Author's Note:

I'm going to be extending Shaenlir a bit, since it didn't seem right that Ean could just randomly find the servant's clothes and infiltrate the castle so easily. Also, we never really get much out of the city. I've also got to introduce the claw as Ean's primary weapon now, so his fighting is going to change.

Not sure if rescuing Iya will be in the same chapter, but I hope so! She's definitely going to make an appearance soon.

-Tangent

Ean passed through the gates, his eyes wide. He had never been in a city this big before. In front of him was a passage that led deeper into the city, a tunnel made of smooth stone. A man leaned against the entrance, staring at him. Next to the entrance was a wooden building with a sign that had a bag of money engraved onto the surface. There were several other houses around, but the doors were closed, and Ean surmised that they were private dwellings. Approaching the tunnel into the city, he hailed the man.

"Hello there!" He said, smiling. The man smiled back, raising his hand in welcome.

"Hey! First time here?" Ean raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you know?" A chuckle came from the man at his question.

"You had the look of somebody who's never been in a big city."

"Well, you are right about that. Can you tell me about the city?"

"Aye. Shaenlir's the most powerful empire in the world right now, but it's a peaceful time. The Snow Queen rules here. If you see her, I'd advise you not to piss her off, lad."

"Why?" asked Ean. "Is she magical?"

"Oh, yes. Very, very magical, and powerful. She'll turn you to ice if she's angry enough, so watch out. But I suppose you want to know about the town, huh?"

"Yes, please."

"Well, that there's the general store." The man pointed at the shop with the money sign. "And in the square, we've got the inn, weapons and armor stores, and another store for knickknacks. You can also find a bunch of independent food stands and the like. What are you here for?"

"I'm here to meet a long-lost friend. I was contacted by her, she told me she was here." The man smiled.

"Aye, that must be nice. Well, I wish you luck! Oh, and one more thing…"

"Yes?" Ean said cautiously.

"If you're carrying a decent amount of money, watch out for thieves. The guards been having problems with them lately. If you can capture one of them, you might be rewarded." With a final nod, Ean stepped through the passage and into the inner confines of the city. The first thing that he noticed was the large graveyard to his left. Composed of damp soil and small tombstones, it provided a somber atmosphere for the entrance of the city. He estimated that there were close to a thousand graves, and he shuddered at the thought. Turning to the left, he left the graveyard behind and continued through the town. It seemed relatively nice, he supposed. Neighbors chatted with each other on their porches while children played in the snow on the edges of streets and corners. Ahead of him, he saw that the street opened up, and the murmur of voices grew louder.

Entering the marketplace, the young elf was briefly overwhelmed by the sights and noises of the market. People haggled with each other at nearby stands, joking and laughing. He could see the weapon shop to the left, with a guard standing under the sign emblazoned with two swords. Ahead of him, children played in a circular plaza that had been filled with snow by the storm.

A person bumped into him, and he realized that he had been staring open-mouthed at the scene. Apologizing, he strode towards the inn, intending to find a place to stay.

After all, I might be here for days trying to find her, let alone rescue her. And if the queen's as powerful as they say, I can't risk a confrontation with her. He pushed the door open, and it slid smoothly on the wood within. He entered the inn, which he realized doubled as a bar. The few drinkers inside turned to look, but they only saw a young man. They turned back to their drinks quietly. Ean stepped up to the counter, and the man who was obviously the innkeeper turned around to greet him.

"Hello." His voice was rough and shaky, as though he had a problem speaking. Ean noticed a faint scar on his throat. "Need a room, or some drink?"

"I'd like a room, please." Ean said pleasantly.

"How many days? Normally, I could only offer three, but there's not many travelers in at the moment."

"Three will be good for now, and I'll let you know if I have to stay longer. Is that alright?" The innkeeper nodded.

"That's fine. That'll be 5 gold per night, so 15 upfront." Ean reached into his purse and pulled out the funds, handing it to the man. He smiled, and shook his hand.

"I'm Jared. Milli will show you your room." A girl, some sort of serve, stepped forward.

"Right this way, sir." She led him up the stairs, where there were 10 rooms down the corridor. She stopped at the second door on the right and unlocked it, handing him the key.

"This will be your room. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, sir." Her voice had changed slightly at the end of her sentence, and Ean glanced at her. She was blushing, and he smiled at her.

"Thank you." She nodded and strode back down the hall. Ean entered his room with a sigh. It was small, but it was all he needed. A bed sat on one side of the room, and a table and chair on the other. There was small lamp filled with oil on the table. Depositing his backpack and shield on the bed, Ean fastened his knife securely to his belt along with his coin purse. He didn't want to go without protection in the city. Before exiting his room, he opened his purse and counted his money, finding 112 gold coins.

He stepped out into the hall and walked back into the dining room, where he nodded to Jared as he exited the inn. The market was still crowded, but he was able to weave his way through the crowd towards the square. A glimmer of stone caught his eye, and he turned to see a statue of the goddess in the middle of the square.

Interesting. I guess the Vale and the Land of Man share some things. He strode over to the statue and deposited a coin. Please, help me find Iya. Just then, he felt an odd feeling come over him, as though something had been added to him.

"Are you praying, mister?" He turned to see a child wearing a pink coat looking at him, a curious look on her face. "Because you had your eyes closed and stuff."

"I… yes, I guess I was. Do you pray too?"

"Sometimes." The child answered. "I put coins in too, because you get karma for doing it!"

"Karma?" The elf asked curiously, and the child nodded.

"Yep. Being nice to people and donating money and stuff gives you karma, like in a story. Are you a nice person?"

"I think so." Ean said, smiling. "Are you?"

"Yes, I am!" exclaimed the little girl, grinning.

"Well, that's good to hear. Say, do you know anything about the queen?" The elf asked, and the girl smiled.

"The Snow Queen is our queen and protector. She guards the city from the snow monsters and things. And now she has a princess!"

"A princess?" Ean asked, his mind racing internally.

"Yep! I hear she's magic too."

"What does she look like?" the girl frowned.

"I don't remember, but she had a pretty blue dress on. I wanted to touch it, but the guards were too near."

"She was out in public? The princess?" The little lady nodded.

"Well, not normally, but she was yesterday."

"Oh. Well, thank you. One more thing: Can you speak to the queen?" The elf asked his question tentatively.

"Sometimes the guards let people, but I'm not sure. Well, I'll see you around, mister!" The girl skipped away, rejoining her friends in the snow. Ean smiled slightly. He spent the rest of the day walking around the town, memorizing the layout and stores. As the sun began to set, the young elf headed back to the inn as the guards lit lanterns around the town.

He opened the door to see a lot more people in the inn than he had seen previously. The place was positively packed now, and the murmur of dozens of people filled the air. Ean picked his way through the tables to the bar, where Jared caught his eye.

"Want anything, young man? It's only two coins for a meal."

"Sure, why not?" Ean placed his order and made his way to an empty table, where he sat sipping the cup of water given to him by the bartender. He listened to the conversations buzzing around him, picking up words here and there.

"I heard they still didn't catch the thief…"

"No! Really?"

"And then I told him…"

"My wife was just telling me…" Ean was distracted by Milli setting a plate in front of him, along with a glass of milk.

"Here you go, sir. Enjoy."

"Wait a moment, please." The girl paused, turning back to him. He opened his mouth, phrasing his question carefully.

"Is there work to be found in the city?" The girl furrowed her brows.

"I'm not sure, sir. There's a board in the market square with requests from civilians. If you could help with those, I'm sure they'd appreciate. There might be some positions as a servant in the castle, too."

"Perfect, thank you, Milli." The girl blushed and turned away, going to serve other customers. Ean dug into his wild rice and fish ravenously, not realizing how hungry he was. When he had finished, he contemplated exploring more, but decided against it. He didn't know the town well enough to walk around after dark. Standing up from the table, he went to his room and opened the door, sliding inside and locking it behind him. He flopped onto the bed with a sigh, tired already. Not even bothering to change his clothes, he fell asleep instantly, exhausted. His dreams were filled with visions of Iya as a princess, locked in her room and unable to come out.

He jolted out of his uneasy rest and slipped his clothes on. They were getting rather dirty.

I'll go buy some new ones today, and I'll get these cleaned. Opening the window, he saw that the sun was still under the horizon, but he could see a few rays of light beginning to peep over the city. Ean slipped out of his room and down the stairs, where he saw that Jared was not behind the bar. Milli was there instead, minding the empty room. She smiled at him, blushing.

"Jared sleeping?" asked Ean with a grin. She nodded.

"Even he has to sleep sometimes." She paused for a moment. "I never got your name yesterday, stranger."

"Oh, it's Ean." The elf responded.

"And how long will you be here? Or are you a permanent resident? I thought I heard you telling Jared something about a friend?"

"I'm here to see an old friend, but I suppose I could always stay longer if there's work." It wasn't strictly true, but Ean figured it would make a better cover story. She nodded, absorbing the information. He walked out the door with a wave, making sure his hat was firmly over his ears.

The apparel shop wasn't open yet, so he decided to check out the message board Milli had mentioned the day before. He found it next to one of the stalls, with half a dozen old pieces of paper attached to it. One read:

Need help repairing wooden floorboards. Can pay. Another read:

Would like help finding a lost kitten. Both signs had addresses written on them, and Ean took the papers as he set off for the first job. Growing up in a forest meant he was quite good at two things: Finding things, and crafting with wood. He strode through the mostly empty streets, ice coating his shoes as he walked. His breath steamed in the air, something that he found mildly interesting.

Ean knocked on the door of the man who needed help with his floorboards, waiting patiently. After a moment, an elderly man opened the door, leaning on a cane.

"Hello, young man. What do you need?" The elf held up the paper in his hand.

"Still need help with those boards?" The man nodded vigorously.

"Oh, yes! Come in, come in." Ean stepped into the house, which seemed relatively normal, if a bit empty. The man led him to one of the back rooms, where there were two floorboards in the floor that were broken in half.

"They broke two weeks ago. I got replacements boards, but I'm too old to do it." Ean studied the floor with a frown.

"I can fix that. Do you have a hammer?" The elderly person went to retrieve it while Ean began prying the floorboards from the ground. They were too broken to use, but he could use the intact nails to nail down new boards, which were stacked against the wall. The owner of the house came back and handed him a hammer, and the elf set to work.

An hour later, he had managed to firmly secure the new wood back into the ground, to the delight of the man.

"Thank you very much, young man. Please, take this. And if you need any more jobs, stop by later, alright?" He handed Ean a bag of fifty coins, to his delight, and the elf set off through the streets of Shaenlir once more. The next person lived well on the other side of the city, and it took a bit of navigating to not get lost. He arrived ten minutes later, knocking on the door. A woman answered the door, and after a bit of questioning, revealed that her cat had wandered away two nights before. She described it to Ean, who set off looking for the cat.

He surmised that it wouldn't have gone far, so he checked the nearest trash centers, places where people would bring their trash to dump it. It would then be burned, but only once a month. However, he had no luck at the nearby dumps, and he began heading back towards the woman house. As he rounded a corner, he saw a child crying outside a house. Kneeling down beside the child, he saw that it was the same girl he had met the previous day.

"Everything alright?" He asked gently, and the girl looked up at him.

"Oh. Hey, mister." She said sadly, tears in her eyes. "No, it's not. My mom got rid of my music box. It was really nice, but she said she hated it."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Did you play it a lot?" The girl nodded.

"Sometimes, but it helps me sleep at night when I play it. I have nightmares." She shuddered, and Ean felt a wave of sympathy for the child. She was clearly a strong little girl.

"Tell you what. I'll try to find your music box, okay? But you should get home, I'm sure your mom is worried."

"Probably not." The girl muttered. Ignoring the statement, Ean followed her to her house, where he was greeted by a very large, irate lady.

"Young lady, get in here now! You're in a lot of trouble, running off like that." She yanked the girl's ear painfully, and Ean felt a twinge of sympathy. She sent the girl upstairs, and turned to Ean. "And what do you want?"

"I heard you got rid of her music box. What did you do with it?"

"What's it to you, kid?" She demanded belligerently.

"I've been looking for one, for my sister." Ean lied smoothly.

"I sold it to the general store. Now, go away!" The woman shut the door loudly, and Ean turned away with a grimace.

What an unreasonable woman. He headed back to the marketplace, where the stores were now open. The sun had risen above the horizon, and the city began to stir. He strode into the apparel store, where he purchased two new outfits consisting of pants, a shirt, and a jacket, along with some other articles. He also paid to have his outfit cleaned, and after changing at the inn, he dropped off his clothes with the tailor.

That's my money from the first job, but I suppose it's necessary. Ean strode into the general store, where he was greeted by the owner.

"Say, did you get a music box recently? I've been searching for one, but no luck."

"I did, actually!" The merchant pulled it out from under the counter. It was a light pink box with a wind-up key on the side. "It makes a pretty tune, but it's a little bit broken."

"I'll buy it. How much?" Ean asked. Due to the slight damage, the man only charged him ten coins for the box, and Ean placed it into his coat pocket for safekeeping.

A few minutes later, he arrived back at the house of the little girl, who came outside quietly.

"My mother's out on an errand. What is it?" He held out the music box, and she gasped.

"My music box!" She took it from him with a massive smile. "Thank you so much, mister!" She hugged him briefly, and Ean felt a smile cross his face.

"You are welcome. Be sure to hide it, alright?" She nodded. "Also, I was wondering something. Have you seen this cat?" He described it to her, and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, I've seen him! He was by this pond yesterday." She gave him directions, and he set off for the area. The pond was quite large, with chunks of ice bobbing in the water. There was several small trees around the edge. He was walking towards it when he saw a black shape moving across the far side. It was the cat! He crouched, moving stealthily towards it. When he got close, he knelt and held out his hand, getting the attention of the creature. Ean made a soothing sound, and the cat moved towards him optimistically. When it was close enough, it nuzzled his hand with its head, and the elf smiled.

"Good boy. There we go…" He picked up the cat gently, and it curled up in his arms. Clearly, it had decided that it did not want to be outside anymore, and he carried it back to the owner's house. When she saw him, the woman thanked him profusely and gave him 40 coins as payment. He thanked her with a smile and headed back towards the marketplace.

He had just arrived in the square when he heard a loud noise to his left. The door to the weapons store burst open, and a man bolted out, carrying a package. He kicked the guard in the stomach, knocking him down, and bolted towards the marketplace. Shouts filled the air, along with a few screams.

"Call the guards!" A man bellowed. "He stole my goods!" Making a decision, Ean sprinted after the man, who was disappearing around a corner. He flew across the stones of the streets and down the alley, where the man was climbing onto a box leaning against a wall. He jolted when he saw Ean coming after him, and he hoisted himself up onto the roof and disappeared. Ean leapt up after him, and saw the man fleeing across the rooftops.

That must be how he escapes. He sprinted across the icy roofs, trying not to slip. The thief, whoever he was, clearly had some experience since he was much more nimble than Ean. Still, the elf managed to gain on him slowly, and when the man looked behind him, he was shocked to see Ean right behind him. Turning to his right, he vaulted over a ventilation unit and leapt across a gap between two roofs, hoping that the elf wouldn't follow. Ean charged ahead, his feet slipping, and he saw the man leap down into an alley.

I've got him now. Time slowed, and the elf vaulted nimbly over the ventilation, his momentum carrying him across the gap and onto the other side. Knowing the man wouldn't go back towards the marketplace, he skirted the right edge of the roof, listening for his footsteps. As the man sprinted down the alley, Ean leapt from the roof, landing directly on the man's back and smashing him into the floor. He rolled off of him and to his feet, pulling out a knife. The man groaned, getting to his feet, but the elf didn't waste any time. He stepped in, slamming his fist into the man's chin, and he collapsed at Ean's feet, limp. Ean looked around and saw the package lying nearby. He grabbed it and turned back to the man. He could hear the guards approaching, and he knew it was time to go. He trussed the man up with his own jacket, and strode back through the alleys quietly. Behind him, he heard the clamor as the guards cuffed the thief properly and dragged him off to a cell.

How did I do that? I certainly wasn't capable of that before. Ean pondered this for a moment.

Perhaps it is the effect of the Land of Man. Magic seems to be everywhere. I can do lots of things I couldn't do before, like fight pretty well. Shrugging off the topic for now, he returned to the square with the package and entered the weapons shop. The owner was standing there, picking up a bunch of racks that had been knocked over.

"Oh man, not again…" He muttered, and Ean cleared his throat.

"I think this is yours." The owner wheeled around and saw the package in the elf's arms. His jaw dropped, and he stood there for a moment.

"I… what… How did you… How did you get that?" Ean shrugged.

"I took it back from the thief. He's in jail now." The owner opened his mouth a few more times, then closed it.

"You… My boy, you have single-handedly saved my career!" He took the package from the elf quickly, opening it to reveal an exquisite sword. He seemed almost too happy, like he couldn't believe his eyes. He bustled around the counter and placed the sword under the desk.

"My friend, I must reward you. Please, look around a find a weapon you like. At the very least, I can give you a hefty discount. If not for you, the queen would have me frozen by tomorrow morning!"

"What was the sword for?" asked Ean curiously.

"For her commander. It's very important that he get it promptly." The shopkeeper seemed terrified by what had almost happened to him. Ean looked around the store. He saw a lot of swords, spears, and bows, but they didn't really appeal to him. He needed a versatile weapon, one that he could hide easily. Suddenly, he saw a leather gauntlet in a case and reached for it.

"What is this one?" The owner of the shop came around the counter and took it from him, pulling it on.

"This is a claw, my boy. There's two in a set, but they double as gloves." Flicking his wrist, he made a sharp metal blade slide out of the fingers of the gauntlet. It was as though his hand became the claws of an animal. "It's extremely versatile, if you can fight with it." Ean was fascinated by the weapon.

"I'll take it. How much?" Waving him off, the man handed both claws to him.

"Absolutely nothing. You did save my life, after all." Ean thanked him profusely for the weapons, and stowed them in his backpack. He exited the store with a cheery goodbye to see that the market had returned to normal, with people trading and the like.

Finally, some good weapons. He spent the rest of the day doing more jobs and amassing a decent amount of money, somewhere around 400 coins. As the afternoon waned, he decided to return to the inn for dinner. He strode back into the market only to see a strange sight. There were two guards by the door of the inn.

What do they want? The guards didn't look very friendly, but he strode between them and into the inn. Standing at the bar was a substantially large man, dressed in thick metal armor. He seemed to dominate the room, and he was talking to Jared, who seemed slightly scared. As he entered the room, Jared pointed at him.

"That's him." The man turned around, and Ean saw a scarred face staring directly at him. The two black eyes were cold, devoid of any emotion. He stepped closer to Ean, the other patrons frozen.

"Are you the boy who stopped the thief earlier?" His voice was rough and monotone. Ean nodded. "You're to come with me. The queen has asked to see you." Ean froze, his eyes wide. This couldn't be good.

"Follow me." said the man, and he strode out the door, guards and Ean in tow. The last thing he saw before the door closed was Milli, looking slightly alarmed.

"Who are you?" asked Ean tentatively. The man kept walking, but the elf heard his reply.

"I'm the commander of the guard, Wart."