Grand Adventurer Chapter 3

With James the old man dead and cold already, and David mourning his son's loss. I was just stuck as I knew I needed to get moving. Staying with the thick goblin bloods blood filling the air would only get more trouble coming here.

I exhaled heavily and then I steeled my heart before I kneeled down and checked Jame's stiff corpse for anything I could take as well. 

After patting around, I found a small dagger at his waist along with another small bag of coins that went into my own bag of coins. From there... I sighed as I looked at David who was stone faced as he finally looked away from his son.

"We are going to bury my son... You should probably go." 

I knew what he meant as he meant pushing the large cart was going to be even harder without his son.

So with a sigh, I nodded and I also noticed that the wife of the hunter was pale white and clearly freaking out while her daughter tried to control her.

I stepped forward down the road and I sighed as my shoes crunched on the cold road and I knew that the road would lead me to Ebony City. So long as I didn't die horribly via a monster tearing me apart anyway.

I kept walking... And kept walking. Oh and I did some more walking even as the sun came up.

Until noon came around and I had to stop to gnaw on the stale ass bread that was well beaten from all my travels.

"Ughhh. My feet are getting sore. But at least I am moving quicker." I muttered to myself as I stared down the empty road before sighing as I hoped a cart or carriage was going to come at some point.

But with the Empire to the south raiding the nearby villages, I doubted I would be so luckly unless I mangaged to actually catch the carts heading to the city.

Then as though to mock me, a loud rumble rang out in the distance... To the south actually, as I saw a heavy black as sin pillar of smoke in the distance. 'Yeah that's not good.' I mused to myself.

I got up with a groan as I cursed under my breath at seeing birds in all directions taking to the air in suprise. As that meant that any monsters or bandits would be very aware of that smoke pillar.

Moving further north down the road and especially from the pillar of smoke, I kept moving at a light jog that woudn't put much strain onto myself until I crested over a small hill and as I stood atop the hill, I could see Ebony City in the distance!

From the small hill I was atop, I could see the surprisingly large city was built into the side of a cliff face with large towers built atop the mountain tops and a massive wall I could see easily from here that surrounded the wall.

"Hmm, looks like it's a good ten or so miles from here maybe... Fuck it, its within sight. I can get there in an hour or two at most." I sighed with relief at the sight before I looked back with a frown at seeing the large pillar of smoke was seemingly closer and even large.

'It looks like a wild fire or something? But could a wildfire spread so easily with how much frost is everywhere?' I thought with a slight frown before shaking my head.

As god's only knew if it was the result of some evil mage or something. I just knew I needed to get to the city to get my life in order frankly.

So I got back to moving and the rest of the way was boring until I got to the halfway point where I did find some carriages that were fleeing towards the city and I quickly paid a couple copper coins for a seat on the back of a cart that made my feel like my spine was going to be thrown out with the force of it's vibrations and jostling.

"Your town got put to the torch as well?" I asked the younger boy who was the son of the merchant I was riding with and he nodded sadly and replied quietly.

"Aye, me mum who is from the northern tribes fought off the soldiers but their Centurion was too strong. He had his ki active and broke her old axe before-" He shook his head with a look of hate his eyes.

And I realized the young boy was definitely of the northern tribes' blood as he had more of a viking thing going on with several braids made in his hair that had special painted beads in them.

I then asked curiously to move the subject as talking about his dead mom was obviously a dead-end end. "So, is the beads something special for the people of the northern tribes?" 

The boy blinked and nodded with a smile as he pointed to the first large bead and said. "Ah yesum. Each bead is representative of my personal uhm... Deeds!" 

"This one here is for catching my first fish, this one here is for cutting off the ear of a goblin I caught in a trap. Uhm, this one is from when I made my first silver coin, selling off a bunch of good mushrooms I found." He explained happily.

He then went on to explain with clear pride that these beads were supposed to be a diary of a northern tribesman's accomplishments and would act as a scale of value to their people in a great many things.

Whether it be marriage, business... Or setting someone's rank in a raiding party that the Northern Tribes loved, though thankfully the raiding tribes weren't all bad.

They weren't totally raping and pillaging monsters. No, they took their honor... Extremely, extremely seriously to the point that anyone who made a bead that did not earn it? Hoh boy...

"Yeah, there was another boy from my town who had a dad who was from the Northern Tribes, when he made the Dragonslayer bead and wore it in his hair... His dad killed him before he did himself in shame, I remember his mum went crazy as she helped paint the bead as well." He said with a helpless expression as I asked what happened to bead frauds.

"Yeah but what if there isn't someone who knows and vouches for them? How do people authenticate a bead then?" I asked with a slight shudder at such a hardcore culture.

The boy shrugged as the massive city wall of Ebony City broke through the tree line and I shuddered as the air all of a sudden got warmer and our vision was filled with farms filled with various growth levels.

Even as he began explaining, I thought quickly. 'This land is truly magical! There has to be some kind of wards or something that changed the tempature.'

Not only that but the dirt roads were replaced with smooth stone brick roads that had to be magically done as well.

"Well each tribe and large group of tribesmen has a shaman you know? And you cannot lie to a shaman especially when they touch your beads as your soul will reject the beads you didn't earn!" He said as though it was common sense.

But still, I smiled wryly as his father called out to me. "I ain't paying your entry into the city young man. You need to step off when we get to the walls you hear!"

"I understand! Thanks for the ride regardless!" I called back before I gave the young adolescant a nod and said with a small grin. "Goodluck little man. I hope to see you have more beads when I next see you."

With that though... I was finally at Ebony City. Now I just needed to be able to get to a library to learn more about this world. Find a blacksmith shop, I could use for my runes and blacksmithing, oh and learn what the fuck kind of magic and beings filled this world.

Because I didn't want to accidentally invite a vampire or fae into my house so they could eat my face off or some other horrible fate!