“Alright everyone, it would seem that the gods have been kind to us. I can’t see a single storm cloud over the horizon and we have an excellent tailwind pushing us. So we should make it to the demon continent in about 2 days. I know it’s been a long 20 day trip, but we are almost at the end of our voyage,” the shipmaster yelled out in a clear voice as he stepped into the dining hall aboard a large transport ship.

“Please make sure to check your items before leaving. If you have any illegal items such as merry drugs, make sure you toss them overboard by tonight. There will be guards at the port to check your luggage at random,” he continued as everybody gradually returned to eating their breakfast.

In the corner table sat a beautiful woman with silver hair and green eyes, and next to her was a young elf with the most sparkling golden eyes. They kept quiet, trying their best to not draw attention. However, her beauty seemed to cause the glances and admiration to gravitate towards her. Elegant yet cold, the refined lady had all the posture and etiquettes of an esteemed noble. And yet, she was evidently not from an aristocratic family considering she had chosen to take this commoner ferry instead of her own private ship.

The pair ate their allotted breakfast silently. It was a bland soup with barely the minimal amount of seasoning and no meat. They had in their hands a few pieces of dried smoked jerky that they seemed to have brought on board themselves, as did all the other 20 passengers. The past 18 days had been sorely uneventful to say the least. Even the shipmaster and his sailors were getting suspicious. There was no storm, no pirates, no monsters, and a perfect wind that seemed to forever propel their sails.

“Do you think they’ve arrived at the port already?” Kiefer asked as he put down his soup spoon, his teeth scraping the top of his tongue to remove the bland yet almost stale-like taste of the soup.

“They probably arrived long ago. They started moving from the middle of the ocean while we still had to return to the main continent to get a passenger transport ship. And considering that the supercarrier is faster than this primitive boat, I’d say they’ve already attracted quite the attention in the port city,” Isana replied.

“Good. Let’s hope they can pull enough attention to themselves so that we can move discreetly. Considering the footage from the harriers, security within the city seems air tight. It’ll be easier to cross the walls into the wilderness if we do it in conjunction with Kina and Rose,” Kiefer nodded in agreement.

The day passed slowly, with many of the passengers taking part in a small session of parlour games to alleviate their boredom. It had been ongoing since the start of the trip. While Kiefer and Isana took part in the gambling sessions a few times, they quickly got bored after finding out that the card games had been rigged. Players were more likely to lose money than win, but the occasional big wins that the ship’s crew offered kept the passengers enticed.

It was not a small ship, but neither was it big when compared to what Isana and Kiefer had seen back on Aioa and Earth. The crew totalled 15 members, with the additional 20 passengers, making it a decently populated vessel. Most of the passengers were craftsmen or farmers, the 2 sorely needed professions in the Port city of the Demon continent.

Very soon, the ship drew near the end of her journey as morning came around once more. The shipmaster was staring out towards their destination with quizzical eyes. He had been running trips between the main continent of Risea and the demon continent for the past 20 years, and he has heard plenty of rumours, but this was the first time he’s laid his eyes on a titanic structure floating a short distance away from the coast.

“That’s weird, I thought the rumours said that the metallic mountain was somewhere in the middle of the ocean, not this close to the demon continent’s shore,” the first mate muttered as he stood next to his captain.

“Well, either the rumours were wrong, or that thing moved from its original position. But I don’t see any sails on it, so it probably isn’t a ship. I wonder what it is…” the shipmaster pondered, inspecting the supercarrier through his primitive binoculars.

“What if it’s one of those demons from the wild? I heard that they have bodies made of iron and stone. Maybe this is a new sea faring demonic beast?” the first mate replied, starting to fear the worst.

“If it is indeed a demonic beast, then Risea is done for. But I find that highly unlikely. The fact that it is so close to the city, and yet there isn’t a single trace of destruction or smoke in the air suggests that the city has yet to be run over by the demons. I guess we will find out once we get closer,” the shipmaster decided, putting down his binoculars.

What started out as a small grey spot on the horizon gradually grew the closer they got. Very soon, as afternoon approached, the sailors began making preparations to dock. Their ship sailed pass the supercarrier, hiding within the shadows of the supercarrier that made their ship seem like a small dwarf. As all eyes remained glued to the fascinating sight, Kiefer and Kina swept their mana pulse through the carrier, making sure there was nobody on board.

Within 20 minutes of sailing past the supercarrier, the sailors were bustling about preparing to drop the anchor. As the ship slowly made its way to the wooden jetty, the sails were folded and the vessel eventually came to a complete stop, after which workers on the dock began pulling the ship closer to the jetty with ropes. The moment the vessel was in place, 3 burly sailors on board hoisted a large iron anchor and dropped it overboard. Finally, a wooden plank was laid across to bridge the ship’s deck and the wooden jetty.

The passengers began filing out on the planks and lining up along the jetty. Kiefer and Isana mixed in with the crowd, each carrying a small sack of items so that it wouldn’t seem suspicious. Within their sacks were some daily necessities, food and currency that they earned by selling some of the animals they caught and killed on the main continent. There was a group of 4 lightly armed guards that were inspecting the passengers that alighted from the ship.

“Good afternoon. This is a regular bag search. Your ship has been selected at random, so every passenger will be inspected. What is your purpose of visiting Mayheir City?” the guard asked politely as he received the bags from Kiefer and Isana.

“We are here to explore possible business opportunities. My husband here is a blacksmith,” Isana answered calmly. The guard looked at Kiefer from top to bottom, a suspicious look blooming on his face.

“What is your real purpose here? This is the first time I’ve seen an elf blacksmith, and from the looks of your hands, it is clear that you haven’t handled much tools before. Your items check out fine, but your purpose is suspicious,” the guard replied, his hand slowly making its way to the sword hanging on his waist.

Then as if his personality took a severe change, the guard relaxed, his hands returning to their sides. “Everything seems fine here. Go on ahead,” he said monotonously as he handed out 2 cards to Kiefer and Isana. Isana smiled wryly as she accepted the cards that permitted them to roam the city. They walked past the guard and mingled in with the crowd before Isana cancelled the mind control magic on him.

“I never thought I’d say this, but Gondor’s abilities really are useful. As much as I’d hate to use the abilities of the one that killed you, it is proving to be extremely handy,” Isana chuckled softly, her hand gripping Kiefer’s.

“Let’s go meet up with Kina and Rose first shall we? They must have arrived here a week or two earlier than us. They probably know much more about the city than us,” Kiefer suggested, sending out his mana pulse to locate his daughter.

“Well, flying seems out of the question, and teleporting seems impossible too with so many witnesses. They are right in the heart of the city, walking there will take at least half a day. What do you say we hire one of those carriages?” Isana asked while pointing at the ranks of horse pulled carriages waiting just on the other side of the cobbled street.

“Where to?” the carriage driver asked in an annoyed tone as he stared down at Kiefer and Isana from atop his seat. “Hiring a carriage is expensive, so don’t waste my time if you can’t pay up. I swear each and every day, these plebs come here thinking they can just use any service they want,” he muttered. He had seen them alight from the commoner transport vessel and judging from the way Kiefer and Isana dressed, he make a quick judgement that they were not nobles of any sort.

Isana scowled, her brows creasing and frowning, but Kiefer quietly calmed her down with a squeeze of his hand. He knew how these people were, he’d seen plenty back on Aioa and even on the main continent of Risea. It was just the way they changed and adapted to their lifestyles that made them quick to judge. After all, there would be nothing to do other than regret once you’ve offered your services only to find out that the customers cannot pay you for your worth.

“We are looking to head straight to the heart of the city. We have some acquaintances there we are supposed to meet. How much will it be?” Kiefer asked.

“The central district is for nobles and members of the high council only you know? You won’t make it past the gates dressed like plebs. I can send to up to the central district gates, but no further. It will be 5 small silvers for the trip,” the driver replied with a mocking tone.

“Here’s 1 large silver coin. You can keep the change, just get us there as soon as possible,” Kiefer ordered, tossing the silver coin worth 10 small silvers to the driver and clambering onto the carriage. It was an open carriage, without a roof over their head. The seats were cushioned, but the wooden wheels made sure they felt each and every bump on the road.

The city was one of the more developed ones Kiefer and Isana had seen. Stone buildings lined the well-structured streets. Smoke rose from the chimneys as people streamed in and out of restaurants, inns and workshops. Vendors could be seen selling their wares under makeshift roofs made out of cloth to provide a little shade. The main thing Kiefer noticed though, was that almost everyone was armed, with even waiters and porters moving around doing their jobs with a sword hanging from their waist or an axe slung on their back.

“Hey, what’s up with all the residents in this city? Even the children seem to be armed with shortswords,” Kiefer inquired, directing his question to the driver.

“It must be your first time in this city. The city walls are always under threat of attack from the demon spawnlings. So when the chime rings, it is every citizen’s duty to defend this city. Every child learns basic sword skills so that they can protect themselves and not be a burden to the adults. We fend off an attack almost every month, but it is nothing major. They never make it past the walls, but it pays to be prepared. You never know where you will be when an attack strikes so everyone carries a weapon.” The driver explained as he steered the horse around a corner.

“Well, there’s the gate to the central district. You should be fine if I drop you off her. I don’t want to get into trouble with the guards for venturing too close,” the driver smiled as he pointed to a stone wall with the gates guarded by 2 heavily armed guards. It seemed almost like a smaller city within the city.

Kiefer and Isana alighted the carriage and shrugged at the driver’s attitude before proceeding to walk towards the gate. The guards seemed to have spotted them and one of them was already making his way towards them.

“That’s close enough there,” he called out, putting his hand up to signal for Kiefer and Isana to stop. They were standing almost 5m apart, not a distance comfortable to hold a conversation. “What business do you have here? This is the central district and is off limits to anyone other than key figures of the city.”

Kiefer and Isana exchanged glances. They both had the same thought running through their minds. “Key figures of the city? Just what did Kina and Rose do within these 2 weeks to be considered Key figures of the city?”

“We are just sight-seeing sir. We did not mean to provoke you or anything,” Isana pleaded with her sweet voice. The guard was clearly swayed by her charms, changing his attitude quickly.

“Well miss, it’s alright as long as you stay clear. Try not to approach the guards at the other gates as they might not be as friendly. Please return to your inn at once. We are expecting another attack soon, so everyone is on the edge,” he explained.

“Let’s head back. Knowing our daughter, she probably already knows we have arrived. Let’s just wait for her to approach us. We are trying to keep a low profile after all,” Kiefer reasoned.

*GONG!*

*GONG!*

*GONG!*

*GONG!*

A loud bell suddenly rang out from various parts of the city. The bell towers were the highest point in the city aside from the wall. The look on the guard’s face quickly turned solemn as he rushed back to the gate where ten more guards flooded out from within, each carrying a hemp sack filled with sand and stacking them to form a barricade around the gate. Then the guards all took up a defensive posture.

“Miss! Hurry and take your child to the nearest inn! They have basement shelters for newcomers and unarmed civilians! There is an attack coming soon!” The guard yelled out to Isana.

“Why don’t we check out the fighting capabilities of both sides?” Kiefer asked, smiling as a he shrouded the Isana and himself with his cloaking spell.