Already antsy from waiting for so long, I practically leapt out of my seat and hurried over to the counter. The sandy blond man raised an eyebrow at me and I smiled nervously.

After a moment he shrugged and sat up before addressing me in a tired drawl.

"Let me guess," he sighed before I could say anything, "traveler's permit for Ruvenbor?"

My eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Uh... y-yeah," I stammered, "I need a permit, but how did you—"

"You aren't the only one looking for passage into the city, lady—not by a long shot," Samson interjected with a yawn, "word's going around that Grynda's gonna be making some kind of grand move against Ruvenbor soon, and more'n a few folks here have family there."

"Oh... I see," I replied quietly, "I guess the people here are worried their loved ones are going to get caught up in whatever might happen."

"That's about the gist of it," the man replied, sliding a few documents and a pen across the desk and towards me, "I wouldn't get my hopes up for getting a permit though. Most people are getting denied left and right."

I frowned and said nothing in response as I picked up the pen and began filling out the necessary forms. Truth be told, I had seen more than a few citizens either yelling at the two clerks behind the desk or storming out of the building altogether about something.

I tried to ignore it, but there had certainly been an air of frustration hanging about that I hadn't noticed until I actually sat back and got a chance to just observe everybody here.

And then there was me.

I knew I'd run into some trouble where this was concerned, but even just looking at these forms, I knew I couldn't answer or fill out most of what was on these documents.

I didn't even know enough about this world to fake the information.

Of course they were going to want all the information they could possibly get on who I was and what my intentions were. The country was at war, and trust was probably at an all time low while security was no doubt as high as it could possibly be in general.

I expected to have some trouble here, but, it looked like making my way through this process was impossible from the start. There was no information concerning me in whatever records the town kept, and I really had no information to give.

Coming here had been completely pointless, and the weight of that realization didn't hit me until now. Losing what little hope I had, I just filled out what I could and passed the sheets back to Samson. He looked them over briefly before raising an incredulous eyebrow.

I just gave him a resigned frown in response and he sighed after a moment. He delicately placed the documents down on the desk and looked me in the eye with a surprisingly sympathetic expression.

"Look, you seem like a nice girl," he smirked, "and if I'm not being too forward, you're pretty easy on the eyes despite the weird purple hair and peepers."

"Technically, my hair color is indigo," I mumbled, blushing slightly and looking away at the complement, "well, for the most part anyway."

Samson didn't seem to notice or care as he continued.

"In light of that, I'm gonna be straight with you," he leaned forward, steepling his fingers over the desk and giving me a friendly, if pitying smile, "normally we take this info and have some of the folks in the back investigate it, but what you gave me here, the only place these—" he tapped the documents in front of him "—are going, are straight into the trashbin."

I winced and hung my head, nodding in understanding.

"I know," I said with a quiet sigh, "I... I guess I didn't really think this through. My memory's kind of shot, and I don't have very much information to give you... sorry."

Did Rosalyn think this through? She must've known how this would go...

"Ah, playing the old amnesia card, eh?" the man replied with a small chuckle, "well I'm sorry to say it, dollface, but that isn't gonna cut it—not with all of Vale on edge like it is right now."

At my dejected look, the man groaned and rubbed a temple, muttering something about making beautiful women cry, something I chose to ignore.

"Alright, alright, look," he glanced around conspiratorially before leaning in close. Curious, I did the same and he spoke again, this time in a whisper barely loud enough for me to hear, "if you need a permit that badly, then look for a man named Qaedis the Seeker. He'll get you what you want... if you can pay him."

I furrowed my brow, the name instantly putting me on edge for some reason. I had no idea who this Qaedis was, but something about the way the clerk mentioned the man raised a few red flags. Still, with how very few options I had, it was something to consider, no matter how much my gut told me not to.

"Who is he?" I whispered back, "and where do I find him?"

"A collector of things people need, or so I've been told," the man replied quickly, sounding as though he wanted to get the conversation over with, "folks say he lives in some woods a few miles outside of town."

That's too vague, I need more than that!

"Can you tell me where these woods are?" I asked, furrowing my brow, "or at least where I can find some more information?"

"No, I can't," he hissed, "I'm risking my job just telling you this much, and I'm already on thin ice as it is."

He leaned back and cleared his throat before giving me a practiced, cordial smile that mirrored the female clerk from earlier. When he spoke again, it was in a pleasant, polite, and professional tone of dismissal.

"Now then, ma'am," he said, gesturing to the woman next to him, "if you have no other business in Town Hall, then I suggest making way for the others behind you. Lynda here will see to the return of your belongings."

His tone and actions were a far cry from how he had been acting before, and it gave me the impression that the man wanted me gone as soon as possible for whatever reason. I opened my mouth to protest, wanting more information about Qaedis, but then I saw the quietly pleading look in his eyes and relented with a half groan, half sigh.

I turned to the other clerk, not bothering to ask about the documents I had filled out and ignoring them all together. The woman, who had apparently heard the man, was already pulling my sword and rifle from under the desk.

With a grimace, she hefted the items onto the desk and I quickly snatched them up. I thanked both clerks before turning around and heading back outside the building. I took a moment to strap my weapons back on before giving a dejected huff and making my way down the steps and away from Town Hall. Once I was a good distance away I took one last look at the building, a small grimace adorning my face.

Now I was wondering just what else I could've possibly overlooked due to my circumstances. I wondered what else I'd have problems with. I wasn't too worried about getting supplies such as food and water, but that still left the issue of the stagecoach and hiring a bodyguard.

I was starting to reconsider hiring someone to protect me, but then I remembered that I knew nothing of swordsmanship, and I was still only decent with a rifle. On top of that, I was trying not to attract any unwanted attention with my magic, and having a bodyguard around might cause some issues.

Issues that I most certainly didn't need right now.

I shook my head, deciding to save the problem for later. My mind instead wandered to the 'collector' the blond clerk had told me about. Whoever he was, he definitely sounded like a shady character, and I'd run into enough of those for a lifetime.

Much to my own dismay, I also knew it was foolish to think I'd be able to avoid all of the dangerous situations this life would throw at me, and I'd never get anywhere if I tried to do that regardless.

If I wanted to find my past and a way back home, I'd need to take risks, and unfortunately for me, this place was full of them. After a moment's thought, I rummaged around in my bag and once again, pulled out the map of Vale I'd been given.

Unfurling it, I scanned the map and found the town of Thatch. From there I traced a line to the nearby woods the man had talked about, and found it quick enough. The woods themselves weren't marked by any kind of name, and like the man said, they were small, but they were also the only natural landmark nearby.

Satisfied for now, I rolled up the scroll and replaced it in the bag before continuing on.

As I walked back into the city proper, I couldn't help but once more lament the fact that I had no actual map of town, and though it didn't look all that large from a distance, Thatch wasn't exactly a small hamlet. Thankfully I was able to find the marketplace with little difficulty, getting directions from a kindly mother escorting her child to the same place.

Even had I not asked for any directions, I still would've been able to tell that I had reached the market. Lining the streets of the marketplace were several buildings sporting signs of various shapes and sizes, advertising all manner of goods. There were all sorts of stores and open air stalls selling food, drink, accessories, various trinkets, and even a few weapon and armor shops here and there.

The smell of freshly baked goods drowned out many of the other smells and made my stomach growl, but I abstained from going into the few bakeries I passed—though it was a challenge in and of itself.

I opted to look for more practical foods instead—food that would last me at least a week if need be, and while I did relent eventually to get some freshly baked bread, I mainly stuck to the deli and many of the stalls outside, as those seemed to hold a lot of what I needed for the road.

As I had expected, I ran out of room in my bag for the supplies, and seeing that I wasn't running out of funds just yet, I opted to get a bigger travel bag. It was a bit more than I had expected it to be, but the bag I procured was worth in my opinion—its size about half as big as I was tall, and with several different pockets and pouches to boot.

I moved all my items to the larger bag, including the smaller bag, and hefted it over my shoulder, the increased weight from my purchases still not being an issue much to my relief and slight bafflement.

Just how strong am I exactly?

What with my sword, rifle, full waterskin and flask on my belt, and travel bag full of the food and various other supplies, I felt as though I should've been over encumbered, but I wasn't—far from it.

I still felt light as a feather.

Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration; the weight was there, but I could barely feel it. It didn't get in the way, and the issues I was having came more from the awkward way I'd been having to carry everything.

With the new bag, it wasn't an issue, and I was able to finish my supply shopping with no trouble. In fact, everything had gone fairly well so far, much to my surprise. I got the expected odd looks, but it seemed like no one was willing to turn away a paying customer, and I made sure to be as pleasant as I could for good measure.

Once I felt I had enough supplies, I moved on to the next errand on the list... bodyguard recruitment. I asked a rather bulky looking heavily bearded old man selling arms and armor where I could find the Unyielding Blade, and thankfully he was more than happy to oblige.

As it turned out, the Unyielding Blade was actually a sort of adventurer's guild. It was a place where you could hire all sorts of people for different dangerous services, similar to the Order of Nox Atra.

Both the guild and the Order had branches all over the world, but unlike the Order, the Unyielding Blade wasn't regulated by a strict set of rules and standards, though they did have their own regulations that needed to be followed. Almost anyone could become a member regardless of skill or status, and on top of that, they also provided several more services than just hunting monsters.

Mercenaries to fill in spaces for armies and protection purposes, bounty hunters to take down criminals, scavengers and collectors to find certain items for a fee, and even assassins and hitmen in certain circles.

Another thing that set them apart were the fees for services rendered. The Order issue the charges for their service, whereas anyone who posted a request set what they would pay for that service, and if it was acceptable, then a person or a group from the guild would take the job.

If there was ever a place to find and hire a bodyguard, then the Unyielding Blade was it. After learning all I needed to know about the guild, I thanked the man and headed for where it was.

It turned out the marketplace led directly into the artisan's district of town where the smiths, tailors, jewelers, and various other skilled craftsmen and women worked, but that wasn't where I was headed next. The guild building was situated just past the artisan's district in a slightly remote part of town, and I was told the place was so big I couldn't miss it.

I passed out of the artisan's district, satisfied and thankful to have finally gotten all of my shopping done, but nervous about my next errand. I took to counting out how many bits I had left after my purchases, and found I still had five gold, eleven silver, and two copper bits left.

This time around I'd made sure to ask how much it would've been for a coach to get me to Ruvenbor, and was happy to hear a one way trip would only come out to about three silver bits.

I didn't know if that was a lot, but it was still well within my budget so I didn't worry about it too much. Satisfied with how things had gone so far, I put away my remaining bits and picked up my pace.

"Beg pardon, ma'am, can ya spare a minute?"

I nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sudden sound of the deep, gravelly voiced drawl, and with my heart pounding, I whipped around to face a tall, broad shouldered man. He wasn't as tall or broad as Jack had been and he didn't look as old, but he was close.

The somewhat tan skinned man had a shoulder length curtain of messy black hair beneath a dirty, beat up stetson the same dark brown as the tattered duster he wore. His face was clean shaven, yet rugged, his eyebrows thick and heavy, and he had a long, thin scar across one of his cheeks.

I found that his gritty appearance was strangely offset by his bright green eyes. They were far from kind, but they weren't all that hard either. If I had to describe it, I would say that his gaze was measured... patient. I could tell just from a glance that the man had seen and experienced a lot, but the pleasant smile was throwing me off a bit.

The duster he wore reached down to about knee length and the tight sleeves were rolled up to reveal lightly armored black gloves. I could also see a thin, black chestplate poking out from under the duster.

There were a few belts wrapped around the man's midsection and below were thick wool trousers the same color as his duster and stetson, most of the trousers below the knee were tucked behind lightly armored black boots to match the gloves he wore.

There were also a few wicked looking knives strapped across the front of his chestplate and I could just make out both the beginnings of what looked like a coiled leather whip tied to one hip, and what I recognized as a pistol—a revolver if I wasn't mistaken—holstered on the other.

Like me, the man also had a sword strapped to his back, but I couldn't see what type of blade it was with him facing towards me, though it was clearly meant to be held with two hands judging by the length of the hilt I could see from behind his shoulder.

As I got a better look at him, my heartbeat slowed back to normal levels and I suddenly realized I was staring. I blinked before shaking my head rapidly—an embarrassed blush slightly marking my cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry," I finally replied, giving the man an awkward smile, "was there something you needed?"

"Sorry ta startle ya like that, didn't mean nothin' by it," the man replied with a small chuckle. His expression turned slightly more serious and he eyed me for a moment before speaking again, "now, correct me if I'm wrong, but ya'll wouldn't happen ta be Stella Sparkle, would ya?"

I blinked and furrowed my brow, slightly wary that the stranger knew my name. Then I thought about it and realized I had only given my surname to three people, and my fake name to one person.

If he knows who I am, that could only mean...

"Yeah, that's me," I admitted slowly, my eyes narrowing slightly, "and if you know that, I'm guessing you must be one of Rosalyn's 'friends' that come to visit from time to time?"

The man's eyes widened briefly before he laughed aloud at my reaction. His laughter died down a moment later and he shook his head before giving me an amused smile.

"Yer a sharp one, Miss Sparkle, I'll give ya that much," he replied with a lopsided smile. He tipped his hat and spoke again, his tone friendly and disarming, "name's Darmund Belmondt, an ah suppose ya could call Rose a friend o' mine."

"Where is she?" I asked, suddenly curious, "did she send you here to meet me or something?"

"Rose has her own things ta take care of," Darmund replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, "ah was actually on mah way here from Ruvenbor ta see her when she met me outside o' town an' told me ta find ya, said ya might need some help gettin' around."

At that, I glanced at the bag slung across my shoulder and looked back to Darmund with a half smile.

"Well, I kind of already got most of my errands taken care of," I said sheepishly, "all I really need to take care of now is finding someone to guard me on the way to Ruvenbor and then hire a stagecoach for the trip."

"Ah see," Darmund muttered, stroking his chin thoughtfully. He turned towards the path I'd been traveling and smiled, "an' ah take it yer headed down to the guild ta hire a merc fer the job?"

"Apparently," I replied with a sigh, "though to be honest, I'd rather not have to go through with it. I get why Rose recommended it, but still..."

"Ah getcha," Darmund replied, nodding in understanding, "Rose told me a bit about yer situation—not everythin', mind, but enough ta know yer a bit of a fish outta water 'round these parts. It's only natural that you'd have some... reservations 'bout travelin' with strangers."

He walked forward and past me, allowing me to see the blade slung across his back. The sword was bare, the long silver blade glinting brightly in the late morning sun.

The blade itself was simple in design, yet thick, and almost as long as he was tall. It was held in place by what looked like two large latches made of some sort of hardened leather material.

I was only given a brief moment to see the sword as Darmund turned back around partway to look back at me, jerking his thumb in the direction of a large multi-story building in the distance.

"Tell ya what, Miss Sparkle," the man began, "since ah'm supposed ta be helpin' ya out an' all, why don't we head on over to the guild together an' ah'll show ya around? Getcha acclimated to the atmosphere?"

I considered Darmund's offer for a moment, looking him in the eye and trying to gauge his intentions. His offer seemed genuine, but I was still hesitant to agree.

He simply stood there, patiently waiting for my answer, and in the end I decided to go with him. I figured that if he tried anything, I could always incapacitate him using my magic, and I still had my sword and rifle. I also had to remember that I was apparently a lot stronger than I probably looked.

"...Alright, why not?" I finally answered with a small, somewhat indulgent smile, "it beats going in there unprepared, I guess."

"Well alright then," Darmund replied with another small chuckle, "let's get goin', shall we?"

Chapters a bit shorter than I would've liked, but the next one will be quite a bit longer.