The three of them started walking toward the center of town, and Gen said, "Do you guys want to go eat, or should we go to the guild right away?"
And Lina said, "Well, I think, first of all, we'd better find an inn to stay at. There's no way we can walk around with all these bags of clothes."
Raja then said, "I agree."
And Gen said, "Ok, let's go to the inn Briny told us about. She said the fastest way to get there was to take a boat."
Raja then said, "Could she be mistaken? Where are we going to get a boat in the middle of the city?"
"I don't know either. Let me ask someone."
Gen then approached a man who was standing looking at a store and said, "Good morning. I am going to the adventurers' guild. Do you know where I can get a boat to go there?"
The man then turned around and said, "Tourist, right?"
And Gen said, "Yes."
"This time of the year is always full of people like you. Just go straight ahead, take the third left, and you'll see the boats."
"Okay. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Gen then came back and said, "We are close. We just need to take the third left."
The three then went on, and after a while, they arrived at the place. There was a small river there that could fit a little more than two boats at a time, and several boats were stopped. Each boat seemed to be able to accommodate about ten people, and in front of them was written the place where they would go.
Gen then saw a boat that had a sign that read, 'Adventurers' Guild.'
He then approached and said to the man in front of it, "Good morning. I want to go to an inn called 'Deep Sea'. Do you know where it is?"
And the man said, "Yes. It's a very popular inn in town. That boat goes right there."
Gen then looked at where the man was pointing and said, "Great. Thank you.", and then went towards the boat.
When he arrived, he said to the person in front of the boat, "Is this the boat that goes to the Deep Sea Inn?"
"Yes. It's a hundred bronze coins per person."
"A hundred bronze coins? Isn't that too expensive just to go there?"
"No. That's the standard price. You have to consider that there is also a city tour included in the boat ride."
"Tour?"
"Yes, during the tour, we will pass by several famous places in the city, such as bars, restaurants, and stores, and I will explain them to you."
"Still, a hundred coins is expensive. What do you two think?"
Gen then looked back but didn't see Lina and Raja, and then thought, 'What? Where are those two?', and then he heard Lina say, "Aren't you coming, Gen? Didn't you say you were in a hurry?"
He then turned around and saw that Lina and Raja were already in the boat and said, "... I'm going."
Gen then handed the man three hundred bronze coins and got into the boat.
The man then got on the boat and asked, "Do you have a preferred route?"
And Lina said, "The route that passes the most stores."
And Raja said, "The route that passes the most bars."
And Gen said, "The fastest way there, please."
The man then said, "Hmm, leave it to me. I know a way that will please all of you.", and then he released the boat and started rowing.
The boat then followed the river for a while, and suddenly, the man guided it into a shed.
Seeing this, Gen asked, "Where are we going?"
And the man said, "I'm going to take the elevator to the tide."
"What? Tide? What is that?"
"Wait a little while, and you'll understand."
They entered the shed, and the man then pressed a button on the wall that closed the door they entered. The water then began to rise, and the boat went with it.
Raja then said, "It's a water elevator like the one in Briny's store."
Just then, the water stopped rising, and the man pressed another button, which opened a door. He then guided the boat out, and then the three of them started to look around.
Gen then said, "Wow, we are so high."
The man then sat down and said, "Well, now just enjoy the view around."
And Raja said, "Are we just going to stand here and watch?"
"No. It's coming soon."
"What's coming?"
"The tide."
The boat then started to shake a little, and the man said, "Looks like it's here. Get ready."
They then started to look around, and suddenly, the boat started to move quickly forward. The boat began to climb higher than before, and the three of them held onto the boat. After a while, it stopped going up and started just going forward.
They then started to look around, and Raja said, "Wow, what a beautiful view."
They were extremely high up, and you could see over the buildings.
The man then began to say, "Well, let's start the tour. In that way, we have ..."
The man then used the view of the city from above to explain to them where the bars, restaurants, stores, and various other sights were.
The trip continued like this for a while until Lina said, "What's that?"
And Raja said, "What's what?"
"Up there!"
Gen then said, "What do you mean, up there, Lina? Have you seen how high we are? There can't be anything ... what is that?!"
The man then said, "That's the dome. Didn't you see it when you arrived in town?"
In the sky, a little way away from them, there was a massive ball of water floating, and inside it, you could see all kinds of fish, small and big, going from one side to the other. It was as if a piece of the sea was floating in the sky.
Gen then said, "How is this possible? How can there be so much water floating in the sky?"
And the man said, "I don't know how it's possible either, but from what they say, since the time of the empire, our city has always had a king of the seas who used some of his essences to keep the dome floating."
Raja then said, "When you say king, do you mean someone with a king-level essence?"
And the man said, "I don't really know, that's all I've been told."
"Got it."
Lina then said, "Is there somewhere we can get a closer look at the dome?"
And the man said, "Well, when we're about to arrive at your destination, you'll be able to see it extremely close."
"Really? Is the building that tall?"
"No. It's lower than we are now."
"Hm? So how am I going to get a better look at the dome from there?"
"Well, it's inside the dome, so I imagine you can see it pretty well."
"It's inside the dome?!"
Raja then said, "Are you serious?"
And the man said, "Yes. Didn't you know?"
Lina then said, "No."
And the man said, "Well, it's not that strange. Most people think that inside the dome, there is only the king's house. Some of them don't even know that part of the adventurers' guild is there."
Gen then said, "The adventurers' guild is there?"
And the man said, "A part of it. You didn't know that either?"
"No, but how do people live inside that ball of water?"
"It's because the dome isn't filled with water."
"There's no water inside?"
"No. Inside the dome is an island. You will understand when we arrive. In the meantime, enjoy the view of the city."
The man then went back to explaining about the city, and after a while, the boat began to descend, reached the city level, and stopped in front of a huge building.
The man then said, "It seems that we have reached the end of your tour."
And Lina said, "Have we? Didn't you say the inn was inside the dome?"
"It is. It's just that the farthest I can get you is up here."
"And how do we get up there?"
"It's simple. All you have to do is enter this building and tell them where you are going."
"Okay, thank you."
The three of them then left the boat with their clothes, and the man left with it.
Lina then started to walk towards the building and said, "Come quickly. I want to see what it's like inside as soon as possible."
She then went into the building, and the two went after her. A woman then approached them and said, "Good afternoon. Where are you going?"
And Lina said, "To the Deep Sea Inn."
"Ok. Follow me please.", and then started walking in one direction.
The three of them followed her, and after a while, they arrived in front of a huge elevator. The woman pressed a button that opened the elevator door and said, "Please come in."
They then entered the elevator, and the woman closed the door.
Gen then said, "Does this elevator go to another boat on top of the building?"
And the woman said, "No."
"Isn't that how you get up to the dome?"
"No, we'll use the elevator."
"I understand, but how do you get from the top of the building to the dome?"
"We use this elevator."
"Are you telling me this elevator goes from here to the dome?!"
"Yes. That's it."