83 - Rooms

Wastehaven was built like a true defensive outpost. The smaller Sunstone and even a city like Skatikk looked like a puny pile of rocks in comparison. Tall square towers loomed at strategic points along the enormous circumference, and a moat sprawled out all around it, at least thirty feet wide. Draw bridges and gates funneled people in through a few defensible entrances.

“Are there monsters that can pose that much threat?” Sable asked. “Where this is necessary?”

“Yes, but no,” Roman said.

“Hm?”

“Yes, monsters like that exist, though would be aberrant for this region. But no, the real reason for these defenses is to fend off the undead threat—not monsters.”

“Right. Wastehaven is Auldstone’s defense against an invasion.” The terrain in the souther part of Auldstone made a natural funnel toward the city, hence its placement.

“It’s in the name,” Roman agreed wryly. “Wastehaven.”

“Are the odds of that high? An invasion?”

“Do I look like a general? Much less one familiar with Auldstone and undead movements?”

“Fair.”

The largest of the gates allowed the bulk of traffic to pass by without any more than a superficial inspection; there were simply too many people entering to check individually with any scrutiny. Wagons and others large carriers of cargo were pulled to the side and arrayed in a line, so she assumed imports were handled with slightly more care.

The guards thought nothing of either Sable or Roman, and soon they passed through the looming city walls and into the city proper.

Sable wouldn’t say she was amazed, exactly, since modern cities were denser and greater feats from an architectural standpoint, but she was still plenty interested. Walking the streets was like she’d taken several steps backward in time and technology, though also a few steps sideways; what these people lacked for in Earth’s brand of technology, they made up for—though not all the way—through the use of magic.

She let her eyes roam across the buildings and people as she passed. As expected of a cosmopolitan major adventuring city, there were no pervasive themes, though Sable could certainly pick up a general sense of fashion and preference for style. Red and white were especially popular colors. Sable thought those were the dominant colors of the royal family’s crest.

Roman was unsurprisingly uninterested; hailing from a High Kingdom, and having spent several years studying at the Tower, the city of Wastehaven wasn’t some never-before-seen spectacle to her. Even perhaps rather bland. She kept her eyes forward and scanning for appropriate signs that would lead them to the adventuring district. Twenty minutes of brisk pace later, with Roman navigating the city without much effort, and they arrived.

“It’s not just a guildhall, here,” Sable said, looking around at the adventurer’s district. “There’s nearly a whole campus.”

“Speaking from a percentage standpoint, Wastehaven has one of the highest adventuring populations in the world. And it’s best to keep regular folk separated from combative classed—much less adventurers. So yes, a whole campus.”

“They cause problems?”

“A group of people who make violence their profession? Who revel in adrenaline? Who can snap trees in half or turn a building into an ice block?”

“Best to keep them away from regular folk,” Sable echoed amusedly. “Still, it’s almost a whole subtown.”

“Most regular cities would just have a large guildhall,” Roman agreed. “But yes. A city of this size, with this density of adventurers, a whole district.” Her eyes scanned the armories, treasuries, training ranges, inns, and other shops. “Though this one is more comprehensive than I’d expected. Not that I’m surprised. Maybe Wastehaven isn’t as wealthy as some places I’ve been, but as far as sheer orientation toward adventuring—I assume it’s up there even on a global scale.”

“We’ll be getting a room at one of these, right?”

“It’s the easiest,” Roman said. “Wanderers or passer-throughs are expected in the adventurer’s district. Plus you said you wanted to take a look around. It’s centrally located to most things of interest.”

“Seems an easy way to find connections, here.”

“Eh,” Roman said. “Yes and no.”

“Plus I wanted to read up on dragons. See what the Guild knows.” Sable had purchased a bestiary compendium from Landon’s bookstore, but it had had surprisingly little to say on the topic of dragons—and she wasn’t sure how trustworthy it was. It seemed prudent to discover more about how dragons had gone extinct and what vulnerabilities had been exploited.

“The Guild would be a good place to do so,” Roman said. “Especially the Slayer’s Guild. But I doubt whether any sensitive information would be public facing—or even available to the low rankers.”

Roman had made it clear in earlier discussions that knowledge tended to be hoarded. Money could bridge that gap somewhat, since most things had a price, but the organization most responsible for the death of dragons had been the Slayer’s Guild—and so their insight on how dragons behaved and could be exploited would be valuable to have. If nothing else, she could play into those expectations and subvert them when necessary, gaining an element of surprise. Knowing her enemy was important, and while she had no one from the Slayer’s Guild hunting her now—that she knew of—she wouldn’t be surprised if it changed in the near future.

“But as for contacts,” Roman said. “It’s possible, but probably not someone your level. Especially not quickly. It’s better we go through an information broker. Pay for what we need.”

“And you’re sure you want to handle that alone?” Sable asked.

“Better to split up,” Roman said. “As much to save time and let you explore as because you’d be a detriment to the mission.”

“Detriment?”

“I get the feeling I’m a little more proficient at subtlety. And I know my way around this sort of thing better than you.”

Sable didn’t fully disagree; she probably wouldn’t be able to help much with finding and dealing with an ‘information broker’. Roman, coming from a noble family, certainly knew how to maneuver that side of society much better than Sable. It also sounded like she’d been involved with some shady dealings in her past, which made her doubly suited to the task.

“I can be subtle when I need to be,” Sable said.

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“Sunstone went fine.”

“Still halfway doubtful about that. You’re the one who told me what happened, after all.”

“You’re an insolent minion, you know that?”

“Business partner,” Roman corrected. “Not minion.”

Sable shook her head in amusement.

They arrived to the Adventurer’s Guild guildhall. The building was, to Sable’s knowledge, mostly an administrative building, with all the peripheral amenities like housing and such delegated to their own structures scattered through the district. There was still a bar to rest and chat—or find a group—as well as several giant boards filled with quests, but it didn’t have the same air as she’d expect—or even as the one at Sunstone had. More sanitized, she supposed? Less cozy and ‘adventurery’.

Sable intended to explore the hall in more depth later, but for now, she and Roman were simply acquiring rooms. They had to check in first, though. One wasn’t required to be an official member of the Guild, but to access the district’s amenities, they had to at least make their presence known.

The process was quick and painless. After brief pleasantries, a small fee passed hands, and she and Roman received tokens recognizing them as welcome in the district. Following that, they received recommendations on lodgings. Lacking any knowledge on the city, they took the suggestion at face value and followed the man’s instructions to a local recommended inn. Checking out a room was likewise simple there; she and Roman each got their own.

Sable appreciated the lack of security—or more accurately, record-keeping. Coming and going with anonymity was much easier in an era where electronic signatures and cameras weren’t everywhere. Sable doubted they would go completely unnoticed, but at least they didn’t need to somehow procure fake IDs or whatever else.

And with that said, the so-called security of anonymity was offset by the whole ‘divining magic’ stuff—it was hard to be at ease with that sort of wild card looming over her head. Especially in a city where so many potential threats lived, even to her dragon form.

Up on the second floor of the inn, Sable dropped off her belongings, Roman doing the same in the room next to her. After getting situated, they reconvened.

“Okay,” Roman said. “So, I’ll go handle the information broker. See if I can get us some leads on a tutor for you, and an expert in the Primal Energies. Those are still your two main goals?”

“The former more than the latter, but yes.”

Roman nodded. “And I’ll also try to get a feel for the local political scene. Understand who’s who, here.” She wrinkled her nose. “I was never fond of politics. But assuming this’ll be your base of operations for the foreseeable future, it might be smart to make true connections. There might be a house willing to sponsor an up-and-coming power like you. That would open doors. We’ll need to make sure your backstory is airtight before we approach them, though.” Roman sighed. “Which means I need to understand beastkin history better and fabricate a believable lineage for you. I’ve got a lot of studying to do.”

“And look into your situation, too,” Sable reminded her, glancing by instinct down at her glove-covered hand. Of course, she’d covered up that magical affliction before coming to Wastehaven. It was a rather distinguishing trait.

“Later,” Roman said dismissively. “Even the Tower couldn’t figure something out—though admittedly they only had a matter of days. But they would know better than just about anyone. So the point is, if there is a solution, it’s going to be esoteric, expensive, or strange. Or all three. We’re not in a position to make headway on it.”

“Still look into it,” Sable said. “You are on a time limit.”

“Worry about getting stronger, richer, and not dying, then,” Roman said. “All three of those are prerequisites, I’ll remind you, to being able to help. But yes. I have no intentions of dying. Now, you’re going to look at the Guild?”

“I might register,” Sable said. “I can’t imagine the test will be difficult. After that, I’ll look into the Slayers. How long is all that going to take you?”

“Longer than you’ll be busy, that’s for sure. We’ll reconvene tonight.”

Sable nodded. Even after she explored the Guild and the Slayer’s subsection in particular, she would have plenty of tasks left over to keep her busy. She might even look into finding a party. It depended on a whole confluence of factors how deeply she planned to ‘infiltrate’ adventuring society—but again, she had a strong suspicion that knowing one’s enemy, and human society in general, was going to be important for her long term survival.

Besides, she would hardly ever be locked in to the Guild Maybe she had more important things to focus on, but she didn’t right at this moment; she had to wait on Roman to pick up a few leads, and as for Skatikk and the goblin territories—Chieftain Kirak was handling that. She’d stop by and enforce her will on whoever was refusing to bend the knee in the Red Plains sometime later this week. Which would be an unpleasant task, but a necessary one. For now, simpler goals—but with possible long-reaching benefits.

“Alright then,” Sable said. “Reconvene tonight.”