Unmotivated Deity

They had arrived at the port city just as the sun was starting to set. The carriage moved carefully down the sloped cobblestone streets down to the center tier of the path down to a vast beach, off which many docks and wooden ships, both small and large were visible. The slope of the port city lined the entire southern coast of the Elitrix Empire, buffered from the sea only by a long strip of white sand and a small layer of palm trees.

The group of six and their coach driver stayed in a fairly nice inn within the middle section of the city. On the outside it looked only like a slightly taller version of the light brown stone buildings around it. It had balconies built out of each room allowing for one to look up the slope at the city or down to the ocean depending on your luck in procuring a room. On the inside the state of the inn became apparent in the use of highly polished dark woods, well maintained fabrics, each room being larger than two in an average inn. Their parents had advised them to this inn, the Rozeheart because it was a less known gem of the city. It was not known to many bur those that did know of it kept it open and well funded.

As the group of six entered the inn they saw a receptionist behind the polished hardwood counter. Jien stepped forward to the counter and faced the young woman who stood just over five feet tall with almond shaped dark eyes hidden behind a pair of simple, dark framed glasses. She had straight black hair that ran down to the middle of her back. She wore a simple pastel purple dress and a white apron around her waist. On her chest was a simple name tag with the name Sam carved into it in an elegant script.

Jien and the others had had the fortune to run into the owner of the establishment. Jien had been informed that should this esteemed lady be present at the time of his arrival that he was to act with his utmost manners. This establishment was important to many of the noble families and any disrespect would not be seen well. Thus Jien respectfully requested three rooms, ensuring to pay the full amount upfront and doing his best not to trouble the woman before him.

Soon the six of them were settled in their rooms, two to each room. The girls stayed in a room together and as soon as they split off from the rest the boys felt a headache forming. The two females of their group were already talking behind their back, whispering and giggling. Jien and Barret didn't seem particularly bothered by this turn of events but Bernard and Lesley felt shivers run down their spines as if someone dropped a chunk of ice down their shirts.

The boys soon separated as well, Barret and Jien taking to one room while Lesley and Bernard took the other next door. They didn't have much with them so it didn't take long before they headed downstairs to have a short dinner in the dining area of the inn. They were served a rather elegant dinner of freshly caught seafood by the owner and another woman had short black hair, similarly dark eyes, also wearing glasses. This woman was wearing a simple black maids uniform with a large bow in the back and a ruffled white apron.

Jien and the group ate quickly, but having had six months to relearn their manners they kept to proper etiquette until they were finished. After they had eaten their fill they headed back to their room, leaving a hefty tip to the cook and owner for their services and the delicious meal. They quickly chose to sleep knowing that tomorrow would be an important day.

It was early morning when Jien woke up, earlier than the others. This was the way it usually went, as long as they weren't on shifts. He had over time just become used to the early routine, even though he didn't consider himself an early bird by any stretch. He thus had always been charged with waking the others. In Barret's case this was easy since he was a light sleeper, but all of the others took more effort even though they received training on this aspect as well.

Soon they were all up and dressed once more, walking down to the dining area and seeing that breakfast had been laid out for them. A mixture of different fruits including some they didn't recognize, eggs, toast and bacon. It was all hot as if the cook and owner had known they were coming at this time. The teens didn't question it, eating quickly and leaving another sizable tip at the behest of their parents.

They checked out with the help of Sam and were walked out by both Sam and the cook whose name was Roze. The inn was apparently owned by both of them, something that their parents had failed to mention. If they had known they would have been even more polite to Roze. Though they weren't impolite they had been impartial to everyone but Sam during their short stay. They hoped that their manners wouldn't cause any issues for their future stays should they have any.

After checking out they once again boarded the carriage and the coachman started heading towards the eastern edge of the city. It wasn't until they exited the city itself that they saw it, the long, low white stone wall, only thrice the height of the average man, running as far as the eye could see. Before the wall was a vast swath of white sand with only a single cobblestone road, edged by palm trees every ten or so feet on either side, leading toward the wall in the distance.

The road was simple in nature and wide enough for two carriages to ride side by side. One side had carriages heading toward the academy while the other had those that were leaving the institution. It was clear from the long line that they would be waiting a long while even though they had gotten up fairly early.