For those of you reading this, sorry if you're getting a little tired of Ike's POV. I'm focusing so strongly on it for the time being because it should be obvious other characters know things he does not, and I'd like to keep those things secrets for a bit. Bear with me! It won't be this way forever.
Chapter 3: The Capitol of Crimea
Ike:
It had been several days since Father had been gone to the Capitol, and he arrived early one Thursday afternoon.
"Pack your bags, everyone!" he had announced. "We're setting out for Melior first thing tomorrow morning. I have a nice little villa squared away for us in the business district." Everyone had nodded and set to packing up supplies for the voyage. My father had found Titania, asking her about how business had been while he was away. After they'd finished their chat, I made haste to speak with my father.
"Father!" I'd practically yelled.
"Hmm? What is it, Ike? Shouldn't you be packing?" he inquired.
"I've been packed for days," I breathed. "What happened in Melior? How did you just come across a villa big enough for all of us?"
Father merely smirked and turned on his heel to finish preparations. "That should be the least of your concerns, Ike," he stated, while closing the door to his office. I'd let out a sigh and set to packing up the general supplies we'd need. We were packing up all of our foods, health supplies, and weapons, so we wouldn't have to buy anything for the first few weeks, but I knew we would have plenty of markets to choose from in the Capitol. After several hours of packing, we'd packed up everything we would need for the voyage, and I turned in for an early rest.
The next morning was bright and early, and I said nothing to anyone as we hiked to the capitol city. I was curious as to what this enigmatic group's plans were, but I felt ominous about the situation at the same time. I was also dreading the packed, busy life of living in the city. I'd never been to a larger city before, nor lived in one, but I'd heard stories the others had told me, and I doubted that sort of lifestyle was hardly for me. Still, I had to honor my father's wishes, and this strange group was no doubt a threat.
Boyd planted himself next me shortly after we'd begun the hike. "So, Ike, looking forward to big city life?" he inquired.
"Not particularly," I'd answered, "but I am interested to learn more about this group."
"Yeah, same here, and it'll be a nice change of pace. Country life gets a little boring sometimes. We could hit up bars and taverns, meet new people, and have some actual fun!"
"Boyd, this trip isn't about fun. We could all be in danger."
"Aww, come on, Ike. Lighten up a little. You're like an old man in a young man's body," Boyd had stated teasingly. I ignored his last comment, and we continued on in silence. After several hours of hiking and a few pit stops, we'd reached the sprawling metropolis of Melior. It was indeed a large city. I'd never seen a city so big, to be honest. It stretched for miles in all directions, and the expanse was surrounded by massive walls of solid, white brick. Further past the outer walls, I could make out the silhouettes of castle towers in the distance where the royal family and court lived and held meetings.
We were greeted by a guard just outside the massive, wooden city gate, and my father approached. "Hello, do you have business in Melior today?" the guard had asked my father.
"Yes, this should explain enough," my father had stated, handing the guard a document with an official looking seal on the front.
"Very well, I'll prepare an escort to show you to your villa, Master Greil," the guard stated, trotting off to find an available guard. I was curious about what was on that document and where it had came from, but my father had stowed it away in his pack before I could get a peek. Another guard appeared and instructed us to follow him. He led us through the city gates and down a busy, main cobblestone street, which was flooded with an assortment of people conversing and trading with one another. Many people stepped aside to let us pass, and I met many curious glances from the crowd. Many people were dressed in fancy, dress clothes or ragged commoner garb. A group of armored mercenaries, with horses and mules packed with supplies must have stuck out in a sore thumb in a place like this. Did mercenaries even exist in a large city such as this.
After several turns throughout the city, we finally reached a wide thoroughfare with numerous buildings labeled with wooden business signs adorning the streets. I glanced at the buildings taking in all the different types of establishments the city had to offer. There were taverns on just about every street corner, with odd names such as "The Rustic Dragon" and "The Red River", there were different types of bakeries and food markets that sold anything from fresh baked bread and pastries to live squid, there were banks, smithies, general goods stores, and even flower shops, and there were even a few mercenary groups up and down the street, as well as other, countless businesses, which I never knew had existed.
After we'd followed the guard quit a ways, we'd reached a quieter part of the street, where there were fewer businesses and more residential-styled buildings. We reached massive villa with off-white bricks and wooden trim around the building, and the guard announced, "Here you are." He then set off back towards the front gate, and father pulled out a key to the front door. The villa was massive for a city dwelling, even though it paled in comparison to the Fort, standing four stories high, with a massive, brick fence running along the side of the villa and ensnaring a large backyard area. My father opened the door and instructed Titania and Oscar to take the horses and mules around back and tie them up. He instructed Boyd, Sothe, Rolf, Mist, Rhys, and I to help with the unpacking of the supplies on the animals and set them up in the villa.
"Soren, you come with me," he instructed, and he in Soren disappeared into the villa. My curiosity only grew with my father singling Soren out and not to mention, the mere size of the villa itself. How in the world had my father procured a dwelling like this? The Greil Mercenaries wasn't a wealthy group of mercenaries, to say at the least, and unless my father had secretly stashed money away, I couldn't think of anything that would just drop a villa like this right in his lap. I decided now was not the time to worry, and I set to unloaded the supplies off of the mules and unpacking them in the supply rooms on the first floor. Behind the villa, was a small barn to keep the mules and horses in peacefully, and inside the villa was even more impressive. There was a grand foyer for social gatherings, adorned with several comfortable looking chairs and sofas, and a large dining table, that looked fit to seat us all. There was a cut-out rectangular slot in the back wall, where you could see directly into the kitchen, which actually had a working fire oven, an ice room, and a mechanism to make bread, as well as a faucet which ran water directly from the pump in the backyard.
There were three supply rooms on the first floor alone, and after the unpacking had been finished, I set to exploring the upper floors. The top three stories were mostly bedrooms; I'd lost count after I'd reached the third floor. There were also several studies and common, lounging rooms on each floor, as well as indoor bathrooms. How bizarre. City folk didn't use outhouses?
I descended the stairs and found Titania setting up decorations in the main foyer. I found my bag of personal belongings on the dining table and turned to Titania, asking her, "Where's my father?"
"He's still in a meeting with Soren. He's told me to tell you to pick out any room you like and settle in your belongings. Mist and Oscar are preparing dinner, and Rhys is out back tending to the animals. If you need something to do, there's plenty of help needed," she answered.
"Understood," I stated and headed directly up the stairs to pick out a suitable room. I'd found a few rooms on the second and third floors that already had name tags out on the doors, so those had been claimed. I ventured up to the fourth floor and found that no one had claimed a room all the way up here. I found a room at the end of the hall, with a window view of the backyard and claimed it as my own. After I'd put all my things away and set up a name tag on the door, I headed down to the first floor and shuffled out back to help Rhys feed the animals. After a few hours, it was dinner time, and Mist called all of us to the dining table. I settled between Boyd and Soren and glanced at my father at the head of the table.
"Alright everyone," he began, clearing his throat. "I have a few things to go over. We'll be staying here in Melior indefinitely until we learn if this group is a genuine threat or not, and we'll be calling this villa home until then. I assume all of you have claimed rooms and set up everything where it needs to be, but I have something to inform you that I've recently decided. I think to better acclimate to the environment and learn more about this group, I think we should branch out within the city," he spoke, pausing for a moment. "I'm going to be temporarily disbanding the company until further notice. I want all of you to seek employment in other places around the city, as widespread as possible to learn more from different people. You'll still be getting paid by me for what you learn, and you'll be able to keep whatever wages you earn at your place of work. Now, if any of you object to this, you're free to leave the company and go wherever it is you may want, but you're also welcome to stay here and call this place home, whether you help out with information or not. For those of you accustomed to mercenary work like myself, there are still plenty of mercenary companies in the city to work for, but I do not want more than one person being employed at any given place of work, understood? I apologize for the harsh news, but I've been thinking, and this will be the best way to ensure we spread out enough to learn as much as we can, thank you. Please enjoy your meals."
A wave of silence washed over the table, as no one knew how to respond or what to think of the news, including myself, and a few people began eating their meals. I reluctantly started eating, brainstorming what I should do about this situation. No one commented on my father's speech after that, and dinner was dismissed. I excused myself to my room and collapsed in turmoil and exhaustion until morning came.
