The afternoon sun hung directly overhead, its rays transforming the distant city into a blinding beacon of gold and glass.
As they drew closer, Eis could see the metropolis properly for the first time, towering structures of gilded brick and crystalline windows stretched toward the heavens like frozen lightning bolts.
One central building rose from the city's heart like an artificial mountain, its peak lost in the clouds. The lesser structures stepped down around it in descending tiers, growing progressively shorter until they met the sprawling urban sprawl below.
Then came the wall.
It loomed before them, a monstrous barrier of black stone reinforced with veins of glowing silver.
Fifty times the height of their village's perimeter. Fifty times the thickness. Eis felt small standing before it, like an ant contemplating a cliff face.
After several more minutes of the demon horse's steady gait, they reached the city gates.
The entrance was a maw of dark iron and carved stone, and flanking it stood two guards. Massive men with arms like tree trunks and faces weathered by years of authority.
Their armour bore the insignia of a golden sun eclipsed by a shadow—Eis didn't recognise the sigil, but he understood its message. These were not men to be trifled with.
Their eyes swept over the approaching group with practised disinterest.
"Are you looking to trade, visit, or reside within the city?" The guard on the right spoke, his voice carrying the flat monotone of someone who had asked this question ten thousand times.
The carriage had already been stored in Eis's spatial area, and now they walked on foot toward the guards. The girls moved quietly behind him, Lysara's regal posture drawing the guard's eyes despite her travel-worn cloak.
"We're looking to stay in the city," Eis replied, matching the guard's blunt tone. He tried to project the same hardened energy the man carried, though he felt the effort was only partially successful.
The guard's eyes flickered over the group, lingering on the women with an assessing gaze that made Eis's jaw tighten.
"Ten lower mana stones per person," the guard said, already reaching for the payment box. "But since your women don't appear to have much value..." He paused, a smirk tugging at his lip. "Five for the ugly ones."
Something cold twisted in Eis's chest.
He didn't know whether to laugh or rage. The absurdity of the statement nearly broke him, but beneath the absurdity lay a sharpness that cut deep.
His hand moved to a small pouch on his waist, extracting the stones with mechanical precision. He placed them on the guard's palm without a word.
The guard's smirk widened, and he tucked the payment away. "Welcome to Aurelian's Rest. The city has four layers, each reflecting one's power, wealth, and status."
He gestured toward the massive gates behind them. "The first layer requires one hundred lower mana stones for residence permits. The second requires one thousand. The third requires one million."
He paused, letting the numbers hang. "The fourth layer requires a noble permission and one billion lower mana stones."
Eis felt Kaela's hand find his arm behind him. He didn't look back.
The guard handed over four bronze badges, each etched with a simple sigil, a single tower surrounded by a circle. These mark your status and authorised layer. Lose them, and you'll be spending a night in the cells."
Eis took the badges and distributed them to the others. As they passed through the gates, a smell hit him like a physical force.
Corruption.
The stench of decay mixed with the sour tang of poverty hung heavy in the air. The streets were slick with dark, unidentifiable liquid that pooled between cracked cobblestones.
Shabbily dressed figures huddled in doorways, their eyes dull and hollow. Clothes hung from laundry lines like flags of surrender, faded, patched, hopeless.
But then—
Children.
A group of mud-streaked kids burst around a corner, laughing and chasing each other through the filth.
Their bare feet slapped against the wet stones, and their faces bore expressions of pure, unbridled joy. As they ran past, one of them looked up at Eis with wide, curious eyes before his friends dragged him away into an alley.
Kaela's voice came softly beside him. "Eis, look at their clothes."
He had already noticed. The children wore colored fabric, bright reds, deep blues, vivid greens. Not the drab greys and browns of the adults. Like someone had decided that even in poverty, the children should have something beautiful.
"The village had better living conditions than this," Lysara murmured, her elegant features troubled. Even Mira, who had been quiet since the drake encounter, looked shaken.
"It's a different kind of poverty," Eis said quietly. "The village was poor, but it was ours. These people..."
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.
After walking through the squalor for several minutes, they reached another gate, this one cleaner, its iron bars polished to a dull shine. Two guards stood here as well, but their posture was different. More alert. More... respectful.
They passed through without issue.
The difference was immediate and startling.
The second layer stretched before them like a different world. The streets were paved with smooth white stone, free of the dark puddles that had plagued the lower level.
The buildings here had walls of cream-colored plaster, roofs of terracotta tiles, and windows that gleamed with actual glass. Merchants hawked their wares from clean stalls, and groups of well-dressed citizens walked with measured, dignified steps.
And standing behind a rope barrier at the edge of a small plaza, a group of people waited.
One man broke away from the others and approached with surprising speed. He was old, his back bent into a permanent curve and his face mapped with deep wrinkles, but there was a vitality in his movements that seemed almost supernatural.
His eyes, sharp and calculating, swept over the group with the expertise of a man who had judged ten thousand potential clients.
"Sir! Are you looking for a home?" The old man rubbed his hands together in the universal gesture of the eager salesman. "I have many properties that would suit a group of your... size." His gaze lingered on the women with an assessing gleam.
"I need a house," Eis said. "But first, I have to sell some beasts. I need to ensure I have enough funds."
The old man's eyes lit up with renewed interest. "Oh, sir, you have come to the right place! Allow me to accompany you, there is an academy store just ahead that specialises in exactly these transactions. They are fair, honest, and take only a small tax!"
They walked together through streets that grew progressively more affluent.
The old man talked constantly, about the city's history, about the academy that dominated the third layer, about the various neighbourhoods and their reputations. Eis listened with half an ear, his attention on the changing architecture around them.
After a quarter hour of walking, they reached the wall that separated the second layer from the third.
This barrier was different, not crude stone but crystalline glass that rose thirty feet into the air, refracting the afternoon light into rainbows that danced across the cobblestones.
Through it, Eis could see buildings of white marble and golden inlay, gardens that bloomed with impossible colours, and figures in fine clothing moving with aristocratic grace.
The old man stopped beside a small entrance gate. "Here we are, young man. This is the Academy Exchange. They will purchase your beasts at fair market value and take only a two per cent transaction tax." He leaned closer, his voice dropping. "If you are a student of the academy, the tax is waived entirely, and you keep every coin."
Eis nodded his thanks and approached the glass structure.
As they reached the entrance, a woman emerged from within. She was tall and slender, her figure emphasised by a dress of deep crimson silk that hugged her curves.
Her hair was the colour of ripe wheat, pulled up in an elaborate arrangement that exposed the elegant line of her neck. Her features were sharp, aristocratic, a beauty that seemed designed to intimidate rather than charm.
"Those who wish to sell, please place your spoils here," she said, gesturing to a raised platform of black stone just outside the door. Her voice carried the clipped cadence of someone accustomed to command.
Eis stepped forward and extended his hand, concentrating on his spatial ring.
A pile of corpses materialised on the platform.
The woman's composed expression flickered, just for a moment, but Eis caught it.
"This... is not enough," she said, her voice tight. "The platform cannot accommodate further items."
Eis raised an eyebrow. "Then let me put them outside."
He released his hold on the ring's contents.
A mountain of flesh and bone erupted onto the street.
Tier one beasts. Tier two beasts. Hundreds—no, thousands—of corpses stacked in a pyramid that rose past the rooftops. Blood pooled in the gutters, spreading in dark rivers toward the drains. The smell of death, previously contained, now saturated the air with brutal intensity.
The woman's jaw dropped.
Kaela, behind him, made a small sound of shock. Lysara's composed mask cracked for just a moment. Even Mira, who had seen the drake, looked pale.
"759 beasts," Eis said flatly. "Tier one and tier two."
The woman stared at the mountain of death for a long moment. Then, without a word, she turned and ran back into the building.
A minute later, a different man emerged.
He was huge, a giant of muscle and bone with a beard that covered half his chest and arms thick as Eis's waist.
His face was scarred, his nose clearly broken multiple times, and his eyes held the flat, dead look of a man who had seen too much violence to be impressed by any more.
He looked at the pile of corpses.
Then he looked at Eis.
Then back at the corpses.
"759 tier one and two beasts," he said. His voice was a rumble like distant thunder.
He reached into his coat and withdrew a single ring, tossing it to Eis. "100,000 lower mana stones. There's also a black card inside. Don't hesitate to come back."
Without another word, he turned and walked back into the building.
The crimson-haired woman rushed out after him, her fake smile plastered across her face. "Sir! If you would just wait, I am sure we can come to a more suitable—"
But Eis was already walking away.
"So," his mother asked, falling into step beside him. "How did it go?"
"Great."
They found the old man waiting where they'd left him, his crooked frame practically vibrating with anticipation.
"Young man! I trust the transaction was satisfactory. Now then, about that house you mentioned. You wanted four bedrooms, a kitchen, a large bathroom, and a dining area, yes?"
"That's right."
"But Eis," Kaela interrupted, tugging at his sleeve. "We don't need all that. We only need a kitchen, one bathroom, and one bedroom."
"Yes," Lysara added, her voice carrying that particular silkiness that meant she had made up her mind about something. "I see no reason to waste money on excessive space."
"We aren't sleeping anywhere but with you," Mira pitched in, her expression stubborn.
Eis sighed. "It's fine. We're already here, and we can afford it. It's getting dark. We'll figure out the details in the morning."
The old man stroked his beard, a knowing smile spreading across his weathered features.
"Ah, young love. How wonderful. Of course, such a property will be quite expensive..." He rubbed his hands together with barely concealed greed. "80,000 mana stones."
Eis transferred the amount without blinking.
The old man's smile somehow widened further. He handed over a bronze plaque inscribed with intricate runes and several smaller keys.
"This is the master key. The copies are inside, and they can be programmed to respond to this one for security purposes."
He tucked his payment away with practised ease. "The house is just this way. I believe you will find it quite... satisfactory."
After a walk through streets that grew progressively more elegant, they arrived.
The house stood at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, its exterior a masterwork of white marble and dark wood. A small garden, currently dormant for the winter, framed the entrance. The front door was polished oak, and through the windows, Eis could see spacious rooms bathed in the warm glow of magical lighting.
The old man handed over the keys with a flourish. "Welcome to your new home."
Then he was gone, his bent back disappearing around a corner with surprising speed.
Eis stood before the house, his girls gathered behind him, and he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time.
Peace.
They had survived the journey. They had reached the city. And now, finally, they had a place to call their own.
The adventure, he knew, was far from over.
But for tonight, at least, they could rest