I couldn’t believe my eyes. We had stopped the carriage at the end of the mountain trail so I could see this. But it couldn’t be real, could it? This is a city? It stretched so far I could scarcely imagine how big it actually was, even while staring. I reached my hand out, some part of me thinking that it had to be a miniature nearby. That made more sense than what my eyes told me.

  Yet I couldn’t touch anything. The sun was setting to our left, but there was just enough light to shine on everything. “How many people live here?” I asked.

  “One million. Welcome to the southern gate to central Anlage. Home of Duke Traube. Though, fortunately for us, we shall not be visiting him this time,” Lady Evelyn said.

  A million. She taught me what that meant. It was a number that I could only imagine on a scale of every leaf in a field. To imagine how big a city is to hold that many people. I wondered if it was so big that even though I could see it now, it was so far away it would take a day longer to reach.

  The light vanishing as twilight set in caused us to resume our trip.

  “So you said, Duke Traube lives here, but that is also the name of the town? Is that not a strange thing?”

  Lady Evelyn giggled. “Alyssa, do you know the man who founded your hometown?”

  “Of course, my Lady. The knight Trent, after he retired and became the area's first lord,” she responded.

  I placed my hand on my chin. Oh, King Anlage of the kingdom of Anlage. The knight Trent of Alyssa’s hometown of Trent. So, telling me that the founder of Hatula was also likely named Hatula. Interesting. I wonder what he was like.

  “Good,” Lady Evelyn responded. “Since we are running late. We will use the exterior guild inn for tonight.”

  It only took a few hours to arrive, a lot faster than I expected from the view on the mountain road. Exiting the carriage left me once again stunned. Before us was a wall that stretched forty feet into the sky and went on as far as I could see in both directions.

  “Lady Julia, let us keep moving,” Lady Evelyn said as she drew my attention to a nearby building. It was wider than tall. A lot of noise was coming from it as well. Inside, there was a noxious smell, and the air was coated with what felt like a foul fog. Various men took a glance at us, but they quickly resumed whatever they were doing.

  This time our formation was slightly different. Lady Evelyn took the lead while William and Alyssa kept quite close to me on each side of me.

  “Any of you want wolf fur? It is the only material worth keeping,” Lady Evelyn asked.

  “I’d like one pelt,” Alyssa said.

  I wasn’t interested. Honestly, I would rather put the graphic scene behind me and not keep a memento of it.

  Lady Evelyn resumed her talk with the man and eventually tossed a key to William. “Help the coachman unload and then get some sleep.”

  He bowed and left, and then we made it up to our room. It wasn’t as elegant as I was expecting. Stechen actually had a nicer room.

  Alyssa stretched as she began taking her armor off. “Darn wolves. I was really looking forward to a bath too!”

  I looked at Lady Evelyn. I figured that was enough for me to express my curiosity. I too, wanted a bath after all.

  “The Traube gate closed about thirty minutes before we arrived. This inn is for adventurers who hunt at night or otherwise don’t make it before the gate closes. It's rough, but better than nothing. Tomorrow we can all get a proper bath.”

  I smiled at the thought—darn wolves.

  “My Lady, since it is Traube, are we going to be stopping by the western district?” Alyssa asked.

  Lady Evelyn scrunched her brow. “Hide your desires better when you ask such questions. But on that note, hmm. Lady Julia, do you enjoy wine?”

  “Wine?” I asked, tilting my head.

  She rubbed her brow. “Yes, Alyssa. We will be stopping by the western district. But so help me if you overdo it. I will hang you by your ankles until you sober up.”

  “Not to worry, my Lady! According to my father, I would make a sailor blush. Not that I know exactly what that means.”

  Lady Evelyn laughed. “So, your father wasn’t from Anlage then?”

  I looked back and forth, but I wasn’t really following any of this conversation. Sailor? Wine? Sober? How did this explain the nature of her father? For once, I wished I could read more and understand this conversation.

  “He was, my Lady. He was part of a relief effort sent to Seetor,” Alyssa said.

  “Oh, he was sent young, or your father is older than I expected,” Lady Evelyn said as she stretched. “If you're hungry, I can make rations; otherwise, we should wait until tomorrow to eat. You don’t want exterior guild food. Trust me.”

  I was tired of rations and wasn’t that hungry. “I’ll wait until tomorrow. But what is wine? Or a sailor?”

  Lady Evelyn began undoing the straps to my riding clothes. “Wine is a drink, and sailors are a group of people well known for liking it. I’ll explain more another time. But like tea, wine is a drink you will be expected to have from time to time, but not to worry. Most people enjoy it way more. Hence Alyssa’s excitement.”

  “Who wouldn’t be?” Alyssa said, clasping her hands. “Traube is said to have the best wine in all of Anlage!”

  I felt a sense of relief as my riding clothes came off. I almost expected her to wash my back, but then realized she hadn’t called for water. I suppose another thing done intentionally. If she didn’t want to eat here, I had a feeling she didn’t want the water either. I felt a bit unclean without it, though.

  “As long as it is better than tea,” I said, holding back the desire not to gag. “How long are we staying in Traube?”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  She began brushing my hair. “Just tomorrow night, we leave the following morning. I’d rather not risk you doing anything in a territory like this. But we can finally send your letters at last. I’m sure that will put your mind at ease. We can all get a proper bath and relax at a good inn before moving on.”

  “And wine!” Alyssa chirped.

  “Yes, and wine,” she said, smiling.

  We all decided to tuck in early and get some rest. Better that than focus on the smell, my own grossness, and my hunger.

  The next morning, we put on our riding clothes. That told me that we’d probably be taking the carriage everywhere. I guess it would be a requirement, given the city's size. I was just happy to put the smelly inn behind me. We had to pass through the gate first, where the guards looked at us and asked why we were there. Lady Evelyn did all the talking.

  Our first stop was the real adventuring guild, the one inside the gate. The difference was starker than day and night. No foul odor or fog. It was a lot bigger as well. The people inside were much different as well. Lots of groups gathered around. Four seemed to be the standard cluster, and each cluster tended to have one person dressed like a knight and another holding a big stick.

  A few clusters were just people with sticks, and others were just knights. But they were the minority. They were all talking to each other or reading parchment up on a wall. Interesting.

  “It almost feels bigger than the one in the capital,” William said.

  “It is,” Lady Evelyn added. “The capital may be much larger, but they have the military handle a lot of jobs that would be issued to adventurers otherwise. Traube is unique: not only is it the southern gate to the Anlage cities, putting it on the border with the monsterlands, but it also has the best wine. You’re looking at the adventuring capital in Anlage.”

  “Wow!” Alyssa said. “I heard it was big, but I didn’t think it was this big.”

  We got our rooms, but apparently, we needed to register our guild cards. The knights and Lady Evelyn had already had those. So, the coachman and I had to fill out our forms. After all my constant studying, I think I managed to read everything correctly, but I guess she would have to tell me.

  She added some marks before smiling. “Very good. I’m proud.”

  Yes! Did it! I took both applications up to the counter with a bit of pride in my heart. The receptionist nodded and told me the payment would be three silver coins for mine, and three bronze coins for the coachman’s. So unfair! That is three letters! At least I had the bronze coins from my time in Stechen. The receptionist took both forms and walked into the back room.

  “How come mine was so expensive?” I asked.

  “You are getting an adventurer's license. It is much more valuable,” Lady Evelyn asked.

  “But, wait. I’m no adventurer!” I said.

  “An adventurer card is much more useful than for just fighting. It tracks how much the guild owes you. It can also be used to communicate where you are; that way, letters can be sent to you,” Alyssa added.

  “The coachman only needs a temporary one so he can be added to our food allowance,” Lady Evelyn added. “Large guilds have what we call a buffet. Each room receives a food allowance rather than serving meals at set times. Your adventurer license will track that.”

  The lady came back with a long silver needle. Why was a card involving a needle? That looked like a stabbing weapon! Not a pen!

  “Ready when you are,” she said. “Present your right arm. It hurts a bit.”

  Alyssa held out her hand. “Squeezing helps.”

  Joy. I presented her my left hand and squeezed Alyssa’s hand with my right. She placed the needle, and a stinging sensation shot into my arm. Uhm. That wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting. I didn’t need to squeeze at all. Like, compared to a viper bite, this barely tickled. I have had cramps worse than this.

  “Funny enough, it is based on goblin magic,” Lady Evelyn added.

  When the receptionist was done with me, she handed the coachman a physical card. Once again, I felt like I was robbed of the better thing. Looking at my wrist, I didn’t see any difference, but I could feel the warmth still.

  “Goblin magic?” I asked. What the heck was a goblin?

  “Just another race, some races have unique spells that humans can’t normally cast. That needle is something we got from a trade with goblins. It is pretty simple to use, just flow a lot of mana into it,” Lady Evelyn said. Her wrist glowed for a moment, and then a metal card just appeared.

  She even let me read it. Evelyn Lachs. Born in Fluss. Age sixty-three. Birthday, Void thirty-three. Hair, white. Adventurer rank, Triple S. Also known as the Platinum Lady. Interesting. Oh wait, her birthday was in like two months!

  “Here is mine!” Alyssa said.

  Alyssa of Trent. Age nineteen. Birthday Wind five. Hair brown. Knight rank seven. Huh, she had much less information on it. Oh, her birthday was a few months ago; one month before mine.

  “Knight rank? Not adventurer rank?” I asked.

  Alyssa took her card back. “I haven’t done any adventuring work. I worked hard for that seven, by the way.”

  “Indeed. Rank seven before twenty is not common even for a city knight. It is quite the achievement for a village girl.”

  “What about William?” I asked.

  “I’d rather not,” he said. “Unless it is an order?”

  Oh, oops. I could tell I messed up. I guess it is probably rude to ask to see a card like this. I mean it had some pretty detailed information about a person.

  “Try and summon yours, I want to make sure it is right, also don’t let anyone see it unless I give you permission,” Lady Evelyn added.

  Okay, magic into my wrist. With my training, this was simple enough. A little at first, but it didn’t trigger it. Hmm, I tried a bit faster, and that didn’t work either. I could feel it reacting. It kind of felt like peeling a piece of bark off a tree, just had to get your fingers just right, and got it! The card appeared.

  Julia… what? I had a word after it, but it wasn’t Hatula. What letters were those again? Bleese? Well, I can ask about that later. Born in the care of the Wind. What did that mean? Age sixteen. Water thirteen. Hair, brown. Adventure rank F.

  “F is bad, isn’t it?” I asked.

  Lady Evelyn snatched the card. “What part of ‘don’t show it’ told you to say things written on it out loud!” She handed it to the guild receptionist, who nodded before handing it back to me.

  Alyssa clapped her hands, and her card vanished. “Push more mana into it, and it will vanish.”

  It took me three claps, but I got it. Neat. As hungry as I was. I also really wanted to know what that “born in the care of the wind” was about. Oh, and the bleese thing. But one thing did pop out to me that I thought I could ask.

  “Oh, why did Lady Evelyn’s say Evelyn Fluss, and Alyssa’s say Alyssa of Trent?” I asked.

  Lady Evelyn stopped. Looking at her, I had never seen her look like this. She took a breath. “Lachs. I was born in Fluss. Fluss is the name of the Duke's family. It is a big city like Traube. Please be careful with that.”

  Alyssa clasped her hands as a distraction. “People born in villages just use their village name as their last name. People in cities all have last names.”

  “Not to be rude, but can we at least get food on our plates before we go into the history of names?” William asked.

  Lady Evelyn’s normal smile returned. “Yes, he is quite right. We skipped dinner last night. Let us proceed.”

  We walked to the west side of the guild, and the smells immediately hit and confused me—so many different aromas. Eggs, bacon, and was that maple and cinnamon? Wait, ham as well? Oh no, tea! I don’t want tea today! This was confusing, though. We hadn’t even made it to the main area. How could I smell so much already?

  The door opened, and I understood. It was a literal garden of food. Fifty tables littered the area, and steam, as well as the aromas, were coming from the west wall. Plate after plate of food sat there. Kind of like how we prepared for the party after a wedding in Hatula, but on a much bigger scale.

  Oh… wedding. Crap. Now I was at risk of making myself sad. That is right, I thought, rubbing my hand and my ring. Learning to read and write, and all the travel, had pushed that to the back of my mind. I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to ruin what looked like an excellent breakfast. With a smile, I looked around, curious as to what I was gonna eat.