As the sun began to set, we finally reached Newron city. Like Ravenwalt, a large wall surrounded the city with multiple openings that led people in and out of the city. In front of each gate were guards that inspected all your belongings and asked you a few questions.

“Don’t worry, we’re travelling light so it won’t take long,” Lilah commented.

We were waiting in line in front of the gate. To my surprise, we were the only ones to have travelled here by foot. There were many in wagons and even more just on horseback. Because of that, they were carrying more items for the guards to inspect through.

“I’ve been meaning to ask this, but how do you manage to carry your bag like that? You have so much stuff in it,” Din asked.

Lilah gave a proud smirk before whispering, “It’s a trade secret, sir. I can’t reveal it to just anyone. Maybe for some more… you know.” She rubbed two fingers together while holding the other one in front of her.

“I’m sorry I asked. I’m not going to pay you to answer that.”

“Fine, be that way, then,” Lilah replied while sulking.

It wasn’t long before the two reached the front of the line.

“Just leave your bags on the table there,” the guard motioned to his right. “State your business.” The guard had already begun inspecting Din’s body before asking.

“I’m here to meet with an acquaintance,” Din replied.

“For what business?”

“Just to meet and catch up.”

After noting all the items on Din, the guard waited for a moment before nodding to the guard inspecting Din’s bag. “Okay, looks like you’re good to go. Don’t do anything stupid in the city, got it?”

Din nodded. He took his bag and then moved into the city.

“Lilah!” Surprisingly, the guard’s entire tone shifted. “How’s my best girl doing today? You here to see Myles again?”

Lilah shook her head, “Not today, but I have some business with Paula today.”

Even though the two seemed close, the guard still checked her body and bag before letting her through.

“Make sure to come by later, we can catch up over some drinks,” the guard called out as Lilah gathered her stuff and came by Din’s side.

“Sure thing!”

The buildings inside Newron were compact, leaving little to no spaces between each building. Even the main road could be considered an alleyway compared to how wide the roads were in Ravenwalt. The streets were jagged and uneven and appeared almost incomplete.

Even though it was late at night, the streets were bright with the many lights attached to the sides of the buildings. Even in the bigger streets in Ravenwalt, we never had this many torches lined up.

With the streets at lit up as they were, you’d expect there to be many people out and about, but that wasn’t the case here. Aside from some guards with torches, the only other people outside people passed out in the middle of the street, could be from brawls or from alcohol, it was hard to tell. The guards would look to see if the people passed out were alive before leaving them the way they found them. Luckily, I couldn’t spot any blood or any injuries on the people on the ground.

“With security as tight as it is, you’d think there’d be something inside they were trying to protect, right?” Lilah joked. “Even though you had a sword inside your bag, they didn’t even question you, do you know why?”

“To be honest, that didn’t really occur to me.”

“Well, I’ll tell you anyways. It’s ‘cus the bag searches are for checking for drugs. Did you ever wonder how the packs get their funds? It’s from selling drugs and the one thing they’re all worried about is outside competition in that market. If they find anyone coming into the city with any kind of drug, that person gets punished severely for it.”

“Did the packs pay the guards to do that?” Din asked.

“I guess you could say that. Funny enough, even though the packs are groups unrecognized by the government, they still pay taxes. And the governor of Newron decided it best to support them as long as it brought some kind of a profit to the city.”

“Profit? What kind of a profit would a group of thugs…”

Din paused as they reached the city square. A metal box was in the center of city square with a pole sticking out from the top of it. From the top of the pole, wires travelled in all directions in the city.

As I looked around, I noticed that the wires were connected to the streetlights and some even went inside the buildings. I’d thought those lights were lanterns that were hung from high up, but no, they were balls of light trapped inside a glass case, appearing to be powered by the wires.

“That right there is one of the many generators in the city,” Lilah explained. “One of the ways the packs take over portions of the city is by improving the livelihood of their territory. This specific portion of the city is run by the Ravagers.”

“So the packs compete by bettering the portions they rule over?” Din asked.

“Not necessarily, but this is how they maintain control over it. They take over other pack’s land by fighting for it and reaching an agreement. Some of the battles are won without even fighting.”

“How?”

Lilah grinned, “With money.”

We walked closer towards the generator and got a better look at it. The metal box was only a container to the actual contraption, it seemed like. There stood three tall men around it, probably keeping an eye on it. One of them glared at Din until Din finally backed away from it.

“If this city didn’t have gang related problems, I’m sure it would be considered an even better city than Ravenwalt,” Din commented.

“Yeah, the crime rates do lower the reputation for this city,” Lilah agreed.

Soon after, Lilah took us over to a pub near the city square. It was bright and packed. There were lights all around the walls and people in every corner, drinking and conversing in groups. We could hear many different conversations occurring throughout the pub.

“I swear you’re cheating again, aren’t you?! I should’ve won that round for sure!!”

“Keep telling yourself that, Dave. In the meantime, I’ll be counting all the coin!”

“For the fair business you helped me achieve, the next rounds on me for these young gentlemen! Order whatever you’d like. No need to be reserve!”

“You hear about what happened in the capital? Scary shit, that. Do you think any of them demons going to show up here?”

“No need to worry, lass. I’ll be protecting you, of course. For my name is Gregory Ross, the greatest warrior you’ll ever meet!”

“Well this is where I’ll be leaving you,” Lilah announced. “You can get some drinks now if you want, but if you’re looking for a place to stay, just go straight down the street and you should find a road full of inns. Choose whichever to your liking.”

Din shook hands with Lilah as he thanked her, “Thanks a lot for your help.”

“Enjoy your stay here. And don’t be a stranger, just come to me if you ever see me again!”

I felt a little empty inside after she left. Even though we had only met the previous day, she’d talked more than enough to make it feel like we’d known her for years.

As I was thinking to myself, Din was getting pushed left and right by the crowd. To my surprise, Din managed to get to one side of the wall with no injury. He was finally able to catch his breath.

There was a man sitting near where Din had ended up. He had short black hair and serious blue eyes. He was wearing a black cloak over what looked like to be leather armor. What caught my attention was how he wouldn’t switch his gaze away from Din.

“Careful, Din, there’s a suspicious guy on your left. But don’t look that direction!” I warned.

For some reason, Din turned to his left and looked directly at the man.

“What did I just tell you?!”

The man stood up and walked near Din. He moved in close enough that his face was almost touching Din’s chest.

He was quite short.

He whispered, “You’re Din Morrison, aren’t you? The wanted man from Ravenwalt.”

Din took a step back but only ended up backing into a fat man.

“Hey, watch where you’re pushing!” The fat man yelled as he pushed Din back.

The black-haired man stopped Din from falling forward.

After regaining his balance, Din tried to play it off, “I don’t know who you’re talking about? Din Morrison? Who’s that?”

“If you know what’s good for you, follow me. And don’t make a noise.”

The man wasn’t fooled.