Soul of the Warrior

The sun was still up in the sky by the time Reivyn and his group spotted the outpost in the distance. It was placed on the highest hills around, giving it the best view of the surrounding area. There was evidence the distant forest once extended closer to the outpost, but it had been deforested for quite a distance away. Reivyn understood the strategy of keeping clear lines of sight, and he could only guess the rather extreme distance was a necessity for the level of threats one could expect in a Tier 5 Region. It was much further out than anything he had ever even considered. The experts in the Region would know best, though, so he would defer to their wisdom.

They quickly closed the distance to the outpost. Reivyn noted that they were obviously spotted much sooner than they had seen the walls based on how the guards stationed at the gate and towers reacted to their approach: namely, they didn’t kick up a fuss. He didn’t know if there was a way for the patrols to communicate directly to the outpost, but considering everyone that could be found here was significantly higher Level and working with higher Tier materials, he wouldn’t be surprised. He had seen such communication tools in the Lower Regions, after all, so it made perfect sense that a basic degree of sophistication would be common in the Upper Regions.

They made their approach to the outpost. Based on the name, “Outpost,” Reivyn had expected a familiar wooden palisade. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to think that. Any wood they used for the fortification would be Tier 5 materials, after all.

That wasn’t the case. Even though it was called an outpost, it was a permanent settlement. The walls weren’t even as tall as the city walls of Magron, but they were definitely stones from a quarry somewhere. They shined in the setting sun with a golden glow that made them shimmer unlike any stone he had seen before. He got a sense of stability and strength when looking at the structure.

There were two guards stationed at the gate, two guards in each of the six towers on this one side of the wall, and there were multiple duos of guards walking along the battlements. It seemed they didn’t take things for granted out here even with patrols that extended quite a distance away. He could only assume there was more than one patrol, but he wouldn’t be surprised if there were many more. The level of protection was more than he saw in most of the cities in the Lower Regions.

The size of the outpost was another thing that was different from his imagination. He had expected something in line with the outpost they had constructed during his conscription. The size of the outpost, based on the length of the wall in front of them, indicated a medium sized city. Reivyn could even see people walking along the paved roads through the open gate.

As they approached, the guards at the gate gave a simple wave to acknowledge their presence. They didn’t stop them or ask any questions as they approached the gate. As they got closer, the guards simply waved them through with a nod.

“Welcome to the outpost,” one of them called out a friendly greeting.

Refix waved back.

And with that, the group passed the outer walls into the outpost proper. Like Reivyn had spied from outside, there were many people walking about. Many, many people. At a quick glance, extrapolating for other parts of the outpost that were obstructed from his vision, Reivyn estimated there had to be over ten thousand people within the walls.

Reivyn was a little surprised at this revelation. He had known there were a lot of people who made their way to the Upper Regions, but this outpost was basically a border station. They hadn’t seen any evidence of people Adventuring outside the walls except for the patrol, either. With so many people, he would have expected to see more random Parties out and about.

Everyone walked with their heads on a swivel. Reivyn felt like he was entering a capital city for the first time, and all of them were country bumpkins from the countryside. Even those that had spent their entire lives within Wispan’s capital city acted like they had never seen civilization before.

He couldn’t fault them. He felt the same way they did. Their entire expectations had consistently been broken during their trek through the Wilderness and then through the Tier 5 Region to the outpost. Finding such a population and lived-in city where they had assumed was a mostly empty Region was startling.

They had learned their entire lives that building a working civilization in the Upper Regions was untenable. Reivyn had to think for a second before the answer came to him, though.

There are no children, he realized. That makes perfect sense. People don’t build empires in the Upper Regions, but that doesn’t mean it’s not full of people. I had always wondered at the lack of true powerhouses in the Tier 4 empires, thinking it was because people just didn’t have the opportunities to advance. That doesn’t make any sense when one takes into account the scale of the Tier 4 empires, though.

Of course there are thousands upon thousands of people who reach past Tier 5. They just don’t stay in the Lower Regions. Sure, there are people who want to have families, but I would bet they have their children early then take off after they’ve grown enough to be independent, just like the elders of the Imperial Family.

Why would I think only the imperials would have enough talent to send their higher-Level people to the Wilderness? There’s just too many people for that to be true.

It put the cultivator sects he had learned about into perspective, too. Xudrid had informed him they lived in pocket dimensions like man-made Dungeons built by high-Level Mages with their Space Affinity. Reivyn hadn’t really thought about it before, but obviously there had to be a pool of people large enough for others to advance that far.

There were at least hundreds of billions of people throughout the Local Group just in the Lower Regions. There was no telling how many people were actually living on their massive continent. There had to be millions upon millions of people in the various Tier 5 Regions, not to mention the cultivator sects hidden from view.

For the first time, Reivyn truly felt like a frog at the bottom of a well. He had thought he had seen the sky and had a grasp of the situation, but he had still only been looking at the little circle available to him from his vantage point. ṚάΝО₿ƐṢ

The group marched along the main thoroughfare. They stood out like a sore thumb, but the people in the outpost only gave them cursory glances. They must have been used to seeing new people trickle into the outpost over the years. Reivyn could see that there were no other people around who looked as young as he and even his parents looked.

Everyone had a bit of a mature look to them. They weren’t old by any means, but there was nobody with a youthful exuberance about them.

At least that detail is within expectations, Reivyn snorted. Everyone here is a seasoned veteran Adventurer. Only those successful in the Lower Regions make it here.

They eventually made their way to an open square that was ringed by larger buildings that were obviously inns and taverns. They came to a stop in the square and stepped off to the side. The Honor Guard soldiers converged on Reivyn’s Party.

“This is where we’ll leave you,” the imperial soldier who had assumed overall command reported to Refix. “It was a pleasure to escort you.”

Each of the soldiers performed a smart salute to the Party. The imperial soldiers turned to Kefira and gave a bow. The mercenary soldiers turned to Reivyn and stood at parade rest.

Reivyn tilted his head toward his father, indicating for them to speak to Refix. Even though they were his mercenaries, his father was still leading them, and he himself was an officer in their mercenary company.

“Thank you for escorting us,” Kefira pulled the imperial soldiers aside to speak to them for a moment.

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“Yes, to all of you as well,” Refix addressed the mercenaries. “We’ll write up a report for you all to send back to Wispan. Glowing reviews for everyone present.” Refix grinned and clapped the lead squad leader on the shoulder.

“Very good, sir,” the squad leader replied sheepishly as he regained his balance. “We’ll be resting with the imperial soldiers for a week before heading back. I’m sure we’ll all take advantage of these gates the patrolman mentioned, too.”

“See that you do,” Refix nodded. “No reason to go through all that again if you don’t have to, now that you’re ‘in the know.’” He winked at the mercenaries.

Kefira kept her words short for the imperial soldiers. Reivyn hadn’t been trying to eavesdrop, but with his Divine Sense, he heard every word. Kefira and their squad leader had mentioned basically the exact same thing.

The imperial soldier in charge turned to face the group as a whole again.

“There is a barracks of sorts for imperials and their entourage,” he said. “We’ll seek out room and board there for our rest. It should be easy to find if you ask around. I would tell you exactly where it is, but we’re going to have to find it ourselves.” He chuckled.

“Good,” Refix said. “We’re just an Adventurer Party as of now, so we’ll be seeking accommodation in an inn like one. You don’t have to worry about the princess while she’s in our care. She’ll be our daughter-in-law one day, and she still has Serilla.”

“I never questioned it, sir,” the imperial squad leader said with a smile.

“Well, godspeed, and thank you once again,” Refix clasped hands with the man.

The Honor Guard soldiers performed another salute and turned to head off to seek out their barracks, the mercenaries in tow.

They had gathered a little bit of an audience, but nothing like an actual crowd. People had just slowed their steps to witness the sending off. Sure they had gotten used to new people arriving at the outpost for the first time, but it wasn’t everyday an imperial princess with an Honor Guard was among the number.

“Ok, first things first, accommodation,” Refix said, rubbing his hands together. “We can go to the branch headquarters in the morning, but for now, I’m sure everyone wants to relax in a nice bed for the first time in over a month.”

“Hear, hear!” Teilon exclaimed. “I can’t wait.”

Kimberly rolled her eyes but still shared a conspiratorial look with the other females of the Party. It looked like they were just as enthusiastic as Teilon to sleep in a nice bed.

“Take a bath, first,” Reivyn admonished with a smirk.

“Hey now! I’ll have you know I’m just as clean as everyone else,” Teilon said, affronted.

“Uh huh,” Reivyn said with a chuckle. “There’s a difference between being clean and being clean. I for one can’t wait to get a good soak.”

“Well, none of us will be doing that out here,” Refix declared. “Let’s go find us a room.”

They had no idea of any differences between any of the available options, so they just picked the closest inn and headed toward it. The building looked exactly like any other they would find in Wispan. The quality might have been a bit better, what with the higher quality building materials available, but it was still just a regular inn.

They walked through the doors into the open tavern area. There were many Adventurers sitting among the tables and the bar enjoying a drink and/or a meal. There must have been some sort of barrier blocking the sound out, because it hit Reivyn as soon as they stepped through the doors. Not even his Divine Sense had warned him in advance.

Reivyn found it mildly interesting that such an effect existed. He hadn’t run into anything similar in the Lower Regions, but he figured it made sense to find things he wasn’t used to seeing in a Tier 5 Region outpost.

Refix marched up to the front desk. It was situated between the tavern area and the stairs. Interestingly, there were stairs leading up and down, another thing that hadn’t been common in the Lower Regions. The stairs leading down were obviously to more rooms and not the storage basement.

“Good day, ma’am,” Refix addressed the lady behind the desk. She wasn’t some inexperienced young lady like one would find employed at a similar establishment in the Lower Regions. She had the same look about her as all the other Adventurers Reivyn had seen in the outpost.

Makes sense, he thought. These places obviously have to have staff of some sort. I would guess that there’s some sort of rotation for the Adventurers here. They spend time with their Parties out in the wilds, and when they get tired and need an extended break, they’ll seek other ways to spend their time.

“What can I do for you?” The lady was still professional and greeted them with a smile.

“I would like to inquire if you have three rooms available,” Refix said. He slightly leaned forward with his hands on the counter. Ameliyn slid up next to him and leaned against his shoulder.

“We certainly do,” the receptionist lady - adventurer? - nodded. “How many nights will you be staying?”

Refix quickly glanced around the others before turning back to the receptionist lady.

“Let’s start with a week,” he said. “I’m sure my companions want some downtime before we get back to it.”

“Just came in from the Wilderness?” The lady smiled as she asked.

“Yeah, how’d you figure?”

“It’s pretty standard, actually. Most newcomers first time in almost always take a week to relax after coming here for the first time. More established Adventurers will rent a house a season at a time unless they’re just stopping through. Then it’s usually one to three days.” The lady shrugged with a smile.

“Makes sense,” Refix agreed with a nod.

The receptionist bent down under the counter and popped back up with six keys. She placed them paired-up on the counter top.

“It’s one gold deposit per key, plus ten silver a night per room,” she said with a smile. Reivyn’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “So, 6 gold plus 2 gold and ten silver for 8.1 gold. The price includes breakfast and use of the bath house.”

“That’s a bit hefty,” Refix commented as he dug the currency out of his pouch.

“It might seem like it, but these rooms are warded,” the receptionist replied, never losing her smile as she scooped the coins up. “Each of these keys is attuned to the individual room, so they’re not cheap. If you return the keys, you’ll get half your deposit back, but if you lose the keys, the deposit is forfeit.”

“Good to know,” Refix nodded his head.

After hearing that the rooms were warded and the keys attuned to the rooms, it made more sense to Reivyn. An item the size of a key would have to be a high quality material to hold such an attunement for a ward that could be effective against the likely level of threat found in a Tier 5 Region. They were likely metals sourced from a Tier 6 Region, and they would require a Tier 6 Classer to work them effectively.

Reivyn grabbed two of the keys and handed one to Teilon. He and his buddy would share a room. Kefira, Serilla, and Kimberly would be in one, and Refix and Ameliyn would obviously share a room.

Reivyn held up his key as he spoke.

“I’m going to head straight to the baths,” he declared. “We can meet up in an hour for dinner, if everyone thinks that’s acceptable.”

Kefira smiled at Reivyn.

“That sounds like a plan,” she said. “I’m guessing the baths are separated between the genders?” She shot a questioning look at the receptionist.

“Of course,” she replied. “A lot of the more seasoned Adventurers grow out of such things, but not all. In fact not even most. We would be poor host not to cater to their requirements.”

Kefira nodded her head.

“That settles it, then,” she turned back to Reivyn. “We’ll go for a soak and meet you back here for dinner in an hour.”

“We’ll just eat here for tonight,” Refix said, scanning the tavern portion of the floor. Reivyn checked with his Divine Sense. The fare looked pretty good, considering it looked mostly to be a drinking establishment. “We can go exploring tomorrow after taking care of business in the morning.”

Reivyn nodded his head and turned to Teilon.

“Coming?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course,” Teilon smacked Reivyn on the shoulder. Reivyn just chuckled.

The bathhouse was standard just like any other inn Reivyn had been to. If a design worked, why tweak it? The water was nice and steamy, and he and Teilon quickly entered with a sigh. Refix followed them shortly and the three of them enjoyed a bit of relaxation before soaping up and getting thoroughly clean.

They kept a minimum standard of cleanliness on the road, but there was something different about scrubbing in an actual bathhouse. Even a dip in a river couldn’t compare.

The three men timed their soak to the hour. They were too busy enjoying the soothing hot water to get up to any shenanigans like they had in the river in the Wilderness. They chatted about small things before getting dry and dressed from their storage pouches once again. There had been little cubbies and baskets available to put their stuff, but they were all empty. They weren’t the only three people in the baths, but it seemed like everyone had their own storage pouches. It was another thing that wasn’t common to see in the Lower Regions, but something that made sense here.

The three made their way back to the tavern and only had to wait a few minutes for the girls to arrive.

“Sure took your time,” Reivyn teased Kefira as they walked up to them.

“We were ready a long time ago,” she smiled in reply. “But it wouldn’t do for us to wait for you.” She smirked.

“Uh huh,” Reivyn rolled his eyes. He pointed to an empty table near the center of the room. “There’s an open table right there.”

The Party made their way to the table. The waitress that appeared to take their order was exactly the same as the receptionist. She wasn’t a young lady, but another Adventurer. There were no wandering hands hovering around her from the patrons. That would have been a quick way to lose some fingers.

The Party ordered their meals along with some beverages. They spent a relaxing evening just enjoying the sounds of merriment around them. It was amazing the things that one could miss while spending an extended period of time away from civilization. None of them particularly frequented such establishments in Wispan, but it made them feel at home to hear the laughter and cheer in the room.

Eventually, they finished their dinner and headed to their rooms. The soft mattress was calling a siren song to each of them. Reivyn had barely placed his head on the pillow before he was out. He didn’t even have to turn his Divine Sense off to quickly fall asleep. The wards in the room had a similar soundproofing enchantment as the building as a whole.

They would worry about finding out the particulars for their expedition in the morning. For now sleep was what called to him.

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