By the time they arrived at Alderhelm, saying everyone was tense would have been an understatement.
Kaelen had been volunteered to sit near the front due to his wanted status.
As it turned out, the last time Kaelen had been in Alderhelm, he had seen his own wanted poster. That was why he had brought it up, and why everyone was now on edge.
"Guys, can I take the towel off my face?"
Kaelen's muffled voice came from underneath the wrappings they had made to hide his identity.
"Kaelen, it's hard enough convincing Jax not to turn you in for a lifetime's worth of beer," Liora said, shoving the towel back onto Kaelen's head as he tried to pull it off. "What if people recognize you?"
"Guys, I have changed a lot since the image they're using for my bounty," Kaelen said. "Plus, it says I can't be harmed at all, so I can always threaten to punch myself if they try anything."
Everyone stared at him with varying levels of concern.
Thalia seemed to sum it up best.
"That does not seem like a comfortable way to live."
Kaelen looked surprised for a moment.
Then he burst into laughter, even holding his stomach as he did.
It took him a moment to stop before he finally said, "No, I suppose it's not, huh? But there is only so much one can do to solve it."
They approached the looming city.
Unlike the other cities they had visited, Alderhelm had room within the city itself for vehicles. So instead of parking outside and walking in, they were directed to pull up to the gate.
The city itself was fantastical in a way Aiden had never seen before.
Copper tanks rose toward the top of the dome's hexagonal barrier, which reminded him of the barrier around the shrine back in Hopestone before it broke.
The entire city was filled with engines, technology, automatons, and more, all moving around and working together.
So, despite their worries for Kaelen, none of them could help but stare a little.
Compared to Hopestone, which had only gotten the title of city a few weeks ago, this place felt like a real city.
A city that actually lived up to the word.
The guards let them in after checking their adventuring license, and Aiden started looking for a place to park.
"Look, there's one," Jax said, gesturing with his paw. "They even offer a refill service."
Sure enough, ahead of them was a lot holding several vehicles.
A small gate stood at the entrance, with a bored-looking human woman sitting inside a rectangular booth with windows. Beside her was a metal piece covered in what looked like a bunch of small holes.
As Aiden drove over, she perked up.
He rolled down the window.
"Welcome to Alderhelm," she said. "Are you looking for a spot to park?"
Aiden nodded.
The gate rose, and he drove in.
The woman stepped out of her booth and led them to a spot where Aiden had to maneuver back and forth a few times to fit.
Eventually, they managed.
As everyone grabbed their essentials from the back of the trailer, the woman approached Aiden.
"We offer fuel refills of carbuncle gems if you're interested in returning to a topped-up tank."
"Sure, that sounds great," Aiden said. "How much is it?"
"Three hundred gold, please."
Aiden grabbed his money pouch.
After paying for the refill, he realized he was now down to only three hundred gold.
The woman nodded and made her way back to her station to note down the refill, or something close to it, while the party headed off in search of dinner.
The bar they found was simple enough.
A small place called the Watering Hole.
Inside, there were a few people scattered around, and what looked to be a cat fullblood sat behind the bar beside a glass the size of their entire body.
The cat had one arm shoved all the way into the glass, wiping it out with a rag.
The party quietly made their way to a table and sat down, each of them picking up a menu.
After they ordered food, Aiden signaled for a team meeting.
Everyone turned to him with worried looks, as if they expected him to announce that the trailer had exploded, Kaelen had been recognized, or Jax had eaten something important.
Instead, Aiden pulled out the flyer for the event and held it out for everyone to see.
Plate Games
If you have received this letter, then you are a new team recommended by a Steel rank or higher team due to your promising talent.
You have been invited to attend the Freshplate Games in Bearreach, Flinkeq, in three months.
Representatives of the Jade Lions, Courage Torch, Sandsharks, and Cackling Crows guilds will be present to evaluate your performance and potentially scout participants.
The games will be hosted over one week, with thirty-two teams participating.
The final reward is as follows:
A custom creation from the Snowforge Guild artisan Coal Zizegal.
To be eligible for the games, your team must fit the following criteria:
More than four members, but no more than six.All members must be at minimum level 15.You must have at least ten completed quests, not including plate quests.
Good luck in your preparations for this event.
To learn more information, seek out your sponsor below.
Sponsor: Todis Jackle
The others looked at Aiden in confusion.
Aiden turned to them.
"It's been barely a month, and we're already more than halfway toward our goals. We're all around level twelve, and we have completed four quests, including the dungeon that got interrupted."
He tapped the flyer.
"I think we need to focus on quests right now more than anything."
The others looked between each other for a moment before Selene turned to him.
"S-So, like, what do you mean?"
"Well, let's look at what we're trying to do well in," Aiden said. "If it's a tournament, they'll be looking at our abilities as a team, sure, but also as individuals. So my proposal is this."
He held up three fingers.
"Let's do three quests. Split into three teams of two. That way, afterward, we only have three quests left to complete, and the XP will help us get closer to level fifteen anyway."
The others looked between each other again.
Then Jax stood up.
"I agree with the plan," Jax said, "but I believe some details need to be adjusted."
Everyone turned to him.
Jax waited to see if anyone had something to say before he continued.
"The plan of doing more quests is good, but I think teams of two is overestimating our abilities. I agree that we are getting better at this with each passing day, but for now, teams that small are unfeasible."
He lifted a paw.
"Instead, it should be two teams of three. And even then, I don't think the teams should quest at the same time. The ones on standby can come help if the other group needs it."
Aiden turned to the others to see their opinions.
Kaelen raised a hand.
"I think that is overly cautious by comparison. Let's just do two teams of three. That way, we get two quests and the XP without being overly slow for no reason."
Aiden looked around at everyone before nodding.
Then he realized too late that he had not been fast enough.
Everyone's fingers were already touching their noses.
Everyone except Aiden and Thalia.
Their arms were still at their sides.
"You know the drill, Hallowcreek," Jax said. "Go find some quests we can pick between."
Thalia and Aiden both begrudgingly rose and made their way out of the Watering Hole.
Neither of them had any idea where the city's guild building was, so they would have to wander for a bit.
Nevertheless, the city was nice to look at.
There were worse places to be assigned guild duty.
They made their way down the road before Thalia suddenly stopped.
Aiden walked a few more steps before realizing she was not next to him anymore.
He stopped and turned back.
Thalia was staring at a wall with a dumbstruck expression on her face.
For most people, that would have been cause for curiosity alone.
But Thalia was normally as stoic as a statue.
So Aiden whipped around to see what she was looking at.
Several pages were posted on the wall, each one covered in pictures, descriptions, and prices.
Most of them looked menacing and scary.
However, one was oddly familiar.
Aiden and Thalia walked over together and grabbed the poster off the wall.
WANTED
Alive and unharmed
Kaelen Therindor
Reward: 2,000,000 Gold
Description:
Kaelen is an elven man, around 185 years old at this time.
He is the son of the Therindor Duchy and the betrothed of Princess Malena of the Misagen royal line.
He was kidnapped on their wedding night and is still being held hostage.
We believe he must be under some kind of illusion due to his unnatural resistance to returning home or to his bride.
For this reason, an additional 100,000 gold is offered for the heads of those who accompany him.
Bounty Giver: Duke Alvin Therindor
At that point, Aiden's expression matched Thalia's.
They both turned to look at each other, faces pale.
"Holy crap," Thalia said, seeing opportunity. "We could sell Jax, get rid of our biggest cost in the form of alcohol, and be rich for it."
"Holy crap," Aiden said, realizing just how much danger they might be in. "Kaelen is married. And to a princess?!"