The streets of the city of Wohr were tidy, with fractions of stone pavement deepened down due to the long years of exploitation. Those patches were filled with dry mud and dust from wagons, which certainly created plenty of splashes if some wagon passed in the rain. The lined up houses were mostly three-story tall with some outliers being taller, but never shorter to keep intact the city's expressiveness. It looked like an average European old city centre, although the lack of colourful signs to attract the attention of tourists made the exploitation of its buildings and streets by native inhabitants quite clear. The city did not try to boast its beauty, but rather expressed in the most natural way.
As we walked down the main street in the direction of the church that towered the entire city at the centre, we passed through several flocks of people. Some were glancing at Nila with curiosity, however, there were far more who did not pay any mind to the presence of strangers. At one point, I was the one giving off an annoying glance as we stumbled upon a family of short people with wide builds. The father of the family was observing a map while slowly sliding his hand across his long, charcoal-coloured beard, just like my own hair. All of them were wearing dark goggles for whatever reason, they were thick and did not let much light into their eyes, making it impossible to establish an eye-contact. Once the father of the family raised his head at me, I quickly shifted my eyes to Nila.
"This city is quite lively." I said, although barely could hear my own words as a heavy wagon passed us. Nila's ear only twitched at my words, and she turned back to me, "Wohr is an impressive city, right? And it barely changed after the last time I was here."
Her eyes flickered with nostalgia, which made me wonder, "How long ago have you been here the last time?"
Nila bobbed her head to the left and right, counting the years, then put a finger up her chin, "A bit over 25 years ago, I suppose. It has been a while."
"How old are you anyway?" I raised my brow, to which Nila sighed, "This is a very inappropriate question."
I huffed at her words, but did not try to press the issue further. Whatever! If she is still worried about people knowing her real age, even though she is a long living elf, then she certainly can't be that old. Or at least, I could not imagine elderly being at a loss for words upon hearing such a question.
We continued with the stroll in observant silence, while I was taking in the views of the city, noticing suspicious deals that were struck in the dark alleys as well as street kids stealing from others, Nila was busy searching for a place to stay. I did not really care, since I was well-used to overnighting without a bed, but if it was mandatory for her to waste money on such trivial things, I had no choice but to comply. For that reason, an idea struck me. We were no longer in the Schöltum region, meaning people here had a pocket change present at all times. I grinned, and my palms immediately itched to indulge in what I could do best. It was time to show these kids what real pickpocketing is like.
I directed my eyes forward, taking in the attire of people going by with my peripheral vision. I noticed a glamorous young man further in the crowd who was carrying a bag and was still thoughtfully glancing over the shops down the street. My pace slowed down, and I shifted to the left, a bit away from Nila which she paid no mind to. Once that man's pocket was in my reach, I sneaked it inside and groped a small sack with money and some metal object. Once I tried to pull out the sack, it suddenly slipped away from my fingers as they were too weak to lift it out of his pocket, but I somehow managed to pull out the metal object by the chain. I slipped the item into my own pocket and frowned before having a look at my hand.
"What the hell?" I whispered, which Nila overheard and turned her head to me. Her eyes widened upon seeing the distance between us, "Did something happen?"
"No… it's just…?" Upon closer observation of my hand, I noticed how pale it looked. Was it due to the sun that was so bright today? I shook my head and whispered, "It's quite hot today, isn't it?"
Nila only raised her brow and looked up at the sky before saying, "Not necessarily, it is early autumn after all. Are you feeling unwell, Dusk?"
"No, I guess, I am just tired."
"Tired you say…" Nila turned her head to the right, but then her movements halted. Once I stopped as well, she pointed at the rare wooden house in this jungle of stone walls and turned to me, "How about we have lunch, then?"
I nodded in agreement and our path has changed to have a seat at the place that looked like a tavern. Upon closer expectation, it did not only look like one, but felt as well. Glass clinking and conversations from every table created a chaotic buzz that was further escalated by the tunes of country instruments, the source of which I could not see. The air inside was stuffy, I was barely able to breath, especially due to the strong scent of sweat, that was fortunately parried by the odour of steam that was coming from the kitchen.
Nila ordered the speciality of this place, a perpetual stew that could be seen boiling in the kitchen. I heard of this concept before, but never expected that I would have an opportunity to try this novelty or rather relic of the past. She also ordered a mug of beer for herself and a glass of juice for me. I was not of drinking age yet, but I still felt somewhat offended as I did try alcohol before. It was not very enjoyable for my taste, but it did not make the matter any better. I sat down at the table outside with a pout, meanwhile Nila was oozing with excitement upon seeing the meal of stew, bread and a beer before her. We had not had such an appetising meal ever since meeting by the cliff. The last time I ate well and even better was at the Crawley mansion, the memory of which slightly halted my appetite. Despite that, I dug in, slowly pouring the stew into my mouth spoon after spoon.
Nila ate more energetically than me, not because the meal was not to my liking, but rather because my body had difficulty accepting it. It was a strange sensation, as if something in my throat was pushing the food back, I had to swallow forcefully in order to not accidentally spit the food back on the plate.
My companion noticed my struggle, her enthusiasm was interchanged by worry as she asked, "Are you sure you are feeling well?"
While eating, I supported my head with a free hand, trying to hide my face from her sight using it. I only shook my head, to which she nonchalantly shrugged and took a sip out of her beer mug.
"Oh, it's so cool and fizzy! Too bad you can't drink this stuff yet."
"I already drank before, so you know." I mumbled and took a sip out of my sweet apple juice. Nila hummed and replied, "I am not surprised, a rebel like yourself would certainly try it out at least once. Schöltum is stricter in this regard, making the young more susceptible to temptation. I doubt anyone here would bat an eye if you actually ordered a pint for yourself."
"I am fine, I do not like alcohol anyway."
Nila hummed once again, her eyes were observing me in surprise while her lips were caressed by fizzy liquid. She nearly finished with her lunch, thus she savoured the taste of beer while waiting for my slow spoon to finish my share. Even though I ate less than half, I somehow felt full, therefore I was ready to leave sooner. She noticed my lack of appetite and sped up in her indulgence, but before she could empty her mug, two people came over to our table.
We simultaneously raised our heads at them, and I tensed up upon seeing their faces. They were two men, both taller than Nila and me. The first had blonde hair, a bristled face, but kind grey eyes that met mine as he nodded. His black clothes, reminiscent of the village priest's attire, had white elements in the wide sleeves and collar. A necklace with crescent and sun symbols hung around his neck, and he held a book in his left hand.
The other man, though shorter, looked more impressive. His red hair leaned toward brown, and his face bore no freckles, only a confident smile and stoic green eyes that watched us. His long green cloak hid most of his body, revealing only his hands on his hips and a glimpse of his orange tunic, which looked more expensive than my own attire. His dark green pants were tighter than mine, and his tall black boots had zips on the inner sides. Scattered leather armour pieces adorned his body, offering minimal coverage. A uniquely curved polearm was strapped to his back, adding to his imposing presence.
The shorter man spoke first after bowing to both of us, "It is a pleasure to meet you two! I believe I do not need an introduction, but allow me to do it anyway." He straightened up and hit his chest with a fist, as if saluting us, "My name is Faust! A man who will become the greatest hero of humanity. We came here to recruit a mage, but we won't complain if your companion would like to join us as well. The bigger the company, the more fun would be adventures, after all!"
I raised my brow and turned to Nila to whisper, "Do you know him?" She shook her head and nonchalantly replied, "Never heard of him."