The floating island town was called Solmere, and it was much larger than all the smaller floating villages Kaedros was used to. It was a massive thing that just hung in the middle of the air.
After the apocalypse, when the land was getting corrupted. The greatest of the Ascendants then broke continents, they lifted lands into the sky to form the new world.
Their flying ship join the steady stream of others and flew close to the island and then dipped down. Due to the restrictions of 'no flying' close to island they had to land at the docks that was built at the edge of the island.
They dropped from their ship and Kaelith immediately absorbed the ship into the ring in his hand. A storage made specifically for ships.
Then Kaedros looked at the town.
A tall wall of stone surrounded the town, with a massive metal gate standing as its only entrance. Kaedros followed the steady stream of travelers heading toward the gate. The scent of humans hit him hard, thick and sharp. He sucked in a breath and tried not to gag at the different foul smell.
"Sorry, Kael," Kaelith said beside him. "You're probably not used to towns like this. It's small compared to the cities further west."
"Yes... my village was tiny," Kaedros replied, trying to ignore the stench—humans, sweat, food, and something else that made his stomach churn.
"You'll get used to it," said Virell, her tall frame clearing the path ahead. Many pedestrians gave their armor a cautious glance and quickly moved aside. Kaedros, standing awkwardly in the center of the group, received more than a few strange looks.
"Watch yourself here," warned Karina. "Solmere's a bounty hunting town. Plenty of bounty work here and just as many criminals who'd gut you for the price of a beer."
Kaedros cast a wary glance around. He wasn't afraid of the criminals, not truly. But the way people stared at him made his skin crawl. Was his disguise slipping? No alerts from his technique, so probably not.
They joined the line at the gate, and before long, it was their turn. One guard gave Virell a nod and waved her through, but his expression turned sharp when he spotted Kaedros.
"Who's this one? Don't know him. He pays or he doesn't go in."
Kaedros opened his mouth, but Kaelith stepped in smoothly. "He's with us. Let me handle this, Kael."
The guard snorted. "Tell it to the Lords who made the rules."
Esmera sighed. "Just pay him. I need a hot bath before I kill someone."
Virell nodded, and Kaelith tossed the guard two silver coins with a scowl. The guard grunted and waved them through.
Inside was chaos. People crammed shoulder to shoulder. The air reeked of sweat, animals, and roasted meats. Shouts, cries, and the clatter of carts filled the streets.
Kaedros nearly reeled from it all until Esmera placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You alright?"
He forced himself to breathe, pushing back his instinct to lash out. I am a Noble Dragon, not a cornered beast. He grimaced. "Of course."
They moved through the throng until the crowd thinned and the buildings grew taller and more refined. They stopped in front of a large building bearing a painted sign of a plate and spoon. The smell of food, sweat, and ale seeped from inside.
The others visibly relaxed.
"Home, finally!" Virell declared, throwing her arms wide.
"Hot bath!" Esmera echoed joyfully.
The men grunted in agreement and stepped inside.
The tavern was just as Kaedros had imagined from the scattered information he'd picked up about humans of his new world wnd similar to those back home.
Tables, chairs, people everywhere, drinking, eating, shouting. But what struck him most was that nearly everyone inside wore the same or types of gears of armor, weapons and such.
He instinctively felt his fangs twitch, but forced himself to stay calm. He wasn't a Dragon here. Not here. He was human. He was Kael.
"Let the ladies go first for the bath," Kaelith said, guiding them to a table. "You can eat your fill while you wait."
After the women went upstairs, Kaelith ordered food for himself, Karina, and Kael. He glanced at Kaedros and thought, Poor guy. He probably hasn't eaten since yesterday.
A steaming bowl was placed in front of Kaedros, along with a spoon. He stared at it awkwardly before attempting to mimic the others. After a few bites, he spoke.
"You're a bounty hunter team. Why help someone like me? A burden?"
Kaelith frowned. "We didn't have anything better to do. We're bounty hunters, not bandits."
Kaedros noticed he didn't deny the 'burden' part.
"I heard bounty hunters are about killing monsters, taking treasures, and cultivating mama to climb the Ascendant rank."
Kaelith pointed his spoon at him. "That's true. But we didn't waste our time either."
"How so?"
"The Dragon left a lot of spellbooks behind," Kaelith shrugged. "We'll sell them for good coin."
So they were treasures after all, Kaedros thought bitterly. I shouldn't have left them. Although he couldn't read the human language of the new world.
Karina sipped his ale, a satisfied gleam in his eyes. "That'll keep us housed and fed for a while."
Kaelith nodded. "Still, I'll be heading back. I need to inform the Celestial Order Capturing that Dragon might be impossible, we might need to kill it."
Karina scoffed. "The Order won't like that. Jarek's whole team was wiped out, and they still want it alive. For experiments."
"The Celestial Order?" Kaedros asked, the name sounded familiar.
"They follow the divine path. Conduct experiments, especially on Dragons and monsters. Did you know a Dragons can regenerate even after losing limbs? You can keep cutting, and they stay alive. Their blood, bones, flesh... it's all used in potions, charms, alchemy—"
He stopped as he caught the look in Kael's eyes. Cold, blue, and burning with hate.
He must've seen something terrible, Karina thought. Poor kid.
But Kaedros' thoughts were far from pity. Rage bubbled within him. '..so that's why. You hunt us for our bones and blood. You want to dissect a Noble like me, turn me into ingredients..'
He forced a smile, sharp and savage.
"Where can I find this Celestial Order?"