A few days later, we finally arrived at the Endros Imperial City. It was a sight to behold. The city was at least twice if not three times as big as Ortava. The high walls of the city, contained towers, and Fox even explained to me that there were Formations placed on them. The large area of the forest was cleared all around the Imperial City, where field full of plants would be grown. Paved roads, extended in multiple directions, on which merchants, travellers and villagers travelled. We also saw some strange looking beasts, that were ridden by some people.Fox explained to me that these were personal mounts. Only very strong and wealthy people could afford them. We also saw many soldiers stationing, and patrolling the area around the city. The sight was completely different, compared with other cities. Then I saw something that shocked me. I huge shadow loomed over us. When I looked up, I saw… something. It looked a bit like a normal ship, but it was far from that. It had wings, and a dome instead of a mast. I wasn"t sure whether this was real or not. I nudged Fox that stood next to me, and asked "What… What is that thing?", while pointing at the sky.
Fox laughed, and replied "This is one of the transport systems. The Empire only has three of those, and it required many Formation Masters, craftsmen and the like, to create them. These things can fly like this, because of Formations. Don"t be fooled though, these things can be used as war machines as well. They are called Falkons, and are mostly used to transport people. The tickets are not that cheap though".
I was hooked immediately. "I had the pleasure to fly a bit myself. I wonder how would the whole Empire and the North look like, from aboard that Falkon?" I thought. Fox could see the excitement in my eyes, so she said "If you want, we can buy the tickets and go for a short trip. They offer transit mostly, not cruises. Although, if we buy return tickets for the same day, it should be cheaper". I was almost drooling at this stage, and simply nodded my head.
Fox added, "The Royals have a few small versions of that, but it only belongs to the Royals. No one else can use them. Anyway, shall we go?". I woke up from my thoughts, and said "Yea! Let"s go, I want to see more". Fox laughed a bit, and we moved towards the huge gate. This was one of the three gates, that the Imperial City had. We approached from the Southern Gate, but there were also the Wester and Eastern Gates.
A few soldiers stopped us, for an inspection. They were especially suspicious of Fox. No doubt they were, she was wearing that mask. Fox on the other hand, didn"t seem perturbed at all, she took out a multicoloured feather, and showed it to the soldiers. They immediately became all nice, and let us pa.s.s no problem. After we entered the city, I asked "Why did they just let us through? Does the Academy pa.s.s work like that?".
Fox shook her head, and replied "Not every feather. This is an ident.i.ty as well. The multicoloured feather means very high position. It"s something like a privilege, that Formation Masters receive". I looked at her suspiciously, and asked "You stole it from your father?". Fox must"ve felt wronged, because she retorted "I"m not you! This belongs to me, I don"t need to steal other"s ident.i.ties". "Yea... Whatever" I thought and left it at that.
Instead, I marvelled at the sights of the Imperial City. And there was a lot to marvel at. I could see the docking place for that Falkon. It didn"t levitate like the buildings in Boltier, but It was certainly very tall. There were spiral ramps all around it for people to embark and disembark. Besides that, there was also an entrance into the tower like building.
Besides that, there was a huge castle, probably belonging to the Royals. There was another large and distinctive building. When I asked Fox about it, she replied "This is the Grand Library. Pretty much anyone can enter and study there, but to get access to real knowledge, you need status". My eyes lit up, when she said that. "Fox has such status, we can view these type of books!". I wanted to go there immediately, but Fox grabbed me, and said "I know what you are thinking. Don"t forget, it is my feather, not yours. If I feel like it, I will take you there".
Throughout the time I travelled with Fox, I learned a few things about her. She might"ve been a grown up woman, but she liked to be mischievous at times. Although she wasn"t interested in jewellery, she liked to buy new clothes. I saw at least ten different sets of clothes on her, while we travelled. All of them were designed for adventuring. "I wonder how many casual clothes does she have?" I thought at that time.
She always asked me, where are my clothes for change, but I had none. Maybe excluding the broken set of clothes I received in Varent, and a set of fur clothes, I made a long time ago. Besides that, Fox was rather stubborn, which I would never guess, if we didn"t travel together for so long. Fox said "First, let"s go and find a place to stay. Then we can eat something nice, and after that we will go shopping. If you behave well, I will take you to the Grand Library".
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I gave up at this stage. She knew much more about the city than me. Besides, it was true, the feather belonged to her, not me. I nodded my head defeated, and followed after her. Fox headed in a specific direction, and we soon arrived at an inn. It didn"t look too lavish, but certainly wasn"t bad. We entered the building, and saw loads of people sitting at tables eating, drinking or simply conversing with each other.
Fox walked up to the counter, and asked for two rooms. Unfortunately, the inn was packed full, and there was only one room left. I said "You are obviously familiar with this place, so book it. I can find another place". She shook her head, and said "We will go somewhere else. I don"t want you to get lost, wandering the streets". "I"m not some sort of stray dog…" I thought. I a.s.sured her that it was fine, but she wouldn"t listen, so we left.
We headed to another inn, but it was fully booked as well. I could feel Fox"s frustration. I said "We can try a different one. It"s not like I care about the quality or something". She shook her head, and replied "There is one more. If it"s fully booked as well, we will go to a different place". I was fine with whatever, so I followed her.
The third inn we tried, had spare rooms. I could see why it was Fox"s third choice. The building was a bit poorer than the previous ones, but still looked clean, and had people inside. She booked two single rooms, and paid. I wanted to give her some money for my room, but she refused. "You already gave me so much, I can pay for such things. Don"t worry".
I wasn"t very wealthy, as I only had around 40 Gold Coins. The price of each room per night, totally shattered my understanding of wealthy. They charged 50 Silver Coins per room. She paid for a week of time. For two people, this meant 7 Gold Coins. "Those prices are ridiculous! How can some simple rooms cost 50 Silver Coins per night…" I thought. I was scared to ask how much the ticket for that Falkon costed, if simple rooms were so expensive.
She gave me the key, and said "I will go change and freshen up". She then looked at me from head to toe, and said "You should wash yourself too". "This woman will kill me one day" I thought, and headed upstairs to my room.