Arriving in Everrain

Currently, Leo was leading the front seat that manned the vehicle's movement and direction. After around the dozenth-ish time when Sarah nearly crashed into a random obstacle, Alex and Judy kindly, but firmly, convinced their friend to allow Leo to drive for the rest of the trip.

The carrier, which still remains nameless for now because the members haven't yet decided on what to call it, moved through the roadway leading into Everrain. As they approached closer, they spotted an entrance way that was guarded by two warriors wielding prominent spears standing on opposite sides.

These warriors were wearing armor that had an insignia marked on its design which served to denote the organization they were a part of. Most likely it was a security force that resided in the city.

"Stop!" One of the warriors raised a hand to halt the carrier with a serious expression. "State your business and identification."

The warrior on the other side had his eyebrows raised as he stared openly at the strange-looking carriage which the team apparently travelled in.

Leo reached his hand back near the middle seats and retrieved the quest notice from Alex. Presenting it to the guards, he explained their group's purpose.

"We are adventurers from Victoria City who have assembled here on the behest of an employer."

"Ah, I see!" the one guard exclaimed in understanding. "You must be the ones hired by that researcher."

After a few more rounds of discussion, and a little bit of interrogation for further confirmation, Leo and his friends were finally allowed passage.

Behind their carrier, the two guards were speaking to each other in curious tones.

"Do you know what they were riding in?" the other guard who hadn't spoken earlier asked.

"No clue," the guard beside him shrugged. "Anyway, it's none of our concern. Let's hope they can handle the task of looking after that person."

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The city of Everrain was founded by a group of refugees who had escaped one of the lasting civil wars induced by the chaos of the Great Change. It was initially intended to be a safe haven for those wishing to avoid violence, and its residents later came to specialize in water magic to take full advantage of this location's magical influence. When the conflicts in Bavalon finally died down, the entire city was able to remain unscathed thanks to the rigorous protection committed by its citizens.

Despite being situated closer to the country's periphery, this is a land that holds formidable authority acknowledged by the other powers within Bavalon.

As of this moment, Leo's carrier was navigating through the city's sections. They were trying to follow the directions that came with the notice which would lead them to their current employer.

The streets near the entrance looked very similar to those in Victoria City. But as one got deeper inside, they soon found themselves encountering several waterways that interconnected into a large network throughout all of Everrain, leading to different bodies of water scattered in the enormous territory. The above surface of these networks were also very still, showing barely any signs of ripples. No doubt these were designed as both a form of transformation and a drainage system for the weather effects in the city.

The first waterways that the team came across ran parallel to the streets that Leo's carrier was driving over. Upon following the directions of the quest notice, the group eventually had to enter areas of the city where the streets and waterways converged, making further travel requiring the aid of boats. This urban design of Everrain was one of the reasons why it earned the moniker of the City of Water.

Along the edges of this network, small canoes could be seen anchored to several pole railings lining near the sides, ready for boarding. In replacement of carriages, this city used a particular mode of transportation for its residents. On top of each canoe was an individual that appeared to be responsible for carrying passengers across the waterways, most likely for a certain fee.

"Good thing we don't have to pay for one of those," Judy stated contently. "Your idea really is quite helpful for saving money."

"Thanks," Leo replied in appreciation.

They were both referring to the carrier, which of course just so happened to be equipped with another transformation. Before coming here, during the relatively safe trip, Leo was able to brief his team on some of the additional functions he added to make his invention more suitable for adventuring.

Now was a perfect time to demonstrate it.

The carrier suddenly sped up toward the waters, startling some of the people on the canoes as they had been half-expecting this four-person group to stop and pay for a ride. Just when the carrier was about to fall, eliciting some cries of concern from the canoe drivers, it quickly started transforming.

The six wheels below suddenly merged into the rest of the vehicle, causing the bottom half to distort in shape and become more streamlined. The upper layer of the vehicle also elongated slightly in order to match the rest of the bottom shape, with small fences erecting out near the borders to provide extra precaution for its passengers. When the carrier finally dipped into the waterway, it became a makeshift boat that allowed the adventurers to calmly tread on the water as they continued following the destination outlined by their quest employer.

"This is really quite efficient," Alex praised. "But the researcher guy isn't making this very easy for us."

The fact that, if they didn't have Leo's invention on the way, they would likely have to waste some money on the transportation fees in this city.

"At least this researcher left us some details about this place," Sarah remarked as she recalled the contents listed as a part of their quest. "Hmm, maybe that's why it hadn't been accepted by other adventurers in the guild."

"You just realized that now?" Alex couldn't help but comment.

"Well whatever the case, let's hope this guy won't be too difficult to get along with," Judy gave her own statement. "I hate quest givers who aren't very cooperative."

Considering that they'll be attending the researcher to explore a new region in Everrain, it would reflect badly on their team if they accidentally allow him or her to end up dying because the latter was being too careless.

"Let's hope not," Leo agreed, actually a little curious about this issue.

'These guys have been adventurers longer than I have-- I wonder if they actually once encountered the situations Judy mentioned.'

----------

The time was currently around noon, and so far, there wasn't a sign of any weather in the cloudless sky. However, Leo had heard that visitors shouldn't rely on their observations to determine the periods of rain that would occur in this city.

The group moved through various winding paths as they treaded above the water on their makeshift boat, attracting similar attentive stares from the passersby as they did in Victoria City. After taking numerous turns, they finally found the home listed in their notice.

"This is the place?" Alex asked his teammates once their newly formed vessel stopped on the waterway.

"Seems to be." Leo took another look back at the quest notice which had led them here. "The address matches."

He eventually set his carrier right next to the waterway's edge, conjuring two ropes with a spell to tie its fences next to a pole railing lined at the side. Everyone eventually got off in an unsteady fashion as they haven't had too much experience departing a floating vessel, even one situated on steady water.

"Someone should probably stay behind, in case any theft could happen," Alex suggested.

"Is there a need to?" Leo looked back and observed his surroundings. "I don't think the security here should be too lacking."

Although he hadn't been here that long, his impression of Everrain is that it seemed to be quite orderly.

"I just think it'll be better to be safe than sorry." Alex shrugged. "You can never really know the inner workings of a new city."

"Guess you have a point..."

The team gathered to make a brief discussion on who should be left behind. In the end, after an enthusiastic volunteering, Sarah was left to manage the transformed carrier. She eagerly sat back in the same seat that Leo usually occupied to steer.

"Take care guys!" Sarah sent them off even though they would only be gone for a few moments.

'I hope it'll go okay,' Leo thought with some apprehension as the rest went over to meet the researcher.

These thoughts extended not just to the mission, but also to Sarah's eccentric tendencies.

Striding up to a building, the house which Leo and his friends faced appeared to be quite sizeable and forthcoming. It was three stories tall and looked to be constructed out of solid wood. The walls were painted in blue, with the above tiles on the roof colored in contrasting red. If one had an eagle-eye view, they would be able to observe a complex drainage system connected around the rooftop that was unique to those in Everrain. Evidently, this served to help redirect the flow of rainwater that came frequently in this city.

On first glance, the residence seemed to be well maintained, but as the group stepped closer to the door, they noticed signs of wear on the walls. Leo also noted that all the windows that they've seen were completely covered from the inside by a set of brown curtains.