Chapter 3: The Kingdom of Rue
The Kingdom of Rue is a city built in the shape of a circle, with roads stretching from its center all the way to the walled borders. It used to not be as fortified as it currently is, but when the catastrophe hit, measures had to be taken.
In the center of the city is the market, the place where most of the trading within the kingdom took place. Not to say that you couldn't buy from anywhere else, as all of the main roads were full with shops and other utilitary buildings, such as armouries, blacksmiths and magic shops, but that was the preferred destination for such activities.
There were magic users before the catastrophe, but they only used their powers for helping others do their job, such as healing them if they had an accident or helping carry materials on building sites. Adventurers were in the minority, as there was nothing really worth exploring at this point.
But, because of the recent threats, everyone started learning magic and combat theories at the "Academy of Heroes". The most impactful building on the city's layout, shaped like a concrete tower that stood tall above everything else.
It came into being as soon as the public realized that the already existing organization, the "Adventurer's Guild" was not prepared enough to deal with anything. Its main building was small, having only two floors. The only ones that remained here mostly middle aged men that couldn't get a job anywhere else. Their skills were quite low and so was the revenue of the Guild.
Tailor was strolling down one of the main roads, trying to find some shops to buy clothes. The streets were full of people, so navigating them was quite the hassle. He bumped into a lot of people, including a short, hooded person.
"Why would someone wear a hood on their head in the middle of the day?"
He decided to finally stop at one of the shops that were near the road. It was a pretty small, white building with a sign on top that said: _"Sante's clothes emporium"_.
Inside he was met by a man who he presumed to be the shop's owner. A thin man, almost as tall as Tailor, whose hair was white, even if he did not show any signs of aging, unlike the tavern's owner.
"Welcome, sir. What may I offer you? Do you have anything specific in mind?"
"Give me your best set." said he with a bit of confidence in his voice. He had a lot of gold so he could afford to do so. Those 50 gold he got were more than enough to secure several days' worth of living in the city, but seeing as he was currently living at the tavern, it would be unwise to spend them to move homes.
"I see you are quite the spender! Splendid, let me find something for you!" said Sante with a gleam in his eye.
He started measuring Tailor's sizes, patting him all over to get a feeling for the proportions. While checking, he felt the bag of gold that was sitting in the boy's pocket. He then went in the back of the shop for a bit from where he came out with a bunch of clothes on his hand.
"Here, try these. I looked for something of your size, I hope you like them."
Tailor went into one of the four changing cabins available and changed into the new clothes. He now had a gray shirt, with a black coat on top. His pants were long and dark and his shoes even darker. They fit him to a T.
"That would be... twenty gold."
Meanwhile the sum itself was considerable, the costume was worth the price, the materials which it was made from being of a very high quality. Tailor was thinking about the purchase, checking himself in the mirror, touching and feeling the surface of the clothes.
Taking advantage of the situation, Sante stretched out his hand to check if his client actually had as much as he expected. He was reaching for the pocket of the old pants, that were being hanged on the inside wall of the cabin, where he felt a lot of gold. "Jackpot!" he thought.
"Wait, something's not right, young man. Let me check the tag on the clothes."
He then took the tag in his hand, inspected it and declared:
"I seem to have made a mistake. Pardon me, but the price was supposed to be thirty gold, not fifteen."
"Thirty?" asked Tailor, his eyes widening after the words of the seller.
"But don't you worry, because I have made a mistake, I can make an offer for you. This wasn't supposed to happen, so I will give this to you for only twenty five gold."
"That's still almost double the original price!"
"As I said, I am sorry, but it's still cheaper than I would've normally sold it for."
Tailor took even more time to think. Something was not right with his offer. But the clothes were exactly what he wanted, at a high quality and more importantly, it didn't take him a lot of time to find them.
"Fine, I will pay twenty five. But only because of the offer you made me."
He changed his clothes and gave Sante the gold. His eyes were glowing as he counted them just to be sure.
Finally, Tailor took his leave, pretty happy with his purchase, even if, deep in his heart, he knew he probably paid way too much for them.
"Maybe that's how much things cost here, in the city." he thought. After all, it was his first time.
After a while of checking shops around the city, Tailor realized how the streets were getting emptier and emptier, until it was only him and the lamps on the side of the road left. Unfortunately, because of the light, no stars could be seen in the night sky.
Considering the fact that no shops remained open at this time, it was time for him to go home. As he passed in front of the alleys, there was not a single human shred along them.
Finally, as he reached the tavern, he heard some noises from behind the building, so he went to check it out, only to find two thugs, one tall and in possession of a weapon, with a familiar silhouette and another shorter and chubbier. Their presence was towering over someone, who was pinned to the wall.
"Who do you think you are, trying to escape with our money?" said the tall hooligan while pressing the tip of the knife in the wall.
"We sent you to get the booze, so why are you coming out empty handed?" added the shorter one. "What do you think we are doing all day, siting on our asses like you kids these days?"
"I... I tried, but he won't sell it to me! He told me that he won't sell any booze to kids!" responded a pipsqueak voice.
Tailor came even closer to inspect the situation only to realize that the pinned person was wearing a hood, concealing their face, and that the tall punk was Sante, the owner of the shop in the city.
"It seems like someone wants to disturb us, Sante."
"So why are you telling him who I am, you idiot? What if he's a guard?"
He turned towards the spectator, only to get a smile on his face when realizing his identity.
"Oh, well, well, look who it is. The rich boy... Finally realized you paid too much for your clothes and came for me, huh?"
Tailor stared at him, not knowing what to believe. His purchase wasn't the reason that made him angry, but it became one of them at this very moment.
"You truly, are the lowest scum, you know that?" stated Tailor while looking at the hooded figure.
"And what are you going to do about that? People have to live, by any means necessary." replied Sante, while stretching his neck and arms. "You kids got everything on a silver plating, money from your parents, love and care. But you'll learn what it means to not have anything left after I finish up with you."
The bickering could be heard from inside the tavern, where the owner was having a conversation with one of his regulars. The tavern was full, today being a good night for the business.
"It'd be better if you checked that out." remarked one voice from the room.
"Another one of these days, huh?" murmured the owner in a monotone voice.
He grabbed a wooden plank that was sitting around for situations like these and went outside. Drunkards having altercations outside the tavern wasn't uncommon for him, so he always made sure to be prepared. But this time he seemed even more pissed off than usual, having a stiff look on his face, eyes wide open.
"Who is making all this noise?" he yelled at the four of them.
"Shit, the owner found us!" yelled Sante to his chubby partner. "Get the fuck out of here!"
The two of them disappeared at the speed of light, and so did the hooded figure they were trying to get their booze from. Tailor was standing there alone, dumbfounded by the events that transpired in front of his eyes.
"What are you doing here? I swear to god you just love to get into trouble, don't you?" said he as he took his hand and dragged him inside.
Everyone's attention was focused on the conflict outside, but as soon as the owner brought Tailor inside, they continued doing their things, ignoring the two. Except for one person.
"If you ever get in trouble again, I won't hesitate to kick you out of this place." he added while looking him dead in the eyes. "This is no place for delinquents."
"Don't be so stubborn, Miles, it's not good for your blood pressure." said a voice from behind the owner while putting his hand on his shoulder.
"You are..." said Tailor.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone