Chapter 132: Aurs Request (1/2)
Winged City - South Borough
Patric Pazuzu woke up earlier than usual on what was supposed to be an ordinary weekday and proceeded to clean himself up. His house was a relatively decent one when compared to the others in his neighborhood but he still could not afford to have a decent plumbing system installed in it so he had to heat the water himself.
Truth be told there weren't many households in the city that would be able to afford the luxury of magically heated water running directly through the taps so he considered himself to be doing quite well for a man of his status.
Normally it was his wife's job to prepare him for work including drawing his bath, but today was different. He had gotten up far too early and did not have the patience or courage to wake her up so he had to fumble his way through the process.
He was also feeling quite anxious and could not stand the thought of laying in bed for even a second longer. The south borough patrol guards had been very busy lately and as one of the first responders to that messed up scene two nights ago, he had been placed in the spotlight and had built up a lot of stress recently.
His accumulated fatigue hit him all at once the moment he woke up, yet his built-up anxiety for today did not let him stay in bed. After he was done cleaning up and eating the leftovers from his dinner last night, even though he had no appetite, he cleaned up his equipment and shined his armor and weapon, a task he hadn't done so seriously over the past few years now.
He finished his task pretty quickly and immediately got dressed. Everything was done even before the sun had begun its rise. Without even bothering to kiss his wife goodbye, a decision he was sure would haunt him for a while, he left his home in the upper parts of the south borough and headed north, the winter's cold slightly negated by his armor.
While there would be no public carriages at this hour of the day, he was still able to find a private carriage fairly easily. Some drivers would usually fall asleep In their carriage at the corner of the major streets and he just had to wake them up.
In the twelve years he had been a patrol guard in Winged City, he had never taken a private carriage before as the only places he needed to go were usually within walking distance and within the fixed route of the much cheaper public carriages.
”Oi old man, take me to Royal borough.”
”fwaaaah... why you so early lad... Fine, that'll be 15 DC.”
”What! Don't make a fool of me old man. I know the price is not even half that.”
”It's too early, hard to navigate, if you're not going then buzz off.”
”You greedy old geezer.”
Gritting his teeth, Patric reluctantly handed 10 DC over to the old man and boarded the carriage. The usual hour-long trip felt like it was more than four hours as he repeatedly tapped his feet rapidly on the ground.
”Hey, Oi lad! we've reached Royal borough, where exactly are you headed.”
”Oh right, sorry... take me to the lord's castle.”
”Huh, important fellow eh... Yet you're still complaining about a measly 15 DC, I should charge you more.”
”When you look at me head to toe, do I seem important to you?”
”Ehh... Who knows, anything goes these days you know. I heard something massacre a lot of people only a few days ago, haven't heard of something like that happening in decades. Probably those Noblist factions again. Could even be the demon god worshippers or those shady underground organizations. Things seem to be changing a lot recently you know.”
Sigh...” Tell me about it.”
Patric was well aware of the fragile state of the demon society right now but he wasn't in any position to make a difference so why would he bother himself about it. He had his problems to deal with after all.
The now quiet carriage ride went on for another 10 to 15 minutes before finally coming to a stop in the front of the castle's gate at the top of the hill. Upon alighting his carriage, Patric was overwhelmed by the sight of the massive and imposing building before him.
While this castle was on the smaller side in comparison to the ones at the main city of the other regions. Patric had no way of knowing that. This was the first and only castle he had ever seen in his life as he had never left the confines of Winged City.
Plus, he had only ever seen the castle from a distance and had never been so close to it. As he basked in the majesty of the castle that was currently bathing in the first rays of the morning sun, a second carriage suddenly arrived and stopped next to his and a familiar figure alighted from it.
It was a man with short brown hair, an unusually clean and well-maintained beard, wearing a similar armor as his. The armor shined as though it was brand new as it appeared to also be well maintained along with the sword that was strapped to his waist.
”Gaap, you came earlier than the time we were asked to be here, this is the first time I've seen you this early for anything.”
”Ah... Patric, you're early as well, what's wrong? Couldn't sleep, haha.”
”You don't seem to have slept better yourself, look you have bags under your eyes.”
”Uh! I do?”
”I'm joking my friend, don't lose your wits so early in the morning.”
”That was not funny man, damn, you're really terrible when you're sober.”
”Fine I get it, let's just wait in silence then.”
While there were guards stations at the castle's gates, the pair did not bother to approach them as it was not yet the time they were requested to be here. They both patiently waited in the corner for that time to arrive before approaching the gates and then stating their reason for coming to the Palace guards and they were quickly allowed in, most likely because they had already received orders about that.