Clouds drifted across the sky as sunlight pierced through and touched the marble buildings of the central district, each one bearing the city's flags with pride.
At the center of the district stood a dark glass pyramid, surrounded by trimmed bushes and trees.
An orc in a dark navy uniform appeared on a red circled curved into the stone floor before the pyramid.
"Damn it," Zel muttered, glaring at the two cloaked figures guarding the pyramid.
He turned and rushed back to the lower district.
*********
Inside a room with no doors, smooth white walls rose around a spotless tiled floor. Cloaked figures stood along the walls.
June spoke softly. "Liar."
'I forgot some people can see status information.' Vance thought, glancing at cloaked figures on the right.
He sighed. "What was the point of that question if you already knew the answer?"
"You can learn a lot about a person from their smallest lie's," She replied taking another step closer.
"And what did that tell you?" He asked.
His body felt strangely drawn to her.
"You can't be trusted," She said resting her delicate hand the four books in his arms.
Vancd leaned closer, captivated by those big brown gentle eyes and soft cherry lips.
She leaned closer as if to bait him. "Why do you lie when I'm being sincere with you?"
"It's just my nature," he spoke without thought. His eyes fixed on her lips, not noticing the room around them had changed.
"I can't trust a man with such nature,'' Her hand touched his chest, gently pushing him away and denying him those sweet tender lips that were only a centimetre away from his own.
"You can," Vance replied grabbing her waist as the books floated from his arms. "after all, things change with time."
"You expect me to believe that?" She stepped back again denying him the lips, he yearned for.
"What do you want?" He asked pulling her closer as vines coiled around his legs.
"Swear that you'll stay by my side," She whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Until the end of time."
The world around him faded. All he could see were those cherry lips inches away.
"Will you do it?" She asked softy. The ledger at his side glowed faint gold.
"Until the end of time?" Vance asked, his gaze wavering.
She cupped his cheek and guided his eyes back to hers as she whispered, "yes."
Those sacculent cherry lips we so close, all he had to do was say yes.
Vance leaned closer, then suddenly stopped.
"If I stay here with you until the end of time," he asked seriously, "who's going to get my money?"
Her blinked. "What?"
He looked at her dead in the eyes and continued. "Someone has to get my money. Are you going to get my money?"
The vines around his legs loosened.
"Are you serious?" She asked, disbelief creeping into her voice.
'Where am I?' Vance thought, finally noticing his sorroundings.
Plant covered the walls. Thick vines coiled around marble pillars while black soil stretched beneath his feet.
The elf before him no longer looked gentle.
Her eyes darkened as plants shifted like serpents along the walls.
The vines around his legs tightened again, this time threatening to crush bones.
He tightened his jaw.
"I would've preferred not to break you bones," June said with a smile "but that's your fault for valuing money over everything."
"June!" A deep voice echoed through the garden. A tall man appeared, his long yellow hair flowing down his back like a lion's mane. His muscular chest bare, covered only by loose black cloth around his waist.
"What is it this time?" June asked with out turning around.
"The tower master said to let the human go."
"But.."
The man's eyes narrowed. "We don't care. Let go of the human."
"Tsk" her tongue clicked as green translucent circles appeared on her wrists.
"You're banned from tower, twerp," the man snarled at Vance's fading figure.
The plants calmed returning to the walls, the scent of roses filled the air as a shimmering lake appeared beyond the garden flower.
"Why are you still here?" June asked, plucking a flower whose petals burned like flames.
The man scratched his mane like hair, "I just don't understand why you were willing to break the law over some twerp with a contract gift."
"It's hard to understand," he continued. "The brat only had a contract limit of a hundred. Impressive, sure but the mage guild already has hundreds of high rank contractors. Why challenge the city over him?"
"Who told you his contract limit was a hundred?" June asked calmly, staring at the burning flower called phoenix flower.
"The section chief told the tower master," he replied proudly.
"You and the tower master really think I'm an idiot." June sighed, "his contract limit is four hundred and seventy."
The man froze. "The highest contract limit on the continent right now is only two hundred and seven."
"Yes," June replied. "And that person belongs to the church of greed."
"Then, he's one of them?" The man asked.
She shock her head. "He has no affiliation. I ran his name through the database."
Her eyes narrowed. "He's registered as having no skills and no gift."
The man vanished instantly.
He reappeared before the black pyramid.
"Where did the human go?" He demanded.
"He already left," one cloaked figure replied. "Escorted by the section chief and the commander from the lower district,"
"Did he steal something grandmaster Don?" The other guard asked.
"Tch" Don vanished.
The two cloaked figures stared at each other in silence.
"Do know what that was about?" One of them finally asked.
The other looked at the city with an indifferent gaze. ''I don't get paid enough to know that kind of stuff."