Chapter 144

Ajax spent the last few days in an even split. Half the time he was pondering on all the different uses that magic might have. The other half of the time he spent cramming as much as he could about the noble territories, he felt he had a decent grasp on who they were and where they were but matching a name to a sigil was still a challenge.

As the caravan approached Ajax was awed by the sheer size of the city. With Lordin having turned them away he hasn’t gotten to see any other large city to put the capital into perspective. While the sheer size of the place was something to see, that was only when compared to everything else on this planet.

Having gotten to experience cities like New York and Washington DC Ajax had seen much higher concentrations of humans. No, what drew his attention as he watched the city from above on a hill was the very clear progression the city took as it grew.

In the center stood the imperial palace. Unlike a lot of the games he had played back on earth the palace was not a fortress, he felt a little disappointed by the fact but it was still surrounded by a wall. From there three more walls formed rings that separated the city. Each ring had at one point been the outer wall of the city but as the city’s population grew they found themselves in need of more space.

As with all cities the caravan found itself waiting in a line at the gates to enter. From the looks on the faces of the merchants Ajax could tell that something felt wrong for them. He didn’t manage to figure out that it was the lack of pressure, for the first time in a long time for some of them they didn’t have to be ready to haggle the tax or bribe down as much as possible before entering the city. After all, they had nothing with them to sell.

“Next” called the guard as another group of carts moved its way inside the city. With their caravan approaching the soldier seemed to take only one look at their group before a frown darkened his face. “Hold, where are you coming from?”

“We are coming from Lessis.” the caravan leader responded.

“Lessis … Lessis…” the guard mumbled as he ran through the map in his head trying to figure out where it was that this caravan passed through.

“Hold to the side” he said with authority as he finally placed the location of the city. “We have a healer on standby, you can only enter the city after he confirms that none of you are infected with the plague.

The loud proclamation grated on the hearts of all the merchants. Not only were they the merchants who showed up to the capital without any goods to sell, everyone in ear shot would now spread rumors of how they had plague.

“Couldn’t he be a bit more discreet?” one of the merchants bit back a curse.

The healer quickly appeared and cleared them all for entry. Some of the merchants however were already demanding that the man sign a piece of paper to assure that they had been checked for the plague and found healthy.

With the journey coming to an end Ajax and the Collectors finally said their fare wells. It’s true that they will be operating in the same city and will most likely meet quite often but none of them were under the illusion that they would be as they are now. All of them knew Ajax was no longer their equal but their superior and that he will quickly move up in the guild here as well.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“It was great having you with us kid, you definitely pushed us a lot further.” Jones said as he shook Ajax’s hand. “But I think all of us are going to be happy to slow down a little and take advantage of the dungeons' lower level jump to progress. We all wish you good luck.”

“Good luck to you guys as well.” Ajax said as the Collectors turned away and started heading towards the Adventurer’s Guild. Even as they walked away Ajax could hear Bobby going on about how they should hurry up to see what the noble families had gotten them for accepting Ajax. It was common to have such rewards or gifts left with Adventurer’s Guild to be collected upon completing the mission.

Ajax and Hatchet on the other hand started heading in a very different direction. Both of them were headed towards the Healing Union. Unlike the Adventurer’s Guild whose headquarters were on the outskirts of the merchant ring due to the location being close to halfway between the two dungeons, the Healing Union was deep in the noble section of the city.

Surprisingly enough none of the guards guarding the inner walls gave either of them more than a second look before allowing them entry. From the slump to the middle class and from the middle class to the merchants both times the guards took one look at them and allowed them entry without much fanfare, clearly they looked like they belonged there.

“Halt” a shrill voice that Ajax had recognised from his time on Earth as corresponding to a middle manager drunk on his small amount of power. “On whose authority do you enter the noble section?” the captain on duty for the entrance to the noble section asked as Ajax and Hatchet approached.

“We are heading to the Healing Union.” Ajax said as he motioned subtly towards Hatchet's missing hand.

“That wound looks healed, it’s not a life-threatening injury. Not to mention that the Healing Union has small branches in the lower districts as well.” he adamantly refused them entry.

“I am going to meet an old friend.” Hatchet said as he used his only arm to bring out a letter from one of his pockets as he handed it to the man in charge.

The man’s smirk didn’t seem to change at all for a moment as he started reading the letter, at least it didn’t until he got to the end. Having finished the letter his smirk was gone and his complexion paled. “Sorry for the delay.” was all he managed to get out as he waved them through.

The opulent wealth was truly on display as they made their way through the noble district. Unlike all the other districts there were no shops here. All the buildings were residential and built to show off as much of their owners wealth as possible. Outer walls were decorated with all sorts of precious gems and metals, so much so that Ajax briefly considered passing by here in the dead of night and trying to collect a few decorations.

As they moved through closer to their destination Ajax had a hard time finding the building they were looking for. He knew that all of the Healing unions used one of a few layouts based on how big they were, this was done to ensure efficiency by having all locations be similar for their traveling members.

“Here we are,” Hatchet breathed a deep sigh. He hadn’t been back here in more than forty years. “It’s certainly a little different than I remember.”

Both of them stood shocked in front of a building that was right at home in the noble district. Despite none of the walls being decorated with precious gems and metals all of the building materials were of high quality. Not only that but unlike the rest of the branches of the union, their headquarters actually spend a substantial sum on appearance and comfort.

“I thought all the branches of the healing union were minimalists?” Ajax asked, a bit taken aback by the difference in what he expected to see and what he was seeing.

“Their headquarters was always a bit of an outlier.” Hatchet responded quietly. “Though it wasn’t to this extent it had been a lavish place even last time I saw it. Apparently they make a lot more money by spending some of it on comfort and aesthetics, it appeases the nobles and gets more of them to come here and spend a lot of money for their services.”

Unlike the people who passed them on the street, none of the people working in the Healing Union gave them as much as a look of disdain for how they looked after their travels. Despite being surrounded by opulent wealth it seemed that the employees were still the same dedicated kind healers Ajax had come to expect of the union.

“How can I help you?” the receptionist asked as they reached her desk in the lobby. “Are you perhaps looking to get that arm fixed?”

“I’m sorry to say I can’t afford the price of having the arm regrown.” Hatchet said with a small shake of the head. “I am here to see an old friend.” He said as he reached for the letter once more.

“Hatchet is that you?” a commanding but beautiful voice resounded throughout the lobby.

As Ajax turned towards the source he found himself looking at a beautiful woman with silver hair who looked to have been in her mid thirties as she headed straight towards them, with everyone else clearing a path for her.

“Luna, it’s been a while.” Hatchet said awkwardly as he turned to face her and scratched the back of his neck.

Luna's steps almost faltered as she caught a glimpse of his missing arm. Her voice was just as melodious the second time but now it carried a promise of violence as she asked “What happened to your arm?”