"What's your name, kid?" Heron asked their guide as 'she' led them along the narrow alleyways for the past ten minutes. Yuriko was in the middle of the group, with Fluffington trailing behind. She had the hood of her robe over her head and pulled down enough to conceal her face. The noonday sun relegated the shadows to tiny pools at the corners, and the heat was probably unbearable.
She could feel Heron's back was soaked with sweat, as was Ryoko's. Saki had her Shadows control her body temperature, and Devotee was flames made manifest. It was only those three who suffered from the desert heat, and Yuriko was cursing herself for not learning environmental endurance spells. There might be some in the Adventurers' Guild, and she hoped that would alleviate their suffering.
They emerged from the warren of alleys and arrived at one of the main streets. Even though it was called that, it wasn't more than twice as wide as the passages they went through before. The blocky buildings around them reminded Yuriko of Faron's Crossing, where each dwelling had a flat roof that allowed easy passage and as a defensive fortress should Wyldlings run rampant. The houses here were single-storey, had small windows, and flat roofs. She could perceive planters on the roof, along with hanging laundry. Oddly enough, there were grass-woven mattresses tucked up against the trapdoors that led into the main dwelling, and she assumed that people often slept on the rooftops to take advantage of the cold night air. Colorful canvas awnings were spread above the doorways and it was those that differentiated each house from the next.
Because they were next to the Great Lake, the breeze often blew from the waters. The alignment of the streets took advantage of the cooling breeze, as the houses created wind tunnels. It blew strongly now, making Yuriko's robes flutter.
"Mihalis. I'm called Mihalis," the 'girl' said in response.
"Well met," Heron said.
Yuriko could feel some of his curiosity, but she reasoned that, since there were dozens of urchins who made themselves available to the travellers, it was a common sight. Just that Mihalis' undergarments screamed that 'she' was an agent for someone's intelligence unit. Whose it was, she didn't know, and she wondered if it was her group that was 'her' target. Then again, there was no denying Ishodir's clear interest.
"So, tell me, how long have you been doing this kind of thing here?" Heron continued.
"Eh, uh, a couple of years now…" Mihalis said, then quickly changed the subject, "The Guild Hall's just around the corner!"
"Aye, kid, thanks," Heron grunted as he held in a smile.
The hall would have been visible from where they were since it was a three-storey structure so it towered over the rest of the buildings, but the awnings, the hanging laundry strung up on ropes that stretched above the street, and the way the domiciles were built close together, obscured the view. But as they came close, Yuriko perceived it with her Anima and saw the Guild's four emblems arrayed into a banner.
Adventurers' Guild, Boata Branch Hall.
It was just past noon but the foot traffic still cluttered the street. There were more than a few adventurers, who had their hexagonal emblems pinned on their robes, loitering around the place, mostly in the stalls and establishments that were across and beside the hall. The scent of grilling meat, as well as the pungent spices that the locals used, tickled her nose and made her tummy grumble.
"Shall I purchase lunch, mistress?" Ryoko asked with a teasing smile.
"Please."
Saki followed behind the other handmaiden, but before they could take a couple of steps, Yuriko added, "Saki, you're an adventurer, too, so you have to update and register at the guild." She turned to Devotee, "Please accompany Ryoko and enter the guild hall as soon as you can."
Devotee nodded and followed beyond Ryoko. The five of them, along with Mihalis, entered the Adventurers' Guildhall. Yuriko reined in her Anima perception since most adventurers could sense her regard and it was impolite to stare. The first thing they saw when they entered was the mission board. It was a corkboard with hundreds of cards stuck to it, each one had the request, parameters, and known information written in cursive, as well as a runescript pattern to scan to their Adventurer's ID. The board was divided into four quadrants: Hunt and Gather, Travel, Permanent, and Miscellaneous. It was a bit different from the Bresia branch's mission board, but it was a different branch after all. Also, Yuriko had not actually taken missions after she registered, so her card was clean.
Well, they might be able to use the travel section missions, but they had to update first. Mihalis just stood near the entrance while the four of them, with Fluffington, headed towards the reception counters. The wolf pupper drew a lot of eyes, but since he wasn't acting exuberantly, the gazes did not turn hostile. There were a few gazes that felt greedy to Yuriko, but that was only to be expected.
There wasn't much of a line, so they reached a receptionist quickly. Heron took the lead in explaining, and the man behind the counter simply accepted their cards and scanned them into their system.
"Welcome to the Xotha Matriarchy guild branch, is this your first time in this country? If yes, then you should purchase the basic information package to avoid any misunderstandings from the locals. The advanced info package also contains hunting grounds, intelligence on Elemental Confluxes and their denizens, and the local political landscape. The basic package is one silver, while the advance package is ten silvers." The man looked at Heron expectantly, but he sent Yuriko a mental question.
'Basic or advanced?'
'Might as well pay for more information,' Yuriko decided.
Heron forked out the coins and the receptionist accepted it, but commented, "There is a small surcharge at this branch of the guild for foreign coinage, but if you wish to convert to the local coins, we do offer a service for that. The surcharge is five percent, so half a silver please."
"How much does it cost to convert and do the shops outside accept Bresian coins?" Gwendith asked.
"The conversion rate is half of the surcharge, but only for the first gold coin worth, for the first time you change money here. That counts for each adventurer ID. The shops outside will accept it but will charge you more. Outside of the coast, the locals won't accept it."
"What about in the capital?"
"Capital? There are seven cities each claiming that name." The man chuckled. "If you mean the nearest city, Herrera, then no. There are coin changers there, but their surcharge goes up to ten percent."
"Should we change all our gold here?" Yuriko asked, thinking to save on costs.
"No need," Gwendith said quickly. "Just fifty golds worth. To handle our supply purchases."
"Alright."
Heron brought out the gold coins and the cost, which was nearly two and a half golds. The man remained impassive and when he gave out the local currency, Yuriko noticed that the only difference was that the sigil was not Bresia's. It was otherwise identical, and it would probably take a critical eye to differentiate the two types of coin.
'I think we got scammed,' Yuriko sent to both of her lovers.
'Yeah.' Gwendith's voice was tinged with amusement, however.
'It's not so bad. We can probably mix in the coins with the Bresian ones.' Heron said. He handed a gold coin back and said, "Do you mind if you change this to smaller coins? Ninety-nine silver and a hundred copper pence please."
"Sure," the receptionist said blandly. He took the coin and handed back a couple of leather purses. Yuriko's quick Anima perception check told her that the exchange had been accurate.
"Thank you." Heron hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you mind telling us if there's going to be a caravan leaving for Herrera soon?"
"As passengers or guards?"
"Either way."
"If you want to be passengers, you'll have to go to the caravansary near the east gate, if you want a mission, check the board. Offhand, there's a couple leaving within the week, Hilfers and Canama Company, both for Herrera."
"Thank you, we'll go check," Heron said politely.
Devotee and Ryoko entered the guild hall just as Yuriko and the others finished the update, and her handmaiden carried several skewers of grilled meat and veggies. The meat was red with spice, and Yuriko nearly sneezed when she was handed a skewer.
Yuriko nibbled the meat cautiously while Heron took a big bite. Gwendith just held on to the skewer with a visible Helpful Hand spell, though it was bolstered by her Animakinesis. The pale blue and pink light of her Anima was obscured by the spell's visible display. She went through the cards in the Travel section.
The piece Yuriko chomped on nearly overwhelmed her tongue with its flavours. It was spicy, that was for sure, but the burning heat receded quickly, leaving her tongue coated in aromatic oils. The veggie piece, grilled onion and peppers, cooled the heat a little bit, but when she went for the second chunk, the flames simply combined and increased the heat.
She felt tears seep out of her eyes, and her nose turned a bit runny. She wanted to collect the tears to gather enough for the salt, so she huddled over to a corner and pulled out a vial, using it to collect the droplets. Maybe these would be enough for salt distilled from tears of joy, since the meal was exceptionally delicious, even if she wasn't used to the spice.
Once she finished her skewer, Ryoko handed her a bottle with a milky white beverage. She took a sip and it was as if all the spicy oils clinging to her palate were washed away.
She walked out of the guild hall then spread her Anima perception, opting to make it as thin as she could. Her normal reach, restricted from holding Damien's memories, was around two hundred and twenty-three paces. She could perceive half of the entirety of the town with it. She noted all of the public buildings, found where the caravansary was, as well as where the slaves were taken. It was a building, a warehouse from the look of it, a few blocks from the docks, next to a major road. She didn't push her perception into the warehouse since she detected anti-divination wards etched into the walls and windows.
During the hottest part of the day, the town was pretty desolate except for the market streets where canvas awnings covered the street in shadows. She felt a few eyes staring at the guild's direction from across the road, as well as on the rooftops.
Mihalis was in the alleyway beside the guild hall, talking with someone, who looked like another child. A moment later, the two of them parted and the 'girl' went back around. He jumped when he saw her by the entrance, but since her eyes weren't turned in his direction, he quickly settled down.
A few minutes later, the rest of her companions came out of the guild hall. Heron approached Mihalis and handed over the copper pence.
"Can you bring us to your recommended inn?"
"Golden Fleece Inn," the urchin said as he pointed farther north. "This way."
Yuriko spotted the inn since it stood out from the rest of the houses at two storeys high. It also occupied the equivalent space of six other houses. Once they were there, Heron paid Mihalis another five copper pence, and the urchin bowed and left.
The inn wasn't the height of luxury, and they paid for a night's stay with two rooms. This time, Yuriko and the other three ladies took one room while the boys, including Fluffington, took the other. And since it was still midafternoon, the others went back outside while Yuriko remained in her room to meditate and refine her Anima.
By the time evening came along, Gwendith had news.
"Hilfers Caravan will leave for Herrera City at dawn the day after tomorrow. I've paid for passage, five silvers a head, including Fluffers. It'll take ten days to get there."
"Alright. Thanks." Yuriko pulled Gwendith close and kissed her lips. "We've got time before dinner."
Gwendith answered with rising passion.