Broken Tower Saga: The First Swordsman

The car stopped before a hotel, known as Sunset Resort, which was situated on a side of the river. Wrik came out of the vehicle first and one by one, everyone else came out as well. 

Unlike how weird and unpleasant it looked, travelling inside was not so uncomfortable. It went smooth down the path, and in their only first time riding, they only felt a little unrest in the beginning. 

At last, it was the broker that came in who then instructed something to the driver of the car.

He was called Gard, and had been in his business for a couple of decades and knew the city well, like he was the ruler of it. As they say, a beggar knew about the alleyways far better than the ruler of the kingdom. 

On the path here, Wrik had asked many questions about the city to the man in his late prime who did not seem any bit bothered to answer them. Perhaps their identity as Mahasayer was the reason for it, or perhaps Gard was just good to his patron. Either way, it did not matter. 

"Let's get inside," Gard said to them, giving a slight look at the resort. "Your baggage will be delivered soon. No need to fear losing any content."

The car creaked out of the way in less acceleration than a normal horse carriage. According to Gard, this type of vehicle could move a few multiples of the speed, but it was restricted by the law. 

Gard brought them towards the Sunset resort. It was a building that held about a dozen floors, quite wide, with dark stone plastered on most of the wall. A few guards stood with shotguns and spears in their arms before the gate. When they saw them coming, they courtesy opened the gate for them, saluting. 

There was a small garden inside the main gate and before the entrance of the resort. The grass was browner than green and the small trees stood bare as if never seen the glory of spring. A chilly wind blew—not as chilly as in the test—but it brought the feeling of desolation.

Gard moved and brought them inside as if the trees were old news to him and he couldn't care less about how dead or dry they looked. 

Sunset resort was not the most luxurious of the hotels here, but not the cheapest either. Wrik and others wanted a place away from the citadel, and it did not have to be luxurious even though the perks of being a mahasayer gave more discount than they needed. 

Sunset resort seemed to have met the criteria. It was a three-star resort with a little grounded look compared to what they had seen on their way here.

"Gala has three seasons," Gard said in a tone that everyone could hear. "Summer, Winter and the season in between. Spring has not been here for decades, and most citizens probably have eliminated the term from their minds as if it never existed before. 

"It is barely the start of Winter. It has not started worsening yet." 

Without waiting for anyone to comment, the broker moved and brought them before the reception. The receptionist was not a good-looking woman like any one of them had expected. It was a man in his prime. Though he had a youthful-looking face, his eyes were weary with thick glasses spectacle on his nose, and his face was a little tense. He seemed to recognise the Gard, who talked together a little while before the broker called them. 

The receptionist looked at them carefully, tapping a little on the glass. The lights were as good as any and he was clearly thinking if they really were Mahasayer with the little age. 

"Excuse me, gentlemen and ladies," the receptionist said courteously. "Will you mind showing the proof again?" 

Wrik clicked his tongue and infused mana into the symbol again, and it lit up in a white glow. The others did the same, and the receptionist nodded that the proof was enough.

"So, what types of suites do the Sires and Madames want?" The reception tone of addressing is much more courteous now, even though before it was in no way disrespectful. 

"We want a suite with multiple bedrooms, enough for everyone here," Wrik answered. "We will be staying for a few months and want a comfortable place. Do not cheap out about the suites." 

The receptionist nodded and checked a thick logbook. A frown appeared on his brows, but it smoothened immediately. He opened a few key cards from a drawer that held the number 402. He rang the bell and next a manservant appeared almost instantly. 

"Here," the Receptionist gave the key cards to them. "We only have four spare keys for a suite. The suite is on the fourth floor. He will show you the way. Enjoy your stay." 

The manservant was waiting to bring them to their lodging and Wrik went over to Gard to give him some tips. Even though the broker would get a cut from the resort, it was a courtesy to give some tips and more. This man has addressed them respectfully and answered most of his inquiries. 

Gard was not a mahasayer, so they could transfer credits just by tapping each other's arms. Wrik opened his omega cube, which was connected to all his omega windows. In contrast, the broker brought out a crystal card and gave it to him. 

Wrik connected it to the cube, and now he could transfer the digital currency with no problem. Wrik thought for a moment and transferred ten thousand credits. 

"That's too much, Sire," Gard said with widened eyes. 

"Really," Wrik said, narrowing his eyes. It appeared he did not know how much this currency was valued by normal people. But what's done was done. It would look bad taking it away and ten thousand was not a large sum to him. "How about this? If we need any tour of the city, you will please us with your service." 

"It would be an honour, Sire," Gard said, bowing a little.

Wrik was still not used to people bowing at him, but he could only nod here.

.. .

Laman whistled down on his walk on the path. It was not his first time in Gala. He had been here many times before and most of them he was doing something for himself or others. This visit was also related to a job he had taken months ago, even before he went to the trial of the Tower. Technically, he was not the only one who took the job. His good buddy Aasan was with it as well, but the fellow did not come today to meet their employer.

He strolled to the white bridge and stood on the railings waiting, watching the slow flow of water. The river was known as Tej'shaher. In the old tongue, it meant a river with the shredding flow, but currently, it did not look to go well with the name at all.

There were few people on the bridge. Mostly, young boys and girls, doing what they do best. Laman tilted his head a little to look at a few of them. They were laughing and giggling and whatnot! Youths were always impulsive and full of vigour. He had been too, but he was not fortunate enough to enjoy it like them. 

Suddenly, the giggling of the youths stopped, and they vacated the bridge immediately to the other end without any thinking. They do not know why they did it, but it seemed the right thing for them. 

"Where is your partner?" asked a voice on the other side where Laman was tilting his head. 

Laman raised his head and turned slowly to the owner of the voice. It was another man with a tall posture like him, but the air he radiated showed he was not a person to be messed with. He had a large hat on his head and shoulder-length long hair rested on behind. There was no weapon at the display on the body of the man, but he looked threatening enough. 

"Do you have to intimidate the kids?" Laman did not answer the question, but asked another question instead.

"Where is your partner?" the man asked the question again, and the tone was identically similar.

Laman clicked his tongue. "He's not feeling well, I reckon," he said. "On an important note, we did not find the key you are looking for, so he did not bother to come. And I, as a good sidekick, could not always be unfretted like him, so came here to discard the business." 

"The key was not there?" the man with the hat asked. He did not care about the humorous joke as his centre of attention was on the thing that he needed. He looked sternly at Laman with a feline-like dangerous eye that glitter in the dark. "Are you lying to me?" 

"I am too old in this business to lie to someone like you," the mercenary man said, letting out a self-conscious breath. "We really did not find the key. Maybe the news you have was wrong. Or perhaps someone else took it. Either way, as the job was a failure, you will get the two portions of the credits back as the deal."

Laman suddenly looked to where the man was standing and found no one there. He finally sighed in relief. Laman was not as comfortable as he had looked during the brief conversation. This man he just met always gets on his nerves, and probably that was the reason Aasan had not come with him.

_________________

Does the world-building seem boring and like an info dump?