Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: Dark Elf Arc

Chapter 12

Dorumhold was a massive town that spanned the entire inlet on all three sides. It was hard to judge how large it was or how big the population was, but there were easily thousands of buildings traveling along the inlet, which spanned at least 1,000 kilometers. Ranked as the fourth most populous city in Arcadia, it was incredibly prosperous because it was the only port town in the nation. The inlet connected it to both Moksha and Elysium.

The train station was equally bustling as people from deeper into the country arrived for business and sometimes pleasure. Most of the people journeying through the station wore extravagant outfits; velvet doublets made from the finest materials, expensive silk pants, and ostentatious dresses with more lace than anyone should know what to do with. Among this massive crowd, two people walked through it hand in hand.

It was a male/female pairing. The man looked rather unremarkable. He had messy brown hair, a somewhat worn face, and some wrinkles along his eyes. A cloak hid most of his body, which meant no one could see the sword resting on his hip.

"What should we do now?" a female voice rang out in his mind.

He glanced at his companion, whose russet-colored hair and pale face made her look a little sickly. Like him, she looked like someone who was halfway through life, a middle-aged woman with a cloak that was likewise hiding the bow and quiver of arrows she was carrying on her back. It was a good thing they had decided on a recurve bow instead of a longbow.

"First, let's find a place to stay," he said. "We should have a base of operations to work out of. Next, we'll gather some information on Marquis Hunington."

"So we're traveling to an inn first. Do you know of any good inns?"

"One inn is as good as the next, or so I've heard. We'll want to avoid the seedier parts of town for now, but if we can find a decently affordable inn, I think we'll be in good shape."

"Hmm... How much money do we have?"

"We have 50,000 drachma. That should be more than enough to stay in a room for at least a month."

As they spoke using telepathy, the man and woman glided through the crowd with a grace that seemed nearly inhuman. It was almost like people were moving out of their way to let them pass, but the truth was they were simply slipping around others in the most unobtrusive manner possible. The two soon left the train station and began walking down a long stretch of paved road. They walked along the sidewalk, merging into the traffic of hundreds of people. Several carriages flew past them on the road, pulled by horses, and there were even a couple of MAFTs driving by as well.

"This city is a lot more bustling than Axium," the woman commented.

"Hmm... yeah. Axium didn't have any nobles who earned enough to own a MAFT."

Of course, it wasn't just nobles who had MAFTs. There was another form of public transportation in most cities of this size called buses. These MAFTs were large, easily spanning a dozen or so meters. They had sixteen wheels and could usually carry around 30 or 40 people at any given time. Middle-class workers generally used this form of transportation.

"Do you know where Marquis Hunington lives?" asked the woman.

"Not a clue, though I assume he lives on that mountain over there." The man pointed to what could either be a small mountain or a very large hill. Hidden amongst the greenery was a giant mansion that appeared majestic and imposing, pomp in ways only a noble's abode could be. Not only was it located on top of a mountain, as if to lord itself over the people of Dorumhold, but even from this distance, he could see the towering columns, flying buttresses, and other extravagant decorations that seemed completely unnecessary in a house.