They flew for a good few hours before they descended.
The boy who had been now called Imus stared at the marble stairs of a building. It was white pristine marble that was exclusive to one region of the mountains and couldn't have been found anywhere.
It was purely white since it's name. It was so white indeed there were not a hint of dirt which surprised the boy.
'This is exactly as the description...'
Imus had gotten most of his information by secretly listening to the conversations of guards and fellow prisoners.
It kept him connected to the outside world and helped him to feel less... lonely.
His only so-called friend was a boy who was the same age as him. He was a shoemaker's son whose father was executed openly as he was suspected of treachery.
They had been together for almost their entire life but comically enough, the boy had never known his friend's name.
Today, the nameless boy had finally gotten a name and wanted to talk with his friend. But unfortunately, he was also granted a 'parole' and was never seen again.
Imus recounted a conversation between them.
"Hey, where are you going?"
A fat boy glanced at a boy with rugged air that covered his eyes. He smiled.
"I am going outside. But don't you worry, I will come find you when I get big and we will travel all day!!"
The rugged boy grinned as he frantically waved at the fat boy.
"Alright!"
Just as he was starting to backtrack into the past more, sound of aggressive snoring startled him.
Meria was sleeping soundly in a fancy bed, covered by a cotton blanket. Her mouth was gaping open as a fly hovered around her.
The Black Dragon had booked a room at a inn for them. The boy had insisted that he could sleep at the ruin but was stopped by Meria.
The room was very luxurious in Imus's standard.
There was a wooden table that lay between the two beds. There was a oil lamp on the top of the furniture. It was shimmering as the flame danced when he jolted his hand over it.
There was a cupboard that was etched on to the wall, how? that the boy didn't know.
There were a couple of plates inside it. Almost all of them were not necessarily clean but it was okay by his understanding. There were a lot of cups beside them. There were intricate and beautiful patterns of gold which contrasted by the black background.
Imus glanced at the sleeping girl and walked outside the room.
The corridor was warmly lit as a row of rooms parked on both sides, each designated by a number. The boy winced as it sickly resembled the cages of the prison.
The beast had told the receptionist to see their best rooms available at the moment which she fully obliged.
One thing that was strange was that the man didn't seem terrified when he saw the dragon instead he looked more eager.
"Why..?"
Imus thought as he descended the white marble stairs that was just beside their room.
There was a diner in the first floor of the two-story inn. Workers moved with elegance and speed attending to the guests. A couple of people laughed wholeheartedly while chugging down expensive beer. There was an iron sword leaning on the chair with a cross-symbol insignia engraved into the hilt of the blade. Others looked uncomfortable and there was a hint of fear in their eyes.
'Well, not my problem.'
With that the boy swung the door of the inn and treaded outside. There were three ways that lead from the building, each one of them stretching endlessly.
Imus took the path to the left and observed the shops. There were many bakeries and bars as well as a government structure. One or two blacksmith stalls was bellowing to the pedestrians that happened to pass by close.
One of the smiths sat down in defeat while he wiped sweat from his face. His eyes sunk down as he sighed deeply.
Seeing the boy staring at him the man called him:
"Hey boy, are you lost or somethin'? "
The boy quietly shook his head and said, "No."
The corners of the man's mouth curled upwards as he snickered.
"Why don't you take a look at my children?"
Imus frowned but came in closer.
There were a lot of swords displayed, shiny and polished. There were many types of it; curved, Rapier, saber, short, dagger etc.
"What's the price of these?"
The grin present in the smith's face became wider as he pointed his finger towards the sky.
"Three gold coins."
Imus took out his make shift wallet and handed it towards the man.
There were not a lot of coins but there was a single piece of a gold coin and some copper coins. The beast had exclusively told the young boy to spend it wisely.
"It's not enough and I can't change the price. Would ya like to take another?"
Imus simply nodded.
"Alright."
The man was searching for something in the basket near him that was full of swords that had been not in sale today. There were a lot of rusty swords in it and some good ones.
In the end, he took out a sheathed dagger and placed in the boy's palm. The sheath was made of brown leather and had a strap that loosely hanged from the start of the handle. The handle was shaped in such a way that the hand of a human could rested comfortably.
"It is exactly one gold coin. Give or take."
The boy unsheathed the blade and performed simple thrusts and slashes.
"I will take it."
The man took out the gold coin and gave the boy his wallet back.
There was a reason for buying the weapon as he witnessed the strength of the enraged man. He had to have something for self defense or even... offense.
He looked around more and saw more stalls.
There were some shady shops in the corners of the road where women in revealing clothes beckoned at him and playfully winked at him, urging him to get inside.
The boy didn't know why.
The night air was cooler than expected as he dug his hands into the oversized coat that he had rummaged through the ruins. There was a strong aroma of sweet bread in the atmosphere as well as the rusty smell of steel.
Then someone bumped at him and muttered a 'sorry'. As he became stable, he realized he had almost reached his destination.
As he walked through the hill, a gust of wind brushed against his face. The cries of bats and the wail of dogs resounded somewhere near. A silhouette of snake passed through the road which caused the boy to stop as he could not see it.
Nevertheless, he had reached his destination.