One thing was clear for ulrian, he hated cheap train rides, the seats being dirtier than the streets filled with dogs and trash and the fact he was stuck with a family of five squeezing in on a seat clearly meant for three people was just a cherry on top. The train attendants gave him a complimentary tea , said tea had more water than the lake they were crossing over. After the attendant gave him the cup ,Ulrian gave her a faint smile then took a sip–threw the rest out the window. The kid from the family stared at him. He just put his index finger on his lips and said to the kid " stay quiet or your next".
As the train continued ,Ulrian was sure that was gonna be the worst four hours of his life.
After a grueling four hours the train finally reached greyforn, Ulrian almost jumped from his seat to rush to the exit of a train to only be pushed back by at least a dozen people coming into the train, as soon as he got out–the smell of the station immediately hit his nose the metallic smell of rusted metal all around, cheap paint to cover up the rust and the plethora of perfumes burning his nose. He placed his hand on his nose and continued walking thinking that because this is the cheapest area and the most crowded place in the entire station the staff couldn't possibly have the free space needed to clean the area.
The more he was walking and looking at the area he began to notice more and more people's eyes drifting on him.
"Makes sense "ulrian thought
His tattered black and brown robes made him look like a hobo , and the dirt pilled on his back from when he hid from the collectors wasn't helping , his shoes weren't any better either, all the running and jumping on the cobblestone street had messed them up too. His hair was also quite messed up. His usual straight hair flowing hair was all messed up.
As he was walking the dimly lit station he saw the soft blue glow of a sign saying "EXIT" he followed the sign trying to avoid hitying people which was easier said then done. He was eager to see how the outside looked.
As soon as he went through the exit he immediately noticed the thick fog that was around, fog was to be expected since it was winter but here it looked as rhough tye entire area was engulfed in it.
"Even with my coat this cold wont go" Ulrian murmured under the vapors forming near his lips. The roads are smoother here than other places, And the architecture of the buildings was absolute eye candy.
"Only the best for the capital i guess"
He started looking for a cheap ride to go somewhere in the city and then he saw a bunch of crogun carriages lined up. At Least five , Those filthy croguns always gave him the creeps, The red flesh like skin twitching like it was alive and trying to stay on ,the black and blue veins popping out from the skin–like a worm trying to to get out. They're legs ended in hooves but each hoove was further divided into talon-like digits, almost looking like a finger. Where the mouth should've been there was eight thick tentacles , with the suckers lining the inside of the tentacles oozing a green slime. Each tentacle ending in a spike like tooth and inside its mouth was multiple rings of teeth.
Despite their duet being strictly herbivorous , the sight of them made ulrians skin crawl.
And one was staring at him with its pitch black eyes with only a small white dot in it.
He then saw one of the riders giving one of the croguns a head pat and scratching it under its head near its neck the crogun–in response–making weird noises, ulrian was even more turned off by this.
He wanted to take a ride on it and ask the rider there to take him to the nearest market because he was a little hungry and wanted to eat. He also how see crowds in greyforn are and interact with each other , but then thought about the little amount of money he had and thought he should save it for food. He then decided to walk and explore the city a bit– I'll find the market soon enough it cant be that far, he though to himself.
As he was walking around he couldn't but admire the buildings he saw along the way and how each one was so different and unique to itself but still fit in with all the other builds around it.
One of the houses felt like someone grabbed a great tree from a forest and placed it there – the outside of the house was completely illuminated by the glowing goble–berries growing on a bush in clusters, emitting a soft sea green color. The house was also decorated by pink tulips and purple spider lilies. Some of them were even climbing– covering a big part of the tree. Looking closely, Ulrian noticed a man and women talking and laughing while having a drink, ulrian almost felt remorse-full. The house had an almost soft dream-like look.
Right next to this was a house made purely from stone. It looked as though a part of a castle , with its stone bricks–spiked walls and it seemed as though a canon on top? It was hard to make out.The house itself was larger than the tree house it was next to towering over it.
The people of Greyforn were no less unique then the homes they lived in. Faces from all kinds of places passed through the streets—merfolk, behemons, insectoids, and more. But you could tell, just by the way they looked at each other, that this city didn't welcome difference.
Merfolk were met with curled lips and pulled sleeves, like their wet skin might spread something. Behemons were avoided altogether, their size alone enough to spark fear. The insectoids from Ulrian's View had it worst—mocked to their faces, talked over like they weren't even there.
As ulrian stared at a behemon arguing with a insectoid–his eyes caught a glimpse of a bright blue flame
It was a sign, on it was written
"Market hazelborough"
Ulrian had a sigh of relief.
"Finally!, i could feel my leg tearing off"
As he was going near the mouth of the market he could hear the small popping sounds from the market flowing through the air. He knew this was gonna give him a splitting headache.
As soon as he entered the market the overstimulation hit him – lights blazing in every direction in every color imaginable , some were brighter than the sun , others were either dim or flickering chaotically. Vendors all around screaming their lungs out–trying to outdo each other. Some were even setting off small explosions in front and on top of their stalls to grab attention– a party trick kids used in schools.
Coins jinggled in pockets. People talking– bargaining in different tongues. Kids running and playing , some repeatedly bumping into ulrian and running off without even apologizing. He saw one of the vendors grab a thief by the collar, screaming at him and throw him out of the market.
He saw a bunch of stalls lined up selling a variety of exotic stuff. Some of them were even selling Enchects at cheap prices–they were very weak or damaged. Others were selling larzours spines– A creature whose spinal fluid had performance enhancing ability–Ulrian never bought into the hype. He then saw a stall selling bread, just what he was looking for.
The seller was selling a piece of bread for 50 dims - ulrian had about 40.
"How about one for 30 eh? A newcomers discount, maybe?" ulrian said with a hopeful grin on his face.
The seller looked at him with an irritated look.
"All the prices are fixed. If you can't afford it, move along."
Ulrian clenched his jaw a Little. He didn't like the attitude, but he wasn't in any position to argue. Then his eyes spotted a piece of stale bread. He swallowed his pride "What about that one? The stale one. Could I get that for 20?"
The seller looked at the stale bread for a minute then back at Ulrian–He wasn't gonna be able to sell it himself anyways "Sure take it."
Ulrian gave him the dims and took the bread and forced a fake smile to give to the man.
As ulrian started to walk away from the stall he started to guess how long it would take the seller to figure out one of the dims is just a flat rock he found on the road. He chuckled abit to the thought. He then heard a few vendors yelling at each other. He couldn't understand any of it– But he could guess it wasn't anything nice. He then started to walk towards the mouth of the market since he got something to eat from here like he wanted.
As soon as he left the market his mind started relaxing as the noise of the market started to dim down. He appreciated the quiet for just a moment – then he saw a group of royal guards standing at the mouth of the market. At Least six or maybe seven standing at the mouth of the market.
"Probably here because of the fighting" he guessed, Then he saw what they were holding–two were holding some sort of poster with a picture of someone on it– the others were holding a gun with a floating blue orb in the center.The orb emitted a soft blue light on the hands of the guards holding it. He remembered when one of those were fired,what it does to the body on contact, how it mutilated the flesh around the bone and left just a mess. He didn't want to see anything like that anytime soon . So he left without staring too much at them.
When he was quite far from the guards a beggar sitting crossed legged begging for some dims- looked at ulrian and locked eyes with him, like a starving dog seeing a bone he lunged at ulrian grabbing his arm just hard enough to stop him but not too hard to cause pain
"You're from the caster family aren't you!?"
Ulrian was shocked and trying to process what the man just said- the name hit him like cold water.
"The hell are you talking about ?"ulrian said pushing the man aside with enough force the man fell on his back ,people started staring at them some even whispered what the old man said. "You've got the wrong guy" , Ulrian said and went on his heels and walked fast to get far away from there. The people all just brushed this off, some still whispering but the old man only kept staring at Ulrian as he disappeared into the street fog.
After completely changing directions five times and making sure the beggar is not following him, ulrian took a breather since he had been walking for a while now. He was still in absolute shock that someone even this far recognized
It wasn't even just a small nod or a second glance.
That beggar had said his family name. Here in the capital where no-one should be paying attention to him. This gnawed at the back of his mind, the only reason he even decided to come here was that no one would know him
But that man––
Ulrian snapped out of his thoughts—he started scanning his surroundings, looking, that feeling...Someone was watching him. He knew it , the feeling of someone staring into the back of his skull–leaving burn marks. Someone has been following him
As he was watching around, he started walking slowly and deliberately , paying attention to each detail around him, eyes sharper , observing at each angle, eyeing between the alleys with the jagged floors , the rooftops of houses trying to catch a glimpse of the person.
And as he was walking his eyes caught sight of something that demanded all his attention.
The Castle of Fuher.
The centerpiece of Greyforn. Towering above the city like a god of stone and steel. Even its entrance dwarfed the surrounding buildings, making them look like children's toys left on a cobbled floor.
Its colossal doors were a masterpiece—carved with impossible precision, each panel etched with the legends of ancient kings, of wars that shaped continents, of peace that cost empires.
In front, a grand fountain caught the eye. Water flowed in perfect arcs, glinting like molten gold beneath enchanted lanterns that never dimmed. The left-hand tower pierced the fog like a lighthouse of old, casting a soft amber glow over half the city, as if shielding it under the castle's watchful eye.
Beyond the wrought-iron fence, just barely visible, was a garden that defied nature. Flowers bloomed in unnatural symmetry—each petal shaped like a painter's brushstroke. The hedges were sculptures in their own right, so carefully trimmed they looked chiseled from green marble.
Crowds gathered at its base. Some stood in breathless awe, necks craned and mouths agape. Others lowered their heads in reverence, whispering prayers to the founders who still resided within—ghosts of greatness etched into every stone.
Ulrian was so mesmerized by the castle that he forgot what he was worrying about for a moment. He started to walk past the castle staring at it , his eyes almost felt glued to it. And as he was walking he saw a kid sitting near the castle gate , barefoot wearing old ragged and torn clothes selling newspapers with a worn out throat from yelling.
He went to the child , he smiled and ruffled his hair a bit, and gave him five dims.
The child looked at him," Paper mister?" Asked the child.
Ulrian nodded , and the child handed him the news paper ulrian started reading the headlines
The newspaper was headed with greyforn-daily, there was talks about merchants guilds finalizing trades with each other, some sort of flying sly serpent above lake Jervis , and some talks about a thief being caught.
All boring, thought ulrian. But then something caught his eye at the bottom.
Ongoing investigation of one of the founder's murder, the authorities remain quiet on new leads and information but rumors are spreading it might have been an internal betrayal.
"So that's the big dead figure here, interesting indeed." Ulrian said in a low voice the kid looked at him with big eyes , confused as to what he's saying.
Ulrian looked at the kid again gave a slightly bigger smile to him and gave him the bread he didn't eat
"Here, stay warm"
He then folded the paper under his arm and started to walk away from the castle with the fog densing and it getting late he was looking for some place to go, he then saw a bar. He looked at the bar sign for a few seconds.
"Time to taste what Greyforn calls ale" he then went towards the bar entrance
As ulrian opens the door to the bar warm air immediately hits him in his face as he enters , its a very different climate in here than outside the bar has a small fire in the corner to warm the place up. Ulrian immediately feeling his body loosen up from being tense in the cold. He smells the stench of stale ale from the bar going directly into his nose hitting like a hammer to the face, the sweat from the crowd– and the stench from the wooden floor from being socked in decades or more worth of liquids. He tries to figure a place to sit down , walking past groups of people cheering over dice , he hears a bard playing a sweet melody in the corner , with people hitting their tables demanding for more drinks, some laughing hysterically from being drunk.
He finally finds a corner to sit back and relax, he starts waving at the bartender and orders the strongest and cheapest shit they have to offer, the bartender comes and drops the big mug hard on the table with the ale sloshing and spilling a bit too. It has a strong bitter and raw smell
Perfect , ulrian said to himself. He starts drinking, the first sip he takes burns his throat as it goes down and he felt every bit of it , the second sip goes down much easier he starts to feel his nerves calm a bit. The third sip starts to make the day go numb, he keeps drinking more–his vision getting blurry and he feels the room shift a little around him .
His mind keeps going back to the things that happened today, the beggar saying his family name, the person watching him and then the murder of the founder.. it all keeps spinning around in his head.
He orders another mug , and throws it back like water. A few moments pass and he starts laughing with random people he's never met at something he doesn't understand one bit he just feels the need to let some voice out. To feel something. Slowly his mind comes back to normal.
He gets mad at the fact he can't stay drunk because of HIM.
"Even being soaked in ale i cant get drunk because he wont let me!, Ulrian says lightly under his breath in frustrations " He always pulls me back".
Then he felt it again. That presence. The same watcher from earlier.
His blood chilled. He stood up, grabbed his cloak, and shook his head hard, trying to return to himself. Tossing seven dims onto the counter, he left the bar, the cold night air slapping him across the face like a warning.
Someone followed. Smooth. Too smooth. He didn't even catch the footsteps.
Ulrian walked, pretending not to notice, eyes darting. After a few turns, he entered a narrow, dying street , nearly deserted. A few orange lanterns lit the path, dripping thick wax that hit the stone below with a tick... tick... tick.
He stopped. Looked back. Voice steady, but sharp.
"Let's make this clear. I know you've been following me. No point hiding anymore. Show yourself."
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
He was taller than Ulrian by a few inches. His clothes were tight, but pristine a stark contrast to Ulrian's worn robes. His eyes were a bright, unsettling brown that seemed to glow in the dark. His hair was slicked back, either a rich brown or jet black, glinting under the lantern light.
The man smiled faintly.
And he did not break eye contact.