Wyn couldn’t help but think the city was aptly named. Titan’s Pass was, of course, the name of the city built within The Titan’s Passage, a gap in the Madenya mountain range through which trade could flow. It was a gateway city between Veldia and the rest of the continent.

  The mountains had come into view before the city, towering above the grass.

  “The Windfall’s are taller,” Corrin whispered.

  Wyn nodded. It was true. The Madenya’s didn’t compare in grandeur to the mountains of their home, but they seemed mountains of a different type, heavily forested instead of rocky, and missing the jagged peaks that pierced the sky. The tops of the mountains were more rounded, almost inviting.

  “An interesting fact,” Ven said unprompted, “Madenya comes from one of the old languages of the central basin—a time before the five kings, and perhaps even the eternal night. It’s a shortening of Mai Denyaya.”

  “Before the eternal night?” Wyn leaned in. Not much was known about the time before the five kings. Languages, history, even entire civilizations had been lost to the time in which monsters roamed the surface of Aeora unchecked. According to ‘history’, the five kings had banished them to the dungeons after defeating Gilgamesh the Titan, but trying to separate myth from fact was almost impossible.

  “So they say,” Ven nodded. “The language has been translated using stone tablets found buried in the Eulal Marsh”

  “Mai Denyaya…” Kei muttered. “What does it mean?”

  Ven grinned. “The Mai Denyaya, or as we would say it—The Many Breasts.”

  The wind blew across the top of the grass, a faint whistle to fill the silence.

  Wyn looked at the mountains. They weren’t like the Windfalls, their tops were more rounded, weathered by the years.

  Kei sighed, disappointed. “You know… I think I see it.”

  “Yeah with how the—” Corrin trailed off. “Yeah.”

  They started to snicker, they couldn’t help it.

  Wyn’s shoulders started to shake.

  “Behold,” Kei laughed, gesturing towards the Titan’s Passage. “The bosom!”

  Corrin fell over as they howled with laughter.

  “The wisdom of the ancients is truly unparalleled!”

  “Imagine being the person to first translate that!” Wyn wiped tears from his eyes. “Guys guys! It means the many—oh wait.”

  The jokes did not stop there, but by the time they grew close enough to see the wall, they had mostly petered out.

  Erected from stone, the enormous stone wall of Titan’s Pass stood even taller than the grass itself, forming a semi-circle that ran back into the mountains on either side. Past the walls, on the slopes of the pass, he could see the tips of buildings peeking out over the top.

  Slowly, they began to descend as the height of the grass lessened—both a sign of regulation, and the youth of the stalks. In perspective the wall of Titan’s pass seemed to rise ahead. With each second drawing closer, its grandeur grew more apparent. Ancient blocks of stone larger than Wyn had been carefully maintained, fitting together with precision.

  They descended further and the gateway came into view. Compared to the rest of the wall, the two wooden doors reinforced with iron bars running in a lattice across their surface, seemed inappropriately sized, only large enough to fit a cart through. Wyn supposed they didn’t need to bring in many large objects from the grass sea though. Veldstriders could only carry so much along with their passengers.

  The grass finally leveled out a good fifty feet above the ground and they settled in next to the stilted docks.

  Ven shouted a brief exchange with one of the docksman before turning back to the rest of them. “Feel free to gather your things and head towards the city. I’ll be staying on Siensa a few more nights until the deep winter, then I’ll be staying at The Sleeping Inn.”

  “The sleeping…” Wyn snorted. “Seriously? What is it with you today?”

  Ven grinned.

  There was a blur of movement. “I'm free!”

  Corrin, having apparently already grabbed his things, leapt from the strider and dashed down the docks. A few guards shouted and gave half-hearted chase, but gave up as Corrin shot away at rapid speed.

  Wyn felt a little bad for them, but what could you do? Corrin would Corrin.

  He finished packing his pack soon after that, hoisting it onto his back and turning to Kei, who was buckling her bag closed.

  “Need any help carrying your stuff?”

  “My! Such a gentleman,” she smiled. “But I suppose… if you’re offering.”

  He held out his arms and she plopped the bag into them. Despite the bag’s large size, it was still easy enough for him to carry, weight was no issue, and when Kei saw him not so much as flinch at its heft, she looked a little miffed.

  “You look silly like that, I can take it,” she took it back from him, slinging it over her shoulder. She took one shaky step, then seemed to adjust to the weight, her next step more confident.

  “I guess you’re used to having a cart huh?” He teased.

  “I’ve carried it to and from the strider before.”

  “I can take it, it’s really no problem.”

  “No no, I’ve got it.”

  Wyn conceded and they made their way towards proper land. They were still a few hundred feet from the edge of the sea, the wooden pier sloping gently downwards with the grass itself, and the walls loomed even further than that. They passed the three guards who had given up chasing Corrin. They were all quite young, the youngest probably around his age, and the oldest only a few years his senior.

  “Damned channelers,” one of them mumbled.

  “We’ll just let whoever’s at the gate deal with him.”

  “Taro’s over there.”

  “Oh that’s perfect. I hope he causes trouble then. Hate that guy.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far… he just rubs me the wrong way ya know? How come he’s not here on dock duty with us?”

  “He’s the lieutenant gate master's nephew.”

  “No shit?”

  He held up his hands “Hutong hears me.”

  “Damn.”

  “Damn.”

  “No kid—hey you two were with that channeler right?”

  One of the guards placed his hand on Wyn’s shoulder, his voice a bit harsh. Wyn let himself be brought to a halt. The man’s large nose was red from the cold, but he didn’t seem all too bothered as he sized Wyn up. His eyes flicked down to Wyn’s waist, catching on the pommel of his sword for a moment.

  Wyn smiled awkwardly. He figured since he was armed it would be best to be disarming. “Yeah I’m so sorry about him. We’d never traveled by strider before, he was feeling quite cooped up.”

  The man glanced towards the walls, his harsh face let a faint smile slip. “Well, I suppose I can’t blame a man for such a thing. I’m no fan of strider travel myself.”

  “I get seasick on those things,” another guard with red hair nodded.

  The third one, the tallest, rolled his shoulder. “You’re lucky you made it before the deep winter. You’re probably the last strider we’ll get for months.”

  The first guard shook his head. “No, we may get a few more returning from—” his eyes widened. “Wait, are you coming from the hunt by chance?”

  Wyn grinned.

  “You’re kidding!”

  “Truly? How large was the colossus?”

  “Did you happen to meet my cousin? His name is Arlin! He would’ve been—”

  Kei cleared her throat, giving a pointed look. “Not to cut this short, but this bag is heavy and I’m cold.”

  Wyn smiled. “Sorry sirs, but it’s best not to keep a lady waiting.”

  “Well isn’t that true,” The eldest nodded. “Get moving then, and make sure to give Taro hell at the gates for us.”

  The pier thumped loudly under Wyn and Kei’s heavy footsteps as they plodded towards the edge of the sea where the wooden structure met a well-maintained dirt path. To either side, the ground was rocky, gently sloping into the side of the mountains, and covered in yellow grass, of the completely normal variety. To the north a few hundred yards away, a herd of fluffy-looking creatures skipped along the ground, like sheep on two legs. Corrin was amidst them, petting those that slowed from their skittering motion.

  Wyn cupped his hand around his mouth and shouted to get his friend’s attention. Corrin turned and bid farewell to the fluff-balls before heading back towards the path.

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  “Those things are so soft!” he exclaimed happily as he drew closer.

  “They look it,” Kei agreed. “And you fit right in with that hair of yours.”

  Corrin grinned, shaking his head and making his mop of long white hair flop around for exaggerated effect. When it fell in front of his eyes, he brushed it aside with his fingers.

  “Yeah, I’ll have to see about a barber here. But then again we’d have to pay for it. Any chance you’d help me cut it?” he asked.

  Wyn ran his fingers through his own hair. Months of travel had let it grow no insignificant amount, and it was longer than he’d ever let it grow before, spilling over his ears in messy fashion. Still, he was all too aware of the coin pouch hanging on the inside of his coat. They didn't really have the budget to get a real haircut, hells, without the bounty for Din Kai they probably wouldn't be able to afford an inn for the winter. What a pain.

  “I could try,” Kei agreed. “But I’m no expert.”

  “Hmm, I’ll think about it then.” Corrin tapped his chin. Unlike Wyn, he had a distinct sense of his own style, and was a lot pickier about things like that.

  “I don't need anything crazy,” Wyn offered. “But I'm not sure I trust myself to do it if you don’t mind helping.”

  “Sure thing.”

  They reached the gateway, which jutted out a good twenty feet from the rest of the wall, with even thicker, reinforced stone and large wooden doors more than twice their height. To each side stood another guard, dressed in warm furs and holding spears at attention.

  “Names and business?” One of them asked.

  “Greetings,” Kei bowed. “My name is Kei Ameas, and these are my companions Corrin and Wyn, of Straetum. We are traveling to Taravast and hope to find refuge from the winter within the walls.”

  The man grunted affirmatively. “Head to the window and register with the city, they’ll open the gates for you.”

  Kei frowned, bemused. “Register with the… of course, thank you.”

  To the side of the gate was a smaller wooden door and open window. They walked over to the window, but there was no one manning it.

  “Excuse me,” Wyn called over to the guards at the gate. “There's no one here.”

  “There's no one—” the guardsman sighed. “Taro… Excuse me for a moment.”

  He left the gate and walked past them, unlocking the smaller wooden door and stepping inside. After a moment, Wyn heard a muffled clattering, like a chair hitting the ground, followed by some indistinct shouting and at least one curse.

  The guard walked back out, locking the door behind him. He nodded to them and walked back to his post.

  The window slid open and a young, rotund man appeared, his eyes still hungover with sleep.

  “Name and reason for visiting?” he mumbled, an echo of the guard at the gate.

  Kei stepped forward and answered once again. The man jotted some things down on a piece of paper.

  “And your captain…” he looked at them expectantly.

  “Moving the strider, though he is not directly accompanying us.”

  “Understood…” he jotted some more things down. “Is this your first time visiting Titan’s Pass?”

  “Yes for all three.”

  “Please state your town, city, or village of origin, along with the requisite region in which it is located.”

  “Um… Straetum in Veldia?” Wyn answered, “for both me and him.”

  Kei hesitated. “Edria. Taravast to be specific.”

  “And how is Straetum spelled?”

  Wyn blinked. “It uses the characters for ‘valley’ and ‘spirit’”

  “Weird pronunciation,” the man muttered. “Do you have any outstanding warrants in any kingdoms, countries, or provinces which are members of the central basin coalition?”

  “Do people actually say yes to that question?” Corrin asked.

  “If they’ve never been before, not usually. But those who have, tend to be truthful.”

  “How do you know?”

  The man just smiled.

  “No outstanding warrants,” Kei finally answered the question.

  “Faaantastic. I ask that each of you fill one of these out. Answer to the best of your knowledge.” He handed out three sheets of paper and quills to each of them. “If you are unable to read or write, please let me know and we can do it verbally instead. Once you’re finished please sign your name at the bottom affirming it’s truthful to the best of your knowledge.”

  Wyn took the paper without thinking. A few fields had already been filled out at the top from the answers he’d given, and the rest was left blank, with spaces for everything from his age, to his height, and even if he had any assets in the city, or was the owner of a business that did any trading in or through Titan’s Pass.

  When he finished filling it out, the black ink glowed gold for an instant before settling back. He gaped, but the man took the sheet from him before he could react.

  “Alright, everything seems in order.” He said after looking it over. “Please proceed through to the inner gate.”

  There was a deep rumbling sound and Wyn leaned back to see the doorways slowly opening to the left. He looked back at the man in the window, who waved him away. He was the first through, but the gate didn’t lead into the city. Instead, it seemed that a proper gatehouse had been built into the wall, with yet another gate on the other side. Dirt turned to stone beneath his boots and he stepped into the room, which was shockingly well-lit with bright lightstone fixtures ringing the upper wall. It was warmer inside too, the cold vanishing almost as soon as he stepped past the threshold of the gate.

  Inside was another set of ten or so guards, four of whom were playing cards in the corner while the remaining six stood alert. One of them stepped forward.

  “Please take off all your outerwear and place your pack on the table, then step into the circle and wait.”

  He directed Wyn towards a chalked, patterned ring on the ground. Wyn started as he noticed the telltale glittering of the chalk—it was a magic circle, though a type he didn’t recognize.

  “Is this all really necessary?” he asked, though he’d already placed his pack down and was taking off his coat.

  “Standard procedure for first-timers,” the guard assured him. “It’s a safety thing as well, nothing to worry about. Once you have your seal you won’t have to go through this again.

  Wyn stepped into the circle. “My seal?”

  “Hold your arms out please,” the guard asked while another rummaged through the bag.

  Wyn obliged, thinking what an interesting process it was. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On the one hand, the whole thing felt a little invasive. On the other hand, he had no idea what they were actually doing. The ring glowed briefly, but he felt nothing.

  Kei and Corrin entered behind him. “What the—?”

  As they were roped into the process, the guard directed him onwards, reading over a piece of paper.

  “So, I see under profession you marked it as not applicable,” the guard looked over towards Wyn’s items. His weapons, two swords, two daggers and a sling had been separated from the rest. “Then I take it those are for self-defense. Have you received proper training?”

  “I have.”

  The man nodded. “The open carrying of weapons or potentially dangerous artifacts without a license is prohibited outside of the adventurers guild and The Hollow Bastion. You can keep the wooden sword, but the law applies to the rest of them. We’ll register the other sword and daggers to your name today, and from there you have two options—you can retrieve them when you leave, or you can have them delivered to the adventurers guild for use in the dungeon if you intend to venture within during your stay. Should you have a reason why you must maintain a weapon on your person, or if you have a weapon of particular value, you may submit an appeal at the city watch’s headquarters and it can be delivered to you upon approval of your appeal.”

  Wyn shifted on his feet. He couldn’t keep weapons within the walls of the city? That would certainly feel a bit wrong, but then again, was there even a way around it?

  “I suppose I don’t have much choice. Can I have the rest delivered to the guild?”

  “Of course. Then with Hutong, the contract is sealed.” A golden circle suddenly blazed to life in the air in front of Wyn, it rotated half a turn with a sound like a heavy gear clicking into place, then it fizzled away, leaving no trace of its existence.

  Wyn gaped.

  “First timers, always gets em.” the older man chuckled. “Don’t worry kid, the watch insures any confiscated weapon with value up to twenty five gold pieces. And proper contracts are strictly enforced within the city walls by Hutong. You have nothing to worry about.” He directed Wyn out of the circle and back over to the rest of his things.

  Wyn chewed on the words for a few seconds. “Hutong. The spirit right?”

  “That’s right! The contract spirit of Titan’s Pass. You won’t find another city in Aeora with anything like it!”

  As Wyn put his coat and pack back on, he heard Corrin shouting from behind him. “What do you mean I can’t have my sword back?”

  “If you don’t mind me asking,” Wyn started, “you mentioned exceptions to the law, what might those be?”

  The guard walked over towards a slot in the wall, passing Wyn’s form back through. “Special permission can be granted to certain individuals, such as spirit knights or licensed gold-rank adventurers. However, even then the paperwork must be filed with the watch ahead of time so the individual’s status can be confirmed, usually they’ll send a hawk. Of course, that’s for the first time someone visits. Once you’re registered in the system, you only need to notify the department of papers when there’s a change in your status.”

  “Huh.” That was all Wyn could say.

  “Anyways, here’s your seal.” Wyn saw him take something from the slot. He walked back over and held his hand out. Resting in his palm was a small trinket, a tiny golden gemstone set within a silver frame. “This can be used to verify your identity for registration purposes around the city. Try not to lose it, as it’s a pain in the ass to get a replacement issued, trust me.”

  “I just, take it?” Wyn reached for it hesitantly.

  “Yep, it’s yours. You can change the frame if you want, most people get them customized so they’re harder to mix up with someone else’s, but if you do end up in that situation, just take them to the department of papers and they can sort it out.”

  “Got it. I think. Um, thanks?”

  “You’ll figure it out quickly, don’t worry.” The man held out his hand. “Ein’al guide you.”

  Not Hutong? That must be the winter spirit then right?

  Wyn shook the man's hand. “Ein’al guide you.”

  The man smiled.

  Kei finished only a moment after Wyn, having no weapons to confiscate, and though Corrin took a bit longer, he soon joined them in waiting at the inner gate.

  “Any idea what the circle did?” Wyn whispered to Corrin. “Your eyes are better than mine.”

  Corrin looked back and pointed towards the ceiling. Above them, similar circles had been painted onto the ceiling, mirroring the positions of the ones on the ground.

  “Not sure what the purpose was, but the one on the ground sent a pulse of mana up to the one on the ceiling. Maybe checking for contraband or something?”

  “All clear!” One of the guards shouted. The inner gate began to swing open.

  “Are things this bureaucratic in Taravast?” Wyn asked. “It’s kind of annoying.”

  Kei shook her head. “Not remotely. But then again we don’t have a great spirit of contracts, and Taravast is a hell of a lot larger than Titan’s Pass.”

  “Oh, did you guys see that glowing ring?” Corrin asked.

  “Yeah! What was that?” Kei exclaimed.

  “No idea. It seemed like mana, but it felt different from earth. I don’t know what it was.”

  “Spirit stuff.” Wyn suggested.

  Corrin snorted. “You don’t say.”

  As the door finished opening, they stepped through the gate and onto the… dirt?

  Whereas Wyn had expected to enter the city proper immediately on the other side of the wall, instead, there was yet another dirt path which stretched further into the valley for a good half-mile before reaching the outskirts of the city. The enclosed area was lightly forested to the north, and Wyn saw a few of the fluff balls skipping around on the rocks, perfectly content to live within the safety of the walls.

  The city itself was nestled further in the pass, flowing down the slopes of the mountains on either side and settling into the flat below. A narrow river meandered its way through the middle, splitting the city into halves before curving off to the south and passing through a small grated section of the outer wall.

  It was a picturesque view if Wyn had ever seen one, and he was pleasantly surprised to find that there was at least some small slice of nature within the city. For all he’d learned cities could be noisy and busy, it was quiet out where they stood.

  “Nope, that’s it. One of you cheaters can carry my bag,” Kei said firmly. “Why is the damn city still so far?

  Wyn took the bag, with a smile and the walk began.

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