The woman fingered her chin a moment. "I can look. Inventory is short city round since they closed off all the gates. It'll cost you, but if you've got the money..."
"I do."
"Well then. Come back here in three days, I'll see what I can find."
"I appreciate it." Felix peered past the curtains, judging the street outside. The wide road was filling up quickly, close to a hundred people that he could see, and it would only increase from there.
"Take the back door," Caerwin pointed at the rear door, the one Felix had tried to flee through. "It'll take you into my garden. Hop the wall and you'll be in an alley that you can follow east until it opens up onto Cobalt Street. Head north from there and you'll hit the Dust Quarter in no time."
Felix hesitated a moment before nodding his thanks. He tried the back door and this time it opened with ease. When had she unlocked it...?
He opened the door and shooed Pit out. Turning back to Caewin he nodded. "Thank you."
He slipped out the door and closed it behind him. Left within the brightening shop, Caerwin's smile was wide and bright and a laugh bubbled up from her chest. "What an interesting boy."
Her laugh was bright and melodic.
Felix moved through Caerwin's back garden relatively easily. It wasn't large, though it had an impressive array of herbs and plants growing there. He Eyed them instinctively, noting various new plants he'd yet to encounter in the wilds. But then he and Pit hopped the wall, which was approximately eight feet tall but was otherwise no obstacle to their abilities. Activating Skulk and Abyssal Skein, the two companions made their way down the empty alley way, heading east as the shopkeep suggested.
That was a breath of fresh air, Felix smiled to himself. She could have reported us to the Acolytes easily and didn't.
He was feeling good about the interaction, having come away with a useful amulet that should let him live a quiet life, at least for a little while. As the two of them neared the end of the alley, they shared a glance before ducking into a shadowed nook and activating Convergence. A flash of light and Pit was gone again, hidden away as best they could manage.
We just gotta make it to an inn in the Dust Quarter. Then we can rest.
Cobalt Street was just as busy as Caerwin's own, and more people seemed to flood forward as seconds passed. There were many different Races present, his Eye spotting several Dwarves and Half-Orcs, but the majority were Human. Everyone wore a wide variety of colors and style of clothing too. It was like a renaissance fair, but brighter and louder and...smellier. The scent of wood-smoke prevailed over most others, but as the heat of the day mounted so too did the general miasma of unwashed masses. Felix didn't notice any open gutters filled with filth and did see several grated drains on his walk north, so the city must have had a working sewer system, which was a relief. He idly fantasized about taking a shower again, and held out quiet hope that indoor plumbing had been invented already.
That thought was spurred on further by the proliferation of odd enchanted objects he saw among the throngs of people. Various pieces of magical equipment and armor could be spotted on some Guilders, but even everyday people around him were holding small etched cubes and other oddments, each giving off waves of various Mana frequencies. It made Felix miss his Elemental Shard, which he hadn't seen since he was pulled into the Void.
It was probably destroyed by the Essence Anchor. The artifact was made to siphon and absorb Maw-tainted energy, and the Shard fit the bill after Felix's unwilling infection. Maybe those cubes had similar functions. I'll have to find out when I get a chance. Do some real shopping.
As the crowds grew, Felix found it harder to stay unnoticed with Abyssal Skein, though the Skill did level up to 9. Ultimately, the chance of being discovered was too high, so he found a quiet corner and dropped the Skill. Mingling with the crowd was easy enough, though his heart raced whenever he passed groups of armored guards. The farther he progressed from the Wall Quarter the less presence there was of the Inquisitors, and Felix was now confident Caerwin hadn't lied. The streets were just as busy, but the buildings looked more worn and dilapidated compared to the western area, and the clothing on folks became more muted and threadbare. Leather armor was still extremely popular, however, though most of it looked less well-cared for and none of it had any enchantments according to his Eye.
As he passed through a thick stone wall, the condition of the streets, buildings, and people deteroriorated even further. This, he assumed, was the Dust Quarter proper. While the lack of maintenance increased, so too did the amount of people. The majority of folks seemed to be headed back where he had come from, most dressed in thin shirts, sturdy canvas pants, and worn boots. Laborers, he assumed. The Dust Quarter seemed to be made up of said laborers, and like Felix had been expecting, was likely the poorest section of the city.
Dusty too, he coughed as a passing wagon kicked up a beige cloud. Well named, I guess.
The streets were in disrepair, and in most areas the cobbles had been either worn away or torn up and it was only hard-packed earth. In the summer heat, that dirt was a lingering dust in the air that quickly dried out his mouth and nose and irritated his eyes. It wasn't much of an inconvenience, as his high Vitality and Endurance inured him to some of those discomforts, but it wasn't great.
Fighting through the crowds and traffic took up a lot of time, and Convergence ran out twice. After waiting a bit of time in the shadows of a few questionable buildings, Felix and Pit kept going. He could hold Convergence for 26 minutes at a time, but after it wore off there was a sort of cool down wherein it wouldn't function. The transformation was easy to hold at first, but it ate away at his concentration and mental energy quickly. He was exhausted, physically and mentally.
An hour and a half after he had set out from Caerwin's, Felix found a row of inns. They were situated around a reasonably maintained stone square, one that was dominated by a large fountain depicting a creature of uncertain origins fighting against a woman in heavy armor. The copper of the statue was covered in verdigris and water poured down from green wounds in the beast's body. The square was quite busy, filled with carts and travelers, even a good amount of weapons-bearing people moving in and out of the various taverns and shops. He was near the other end of the Dust Quarter, edging toward whatever the eastern section of the city was called, as he could see a wall loom over some roofs. It was far higher than the one between Wall and Dust Quarters.
Felix navigated through the press of bodies, gently excusing himself as he passed a line of Humans waiting with buckets by the fountain. It was where they got their water, clearly, and that fact alone dashed Felix's hopes of a hot shower. He doubted that people who had to tote water from a communal fountain had access to modern Earth plumbing.
On the far side of the square was his destination: a large two story building with a cracked and faded sign out front depicting a turkey leg and a mug of frothing ale. Squiggles below that probably said 'Turkey Beer Inn' or something, and it irritated Felix that he still couldn't read anything. He mounted the steps onto a wide porch, past a collection of elderly Dwarves smoking long pipes, and into a poorly-lit and very humid common room. The majority of the area was dominated by poorly made wooden tables and stools, while a stone fireplace took up the far wall, abutting the long counter of the bar. A few patrons mingled about, sitting with mugs and plates of food or else chatting at the bar. A dour looking Half-Orc in a dirty apron stood behind the bar, wiping mugs and serving ale from the kegs set into the wall behind him.
An older Half-Elven woman with a kind face gone jowly and bright blue eyes came up to him. "What'll it be, love?"
"I'm looking to get a room, and a bath." Felix managed to not quite gawk at the woman's slightly pointed ears. He had seen a few Elves when they rescued the giants' prisoners, but that had been from afar. Up close was a strange experience.
"Aye. That'll be two silver a night, five copper for the bath. Includes one meal a day down 'ere in the common area. Anything else is extra. Sound fair?"
Felix nodded, his head feeling increasingly fuzzy. "Ah, yes. Sounds fair enough." The woman walked back to the bar and rummaged under the counter before coming back to him. She handed Felix a worn iron key.
"Yer room key. Don't lose it or you'll get charged 5 silver to replace it, yeah?" She smiled at him and held out her hand.
"Ah, wait. Would it be possible to have my meals brought to my room? And to double them?" He smiled and hoped he landed on charming.
"Sure, anythin's possible with enough money. One more silver a day for extra meals and bringin' it up to yer room. Good?"
Felix smiled, feeling stretched thin with exhaustion. "Good. Here," he handed her a single gold coin. "This should cover it."
The woman's eyes went wide when she saw the gold, and she quickly stuffed it into her bodice. "I should say so! Will there be anything else, young master?"
"No, that, ah, that should be enough," Felix didn't know how to take the woman's sudden change in attitude. A crown must be worth more than I thought.
"Very good. Yer room is up the stairs and third on the right. Blue door." She smiled with a wink and swept away, back into the growing crowd.
Felix shook his head and trudged up the stairs, feeling that strange sort of floatiness reserved for drug trips and sleep deprivation. He gripped the iron key hard, worried he'd drop it, but then forced himself to loosen his grip. He didn't want to bend the thing. Somehow he made it up the stairs, though he had little memory of the trip, unlocked his door and spilled into his room. He managed to lock the door again before keeling over on the bed, and falling into a deep and dreamless slumber.