The Quantum Wanderer

I am finally reaching the capital, Lirastra, a sprawling city marked by stark contrasts. As I walk through the bustling streets, I am struck by the sight of numerous poor and homeless people. Children with dirt-smudged faces play in the alleys, while adults, their clothes tattered and worn, beg for alms or huddle together for warmth. The air is thick with the smells of unwashed bodies and the faint aroma of street food cooking over open fires.

Despite the evident poverty, I notice the resilience and camaraderie among the people. I see a group sharing a meager meal, their laughter echoing through the narrow lanes, a testament to their enduring spirit.

As I continue, I see the wall, and the great gate. It was called that way because the nobles district had another wall, and that one was the noble gate. The populace called that the ‘snob gate’. There is a line of merchants, farmers with their grain, and some other people on one side, and another line, to the side, much smaller. The smaller line was all comprised of adventurers, as could be checked by their tags on their necks. I joined that line, and started talking to the adventurer party in front of me, to get some information. They told me that the inn to stay would be ‘The Pear’.

The customs was not really that tight for adventurers. They had a really tight security over at the noble gate. This one was more intended on keeping bandits and poor people away. I could see that there were two guards working, while six of them were either chatting or playing some sort of dice game.

I also noticed how rich merchants were treated well, sometimes passed ahead on the line, as opposed to poorer people, probably farmers, with their produce on the cart, that were treated badly. Some of the produce would even get stolen, and guards would say it was a tax. What a difference from the Empire’s capital. Or from any other city I had seen, for that matter. I think about what Leopold said in our last meeting, and do a giggle. Perhaps the idea wasn’t so absurd?

As I entered the city, I saw that the streets were much better. The smell was much better as well. People were not rich, but they were not that poor either. After the start of the city, there was a wide open space, with a lot of food stalls. Most of them probably manned by the farmers themselves.

There were some stores as well. As I ask around for the prices of clothes, that are only sold at the stores, I see that they are mostly expensive. More expensive, indeed, than in Orora. I didn’t spend time in the other capitals to check the price of products. I might, in a little bit.

And, kind of close to the guild, I saw some inns.

Just like Orora, I could see several inns close to the guild. I asked a salesperson on a stand, but they could not say where the inn was at. They were just selling their goods, they would be sleeping inside their carts.

As I got close to the guild, I could see a lot of movement, and an adventurer was able to point me to the right place.

I registered myself. The place is kind of expensive. One silver and five large copper, that is a lot more than the inn in Orora, and it made it look like Frolk’s guild was giving it away.

I went to the guild to take a look at the quests. There were all kinds, as expected. From escort missions to hunt missions. I think I had my expectations kind of inflationed, because everything seemed like to be paying really bad. Killing a Dire Wolf, 2 silver, and these were the big friends of the hard leather wolves. Plated Rhino, 2 gold. Yup, incredible. Goblin, 2 large copper. I remember Cecilia’s words, ‘it indicates how much the nobles value their people’. The guards didn’t really inspire all that confidence. I was wondering if, like in Rio, you should ask the bandits for help.

The way he was well informed, I am sure that the upper echelon of the guild was aware of this.

I continue looking. At least, there a lot of quests. As opposed to what happens around Frolk or Orora. But then again, with those numbers…

Then I bump into something really funny, there are some advertisements on enlisting to the army.

That’s all really weird.

I decide to sit down and have an ale. I listen around a little bit.

“… that’s stupid. They are going to put you in the line of fire. After you sign, you belong to them. I’d rather sell my soul to a devil; at least they fulfill their word. In fucked up way, but they do.”

“Have you not being paying attention? People are saying that, at some point, adventurers are going to be conscripted to the war, and those are the ones that are going to be fucked.”

“People? What people? Are you listening to Joe the drunkard again? Come on…”

I start to pay attention to other voices.

“Yup, you bet… That’s so messed up.”

“I know, right? If the fucker wants a fucking dragon leather armor, he could either go kill one himself or sell his own arse. Increasing the tax. What a mother-fucker. And it’s not even like they are going to use it! People are getting fucked up because he is worried about his carriage hunt.”

I wonder if there is anyone worth saving in this ‘Gomorra’. I pay attention to another voice, a feminine one.

“I am telling you, the Empire is the place to go. They are strict on crime, their taxes are way more reasonable, the guards treat you correctly. I don’t care how the guards talk to me, I care that they don’t try to extort. The number of murders in alleys there is way, way smaller.”

“I don’t know, I kind of like it here. I know my neighbours. And if I avoid getting out too much, I can avoid the most dangerous places. People here are warm. I head that people over the Empire just keep to themselves, they are kind of cold.”

“All the good jobs are being sent there. The headquarters of several merchant families are leaving, and going there. That means that there will be a lot less escort jobs. The escort jobs here a lot more dangerous.”

“I don’t know, I think we are good.”

I just hear the sound of despair next. I could sympathize. I try to focus on another one.

“Did you hear about the new quest in the…?”

“In the what? Oh. No, I haven’t.”

“I hear they are paying a full platinum for information on the dragon hunting party. Number of people, names. And if you get something more specific, like leading them to the party, they may even pay more…”

“Fuck. I could settle somewhere else with that kind of money…”

“Are you fucking stupid? Let’s assume, that this fairy tail is real. Just a for a second, ok. Are you sure that the first thing you want to do, upon finding this person, is giving them up to someone? A party, no, make it just a member of a twenty people party. Every step you take after that could be your last. Say one of them decides to pay you a visit… Where are you going to hide? The mountains, perhaps under a dragon? Not even that is going to save your skin. Man, I love the best that not being gay allows, but you’re fucking stupid. HAHAHA”

I decide that I have had enough, I head back to the inn to have some supper and think about all that I have heard.

The stew here is kind of watered down, but it doesn’t taste bad. I eat and go to my room, to retire.

The next day I walk around the city in the morning. I see that the area the guild is in, just before the gates, is mostly commercial. The shops around the guild are mostly adventurer oriented. Metal and leather work are the main ones, having some pre-made clothing and some second-hand clothing.

The jewelries sold mostly trinkets, with the occasional enchanted gem. By talking to them, I discover that the fine clothing and jewelry stores were in the nobles district. The metallurgy there was prettier, but they confided that the metallurgy here was way more resistant. Simple designs, that work.

I mentioned that I was passing through, and they asked me if I was going to watch the fights in the colosseum. That kind of picked my interest. I was told that there were going to be some fights in the afternoon.

I go there, buy an entrance and enter. There are several different prices, from a gold coin, silver coin and two large copper coins. I get the cheapest one. Even though it is the cheapest one, it still is a lot of money to earn here. So it’s not like there is going to be homeless people in there. Beside, funnily enough, it is closer to the sand. The silver one is composed of chairs, a little farther. The gold coin one would be some vip boxes, with food included. Probably for nobles.

I don’t stay too close to the sand. Although I kind of enjoy this cheering, this kind of chaos and whatnot, I don’t really want to join the crowd squeezing against one another.

I look to my side, and I see a couple. The guy is waiting for the first fight to be announced, the girl doesn’t seem too enthusiastic with the hole thing. By her expression, I can almost feel her remembering her mom words that he was not worthy of her or something. I start talking to the guy, to see if I can get some information on how things are.

“Hi, how are you? Is this fun?”

“Definitely. Isn’t this fun, honey?”

“Yes, sure…” Nope, it definitely wasn’t.

“Do you know who is going to fight?”

“I hear there is a Lizard kind against a human. Man, the lizard is going to wipe the floor with the human.” He looks at my adventurer tag. “Wow, an adventurer. Who do you think is going to win?”

“I don’t know yet, I haven’t seen either. I am Marcelo, by the way.”

“I am Logan, I work on a farm.”

“LADDIEESSS AND GENTLEMEEEN… ON MY LEFT KHAN, THE KILLLEEERRRR. 20 FIGHTS, 12 WINS, 6 LOSSES AND 2 DRAWS. …AAANNND BRING HIM ON!!!!”

One of the gates open, and this huge lizard kin comes into the arena. He has got a trident and a net. The arm with the trident has a mesh, all the way to his shoulder. People around me go crazy.

I see a guy walking around with some strips of paper, shaking them over his head. “Bets, Bets, Bets.”

“AAAAANND ON THIS SIDE!!!! IGOR, THE BARBARIAN… 3 Fights, 3 Wins.”

Igor had a short made of animal skin. He wasn’t particularly strong, but he moved very well. He had a sword and very small buckler on him.

The way that guy said that was really suspicious. I take a look at their level. Igor was a level 30, while Khan was a level 15. Not only that, Igor was an expert with the sword, while Khan was only an adept at the lance.

“BETS! MAKE YOUR BETS! BETS! BETS!”

Somewhere in the crowd people called the bets guy, and was getting some slips.

The announcer, in the center of the arena, starts shouting again.

“PLACE YOUR BETS! THE BETS ARE GOING TO CLOSE! PLACE THEM NOW!”

Logan opens up a leather pouch, and gets some silver coins from it. He looks at the bet shark, but he is in the middle of the crowd, it is kind of a confusion. He stands up and starts going that way, shouting, “5 silver on Khan!”

I make him trip and twist his ankle. He falls down. The hurts his hand because he is holding the money. Even then, he is screaming towards the bet shark.

“Are you okay? Can you stand up?”

“Man, my foot hurts.”

“Np, let me make the bet for you.”

“Sure.” And he hands me the money.

I go over to the bet shark, and bet all silver coins on Igor. The fight could still be arranged, but if it were, the guy taking the fall would have to really get hurt. So I am thinking that this is not quite likely.

I come back with the five strips, and hand them to Logan. He looks at them, and looks disappointed. I put my eyes on the arena. I can feel that he is about to say something, but he looks at my tag and just sits down, kind of sad.

As with most fights involving blades, this one is kind of quick. When throws the net, Igor, instead of trying to escape it, just steps in, and pushes the trident sideways the buckler. He then does this deep gash on Khan’s side, and passes through, already with his hands up in the air.

Khan drops to his knees, and then on his face on the sand. A healer immediately goes to the location, and starts the spell on Khan.

I can almost see Logan tears stop midway.

He is almost jumping for joy, and shows the bet tickets to his… wife? Girlfriend? Whatever. And I say almost because he is holding back on account of his ankle.

He goes out limping from the colosseum, and, at the gate, he presents his bet tickets to a guy on a stand. I am right behind him.

“Here.”

“Oh, someone scammed you. These are not the real bet tickets.” The guy said, kind of sneering.

I just acted as if I was shocked, screaming, “WHAT? ARE YOU GUYS NOT GOING TO HONOR THE BETS? HOW COME YOU ARE NOT HONORING THE BETS?”

The guy behind the stand gets nervous. A bet crew that did not honor the bets would have some issues. He was believing that we would just let it go. Well, if Logan were alone, he actually might. The guy takes another look at me, and sees the steel tag on my neck, and pays us 9 silver. He mentions that there is a 20 percent tax on the winnings. That seems reasonable.

Logan is kind of happy with the results. I think that I am going to have to make things clear to him. I wait until his girl is a little ahead, and I am helping him limp. I shove him against the wall. His girl sees this, and get closer. I am holding him by the shirt.

“Now listen here, you little shit. Don’t get happy, this was a one time deal. First, your woman didn’t even want to be here at all. Look at her.”

He looks at her, she is kind of scared.

“Is this true…?”

She nods, with an almost crying face. I continue.

“You can’t pick a winner. And if you win, you will get scammed out of your money. In here YOU ARE JUST A LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT THAT IS GOING TO END UP IN A VERY BAD SEWARD. Don’t come back here.”

I can see some tears in his eyes. But sometimes we have to face the truth. And I don’t think that his girl fell in love with someone that loses all their money gambling.

I let him go, and heal his ankle. It is very simple for me to do that now. He doesn’t even realize. He slides down the wall, and his girl stays a little there, with him. I just leave.

I decide to have a meal in a fancier restaurant that is closer to the nobles district. There, I get steak. One silver. This is expensive, and for one silver I expected something better. But then again, once you went dragon, you don’t want no plated rhino, right?

As I am eating, keep thinking… Did I do the right thing? Should I have meddled into someone else’s affair? It’s not like he was being forced to go there. But then again, he didn’t know that he would be swindled if he won, so I think that it might be fair. I am hoping that he may save his relationship.

This is afternoon already, I decided to walk around a little more, and visit some metal workshops. At some point I realize that the sun is setting, and I go back to the inn for the night.

I wake up the next morning, but I have to say that I am not completely rested. Introverts like myself like to recharge the batteries alone. There is a saying, an introvert doesn’t actually make new friends, he/she is adopted by an extrovert. And I kind of missed those guild crazies infected people.

I go down for breakfast, then I get back to my routine of walking around the city. I wear some simple but ok looking, clothes. I decide to get something for Alice and Cecilia. Both of them have been helping me a lot, and it’s not like I can’t afford. Getting something for Leopold would just be weird, I pass. I can’t think of anything to give Andrew.

I go for the noble’s district. When I am close, I change my tag for the mithril one. I get to the ‘snobs gate’, and they let me pass, ‘thanking for my services’. I just remembered Cecilia’s joke.

This side of the gates are way more than the other. Way more on everything. Even the air is a little different. It feels like I am in another place altogether. My clothes are kind of on the simple side here, but apparently people’s faces get back from disgust to normal once they see my tag. Again, I wonder if anyone is worthy on this whole city.

I go to visit a couple of jewelries, and the designs are really beautiful, but the prices are way above what I thought. I was thinking about giving each of the girls a hair pin. They go for around 5 gold coins here, but they are really beautiful. They are made of gold, and the eye of the dragon is this little gem. There were also other jewels around. Some of the more ornated ones, with big gems, go for even a platinum or two. I think that five gold each is already a good value. I go to an alley, and I discretely create a gate to my cave, so that I can get the money. Yes, I decided on keeping my money there, it would be safest.

I go into a store that has a model that I enjoyed, the picture of a dragon. I buy two of them. I see that the dragon motif is on a lot of stuff. There is even a small dragon statue, about 10 inches long. I think that it might be an inner joke with Leopold. I get two of those, perhaps one for Andrew as well. Actually, I get five of them, they might make some nice gifts. Perhaps one for the demons as well. That count was very nice to me, and they were going to make me rich.

Again, alley, and I put those things in the ‘safe’.

I see some clothing stores, and I decide that it might be useful to have some higher quality clothing. The cheaper stores sell pre made clothing, while the more expensive ones sell clothes to order, that are cut with your measurements.

I have never been the guys to pay attention to clothes, so I just choose the pre-made ones. I buy a couple of sets, a gold coin each. Alley, safe.

I take a stroll around the leather and metal workshops. There is no leather armor or combat adequate clothing here. Mostly is very ornamental. The metalwork, in spite of selling swords an axes, and more, was also a scam. The steel was weak, very brittle. It was, again, very ornamental, but useless.

I look around for some bookstores, and I browse the books, but nothing with really useful spells. Nothing that would really add to my repertoire.

The day is practically gone. I go back to the inn, remembering to switch the adventurer tag once I am out of the noble district.

The next morning, I am thinking about going in to the forest, but I don’t quite think it would be a good idea. It’s not like I am going to get much out of it. I am about to receive a ton of platinum coins, and unless I face some bigger game, like a griffon or a dragon, I am not going to level up. I think I am just going to back to Frolk. I kind of like it there.

I grab my stuff, go down, and close my tab.

I go out of the city. I see the slums and shake my head. After seeing so many cities, that is kind of hard to swallow. Even if those cities don’t have that many options. I mean, I am the only person in Frolk that doesn’t work but eats. No work, no food. Of course, they take care of their sickly, and those cases when one is too old to work. But the lifespan here is not that great, specially for peasants. But they are way more agreeable and fun to be around.

I go to the forest, and find an isolated place. This is a nice place to open my gate.