Ch21.Getting some Information.

After making my way to the Information Hub, I see a large building that looks a lot like a Rubik's Cube there are various entrances all around the building and on different levels too, with a floating step that you can pay to take you to a higher floor, basically the richer you are the higher leveled floor you can access.

I obviously wont waste my time on something as stupid as 'status', If the higher floors offer more information I may consider going there but I will first try the cheapest option. I enter the door at the left side of the building that has the least amount of people entering and exiting. As I walk through the door I see a long row of counters with somebody behind each counter, I walk up to an empty counter, the lady behind the desk asks me "What can I do for you … Sir ...".

I just lean forward with my arms against the counter and reply "I would like to get some information, I am not sure I am at the right place but I was told to come here…"

The lady smiled a little at my obviously immature voice, "uhem … well you have definitely come to the right place, my name is Storfetta, you can just call me Sto, what would you like to know?"

I reply, "Well there is a lot I want to find out, but before I ask, I need to know if the information costs any money and if there are any limitations to the information I can inquire about."

Sto gets into a more professional stance having recovered from 'me' and replies "Well, general information about this Town, 'Grawd Town', is mostly free, If you want information about other towns or cities, the price increases the further away the Town. As for limitations, we don't supply information about specific people or anything regarding Intermediate and above magic, nor anything illegal"

She just smiles after that and waits for my response, I go into contemplation thinking about what all I should ask. I don't need to ask too much as I am sure I can acquire more advanced information when I enter an academy, so I will just ask a few basic questions that have been bugging me a lot lately.

I ask, "Ok, so I first want to know about what that glowing platform at the entrance to the town is, what it does and if that is something common in each Town and City? Next I want to know if there is any place around here where I can buy a Carriage, is there is a place that can custom build one for me and if so how long would that take about … Next ..."

Sto quickly interrupted me as I was getting into the rhythm of pointing out everything I want to know and stated, "One question at a time please, there is no rush and it is hard to keep track of all your questions."

She then cleared her throat and stated; "That 'Glowing' platform at the entrance gate is called an Identity Scanner and it scans each person to see if they are a wanted criminal or if they are carrying any dangerous and banned items on them. It is just a precaution to keep unwanted people out of the town and keep track of everyone entering and exiting the town, and yes, there is one at the entrance of every major town and City."

She then took a breath and activated a rune on her desk, after looking at it for a while she then said "There are a few places to buy Carriages in town, but only one that does custom builds and they can complete a build in one day if you have enough money, it is called 'Best Build' and is located at the far right side of town. The building looks like a giant carriage, so it should be hard to miss. Now is there anything else you would like to know..."

I quickly take out a pen and paper from my pocket and quickly write down what she said just to remind myself, then ask "Yeah do you know where I can get a Map, one as large as possible and can you give me a brief summary of the different Races, I have seen quite a few people on the way that look like animals I have never seen or heard anything like that before!?" I have an expectant look on my face as I ask this. Even though I am pretty sure most of the races are similar to what I have seen in movies and fantasy novels, I want to know the exact situation and their names.

Sto seems a bit surprised at that question but professionally replies, "You can buy a map from me but I only have one of the surrounding Towns and a few Cities, now that other question will cost you quite a bit, depending on how detailed you want the information to be, it can range from 99 Silver to 1000 Gold, now how detailed do you want it to be?"

I thought for a bit, I don't need too much information as it is just to quench my current curiosity, I don't actually 'Need' to know this information, so I handed her the money saying, "I will go for the cheapest option of 99 Silver, and I will also get the map as long as it will show me the way to the nearest Academy City.".

Sto seemed to expect this answer and had already gained the information from the Rune on her table, after handing me the map, she replied "Ok so for that I can only give you a very basic summary of the Racial situation in our Country ..."

"Our Country is a Human based country, so although we get quite a few tourists and merchants from Countries of the other Races, we don't have a large population of any other races living here. The only other races that have moved here are some of the Dwarf races such as the Grey, Dark and Metal Dwarves, the Elf Races, but only the Wood and Pure Elves tend to live here and lastly we have a few Nomadic races such as the Hobbits, Barbarians, Beastmen and a few Avians ..."

Sto went on a bit on those races and certain characteristics and specifics regarding them, she didn't provide any detailed information, but the basic summary provided was enough for me to gain a basic understanding that there are many countries surrounding the one I am currently in, and only a small portion of those are human run. Most of them are run by a variety of different racial groups, but from what I can gather, there doesn't seem to be much racial tension or 'Hatred' that was described in most of the novels I have read. I don't have enough information regarding this so I probably shouldn't jump to conclusions though.

Now that I have a map to Academy city, it is time for me to get an awesome ride and maybe rob a few people before I leave, who knows I may find some easy targets...