The City of Dale

We arrive at the city of Dale. We moved to our new home, located on the outskirts of the city, in a residential area. The house is enormous compared to the cottage we lived in before. It is a two-story house. There is one room on the first floor, a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room, and a dining room. Upstairs, there are three rooms and another bathroom. The terrain has a large front and back yard with a sink located on the side of the house and a shed in the back. Before, we were living in the middle of nowhere. Now I have neighbors. Mom and Dad did a quick cleaning, put our things inside the house, and we left for the workshop district where Dad has his new workplace.

It's hard to believe what my eyes see. It is my first time in a city in this world. The streets are narrow compared to those in my old world, about 10 feet wide, plus sidewalks. The streets and sidewalks are made of stone. In some places, there are water fountains where people and their animals can drink water or refresh themselves.

The buildings and houses are made of stone, block, wood, or brick. I can see plenty of trees coming from the yard of buildings that creates shade on the streets. The houses have small wooden or metal fences. There are houses that are huge and beautiful, featuring various patterns and designs, statues, and stunning gardens. However, next to those beautiful houses, there are small rooms with a single stone window and no design, comprising a diverse mix of social classes. The streets look beautiful and peaceful, but I can tell the social difference in status just by looking at the homes.

The closer we got to downtown, the more people I could see walking in the streets. They all appear human-like, but some exhibit animal features, and even the ones that resemble humans have distinct appearances.

The animal-humanoid people resemble cats, characterized by long tails and cat-like ears. Cows or bull people have horns of different shapes and small tails. And bird people have wings on their backs, and feathers-like hair, and at the end of their lower back, more feathers. However, they all look very human-like to me.

On the fully human side, however, there are “normal” looking humans, but there are ones that have pointy ears and others that are dwarf-like. Nevertheless, everyone is skinny. The only normal-sized people I saw were some of the slaves being sold. Oh, that’s right, there are people being sold in the shopping district too. It is exciting to see such a diverse range, but it is also intimidating. But why is Dad so different from everyone else? Is it not having a magic affinity that rare? Everyone is thin. I have not seen any woman with large breasts or thick legs walking in the streets, or a large man with big muscles. What is going on! Dad looks so much stronger than the average person. Everyone seems to ignore Dad in the cart while greeting Mom or trying to sell her things.

When we reached the middle of the market streets, it was chaotic. There were so many people. Our pace slowed down because of the cart with Dad’s tools that we are taking with us.

“Cato, Paul, look. This is the shopping district. You can find anything here.”

“Woah, Dad, can I go with Mom?”

“Okay, but hold her hand tight. You don’t want to get lost here.”

Mom was leading us through this jungle of people.

There are various types of stores, including clothing, armor, weapons, utensils, magic items, food, hair salons, furniture, and more. Everything is so lively and full of colors. Every now and then, I saw some soldiers doing a patrol. Soldiers are heavily armored and carrying swords.

After a while, we arrived at the workshop district. This is where clothes, armor, weapons, and furniture are made. This is where Dad’s blacksmith workshop is. People from the other workshops came to help us and gave us a warm welcome.

“Welcome, Paulus and family. We are so happy to have you here. We have other blacksmiths in town, but no one with your skills. Some of us know how to forge and have been trying to help with armors and weapons, but we specialize in housing appliances, furniture, or utensils, and we have our own business workload, so it was a waste of time and money for us. But someone needs to do it. Thank you for coming and settling here with our craft guild. Please tell your dad, Drausus, that we appreciate him sending his own son to work here with us.” The elderly workshop owner said.

“Thank you for letting me work surrounded by such good artisans. I know I don’t look like a skilled blacksmith, but please, let my work speak for itself. If you need a hand anytime, I have two to help.” Paulus said to the craftsmen.

“Ha ha ha… Paulus. First of all, your house has a great reputation for its work. Second, we ensured that your work is one of the best before inviting you here. We are more than happy to have you in our guild. Our businesses will grow thanks to your help. I hope the house is to your liking. We look for the closest to what you wanted,” a refined elderly woman said.

“Thank you, Damian and Eudocia. The house is perfect. I will do my best.”

When we were done, we said our goodbyes to the craftsmen and adventurers and went straight home. The night was coming, and we were all tired. I don’t remember much, just falling asleep in my mom’s arms. I have experienced so much in such a short time; life is so exciting.