[Kara] Chapter 42: Tour Part One

Kara and Angel returned to the encampment, bringing with them food. But they weren’t greeted with the usual casual chatter of the remaining refugees that were gathered here. Instead, they weren’t greeted at all.

Surveying her surroundings, Kara watched as the camp was slowly dismantled— tents were being torn down, and fireplaces were being snuffed out. The encampment had already been half-dismantled, since most of the survivors of Alyona had moved into the Sanctuary City of Yulia. 

But as far as Kara was aware, there were still thousands of mostly young dark elven men waiting for their turn to be let into Yulia, and it was still a few days out until the encampment would be emptied.

Kara exchanged a glance with Angel, who just shrugged in response. The two of them made their way through the camp, searching for answers. And that was when they spotted a familiar figure standing at the other side of the encampment, surrounded by a group of armed guards.

It was an elf.

A small elf.

And the brand new Dark Lord of Alyona.

“Caius?” Kara blinked as she approached her friend. “What are you doing out here?”

She looked towards the armed guards with Caius. One of them, in particular, was a hulking figure— a troll that stood at ten feet tall. It was Bushra, the former Captain of the Twentieth Company, who was now the Captain of the brand new Tenth Company. He was accompanied by a few other soldiers. And he nodded at Kara.

She frowned. “What is going on? Why is Bushra here too? Did something happen?”

“Nothing bad happened, Kara. Don’t worry.” Caius chuckled as he drew back from Bushra and faced Kara.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Kara said flatly, crossing her arms. Next to her, Angel nodded in agreement, before gesturing at the camp in confusion. She continued, “What is going on?”

“Well, to answer one of your questions, I’m here to bring you into the city, Kara,” the elf said as he grinned at her.

“Me?” She raised a brow. Exchanging a glance with Angel, he shrugged. And she narrowed her eyes. “There’s still a lot more people here that need to be brought into Yulia. I can’t just leave them. I’m the Guardian of Alyona now, remember?”

“I remember that, yes. I’m the reason you now bear that title, so I think I wouldn’t forget that fact so easily.” Caius snorted, before he shook his head. “We got permission from Dark Lady Aiza to bring in the rest of our refugees into the city. So Hayder and Bushra will oversee dismantling the camp and bringing in the rest of our survivors into Yulia. And you have the day off.”

“Seriously?” Kara stared at the elf in shock. Then she paused, picking up on what else he said. “Wait, Hayder is here too?”

Caius nodded, gesturing vaguely in the direction further into the camp. “He’s somewhere here. But you know him, he’s always working. Although… you’re always working too. And you need some time off. So come on, rest and explore Yulia with me.”

Angel perked up when he heard that. He began to pant excitedly, looking towards Kara who was still puzzled.

“Are you being for real, right now?” she asked.

“Why would I be lying?” Caius cocked a brow. “Unless you don’t want a day off?”

“No, I absolutely do,” Kara said quickly. She stretched her shoulders as she turned to the excited utlas bear next to her. “I needed a small break. Fighting monsters is easy, but looking after thousands of people is a massive pain in the ass.”

And Caius chuckled as he led her towards Yulia. “Come on, let’s get you your well-deserved rest.” 

—--

Kara couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t excited. She hadn’t had the chance to explore the Sanctuary City of Yulia after the first day— and that hadn’t been a good experience, what with Dark Lady Aiza trying to murder her and all.

But living within the walls of the city, eating proper food, and sleeping on a proper bed was much better than staying outside in a makeshift camp at the threat of the natural environment. Even though Yulia was located at a safer region of the Xor-In Mountains, it was still a monster-infested place that was at threat of anything at any time.

Now, as Kara made her way into the Sanctuary City of Yulia, she felt like she could finally breathe out a sigh of relief— one that she had been holding in ever since the Sanctuary City of Alyona had undergone its lockdown.

We’re safe here, she thought as she swept her gaze over the swathes of other refugees making their way into the gates of the city. Or at the very least, we’re safer in here than out there.

She was not under the illusion that she was safe anywhere after experiencing the destruction of Alyona— not until she was strong enough to defeat the Dreamers. For now, she was simply grateful for the simple pleasures in life.

Taking in a deep breath, Kara came to a halt right before a busy street and smiled. She smelled the aromatic scent of an eclectic mixture of food. All kinds of dishes that came from various different cultures and backgrounds. 

Angel stepped forward, both his mouths watering, before looking eagerly at Kara. She paused, catching herself as she turned to Caius.

“Uh, are we in a rush to go somewhere?” she asked, tilting her head at the elf. “Because if not…”

“Run wild,” Caius scoffed. “As I told you, today’s your day off. I’ll cover everything for you. So don’t worry.”

Kara and Angel nodded at each other, before the two of them beamed back at Caius.

“Thanks, Caius. You’re the best.” Kara waved at him.

And she sprinted down the marketplace, followed by Angel. Caius watched from the side with a smile on his face as they pairstopped by every stall, buying everything that looked even mildly good. Which meant pretty much at least one order of everything on the menu.

The smile slowly slipped from the elf’s face.

Kara and Angel continued going from stall to stall, carrying with them all kinds of skewers, stews, and treats.

And finally, Caius closed his eyes.

“...maybe don’t run too wild” Caius pursed his lips, before he called out, giving chase to them, “Hey, that’s enough—”

—--

Kara and Angel left the market street, with pouting faces and sagged shoulders. Caius dragged them out of there before they bankrupted what little coins remained in the coffers of Alyona. Still, even as Kara pretended to be unhappy, she was content.

Or at the very least, her stomach was happy.

So she ate as she followed Caius, listening as he gave her a tour of the Sanctuary City of Yulia.

“This is the Hakyr District,” he explained as they passed through a slums-like area. It wasn’t as crowded as the upper tunnels of Alyona, but that was because Yulia had a lot more space. “The poorest district of the city. It used to be a region mainly for farmers and their livestock, but now it’s being used to house… us.”

There were mostly refugees here, as far as Kara could tell. She saw an equal mix of dark elves, orcs, and trolls. There were also a handful of minotaurs and dwarves. But they were very much in the minority.

Making their way through the slums, Caius, Kara, and Angel ascended up some rocky stairs towards the monolithic vertical walls in the distance. Until, eventually, they reached a gate that led further into an inner section of the city.

“Beyond these walls is the Yastra District. If we want to go there, we have to pay a silver coin fee for a day pass, and ten silver coins for a month’s pass. And if you want to permanently move there… let’s just say it’ll be quite costly.”

Caius sighed, lowering his head. Kara pursed her lips as she remembered the events of last month. The refugees of Alyona would have been given access to the Yastra District, just like the refugees of Vera.

Unfortunately, Dark Lady Aiza hated humans. So when she saw Kara… there was a bit of an incident. And because of that, Kara became the Guardian of Alyona, while the refugees of Alyona were given worse treatment than they should have received.

Looking through the gate into the Yastra District, Kara saw the buildings lining the sides of the streets there— buildings that were made out of marble and wood. Compared to the rundown mud and stone houses here in the Hakyr District, it was almost like staring into heaven from hell.

“Fortunately for us…” Caius said as he turned around. Up from their elevation, they could take a good look at the entirety of the Hakyr District. “The Hakyr District is vast, and was sparsely populated before any refugee even stepped foot into the Sanctuary City of Yulia. Because of that, there is a lot of land available for us to occupy.”

Kara blinked as she swept her gaze over the slums and looked onto the arable land in the distance. Much of it was divided into various areas for farming. However, there was still plenty of untouched land— grassy plains and hillocks that rose and fell like the ever changing tide of the sea.

“There,” Caius said as he brought a hand up.

Kara and Angel blinked. They followed the elf’s hand as he pointed at something in the distance. It was a small hill, but it was built up almost like a mound. Like an anthill. 

“What is that…?” Kara asked, narrowing her eyes. 

Angel tilted both of his heads, clearly confused. Caius chuckled as he lowered his hand.

“That is the new Alyona,” the elf said simply. “Well, the temporary new Alyona, at the very least.”

“Oh.” Kara blinked.

And she saw the various figures, tiny from this distance, moving in and out of the mound. It was like a small underground city of sorts. Kind of like a forminac hive.

So this is Uzbug’s doing, huh? Kara thought as a small smile crossed her lips. Well, I’m glad she’s been doing well…

—--

Kara, Angel, and Caius made their way to the temporary home for the survivors of Alyona. They walked through the crowded slums that were surrounding the walls to the Yastra, reaching the edge between the open plains and the mess of buildings. 

“I wonder…” Kara placed a hand, speaking aloud. She eyed the open plains, before glancing back at the crowded slums. “Why don’t the refugees just… spread out more?”

“Because they can’t,” Caius explained as he spoke in a lecturing tone.

“What does that mean?” Kara exchanged a quizzical glance with Angel.

Caius gestured at the dirt around their feet. “Much of the soil in the surrounding fields is soft and weak. If too many structures are built on top of those land, the ground itself will collapse. It does not serve as a good foundation to build a house. Unlike the soil around here.”

“I see.” Kara snapped her brows together. “So that’s why we’re building an underground city.”

“It’s not exactly an underground city, and not everyone from Alyona lives there,” Caius corrected her. “But yes, that’s why we’re digging down.”

Kara nodded as she glanced back at the busy slums. “That makes sense—”

“No, don’t!” a voice cried out, interrupting her.

Blinking, Kara came to a sudden halt. She looked towards a commotion that was breaking out right before a rundown building. Caius and Angel slowed down next to her. They stared at the small crowd that was forming, hearing the hushed voices.

“What is going on?” Kara asked with a frown.

Caius opened his mouth to opine, but he was interrupted by the same voice from earlier crying out. And it was obvious this time around that it belonged to a child.

“Please— someone help me!”

Kara exchanged a quick glance with Caius, and they moved. 

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the slower Kara uploads. As previously mentioned, I have ran through my backlog of chapters that I wrote in February. And writing three novels at once while dealing with comics and production of paperback copies is not easy, especially with all the things going on in my personal life too.

I shall be splitting Kara chapters so they're no longer 4k words minimum from now on, and I can publish them more frequently. When published on Amazon, each "Part One, Part Two, or Part Three" chapters will be in the same chapter.