After Hori finished killing all the bandits with relative ease, he turned towards the caravan. His smile widening when he saw the reverent expression on the face of the 'freeloaders' stationed for battle.
He would've started bragging about how great he was if he didn't notice three figures walking away from the carriage.
Without so much as a moment of thought, he rushed towards the back of the caravan and nabbed the burly figure and two small, fragile middle aged man going away with a few essentials.
At that moment, it became clear to Hori that he was being played. He didn't know the specifics of it, he didn't have to. All he knew was that the burly man took advantage of him.
"Oi!" Hori called out to the three figures. "Where are you going?!"
The burly figure looked to his back and saw Hori frowning while clutching his sword.
"That's not important right now". The burly figure said while marching over to Hori. "What is more important is the fact that you're supposed to be fighting off the bandits!" The burly man grabbed the collars of Horus clothes. "What the fuck are you doing here?!"
Hori released his collar from the grip of the burly figure. "I killed the bandits". He said.
It was only at that moment that the burly figure noticed the blood that was splattered all over the surface of the blade of Hori's sword.
"I suppose you'll be wanting your payment now". The burly figure said.
Hori nodded. He heard the burly figure mutter something under his breath as he put his hand into his pockets and removed five green coins. He handed the coins to Hori and turns around.
The burly figure turned to face the two figures further in the distance and signaled them to come back to the caravan.
The rest of the trip to the falling moon city was relatively peaceful for Hori. There were no bandits, the burly figure didn't disturb him, it was nice.
The other 'freeloaders' that were supposed to be in charge of security didn't have it easy though. The burly figure used them as his personal slaves. Every time they revolted, he called Hori to 'talk' to them.
After the saga with the bandits, they were all scared of Hori hence, they didn't dare to disobey after learning that he was involved.
Of course, he collected two more Jens as payment for his work.
After a few days, they got to their destination.
A few kilometers from the Falling Moon City, while they were still far enough that they could oversee a large chunk of it, everyone, except Hori having already known the reason (him being the author and all), realized why the city had its name.
The hill that one the horses had to climb before they could get so it was quite circular. The hill fell into a valley which was where the city was located.
On the city gates, the logo of the city was built into it. It looked like a picture of the earth with the sun shining upon it. A piece of string was attached to the sun which took hold of a moon that had fallen.
Hori chuckled once he saw everything. Even though he had qualms about being trapped inside his own book, it felt nice to see his writings come into life.
"Alright you freeloaders". The burly man said once they had reached a certain point in the city.
After hearing that remark, Hori coughed slightly, making it loud enough for the burly figure and the entire room to hear.
"And our dutiful enforcer, of course". The burly figure laughed awkwardly. "This is where you get off. I wish I could say I wish your endeavors well".
Hori and everyone that had gotten a free ride from the caravan got down and were greeted by the busy scene of the city square.
There were numerous figures hurrying in and hurrying out, each of them moving towards individual destinations.
With a sigh, Hori walked out of the city square and began his search for a place to stay. He looked at the sun that was already beginning its journey to the other side of the world. It was already too late for him to go to forests and start looking for some hidden treasure.
He walked over to a nearby inn. The inn wasn't particularly grand. In fact, when compared to his bedroom, it looked a bit shabby. The paint that was supposed to beautify the wall had already started peeling off in huge chunks making it more of an eyesore than a beautification.
The wooden doors had several cavities voted into them by termites. The under of the doors had several microorganisms growing on it.
There were signs of creepers like rats and cockroaches. Occasionally a few mosquitoes sang their unpleasant melodies.
The toilet… well the toilet was actually standard. There was a clean looking water closet, although the flusher wasn't working. There was a mirror above the basin. The basin itself seemed as if it was about to fall off.
No normal person would've wanted to stay in a room in such conditions. Then again Hori could hardly be considered normal. And even if the condition of the room wasn't good, it was something that all the other grand rooms weren't… it was cheap.
Money must be made, not spent wantonly.