After teleporting back to Flamefair, they didn't spend any time as they took off towards Icefair to go to the House of Bradley as well as attend the annual Phoenix manor auction. In the skies, the trio occasionally noticed several groups of people in fancy winter clothes and mercenaries in armor flying towards Icefair. Considering the snowfall had worsened since he left Flamefair, Michael could barely recognize the faces in the sky through the snow.
Icefair was roughly one thousand kilometers away from Flamefair, and with snowstorm affecting their flying speed, it took them a full day to reach Icefair.
Among the four duchies of Kethen, Icefair was a far more accomplished and fancy-looking city by far compared to the other three duchies. The constant war between the Rosegate, Pent Town, and Flamefair was one of the main reasons for Icefair's development. The duke of Icefair made his fortune by selling weapons, food, and many other resources needed for a war to the other duchies. In simple words, Icefair was the oil that keeps the war between the others running.
As they approached, large groups of travelers could be seen on the roads beneath them on the ground. As far as the eye could see, various types of people such as merchants, mercenaries, commoners, and nobles could be seen sharing the roads.
When the city walls appeared in their sight, Michael, Gaya, and Nightmare descended from the sky to the ground. As usual, at the gates, several soldiers were standing in a line. They were there to make sure every single soul is paid an entrance toll before entry. After paying that entrance toll, entry to the city would be given without trouble. While standing in a line, Michael could feel many eyes landing on him and Nightmare on his shoulder yet no one openly approached him. He also saw some of the merchants paying more than the entry fee to avoid the forceful inspection of their goods.
The soldiers were agitated to see the dragon but they quickly regained their composure. After witnessing them taking bribes and forcefully inspecting the goods of those who didn't bribe them, he understood what kind of soldiers they were. They were the type who loved to bully but couldn't stand to be bullied in return. Knowing that anyone who had a dragon for a pet would not be of ordinary stature, the soldiers didn't dare trouble Michael and Gaya. Hence, Michael's group was easily able to enter the city without any hindrance.
Entering the city, Michael looked around the place with observing eyes. Unlike Flamefair, Icefair streets were filled with people of all classes. A group of workers was constantly shoveling the snow away from the streets to make life easier for caravans and the people. The white marble stone used to construct the majority of the buildings on each side of the street gave a unique charm to the city as the occasional frozen water fountains and white maple trees enhanced the beauty even further.
"The auction won't start for another two days, let's find an inn and eat. I'm starving"
"How could you starve? The Arch energy will keep your body sustained"
"Alright, no more meat for you then" She flicked Nightmare's head as the little dragon quickly shouted
"No!" Nightmare feared that he wouldn't get any more of those delicious juicy mean Ghost was giving him.
"Im surrounded by two gluttonous creatures" It wasn't hard to find an inn when he could let Gaya and Nightmare follow the scent of Ale and food.
Arriving at a rather decent inn within the city, Michael booked a room before the inn could run out of rooms to rent.
"I wish we could open restaurants in every city we go and make Raylene cook for us there" Michael did not even sit on the bed to relax before she started to rush him. With a sigh, he followed her to the downstairs where they were serving plenty of local delicacies. Although these dishes couldn't hold a torch to Raylene's cooking, a warm meal in the winter had to be appreciated.
Seated right next to Michael, Nightmare devoured a platter of roasted meat with the grace of king much to the curiosity of everyone else around them.
Michael was enjoying his salad and the warm glass of water with a smile. The reason for his smile was not the salad, it was because he was receiving badass points constantly ever since he entered the inn with a dragon.
"What a majestic creature"
"Do you know what family that young man is from?"
"I have never seen him in Icefair before"
"Who do I feel like I know of him from somewhere?"
The three of them completely ignored the chattering around them.
Looking at the dragon, many young misses in the inn let out a depressed sigh. They stared at the dragon with a look of envy on their faces.
"Waiter, bring me another plate of this roast"
"Coming right up, Miss"
Gaya didn't even bother to look up to see Michael's reaction as she continued to eat the platter of food in front of her. The rate at which the food was devoured was almost as she had been starved for several days.
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