Veloren

Chapter 53: Port Victoria

4 days have passed since the group left the town of Flavrence, and they finally arrive at Port Victoria.

"Ooooh~!!! So this is Port Victoria! It's my first time coming to this location!" Victor exclaimed, admiring the city from an elevated view over a hilltop.

The port contains a colorful coastal town. Various sea vessels can be seen docked at the harbor ranging from various structures and sizes. At the center of it resides a golden statue as tall as the nearby two-story houses. The group make their way through the bustling streets of the town, riddled with fishmongers and street merchants stationed parallel across from each other forming narrow street paths.

The honking of a loud horn grabs Victor's attention. In the distance, a huge super structure shaped as two highly sophisticated yachts conjoined together takes off from the town's port.

From his sudden stop in his distraction, something abruptly bumps into Victor behind him. He quickly turns around to apologize to the person, but is confused to see no one...

His attention quickly returns back to the super structure.

Victor: Woah~! Ho! Ho! That's an insanely huge ship...! I didn't think they could even get that big...I wonder how that works?

Darren: Oh man...I can't wait...! I'm too excited! We're really about to go off to a new area! This is gonna be a first, even for me...!

Sharon: Right...! I wonder how much different it'll be from here, or if it's going to be the same...!

The three were just a step away from their newly awaited adventure. Their forethought left them thrilled with heart-pounding anticipation.

***

The group soon finds themselves at the heart of the harbor by going down a pair of step streets and following the crowds. There, the sight of the golden statue shaped in a woman beheld in front of them. Ridges formed on the statue's details, highlighting the characteristics of the women – The women held what appeared to be a long staff, layered in intricate and regal floral-like patterns until it flourished out at the top into interlocking circles with a crystal melded in-between.

The statue imposed a graceful posture. Folds from the statue's short dress crinkled against her finely curved body, mimicking the motion of being blown elegantly in the wind with her long curly hair. If it weren't for it being a statue, it was easy to imagine the dress was made out of silk material.

People gathered around the statue – whether it be to admire it, to pray to it, rest beside it, or to drop money into the crystal clear pond that it stood on top of.

"Wow. What a detailed statue...!" Sharon said, admiring the artsy figure. "It's pretty!"

Victor: Yeah...There's a lot of people here too...

A random voice speaks out to them –"Are you folks here to admire the statue as well?"

The group turns around to see a disheveled man lurched against a wall with a hanging lamp attached to a staff resting next to him. His ragged clothes wrinkle as he lifts up his small gourd to gulp down on it. The way he drank was also a mess with droplets of liquid spilling out of the side of his pursed lips. His ragged hair covered the man's eyes...and on top of that, his hood was drawn up covering the rest of his head. Despite his dreary expression of clothes, the man showed no signs of wrinkles. He looked to be somewhere around young to middle age.

Disheveled Man: She's quite the beauty isn't she...

The man finds the group have already turned their backs on him.

"Hold on! Don't ignore me!" The man cried out sheepishly with his arms stretched out. "If...! If you were going to ignore me anyways...You shouldn't have acknowledged me in the first place...!"