The nearest settlement from where they briefly conversed was around a couple of kilometers, through a twisting and turning trail in between cliff, withered trees, a stack of big stone bricks from ancient ruins and shattered boulders. Halfway through the journey, he ordered Ara to stop because he sensed that someone else was near. He made his projected body disappear and Ara paused for a moment to watch his container that she held in her hands before changing her form into the shape of a young man using the cloak and the mask.
Twenty or so steps in front of them was a three-way intersection where the small trail they had walked from met a wide grayish-blue stone-paved road. There was a group of pedestrians that looked like the tourists from before walking away from the direction of the former Dark lord’s castle. Not long after Ara wandered closer to join and follow behind them inconspicuously, a small group of people coming from the front heading toward the castle.
Ara looked briefly toward the platoon of stern-faced soldiers with a different uniform and older age compared to the soldier on the seal’s surrounding when they passed by. They were jogging with a fast stride following some mage robe-wearing old man with a waist-long beard who flew in front of them. The old man was hovering a handspan height from the ground and looked like he was dragged forward by the gnarled ancient black wooden staff he held with both hands.
He glanced at the old bearded man from his container before dismissing him. He knew who that old man was, and he had no intention to acknowledge or even converse with him. The crowd of tourists walked slowly toward a high walled town in the distance, and Ara walked on following them absentmindedly while he kept his silence, occupying his time with observing the surroundings and feeling the current of mana that moved with the breeze.
It was another hour before the reached the gate of the settlement in front of them, and only after they passed the thick high wall surrounding it did he found out that it was a place that was somewhat familiar in his memory. Back then this place was just a collection of abandoned and ruined buildings carved from stone-built with a style of ancient people long gone. It was just someplace referred to as Ashenfort by the inhabitant of small hidden settlements dotting the land of twilight.
Some of the stone buildings had been repaired but it didn’t look like the people here spend any great effort to preserve the carved decoration on them. It looked like the inhabitant was just making a cursory effort to make their building looked like and had atmosphere ancient building. So instead of preserving ancient heritage, they just wanted to preserve the vibe, like another place that became a ‘historic site’ for tourist attraction
Some of the building in this town was the original ruined building that still stood back then and added with thick wooden pillars to prop the damaged part, while the other looked like its been rebuilt using different material and topped with carved plaster imitating the pattern from the intact stone building’s carving. And beyond the area of the ancient stone building was recently set up buildings made out of wood and burnt clay bricks.
The tourist in front of them separated and went in wherever direction they intended to go, while Ara kept walking toward one of the more preserved stone buildings with wide wooden double doors and wooden porch as the only visible add on. Through the door, there was a spacious foyer filled with row upon row of long table and backless round chair. The foyer was lit by the fire in the hearth and the lights from the chandelier hanging on the ceiling. There were many people of various sex, age, and locality sitting there eating, drinking, or just talking with their seat neighbor.
Ara paused in the doorway briefly and looked down at his container before walking to the counter at one side of the building. While Ara was walking, he amused himself by listening out of any conversation he could hear through the din of murmur and various kind of indistinct noises.
“Did you hear, there was something happening at the hero’s tomb deep inside the...” there was a group of people who were already talking about what happening in the former dark lord’s castle. He wasn’t interested so he looked for other things to hear.
The sage was still young as ever... what do you imagine her secret of youth is? Nearby it was a group of middle-aged women talking about other unimportant things. Some of them were distractedly spoon-feeding their child while talking with their tablemate.
“I almost died being trampled.“
“Poor you. What’s the spell she used? I felt sluggish and so calm.”
In another table, an alarmingly thin young man talking with his unimpressed friend that was more interested talking about spell than sympathizing with his friend near-miss proximity with his demise.
“Hello, dear. What do you need?” a stout but pleasant-looking middle-aged woman addressed Ara when she had reached the counter.
“Can I have the food in my room?”
We didn’t have that kind of room service, dear.” The woman smiled before continuing, “but we wouldn’t prevent you from bringing your food to your paid room.”
“Ah, okay. Then I’m ordering some food,” Ara paused to think briefly before continuing “please make it easier to bring to my room.”
“What would you order?” the proprietress gestured to the menu that was written on a wooden plaque diagonally behind her.
“Your recommendation?”
“Okay dear, wait here” She stood up and walked toward a door in the corner of the room in her side of the counter. There was a brick stove visible through the door, and a muscular hirsute man moving slowly while lifting a big steaming iron pot that looked full of soup. She moved around the man and busied herself in that place, only occasionally visible when she passed the area that can be seen through the opened door.
Before long, she walked back into the counter carrying a stacked round metallic container using its handle and put it in front of Ara before unstacking it.
“This is Amber congee, Ogor fish soup, and the specialty of the land of twilight, Blue moist bread” she spoke while gesturing at each container, and when she was done she stacked the container again.
While the proprietress was putting the dish in order, Ara looked at the menu, counted briefly and took out a bunch of coins out of her pocket. She pushed the money on the counter to the proprietress before taking the container and walked to the stairs beyond the row of tables.
From behind, the proprietress called out when Ara had walked through half of the distance.“Don’t forget to bring the dishes out when you are done, young man, or you’ll have to pay extra for room cleaning!”
