323 Arthur's only hope
The city of Vuurora was the largest in the central continent. For many mages, visiting it was their dream, or at least one of their goals. Arthur, well, he was there for other reasons.
Frustration was the word that best defined how Arthur felt at that moment. After wandering through several cities looking for answers about his friend Hiley, he found nothing. Those scrolls Nyssa had given him? They remained a mystery that needed to be solved.
For Arthur, his only salvation seemed to lie in this meeting he had been invited to. Could they help him in exchange for his collaboration? In exchange for his strength? He hoped so, and it was with this positive thought Arthur wandered through the crowded streets of Vuurora.
“Come, come, the finest jewels you can find here! Excavated directly from the Reshgan mine, the most famous mine on the continent!”
“Are you looking for a potion to get the love of your life? You have come to the right place. Only today at a great discount!”
The shouts of the vendors were commonplace, and certainly their offers seemed tempting to anyone passing by. Arthur paid little attention to these, as there was something very important that needed to be done.
“The most famous palace in the central continent. I wonder if the other participants are already there?” thought Arthur, looking at the vast building on the horizon.
In no hurry, Arthur walked to the palace, observing all the mages and normal people passing by on the streets. Everything was so clean, well kept, and anyone could notice the huge amount of guards patrolling around, ensuring the safety of the people.
“The guards don’t seem to abuse their power, which is something rare. Apparently, the punishment for them is severe around here.”
Being the capital of the continent, any guard who broke the law would be castigated. Maybe in smaller cities the rulers looked the other way, ignoring some acts, but in Vuurora that wouldn’t happen, and it was precisely because of this that the number of bandits was much lower.
Not only the number of bandits but also the number of people living on the streets. Buying a residence in Vuurora was expensive, but sleeping in one of its many inns was not, and as the region had many ways to earn money, the number of adventurers there was high.
Arthur stopped in front of an enormous gate made of a white stone, like marble. This was the entrance to the palace, and a guard quickly noticed Arthur’s presence, who was not dressed very well for the occasion.
“Quite a nice place.” thought Arthur, looking at the palace through the bars that surrounded it.
“I’m sorry, sir, but this is a private place.” The guard said.
The respectful manner in which the guard addressed him was reassuring, different from the experience Arthur had in other cities.
“Well, I have this invitation. Could you look at it?” Arthur replied, holding out his hand and handing over the same letter he had received from the letter carrier recently.
The guard took it from his hand, carefully analyzing every part, since forged letters were common. And to his surprise, the letter was legitimate, and not only that, but the person in front of him was considered the hero of the central continent.
“Arthur? The hero who saved us from the war? A thousand apologies. I didn’t recognize your face,” said the guard, bowing in respect.
“Don’t even worry about it. Well, could you show me around?
“Of course, of course. Please follow me.” The guard then looked at another guard who was practically asleep on his watch and shouted, “Robert, go take care of the gate, you lazy bug, or else I’ll finish you.”
Robert woke up startled, but did as he was told. Arthur and the guard walked around the palace, first exploring the beautiful garden that surrounded it.
The place had several servants who curiously looked at Arthur.
“Another important person for that meeting? I wonder what they are talking about?”
“Let them take care of those important matters for the entire continent while we deal with the things within our reach.”
The guard escorted Arthur to the main door of the palace and then said, “Others who will attend the meeting are already staying at the palace. I can only accompany you so far. Excuse me.”
Arthur thanked the guard for escorting him, and then opened the palace doors, entering the palace alone. The first thing that came into his vision was a long corridor with several doors, both on the left and on the right.
The walls were decorated mostly with paintings, which were certainly expensive. Arthur could notice servants sweeping the palace floor and removing every speck of dust, doing their utmost to make the place as beautiful as possible.
“I hope they are at least paying them well.” Arthur thought.
He could only take a few steps, and someone had already come to meet him. And as always, the person who seemed to be a haunting, appearing in every likely place, Seth.
“Arthur! You’re finally here!” Seth said, going towards Arthur giving him a hug.
“Well, I thought the meeting wasn’t until tomorrow, so why the finally?”
“Yes, it is tomorrow, but I am just happy to see you. Come on, I’ll introduce you to some of my friends.” Seth said, leading the way.
The two went to a lounge where other mages were waiting, sitting and relaxing with various drinks in hand. These all possessed the power of a rank 2 mage, so Arthur quickly figured that these were all leaders of their respective schools.
From what Seth had told him, all the leaders of the 15 strongest schools on the continent would be there. Well, not exactly everyone, since Nefion would not be going.
“Everyone, this is Arthur. Arthur, these are my long-time friends!”
Seth then introduced Arthur to about 6 people. Just as he had imagined, they were all school leaders, and they were trying to flatter Arthur in every way possible, causing his impression of them to diminish.
“I hate people who only want to get close for benefits. I wonder if Seth is also friendly because of this? Well, I guess not. He seemed to be nice even when I was weak,” Arthur thought.
Arthur talked with Seth’s friends for some time in the living room, and even had a few drinks, which had little effect on his superhuman body. After getting fed up, Arthur found some excuse and left the place, going to the room they had granted him.
“I think this is the one.”
He turned the magic key on the doorknob and entered a beautiful room. Everything was nicely arranged, and there was even a balcony for Arthur to observe the beautiful garden.
“Not bad,” he thought, lying down on that comfortable bed, relaxing his body after a month of constant stress.
Everything would be decided at the meeting tomorrow. Would he truly go to the demon continent as a pioneer? Would they help him find Hiley? Lots of questions which only time would give the answers.
“I just hope everything goes well.” thought Arthur, closing his eyes to sleep for the first time in a long time.