Chapter 33: Dust Gate Town
Abium and Helena crossed the small mountain range, left the Baxbron Woodlands, and finally entered Eliot's territory around early morning.
As they walked out of the dense woods, both looked up at the morning sky and breathed a sigh of relief.
Both now looked more like mediocre adventurers with specks of dust and vine scratches all over their bodies.
Sunlight filled the sky, pure scattered light, its hue ambitiously illuminating each crevice of the land. Sparrows chirped an explicit background melody.
There were fields all over the place, spread sporadically between the patches of forests left to grow in peace.
After glancing at the surrounding agricultural field, Abium took a deep breath and then breathed out.
He then looked at the faraway town and muttered its name.
'Dust Gate!'
It's a small town with a total population reside less than 10,000 people. It was located in the tropical plains, where the vegetation was thick, and this town was a connection point for Roseglen City and Margrave Eliot's capital city. The people of the Dust Gate primarily relied on agriculture and harvesting beans and corn.
Abium also heard that Baron Auguinare found a rich iron deposit near the Baxbron Woodlands a few years ago but got no approval from the Royal Family to start the mining process.
As Abium and Helena moved closer to the town, they saw that three to four meters tall wooden enclosed the town and acted as a protective barrier.
After a few minutes of walking, both reached the southern gate and saw two leather-armored gatekeepers standing next to the wooden entrance gate. Both appeared to be around 20 to 30 years old, had muscular bodies, brownish-red hair unique only to the Peral Kingdom, and fair skin.
Abium observed those two gatekeepers and then shifted his attention towards the wooden entrance gate.
The southern gate was somewhat rickety. It was solid cedar wood and held together with great iron nails.
As both moved closer to the gate, one of the gatekeepers suddenly gripped his iron spear tighter and spoke.
"Four copper coins for the entrance fees. If you plan on staying more than a week in Dust Gate, each of you has to pay two silver coins extra."
The gatekeeper had blue eyes, a sharp nose, straight hair, and was around 178 cm high.
On the other hand, the other gatekeeper appeared shorter than this guy and remained silent.
No, he didn't even glance at them and appeared to be in a half-sleepy state!
Even dark circles appeared around his eyes, and his tired face showed that he had been guarding the gate all night.
After a swift glance, Abium walked closer to the gatekeeper and nodded.
"Got it,"
He then touched his spatial ring, took out a gold coin, and gave it to the gatekeeper.
Meanwhile, Helena took out a white-crystalline card from her leather bag and passed it to the gatekeeper.
On the other hand, the gatekeeper took the card, checked her name and information, and furrowed.
At that moment, Abium also looked at her Guild Card and read the information.
...
[Name: Helena Frost
Age: 18
Sex: Female
Nationality: Hudo Empire.
Occupation: E-Rank Adventurer
Class: Second-Tier Warrior (Peak)
Affinity Strength:
Darkness- High
Nature- Average.]
...
"You are from Hudo Empire? What are you doing here?" He asked with a suspicious look.
Meanwhile, Helena blinked her eyes, pointed her finger at the crystalline card, and said with a smile.
"I'm an Adventurer."
On the other hand, the gatekeeper sighed deeply, returned the card to her, and spoke.
"You are just an E-Rank. Anyway, don't cause any unnecessary trouble, Young Lady."
Saying so, he shifted his gaze towards Abium and was about to ask for his ID card, but Helena interrupted him.
"He is with me, Sir. As you can see, he is a harmless young elf." She winkled at the young gatekeeper and then added with a smile.
"I hope you won't give us a hard time."
In the meantime, the gatekeeper showed a forced smile and nodded.
After that, he turned around, opened the wooden gate, and let them in.
Just as Abium and Helena walked inside, the gatekeeper thought of something and added.
"Don't go to the Thief's Street. I heard that a large number of suspicious people are gathering there."
'Suspicious people?' Abium suddenly halted his footsteps, turned his gaze towards the gatekeeper, and asked.
"Do you know anyone named Claude among those suspicious people? A friend of mine told me to look for him in this town, but I don't know his current location."
The gatekeeper raised his eyebrows as he heard those words and nodded.
"I do know of an elite soldier named Claude. But he said only a black-haired kid will be looking for him, though." He paused for a moment and then asked.
"What is the name of your friend?"
"His name is Abium. If Claude knows of this person, tell him to come to the Forgotten Inn and look for us." Abium responded with a calm look and started walking on the dirt road.
Meanwhile, the gatekeeper nodded his head and spoke to him from behind.
"Thanks for the tip, kid."
If Abium had come here alone, the gatekeeper wouldn't have opened his mouth about Claude.
Thankfully, Helena's guild card solved those problems.
The guild card could be used for many purposes. As long as one had this guild card, they would be able to cross any kingdom border.
'This card is more valuable than Knight Status of any minor Kingdom. Although Adventurers have some high status than soldiers and knights, they still have to abide by the kingdom's rules.'
As for commoners, they needed the approval of a noble or highly ranked officer's signature to cross one kingdom to another.
Abium looked at the roadsides as both roamed in the main street and soon saw different shops all over the place. Some were still closed, while many market vendors and shopkeepers were in the middle of opening the shops next to the main road.
'The town is as lively as ever.' He muttered under his breath and continued to walk forward.
After wandering for a while, both reached the northern junction and entered a street called 'Avonter Alley.'
That's where most of the Inns and hotels were located.
They then stepped on the 2-meter width path, walked past many brick houses and tiny cottage-like houses, and soon arrived in front of a two-storied building with an attached lawn and carriage house. Abium even saw a wooden fence around the big house and smiled slightly.
The Forgotten Barn was an Inn located close to the northern gate.
Clay and hard wooden tree trunks made up most of the building's outer structure and looked beautiful.
Many people with different attire walked in and out of the Inn, and the whole place appeared busier.
"Let's go." Abium glanced at the surroundings, opened the wooden gate, and moved towards the Inn's entrance.
Soon, both arrived before the opened wooden double door and stepped in.
A sweet aroma came from the left side and assaulted their noses as they walked in.
At that moment, a young lady with black hair stood up from her reception seat and welcomed them with a warm smile. She wore a plain, regular cloth with an apron and mop cap and looked like a maid.
"Welcome, customers! Welcome to the Forgotten Barn." She said while bending her waist a bit and bowing her head.
Meanwhile, Abium nodded, took out three gold coins, and passed them to the young lady.
"We want to rent two rooms for two weeks."
"It's 28 silvers, Mister."
The black-haired young lady took the three gold coins from Abium's hand, opened the drawer, and put them inside. Then, she moved her hand towards the nearby wooden box placed on the reception desk, took out two silvers, and gave them to him.
After that, she went towards the left sideboard, grabbed two iron keys attached to the iron nails, and gave them to Abium.
"We'll also provide your morning food free, Mister." She added.
Nodding, Abium took the keys and the remaining silver coins from the young lady, nodded at her in thanks, and passed one iron key to Helena.
Then, he turned to the right and stepped towards the opposite wooden staircase.
In a few seconds, both soon reached upstairs, walked on the smooth corridor, and found their respective rooms.
Abium first took a glance at the room key, inserted it into the keyhole, and opened it with a click,
Then, he raised his hand, gripped the doorknob, and pushed it open before walking in.