After walking for another half an hour, he made it to the walls of the central district. Most cities employed the use of 60-meter walls to protect their most important areas. They were anointed with all sorts of blessings and could resist even low-tier dragonfire. It was a precautionary measure to prevent the city from being wiped out by one of the many calamities faced by the mortals of this realm.
Antras's central walls were made from dwarven stone —a relatively cheap bronze-colored rock— and only had a few basic blessings. The Hall was trying to attract more blessers from the larger cities, but that was a difficult task since blessers were some of the most coveted of the scions.
"Lord Black," a guard standing at the gate greeted. She held out her palm and bowed her head.
Vondel nodded, before looking up at the massive gate behind her. It was made of obsidian bark; he still remembered the treant he had slayed for the material. So many people had died that day, and a lot of their names had been marked on the door as a result. It was Idzel's idea, he wanted the residents of Antras to remember the pioneers who died to make this city possible.
Vondell took a moment to read some of the names. They had been nothing but mercenaries for hire, exactly like him, but his people had taught him to honor warriors who fell in battle. And as dumb as he thought the practice was, he had a duty to carry out their teachings.
"I enter in peace," Vondell said finally, before touching the guard's outstretched palm with his index.
The guard touched her forehead after this then turned around to the obsidian gate behind her.
"Lord Black!" she shouted up. An instant later the gates began shimmering purple. They opened with a loud clang, revealing the inner districts.
"Fresh bread for two coins! Buy two and get a bag of salt for free! Get them before they finish!"
The merchant district was the first beyond the walls. Even so early in the morning, it was filled with residents trying to get a deal. As Vondell walked past the stalls, the merchants grew silent, no longer shouting their deals of the day.
"Lord Black," the residents whispered, stretching out their palms, as they made space for him on the yellow path.
Vondell kept his attention forward, looking towards the small hill at centre of the city that rose above everything else. The Halls's headquarters had been built at the very top; a massive manor made of white marble. It caught the sun's rays, and glimmered brightly, like a pearl being offered to the heavens.
Till this day, he believed that the building was an utter waste of coin.
*
When Vondell finally arrived at The Hall, he found two scions standing guard. Both of them wore The Hall's branded iron armor; and unlike the guard at the obsidian gate, they did not raise their palms out to greet him.
"Your weapon, you can leave it with us. We'll keep it safe until you finish your business here," one of them said. It was a burly man, standing at least 1.9 meters tall, a few heads shorter than Vondell.
Vondell inspected him for a moment. He was new. Vondell knew every scion in the city, and he had never once seen this guard before.
"When did he arrive in Antras?" Vondell asked, looking at the other guard. This one was a slender man, a little shorter than the first. He was the same guard that had been stationed here yesterday.
"Madam Helen summoned me from Leed City personally. And it got no business with you anyway," the burly man replied. "No weapons allowed, that's the new protocol," he added.
Vondell looked down at Surth, hanging on his hip, before looking back up at the guard.
"Call Helen," he said.
The burly guard scowled at this. "She ain't giving anyone special permission friend. You either leave your sword here or go look for work somewhere else."
Just then, two people walked out of the gate. One wore silver armor, the other wore leather. Both had the insignia of the deer on their chest pieces. They were part of the Hunter's guild, one of three major ones in Antras.
The one wearing leather, a woman ranger, looked up at Vondell, before turning to the burly man.
"You best let Lord Black through before Helen has your head, new guy," she said, before looking at the slender guard. "And why aren't you telling him anything? Are you trying to get him fired on his first day?" she asked.
The silver armored knight was covering his mouth as he tried to hold in his laughter.
"Madam Helen didn't say nothing about no 'Lord Black'," the burly guard replied. However his tone was hesitant now, and he kept side-eyeing his partner.
The ranger woman shrugged, before turning to Vondell. "I tried," she said, before stepping closer to him. She was a redhead, and based on the feel of her ichor, probably a follower of Artemis. "As repayment, you should join my party sometime. We adventure south of the Ruined forest," she said.
"It's no ruin raid, but it's just as fun," she added, before reaching out to something invisible right beside her. "And we have spacial storage, so no guards biting our asses." Just then, a bow appeared in her hands out of thin air.
~So someone found an heirloom in the ruins,~ Vondell thought to himself.
She tapped the side of his armor as she walked past him, before pausing. "Claus," she called out behind her.
The silver-armored knight looked up at Vondell then bowed awkwardly, before running after his partner.
"Look, I ain't know you were someone important. I take my job seriously, as I should. Things will get messy with so many scions carrying weapons around the building," the burly man began.
Vondell was slightly confused by that. Antras had eighty-three scions in total, which was barely enough to keep the wierkin in the ruined forest from reclaiming the city. Someone from Leed City referring to this number as 'So Many' was strange.
"We can go clear this up with Madam Helen. If you're as important as they made you out to be, she shouldn't be too angry about us bothering her," he added, before whispering something to the slender guard.
The slender guard scowled, before waving at him dismissively.
He gestured for Vondell to follow him, before passing through the gates.
"Forgive me, he's just too hard to reason with," the slender guard whispered as Vondell passed by him.
Vondell paused for a moment, to look at the guard. It was very slight, and perhaps it was just all in his head, but something felt off.
"Lord Black?" the slender guard asked, a confused expression on his face.
"Mhmm," Vondell whispered after a moment, before following the burly guard through the front gates.