My Life As A Salamander 64 Cities And Kings

Two dwarven guards stood at the gates of the City of Verst lazily watching the roads as small peddlers walked up to the gates in an orderly fas.h.i.+on. Inspection was done quickly and precisely just like dwarves liked it to be. The day moved forward till the sun reached the mid point of the sky. Thudding was heard and felt across the ground. Guards on the walls started shouting in alarm and began to mobilize to defend the gate. The great stone doors were closed. The doors were 4 feet thick and 20 feet tall. Nothing except a battering ram and a tank could get through by normal means. It wasn't long till they saw something moving in the distance. It was a ma.s.sive spidery thing that moved slowly but deliberately toward the city. As it moved closer the guards pulled out a looking gla.s.s and looked toward it. On top sat three people and inside there seemed to be 4 more. The captain of the guard held the scope. He stood at 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide. He was barrel chested and had a long brown beard that reached his waist. On his head sat a helmet that bore a roaring lion with its maw revealing his face. His silver chest piece s.h.i.+ned in the suns light as his red cape flew behind him in the wind.

" Have you seen anything like it before?" A guard asked his fellow in front of the gate. His hands shook slightly in nervousness as he posed with his spear facing toward the approaching group.

"Never. Not even in all my travels." Said the weathered Elderly guard beside him. His body stood there ready for a fight and ready to die for his nation without hesitation. The spider drew closer till it was 30 feet away from the gates. It halted with a sway and the people on top dismounted. " State Your business! Or be Ready to be executed! " Shouted the younger guard with his voice shaking slightly. The spear shook a little in his nervous attempt at bravery. The "people" were all different heights. The shortest was a girl and the tallest was a dragon man with reddish hair with gold streaks and black horns. The last one was the same height as the dragon man but was dressed looked similar to a jester or actor. The girl spoke up first.

" We came to sell slaves and rest from our travels." She called out. The guards looked at each other. " Bring the cargo but leave your transport. It will cause too much ruckus in the city." The Elder dwarf called back. Slowly the side of the cage spider opened and a ramp came out. The people within had cuffs made of earth surrounding their wrists to inhibit their movement (in case any of them got violent).The people inside slid down the smooth ramp with ease but knew they couldn't run. They couldn't outrun the dragon man if they tried. Not during daylight. Slowly they huddled together and made their way forward with the group. The younger guard put the slaves in a wagon close by while the elder pulled a clear orb from a sack at his waist. Sam held up her adventurers license and the orb glowed green.

The dwarf bowed his head slightly after looking at the orb. "Lady Samantha Von Carnac we welcome you to our fair city. We hope you enjoy your stay and may you enjoy the warmth of our forges." He said as she moved off to the side. I held up my badge to be greeted with a blue light and confused gazes. The elderly dwarf looked at me in shock and confusion. "You bear no name but bare Master Hargo's Blessing?! Who are you stranger and why do you come to our city? Is Hargo alright? Where is he!?" The two dwarves a.s.saulted me with questions. Samantha's eyes widened as she approached me. The dwarves backed off and we started whispering quickly. " Ignis! Why isn't your name present?!" She asked. " I dont know maybe I outgrew it the moment I became a dragonman." I responded. " Well you have to come up with a name that they'll believe or you might be arrested for who knows what!" She retorted agitatedly

I nervously glanced back at the guards and started thinking. ( Names..... Names.... what the h.e.l.l can I call myself. Damien.... No that name doesn't suit me anymore. What.... what do I call myself...) I thought for a couple moments as Sam walked over and began talking to the dwarves. " He took a blow to the head a while back from a Wyrm beast and seems to have forgotten a good chunk of his memories. It seems he'll have to give you a name to call him for the time being." The elderly dwarf nodded slowly. " That would make sense. Many people around these parts poppin up without memories cause of blows. Been nasty without Hargo helping design helmets for the men." She nodded her appreciation as I thought things over. I heard the younger dwarf whisper to the latter.

" If he was Hargos disciple wouldn't he take the name Wyrmsmith like his master? That would prove whether he really knew him or not. Unless Hargo mastered the ghost fire like he'd sworn long ago. Then he might be a Soulsmith now." My eyes sharpened as realization dawned on me. Dwarves went by trade like the English of old. Tanner, Smith, Baker, etc. It made sense. I came to a conclusion as I thought my name over.

I smiled as I approached the dwarves.
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"You can call me Ignatious. Ignatious Soulsmith. And before his untimely death my master did Smith a soul. His own." I said reverently. My gauntlets warmed as though a certain dwarf could hear what I heard. As they did so too did my heart. The elderly dwarfs face was momentarily stunned before taking on a slightly sad but satisfied look. " That Hargo lived a long time. longer than any dwarf should. If he really did what you said that means his legacy lies with you. Enter friend. We will send word to the king of our heroes pa.s.sing and his apprentices appearance." The gates slowly opened as we began our walk toward them. "Wait!" The younger dwarf called.

" What about him?" He said pointing at legion. I waved my hand toward legion. " They are a legion. You can try scanning them with your orb but you'll get 20 different people's info." The dwarves eyes widened in shock as Legion shrugged and their voices echoed out. " We prefer to be call "they" but " he " can work as well considering there's 19 men and one woman in here." They chuckled to themselves as we entered the gates. We were greeted by a thin dwarf wearing spectacles and had a mechanical left leg.

" My name is Marusio Nimblehand. I'm an Archivist of the king and I have been instructed to be your guide around our fair city." He bowed low to us and we respectfully bowed back to him. "What's an Archivist?" I whispered to Sam. " A record keeper for royalty. They keep secrets, drawings, paintings, etc hidden from the public eye while also dealing with the usual paperwork that they are expected to." I nodded my head in understanding. As we were shown about the place I noticed it was ma.s.sive. It rose like a great layered cone from the ground. The base layer of course was the largest and bore a ma.s.sive amount of businesses. It must've been 50miles wide and gradually moved in a mile as the layers went upward. Each layer was covered in pillars that go between all the levels or the ones that need them. Elevators made to look like ma.s.sive bronze mechanical spiders rode cables in between the layers. The puffed white steam from their thorax area as they went. We took till nightfall to get to the middle layer. Which was layer 20 from what we were told by Marusio. The first place he took us was the slave auction. We stood there with him for a few minutes and got some crystals for recording voices and images. We had requested it and he hadn't batted an eye. The Crystal's were clear like gla.s.s but hummed with energy. We stood the group off to the side and questioned them. They gave all the Intel we needed. Their boss was excluded unfortunately. After that we left the slaves to the auctioneers as a package set. Didnt have the heart to separate them. might as well make them a package deal.

Marusio showed us an inn that was built out of granite blocks. Its surface was a light grey and covered in marks depicting sleeping, eating, and overall entertaining things like dancing, music, and theater masks. It looked amazing on the outside. I hoped the inside looked just as good as I entered. Inside was well lit by crystals in the walls as Dwarves, elves, and beast folk filled the place. The air was filled with noise, lively music, and the smell of savory and sweet dishes. A large pudgy lady stood at the counter serving customers and guests as they ordered food or paid for lodging. Their clothes weren't fancy or showy in any way. Most were made of cloth or leather. Overall the people of the city valued functionality over fas.h.i.+on. Pockets filled the peoples clothes and many tools still hung from pouches and hoops. Swords sat beside mercenaries and elves had their bows sitting off to their sides.

I felt happier as I got further in. Though some noticed and pointed at us, others just kept to their own jolly business. We arrived at the counter where the woman greeted us. Her hair was graying in streaks but her face was full and round. "What can I get for you dearie?" She asked in a melodious voice. Marusio stepped forward and her eyes widened a bit at the sight of him. " Why Mar! I haven't seen you in a fine while! What brings you to my tavern with these young ones?" His thin face lit up with a grin. " I'm doing good Mary. King Kylisus sent me to pick them up and put them in an inn for the night. Mind if they stayed here till they can meet with the king?" Her eyes widened more so after his words.

She eyed us all up and down before she responded. " Before I do that can I know who I'm housing so the king can't get upset and I can give the proper treatment?" Mar (as she called him) extended his hand to Sam first. " This is Samantha Von Carnac from Weremar. She currently adventuring with some colleagues." Mary's right eyebrow rose a little at the mention of the Carnac name but didnt mention anything. Next Marusio extended his hand to me. " This is Hargo Soulsmiths Disciple. Ignatious Soulsmith. He just arrived this afternoon." Her eyes bugged out at the mention of Hargo. " Hargo's Disciple! Where is he? How is the old tyke doing?! We haven't seen old Hargo in years!" She was leaning over the counter inches away from my face. I was leaning back with my hands up and she quickly realized what was so awkward and pulled back. There was dead silence across the room. Every eye was on me. Not a speck of killing intent. But there was pressure all the same.

I felt sadness rise as I spoke. " Hargo died to the Ghostfire. But that was after he took me in as his apprentice..." I explained what happened and tears began streaming down peoples faces. Dwarves and elves alike wept as mercenaries looked around slightly confused with all the crying. "Hargo was a hero of our people. He Invented half of the mechanical devices that keep this city running.... Now he's gone" Marusio explained solemnly. I nodded. That was all I could do.