22 Port Carstone

Shen left the palace with a guard to guide him. The light breeze coming from the sea immediately rushed to his nostrils. He took a deep breath, before slowly exhaling. This sort of fresh air could only be encountered near the sea. It felt different than the mainland, almost mind calming.

Shen forgot himself and stared at the seaport city of Carstone engrossed in his thoughts. The sun shone on his face and exposed body, while the breeze cooled him ever so slightly with its caressing touches. The scene in front of him was beautiful.

\"Master Shen?\" The guard asked concernedly while tapping his shoulder.

\"Um yes?\" Shen replied, a bit confused by the tap.

\"Is everything alright?\" The guard asked again.

\"Oh! Yes, everything's alright. I just got lost in my thoughts for a while. Shall we continue? \" Shen replied and started walking forwards again.

As they drew closer to the Port Carstone, Shen noticed that loads of people from the mainland came to Medtron. Moreover, when they arrived at the Port, there were hardly any people from the Water Kingdom.

The people from the mainland were dressed in bright blue clothes the men wore a type of blue suit that looked expensive, on the cuffs they had pearls and the women wore sundresses with open-toe shoes and some had a sun hat and all of them had expensive Perl and shell necklaces everyone looked as if they were waiting for this visit.

\"Why is no one leaving the Kingdom?\" Shen asked with a puzzled expression.

\"Well our kingdom was always participating in many wars and that time is still fresh in their minds\" The guard explained \"If you take this road you will reach Carstone woods. Here this will help you.\" he pointed to a long road down a stone street.

Before leaving the guard gave shen a crystal and said \"This is a location crystal it has a map of the woods I recommend keeping away from the black spot in the middle, it is the resident sacred ground for the region\" He bowed and quickly returned to Medtron Shen watched him walk away.

Shen turned around and began looking for the woods as looked at the port he noticed that the city seems to be completely reliant on the Medtron kingdom visit there are signs all over the streets celebrating their arrival.

As Shen walked the streets he began to notice that the farther from port he got the more poverty he saw in the city

At the entrance of the Carstone city, there were lavish decorations and beautiful pastures but as you got deeper into the city it became more of a slum with scattered houses and people in rags with their bones clearly visible Shen knew what these people were they were just like him they were treated as less than human.

\"Ah\" A little boy falls in front of shen he scoffed his arm on the stone street and got some mud on Shens clothes

Shen tried to help\" Are you ok kid? Seems you scratched you kneel bad-\"

\"I'm sorry sir! I didn't mean too please don't hurt me! Please!\" The boy shouted

\"I won't hurt you kid I only wanna help you\" Shen tried to console the kid before a man came up to shen and got on his hands and knees and began to beg \"PLEASE don't hurt my son! Take me instead and I will work hard for you! Please!\"

'What is this situation? He only got mud on me what's so bad about that?' Shen thought

\"Listen it's fine just let me see you wound please,\" Shen said in a soft voice.

The boy and the dad both looked and thought 'is this noble so sick so as to enjoy seeing me wounded' The dad nodded and the boy showed his knee which had a long scrape that was bleeding.

Shen got down on one knee and cast a healing spell on it and it slowly closed up until all that was left was a bruise the boy and dad sat there shocked that a noble would do this for them

Shen finished the spell and told the boy and man to stand up

\"Now then why did you think I was gonna hit you?\" he said

The boy was the first to speak \"We thought you were a nasty noble\" the man covered the boy's mouth

\"We can't speak here please come with me!\" the man walked into a hovel barely being held up by the support beams shen followed them inside where there was only a small table with one bowl in the middle of it with two pieces of stale bread in it

And the man let go of the boy and told him to go play in his room and he sat with shen at the little table and the man began to speak.

\"I'm sorry for all thing sir it's just that the nobles have eyes everywhere and they will punish us if they know we told an outsider, my name is Victor Hobs and my son's name is Ben,\" The man said worried looking all over the room.

\"Told an outsider About what?\" Shen asked.

\"How they treat us\" Victor whispered,\" They treat us like animals and if we look at any of them wrong they beat us!\"

Shen began to feel his stomach turn \"Does the water kingdom know about this?\"

\"No, they would kill us if we even got close to the port this time of year\" The man looked away as if he was looking a thousand miles away. \"That's why...that's why they kill my wife.\" at the edge of Victor's eyes tears began to form, but he wiped them away.

Shen gritted his teeth and gripped his fists. \"What did she do?\"

The man finished wiping his tears and looked at the table. \"She believed in the water kingdom. That they would protect us but when she tried to get to port to show them but..\"

He paused \"They got to her before she could get there and used her as an example. We couldn't even have the body!\"

Shen sat there silent but full of rage at the actions of the noble people.

\"They threw her in the fake religious burial ground and no one can get in there since it's protected by law and a shield of people without noble status.\"

The man controlled himself and said, \"Please sir if you are a noble or if high status can you please bring me her body I know I barely know you, but I'll give you everything I have if you just try-\"

\"I'll do it,\" Shen responded interrupting the man. \"I'll do it for free.\"

Victor was stunned and began to cry and sob till he could barely say a word.

Shen sat there waiting for him to finish and after he did the man said \"Thank you, sir, Thank you! Please please join us for dinner to repay you please\" Victor offered Shen one of the stale pieces of bread on the table.

\"No, thank you I have a prior engagement and I must be going but I promise to find out about your wife,\" Shen said and said goodbye and he left the home.

Shen was furious but he had no power to do anything now but he could gain it.

Shen began to walk to the forest the only thought in his head 'I'll get stronger and I'll have the power to save them\" His knuckles almost turned white from the force he was exerting in his grip.

He arrived at the forest and it was was not as huge as the temples but it was still a big place and it was full of trees at least 8 feet tall filled with life and lush with fruit and birds. it was nice.

Shen made his way into Carstone forest.

*****

After about 6 minutes he found a few lower mortal types but no middle mortal types.

Shen figured that it was most likely a preditor who would be middle mortal clas. So He thought maybe he could lay a trap, so he went up to a boar and killed it to use it as bait he threw the boar in a clearing and waited in a tree for a preditor.

After about 40 minutes the system chimed in.

[Threat nearby.]

[Engage threat analysis? Yes/No]

\"Yes\" Shen crouched down on the branch he was on and waited with bated breath and didn't see anything

[Giant howler monkey: middle mortal class.]

'Finally I found a middle mortal class.' He thought

\"But where is he I should be able to see him…\"Shen said

Then it clicked 'Wait did it say howler monkey?'

[Attack Imminent.]