Return to Jorgaldur Volume I: the battle mage

Goltrak (I)

His intention was to leave the kingdom of Goltrenak as soon as possible, but since he had to pass near the capital, he decided to make a visit. He wanted to know what types of weapons and armor were crafted there, what types of potions, what kind of knowledge he could find, what kind of people, buildings, food, customs...

From the outside, it looked immense, surrounded by a high wall. Remains of other walls could be found inside, which in the past had surrounded the city, before it grew and surpassed them. A couple of them were complete, as a second and third line of defense, and separating the city of Goltrak into different zones.

There were several queues to enter. On the one hand were the carts and caravans of merchants and farmers, who waited for their turn to check their cargo. Then, there were that of individual people without proper identification. They had to pass an inspection before entering, in addition to paying an extra fee to obtain a temporary pass.

Eldi went to the shortest one, in which only the data of those who did have identification were verified. He used Disguise to hide his level, and wore simple adventurer clothes of levels between 20 and 30, which he had obtained in the past. In addition, he carried a two-handed sword on his back, of medium quality.

His hair and eyes were silver, and he looked rough and wolfish, including a scar that Lidia had created with great care, and two ears on his head that he felt strange. It was one of the costumes that her daughter had created for him, and that matched the identity of his second adventurer plate, the one he had gotten in the game to do some missions that he couldn't carry out with his original plate, since this was too high level.

This identity made him a middle-level adventurer, neither too weak nor too strong, someone who wouldn't attract much attention, unlike his original one. His daughter had confirmed his suspicions about the danger of using it, as a top-level adventurer appearing out of nowhere would have caused a commotion. Besides, right now, he didn't have the power that was supposed for that identification.

He sighed in relief when he entered without problems. Many decades had passed since the last time he had made use of that identity, but it remained valid. In addition, the silver wolf race is very long-lived, and not excessively unusual, so it didn't generate suspicion.

He went into the adventurer's guild out of curiosity, to see the atmosphere there. Many came and went, of a variety of races and classes, of weapons and armor. Some were slightly more powerful than him, and a few, much more, although most were below his real self. In fact, most adventurers were in the strength range of his current identity.

He also looked at the pending missions, surprised by the similarity to his memories of the game. They were sorted by rank and type, whether they were escorts, collecting more or less strange herbs, investigations, subjugating threats, getting certain materials...

"Good morning, are you new here? I don't remember seeing you before. My name is Mbwehalin. Do you need help?" a voice interrupted.

She was a middle-aged woman, with the ears and tail of a fox, and a longer face than a human's, but not as much as a fox's one. It could be said that she was halfway between them.

"Not exactly new, but I haven't been here for years. For now I was just taking a look, I plan to be in the city for a few days before taking missions," Eldi excused himself.

"Ah, then, you sure want to check if you have any message. Come, it's over here," the woman showed.

He didn't want to get any attention, so, despite himself, he followed her. He would have preferred to leave without having any contact with anyone, but he had been dragged by the helpful employee. He hoped there wouldn't be any problem, that his identity wouldn't be compromised.

"It is here, insert the plate."

Not without hesitation, he did what she asked.

"Lobo Plateado, an unusual name. Let's see... Ah! You have a message. Let me see..."

That surprised him. He couldn't help wondering who could have left him a message. If it would be a message from someone in the game. Or from someone he had met with that adventurer identity.

He also thanked that the meaning of the name in Spanish couldn't be understood. It would be a bit strange to be called "Silver Wolf" belonging to a race in which all are silverish and wolves.

"Mmmm, the message is in Misitu Mji, the capital of the elven kingdom. It's in blue, so it's from more than... fifty years ago! What have you been doing all this time without going to the Guild!?" she was surprised.

"Well, I've been training, and family matters..." he lied.

"Ah! Sorry, I didn't want to inquire into the affairs of others. Only it surprised me. Do you want us to ask for a transfer? It'll take a month or so, it'll cost 50 silvers" Mbwehalin offered.

He thought about it for a moment. He was curious to know what it was, but surely it would no longer matter. After all, it had been more than fifty years since someone sent that message. Besides, he had no plans to stay that long, and the elven kingdom was his destination.

"Not needed. I'll surely go there in a week. Or three at most."

"Ah, then I recommend that you stop by when you know the time to leave. We'll look for escort missions that go in your direction. So you can take advantage of the trip!" the employee suggested.

"I'll keep it in mind, it's a good idea. Thanks for your help. Can you recommend me an inn?"

"Yes, of course! If you don't know the city, I also recommend a map, they are only two silvers. I can mark the inns there for you," Mbwehalin offered.

Eldi accepted. A map could help. The woman marked the right inns for adventurers of his kind, and even wrote the approximate price of each of them. She also mentioned other more expensive and cheaper inns. But some were out of the budget of an average adventurer, while the others were chosen by farmers and merchants without much budget. In fact, he had more than enough money, but he didn't want to stand out.

He thanked her for her care, and left in the direction of the chosen inn. The first thing was to secure a place to sleep.