Oreta was a strange and dangerous place not everyone could adapt. Just hearing the name scared Iris.
But what had to be done could not be delayed any longer.
"This palace does not seem safe. Are you sure we will be alright?" Diana asked, her voice filled with fear. Arya looked a little startled as well.
The city was built concentrically but different zones had different elevations. It was an upward city with an empty top space.
Since no one controlled Oreta yet, the central part of the city was left open. It was a verbal agreement between all the parties in the city of fog. No one would be in control of the city until they said so.
"So, what are we here to do?" Arya asked, looking a little doubtful about being here. She had not initially trusted Iris once she had been informed about their destination but had warmed considerably over their journey.
But it all seemed to be going down the drain once they arrived in front of Oreta.
"Keep your money hidden or give it to me for safekeeping. Do not talk with anyone here and let me handle the rest" reading the novel, there were a few things Iris knew. She collected the money from the pair.
Someone new like them would be seen as easy prey if they showed even a little weakness here. It was a ruthless place.
"O-Ok. We shall leave everything up to you now" Between the pair, Diana was the one who trusted Iris unconditionally. Arya still had her misgivings sometimes but Diana usually did great in convincing her.
The city gate was huge and densely crowded. Even the main street was narrow and lined by different shops.
Oreta was the biggest trade center in the entire world of Rivendell. Rumor was - you could find anything here if you had enough money to buy it.
The only thing this place lacked in the original novel was the presence of a real healer since the only way to get one was through the commission and most of these criminals did not dare contact them.
This was the biggest reason Iris had been able to capture this city initially.
"Mam, why don't you try this? This tonic is sure to restore your youth", "Buy exotic ingredients from us. Freshly imported from Narlian. You will not find these prices anywhere else", "Come by for something magical"
Iris just moved through the crowd, making sure not to catch anyone's eyes.
Most of the things sold here were fake but not all of them were fake. Some were authentic and held a lot of value.
Iris quickly looked over the bazaar through her medical vision but nothing seemed to catch her fancy. Not even the magical items.
But something inside her gave a bad feeling. She felt like she should check up on her companions.
But when she looked behind herself, they were not there.
Instead, they had stopped at a stall and seemed to be looking at jewelry. Enchanted jewelry that made the looker compel to buy it at any cost.
"Mam, do you like it? It's 10 golden coins, but I will give it to you for 7. A sweet deal, ain't it" the shopkeeper was good at her work.
The tone of her voice as well as the expression she had, everything seemed genuine enough to believe her. Diana and Arya were about to fall into their trap and Iris debated if she should help them or not.
After all, she had warned them not to act here.
But the feeling inside her said not to let them get scammed. It urged her to help them and she decided to listen.
She moved through the crowd once again, somehow not colliding with anyone in the way, and made her way to the couple….
…. Right in time to catch the small thief about to rob them in daylight.
Iris had the other's thin wrist in her hand and it caused the small child to let out a yelp of pain.
"Give that pouch here and I will let you go" the child looked surprised at being caught but slowly seemed to be coming to terms with it.
Iris ducked as the child twisted her body to try and kick at Iris. it caused Iris to let go of the other's wrist and the child ran away with the coin purse.
Too bad, the purse was likely empty of any cash.
"You poor bastards. Why are you here if you cannot afford this? And you are blocking my business as well" Meanwhile, the shopkeeper who had tried to scam the pair looked pissed off.
Diana and Arya seemed to be searching for their money pouch but they seemed not to be able to find it on themselves.
"Ah, Miss Iris. Thank god you are here. Isn't this jewelry really pretty? I wanted to buy a pair for us but I forgot you had it all. Can you lend us 7 gold coins?" Diana asked as she saw her.
As soon as the shopkeeper heard those words, her tone and expression changed from annoyed to happy. She waited for Iris to finish examining the jewelry, likely waiting for her to fall under its charm as well.
But Iris already knew the trick and her magic left her immune to such low-level charm magic.
"You like it? Then come with me to the side and I'll give you your money" Iris dragged the other two to a small alley and away from the public eye.
The other two had a small ring of pink around their pupil, a clear indication of charm magic that could easily be cured.
Iris waited for the other two to come around as she finally stopped her flow of magic.
"What happened? My head hurt" Diana complained, being the vocal one of the two. Even Arya looked to be in pain.
"You were charmed by the magic jewelry and were about to be scammed. Also, someone snatched away your empty purse. I told you both to be careful here" the other two shivered at her one but seemed not to mind.
"We're sorry. I did not expect that just looking would be enough to get us in trouble. We will be more careful in the future" somehow, Iris doubted that but there was nothing else to be said.
Arya also looked appreciative of the help that had been provided so Iris let it go for now.
There seemed to be loud noises coming from the alley next to their own. It seemed as if someone was getting a good thrashing and it was bad enough to give someone nightmares.
As for Iris, she knew what she had to do.
"Stay here. I will go and take a look. You have the charm paper I gave you before?" the pair nodded and brought out the sole paper sheet left from the three.
Iris passed her magic through it and a transparent dome appeared around the two. Iris also made sure to heal the small scratch on Diana's face, looking in a random direction from the corner of her eyes.
"Do not leave this dome if you value your life. I shall be back in a few seconds. Also, keep this potion for emergencies" Iris made sure the other two knew her orders before she left for the adjacent valley.
There were some special orders Iris wanted them to fulfill on their own while she negotiated with some important people.
Something moved in the upper shadows of the alley as well, keeping pace with Iris to not lose her.
Good, that was what she wanted to happen. Soon she shall get what she wanted as well from this palace - total domination.