In the Endalsian capital of old, there were four main roads that branched out from the royal castle at the center, and smaller streets intersecting those roads had been developed in a pattern of concentric circles. Surrounding the castle walls was a path roughly as broad as the main roads, from which the circular streets fanned out to reach all the way to Endalsia’s outermost ramparts. The townscape had changed in two hundred years, but it looked as though the roads were still being used as before.
There was no trace of the royal castle that was once visible from any point within the Endalsian capital; nowadays, it was said to open up into the entrance to the Labyrinth. The castle walls that had once protected the royal family had been repaired and now protected the general population by preventing monsters from flooding out of the Labyrinth.
The breadbasket region to the northwest of the Labyrinth City still boasted plenty of farmland despite having shrunk as a result of the Fell Forest’s encroachment, and as such, a large part of the population lived within the City’s northwestern district. Incidentally, this region had received the most damage from the Stampede, since the monster horde encountered nothing to block its way as it engulfed the entirety of the grain-producing lands in an instant, and the outer ramparts there were the first to be breached. The buildings here had been completely destroyed when the monsters surged into the capital.
The aristocratic district to the southeast remained unchanged save for a mansion built for the family of Margrave Schutzenwald, who governed the Labyrinth City. This district was the closest to the mountain range; the road through the mountains was precipitous and unsuitable for caravan traffic or large numbers of people, but its proximity to the city itself made it easy to escape to in an emergency—hence why it became the aristocratic quarter, or so it was said.
The Black Iron Freight Corps’s carriages entered the southwest side of the city through the former Citadel’s large gate. After traveling along a main road to the city center, they turned west onto one of the circling streets near the Labyrinth and eventually reached the northeast district.
This section of the city also commanded a view of the mountain range on the other side of the forest. The mountains had mines that produced an abundance of mineral resources. The highway going through them was treacherous here as well; carriages couldn’t traverse it, but this path was safer than the one in the southeast mountains, so people used it mainly to travel to other countries without encountering monsters.
For this very reason, it was a popular spot for merchants who peddled resources from the Labyrinth and the mines, and the Labyrinth City flourished. The partially destroyed Endalsian structures were demolished, and the massive warehouses of mercantile companies lined the city’s perimeter near the mountain range. The Labyrinth side of the city center was home to a variety of thriving business establishments that catered to adventurers, such as shops, restaurants, lodging, and an Adventurers Guild.
Every single structure rebuilt after the Stampede had apparently been designed with fortresslike defenses in mind.
The cargo’s destination appeared to be in a relatively nice location near the Labyrinth, and they arrived at a rear entrance after entering a side street. The double doors at the back of the building were bigger than those in the front, enough to allow three carriages to enter and unload in the courtyard.
The structure at the front of the courtyard seemed to be some sort of commercial establishment, flanked on either side by sectioned-off animal enclosures, a carriage storehouse, and a place for washing up.
The three iron carriages were guided inside and halted next to one another.
A strapping gentleman who appeared to be the supervisor emerged from the back entrance. He was accompanied by two of his lackeys, along with several servants and male guards. With an account book in one hand, he began to talk business with Captain Dick and Lieutenant Malraux.
Five members of the Black Iron Freight Corps disembarked from the coach boxes and unhooked the raptors from the carriages. A young boy took the bit of the raptor the captain had been riding, whistled sharply, and walked toward the enclosures.
The typically temperamental raptor obediently let the boy lead it on, and the other raptors followed after them in turn.
“Yuric is an animal trainer. Amazing, right? Let’s go.”
Led by Lynx, Mariela followed the raptors and found that the building was indeed for housing livestock. A man who looked to be the caretaker was waiting there with food and water, and Lynx informed her that this was the man who tended to the raptors exhausted from darting through the Fell Forest without any rest.
“Not a whole lotta places provide food for them. Mr. Reymond is a generous man.”
Because the enclosures were for guest use, there were no other mounts inside. In a routine fashion, Yuric secured the raptors and gave them the meat and water Reymond had prepared for them.
In contrast, the caretaker appeared decidedly fearful as he made sure to push the feed trays far away from himself after filling them.
“GYARGYAR!”
“Eek!”
Water spilled onto one of the raptors, and it barked a complaint, causing the caretaker to shriek.
“There, there, why so angry? I’ll give ya some more, mkay? I know ya need it.”
Yuric spoke with a slight accent, and when he stroked the raptor’s snout, it immediately turned docile. He asked the caretaker for more water, and the flustered man held his hands over the bucket.
“Water.”
Using lifestyle magic, Reymond filled the bucket to the brim with plain water. He would have been better off pouring it straight into the raptor’s trough instead of over on the other end of the enclosure, but perhaps Yuric figured it was pointless to complain to a man staring at the ground to avoid eye contact. Instead, he silently carried the bucket to the raptors and poured it into one of the troughs.
“’Ey, Lynx, couldja give me a hand?”
“No prob.”
Yuric was about fifteen or sixteen, and Lynx was no more than a year or two older. The two young men so close in age seemed to be good friends. Lynx delivered meat to the remaining unfed raptors.
“Mariela, you want to try it? They’re greedy little rascals, but they ain’t gonna bite you.”
Lynx offered her the bowl of feed.
“’Course they won’t. My trainin’ is perfect, y’know?” boasted Yuric as he continued to stroke the raptor. His curt behavior toward the caretaker had completely changed as he now gazed tenderly at the reptilian creature.
Mariela inspected the raptors. Frightening carnivorous beasts though they may be, there was something endearing about the way they single-mindedly devoured their meat. Maybe if she made friends with one, it would let her pet its glossy skin.