Between the Walls of Riges

Tears overflowed my eyes, blurring my vision.

Even though the city was bustling with sound and people, it felt empty.

I wiped my tears and began looking forward. There was nothing I could change about what had happened, and there were more important things I needed to focus on.

At the end of the round plaza, there was a large road that stretched far beyond my vision.

It was divided in the centre, with carriages going down the right side and coming up through the left. The middle worked as a sort of pavement, where people walked and some stalls were open.

Aside from the large main road, smaller roads divided the housing into a neat grid of two- or three-storey buildings, all new and nearly identical.

I still needed to find a place to stay and a way to learn their language.

I didn’t know how much housing cost, but it was safer to start with an inn until I learnt the value of the money the Old Man had given me.

However, food wasn’t a major issue just now. Because of the Armoured Guy, I still had some biscuits and dried berries left. I should be able to survive on these for a few days, but I would need to find somewhere to eat or buy food sooner or later.

This also aligned with the idea of starting to learn the language. For both of them, the first thing I needed to do was listen to conversations in bars or cafes or even try talking to someone.

There was no other way around it. I was hesitant, but I would need to approach other people if I wanted this to work out.

When the tears eventually stopped, I began walking to the main road, hiding my face beneath the hood of my cloak.

Carriages constantly ran through the city. Behind the chatter of the people and the tapping and scraping of their shoes as they walked, I could hear the constant rattle of cart wheels moving from one place to another.

As I left the square, at the beginning of the main road, there was a wooden sign nailed to the side of the first building. It was carved with flowing lines and sharp curves, reminiscent of the symbols Yrish had written in my notebook.

Though I couldn’t read them, they looked like street names. Others likely had them as well.

I crossed the road to the space in the middle and began scanning around me.

The city was very different from the other two I had visited. It was far bigger, its architecture more advanced and modern.

It reminded me of old European villages, especially with their wooden beams and added wooden details to the apartment frames.

Unlit street lamps lined the roads, their metal poles twisting into curves that branched into two lanterns with fogged glass.

I wasn’t sure how they worked. I hadn’t seen electricity in this world yet. Maybe they used fire magic for light, or perhaps electricity only existed in larger cities.

People flooded the streets, roaring through like a river’s current.

Their language floated through the air, strange words and unusual sounds almost drowning me. I could barely try to grasp meaning, the sheer volume of noise pulling me under like an unrelenting tide.

Besides the styles I had seen in Tristte, women wore frillier dresses, flowing skirts with fitted jackets, or long stylised trousers with blazers. Men favoured breathable shirts, jackets, or formal attire.

The variety was staggering, each outfit a testament to the city’s vibrancy.

I also found both men and women wearing armoured plates, perhaps part of the military, though I couldn’t be sure. The city seemed to place a lot of importance on protection.

Surprisingly, it was difficult to spot another person wearing a cloak. It made me stand out among the crowds.

My anxiety spiked as I thought about it.

I paused briefly. My vision doubled, as if a second layer of people pressed into the background, overcrowding the city.

I was awfully out of place.

Small trees, spaced between pavements and smaller crossing roads, left green strokes in the city’s landscape. Their crowns barely rose above the crowd, as if struggling to breathe.

I always avoided crowded streets like this back in my old world. My chest heaved under the crush of bodies and every pair of eyes felt like a weight. Next time I would slip down a quieter one instead.

However, right now, I had no choice but to continue down this path. It was the best way to observe the city and its people initially.

After walking along the main road for a few minutes, I arrived at the first major intersection. The main road was cut by a similarly sized road coming from the side.

I stopped before descending onto the road and gazed towards the right. This second road stretched far into the distance and slowly ascended.

The same type of grid apartment structure was present on both sides, but the blue sky filled the scenery.

When viewed from below, the road seemed to lead to the vast cloud's playground, as they slowly weaved in between the buildings.

My mouth dropped in awe at its astonishing beauty.

Sky blues and tree greens blended into a breathtaking portrait. The people’s varied garments added layers of paint to the scene.

“This scene must be gorgeous when the night falls,” I marvelled, thinking about the lit lamps leading the focus towards the starry night sky.

Turning the other way, smaller, crude-looking houses to the left of the main street disrupted the grid Riges had threaded until now. It led directly towards the city wall, the houses bowing under its overwhelming presence.

The beauty I had seen on the other side was tarnished by the unkempt buildings on the left.

The houses looked like they were built in rapid succession and left plain. There were also close to no trees or street lamps on that side.

I decided to deviate a bit from the main road and walked towards the left. I wanted to see if there was an explanation behind this strange discrepancy in the city’s structure.

As I headed down the adjacent road, the smell of salt filled the air.

It was no less crowded than the rest, but something odd caught my eye. All of the people walking around here and seated on the outside of the cafes and by the stalls closely resembled Etaxuos.

They all had the same characteristic blood-red hair and a thinner or more muscular build. However, few had the same deep blue eyes as him, most having hazel eyes.

It would make sense for them to be related to him in some way, but seeing the large number of people, I couldn’t really tell.

Could they all come from the same place? I still didn’t know anything about this world's culture, but maybe these characteristics defined people from a particular region.

Walking further down the road, I noticed another abnormal detail. There were almost no adult men, and adult women alone were also uncommon.

Most women were either very young or old, often with children. The men were the same, and several of the rare adults were injured.

Their language also didn’t sound the same as the one the rest of the people were speaking. They had larger vowel sounds and some different pronunciations.

Were they some kind of refugees?

They didn’t seem to live here by choice, given their concentration and the poorer housing.

Were they being kept apart? The absence of healthy adults unsettled me.

I paused, nervously aware of their gazes. I stood out physically, and my clothes marked me as different too. I clearly didn’t belong.

Sweating anxiously, I quickly turned around and returned to the main road to escape their intimidating glares.

Instead of going the other way this time, I chose to keep going down the main avenue.

Here the eyes of the people seemed more distant, like I wasn’t there at all. It left me more at ease.

The grandeur of the buildings hid the city’s less appealing regions well, but that area seemed hastily built and with far less care.

As I walked, I fixed my gaze on the floor in front of me, paying close attention to the slight tap of my shoes against the pavement. The sound of my footsteps felt calming for some reason.

It let me overlook the eyes, their faceless shadows lost in the noises.

My hands trembled, my heartbeat pounded.

Subtle glances carved into me.

I chuckled anxiously as sweat trickled down my forehead.

As I reached a brighter area, the sunlight gleamed across the floor, shadows fleeing into the distance.

I slowly lifted my head. A wide, open space unravelled to my right.

The square’s cobbled floor mimicked the stone placement of the pavements. Trimmed bushes and thin trees followed along the sides, elevated on small stone ledges, until reaching a large building mostly made of smoothed stone.

Two curving staircases, one on each side, led to a raised platform where the entry sat. A fountain gurgled between them, slightly dug into the back wall, its crystal-clear water reflecting sunrays and scattering specks of light onto the curved wall.

Looking from afar, I could see the arch-shaped doorframe, with a large wooden sign above it, and the front windows, their grilles dark in colour and forming the shape of a plus.

Its second floor stretched up both sides of the building, leaving the centre empty with an orange-tiled roof.

The entire plot seemed the size of four to five squares of apartment buildings in the grid.

The plaza was filled with people talking in groups. Some wore armour, while others dressed more casually. Nonetheless, most carried weapons such as swords on their waists or staff-like poles with large, gleaming gems on the top in their hands.

“This looks like some kind of guild,” I mumbled.

If I went by the idea of being in a fantasy world, like in traditional Japanese stories, this would likely be the adventurers' guild.

I didn’t think a place like this would exist in this world. Still, it feels like the right place to start earning money, and maybe even to find help with housing and the other things I would need in Riges.

I wasn’t certain, but if I was right, it would be very helpful to check it right now. There would be no need to aimlessly wander around the city looking for what I needed.

I reluctantly began walking towards it, one shaky step at a time. The people's voices crowded in on me, making me question my decision, but I still wanted to see for myself.