"I just don"t get why we couldn"t have grabbed a cart," Griffin complained. "I mean there"s one headed there in the morning. Just grab that and we don"t have to walk. We could"ve chilled in town and rested."
"We"ll get there faster this way. Plus this gives us a way to practice for the tournament," Mark replied.
"We could"ve practiced without walking through the forest after midnight," Griffin muttered, kicking a nearby stick.
Ignoring his bickering friends, Eric was discussing magic with Rob.
"I haven"t really had the chance to fight any PvP matches recently, so I"m not too sure how magic is going to fair at the tournament."
"I fought a guy the other day while I was grinding with Jaime and Gio. Dude ambushed me but I was able to kill him with a few spells. It"s easy if they"re not wearing good armour," Rob confided.
"Speaking of Jaime, where is he? Is he not coming?" Eric asked.
"He said he"d meet us there. He wants to buy a new sword so he went grinding to see if he could raise a bit more money to buy it with," Rob smirked, miming Jaime running with his enormous two handed sword.
"I know I"m not exactly one to talk, but I hope he makes it in time," Eric said with a laugh, turning the conversation back to magic.
Five hours later, the forest began to give way to rolling fields of wheat. Peering through the early morning gloom, Eric could just make out the high walls of Vindammer Town, looming high in the pre-dawn light.
"This place is way bigger than Tonbura," Griffin breathed.
"Yeah. It"s actually pretty impressive," Gio agreed.
Walking through the fields, the town began to come into view. Unlike Tonbura, Vindammer"s walls were made of stone and mortar, reaching over five metres high, with arrow slits interspersed throughout the crenellations overlooking the fields below.
The glow of a few lonesome fires could be seen illuminating the small guardposts just above the closed main gate that had come into view at the end of the road. Moving closer, the groups movement caused a head to peek out of the guardpost.
"Oi. What"re you lot here for at this time?" the guardsman asked, a young man in his early twenties with an impressive moustache.
"We"re here for the militia tournament. We"re members of the militia from Tonbura Village," Eric hollered back.
"Tonbura Village eh? Who"s the militia captain there?"
"Captain Alistair."
"You might have known that because of the tournament notice, let me think of another question," the guardsman shot back.
"Why bother asking in the first place then?" Eric muttered irritatedly.
"Who"s the blacksmith of Tonbura Village?"
"Tom Smith. Our friend here is one of his apprentices," Eric responded, pointing to Griffin, who gave a short wave.
With an annoyed look, the guardsman retreated inside. Moments later, the gate began to open, accompanied by the sound of grinding chains. Once the gate was open just enough to allow a person to squeeze through, they stopped, the sound of chains disappearing into the still morning air.
"I aint opening them any further. There"ve been attacks recently. I can"t risk having the gate fully open," the guardsman informed them, his head appearing above them once more.
With a sigh, Eric slid through the open gate, followed by the rest of the group, with Griffin taking up the rear. Grunting as he exerted himself, Griffin just barely managed to squeeze his large frame through, glaring up at the guardpost above as he finally made it through the gate and into the town.
"Now you folks behave. I don"t want Commander Slade havin me head for lettin ya inside," the guardsman yelled from above, earning irate stares from the group as they left the gate behind and headed deeper inside the town.
The town was quiet, the villagers taking advantage of the early hour to get some sleep. The occasional player could be seen nearby, but for the most part, Vindammer Town was quiet.
Looking at the houses nearby, Eric let out a low whistle of appreciation. The houses were done in the medieval style, with two to three story houses made of wood and brick lining either side of the main road.
A cobblestone road lead deeper into the town. Following the road, the residential area began to give way to shops and other establishments, where even at this early hour, a more lively att.i.tude persisted. A drunkard lying outside what appeared to be a tavern was muttering as they pa.s.sed, saying, "Cut me off. Only had a few drinks. Not more than a drop…"
A soft, muted hammering noise came from a nearby smithy, the forge silent in the early dawn. A couple of men were hanging out in front of a window, glancing at a selection of pies and other baked goods that a plump bakery worker was placing inside as she gave them a knowing smile.
There were shops selling armour, shops selling books, windows with various cauldrons and other instruments Eric had never even seen before stacked in heaps, jewelry laid out on white cushioned pillows, magical goods emblazoned with glowing runes, and potions of various colours all displayed for pa.s.sers by to see.
"Is that a shop for magic books?" Gio asked curiously, pointing to a nearby shop with a sign saying Manticore Magic Books and Supplies - Beginner To Advanced Magical Items.
"Looks like it. d.a.m.n, towns really are different," Ryan replied.
Taking in the sights, the group continued to make their way through Vindammer, searching for a sign as to where they should head for the tournament. Reaching the town square, they decided to take a rest, sitting on the steps of the fountain that dominated the center of the townsquare. In the distance, a towering circular wall could be seen, dwarfing the nearby buildings as it rose above the nearby houses and monuments.
"This place looks like something out of Beauty and the Beast," Griffin remarked offhandedly.
"It"s definitely nice. I could see myself retiring someplace like this," Eric agreed. Receiving small nods of agreement from the rest of the group.
Searching around the square, Ryan noticed a large noticeboard on the other side of the fountain, partially obscured from view by the flowing water that bounded out from the hilt of a sword, held aloft by a stone knight that served as the centerpiece of the fountain.
"I think I see a noticeboard. Lemme go check if there"s any info on the tournament there," Ryan informed the group, jumping from his seat and jogging over.
"I told you we should"ve just asked the guard," Gio muttered.
"Dude was a d.i.c.k. He probably would have given us the wrong information just for fun," Eric said with a yawn.
"True…"
Running back, Ryan waved his arms toward them.
"Guys! Registration will be held at the arena!" Ryan shouted.
"Which is where?" Jun replied.
Skidding to a halt in front of them, Ryan pointed towards the large circular building in the distance, "That"s the arena. Supposedly it"s called the Wine Hammer Arena."
"Who cares what it"s called. Let"s just get there and register. I wanna get some more sleep," Jun replied. Stifling a yawn as he did so.
As the group approached, the impressiveness of the arena"s size became much more evident. While it couldn"t compare to famous arenas such as the Roman Colosseum or Wimbledon, it was still by far the biggest building any of them had seen in Fate so far.
Standing nearly four stories tall, the arena dwarfed many of the nearby shops and houses, its brick walls casting a long shadow over the streets as the sun rose behind it.
Various stalls were set up near the entrance, with signs such as Harald"s Haddock Sticks, Kora"s Candy Apples - Five for a Srick, and Dom"s Whisky, advertising the wares that would be available once they opened for the days.
Heading for the entrance, they were stopped by a tall, white-haired guard, holding a spear.
"Arena opens at nine. Entry is forbidden before then," he informed them.
"When can we register for the tournament?" Eric asked, stepping forward to confront the guard.
"Which tournament? There"s a dance tournament later today, but registration is already closed. And then the militia is hosting a tournament on the seventeenth. There"s also a swordsmanship exhibition on the twentieth," the guardsman explained.
"The militia one."
"You can register once the arena opens at nine. As long as you register up to two hours before it begins then you"re fine."
Thanking the guardsman, the group made their way back to the fountain steps. Agreeing to register on their own and then meet back up before the tournament, the group split up. Jun logged off, while the rest of them went off on their own to explore the town.