"Can you please tell us what you mean by two Green LP?" The young woman asked?
A grin appeared on the face of the two young men. They looked at the adventurers proudly. "Coins are not accepted in Long-Fall Pass. We have our currency. But for now, you need to know 100 copper coins equals 1 Green LP." One of the young men answered.
The three adventurers rolled their eyes. They looked at each other, not believing what they just heard. 'So two hundred copper coins just to enter a run-down city.' They thought in their mind. They wanted to beat some senses into the head of these two young men, but they stopped themselves. They swallow the lumps in their throat.
They paid 600 copper for the entry reluctantly. Likewise, they prepared to enter the city to know what was different in the city to make them demand such exorbitant money for an entry fee. However, they were stopped by one of the young men.
"When you entered the city, directly go to the admin office and show them your entry ticket. Else…" The young man looked at the adventurers for a moment before averting his gaze.
"Why?" The captain asked.
However, the two young men didn't bother to reply to them. Seeing this, the captain snorted and rode his horse toward the city gate.
"Captain, how are we going to enter the City?" The burly man asked.
"I don't know, but I'm sure those two men have a way to communicate with those in the city."
When the adventurers arrived before the death tunnel. They suck in a cold breath. Why would they create such a dangerous thing in front of the city? The captain shouted in his mind. Suddenly, the bridge lowered gently and unfolded itself.
The three adventurers looked at each other and took a deep breath. They tapped their horses and rode on the bridge. They held their breath and dared not to look downward. When they finally crossed the bridge, they exhaled, releasing their pent off nervousness. After a couple of seconds, they recovered from their nervousness and journeyed into the city.
"There is nothing spectacular about the city." The burly man complained.
"But it is spotless." The young woman added, her eyes darted from one building to another.
Inside the building, Al Casendra concentrated his gaze on the ancient book in front of him. He sometimes furrowed, and other times pursued his lips. Suddenly, a light tap came from the door. Without raising his head. He tapped the table twice.
Lily entered the room without making a noise. "Your highness. We've got our first visitor."
Al Casendra raised his head and pursed his lips for a moment. 'Now, the second stage of my work should begin.' He picked his ink brush and wrote something on parchment and gave it to her. Lily received the parchment and read the content and nodded.
"I will see to it." She replied and left the room.
Al Casendra didn't return to his study. He looked at the horizon, lost in thought. 'I need to do a lot of things. These books are not sufficient for my study.' He creased his brow. 'I need to get out of this city, and I can't have Sir John follow me. He needs to defend the city.'
A sigh escaped from his mouth. 'I'm still young, I need to take things slow. Let's wait till the city get more inflow of people. Then, I can decide what next to do.' He stood from his seat and walked toward the rows of shelves. He stopped in front of the last shelves and push a hidden lever.
Creak!
The shelves shifted and moved sideways, creating an entrance. Without further ado, he stepped into the room. A series of benches were arranged neatly inside the room with a set of beakers and glass tubes. This was the lab.
'I hope they find that flower.'
He moved towards a particular bench and stopped in front of a beaker with green liquid inside. He picked the beaker and shook it slightly. He picked a testing tool and deep it into the liquid. He removed the testing rod and looked at it for a moment.
'The concentration isn't enough.' He sighed and shook his head.
..
He approached another table and checked the chemical inside beakers, but only to be dejected. He pursed his lips and rubbed his temple. Emma inhaled deeply and squinted his brow. 'The only hope is the root of that flower.'
He shook his head for the umpteenth time and exhaled. 'I hope nothing happens before we're strong enough' He stepped out of the hidden lab with a light step.
At the back of a courtyard, a group of people gathered and whispered. They tensed up, looking at the entrance now and then. The group consist of mostly young people, and only a handful of them was a middle-aged man.
"Do you know why we are here?"
"I don't know, but it is about our role as the guard."
"But we should be in the security building, why here?"
Suddenly, a light footstep echoed from the entrance. At once, the courtyard became quiet. Everyone held their breath and their gaze fixed on the entrance. The setting sun illuminated the courtyard blending with the numerous flowers and dancing butterflies, giving a panorama view.
A young man in blue entered the courtyard without any smile on his face. His sharp gaze swept the group once, and he didn't look at them. He stopped in front of the group by a couple of feet, climbing the small podium. On the left side of the podium was a rectangular wooden board with three legs.
Without further ado, Al Casendra approached the wooden board and wrote something on the board. "If you are not prepared for the training. Leave now."
The group read the word the prince and took a deep breath. They looked at each other faces, but none of them left the field. Al Casendra saw this and nodded lightly.
"Welcome to the military training. I hope you're prepared." He wrote.