The door to The Anvil opens and two people walk in. The one in the sparkling cuirass and leather armor stops to look around and takes in his surroundings.
The other in the guard's uniform has a big smile on his face as he opens his arms.
Behind the counter, a young blonde woman looks up from her cleaning to check the new arrivals. Her emerald eyes sparkle as she throws her towel onto the counter and runs to the guard giggling.
She throws herself into his embrace and kisses him fully.
A harrumph from the older matron behind the counter causes the girl to blush furiously as she takes a step back smoothing out her outfit.
Looking into the guard's eyes she asks, "Kevin, what are you doing here so early? I thought you had gate duty today." She looks at him up and down checking his well-being.
Grinning from ear to ear, Kevin places his hands on the young woman's shoulders to stop her from fretting.
"I'm on duty right now Kate, I'm perfectly fine don't worry.
Kate raises her eyebrows and opens her mouth to ask another question at Kevin's words.
Kevin seeing her confusion answers her unspoken question.
"The Captain assigned me to escort Sir Nathan here in the city. We recently left Gregory's shop and I promised Nathan I'd bring him to the best Inn in Hammers Rise." Kevin raises his head to look over Kate's head and throws a wink to the matron behind the counter.
The matron smiles in satisfaction at Kevin's words as she pours a drink for a patron at the bar.
Nathan during the exchange stands awkwardly next to Kevin, gives Kate a sheepish smile and a wave, and introduces himself.
"Hello, I'm Nathan. I recently arrived at Hammers Rise and the Captain graciously allowed me to enter to stay for a while until I get situated."
Kate glances at Nathan and appraises him with a raised eyebrow. She lets out a slight gasp as she notices the massive Banesblade hanging across his back.
"I'm sure the Captain was thrilled to allow an adventurer such as yourself into our City. Especially with everything that has been going on. Let me thank you in advance for any assistance you can give Hammers Rise against the Legion." Kate gives Nathan a small curtsy.
Kate's words garner a few reactions from the other patrons, and a few raise their glass to Nathan and give him a smile and a nod.
Finishing up with the last few at the bar, the matron wipes her hands on her apron and comes around to greet Nathan and Kevin.
"Names Mary, it's good to meet you, sir." Mary stands with her hands on her hips while taking in Nathan's appearance.
Nathan nods his head in greeting.
"I suppose you'll be needing a room and some food, growing lad such as yourself must be hungry.
The rooms are rented by the week and go for half a piece. Breakfast is included as well as a supper, any drink you'll be wanting is extra of course."
The matron continues to explain the lodgings and menu to Nathan who politely lets her finish her pitch.
"I'll pay for two weeks," Nathan says to Mary as he hands her a gold coin.
'I'm not sure how long I'll be here at Hammers Rise. Gold won't be an issue anymore though so I can splurge on whatever.' Nathan thinks with a sly grin on his face.
Mary bites the coin and places it in her apron pouch. She turns to Kate and tells her to set Nathan up in room six at the end of the hall upstairs.
Kate rushes upstairs to get the room ready.
Mary grabs a key ring with a six on it and hands it to Nathan.
Nathan places the key into his inventory and thanks, Mary.
He turns to Kevin and gives him a grin, "I believe the first round is on me."
Kevin slaps Nathan on the shoulder and laughs with his eyes crinkled, "Yes, I do remember you mentioning the drinks."
After a few rounds of drinks, Nathan decides to head up to his room and turn in for the night.
Turning the key to lock the door Nathan lets out a sigh and turns to head to the bed. Once he turns around, he sees Scion floating over the bed with an impish smile on her face.
"Scion, where have you been all day?" Nathan asks while yawning and removing the armor he has on and placing it in his inventory.
"It's best when we are in the different Bastions that the denizens do not witness you with me." Scion replies in a vague offhand tone.
"How come?" Nathan wonders while blinking.
"My race is known for many different things across the Planes. One of the biggest rumors of my race is we are heralds of ill tidings and disasters. My race is also associated with the Lords of Hell and that would bode ill for you until you increase your strength." Scion says while stretching and gives Nathan a smirk.
"People would target you if they knew you were associated with a sprite."
"To hell with everyone else then," Nathan says with a look of determination in his eyes.
Scion twirls and spins around the room smiling after hearing Nathan's response.
She suddenly stops and flies close to Nathan's face and stares intently into his eyes.
"Are you going to show me everything you took?"
Nathan glances at the door and double checks the door is locked. He looks back at Scion and returns her impish smile.
In a flash, Nathan is outfitted in a completely different assortment of armor and gear than he had on previously down in the Inn.
The armor and Cuirass equipped are now shadowy blacks with glinting scales running throughout the armor. Across the shoulder opposite his sheathed two-handed sword is a black cape. His greaves are blackened steel that runs up almost the entire length of his legs to his thighs. The gauntlets on his hands are deep black with fiery red veins running throughout the fingers. Adorned on his head, a full helm covers his face in the mask of a cruel visage with curved horns coming from the sides pointing forward.
Nathan spins around for Scion so she can see his full silhouette. Chuckling to himself in a smug voice muffled by the helm he asks, "How do I look?"
Scion freezes in place as her eyes dilate. Her breathing gets heavy as she looks over at Nathan in his new setup.
"You look amazing! You look like my Champion. That guard may be a silly dope, but he was right when he said Gregory is the best blacksmith in this Bastion." Scion praises Nathan as she flies around Nathan nonstop appraising him.
"Ha-ha-ha and to think, all of this only cost me 15 gold pieces. Every piece of gear I have is now of magical quality." Nathan laughs to himself pleased.
"The shopkeeper nor Kevin had any idea what I was doing. Who would have thought this game allows me to loot anything I touch. It's completely unbelievable. From taking that Aarog's blade during the fight to looting the blacksmith shop. If nothing else works out, I can easily become a merchant by walking around and stealing from every town we visit."
"My stats got a decent upgrade from all of the gear too!" Nathan exclaims to Scion.
"I won't allow you to fail and become a merchant. Becoming stronger is going to be the key to our success. Do not let anyone stop you on your path to domination!" Scion cheers on Nathan's successful theft and acquisition of gear.
Nathan unequips the gear and lets out a deep breath as he sits on the bed. Calming down from the excitement of showing off his gear he turns to Scion and becomes serious.
"I won't be able to show off this gear near Hammers Rise, eventually the shop is going to realize someone stole all of this and it'll cause us problems if I'm spotted in it. That Captain of the guard Michael is no joke. I don't want to get on his bad side if it can be avoided." Nathan says as he puts his hands behind his head and lays down on the bed.
"Tomorrow, we'll look for someone selling healing crystals and then head out into the wilds and farm some experience. I need to gain some levels and hopefully get some more skill points to unlock more powers. I want to get a healing skill and an elemental attack if possible. I've been looking over some of the choices on the skill tree. Right now, I have nothing that uses mind points and seems like wasted potential." Nathan contemplates while staring at the ceiling of his room.
Scion hums softly to herself as she floats around the room listening to Nathan ponder his thoughts.
Suddenly, an ear-piercing roar is heard causing Nathan to jump out of his bed in fright holding his head. Followed by a loud explosion.
BOOOOOOOOOM!
The room shakes like it's experiencing an earthquake and dust flies everywhere. Cries of shock and fear can be heard throughout the Inn and outside on the street.
Nathan runs to the window and throws it open to look at the cause of the explosion. What greets his vision causes his face to pale as the blood drains from his face. Cold sweat breaks out down his back.
"What the fuck is that!" Nathan says as his voice stammers and his eyes go wide.