Chapter 117: Provocation
The moment Benjamin stepped through Golden port's gates, a wave of clamor crashed over him and swallowed him whole.
Massive stone buildings and wooden piers interwove in dense ranks, stretching all the way to the coastline.
The sea breeze carried a mingling of salty dampness, fish stench, and rich spices, filling every corner.
In the distance, rough songs and boisterous shouting rose and fell from the taverns.
Faint arcane runes glimmered above the Mage Guild's gates, mysterious and enticing, while the towering Temple of the Gods radiated sacred light, standing in sharp contrast to the worldly bustle.
Benjamin walked silently down the street, observing the crowd around him.
The bustling stream of people flowed through the streets, a motley mix of all sorts, each displaying their own manner.
Human nobles and merchants dressed in splendor, elegant in bearing and shrewd-eyed, brushed past rough pirates with curved blades at their waists and fierce gazes that carried the savage air of men who licked blood from knife edges.
Loud-voiced dwarf peddlers hawked their wares by the roadside, their cries mingling with the soft conversations of Elf rangers. Accents of every kind blended together, forming this port city's distinctive chorus.
Benjamin—or rather, Jack, the name of his current disguise—followed the crowd toward a tavern in the port district that also served as an Adventurer Guild.
Its wooden sign creaked in the sea wind, bearing the crooked words: "Drunken Dolphin."
If not for the adventurer emblem beside it, no one would have recognized it as an Adventurer Guild.
When he pushed open the battered door, a murky stench of ale, sweat, and tobacco rushed at his face.
The tavern was dimly lit. Thick wooden planks covered the floor, where filthy water ran freely, making the place look unbearably dirty and chaotic.