Even with the large black gate down, the skunk just took a deep breath, strutting forward with a confident smile. He did not stop to look at the two guards nor signal out to the top as he had done at the outer wall. That brought up some questions. Delias was going call out and say something, but with a bit more thought, he ultimately decided to keep his mouth shut.
Suddenly, the air distorted. Like a rock being thrown into a still pool, waves undulated out just on top of the gate’s surface, and the skunk vanished altogether.
Delias paused. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. But remembering where he was, he quickly closed it and continued towards the gate. Many thoughts crossed his mind. What in the realm is this? Delias’s heart quickened. Another portal? Do I need to be an Averati to use it? How does it work? Damn you, you stinking stinker! Why didn’t you explain any of this beforehand!
Delias kept going at an even pace, but his steps were not as firm. As he passed the two guards, a penetrating cold washed over him, and an icy feeling seeped deeply into his gut.
Delias’s heart trembled. He remembered that feeling. It reminded him of that piercing gaze from the first gate, but this coldness was aptly far more invasive. Could this be a way of screening? Trying to see if I’m human? Can’t be. That skunk said that it’s hard to find a single one that knows what a human looks like. Why would they be on alert for such a thing so far from the frontier? So, just what are they looking for?
Delias did not look at the guards. He felt as if glancing into their eyes, and them into his, would give himself away. So he staked everything on that as long as he went forward, he too, could pass through the portal.
At the place where the skunk disappeared, Delias stepped forth. As his leg inched forward, the air rippled, spreading along with his movement; it felt like stepping into a vat of honey. Time seemed to slow in that moment, and soon Delias could not breathe.
He vanished.
*
Before Delias’s mind registered what happened, he was standing within the perimeter of the second wall. He felt dazed, but with a few moments, his mind began to clear.
Meters away, the skunk was there waiting for him. There were also two guards that looked just like the ones on the outer side of the second wall standing still at each side of him. Delias could see the guards from the corner of his eyes. He was sure those guards were not the same as the ones on the other side, but the similarity was creepy none-the-less.
In the end, Delias sighed with relief. He had gotten through the portal and that penetrative feeling from before was no longer. What more could one ask for? But though Delias was somewhat relieved, he still maintained some level of caution.
“Why are you so slow?’ The skunk called out, breaking Delias’s train of thought. “Hurry it up.”
The second part of the city was like a different world. The seamless silence between the first and second perimeter was starkly different than what laid beyond the second wall. There was just one word to describe it: boisterous.
Averati of all kinds were everywhere. It was a bit sparse near the gate, but down the road, leading in deeper, a large market was held. The streets were busy, and children played around. And some areas were so packed with people, Delias thought he could fit a quarter of Northcroke city’s populous in there.
What was even more surprising was that except for a few defining features, a majority of the Averati looked human. Those defining features may be termed as demonic, with some having horns and all, but they were almost negligible to the eye. Some of those qualities showed signs of being derived from animal counterparts; other groups had odd designs on them, different amounts of limbs, different skin or eye colors, or rarely, traits of a species that Delias had never seen or heard of before. The scene was simply striking.
Delias stuck close the skunk. He did not know these people. It was always best to stick with what you know. And he knew the skunk had a plan. The skinker knows he can’t just abandon me now. “Where are we going?”
“We’re going to a bar. Where else would we go?”
“Umm. Ok.”
“Ah, my sweets. Come to papa!” The skunk mumbled.
Delias was dumbfounded. His lust is unmatched; unbridled.
Delias followed the skunk deeper into the city. Not too long past before the skunk turned to Delias and its face turned stern. “I will give you a warning. Never go into the central part of the city. I’m sure you’re confused about before; about the first sector; and how desolate it seemed. Don’t ask. But I will tell you about the other two sectors. The second sector houses the general public. The poorer civilians are closer to the second wall while the richer ones are closer to the inner wall. Within the inner perimeter lies the elite.
“Never go there. If you look at someone over there the wrong way, or even if that person just happens to be in a bad mood, they can order your execution. There won’t be a trial. Second, though the second sector houses the general public, there are still some powerful families here so don’t be careless. Lastly, when we reach the bar, don’t touch Shara.”
“Shara?”
“Yes, Shara.”
Delias was listening readily. He needed every bit of information at this point if he were to last long. He had asked the Skunk before, but it would just ignore him. Now the skunk was talking, and it even grouped a lot of people who he thought were powerful figures and then singled out one. Must be one powerful individual. Delias gulped. “Who’s Shara?”
The skunk gave Delias one stern and defiant look and then said, “my female!”
Delias nearly spat blood. This… this… damned fool! Getting me all worked up. Why would I be interested in a skunk? Delias felt like choking the skunk to death. But the Averati are indeed weird. It might not be a skunk. He did have relations with that King Fisher’s wife… Delias felt sick after thinking about what could be wife to that hideous giant creature so he steered his thoughts elsewhere. Now that I look at it, none of the Averati are talking animals like the skunk. They are closer to humans than anything else. Delias looked at the skunk’s back as it strutted on. He was curious, but he did not pry into the skunk’s affairs.
After a few twists and turns on a few various roads, Delias and the skunk went somewhere east of the city gate. West was more of a residential district while east housed the shops and markets.
They came onto a large road, a few houses wide. “Wait here,” said the skunk before he walked off into one of the large tents lined on the side of the road. Minutes later, the skunk came out, pulling on a large creature. It looked like a large duck.
“We’ll ride this to where we are going.”
“What is it?”
“Oh? Do they not have ducks where you are from? Now, quit squawking and get on. This stupid thing cost me an arm and a leg.”
Delias’s eyes shifted to the large, but shabby looking tent, and back at the big duck. He looked around. He did not see many people with rides, but those that did have one were riding on graceful or terrifying-looking beasts. An arm and a leg, my ass. And since when are ducks 2 meters tall? But Delias did not voice his thoughts. Compared to the skunk he was broke.
Delias managed to get on the tall beast, though it took him a few tries. He was nowhere near being graceful, and some of the nearby kids laughed at him. As for the skunk, it just jumped on with ease.
The two went farther northeast of the gate they came from and closer to the inner wall. Soon they arrived in front of a large building made of white stone with marble steps. The building was three stories high but contained only one story with four walls that covered half an acre. On top of that first story was a two-story-high Pavillion. It was large and made out of brown lacquer wood that circled around everything within it like a giant tidal wave. At the very tip of that tidal-waved structured wood, water flowed down into a side fountain.
The place was lit nicely within the late afternoon, making it breathtaking, and a large sign was hung up with boldfaced words: Wine Water Pavilion.
“There is a side area where we can change and freshen up before we go inside. I have to talk to a few people. I am sure you will be able to ask around and get whatever answers you need. We might even be able to make a plan to get you home. But we need to go over some things before you blow your cover. So just wait here while I set things up.”
The skunk left, leaving Delias in front of the bar. Delias felt a bit awkward. Even though he was not really close to the entrance, this particular area was for the rich and the entire street flared with an air of noble glamor. Looking down at his linen shirt and pants, he felt out of place.
Just as Delias felt like moving his duck-steed off to a dark corner near some building where no one would see him, he heard a commotion.
Delias raised an eyebrow. A few meters away, there were two groups of children. They looked to be about fourteen to fifteen years old, a bit younger than how Delias looked at the moment. The first group crowded around a single kid while the second group, with a few lesser in number, watched in a distance with distraught looks plastered over their faces. Some of the people nearby seemed to ignore the commotion or pretend as if it was never happening.
“The Averati look and act so similarly to humans,” He sighed.
The first group was obviously bullying a member from the second group, and the second group was scared because the first group looked stronger and had a more dominant air.
