The Seven Wonders of the World

58. Highshore Unveiled

Emrun would wake up after a little while, as he would be bandaged all over, and he would notice he was back in his room at the apartment building he and Shijin were renting.
He heard his door open, as he saw Shijin, his eyes widening as he dropped his tray of food. “Emrun!” said Shijin. “Emrun! You're alive and fine! Nabi, look!”
After a few more moments, Nabi came running in, her face brightening up as she said, “Emrun! You're okay!”
Emrun would nod as he looked up at his friends, his head slightly tilting to the side as he was still a little bit groggy from the injuries.
“Yeah, I'm okay,” he would respond meekly.
“Are you sure?” said Shijin, as he walked over to him.
“Well, I can still move, so... I guess that's good?” said Emrun.
“That's great!” said Nabi, as she would immediately rush over to the bed and give Emrun a hug, as she was relieved to see that he was doing okay.
“Hey, easy now,” said Emrun, not wanting to be squeezed too hard as he just returned from a near-fatal experience.
“Are you fully healed?” asked Shijin, as Nabi would slowly back up to give Emrun a bit of breathing room.
“Yeah, I feel pretty good all things considered,” said Emrun, as he would sit up a little bit. “What happened to Sora?”
“The other guy?” said Nabi. “He was arrested and taken away.”
“Are they holding him in custody?” asked Emrun.
“Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's being detained somewhere in the city,” said Shijin. “But hey, forget about him, there is a preposition for us!”
“Huh?” said Emrun.
“You can walk, right?” said Shijin.
“I think so, why?”
“Well, we have been invited by the King of Earthland himself to serve him a new sword for his collection! He's noticed our buisness and wants to meet us in person!”
Emrun’s eyes narrowed in confusion as he thought about what Shijin had just said, and after a few seconds he would reply, “I’m sorry, did you say the King of Earthland himself wants to meet us?”
“Yep!” said Shijin. “He heard about our craftmanship so much, that he wants to meet us and also commission us for a sword for himself!”
“Well, that's a big deal,” said Emrun, still seeming a bit overwhelmed by this unexpected turn of events.
“Sure is! That's gonna be a huge contract, and it could lead to great things for us, so we're not gonna just let this opportunity pass us by!” said Shijin, as he raised his hands in excitement at the thought of such a monumental development.
Emrun’s excitement would also begin to grow, as he felt a sense of purpose from this unexpected invitation. “So, are we gonna accept the offer then?”
Shijin would nod, as he said, “Oh we're gonna accept it, for sure. It's like every blacksmith's dream come true, to have the privilege to create a sword for a whole damn king!”
The three would geek out over the idea, as they'd spent the rest of their day preparing and hoping to please the King.

After a bit of a walk, the group would arrive at the police station. They would stop in front of it, as they would then try to figure out the next step.
Rater would be the first person to step forward, as he would walk inside without giving it much thought. The rest of the group was hesitant to follow him, as they were concerned that they might get into trouble themselves, but they also didn’t want to leave their pal behind in a situation like this.
Rater would enter the building, as he would find himself inside a lobby of some sort. There wasn't anyone there, but he could hear voices coming from another room, so he would walk over to one of the doors and peek through the keyhole, only to find several policemen talking to one person, who Rater just recognized to be Sora. He was in handcuffs, but the policemen seemed to be treating him quite gently despite the fact that he was suspected of assault. Rater watched them speak for a moment, hoping to get more information.
But the conversation quickly turned to a subject he couldn't make out from outside of the doorway. The dialogue between the policemen and Sora quickly got louder, with Sora seeming to be trying to reason with the policemen, but they weren't having any of it, as one of the policemen would point to the charges on the file that was in front of him.
“You have to believe me, they are servants of the Empire!” said Sora.
“We understand your concern and your impatience,” said the officer calmly.
“What are you talking about?” said Sora.
“We are trying to navigate this situation as quickly as possible,” said the officer.
“They are servants of the Empire!” Sora repeated. “All that refuge and fear they have put into people in the South Blue. Are you aware of that? They are coming for you!”
“There is no empire coming for us here in Highshore,” said the officer calmly, “we are a peaceful metropolitian utopia, here you are safe, here you are free..”