Chapter 224: Freehaven.
The Droskar Dominion wasn’t your typical empire.
According to everyone Lee met on the way to the capital, Freehaven, it was the only country in this world. At the first glance it might’ve seemed impossible, but remembering Ashland and Lunax, and taking into account the surrounding savage wilderness, Lee had to assume the possibility it was founded by an elemental lord, either out of ambition or as a refuge, fleeing some greater power.
By now Lee knew it wasn’t as hard to travel to other worlds. All he needed was a set of coordinates and a capable spatial elemental lord, ready to provide their services. Of course, the latter part was not as easy as finding a regular village blacksmith, but for now it wasn’t Lee’s main problem.
He arrived to Freehaven with a single task – to track down the overlord’s whereabouts. He knew that his chances weren’t that great, considering the strict military rule in Dominion. On the other hand, if an entity like overlord resided in this world, this was the place to look for information.
Freehaven didn’t have the structure Lee had gotten used to during his last two lives. The city didn’t have the inner and outer parts, but in it’s center, on a tall, seemingly artificial cliff next to a lake, was built a stone castle.
Lee had spent over half a year in this world had never seen a crystal clear lake like this one, and surprisingly, it’s waters were available to public. This was the spot where everyone came to fill their bottles and gourds with drinking water, paying attention to not soil it with anything. Some even called it the Sacred Water of Freedom, but while Lee didn’t care about the sacred and freedom parts, water itself was sweet and refreshing.
No one was allowed to swim in the lake, though, and no one dared to try – the city had almost as many soldiers patrolling around as there were regular citizens. That was the obvious reason for the order and cleanliness on the streets, and while it felt oppressive, one couldn’t complain from the safety point of view.
***
The first thing Lee did, even before refilling his water reserves, was to sell the hides he had skinned on the way. Dante didn’t have a clue on the prices in the capital, but Lee wasn’t in a rush. He eavesdropped the conversations of merchants, in the end selling most of the wolf hides in the market.