Call of the Abyss [Book 2 Complete]

Julia found it ironic—over a thousand journeys from the marsh, and she was back on a barge. A weathered man with grey hair and an eyepatch dipped his oar into the lake, his son on the opposite side doing the same. Blue Lake—a rather lackluster name, if anyone asked her—was apparently far too deep for the barge poles she'd grown accustomed to in the marsh.

The Blue's size surprised her. The barge pilot claimed it spanned two or three journeys in diameter, depending on whether one measured from the widest point or not. He couldn't give Julia an estimate on its depth, but he claimed no one could dive all the way to the bottom and survive. Julia was inclined to believe him—a body of water didn't need to be very deep for that to be true.

The water was a clear blue that reflected the afternoon sun so brightly that many were shielding their eyes. The barge was occupied by only a few in addition to Julia's party, and none seemed particularly talkative. The helmsman himself had been rather standoffish when approached for passage. He kept looking between Julia and the elves, asking if she was really sure she wanted to cross.

The fare for the journey was…well, she wasn't sure if it was expensive, honestly. She had no real concept for the monetary value of things, and that probably wasn't going to improve now that she didn't even need to eat. Still, it seemed expensive.

The Guild had provided Julia with compensation for the job she completed as her Adamantine exam, along with a substantial bonus both for the positive outcome and for being more dangerous than advertised.

She, again, wasn't sure if the compensation was significant, but the elves had assured her that all the necessities would be taken care of with just those funds.

When the bargeman had said the price, the elves had almost collectively winced, so Julia had surmised that it wasn't an insignificant sum.

The atmosphere was subdued as they approached the dock, the trip having taken about an hour. The few people around gathered up their things and lined up at the front, preparing to disembark. Julia spied a couple guards exiting what she assumed was a guardhouse at the head of the dock and making for the landing.

As the barge landed, the son jumped to the dock and began tying it off, while the bargeman stood at the front of the vessel and handed one of the guards some kind of identification—that's what Julia assumed it was. They seemed rather friendly, the guard and the bargeman, so she suspected the ID was mostly a formality.

She and her party lined up at the back, Julia readying her adventurer ID, as she noticed that the guards were checking everyone's IDs, not just the bargeman's. When it was finally their turn, Julia approached the guard and offered hers.

"These are members of my party," she said as the guard inspected her ID.

"Adventurer, huh?" he asked. The longer he examined her ID, the higher his eyebrows climbed, and he whistled through his teeth. "What's an Adamantine doing in the South Quarter? You got a job here or something?"

"Something like that," Julia replied with a small smile.

"Impressive as it is, I can't let ya in without a valid reason," he said, handing her ID back. He glanced at the elves behind her, but she could tell he quickly dismissed them, as if their presence was unimportant.

"I suppose an Adamantine wanting to enter isn't a valid enough reason?" she asked leadingly, attempting to stall so she could figure something out. Fortunately, an idea quickly came to her.

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"'Fraid not, ma'am," he said politely but firmly.

Julia sighed, pretending to fish through her tunic. She withdrew the letter Margreth had given her that very morning from her dimensional space. Its purpose was to show the guards at the gate to her estate, should she decide to accept Margreth's offer. She'd said that any of the staff at her home would recognize her seal, so Julia was hoping these guards would as well.

"I can't say anything specific about my purpose, so this will have to suffice," she said, handing the letter to the guard.

He took it and looked it over suspiciously before his brows climbed again. He handed it back to her quickly, as though it would bite him if held for too long.

"Go right ahead, ma'am. Apologies for the hold-up," he said, backing away and allowing her party forward.

"Thanks," she said with a polite smile.

As they walked, Talnîr sped up to match Julia's pace.

"Why would one need a 'valid reason' to enter an entire quarter of the city? That didn't look like a quarantine, or an honor guard," he said under his breath.

"More importantly: what are we looking for? Any ideas, Julia?" Ithshar asked from the back of the group. Julia probably shouldn't be surprised that she could hear Talnîr's whisper.

"I'm…not sure, no. Cass just said that I might find answers here. As vague as that is, it's more than I'd have to go on otherwise," she replied.

"Might I suggest we secure lodgings, then? The sun begins to set, and I doubt there will be a barge to catch back east once it does," Ithshar offered.

The group agreed and moved into the city proper. Julia noted that the buildings in this quarter were even more eclectic than what she'd seen of the East Quarter. Granted, they seemed that way out of a necessity more than style or personality. There were many spots with disparate materials that suggested patching holes with whatever material was available. Still, it had a charm of its own.

Almost immediately she began to notice peculiarities. The people in this Quarter were almost all elves, which wasn't a huge surprise. It was what she was expecting, to a certain degree. However, the homogeneity was surprising. She expected to see many elves, but not them exclusively.

Another strange thing was the sheer number of guards. Nearly every corner had one standing sentinel, while squads of three to five patrolled each street. They too were elves—strange. It was like this Quarter, rather than being simply a section of the city where many elves lived, was where they all lived.

The faces she saw as they walked were mostly uninteresting. She'd seen plenty of the hustle and bustle in Striton, and it was mostly reflected here. The only thing Julia noticed that was slightly out of the ordinary was the pedestrians' indifference to the guards' presence. It was like they didn't even notice them, much less mind. The guards might as well have been flies on the wall.

She couldn't tell if this shunning was intentional or not—maybe they were so used to the guards that they simply didn't consider them any more than the rest of the crowd. Indeed, it could just be Julia that was peculiar for paying them such attention. Still, she thought it strange that a veritable army of armed and armored soldiers could parade through the streets without any reaction whatsoever.

The group reached a public square with a burbling fountain in the center. The fountain was…not impressive. It seemed designed to spray water into the air, yet its spout could be more accurately described as leaking. The water pooled low in the large, round basin, the discolored stone suggesting it wasn't always this low.

The square had spots of green grass and stone benches, and it was crowded with people sitting and eating meals likely purchased from the various stalls and restaurants lining the perimeter of the square.

It was to one of these restaurants that the group advanced: The Frisky Tortoise Tavern.

Hopefully the place isn't as dubious as its name.