In this dusty and fragile village, it also held people, a small population was often easily found within Nakka, a couple normal citizens. Some of them left, some arrived… and as two guys who came to the town with horses, they were startled to hear a girl shouting.
"HAS YOUR PARENTS??!! HOSTAGE??!!" Alloy blurted. The shock on her face wasn't really something surprising due to what Damion had just told her, but it seemed like he was more confused about her reaction than he intended.
"Hold on!! Calm down!!" He urged her.
"HOW??!! YOU HAVE THE WORST BROTHER!!" She sat down then looked back up at him. "Who takes their own parents hostage?? They must be hungry…"
"They are not alive… so don't worry about that."
"That's dark… will they forgive you for that??"
"It doesn't matter." He held his hand out for her to get up. "Listen."
"My parents are dead, but I can't let my mother's body stay in his hands, there's something she left me, but he took both it, and her body before I could. So, I have two goals here, first. Find my mother's body and take the amulet that belongs to me. Second, settle this feud with Spire. We need to find information, so we'll have to split up. Ask about Spire Gravethorn wherever you can. I will do the same then we'll meet up."
"Gravethorn is an even darker name…"
"Alloy!!"
"Okay!! But… where do we meet up??"
"Ask for the landmark of this place, it's small, so I'm sure it's just one."
"Alright then. Let's go!!" And both of them left, Alloy moved to a small street to the left, Damion did the same to the right.
"I think they're okay…" the men who entered and heard the shouting commented between themselves, and they entered the town as well to continue whatever business they had.
"I've never seen such a town before… it reminds me of Navi." Alloy chuckled as she walked through the streets. The view of the poor town wasn't much of a sight, but she didn't care, the village was spread out, with houses and shops built from aged wood and stone. Their roofs, some thatched, others tiled seemed to have weathered over time. There was one landmark that she would come to know about, but what she saw most were a couple low-built bars, homes and general stores lining the main road that curved lazily across and through the town.
She had her goal to help Damion, and so she asked around about the body of Gravethorn, in some areas she got responses that led her to stores, different owners had different attitudes, she was ecstatic to see and meet new people who didn't, and hoped couldn't see her as royalty, she found that information unnecessary for anyone, her new— to be guild included, she was no longer in Zephro, she could be who she wanted without looking forward to a lecture from Zed if and when she caused trouble, which, normally, didn't take long for her. An hour had been covered as she looked around, with one final left turn, she found herself in a tailor's shop. It was quite a simple, stone and wooden building that smelt like dyed fabric more than the earthy scent outside, it also had quite a few customers. She headed straight to the man holding pieces of fabric and a sewing needle to place them together and asked about Gravethorn, whereas the owner seemed willing to share whatever information he had, some other people in the vicinity became timid on the matter and decided to leave the shop.
"What was that about??" Alloy wondered.
"Don't mind them, knowledge of any kind these days poses a danger to anyone who has it, the folks prefer a peaceful life, so they'd rather leave than be witnesses."
"Oh…"
"Please, have a seat… Gravethorn huh??" The kind old owner began.
*****
While Alloy finally found a lead in getting information, Damion strolled over to the right side of the town, he found patches of vegetation on the dry land, a few scattered trees offered shade, in the distance he could see grain fields that swayed in the breeze. It seemed to be tended by quiet villagers who kept to themselves, the air smelled of earth, dry grass, and the occasional scent of fresh bread… somewhere. He decided on looking at areas that he figured wouldn't bring him much trouble, and after walking for quite some time, he had figured out three different places he could ask around; A sketchy back alley street, a pub and a bakery that had a couple Syndicate troops around it, so he decided to begin with the easiest option, the pub. He walked toward it and the shadow of a spherical building covered his entire body, his shadow included, it reeked of cigarette smoke even from the outside, but that was no surprise considering the windows bellowed with smoke from inside.
This didn't bother him though, he waltzed in and used a piece of fabric to cover his face like a thief would. His eyes were only covered by the smoke. Through the ball-like structure, a couple of men were filled, with drinks and cigarettes filling the tables, he made the mistake of inhaling and coughed out smoke, but he ignored it, the real danger was the other whiffs of smells around, the place reeked due to its lack of hygiene. He put his arm up to his nose to try blocking the persistent stench of what smelt like death as best he could. He walked up to the counter and sat as the bartender, who's face was covered with the smoke in the room, immediately voiced what he already knew.
"You're not from around here, are you??"
"That obvious, huh??"
"Nakka is a peaceful place, but this is one of the only dangerous areas to be in…"
"I can tell… that said, could you help me??"
"Sure, what brings you here??"
"Gravethorn… I'm looking for him."
His mention on the topic had a similar effect to Alloy's confrontation, but rather instead of citizens moving away, they got mad, their faces cringed with anger. Damion witnessed this and wondered.
"Did I say something wrong??" He asked, looking at the barkeep. She took a shot from the glass she had put out for the young man in front of her before she pointed and replied.
"Take that door to the back…"