Dooratias

I'm actually really tired and hungry, so forget about the slave establishment for now.

I spot a bakery nearby and headed straight into it. Hmm. It's my first time here, and it really doesn't feel all that different. The bakery here is almost a copy of what Nanoxate's bakeries had to offer.

I'll grab a slice of bread, and ask the store owner for the cheapest inn around.

"That'll be 10 coins."
"Do you know where is the cheapest inn around?" I ask as I hand him the coins.

He nods and he gives me the directions, and I thanked him and left the store. Dooratias is really a lot livelier than Nanoxate. Perhaps it's because of the nature of it's inhabitants. The street is filled with people of the warrior class, and by simply taking a glance around, I can already see people drinking beer and arm wrestling, which causes quite the commotion.

Before long, I arrived at the inn. It's so run down that it doesn't even have a name at the storefront. It's fully made of wood, too. Well, this is what I wanted. A cheap temporary place to live, so I won't complain.

The door creaked loudly as I entered.

"Welcome, customer! Room for how many?" A man at the front desk greeted me instantly upon my entrance. The interior's fully wooden too, and the place is completely devoid of any decorations aside from a ceiling light. From what I saw outside, it's an extremely small building too. It only has 3 levels. At least it's well maintained, as I don't see signs of the place falling apart anytime soon.

"One. How much would a night cost?"

"It will be 10 coins a night!"

What in the world, that's dirty cheap! The price of a slice of bread. I'll at most be here for one to two days, and I'll be working my slave job, so it's a good deal.

"Alright, here you go." I placed 10 coins on the counter, and collected my room keys.

Room 3. The atmosphere of the place is actually really gloomy.. this place was really built with low costs in mind. The second floor is a mere narrow corridor, and a common bathroom area for the guests. There's only 5 rooms on this floor as far as I can see. I put the key into the keyhole on the doorknob and opened the door, and it made an even louder creaking sound than the inn entrance as it opened.

Yet again, no windows in the room. It's extremely small too. There's a small table with a kerosene lamp on it, and beside it is a bed. It looks soft enough to sleep on. Probably not too far off from what I had back in my home at Nanoxate.

Eh, all's good. I throw my lethargic body onto the bed, and I can already feel sleep kicking in. I don't even know what the time now is, but it's still bright outside. Sleeping now would ruin my body clock.. Ah, I couldn't care less. I deserve a good rest after what I went through in Nanoxate. I shut my eyes and tried to go to sleep.

Eh? I'm awake. The room's completely dark. I feel completely refreshed after taking a good long rest.
I snapped my fingers and used a small flame to light up the lamp.
I should go to the toilet to freshen up, and then go outside.

I headed downstairs after I freshened up. Ah, the man at the frontdesk is still there!
I headed directly towards him to ask about the time.
"Do you know what is the time now?"
He pulls his sleeve back and looks at his wristwatch.
"It's currently 8:42PM."
"Thank you. Do foodstalls and businesses usually operate at this hour?"
"Sure they do. The typical closing time for everything is 11pm."
"Alright, thanks for the information."
I head out with some money in hand. I should look for something to eat, then find the slave establishment to sign a contract.
I settled on the cheapest food I could find, and I went to an isolated corner after eating to cast water magic to keep myself hydrated.
I should use magic sparingly, as using magic makes you feel hungry and tired quickly.
I continue to search for the slave establishment. Even at this hour,Dooratias is still as lively as it was in the earlier hours. There should be no threat of criminals lurking in the night, since guardsmen are everywhere.
Before long, I found the slave establishment.
It's a tall building that looks relatively new.
A middle-aged man in a suit greets me at the entrance of the building.
"Good evening, sir. Are you here to buy a slave?"
"No, I'm here to become one."
"Ah, I see. I'm the owner of this business. Please follow me upstairs."
The man leads me through the building to the 3rd floor. The interior of the building looks fresh as well, it's walls covered with paint that looks freshly coated and carpets clear of blemishes lay the floor.
He leads me into a room, and prompts me to sit down with him.
"My name is Salonte. Young man, please specify the length of time you would like to work and produce your identification card." He said as he laid down a thick folder on the table.
"I would like to work for two months."
I then casted the spell to materialize my identification card and handed it to him.
"Magic?"
He brushes his beard with his left hand while taking my card from me with his right. He looked at it and made a surprised face.
"Javean, you're from Nanoxate? It's a surprise to me that I can meet someone alive that came from there. What exactly happened in there?"

"Eh, I have no idea." I lied. Well, kinda. I saw what caused Nanoxate to burn to ashes, but I still do not know why it happened.

"I see. Anyway, I'm sorry for what happened to your hometown."
He then flips open the folder, and grabs a handful of pages and flipped to the page he was looking for with precision.
"You're in luck. There's a customer who needs a slave to help out for exactly 2 months. To take care of his house and keep it in prime condition before selling it off 2 months later. The pay will be 10500 coins a month, and you can head down to the slave establishment on the 1st of every month to collect your pay. Living quarters and food would be provided by the family you'll be working for. Are you still interested?"

"Yes, I am. Please let me take a look at the contract."
He pulls out the piece of paper and lay it before me.
It's only one page long, and I read it carefully. Hm, slaves are really protected with good terms. The best part about the contract is that I'll be able to cancel my contract and quit my work anytime and still get paid in full if I'm being mistreated by the one contracting me for my services.

I'll be able to sign the contract with ease, then. I signed the contract and I handed it back to Salonte, and shook his hand.

"Please return tomorrow at 3pm. I'll brief you more on your job before asking one of my men to escort you to the customer's mansion. Also, I'll say this now. Weapons are strictly prohibited, and if you own any, please bring them here tomorrow and I'll store it for you. You'll also be required to wear a magic-restricting collar to ensure you won't use your magic to harm the customer. Oh, interestingly, there's a girl your age that'll be working with you as a slave for this customer. She has no surname, just like you, and she came from a town outside of Dooratias too."

"Really? What's her name?"

"Crescent."

"I'll be taking my leave now. Thank you, Mr.Salonte."

"Take care, and I'll see you tomorrow." Both of us got up from our seats, and he tucked in his chair softly. He brought me to the front entrance and said his goodbyes again. This man, he's really a professional..

Crescent, huh? I hope she'll be a nice and pretty girl.

I just slept, and I probably won't be able to sleep anytime soon. I want to explore Dooratias more, but I decided to return to the inn to conserve my energy. I can experiment with my sword and magic there uninterrupted, as long as I don't cast any spells that would damage the surrounding or make a loud noise.

I stretched lightly and start to make my way back to the inn.