"Halt." A man in full iron armor stopped the carriage that was being ridden by 4 people, his voice was stern, and with a spear in his hand, the man who looks like a guard then walked closer to the carriage. "Eugene?, You're back."
"Hah, you think i wouldn't? Anyway, let me in– I need to sell these goods that i got from Demiria." The carriage driver said.
Syla heard the conversation between the guard and Eugene, she was surprised to finally know the carriage driver's name, when the guard was about to let Eugene and his carriage in, he suddenly asked him.
"Who are these people?" The guard said, he looked at Gauss, Lori, and Syla in suspicion.
"They're adventurers, i picked them up along they way since their destination was also here, i don't think they will cause any troubles." Eugene replied, vouching for Syla and the two passenger's credibility.
"Well– I remember the guy and that girl with the backpack, but who is that demihuman girl?" The guard asked again.
"Ahh, she came from Demiria, her name was– Syla, right?" Eugene looked back to see Syla, he wasn't sure if he got her name correct or not.
"Yes.." Syla responded with a calm voice.
After a few hesitation, the guard then ultimately decided to let everyone through, however, while everyone else was entering the town for free, Syla alone had to pay an entrance fee of 4 copper coins, it turns out Lori and Eugene was a citizen in this town and for the most part, local citizens can leave or enter the town for free. Gauss on the other hand, had an adventurer plate that he wore as a necklace, it was made out of Silver and has the symbol of the Widewent kingdom's flag carved onto it, when he showed the plate to the guards, they accepted his entry without any payment.
Syla paid the fee with the coins inside her satchel, once the guards received the payment, they then walked to the side to make way for the carriage to move forward. Syla watched as the horses galloped and brought her inside the town, it was a magnificent sight to say the least, Syla who had never seen a proper town before, was hypnotized by the bustling streets, hundreds of pedestrians walked pass, some carrying their day to day things such as fruit basket, laundry, water bucket, and so on, while others stopped at one out of many vendors and stores that sells various goods.
Not only there was pedestrians everywhere, Syla also saw a lot of adventurers, each one wearing their own eccentric outfits, some leaned to more simpler style like leather armor with tunic clothes, while others went all out with their fashion, witch hat, magic staff, swords with intricate designs, and shining armors that could blind others with its beauty.
While she had arrived inside Direwell, the horses didn't stop immediately, but rather they kept moving towards somewhere, since Syla also wanted to enjoy the scene around her a bit longer, she stayed and didn't jump out of the carriage.
"Hey, who's that?" A random pedestrian whispered to his friend's ear, they were staring at Syla on the carriage.
Syla who heard the whisper immediately glanced at the man and their reaction to her gaze was something she didn't expect, the two guys seemingly blushed after they saw Syla looking towards them. When she realized that they became even more curious if she stared at them, Syla decided to ignore them.
The same thing happened quite a lot throughout her ride, many people seems to be looking straight at her, even if it was accidental, adventurers gazed their eyes upon her appearance, and some even wondered where she came from, Syla didn't replied or reacted to any of those comments, and she acted as if nothing was wrong.
"There's a lot of different species here than i thought." Syla said as she watched a couple of demihumans passing by her and a few elves.
"Direwell was known to be one of the more 'free' town in this county, the town's chief, Marrick, is someone that believes in equality for every nonhuman species, coming as far as providing them with the same treatment as humans and made sure that they lived well in his town.. The chief is a very well respected person, even i admire him for his selfless behavior, we're all grateful to have him as our chief." Eugene responded to Syla, he smiled while he was talking and seems to be happy that Syla finds the town fascinating.
"I see, he must be a great person." Syla added.
"We've arrived." Eugene suddenly said as he stopped the carriage.
After a few minutes of riding inside Direwell, Syla arrived at a place that seems to be a gathering spot for carriages, it's similar to a parking spot on earth, however in here it's all carriages that was either waiting for a passenger or about to drive off.
"Thank you, Mr. Eugene." Gauss said, he stretched his hand to offer a handshake, which Eugene gladly accepted.
"I guess this is where we split." Lori said to Syla as she folled Gauss behind
He and Lori then jumped out of the carriage, with Syla also jumping down moments later after she thanked Eugene for the ride.
Before she walked out of the place, Syla heard a voice calling for her name from behind her, it was Gauss and Lori.
"If you need something or someone for a guide, just come to the adventurer's guild! Im usually there throughout the day, unless someone hires me!" Lori said as she waved her hand.
"I hope we can meet again someday." Gauss also played along and gave Syla his final speech.
Syla waved back at Lori and nodded in appreciation, she told Lori that she will remember her words, when the two of them saw Syla's reaction, they both smiled and turned their body back, walking further and further from Syla.
Before she was about to move aswell, Syla saw them talking for a few seconds before turning at the opposite direction in the crossroads.
'I guess they're really just a temporary companion.' She thought.
"I should move too." Syla began walking to another road, different from what Gauss and Lori took, she glanced at the different buildings around her, captivated by their design.
'This is what every fantasy addict have always dreamed about, to walk along the street surrounded by medieval architecture while also observing the daily lives of the ordinary.' Syla murmured in her head.
She noticed that the sun was about to set as its light was covering the sky with bright orange tint, since the night was coming, Syla decided to search for an inn and saved her exploration for tomorrow, she walked around the street for a sign that reads Inn or has a beer drawing in it, since inns also act as a tavern from what she knew.
.
.
15 minutes later—
Syla began to see less and less people on the street, while adventurers mostly still roamed around due to their homeless nature, most people had already arrived at their house, Syla saw a family of 4 inside one the house that she coincidentally passed by, they were about to eat their dinner, everyone in that family looked happy as they get to spend the night with their loved ones.
"Isn't that a bit too much!? Hello?" Syla said after seeing the amount of food on the table inside that house.
She quickly passed by the house and shrugged the thought of that family, when out of nowhere she saw a hanging sign at the next house that says 'Ironcarp Inn'.
"Ah, there it is."
Syla then entered the building without hesitation and was met with more stares from everyone inside, many of their eyes was focused with Syla's beautiful body, despite her trying to ignore it, she couldn't help but feel a bit unsafe about coming in to such crowded space.
Syla saw the sun going out and made the sky turn into complete darkness, if she leave now it'll be another few minutes of walking, and at night, people tends to be more dangerous.
'I have no choice huh..' She thought.
Gathering her courage, Syla then walked inside the inn, she approached the counter desk and met with the inn's owner, he was an old man with black mustache, half of his hairs already turned gray and he was cleaning a mug when Syla greeted him.
"Do you have any empty room left?" She asked.