble some manner of beast, its roaring jaws spewing forth crystalline water instead of flames as young couples sat at its base.
It was a starkly different sight to the downright abandoned feeling he had gotten from Orenthia.
“Hey, do you know why Orenthia was so…” Alex struggled to find the words.
“Much less alive?” Grenil asked, then shrugged. “Once again, you’re asking the wrong person, lad. I’m more knowledgeable about things than most, but that’s only compared to normal civilians. I know absolutely nothing of the actual goings on of that country’s rulers. All I can say is that being out at night was heavily discouraged.”
“Huh.” Alex couldn’t imagine what could possibly be the motivation for such restrictions but decided not to dwell on it. “Well, either way, there’s nothing we can do about it now, so we better just head to the guild, which I’m assuming is that beauty over there.”
Following his finger, the others also turned their attention to the building.
The guild hall dominated the entire northern side of the plaza. It wasn’t particularly tall—about the same three stories as its neighbours—but its sheer width made it impossible to miss. Heavy timber pillars framed the front entrance, and the broad facade stretched nearly the full length of the square, lit by rows of bright lanterns that cast long, warm reflections across the cobblestones.
Weaving their way through the crowd, they soon found themselves standing in front of the intimidating building, banners depicting crossed weapons fluttering through the air above them. Even from a distance, Alex had seen various people entering and leaving the building. Some looked like regular civilians, while others looked armed to the teeth and ready to take on a small army.
Now that he was closer, he was pretty sure that that was exactly what they were going to do.
“Well… let’s see what this place is about.” He exhaled slowly and pushed the door open.