“What are you waiting for, Enatsu? Come on, hop up!” Yoichi rejoiced. Stretching his arm towards his friend, he invited him to climb to the mighty Ichiro.

“Are you sure it doesn’t bother it? It’s part of the team now, that’s true, but… it looks shifty…” Enatsu stammered. Taking courage, he grabbed his companion’s hand and clung forcefully to the back of the horse. ​​

Ichiro did a slight rotation of the body, allowing its two riders to settle down. Yoichi stayed ahead and Enatsu behind, laying hold of his partner’s back.

“When we reach Goldhaven, I’ll buy a saddle big enough to hold us both! Hahah!” the young tamer chuckled. Due to its massive musculature, Ichiro’s back was not very comfortable to clench between their legs.

“I’d say… I think you’re ri… iiight!” Enatsu’s words were interrupted by the horse’s departure. Without any effort, it started towards the dense vegetation that bounded the clearing.

The two adventurers left the lake behind them. Sora followed them from above, fluttering as nimbly as ever.

The large bushes and low branches of the trees did not seem to hinder Ichiro’s advance. The steed had inherited part of its geographical memory: knowing that place by heart, it used its bulk to crush the shrubs under its hooves, heading south.

A new sunset illuminated the delightful Bronzeforest with its reddish light. Knowing himself safely, Yoichi was travelling to Goldhaven with a new spirit.

Although his new quest explicitly required joining a guild, he had not forgotten the Blackvault Mines issue. The man who had entrusted him with the recovery of the mysterious missing necklace seemed ready to shell out a large reward.

Guild or not, I’m sure a little money would suit me. Yoichi thought, clinging to Ichiro’s mane to stay in balance.

Half the time compared to the outward journey, the two adventurers travelled through the stretch of forest that separated them from the North Gates of the capital of Tentochu.

As if it were a piece of art painted on canvas, Goldhaven sprang over the trees. Its high white walls were enriched by the shades of sunset red, which made all colours warmer and breathtaking.

Fewer people than that morning were lined up near the large gates of the northern entrance. Gradually slowing down the pace, Ichiro led Yoichi and Enatsu to the foot of the walls.

“Perhaps it is appropriate to get off the horse,” Enatsu suggested in a low voice. “The guards are already glaring at us,” he added.

In addition to the men in armour who took care of controlling the outgoing and incoming people, Ichiro’s majestic appearance also drew the gazes of other travellers.

Yoichi and Enatsu dismounted with a jump, landing on the ground.

Without having reins to guide Ichiro in the right direction, Yoichi kept on walking. As if he were a trained hound, the Inoshuma followed his every movement, staying less than a meter away from him.

“Mom, look! That horse is huge!” the voice of a child from the people in line to enter gasped. The appearance of the wild scarred steed had already aroused someone’s interest.

“If a child’s watchful eyes have recognized Ichiro’s otherness, imagine how much its presence can increase our credibility,” Enatsu thought aloud. Initially hesitant about searching for the Inoshumas herd, now the young merchant seemed to support Yoichi’s thesis.

In about twenty minutes, while the red sun was still visible behind the west walls, the two adventurers reached the North Gates. “Hello!” one of the guards welcomed, raising a hand as a gesture of greeting.

“Glory to Emperor Nishiyama” Yoichi promptly replied. Emulating the same gesture as the guard, the young tamer had now realized that that sentence was like a pass.

“Glory to the Emperor. Where do you come from, travellers?” the man in heavy armor inquired, holding a long halberd with his right hand.

“From the Bronzeforest. We came to Goldhaven to meet Sada Takamori, guild master of the Nightblades…” *growl* – “… and to put something under our teeth” Yoichi smiled, when the grumbling of his stomach interrupted his speech.

“All right, get in. Next!” the guard called, without further investigating the identity of the two. Their ‘good guys’ faces had convinced him before he even heard them speak.

“Thank you!” Enatsu and Yoichi answered in chorus, accompanying the words with a bow of the head.

“Goldhaven is home to Tentochu’s best taverns. You will undoubtedly find a place to fill your stomachs. Nice horse, by the way,” the guard continued.

Once they crossed the heavy iron gates of the northern entrance to the walls, the two travellers found themselves in the city’s crowded streets. The stillness of the forest was now only a memory.

“We are still in time to reach the Tamer District. I’m sure Takamori-Sama can show us a place to eat. Who knows, maybe he could even offer us dinner,” Yoichi said, walking next to Ichiro and Enatsu.

The Tamer District, the walled neighbourhood that housed most of the guild operating bases in the capital, was just a few hundred yards from the North Gates. Considering that distance, Yoichi felt it appropriate not to get on the horse and continued to walk in the company of his friend.

Various smells of food fluttered freely through the streets, while the fire of the torches hanging from walls replaced sunlight. Yoichi continued to follow directions to his destination with much effort, trying not to diverge from the main road.

Without listening to his physiological needs, eager to meet the man who had implicitly offered him a job, Yoichi crossed the neighbourhood’s arched stone. He entered the walls of the Tamer District, where hundreds of tamers were intent on carrying out all kinds of tasks.

Despite being part of Goldhaven, that place seemed to be a microcosm with its own laws. Even time seemed to flow differently: while in the rest of the city, people had stopped working for a warm meal, in the tamers’ quarter, heavy caravans filled with materials of all kinds were pulled by massive Umakames.