[Function Unlocked... Opening channel]

[Hero Summon - 1000 Renown]

Staring dumbfounded at the screen, Bramm could not help but curse and shout at the information he had just been given.

"Wasting a thousand renown just to unlock it! You mother..." Bramm took deep breaths to calm his anger.

"Damn, that’s stupid!" He stroked his beard and calmed down. "If this is a feature, do I have to buy the unlock before recruiting higher-tier warriors?"

He sat down on his porch and took a huff from his putty, staring into the blue of the sky.

"Should I summon a True Red or wait for a Hero summon?" He faced a dilemma: he now had only 450 renown remaining after the unlock and couldn’t even buy a Dark Red Militiaman.

"It would probably make sense to wait for a Hero summon, right? I mean, two Light Reds might be able to advance to Dark Red in the time that I gather the renown for a Hero, but they’ll be locked at the end of Red...mhmm."

"If I put it like that... there’s really no need to think otherwise, huh. I’ll just wait until I have enough renown to summon a hero."

With a destination and goal in mind, Bramm smiled gleefully and made his way down towards the cabins at the lower end of the clearing. One cabin had already been built for Mestin, and the others, another one had been built halfway and still needed to be finished.

’I guess, whilst the boys are out I won’t be able to earn much renown... so let’s get to business then whilst we wait.’

Grabbing his axe, he went to continue building the newest addition to the clearing.

***

Meanwhile, the group of three had travelled for the better part of the day and had neared the city later in the evening. Their trip had been mostly uneventful; only a few wild beasts were seen during the whole route.

As they approached the gates of the city, both Mestin and Telarin could not help but stare at the entrance. The gates carved into the cliffside were a sight to behold.

They were, however, not able to take in much of the sight when a voice called out to them, "You there! Halt!"

The group came to a stop just before the great white gates. Resven standing before the cart, Mestin pulling the cart, and Telarin to the sides.

’The gate guards?’ Resven scrutinised and realised when he saw the colors of the city guards. They wore the traditional white and sky blue of the guards, but the man in the lead did not have a great shield as the others did.

He stood out amongst the group of guards, sword strapped to his hip, a plume helmet of blue feathers on his head, and a light blue cape falling off his shoulders, almost reaching the ground.

The man was large, larger than Resven and around Telarin’s height, though he still did not compare to the mountain-like stature of Mestin, who Resven could swear had the blood of giants running in him.

"State your business and affiliation!" the man in the lead spoke up, his voice ringing out in the open air with a firm authority.

Resven took a moment to gaze around, and it was then that he realised, ’There are more guards on duty, even more heavily armed. Did something happen?’

’Well, no need to antagonise the man,’ he thought silently, and with a flash, he smiled.

"We are here to trade..." he gestured to the cart full of goods, which had been blanketed closed for privacy before his attention returned to the leader, "As for our affiliation... we are from House Osric, a small house living between the mountains."

"The mountains aye?" The leader gave the cart full of goods a curt glance before his attention drifted to each member of the group, his eyes lingering on the Mestin for a moment.

"Didn’t know there were nobles still living out in the mountains nowadays." He eyes Resven sceptically. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Aye, we do. We’re few in numbers and have not been living there for long, but we are there," Resven nodded along.

"Mhmm, House Osric, huh? Well then, I welcome such guests into the city of tides." The man took a step to the side and gestured for Resven to continue onward.

After making sure the group had ventured far enough from the gates, Resven spoke over his shoulder to Mestin and Telarin, "The city seems to be on guard, the gates are more heavily guarded than the last time I was here. Keep your guard up and let’s move, the sooner we get this done, the better."

With a world-weary sigh, he turned and headed for the market district. When he visited the city last time, he had made sure to make note of the important businesses and their trades, and without a doubt, he could not think of a better one than what the halfling known as Balkas Wiseglide ran, and that made him sigh in defeat.

It took them a few moments to eventually reach the market area, and he quickly brought them over to the shop. "Wait here, I’ll be back in a moment... hopefully," he sighed wistfully.

The shop bell rang out when he opened the door, and from behind the counter, he could hear the voice of the man, "I’ll be right there!"

’Here we go, deep breaths, deep breaths.’ Resven stood to the side, waiting for the man to appear.

"Ah! A returning customer! Welcome back, welcome back! A sight for sore eyes, truly—and just in time, too. I’ve recently come into a few curiosities that practically scream your name. Now, what can old Balkas do for you today? Looking for something specific, or just here to see what wonders I’ve managed to tuck away on these shelves?"

"Mhmm, I’ll want to sell some juvenile Barbed Lynxes materials. Came across a pack the better part of three days back, and the townsfolk tell me you’re the man to speak to."