Chương 19: Chapter 15 - Cinder's Hollow

The sun was starting to set when the town of Cinder's Hollow finally came into view. Gemma whistled softly at the sight of the massive walls, visible even as far away as they were. Despite the town being only a quarter of the size of Elkstone, the fortifications were easily the match of the county seat's.

"Impressive. How the heck does a town this size even afford to build something like that?" Bella slowed her feline mount's gait to a slow walk – which still was faster than a normal person's pace just by virtue of how large it was – and scratched gently at the back of the cat's neck.

"Dunno. And why would they even need walls that big? We're a decent distance from the thick of the wilderness here. Seems like overkill." Her friend nodded as she let her unicorn fall into the same pace, her brow furrowed in thought.

"It does. A wall that big requires a lot more maintenance and bigger guard patrols. Some engineers and architects on staff. Maybe there's something special about the town that they need the wall." Bella rolled her eyes, even though she couldn't help but smile at Gemma's habit of digging into the meaning behind what she'd always treated as important pieces of lore. Maybe it really was important, now. The elf continued, her unaware gaze locked onto the gate that was slowly growing as they approached.

"And can afford it. We can ask when we get to the Adventurer's Guild tonight." The catkin just groaned in response.

"Do we have to do that tonight? Can't we just go to an inn and deal with it tomorrow?" After an almost entirely full day of riding with only a short break for lunch, the last thing Bella wanted to do was deal with people. Even if she was feeling better today than yesterday.

"You know they're going to make a big deal of us being there and I was hoping we could at least keep a little bit of a low profile." Gemma knew Bella didn't do well with lots of social interaction and was grateful to count herself on the short list of people who could hold a conversation with her after a long day. The elf raised her brow and broke into a small smile.

"Low profile, eh? While riding into town on mana mounts?" Bella shot her a frustrated look and swung down out of her saddle without a word. Would have been way easier to just ride into town, she thought grumpily, scuffing her boot against the ground. Her mount summoning stone appeared in her hand from her storage and flashed as the panther disappeared. A similar flash blinked at her side as Gemma did the same.

The final stretch to the gate would have only taken them a few minutes at full speed but took them almost an entire hour on foot. Twilight had taken hold when a gate guard stopped them with a thump of their spear against the smooth stone road.

"Good evening, my ladies, and welcome to Cinder's Hollow. May I have your names and reason for entry?"

"Gemma and Bellasora Hollyhope, adventurers. We're here to pick up a few quests from the Guild before we continue our journey towards the capital." To accompany the explanation Gemma retrieved an identification card and extended it towards the guard. A hand encased in a hardened leather glove took the card gingerly, eyes wide at the sight of the rank marking on it, before looking a bit dazedly at Bella. She smiled tiredly and retrieved her own from her storage.

The casual usage of the absurdly challenging extradimensional storage spell wasn't lost on the guard, whose eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of their head. They bowed deeply and scurried back into the guardhouse to confirm and record the cards.

"We're going to have to ask for lower rank cards so that doesn't keep happening," Bella sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Really hope the mayor or whoever doesn't come to suck up to us again." Gemma laughed quietly, crossing her arms and watching the panicked guard glance over their shoulder at the duo.

"Not your worst idea. Even more reason to drop into the Guild tonight, to get a head start on that." The catkin groaned and hid her face in her hands.

"Betrayed by my own ideas," she mumbled, tail lashing with frustration.

"You're doing all the talking though." Her expression of tired defeat smoothed over as the guard returned in a hurry, bowing nearly parallel to the ground as they proffered the identification cards back out.

"My greatest apologies for the delay, my ladies. Cinder's Hollow welcomes you with open arms. Please enjoy your stay." As she accepted both of the cards, Gemma smiled and gestured insistently at the guard.

"Please, rise. No need to bow on our accord, you're merely doing your job. We hope you have a pleasant night." She inclined her head in thanks to the guard and led the way into the town. This time, it was Bella's turn to whistle in surprise. They'd only made it a block into town when it finally struck her – everything was immaculate.

"It looks like something out of a travel brochure." The streets were clean and nearly perfectly level, compared to the rougher cobblestone of Elkstone. Even in the twilight she could tell every house and business lining the street was well maintained and well kept, sporting fresh paint and decorative flourishes along the window and doorframes. Flanking both sides of the road were streetlights, wooden posts with hanging lanterns letting off a bright flickering glow. Except it wasn't fire.

Bella was drawn in towards the closest lantern, extending her magical senses and letting them brush against the source of the light – a crystal heavy with fire mana that was enchanted not only to produce light, but to mimic natural flame and last an exceptionally long time without needing to be replaced. Enchanting hadn't been one of her focal branches while playing the game, anything crafting related was more Robin's specialty. But she'd put enough work into it as part of earning her Archmage title.

"How fascinating. The amount of expertise needed…" Her sentence trailed off as she reached for the hanging lantern, intent on learning its secrets. Gemma cleared her throat. Bella glanced over, brows furrowed in confusion at the interruption.

"Are you sure you wanted to keep a low profile? I'm pretty sure pilfering the town's lamplight isn't helping that cause." The catkin blushed deeply and let her hand fall to her side, glancing once more, longingly, at the lamp before she fell back into step alongside her friend.

"Fine. But if we do get accosted by whoever runs this town, I'm going to demand one to study." Her petulant condition was met with a snort and a shake of the elf's head, sending golden braids dancing. Bella's cheeks colored even deeper, turning her nose up and continuing down the street. The roadway quickly opened up, and based on memories of passing through town in the past she knew the Adventurer's Guild should be on the far side of the plaza. Did you know this story is from Royal Road?

Read the official version for free and support the author. What she hadn't expected was the liveliness of the place. This wasn't even the largest – or most important – plaza in the city, and yet it was filled with people. Groups of townsfolk meandered about slowly, chatting amongst themselves and enjoying the night despite the oncoming chill. Every one had cloaks wrapped around their shoulders in a similar cut, some sort of local fashion.

While it seemed most shops were closed, restaurants lined the edges of the square, lights glowing from windows illuminating tables outside where patrons ate and drank, comfortable in the heat from small heating fires scattered around. Benches around the central fountain held canoodling couples sharing wine and cheese. Families were picnicking on the smooth stone, blankets laid out and kids toddling around playing with balls and sticks.

A pair of friendly guards were chatting amicably with a young man who'd had a bit too much to drink as they half-supported, half-carried him off towards his home.

"The travel brochure continues. Seriously, what's with this town? Everyone's happy and healthy and perfect. It's like something out of a holiday movie. Woman moves to unnamed European city, meets handsome local cheesemonger with a failing business, falls in love with him and the town and decides to stay instead of inheriting her family's pickle company." Gemma laughed, but she was starting to feel similarly about it too.

"Or a horror movie. Everything's perfect and amazing, but it turns out the city council are all cannibals that are preying on the promiscuous and troublesome teenagers. To the best of my knowledge the Order of the Uplifting Spirit has no missions here, so this isn't something we organized. Although I'd love to know how they managed it." Bella shook her head as they skirted around the plaza, nodding and offering a slightly uneasy smile at the cheerful greetings directed their way by anyone they passed by.

Soon enough they stood before the Guild. The building stood out for how remarkably… simple it was, in comparison to its surroundings. In most towns, the Guild was one of the nicest structures by virtue of the amount of coin that changed hands through it. Here, it was just another building in a plaza amongst a dozen others, all as perfectly maintained. It did stand out in other ways, at least.

The Hall was twice as wide as any of the other buildings, and standing on the corner had an obvious double door around the back for carts and wagons to use for loading and unloading supplies and loot. The front door was cracked open despite the late hour, light spilling out from inside. Gemma lead the way inside, and Bella peered eagerly around her to see the inside of the hall.

They hadn't skipped the Adventurer's Guild in Elkstone, but they had reported in about slaying the goddess before waking up as their characters, which meant the memory felt different, distant. Which means this is my first time really in a Guild. A staple trope! Bar fights and hazing noobies! Except instead of a bar full of rowdy adventurers and haughty locals thinking they were hot shots, Bella was greeted by a mostly empty building.

The bar was there, sure, as were the check in counters and the stuffed monster heads along the walls and the quest posting board. But the only soul in sight was an exhausted looking gnomish woman mopping an apparently stubborn stain by a table full of dirty plates. Charlie, Bella knew – the same woman who had helped them in that distant memory of visiting here on their way to Elkstone.

"For the last time, Darren, I am not going out with you tonight. I have way too much to –" The gnome's words bit off as she looked up and noticed the duo watching her with amused smiles. Her eyes shot wide and her ears turned pink, dropping the mop onto the floor with a loud clatter.

"My ladies!" she exclaimed, bowing deeply to them.

"I'm so sorry for the confusion! I heard about your victory, you have my utmost thanks for what you've done! We can never repay you for your service! Ah!" She straightened out and gave them a startled look before darting behind the counter where the clerks normally would sit. Bella leaned over to murmur softly to Gemma as they approached the counter.

"Surprised word spread so fast. Wonder if it's Guild couriers or if Robin passed through here. Maybe they left us a note." Her prediction ended up being correct on both counts as Charlie stood back up with a triumphant 'aha!' and pushed forward two letters. With delicate grasp, Gemma took both letters and turned them over. Bella could see one was clearly from Robin - no one else would be informal or crazy enough to address them as Bel and Gem.

The other seemed more formal – the envelope was made of finer paper, and the wax stamp was a deep purple and featured the phoenix symbol of the royal family. She gulped slightly, hoping that wasn't what she thought it was. But before she could start to stress at the idea of being summoned by the royal family Gemma opened the first letter. Bel + Gem, Our mounts are super rad. It took me basically no time to get all the way here!

Apparently they already knew about what happened, Charlie said the Guild and town officials all operate a messaging network, but didn't release our identities which is handy. I'm still on my way to the capital and hope to get there within a week at this pace. This town is apparently a source for some really special fire mana crystals. I'm sure you saw them in the streetlights all over town. I've got a project in mind that I think you'll both like, and they would be nice to have.

Could you get me two dozen or so of them? Also, having some kind of teleportation magic would be super handy. Bel, you should get on that. -Robin"That is sooo like them," Bella laughed as she glanced up from the letter to Gemma, just in time to catch her friend's eyes rolling.

"Drop in, tell us to get things for them while they run off to do something else, and casually tell me to solve a problem no one else has ever managed to solve." As if she wasn't already thinking about how to implement a teleportation spell. And they weren't already planning on taking on some quests here to give them more time to acclimate before heading to the capital. Gemma didn't even answer. Apparently Robin's antics were beneath the threshold to earn a response.

She just ran her thumb underneath the wax seal of the next letter and held it out where Bella could read it too. High Paladin Gemma Hollyhope, Archmage Bellasora Hollyhope, Honorable Robin Riversly, It is my greatest pleasure to thank you for rescuing not just Doslande but the world itself from the strife brought about by Irien. Though we will spend many years cleaning up the ashes left in the wake of the Exiled Moon, your actions in slaying her have shown your strength and honor to be peerless.

We would like to celebrate your great deed and ensure your proper recognition and recompense. Upon arrival in the capital, please present this letter as verification to the Watcher of the Gates to arrange a meeting. - Her Royal Majesty, Queen Stephye Jamoor Unlike the first letter, this one had Bella's mouth drawn into a taut line. She stepped back and heaved a sigh, tangling her fingers in her hair and tugging slightly.

"Just what we needed. Fawning nobles and political schemes wrapped up in nice words. I hope you know you're dealing with that." Beside her, Gemma seemed more pensive than frustrated, brow only slightly furrowed.

"I'm not surprised by a summons. Honestly, I'd be shocked if we didn't get one. She didn't use my royal title, which means she probably wants to give us noble titles and tie us to Doslande. At least she's not sending escorts to drag us back with them. There's no timeline mentioned, which means we can continue taking our time." Bella groaned at the idea of being forced into being a noble.

"We better come up with a plan by the time we get there. I will wither up and die if I'm forced to deal with politics, you know." Her words earned an earnest laugh from Gemma, which brightened her spirits a little bit.

"Can we get our quest and find an inn? I am done with today. Charlie, do you have anything that needs doing?" Two sets of eyes turned towards the gnome behind the counter, who was staring at them both with something teetering between awe and horror. To be fair, two goddess-slaying adventurers had walked into her hall right before closing, complained about a summons from the queen like was an annoying neighbor asking to borrow tools, then asked her for a job.

"Spiders?" the woman squeaked hesitantly.