First Time in Mifis

Mifis itself could only be called the Las Vegas of Partha. Mifis stretched for many miles, but lying in the center was a bustling urban city. Buildings were packed as tight as sardines in a can, meanwhile, the streets were narrow. This meant the streets of Mifis, which were packed full of natives, tourists, and Coalition people always looked like a never-ending stream of people.

Even the city itself looked like a giant star as hundreds of lights lit up the dark cold desert. It appeased the eye like a shiny glint in dark murky water. Since so many visitors and tourists came to the main part of Mifis every day, hundreds of inns, casinos, restaurants, etc littered the narrow streets.

However, all this came with a price, which was the fact that building a giant wall to protect the urban city was impossible. This was mostly due to the fact that the urban pocket was constantly expanding and continued to eat land, as it spread outwards. Although, this made the lives of the city guards miserable, as they were spread thin. The city itself did not lack soldiers and security as it harbored a brigade of soldiers around 1500 strong, although the number sounded daunting it was but a mere speck of dust compared to a stronghold that had border risks like Orisini or Legas.

Leon rode his horse closer to the stronghold and hit a bomb of sensations that voraciously attacked his senses. Delicious smells, that could seduce any hungry patron, poured out from the various vendors and restaurants. Bright lights from the various oil lit or magic core lamps popped out at a person's eyes, while the constant buzz of people talking, laughing, promoting, and shouting ringed in Leon's ears.

As Leon stood on the road with his mouth agape, waves of people streamed past him as they entered the crowded streets of the city.

A person accidentally bumped into Leon on his horse and scowled at him.

"If you're going to just stand there, don't do it in the middle of the main road! What an idiot."

Although the man was right, the way he had talked to Leon was nothing short of rude, but Leon had no intentions of stirring trouble and merely put on a thick skin. With a kick to the side, Leon's horse started to once again traverse down the packed road leading into the city.

Even though the distance between the front entrance and Leon was minute, due to the number of people attempting to enter the city. It took Leon almost ten minutes as the mob of people slowly walked their way into the packed and lively city.

As Leon moved closer to the city, he saw dozens of make-shift stables outside the entrance of the city and a stable boy approached him.

"Ello sir, would you like to store yer horse?"

Leon raised an eyebrow in confusion at why there were so many stables outside the city, but luckily for him, the stable boy saw his confusion.

"First-time here?"

Leon shook his head before the stable boy continued.

"Ridin a horse would be fine in any city, but Mifis. But here, the streets are too narrow and packed to accommodate horses, so the city hires people to set up makeshift stables to take horses off, people."

Nodding, Leon thought this was a reasonable explanation.

"So how does this work and how much is this gonna cost me?"

The stable boy put on his most amicable voice.

"We take your horse for however long you stay in Mifis and when you want it back you can come to claim your horse. We will only charge 5 bronze coins each day we hold your horse."

It sounded harmless, but Leon knew that it could add up very fast after Mifis seduced a person to stay with its casino's, entertainment, and nightlife. However, he didn't have any other choice, so he just sighed and gestured for the stable boy to lead the way.

"Follow me!"

As the stable boy turned the other way to walk towards the stable, his face lit up as he gained extra pay each time he brought a new customer in. Leon trotted to the stable and sorted out the paperwork.

By now the moon has replaced the sun in the dark sky, most cities were quiet as their residents slept in anticipation of the next day. Mifis on the other hand was not most cities. The city at night was as lively as it was during the day, some who visited even said that Mifis never slept.

Any person would be skeptical at some point. A city that never slept? It sounds doubtful at first, but even Leon couldn't refute as he entered the city. Instantly the moment he entered the streets a barrage of voices blasted towards the crowd.

"Get your delicious fried lizard for cheap! Only 20 bronze pieces!"

"Get your trinkets, get your trinkets! Magic trinkets for cheap!"

"Need a guide? Come to my shop just behind me!"

"Selling weapons and armor at the blacksmith just up the street! Premium equipment, quality guaranteed!"

"Fresh fruit! Grown locally, size guaranteed!"

Leon wanted to stop to observe all the voices, but the wave of walked pedestrians pushed him forward like a tidal wave.

'What's going onnnn!'

Reverberated throughout Leon's mind, seeing the wave not relent for a single second. Leon had to forcibly push himself with his strength to even squeeze himself to the side of the road, when he finally could stand still in one spot he wiped the sweat off his brow.

'Whew, that's a lot tougher than you would think it'd be'

Finally being able to stop and take a pause, Leon took a look at his surrounding. Although a crowd of people had plugged the streets, Leon was a tall person and could easily see everything around him if he stood normally.

At the moment, Leon didn't have any exact goals, but he eventually decided on his first course of action.

'I guess finding a room first would be best…'

With a goal in mind, Leon had to first find an inn that had an open room. A normal person might think that would be an easy feat to accomplish, but their words would be forced down their own throats if they tried it in Mifis. There was no lack of inns as Leon could see at least three from where he had stopped, but whether they had open rooms was doubtful at best.

While pushing past countless people, Leon visited each inn and asked the same question.

"Are there any rooms available?"

All he got were the answers that he expected.

"You gotta be crazy young man, there hasn't been an availability here since last week.

"Sorry lad, any room that somehow opens up is instantly snatched up. The last one was about four hours ago."

"We are fully booked for the month, sorry."

Even though the three inns were massive, none had room. Mifis was huge and Leon didn't think there was nowhere to sleep, but it seemed like Leon would have to really search the city to find one.

After another hour of fruitless searching, Leon had entered the more unsavory parts of Mifis. Like all other cities, Mifis wasn't a perfect place. Where Leon had entered would be considered the wealthy and clean parts of the city, now his surroundings had gotten more dirty and dull.

Homeless people who had most likely lost all their money gambling in casinos were scattered everywhere as their rags for clothes gave off a foul odor, that would make any normal person throw up. Stray dogs and cats lounged around and occasionally fought among themselves for scraps.

Some rough-looking escorts stood near shadowy areas. Men with various gang tags walked around as they messed around and occasionally fought opposing gangs.

This part of Mifis was one that most people would stay away from, but this was good for Leon as the inns here would most likely have rooms. While Leon could continue to look at the more wealthy parts of town, he decided to find the cleanest-looking inn and went in for a room.

After buying a room for a whole week, it only cost him 60 bronze coins. The price for the room was incredibly cheap due to the fact that it was located in an undesirable part of the city where pickpockets, homeless people, drunks, escorts, and even gangs lived in. Some people, like Leon, decided to take their chances in living in the undesirable parts of town while spending their day in the better parts of the city.

As Leon opened the front door of the small inn that he had ended up choosing, he instantly smelled a foul odor that assaulted his nose. Looking to his left, Leon could see a homeless man who had passed out in a puddle of his own puke.

Pinching his nose, Leon started walking towards the better parts of the city and decided it would be better to decide his next course of action somewhere with no puke present.

'I guess even Mifis has its own issues.'