∼ Day 102 ∼

Ruela had warned us of bandits but worried not for our safety as only a very few of the Ebonwoods or Ebongrave syndicates had monsters capable of threatening our group. The previous band of thieves was a clear indication that her assumption was indeed true.

Although I didn't mind the generous flow of free meals, after that one attack there were no more to be had, no other morsels presented themselves again. But I was rather happy that Mia had gained quite a few levels after the farce, and she was quickly closing in on her next evolution, and it was only with bated patience I waited to see what she would become next.

I wasn't the only one as she shared the enthusiasm and was practically praying that more bandits were going to show up.

Allowing her to take care of information gathering, and venting her disgust on unfortunate thieving souls, we figured out that this attack had actually been a targeted one, and not a happenstance of them lying in wait for any lucrative opportunity to come rolling by.

However, how exactly they had gotten the information of our whereabouts remained a mystery. Neither any of my group nor myself had detected anyone tailing us and I doubted that any of these thieves that attacked us had such capabilities, so it was only guesswork as to who had given away our location.

My money personally leaned towards one or more of the caravans passing us had sold us out for a quick profit, but it truly didn't matter as we had finally arrived at Ebongrave.

The journey had been a lot more grueling than expected, but not because of the difficulties and attacks. In fact, it was exactly those that had made it bearable as the journey was in truth exhaustingly boring.

After three days of steady riding from Ruela's clan, we arrived at the Ebonwoods, but I had apparently underestimated the sheer size of the forest expanse as we spent literally a whole week traveling down the same straight and repetitively placid road. Sure, the sights of the forest were awe-inspiring at first, but it all quickly got boring as nothing really changed after the first two days.

Another thing of note was that none of the exciting and powerful creatures that caught my eye, loitering around at the outskirts of the road, never did dare get too close, and whenever anyone traveling the road would approach, regardless of individual strength, they would go scurrying away as if their lives depended on it.

I couldn't figure out exactly why, but all the forest creatures seemed downright petrified of this otherwise inconspicuous gravel and dirt road.

We arrived at Ebongrave long before we had actually realized it, as informed by the guards meeting to stop us at what looked to be a massive military installment in the woods. But this confused me greatly as this city guard was stationed nowhere in sight of the supposedly near city.

But after stating our purpose in the city and being let through by some strong-looking guards decked out from head to toe in imposing dark-violet armor that swarmed about in the thousands, I realized the monster city I was looking for in the distance was in fact not above ground, but below.

In a truly colossal oval-shaped hole in the ground that tore deep into the landscape, putting even the massive size of Maldrak to shame, was Ebongrave itself. Going straight down, all the ostentatious buildings, city sections, and other structures blurred together in a sea of dark colors, the distance too great even for my supernaturally precise eyesight as I couldn't make anything distinct out.

But that was not all, as the city itself wasn't just placed on the bottom of the colossal hole, but instead had dug its way into the entire circumference of the monumentally large walls encompassing the hole itself, undoubtedly stretching even farther into the ground that I was currently standing on.

As our entourage was led towards what looked like some version of a medieval station, we got onto a huge platform resting against the naturally-formed wall of the city and hoisted up by dark metal chains and a surprisingly intrinsic-looking contraption.

The platform was so large, that even with our big feline mounts, a number other carriages of orcs and ogres, and a whole variety of other groups could all fit on it as we descended downwards into the city.

The whole hole or 'crater' that the city was situated in was shaped like an oval, and we were at one of the two extremities. So as we were descending ever farther down the titanic walls, we were faced with the sight of the entire city's nightly splendor as it was light up with light.

But directly opposing us though was a sight that I could draw my eyes off. In the other peak of the oval, was a colossal palace that was so enormous that it took up more than a tenth of the entire city.

Build of the same violet, purplish-ish matching the thousands upon thousands of the guard, the palace was beyond ostentatious, and I could hardly believe such a structure even existed. From the ground, it climbed up the side of the wall and spread its domineering shadow outwards over the city like a pair of wings.

It was truly an incredible sight.

After the lengthy descent into Ebongrave from high above, we made our way through the endless crowds of monsters of all races, but it wasn't too hard as most simply gave us a wide berth upon looking at the monstrous panthers snarling at them.

We waited in line once we got to what I guessed was a reception and I just marveled at the civilized nature of it all. Compared to Maldrak, this felt like I had just stepped into a whole new era of civilization.

When it was our turn, Mia, Bob, and I got off our mounts and approached the naga woman sitting in an enclosed building like any receptionist would.

She was quite beautiful and the small splatters of scales on her face gave her an exotic look.

On pure reflex, I pulled up her status with Appraisal.

-Appraisal!-

Appraisal - Vash'ajat

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "Vash'ajat" STR 21 Skills ??? -Race- Naga VIT 35 Traits ??? -Sex- Female AGI 42 Titles ??? -Rank- E+ DEX 40 Resistances

-Level- 35/35 INT 28 Health 266/266 CHR 25 Physical Resistance 9 Stamina 102/102 WILL 10 Magical Resistance 3 Mana 0/0 MAG 3 Mental Resistance ???

"Shi'ka elcyaen al-?" The naga spoke in a language foreign to my ears bringing my attention away from her status.

But seeing the confusion on our faces, she quickly switched languages as if it was very normal.

"Sorry, sir. What can I do for you today?" She said, effortlessly throwing the sudden awkward air out of the window with practiced ease.

Thankfully, this time she simply with the simple and common language of Rathian as she no doubt recognized the more than a dozen orcs behind us.

But as she was waiting for a response, her eyes flickered from me to Mia who's face was quite visible under her cloak at this distance, and within an instance, her calm and kind demeanor changed into one of fear and respect.

"My Lady! - Why have you taken the main gate? Do you wish to be escorted to the upper ring? I can arrange some guards for you-" She sputtered off hurriedly, completely ignoring me.

Shooting Mia and questioning look, she seemed equally stunned and confused at the receptionist's sudden change and deference.

"Uh...." The naga droned off, noticing the odd stares she was getting from our group.

"Miss?" She probed hesitantly.

Breaking in, I helped the flustered Mia.

"Ah - We're new here, I believe there might be some misunderstanding?" I gestured to Mia.

She paused for a moment.

"This Miss is a drow, is she not...?" She asked hesitantly, gesturing to Mia.

"Yes...?" I responded a bit wary as it seemed to have some importance I didn't know of.

"Then... huh, oh... oh! - I'm very sorry sir, I see now." She suddenly exclaimed as if a lightbulb went off in her head. "Am I wrong to assume that this Miss here was not born of Drow lineage?"

I simply shook my head.

"But how is that relevant?" I asked.

"I must apologize again." She apologized, bowing her head and letting her hair spill forward, revealing that it was interwoven with beautiful hair jewelry. "To evolve into a Drow is quite a feat, but then also makes sense why you wouldn't understand the true significance of being one. You see, the Drow evolutionary lineage is one of the most acclaimed noble monster races of monster society. They enjoy very high status and privilege in cities such as Ebongrave."

"That was why I was surprised at seeing Miss here use the commoners' gate of the city." She added.

"I see, but does it matter whether she was born of the lineage or evolved into it? I mean, does that change anything?" I asked curiously.

"Well, yes, it matters a lot." She explained. "For some, having evolved into the Drow lineage means that they must've been powerful and capable, to others, not being of pure blood could be an insult. It widely varies, however, those are mostly only for the concerns of the nobles. Simply being Drow is more than enough to earn you the privilege of walking all the city's rings."

"Huh..." I chuckled, casting Mia a devilish glance which she returned with a scowl as she knew exactly what I was thinking.

Before I had been calling her my little princess merely to tease her, but now I could start having actual grounds to call her exactly that, I wouldn't give up such a golden opportunity. And she knew it.

"You mentioned rings?" I asked curiously, effortlessly dodging the swat Mia threw at me.

Casting a glance at the harrumphing Drow as her retaliation missed, the receptionist hesitated for a moment.

"I-uh..." She droned, not sure how to handle the situation, but recovered quickly enough. "Yes, the rings. Ebongrave is divided up into multiple parts, or rings. The Main ring is where you currently are, and also where the general residence and markets can be found."

"What is your purpose in the city? I can direct you to whichever ring that would best suit your needs. And with young miss here, there practically no places that you won't be able to go even though the rings are highly restricted areas for commoners."

"That's rather convenient huh..." I cast a glance back at the still glouring Mia and smirked. "I oughta bring you out more, I mean if I begin benefits and all-"

[You have taken 2 damage!]

This time I was unfortunate not to avoid the sudden swat that came from not Mia, but her mount. Climbing back up to the counter with the startled receptionist, I groaned.

"Sir!" She blurted out. "Are you okay?"

"Urgh- yeah," I chuckled, looking back at Mia. "Fiesty one - but I suppose that's why I like her too..."

She merely shot me a victorious smirk, and I could only shake my head as I supposed I had earned that one.

"Anyways, we're establishing a new fledgling faction and we're desperately looking for experienced and specialized hands," I explained. "Also, we would need to find a fitting market to ourselves outfitted in proper clothes. -Oh yeah, is there any place you'd recommend where we can stay?"

Beaming, the naga nodded.

"As for markets and merchants, you can head to the second ring as it's a trading hub selling everything from affordable equipment to slaves." She explained. "For hiring higher quality and specialized workers, you'd need to go to the third ring, but I warn you. Those of the third ring are neither cheap nor are they easy to win over. Keep that in mind if you decide to venture there. Then lastly, you should head to the upper ring if you wish to rest. Especially so as with Miss here, most of the establishments will offer you a generous offer or even downright offer you a few rooms for free merely because its seen as an honor to house a drow."

"Fantastic, where do we find directions?" I asked.

"You can try your hand at following advice, or I can send you a guide - free of course." She smiled. "Which would you prefer?"

Casting Mia a glance, she simply nodded.

"Guide it is."