Chapter 170: Travels

The sky was cloudy, but not to the point where even the sun could not be seen. There would be rain, but not anytime soon.

But the grounds below- the capital was flooded as always. And the marketplace- the busiest zone in the city was flooded by water and people alike.

The buyers rowed their rafts, boats or any other form of amphibious vehicles they had to their destination. Some of the shops had higher ground, selling goods directly to the incoming customers. The lower shops, however, were closed down. 

But that did not stop the merchants from creating a high platform for themselves to earn their livelihood.

The only desolated place in the market zone would be one of their core components- the ware houses.

The door to one of the warehouses slightly opened and soon, another boat sneaked into the fray. On top of it sat two hooded figures.

Their sneaky attires did not grab any sort of attention from the crowds, since many were wearing the same. It was 'monsoon' after all.

But anyone who would focus their attention on the boat with the two would furrow their brows. The boat was travelling smoothly through the river-like roads without any usage of oars.

But it was a world of Magic. They would relax their frowns and would go on with their own works.

Soon, the duo reached the outskirts of the city, at the walls. The ground their was higher; hence the river came to an end. The two hopped out to the shore and began to walk towards the gate.

There were half a dozen of guards active at the gate- four checking the incoming crowd and two were inspecting the outgoing ones.

Just as one of them was about to stop the two hooded figures-

"Wilbur!"

A stern shout caused the guard to stop in his tracks. It was the Captain in charge of today's duty. Moreover, the one assigned today was a Royal guardian.

Though Royal Guardians were soldiers of higher status and of course- power, come of the lower ranked ones were assigned to some lower posts for the sake of training. And the young man today, happened to be one of them.

"Yes, sir!" The guard stomped his foot and took a saluting posture.

The burly young man closed upon the guard, taking his anxiety level to a new height.

The guard's whole face was stiff. Did he have to circle around the whole walls again? But this time, he had not done anything wrong.

Before he could find an answer to what he had done wrong, the captain was already before him.

"Ye… yes sir?" The poor guard's throat ran dry.

The young man scanned the guard from top to bottom; a smile appeared on his face as he patted the soldier.

"You are doing great. Keep it up." The Royal guardian 'commended' before turning back and leaving.

The guard stood still, flabbergasted, not knowing what just happened. It took a few seconds for him to wake up.

He aggressively shook his head, trying to get that out of his head before turning back to the two suspicious figures.

"Huh?"

But those two- they were gone.

Half a kilometre outside the city walls, the two individuals who were on a secret mission found two 'stray' magical horses- one black and one red.

"I will be taking the black one if you don't mind." A charming male voice sounded out.

"Sure, go ahead." The replying feminine voice was cold.

Both of them hopped on the steeds and continued their journey. 

******

Midnight.

*Rumble.*

*Pitter. Patter.*

Rain heavily fell down on the wooden roofs of an inn. It was the only guest house of a small desolate town somewhere near the Southeastern edges of the Central District of Nemphis. It was run by a married couple.

"Sheesh. Another day without customers." A middle aged woman whose hair was tied to a bun sighed. She was sitting at one side of a small dining table.

A middle aged man, the only other occupant of the building snorted, was sitting opposite her. "Fuck! Why is this year so long? A frigid year followed by a thunder year- it just can't get any worse."

"Are you forgetting what's coming the year after the next?" The woman mocked.

"That? That is outright hell- pandemonium." The man shook his head. He looked toward his wife. "You should go to bed. There will be no more-"

*Ding*

*Creak*

The bell above the door rang as it opened. Two individuals wearing black hoods stepped in, leaving behind wet footprints on the wooden floor.

"Welcome!" The woman jumped out from her seat and rushed to the reception desk. Her husband stood up as well.

Adrian took off his hood, revealing his exceedingly handsome looks. The middle aged woman gasped.

Irene, who was a step behind him gave him a glance and removed her head cover as well. An extraordinary beauty with unique features- icy blue hair and purple eyes appeared before everyone's eyes.

This time, both of the couple gasped in unison.

Adrian scanned through the interior of the building as he ambled towards the reception. For a place that was in such a remote town, the place was not too shabby. The couple took good care of their source of livelihood- no matter how little they earned.

"Greetings." The woman bowed, but suddenly- she remembered something. "Oh, silly me." He got out of the desk and began to take the wet leather robe off him.

Adrian complied.

The husband who noticed this took a gulp and steeled his mind. He courteously walked towards the beautiful lady and got behind her.

Irene, took a glance at Adrian before her, and acted accordingly.

Soon, both of them were out of their leathery shells. 

The middle aged woman took Adrian's robe and shoved it in her husband's, whose eyes were on the young lady's behind.

She gave him a look before walking back to the desk.

The man blushed as he walked away with the expensive robes.

"How may I help you?" She asked, looking at Adrian.

"We need to stay the night."

"How many rooms? Two?" She glanced at the cold face of the girl.

"Nope. One."