The sun shone brightly once again with some clouds hanging in the air.
Feyra was glad there was a little more shade when the clouds would be in front of the sun but it was still getting hotter by the day. Summer was nearing and that meant it would only get hotter.
She walked towards the government district and looked at the map knowing she would get lost else.
This district is huge! How am I supposed to find the place I should go? And how would I find the knight's accomodations if I want to meet up with Lydia?
Feyra felt like despairing just looking at the map and seeing the tall and big buildings in front of her.
The archive was on the right side of the district and Feyra thought this may be her best bet on finding information. However, she also thought it may be better to first introduce herself and thus decided to try and take the main entrance.
If I could find the main entrance... Where even am I!?
Feyra looked around and back at the map again. Only now did she realize it. She was lost!
She tracked back her steps and got to the inn again before trying to find her way to the main entrance again. It shouldn't have been too hard as the main entrance was almost in plain sight.
As some people tend to say... Some of the simplest things can become hard for smart people.
She remembered a saying she had once read looking around again before seeing a signpost hinting at the direction of the main entrance. Feyra had walked this path beforehand and felt dumb seeing it only now after getting lost.
How about noticing the details, Feyra? I'm truly... Hah... I'll follow it now.
The saying was true for some people, including Feyra. She was finally able to find the main entrance thanks to the signpost.
The stairs up to the main entrance weren't steep or large but rather flat. Next to the staircase was even a ramp for people who couldn't walk up stairs on their own.
That's a good design.
Feyra walked up the stairs and entered the building. There was a large area before one could truly enter.
Multiple counters were next to each other and receptionists were talking to people telling them where to go or what they needed.
Feyra went up to an empty counter and rang the bell next to it. The person behind had been sleeping but woke up thanks to the noise.
"Uh... Hello. What do you want?", the woman asked adjusting her big round glasses and her bangs that had moved way too much to one side in her sleep.
"I would like to give some hints to the reopened case of the centuries old criminal.", Feyra said in a polite tone. She was unsure how to word it knowing she was talking about herself.
Can I say that it's me? No, I should best keep it secret for now. Why is it so complicated?
Inwardly Feyra was becoming a mess just questioning herself whether or not she should say the truth.
"Hints? About the reopened case... Let me look. Ah found it. Usually you should head to the archive but... You'll need a permit to enter the district any further. May I see it?", the receptionist asked looking at Feyra.
A what? A permit? Since when was that needed?
"A permit? I'm sorry I don't have one.", Feyra said scratching her head. She looked a little clumsy having no idea what she needed a permit for.
I should've read in that book about politics more rather than trying to learn about Tarot cards! Now I got the trouble...
"I'm sorry Miss but without a permit you can't enter the archive or any other government buildings.", the receptionist said.
Feyra didn't know how to feel at this moment. She could feel full of rage knowing she would first have to get a permit to enter. Where she could get that permit from was also unknown to her which made it even more valid to fly out in a rage.
On the other side she could feel sad knowing she had gotten lost earlier and now had to get a permit before she would need to look around again where the entrance was.
Throughout all this however, she stayed calm and a little confused. Inwardly she knew that she could fly into a rage or start to tear up. Yet what she felt the most was betrayal. Betrayal by the system!
"Where can I get a permit from?", Feyra asked the receptionist who was looking in her book at a map to try and find the place.
"A moment please. The building for the permits is on the other side of the government district. Here!", she showed Feyra the map who now began to despair.
I need to walk around the whole government district to get to the building for permits and then return!? Do they think people have nothing else to do!?
"Thank you.", she said before turning around and walking out of the building. The previous day Feyra had walked down the main road a bit only but now she had to trust her intuition and map to not get lost again while trying to find that other building.
A while later the streets were bustling and the shops were open. A lot of bells rang when people went inside or out of a shop.
Feyra was trying to get through this mess without getting lost in this giant labyrinth of a city. The building she was searching was still a bit away and she hadn't even been able to find that bookstore again.
Did it vanish over night or am I lost again?
Looking at the map and her surroundings Feyra figured she had walked wrong again. Following the map she quickly found the main road again and finally found the book store which had become a landmark for her.
It didn't vanish! Now if I walk further I should be able to walk around the government district and find the building under... All the surrounding buildings...
Just seeing how many buildings were around that specific building Feyra began despairing again knowing with those small roads she would get easily lost.
An hour later she had already made her way a bit further but not without getting lost twice in that time. There were too many people and she had trouble navigating through such a big city.
In the Kingdom the capital was easier to navigate given it was on an island and at that it was a hill. The lower class would live near the edge while the castle was on top of the hill. Most important things were near the top which made it easier to find everything.
The Capital of the Alliance, however, was in a valley and thus it would be cramped knowing that there needed to be government buildings as well as some people living here. Looking up to the mountains it was obvious why the Capital was unable to expand.
It wasn't just the wall preventing it but also the steep sides of the mountains that trees couldn't even grow on. Falling rocks would be common. The wall was there to prevent anyone from living too far outside and dying when a large rock fell onto their house.
Feyra started to understand at least why it was such a labyrinth to navigate through but it didn't make it much better as she still felt she would get lost too often.
I'm not good at navigating through cramped spaces... I bet that if I ended up in a labyrinth it may take me months to find the exit or the middle.
She continued to walk as the map told her but holding it up all the time wasn't possible.
"Hey! Watch where you're going! You're not alone on the streets!", people screamed at her who almost bumped into her when she held her map up to verify that she was on the right path.
A few hours later Feyra was near the building already and also saw the other entrance to the Capital which came from the other side.
Right way! I just need to turn around and... Huh? Aren't that...? Mattes?
Feyra went over to the group of three standing in front of a shop.
"Awesome! That's perfect for our travels.", Mattes said and showed it to Najenda. Flore also seemed very excited and clapped his hands twice with a big smile.
"Hello.", Feyra went over and greeted them.
Najenda and Mattes both jumped in surprise while Flore was overjoyed seeing an old face again.
"Hey! What are you doing here? This must be a coincidence!", he said stretching out his hand. Feyra took it and shook it.
"That is really a coincidence and a surprise. Look just how small this world is. We meet again.", she said.
"It's you! You scared me. Glad to see you safe and sound. Nice seeing you again Feyra.", Mattes said scratching his head and recovering from the shock. Najenda also smiled and greeted her before they went to a corner where no people would be disturbed walking down the street.
"What brings you here?", Najenda asked looking at her.
"I need a permit to enter the government district. The building for getting permits shouldn't be far but with this labyrinth of a city I get lost too often.", she said a little embarrassed.
Flore nodded while listening to her. He also had experienced the same issue when Najenda and Mattes had went ahead to find a shop while he was still looking at other goods.
After that he had gotten lost and Najenda and Mattes had found him in a small street near the wall.
"We also need to get a permit. Let's go there together. We need the permit for our travels so we can enter any city.", Mattes said hinting at the way to the building which was hiding behind even more buildings.
"Seems like there are a lot of permits...", Feyra commented not looking through anything anymore. She deeply regretted not reading first on politics.
"Yes there are a lot of permits. Some are needed for traveling while others are needed for entering certain areas. The next city we want to visit lies to the east and we need an entry permit for that. The city was closed off knowing about the failed bombing attempt on the government building.", Najenda started to explain looking with Mattes for the right path before they would get lost. "This city has an important harbour bringing a lot of goods from other countries into the Alliance. Many higher ups live there. But it's not just them. Workers live there too and they also want to ensure the safety of these people as well as the safety of the ships entering the harbour."
Flore was just following them and looked a bit confused on the situation.
"It seems you have trouble understanding it.", Feyra said turning to Flore.
"I do. It's already complicated enough knowing the politics of the Alliance but a lot of internal stuff is even more complicated. I was glad when I understood the general knowledge of the politics."
Feyra chuckled. "You learnt it as a child at least. Look at me. I'm over 700 years old and I need to learn about the Alliance in full."
Mattes and Najenda stopped in their tracked before turning around.
"You're over 700 years old!?", they both exclaimed at the same time.
Najenda looked almost like she could fall into a coma at any moment while Mattes was trying to comprehend what he had just heard.
"So you're telling me you didn't know anything about the Alliance at all when you came here?", he asked.
"Yes. I hadn't even heard of the name before.", she answered honestly looking into Mattes' wide eyes.
"Then you're still from the time when the lost princess lived!?", he asked in disbelief.
"Yes. That is true."
Flore's mouth stood wide open in disbelief too while Najenda looked around.
"Where were you from?", Mattes started to interrogate her.
"From the Kingdom."
"From... From the Kingdom? Then you must know about the lost princess, right?"
"I do. I was her friend after all."
With this last sentence even Mattes fell silent. A realization seemed to dawn upon him.
"A... Are you that supposed criminal?"
"Yes that I am. Though I didn't kill her.", Feyra answered and the group of three was visibly relieved.
Mattes still asked her a few questions. In the meantime Najenda had walked ahead looking for the building before coming back.
"Hey just so you know... That building is just around the corner.", she said and everyone immediately went there.
In front of them was a tall building in an old style with a lot of windows. The plaque above it said 'Permits'.
Finally!