We reached the gates of Amacedia around late morning, early afternoon. Nobody had spoken since Ironvine's outburst. As we approach, I bask in the beauty of the massive, 15-foot-high iron walls. Knights wearing the crest of the Sellsword Guild on their chestplates stand with bows at the ready on top.
It makes sense that the city would employ members of the Sellsword Guild to act as Knights, after all, most of them are mercenaries. Two more Knights stand guard at the front gate, checking adventurers in and out of the city.
"Halt! What are your names, and how many total members are in your party?" The Knight on the right asks, holding a pen and scroll, probably to log travelers.
"Huh? Why should we tell…" Renald lowers his eyes towards the Knights, words beginning to spill out of his mouth.
"Five! We have five total members." Ironvine interjects before Renald can pick a fight.
"Alright. What are your names?" The Knight, who had begun to reach for his sword, eases up and begins to scribble on the scroll.
"I am.."
"You can put us all under the Black Raven's Guild." I jump in this time, trying to avoid giving total strangers, much less mercenaries, my name.
"Hmmm…" The Knight hesitates for a moment, looking over our group, "...sure, why not? Leaves me with less work at the end of the day."
The Knight goes back to scribbling for a second before handing each of us a small slab of stone with a rune engraved on it. He also hands us one for our bison, unconscious Whisperclaw, and the unconscious bandit.
"Here are your entry slabs. You won't be able to get in or out of the city gates without it. Also, you won't be able to enter or leave any of the buildings within the city either." The Knight makes sure to tell us, "Now move along. Next!"
The Knights step aside and allow me and the rest of our party to pass through the front gate. A strange sensation, similar to getting hit with an ocean wave, washes over me as we walk through. The eerie vibe of the forest we just came from completely switches as the scents of pies and roasted Hobblehorn fill the air. The sounds of music, laughter, and idle chatter erupt around us.
"Woah! This is nothing like Vertalara!" I say, admiring the buildings made from a fusion of iron and wood.
"Why would it be?" Ironvine chuckles, "We are in the Tower after all. I'm pretty sure there's a significant difference in the availability of resources here than back home."
"Do you think our Gold Coins are still worth the same?" Renald asks.
"They should be, right, IV?" I state, aiming my response towards Ironvine.
"All the cities on this floor are technically considered to be part of the Kingdom of Ardent, so I would assume so, yes," Ironvine answers as we push our way through the densely populated streets.
"Then we should go ahead and find a place to stay for a couple of days." Renald suggests, "We need a base of operations where we can rest and regroup."
"If you're looking for a nice spot to lay your head, that's cheap on the pockets if you know what I mean, you can try The Goblin Pot." A golden-maned saber steps out of the midst of the crowds of adventurers. He has a green ranger's hat on his head, a suit of iron ranger's armor with a black cape attached to the back, and is puffing on a hand-carved wooden Wingleaf pipe. There is a scar going down his right eye, which remains closed.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Renald takes a step towards the man, pushing me, Ironvine, and our bison behind him. His hand starts for his saber.
"My apologies. I am Goldenclaw, the Ranger in charge of the wilderness between the Tower's entrance and our fair city of Amacedia." The Saber named Goldenclaw says, puffing out his chest proudly, "As a ranger, it would be an honor to lead the way, if I may be so inclined."
"Show us your Ranger Mark and we'll follow you," Ironvine says, sounding rather blunt.
"Yes, yes, but of course." Goldenclaw removes one of his gauntlets, showing the burn mark of the Tower's Sun and with an arrow piercing through, "I believe this is sufficient for the time being?"
Ironvine looks over to me and Renald, who gives him a nod of approval.
"That's good enough, yes." Ironvine pats our bison on the back and walks over to Goldenclaw, "nice to meet you my friend, I am Ironvine, our group's doctor. These are my friends…"
I nudge Ironvine in the side with my elbow, praying he doesn't say our names.
"...We're all members of the Black Raven Guild." He finishes, placing one of his huge hands on my shoulder.
"Ahh, you must be the group Vesp told me about then." Goldenclaw takes a puff of his pipe, "Good thing I caught you on my way out then."
"Wait a second, you know Vesper?" I ask, slightly taken aback.
"Indeed, I do, my little Snargle friend." A grin stretches across his face. "We've known each other for quite a while."
"If you two know each other so well, why didn't she tell us about you?" Renald's eyes lower at Goldenclaw. He hasn't removed his hand from his saber yet.
"I don't know why Vesp does most of the things she does, but I'm sure she has her reasons." Goldenclaw strokes his mane slowly, "I have a few assumptions myself."
"So you wouldn't mind listing them off, now would you?" Renald's hand twitches on his Saber handle. I can tell he's itching to use it.
"Hey, Renald, calm down man, it's not that serious." I try to calm the situation.
"That's quite all right. Afterall, there can be no trust if there are secrets between us." Goldenclaw chuckes, "I merely speculate that she wanted to keep your arrival and our meeting as discreet as possible."
"And that's supposed to mean what?" Renald's anger is beginning to show in his voice, attracting the attention of some passersby.
"All I'm saying is, other adventurers can be worse than monsters here." Goldenclaw suddenly becomes more serious, "I've seen things. Party members turning on each other, Guilds going to war with each other, murder…"
"You don't have to say anymore, I think we all understand now." Ironvine interrupts. I think I see a touch of sadness in his eyes.
Renald slowly eases up again, fully removing his hand from his saber. There are multiple onlookers now, and I realize that this must be what Goldenclaw was talking about. Everyone in this city is an Adventurer, working for one of the many Guilds in Vertalara. It would be bad news if the wrong person found out what our plans were.
"Well, let's be off then. Onwards, to The Goblin Pot!" Goldenclaw roars with newfound excitement, pointing down the street, "Follow me!"
We travel for about 10 minutes into the heart of Amacedia, eventually slipping into one of the many buildings with a wooden sign hanging on the front. An image of a goblin stirring a witch's cauldron is engraved into the sign.
"Here we are," Goldenclaw says quietly. "Does everyone have their entry slabs?"
We all hold out the slabs of stone we were given at the gate.
"Good. Good. In we go then." Goldenclaw smiles before pushing the door to the building open and stepping inside.
We follow suit, but as soon as I step inside, a booming voice echoes through the tavern.
"No animals allowed in here!"
Across what looks to be a tavern full of Adventurers, a massive humanoid figure with pale skin, with red scales growing in patches on it, stares at our Bison.
"Shit, I completely forgot." Goldenclaw says, "You guys have to take your Bison to the city stables."
"Gee, thanks for the heads-up." Renald glares at the golden-maned saber.
"Seriously, Renald, knock it off." Ironvine says sternly, "I don't remember you ever mentioning it either."
"I'll tell you guys what. I'll pay the stable fee to make up for bringing you all this way." Goldenclaw offers apologetically.
"Tsk." Renald sucks his teeth, "Fine, you and Glimmer take Bella to the stables while me and Ironvine get a room."
"Sounds good to me." I nod in agreement, "I wanted to see the city a little bit more anyway."
"Sounds good to me, too." Goldenclaw says as Ironvine passes our bison's rope to him, "We shouldn't be gone for too long."
"You better not be. If you're not back by nightfall, I'm coming for you." Renald bumps Goldenclaw's shoulder as he walks fully into the tavern.
Ironvine doesn't say a word, but he nods to me as he puts both the bandit and Whisperclaw on his shoulders and walks inside. The door to the Goblin Pot Tavern closes behind them, and Goldenclaw looks at me and smiles.
"Let's be off, my little friend. Ah.. Glimmer was it?"