"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream!"
"Kai! Please, shut up! You’ve been singing that song for the past three hours!"
"My ears! My ears can’t take it anymore." Amaya sobbed in Gwen’s lap, covering her ears.
"Shh, shh, it’s okay, I’m here." Gwen glared at Kai. "See, look what you did!"
"Okay, okay, jeez, I’m sorry. I’ll be quiet now." ’My signing can’t be that bad, can it? I mean, I have a perfect body. This means my voice should be perfect too.’
Unfortunately for Kai, he didn’t know that even if you’re voice is great, it doesn’t cure being tone deaf. So while his voice was beautiful, he was hitting the incorrect notes and pitches.
They had left Brighttown three hours ago and were currently on the way to Ashenfall City, one of the largest cities in the kingdom. It was also a port city, meaning it was next to the ocean.
The place was known for its amazing beaches, seafood, and shit trading with neighboring kingdoms.
Thanks to how fast his carriage could travel, they arrived at he city in just three hours while it would have normally taken two weeks by horseback.
They rode up a hill that rose above the city levels, and that gave the three of them a clear view of the place.
"Woah!"
"Holy shit!"
"That’s amazing!"
The entire city was beautiful. The entire place was crafted so elegantly that whoever did it had to have been a god. Because of the city’s focus on water goods and trade, pathways made of water stretched through the entire city. Where a marble pathway ends, a water one might begin.
From a bird’s eye view, the city looked like a giant maze, half of it being land paths while the other half being water paths, but instead of being on opposite sides of each other, the paths were placed on top of each other. Someone’s neighbor might need to swim to work instead of walking.
"What is this place? Greece?"
Gwen shook her head. "No, it’s Ashenfall."
Kai was about to explain what he meant, but decided not to. ’It’s not like she’ll understand anyway.’
They rode down the hill toward the City Gates.
---
A guard who yawned spotted Kai’s carriage in the distance and had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. "Yo, dude, either I’m going crazy, or that carriage is driving itself."
"Hmm?" The other guard didn’t even bother looking forward; he just kept resting his tired eyes. "Have you been drinking again?"
"No! Well, yes, but I’m not drunk, man. Look! I’m telling the truth."
The other guard reluctantly lifted his helmet and saw what his buddy was talking about.
"What the fuck?!" He took his helmet off and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. When he looked again, the carriage was still driving itself.
"See! I told you I’m not going crazy!"
"What in the ghost shit is happening?!"
"H-Hey man, don’t say that. You know I’m afraid of ghosts!"
The guard laughed. "And this is why you still live with your mommy. Haha, mommy will protect you, huh?"
"S-She says she loves my company!"
"Obviously, man. You’re her son, what mother wouldn’t want their child’s company?"
"T-Thanks."
"Still a bitch though."
"Fuck you!"
"Um, so do I need to give you my ID or...." Kai wondered, watching the two guards argue.
"Ahhh! The ghost carriage!" The scared guard grabbed his spear, then dropped it on the ground. "Shit!" When he went to pick it back up, he stepped on the end, and the spear shot up, hitting him right in the face, knocking the man out.
"Please forgive my partner, he’s stupid."
Kai resonated with the man. "It’s okay, I have one like that too. OOOOOF!"
Gwen punched his stomach.
"U-Uh, your ID please."
"H-Here."
After checking their IDs, the guard nodded and let them inside the city.
"What a weird group of people." The guard thought to himself as he watched the carriage enter the city.
Then, randomly, Amaya put on the scariest face toward the back window of the carriage, scaring the shit out of the guard.
"AHHH, WHAT THE FUCK! Phew, jeez, my heart. Fucking bitch."
---
"Hahaha, you should have seen that guy. He looked like he saw a ghost."
"With that face of yours." Kai stared at Amaya. "Yeah, he probably did."
"Do you want to fight or something?"
"I’m ready when you are."
Gwen blew the whistle. "Round one....Fight!"
Amaya lunged at Kai, and the two of them made out.
"Hey! Stop that! You can’t do that without me!"
---
Gwen looked around at the intricate building designs and the amazing water network the city had created. "Hmm, so this is Ashenfall city, huh? I already love it here."
"It’s my first time being in a city. It’s so different from a town or village. The place is fucking massive." Kai had been to many cities in his previous life, but the feeling was different here.
"Let’s go to the guild and see which quests we can take on. We can explore the city later." Amaya urged.
"Or we can explore it right now and work later," Gwen suggested.
Kai agreed with Gwen. "I like that-"
"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY! MOVE IT PEOPLE! GO! GET!"
The three of them looked around to see where the shouting was coming from. Further down the road was a carriage that was clearly meant for a noble, driving down the street really fast.
People could barely get out of the way, some even getting clipped by the carriage.
"Father! Father, hurry!" A woman shouted.
The old man tried his best to move to the side, but the carriage was coming too quickly, and his legs lacked the strength of their youth.
"Kai, that man is gonna get run over!" Amaya said in a panic, shaking Kai’s shoulders.
"Yeah. Wanna watch him splatter over the pavement or..."
"Really?!"
"I’m kidding, relax."
Kai used his magic to shield the man from getting hurt, forcing the horses to come to a complete stop.
"And the crowd goes wild! Ahh! Ahh! Kai saved the day! He’s a hero!" He smiled and started walking toward his carriage.
"Were you just cheering for yourself? Are you a narcissist or something?"
"You should ask Gwen that question. The woman swears on her life that she’s an amazing cook. I’m surprised she’s not dead yet."
"Haha, what? Is her cooking bad?"
"Bad? Amaya, that shit is the..." Kai felt a cold sweat run down his spine. He didn’t need to look behind him to know that Gwen was staring daggers at him.
"It’s not that bad. She could use a bit more seasoning here and there. It’s the effort that counts." Kai nodded. Once he felt the glare vanish, he sighed in relief.
"HALT! Who used magic to protect this man?!"