The sight of high walls of Stonefalls were only overshadowed by the mountain chain behind it. The refugees were a few kilometers from the city but the high walls were clearly visible. The surroundings around the main road were barren of trees and only rocky grounds with patches of grass were visible. The road, however, was of higher quality with smaller, chiseled stones making for a less bumpy ride. They were approaching a line of carriages and other caravans waiting to enter the city. Bones hopped off and walked to the front where he expressed his desire to part ways, since he would be busy from now on and had things to do. The merchant thanked him and gave him a small case with small vials of mana potion along with a set of clothes he wouldn't need. Not to be rude, Bones thanked the man, taking both and leaving.

At the gates, Bones was looking for the entrance adventurers used but didn't see one. Reluctantly, he joined the queue and waited like everyone else. Once it was his turn, he stepped forward and showed the guard his contractor ID. The guard looked it over and asked him why he didn't enter through the other gate, from the eastern side of the wall. Apparently, there was a separate entrance for the guild members of any kind of guild. Bones shrugged, told him he didn't know and entered the city.

The city had a road going straight from the gates to the intersection where a guard was stationed that inspected and directed traffic. Behind him was a park where Bones could see children playing and people sitting on the grass, enjoying themselves. It was a stark contrast to the people arriving from the tragedy that struck them. Around the park were buildings and small shops selling mostly clothes and food. In the distance, tall buildings could be seen and Bones headed there, intrigued by the sight. There were many sidewalks going in different directions and Bones had a hard time picking which one to walk on. Why did they have to complicate things so much? He missed a few turns but it was easy to find direction just looking at the tall buildings towering over the others.

After twenty minutes of walking, Bones was standing in front of one of the tall buildings, bustling with people going in and out. The sign above the entrance read "Crafters Guild". Peeking inside from where he was standing, he could barely make out the forge, blacksmithing and leather making station. He started walking towards the entrance when someone bumped into him. He turned to look at the person but the man just yelled he was sorry and continued walking, getting lost in the crowd of people. Bones dismissed the man and continued walking until another man bumped into him, yelled, "watchit punk" and left. Bones was tempted to use bone spikes right there but held himself back.

He noticed the man yelling was a short person with a bushy big black beard. Could that be a dwarf? Anyway, I'm out of here, there will be plenty of time for sightseeing later. Bones gave up on entering and instead, turned and walked away, towards the inn he saw nearby. He entered and was assaulted by the noise and chatter. He got a few looks his way but most ignored him, busy eating and drinking. He stepped forward to the bar and asked for lodging. He was directed to the end of the corridor to his right. Bones found a small petite woman working the reception desk by the stairs leading to the upper floors.

“'ello luv, what can I do for ye?” Bones observed her and asked himself if she was another dwarf?

“'ello? HEY?” Bones snapped out of it.

“Hm? I'd like a room. How much is the night?”

“Ahem, it'll be 1 gold per night or 5 gold fer a whole week, breakfast included. Or ye could have a room with a private bath for 2 gold a night! Whatcha say?”

“A regular room for a week would be fine, thank you.” Bones replied.

“Ariight, upper or lower floor?”

“Upper floor is fine.” Upper floor might be less noisy and more private.

“Ariight, with a view or not?”

“…does it cost more with a view?”

The woman shrugged and said “No?”

“Then, with a view.”

“Ariight, breakfast is served between 7 and 9. Don't be late.”

“Ariight, thank you.” Bones answered, took the key of the room from the desk and went up the stairs to his room. The room was a simple one. A small living area that served as a bedroom area as well, with a bed in the middle of the room, a closet beside it and a lounge chair and small coffee table next to it. A small kitchen in the same living space and a small toilet in a separate space. Kitchen had something Bones had yet to see. A stove powered by mana stones! Or in this case, small red mana crystals. He wondered how it worked until he placed his hand on the panel and the panel glowed. He started to feel the warmth coming from the stove. Amazing, also explains the price for the room. There was no balcony but a big window overlooking the crafters guild. Bones took off his shirt and took off his chitin armor. I have to sell some mana stones and afford myself better gear. The sun was setting as Bones sat in the lounge chair, taking out a few vials of mana potion and watching the crowd milling about in front of the guild.

I should ask to learn a profession tomorrow. It wouldn't hurt to try out something, maybe even make some money out of it. There were also quests I needed to hand in at the adventurers guild. What else was there? Night has fallen and Bones saw the lights coming in from the mana posts. The streets below were as busy as they were earlier, during the day. Looking around, he saw the flat rooftops of the buildings and in the distance he could spot the silhouette of a person. A guard, perhaps? He considered hopping from rooftop to rooftop but already enough happened today. Tonight? He was gonna sip on the mana potion and watch what the night in the city had to offer.

Come dawn, Bones put on his shirt and armor and pulled down his hood, fully covering his body and went downstairs. It was too early and a barkeep barely registered him coming down. Bones went out in search of the armor shop. He found a lot of workshops in the area with a lot of shops selling all kinds of work-related tools, but not a single shop selling weapons and armor. Finally, he asked for directions and was pointed towards a smaller building a street away.

The building in question was an administration office of adventurers guild. The city didn’t have a proper adventurers guild building but an office where adventurers could complete and take new quests along their journey. Across the office were two shops selling adventurer equipment. After completing his quests and receiving the rewards, he entered the armor shop and was surprised to find out that they were selling mostly normal, non-enchanted gear. The reason being, he found out, was the crafters guild. There was no point in selling higher quality items with crafters guild so close by, that could custom make items for adventurers, so shops were selling normal armor and weapons more suited to guards, hunters and normal citizens.

Bones sighed and walked back to the crafters guild. He found a few people going in and out of the guild so early in the morning. A clanking sound of machinery could be heard throughout the night and into the morning. The guild operated 24/7 in two shifts, he found out. Bones couldn't imagine the monotonous routine of working the same hours, each day, five times a week. He shuddered just thinking about it as he was passing through the entrance. What greeted him was the grotesque sight of machinery the size of some smaller houses with two to three people operating on each. He stood there at the entrance absorbing the sight in front of him.

On the ground floor they were making some tools or parts of machinery he didn't recognize. He proceeded walking and looking around until a person approached him.

“Greetings sir. Can I help you with anything?”

Bones looked the man up and down and the strange attire he wore. Work clothes maybe?

“Greetings. I would like to commission a job for an armorsmith.”

“Ah, I'm sorry sir, the ground floor is a crafting hall for industrial parts only. You can find an armorsmith station on the 2nd floor and a supervisor will be there for any further input you have. Then, if there is no other business, goodbye and have a nice day.”

“Ah yes, thank you and goodbye.” Bones said and watched the man leave. “Ah I forgot to ask how to get to the second floor.”

Bones walked around, marveling at the production of parts while looking for the stairs but couldn't find one. You'd think they would place them in an easy-to-spot place. He noted a few burly men approaching and standing on a platform with walls on three sides. One of the men pressed a button on a stand in the middle and the platform started rising to the ceiling and disappearing beyond. Bones was stupefied and continued staring at the empty space where the platform was just a few seconds ago. A minute later he watched as the platform, now empty, returned to its original position. To satisfy his curiosity, he approached and stood at the platform, staring at the button on the stand. I fought beasts and men, to hell with this mechanical contraption! He pressed the button and felt his mana flow sway as the platform started to lift.

Half a minute later, Bones was kneeling as the platform came to a stop at the 2nd floor. He wobbly got off the platform and turned around, watching the platform go down. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned and looked at the man in the same odd attire as the man below. “A supervisor?“

The man greeted him as he was approaching and after having the same conversation as with the man on the ground floor, Bones found out that they didn't make custom orders in the guild anymore. They were making weapons and armors in large quantities in already pre-existing molds. Weapons and armors would be further stored in separate boxes and transferred into transport carriages that would transport them to other cities, towns and villages. He was pointed in the direction of the mountain chain with the explanation that most crafters that make custom items for adventurers, were stationed there. Bones thanked the man for giving him direction and hesitantly stepped back onto the platform.

Back outside, Bones didn't go straight towards the mountain chain but sat in the nearby coffee shop and ordered a coffee. He had to pause and collect his thoughts. He didn't expect to see such an advanced manufacturing innovation. He still couldn't wrap his head around what does what. It felt like just a month ago, he knew how the blacksmiths made weapons and the armorsmiths made armor. Now? The machines made them and the workers operated machines. Just what the shit was that? I swear I will lose my shit if I see another…Just as he thought about it and was about to take a sip of his coffee, it drove past him. He spilled the coffee onto his mask he forgot to remove, and onto his lap. A strange sort of carriage went past him without anything, as far as he could tell, pulling it. No reins, no carriage driver, it just moved on its own. It was smaller than a normal carriage and had smaller wheels made of unknown material. Different in design too. With a deep sigh he leaned back onto the chair and with a hnngh, flipped the whole table over. I hate it here.