A caravan was going down a hill. In front of it, you could see a small city. Windmills seemed to be a frequent sight, but what caught the most attention was the amount of smoke coming from the house's chimney.
Tens upon tens of chimneys were releasing black smoke into the air almost darkening the sky.
Leroy had stood up and was now peeking through the back of the caravan, watching the scene on the horizon.
'This is SteelBurn, huh? I'll be living here for a while, ' he thought as he continued to watch the changing landscape. They were now close to the city. Only a 20-minute ride awaited them.
He had been traveling with the others for almost two days now. The road was rocky and full of bumps, so the caravan had gone at a slow pace, considering its old age. Leroy even thought it would break down before they arrived.
A while later, they finally arrived at SteelBurn. As they got outside the caravan, Leroy waved at the Old Man.
For the last two days, he had actually been fed by him as he didn't know how long the journey would take and didn't really have any food on him.
Walking forward, he followed the directions the old mercenary had given him.
Simply follow the main road, and you will end up at the mercenary street.
It was called the Mercenary Street because of its reputation of hosting them as they took a break from their missions. It was a street filled with Inns and Taverns everywhere you looked.
It was a strange sight for Leroy, who had grown up at the only Tavern inside the Slums. He had felt like Taverns were special and rare, but now he found out that he was just a naive kid who knew nothing about the world.
His talks with the Old mercenary had proved beyond helpful. The man had instructed him on where to get his first set of weapons and armor for a low price, what Inn he should go to, and even which mercenary corps were the best ones for newbies like him to join.
Finally, Leroy arrived at the mercenary street. All around him, he could hear boisterous laughter. Inns like the Steel Inn, the Burning House, and many more were all around him, as well as the Steely Drink, the Burning Steel, and a lot more Taverns.
Deciding to follow the old man's instructions, he first headed to find his bedding for the night. Heading to a corner of the mercenary street, he arrived at a more calm area without as much laughter. In front of him stood a building called the Knightly Iron Inn.
'They really seem to have an obsession with Iron and Burning...' Leroy thought as he headed inside the Inn.
*Ding*
Opening the door, a bell-like sound was heard as the receptionist turned towards him.
It was a man of short stature with brown hair and a large beard dressed in a barely fitting scuffed suit.
"Welcome, dear customer," he said, seeming to make a starstruck, happy expression with a big smile on his face.
"Ew," said Leroy, his face looking disgusted.
"What, you don't like my greeting, huh? I paid someone to design it for me, ten copper, I tell you ten," the man replied as he finally lost his starstruck expression.
"You've gotten scammed, old man. Why would I want to watch you with such an expression?" Leroy replied.
"Well whatever, names Whitney. What do ya want?" the man now known as Whitney said.
"I'm looking for a place to sleep. I'll be staying for a while," replied Leroy as he approached the receptionist's counter.
"My name's Leroy."
"Leroy, eh, well, I've got some rooms free, but they're only seven coppers a night," Whitney said.
"Yeah, right. Old man Jack said that you'd give them for five," Leroy countered, putting his hand on the counter.
"Jack, that old bandit," Whitney screamed as he started walking back and forth while muttering all kinds of unholy curses.
"So what is it going to be, Whitney? Or do I need to find myself a new place?" Leroy asked, interrupting his charade.
Whitney stopped for a moment as he seemed to think about it.
"Ah, fine, god damned mercenary, if I see that bastard again, I'm gonna beat him up real good, ya got me," he said as he went to grab something behind him inside another room.
After a bit, he came back with a large book in his hands.
"How many nights ya staying, kid?"
"I don't know, but you can add five nights right now. I'll probably want to continue it longer if I decide to stay in the city."
"Aight, kid, that's gonna be 25 coppas," Whitney said as he extended his palm.
After giving the man his money, Leroy was told his room number and shooed away. Something about not having time to deal with that bastard's kids.
'Since when did I become Jack's kid?' thought Leroy as he approached the second floor of the building.
Both sides of the hall were filled with rooms, heading down the hallway until he found his.
'Room number 16, ' Leroy thought as he took the key and opened the door.
Going inside, he found the room clean and quite plain, with only a bed, a desk in front of it, and a clothes hanger on the right side.
'It's not like I need anything more either way,' Leroy thought as he remembered his past room. Living with three more people in the same room meant no privacy, and Leroy used to hate it, but at this moment, he was missing that room so much more than he thought he would.
'I couldn't even go and grab some of their things as it's not even considered mine as every building in the slums was mostly illegal.'
Huffing, Leroy decided to jump into the bed.
'Finally, a bed. After days of sleeping inside that caravan, I feel like my neck is about to be broken,' Leroy thought as he turned left and right until suddenly, a random thought popped up in his mind.
He had found the reason why he couldn't sleep.
Slowly lifting his arm, he sniffed it.
*Sniff*
"Aghhh" and almost vomited.
'I'll see if the inn has a shower tomorrow.'
And after a while, he turned off like a light. It was the first time in days since he had the luxury of sleeping on a bed.