"How long is this going to take?" Darius muttered as they climbed the rocky slope.
"Here...here..." Skritch pointed ahead to a ledge overlooking the forest below, the rising sun casting long shadows across the valley they had just escaped.
"Hahaha.." Darius chuckled.
"That thing hasn't know you long," Darius spoke, glancing at Vance, "and it's already trying to kill you."
Jennifer turned away, hiding a smile.
Vance said nothing. His eyes rested on Skritch, the goblin was smiling.
"...Great," Ceal spoke walking to the ledge. "Everyone get ready."
Cael placed one foot over the ledge.
And vanished.
Silence.
Everyone froze.
Vance's eyes narrowed. 'What was that?'
He looked at Skritch, "go into the neutral zone."
The goblin hesitated for a fraction of a second.
Then stepped forward.
Gone, it vanished on the spot Cael once stood.
Five smiled, stepping up immediately. "Guys lets go!"
"Ember, wait!" Jennifer called, following after her.
"Tch," Darius walked past Vance, "I was hoping that thing would actually kill you."
Vance ignored him.
'I need more information about this place.' He stepped off the ledge.
The world shifted, for a moment everything felt wrong.
Then.
An iron wall stood before him.
He looked back, the rocky slope was still there. 'Magic?'
'Or something else?'
Ahead, massive gates stood open.
Skritch and the others waited.
Besides them, towering green skinned figures stood.
Vance pace slowed. Unlike Skritch, these ones were dressed in dark uniforms. Structured. Clean.
Almost... military.
'How much would it cost to hire one,' he thought as he reached the others.
"Everyone," Ceal spoke, "Make sure to leave the city before noon."
Vance's eyes narrowed.
"Why?" Ember asked.
Jennifer pointed to a sign beside to the gate.
Darius read it aloud. "Entry is free until 1 PM. After that... toll required."
Vance smiled faintly, 'there's a currency.'
'Good, everything I'm owed can be converted into this currency.' He glanced at his ledger, its leather surface had turned smooth almost glass like.
They stepped inside.
The city unfolded. Buildings of iron and stone rose higher the deeper the street stretched.
The ground was muddy, worn by the countless footsteps.
Humans were present, but they were not the majority.
Creatures moved through the streets.
Goblins in jackets. Massive figures in fitted suits. Beings that didn't belong to any world Vance knew.
Vance looked down at Skritch. "Why are you not clothed like other goblins in the city."
The goblin glanced up, "...Gods...follow gods... then live proper..."
"Are you saying to be successful you need a god?" Vance asked.
Skritch nodded, "...yes... slow human."
Vance's eyes narrowed slightly. 'Everything leads back to gods.'
He glanced at Cael walking ahead, then back to Skritch. "Do you have money?"
A pause.
With a clenched jaw he spoke "y..yes... den..."
Vance watched him closely. 'Is the contract is forcing honesty?'
"let's wait here" Ceal spoke, stopping near a worn out bench.
"Fine," Darius muttered, walking off on his own.
The girls moved toward another bench.
At the center of the area stood a withered tree, dead yet still standing.
Vance sat beside Cael.
"You said there's going to be a war" Vance asked.
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
Cael smiled, "what are you willing to pay for that information?"
Vance smiled back, "fair."
"I'm joking," Ceal spoke. "It's just a possibility."
Vance's expression didn't change.
''A possibility?'' He repeated.
"Yeah."
Vance leaned back slightly. 'Possibility...'
''Then are the gods a possibility?" He asked.
Ceal smiled, "...yes."
Vance went silent, 'have I've following someone based of possibilities.'
Vance stared at Ceal, replaying everything that happened.
'No.' His gaze dropped, 'the was a sense of certainty in his tone.'
'And what did he mean when he said "last time",' Vance mind was filled with too many uncertainty.
Then.
Vance sighed, "I guess we'll find out at noon."
"We will."
'First I should find a place to stay,' Vance stood up. 'I can't gamble my life on figure's I've never met.'
"Let's go" He walked away, Skritch followed closely.
'Should I hire some people to help me find my debtors?' He stopped.
'No,' He looked down to Skritch. 'I no longer have that kind resource.'
He crouched down in front of the goblin. "Do you have enough money for three people to stay here for a month?"
Skritch clenched his jaw, then nodded. ''...Yes..."
"Go get it,'' A pause, "don't forget the cost of food and clothes."
"..Yes... human..." the goblin turned and left.
Vance stood up, turning back.
Jennifer was smiling.
'I should plan out how, I'm going to use her,' He walked toward her.
'I only have until noon.'