"The city in the center of the great eastern plains in Alcidea, nowadays commonly called Alfheim - Elf-Home in the old tongue - could easily lay claim to be the center of trade in the east of the continent, and none would object to that claim.

Located strategically, in the crossroads of the main roads between the elven domains and the dwarven kingdom down under, as well as the main road to the Union of Free Nations to the west, the city had become a symbol of prosperity once peace reigned.

In its streets, one could see traders, visitors, and inhabitants of every race going around in harmony. The local population itself were mostly elves, dwarves, and humans, with many mixed-breed descendants amongst them.

The admixture of different cultures had created a fusion of those cultures, one the city's inhabitants were proud to adopt." - Excerpt from "Clash of Cultures, and the Genesis of new Cultures" by Garth Wainwrought, Dean of the Levain Institute for Higher Learning

After a couple weeks of relaxation, Cal gathered her students and the few other companions she traveled with, as they were headed for the next leg of their journey. They were headed towards the south, to Alfheim, where the elves who lived in the plains resided.

Kyara thanked Cal for having agreed to take her and her granddaughter along. Ashani had been quite… impacted by the sights she saw in the Great Emerald Forest, used as she was to the dense Jungles of Elmaiya and the temperate forests of the isles.

When Cal asked whether the girl had not seen an elven settlement before, Kyara informed her that in the isles, the elves were rare, and only formed small, tribal communities. There were fewer of them in Ur-Teros compared to Alcidea to begin with.

The settlement Cal had visited in the Forest of Shadows was already the largest one in the southern continent, and it paled in comparison to the Great Emerald Forest. The two were not even comparable, as if one were to compare a candlelight to the full moons.

Once the group has gathered together - her students and nieces had said their farewells to the friends they made - they all went to the hub for the Ether Road network, and chose a gate that led to the far south.

That gate was heavily used, as a large merchant caravan happened to be passing through it from the other side when they came, with another two smaller caravans already forming a line on this side.

Cal waited in the line for their turn with everyone else. It was only polite to do so, and besides, with the efficient way the merchants brought their caravans through the gate, their turn arrived before thirty minutes had passed.

Because Alfheim was far to the south of the forest's borders, the gate had not brought them directly there. Instead, they stepped out and found themselves in a walled city that straddled the forest's edge, part of the city - the gate included - within the forest itself.

The city itself was aptly named Ebende - a portmanteau of the old words for "Plains" and "End" - as it was located where the fertile plains ended, and where the forest began.

Cal looked at the walls with some curiosity. They were tall, proper walls, but they lacked features that were usually present in fortifications, like crenellations. Kino explained to her that the walls were there to deal with wildlife attacks, not for war.

The eastern plains were truly fertile lands, often called the breadbasket of the continent by many. That fertility, however, also extended to the wildlife that roamed the great plains. Many predatory wild animals and monsters were present in the plains, and every settlement was at least fenced to deal with them.

Because of the presence of these predators, the mercenary trade was particularly booming in the eastern plains, as no sane merchant would travel the plains without a proper escort. Ebende, as the endpoint of travel from the plains to the forest, was a natural gathering point for these people, and the guildhouse there was almost as large as ones found in capital cities.

Where so many rowdy types hung out, were naturally places that catered to them. Bars, taverns, and brothels were aplenty in the walled city, and brawls were apparently an everyday occurrence.

Cal's group naturally caught some eyes when they went into a tavern as they were mostly women - only Ognar, Fyodor, and Dan were men amongst them after all - and almost like scripted, of course one half-drunk rowdy-looking man came over and lewdly propositioned them for a "fun night".

Too bad the girl he propositioned was Giselle.

When Giselle all too easily twisted the drunk's arm behind his back and dropped him to his knees, those watching the spectacle - including the drunk's friends - had eyes wide open with surprise.

After a moment of silence though, the tavern erupted into a cacophony of raucuous laughter, wolf-like howls, and good-natured jeers. Surprisingly the jeers were all aimed at the drunk, with even his friends rubbing salt on the wound.

One of the men from the drunk's table - an older dwarven man with a plethora of impressive scars on his features - walked over and politely apologized for the drunk. He dragged the drunk back after Giselle released him, not forgetting to clock the man over the head with one of his meaty fists along the way.

When her group had settled down, Cal had asked the bartender when he brought her drink over whether that was normal. It turned out that most of the mercenaries who based themselves on Ebende were old friends with one another, as they plied the same trail for their living.

Brawls rarely got serious, and when it did, it invariably involved someone new in town. Most of the time the local constables would just let them off with a slap on the wrist, maybe a fine if there was some property damage to make up for.

It was definitely a far cozier city than Cal had expected for a gathering place of the mercenary sort, but she quite liked the atmosphere there.

From Ebende to Alfheim was two week's worth of travel for an average merchant caravan. Since Cal was in no hurry, she planned to have her students experience joining one for their travels.