Beyond the haven

Tara

Fort, Sector 1.

409 AF.

It was a bright day, like all other days were. The sky was dull— there were no clouds after all. Light came from the massive sphere up in the sky, that had a metal stick sticking out of it. That stick was actually a building, but it was much too far away from this particular street. The air smelt a bit foul for some reason. The ground was dry and hard; the roads made of solid concrete, and the houses on either side were almost identical. Men and women dressed in tattered clothing littered the street. These people could be seen in groups, in alleyways and sometimes out on the road. The majority of them had visible scars on their body; some had fresh wounds. The one characteristic they all shared was the mysterious mark they had on their right shoulder. For those who wore clothes revealing that part of their body, there was a symbol and a number tattooed on them. Each of them had a different number, but the exact same symbol. It was the symbol of a skull with a pistol over it.

Another trait they shared was their... aggressive and sometimes nearly violent method of begging. Some if them were practically pulling at stranger's clothes, begging for alms, While others simply clapped and whistled.

People passing by stayed away from them. Very few were benevolent enough to throw a coin or two towards their direction, if only to watch them fight over it.

A short teenage girl with unkempt red hair and dirty clothes didn't spare them a glance. She was among the people ignoring them, though she had a pouch of coins clutched tightly to her chest. It jiggled with each step she took.

The girl wore a red top, with black jeans. Though, they both looked old and worn out, she still wore them. The shirt had a print of a white snake around her breasts, and horizontally spelled out the words "Killer" with bold white letters.

The girl took a right from that road, into a quiet street, without much people. Ahead of her, she sighted two men outside a house, conversing. One of them was sitting right in front of the small structure with his back on the door while the other was standing a few centimetres away with an open bottle in hand.

The girl stood still and listened in.

"The overpopulation is starting to become a problem, but that idea is just absurd. What are those big shots even thinking?"

"Survival. At the end of the day, those people will starve to death anyways. Might as well put them out of their misery." He took a swig of whatever was inside the bottle, and then sighed.

"Hundreds of people, Mark. Hundreds."

The girl rolled her eyes and continued walking. Soon she arrived at quite an unusual scene. Dozens of people gathered in a crowd in front of a massive building. This structure was at least a 30-40 storeyed high-rise modern structure, but it had lot's of silver neon lights and was almost entirely made of some kind of strange white metal, that almost seamlessly blended in with the glass.

The crowd was furiously banging at the gate and making noise. There some who were chanting words like "We need freedom." Or "Down with the king". The shouts and chants were way too loud, one could barely hear their own thoughts. She ignored them altogether. She hadn't left the vicinity completely when she suddenly heard gunshots. The mob quieted down almost instantly.

She didn't look concerned about it. Or anything for that matter. Her gaze was dull, and neutral. Hardly any emotion was shown on her face. She continued her journey, nonetheless.

Soon, she stood before another structure, a moderately big one. It had amazing exterior design. In fact it looked more like a mansion, but it happened to be a place of business. The fine brick walls, the luxurious window frames, the short stairs separating the building from the street, and of course the massive silhouette of a dragon coiling around the building; everything was simply breath-taking. She took a moment to stare at it, but was interrupted by a man bumping into her.

"Watch yourself. Stupid runt." The man turned around to look at her, and pinched his nose. There was nothing particularly memorable about him. He simply didn't stand out in any way. In a way, that was troubling.

"Disgusting." He said, slapped her to the ground and stomped away.

The girl gingerly picked herself up and wiped the dust off her clothes. There was a slight frown on her face. For only a moment, she looked annoyed. But by the next moment, she was back to normal – aloof and expressionless.

She walked inside the building. The interior was even better. It helped that the place was also bustling with activity. It was a sight to see. Men and women rushed across the room, while others relaxed, talking to their peers. Almost everyone wore armour, and carried some sort of weapon. Those that didn't carry weapons or armour, wore a black and golden uniform. There was a small crowd of people clustered around a wide wooden board on one corner of the room. There were doors on another corner, and a counter right opposite the entrance. One of the uniformed people was standing on the other side of the counter. There was a short stack of papers on the counter too, and there was also a sign on side of the desk facing the entrance that read: "Registration."

The girl marched straight there.

The tall blonde woman who was standing at the other side waved a person who was already walking away with a smile. That person was one of those people carrying weapons. She had a small gun, and wore a nice looking leather armour. The lady in the black and gold uniform frowned the moment the teenage girl walked in.

"What do you want?"

The girl pointed at the piece of paper on the counter. Then she pointed at herself.

"You want to register as an adventurer."

She nodded.

"Can you speak?"

The girl furrowed her brows, and got into a thinking pose. The woman frowned and was about to open her mouth when the girl suddenly spoke up.

"Yes."

"You can? Then why..."

The girl shook her head, and pointed at the paper.

"... alright. Name please."

"Tara."

"Anything else?"

"Just Tara."

"Fine. Why do you want to join the Wyrm Guild?"

"Because the others are stupid."

"I...like your attitude. We don't really let kids like you leave the Fort though. Maybe in a few years?"

"I'm not a kid. I'm 14."

"That's still a kid."

Tara dropped her pouch on the counter.

"Twenty silver coins. Don't ask questions."

The woman just nodded and attempted to pick the pouch. Before she could pick it up, Tara grabbed her wrist.

"Sign me up first."

"You're a feisty one, aren't you?"

"My mom used to call me her little thunderstorm, when I was little of course."

The blonde giggled, then glanced at her wrist, frowning slightly.

"You can let go now, I'll sign you in."

Tara released her. The lady's smile returned, though her eyes were hostile.

"I thought I would've needed to intimidate you a bit more."

"As cute as you are, you're anything but intimidating. But that's not the issue here. The problem is.. why do you need to get an adventurer's registration?"

"I need to leave The Fort. Only Bulwark officers, The king's men, and adventurers can do that."

The lady behind the counter took out a single sheet of paper, and scribbled something down. Then she stared at Tara again.

"It's dangerous out there."

Tara nodded.

"You might die."

"I won't."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I don't want to."

"Pardon?"

"I won't die because I don't want to die."

The woman chuckled. Then she got to work. She asked for Tara's hand, which she grudgingly showed her. Next, the lady inserted it into a strange contraption and after it was done, she let Tara take her hand out. After a few moments, she asked for the other hand, and then she used a retinal scanner on her eyes. She typed in something on a computer, and printed out a small paper card.

"Alright then, just Tara. Here's your ticket to hell." The woman handed it to her.

Tara snatched it out of the lady's hands and turned her back on her, grinning.

"Don't tell anyone I was here!"

Then she marched out the way she came.

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