Dual Wielding

There was no other way to put it: Wyn was astounded by Precipice. The city was immense beyond his belief. Cliffside had been large sure, but due to its underground nature, other than the Grand Cavern, it always seemed a bit smaller than it was, and even the Cavern had paled in comparison to Precipice.

After pulling himself away from the view of the edge, he’d begun walking with the caravan to the merchant guild, and if it wasn’t for them, he was almost certain he’d get lost in the crowd. Much as he wanted to follow Corrin and explore the city, one of them had to be responsible and go to collect the bounty. Since he didn’t want to inconvenience Trell or Kei to come back with him later, it was something he wanted to take care of while they were heading to the guild anyways.

The feel of the buildings wasn’t entirely unfamiliar, however. Just as Straetum had buildings of all different constructions and materials, Precipice had the same, with a sort of freedom to the city that he found refreshing. It seemed that whether it be through rugs, materials, or design, people would always find a way to express their own individual tastes in whatever way they could.

However, compared to Straetum, the difference in scale couldn’t be ignored. As they approached the guild building, Wyn noticed the buildings becoming taller and more opulent. Windows filled with glass adorned the front of every building, and simple wood and stone construction gave way to more complex and intricate designs. The main street was so well-maintained that he could hardly believe it, it was completely flat, without any potholes or bumps, allowing for carts to move quickly and easily down its length.

Trade in Straetum had been very informal. While a group of elders usually handled the exchanging of important goods—like the dungeon’s magic stones—most of the trade was conducted by the actual townsfolk, and almost half of it was bartering. When he’d been younger, even before his encounter in the woods, Wyn fondly remembered meeting the merchants with his mother to purchase from them rare ingredients, or various odds and ends. As he’d gotten older, he’d eventually learned all their names, purchasing items for himself, and building a rapport.

But with Precipice, such a thing was unimaginable. The whole street in what they called the ‘commerce ridge’, was clogged with more merchant stalls, shops, and lone salesmen than he’d ever imagined, buzzing with overwhelming noise and activity. The merchants on the street approached the caravan members—especially Kei—hungrily, like wolves spotting a lone deer in the winter, and Wyn noticed several quick exchanges of money and goods as they went.

None approached him though. He asked Trell about it only to receive a simple response.

“It’s because you smell broke.”

“I smell broke?” Wyn asked.

Trell grunted, nodding towards Kei. “Especially with the princess over there taking up so much attention, you’ll slip by unnoticed until you collect that bounty. After that though, they’ll be on you like fruit flies around a rotting melon. Ah, here we are.”

They’d reached their destination at the end of the commerce ridge. The merchant guild building was the largest man-made structure Wyn had ever seen, only approached by the church in Straetum. It had a domed roof and two spires in the front of its grand entrance, constructed from a pristine white brick with gold trim. It seemed to attract a type of spirit he’d never seen: A dozen or so hovered around the dome, taking the form of what seemed like little balls of liquid gold and silver. It was a shrine to abundance and wealth, and he felt that this single building might have cost more to build than all of Straetum combined.

Trell elbowed him in the side. “Quit gawking, you look like a tourist. I know you are one, but try not to let it show around the merchants. They’ll eat you alive if you let them think you’re an easy target.”

Wyn nodded and followed him inside, trying to contain his amazement at the opulent paintings and silk curtains which draped across the huge windows of the interior. Large columns of marble were placed at intervals on the floor, stretching up to support the ceiling high above, inside, more of the gold and silver spirits hovered around above the heads of the crowd, and he noticed Eia flying over to inspect them.

Trell led the party over to one of the desks and began talking to the clerk, apparently the caravan had been associated with the guild on a contract. From what Wyn was able to gather, the guild offered stable selling channels, easy gathering of caravans and bodyguards, and legitimacy to the merchants in exchange for some fees and a small percentage of certain earnings.

Some sort of negotiations seemed to be taking place—some of which seemed to involve Trell flirting with the clerk—though Wyn couldn’t keep up with all of it. It seemed at times like a dance, and other times like a battle, as each one jostled for an extra mark, or compromised on seemingly odd and unrelated points. Eventually, the woman went to the back to confirm a few things and gather recompense for a portion of the damages incurred by the caravan.

As she did, Wyn muttered to Trell. “I thought you were married.”

Trell raised an eyebrow. “What are you—Oh. Listen Wyn, there’s flirting for romance, and there’s flirting for business. Believe me I’d be sweet-talking a man just the same.”

Kei chuckled at that, apparently having been listening in. Wyn glanced over at her, and she shrugged, trying to banish the amusement from her face. “Well, he’s not wrong.”

The clerk returned and negotiations eventually finished, both parties seemingly happy with the outcome. Just after that, Trell cleared his throat and gestured to one of the traders, who brought forward a few of the items that Wyn recognized as having come from Din Kai.

“One last order of business Miss,” he said. “My friend here would like to collect a reward. It’s my understanding that a bounty was placed by the merchant guild on the Black Scythes?”

The immediate areas surrounding them grew quiet. The clerk nodded slowly, “Yes, that would be correct… Are you trying to say you were attacked and fought them off?”

Trell laughed. “No no, we didn’t do too much honestly. Well, we fought off some of the lackeys, but this kid and his friend here—” he looked around, seemingly remembering Corrin had jumped. “Wherever he ran off to.”

Wyn shrugged.

“Well, regardless, this kid and his friend killed the man himself.”

She gasped. “Wait you can’t possibly mean—”

Trell took a bag from the trader and poured its contents onto the table. Spilling out came a black iron chain, tipped with a scythe, the tip still caked in dried blood. All around them, the merchants in the guild began an uproar, cheers, whispered conversations, and cries of “bullshit!” blended into a whirlpool of sound and chaos.

A bell rang out, quieting the crowd as the clerk nervously grabbed the weapon, hesitant to touch the blade and set it on a table behind the counter. “Um, this is fantastic of course, do you have any other evidence of his passing? I’m afraid we can’t be too cautious about such a claim.”

“I’ve got at least fifteen other caravan members who can corroborate the story, along with two of his own men.”

“In that case, I’ll check with my superiors… one moment please.” She ran hurriedly into the back room, and the guild hall burst into noise.

“Did he really kill Din Kai?”

“Where are you from?”

“He must’ve gotten lucky!”

“Would you guard my caravan?”

All at once, Wyn was accosted with a barrage of questions, swearing, and general disbelief as every trader tried to either recruit him or ask him for a favor of some kind. He found himself a bit overwhelmed, trying to answer each question as best he could. Vaguely, he noticed Kei looking faintly amused through the crowd.

The confusion only lasted a few minutes though, as the door to the back slammed open against the wall with a sharp crack, forcing the room into silence. Out of the door walked a tall man, freakishly so, with long limbs and neatly kept chestnut hair. He had a demeanor that could only be described as commanding, and as he approached, his light red eyes locked onto Wyn, appraising him. Wyn was shocked, as he had to resist the urge to slink back from him, unable to shake a feeling of danger, though the man didn’t strike him as a fighter.

“Soo,” the man spoke, his voice smooth and somewhat high-pitched, elongating the ‘o’ sound so that it almost sounded teasing. “You’re the boy who claims to have defeated Din Kai?”

“Um… yes?”

The man slowly walked through a gate in the counter, it opened slowly, creaking on its hinges as he came right up next to Wyn. His broad shoulders obscured the view of anything behind him. Wyn glanced to his right and left for help, but Trell was nowhere to be seen, and Kei seemed to be watching with only mild interest.

After a pregnant pause, the man finally stopped leering over Wyn, taking a step back and smiling. The air seemed to clear, though Wyn didn’t forget the tension he’d felt only moments before. “It is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Udyr. I’m the merchant guild master here in Precipice.”

Wyn hesitantly shook his hand. “Nice to meet you Sir, I’m—”

“Wyn of Straetum. Yes, I’m aware. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” His red eyes gleamed. “So, you’re the one that finally put that pest Din Kai down. That makes the circumstances quite fortuitous then, isn’t that right my friend?”

“How did you know my name?” Wyn asked warily.

Udyr winked. “You are in my city. In a sense, this is my home. Is it not natural for a host to know the names of all his guests? Now, I’ll request you come with me. We have much to discuss.”

“We do? And why would that be?”

“I’m afraid I can’t speak about these sorts of things in such mixed company,” he laughed.

“And if I just want to take my reward and leave?” Wyn didn’t really care to get mixed up with a character like this, and despite his apprehension, he wasn’t quite afraid of him. It would probably be better to get the money, get Corrin and continue on their way. Taravast was still a long way away.

Udyr smiled. “Well of course you’d be more than welcome to, but you may find The Grass Sea… more difficult to cross than you would expect.”

Wyn felt a chill go down his spine. “How do you know what I’m planning to do?”

“Oh relax.” Udyr waved a hand dismissively. “There’s nothing nefarious going on. People like you swing your swords, and I’m sure you’re good at it. But what I’m good at is information gathering. If I want to know something, I find out, and you’re far too inexperienced to even realize what’s happening. Thankfully, you seem a smart enough child, so I’d wager you’ll realize your best option is to follow me and learn more, no?”

Eia’s laughter echoed in Wyn’s head through their bond. Ooh now this is interesting.

Wyn grit his teeth, he couldn’t help but feel like he was getting played somehow, and the feeling grated on him. Udyr turned to leave, taking a single step towards the door before pausing.

“Oh yes, and you too girl,” Udyr said, holding up a beckoning finger without turning around. “Second heir to house Ameas… What an interesting story you must have to be all the way out here.”

Wyn heard Kei gasp, barely audible behind him.

“How do you—”

“Hurry hurry, I haven’t all day.” He slunk out of the room. And much to his annoyance, Wyn found himself following the strange man.

After a moment, Kei sped up next to Wyn—Udyr’s long legs striding forward at an uncomfortable pace—as he led them out into the main street of Precipice. Thankfully, despite the crowds, he was impossible to lose with his height, standing out above the rest of the people like a sore thumb.

“This guy is really starting to piss me off,” Kei grumbled.

Wyn nodded.

“I’ve met his type before in Taravast, though I don’t know how he knows about either of us. It could just be that he was able to gather information from the rest of the caravan while we were negotiating, but I can hardly believe he would do that so quickly after we got here.”

“Maybe it’s a blessing of some kind?” Wyn mused.

“It’s certainly a possible explanation. I’ve never heard of one that would allow an ability like that, but blessings are as numerous as the spirits themselves, so that’s not entirely unexpected. If—if you don’t mind, please let me do the talking unless he asks you something directly.”

“No problems here. Do you have any idea why he may want to talk to us?”

Kei shook her head. “None at all, I don’t know much of this city. I came up the eastern side of the plateau on my way here. I could tell you a list of its ten largest exports, or how much we spent importing from them last year, but I somehow doubt that would be helpful here.”

“Well, I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

Up ahead, Udyr had stopped at the door of a building on the edge-side of the street. It was constructed of polished wood, with minimal markings to identify what its purpose was. Next to it was a sign that simply read ‘The Final Terrace”.

Great. Wyn thought. That’s not foreboding at all.

“We’ve arrived,” Udyr said. “After you.” He opened the door, gesturing into what looked like a hallway of some kind.

Kei chuckled awkwardly, “Lead the way Wyn.”

He glared at her. She flinched slightly at it, which made him feel bad, so he turned back and stepped into the building.

Slowly, he walked down the cramped hallway, the sound of the door closing behind them all too present in his ears. Wyn wondered just what sort of place this might be. He turned a corner to find a young woman at a lectern. She was wearing what appeared to be some sort of uniform.

“Welcome to The Final Terrace,” she said amicably. “Please allow me to seat you!”

Wait. What?