Chapter 1520: The Settlement

A young man who appeared to be in his late teens stood atop one of the watchtowers and watched the group approaching the settlement. Erend focused his enhanced vision on him and immediately noticed the signs of hardship written across the young man’s appearance.

His clothes were worn and patched in several places, while his thin frame suggested that food was not exactly abundant in this place.

He still looked young enough to be considered a teenager, but the harshness of Valthoria had clearly forced him to grow up faster than he should have.

"Who did you bring with you?" the young man called from the watchtower, his voice carrying a clear note of concern.

"I found them on the way," Norma replied. "They seem to be from another settlement and got lost in the wilderness, so I brought them here." She then raised her voice. "Open the damn gate! Do you have any idea what we just went through? We barely escaped a Ratclaw! These people saved my life, so stop the bullshit and open it!"

The young man flinched. Norma’s angry voice seemed to shake him more than Erend expected. He hesitated for several seconds before turning toward the people operating the gate.

About a minute later, the large rusty metal gate slowly opened from both sides, creating enough space for the group to enter.

"Let’s go," Norma said to the four Dragonborn. "You don’t need to talk much. Just act like people who were in distress after getting lost in the wilderness before I found you. I’ll take care of everything."

"Thank you," Erend said.

Eccar also nodded toward her with a small smile.

Norma did not return the smile. She still did not know whether these four strangers were truly good people or what exactly they intended to do in this world.

The only thing she knew for certain was that they possessed incredible power. For now, it was safer to cooperate with them. Besides, despite their strange origins, they had treated her decently.

Norma nodded. "Hmm. Come on."

She walked through the gate first, and the four Dragonborn followed her into the settlement.

Once inside, Erend immediately realized that the settlement was considerably better than he had expected.

It was clearly a post-apocalyptic community, but it had managed to maintain a surprising level of stability.

Most of the buildings had been constructed from a mixture of metal sheets, wooden beams, and rough stone. Their designs were simple, but the structures looked sturdy enough to withstand the harsh environment.

The streets were uneven and covered in dust, but they were clearly maintained. Several people moved between the buildings carrying containers, tools, or bundles of supplies. And some of them stood near small stalls and workshops, working with whatever resources they had managed to salvage.

People glanced toward Norma and the four strangers accompanying her, but their attention didn’t last more than a few seconds. To the inhabitants of the settlement, the four Dragonborn simply looked like another group of survivors who had arrived from somewhere else.

Erend silently thanked his disguise Magic. It was apparently convincing enough that nobody immediately questioned their appearance.

As they continued walking, Eccar’s voice suddenly entered their minds through their telepathic connection.

"It seems this world doesn’t have much in the way of powerful detection Magic."

Erend glanced toward him. "I noticed that too. Nobody seems capable of sensing what we actually are."

"That will make things easier for us," Sylven added. "At least we won’t have to constantly worry about someone seeing through the disguise."

Aesa remained quiet for a moment before responding. "Don’t become careless. We don’t know what kind of abilities the stronger people in this world possess."

Erend silently agreed.

They continued following Norma until they reached the largest building in the settlement. It was several stories tall and had been constructed from reinforced stone and metal. Compared to the other structures around them, it clearly served an important purpose.

Norma stopped in front of it and turned toward them. "Wait here. I’ll arrange somewhere for you to stay."

She then entered the building.

The moment Norma disappeared inside, the four Dragonborn looked around again.

From this position, they could finally see how large the settlement actually was. It stretched much farther into the distance than they had initially realized, with rows of buildings extending toward the far side of the settlement.

A massive defensive wall surrounded the entire community. It had been constructed from thick sections of metal, stone, and reinforced wood that had been layered together to create a barrier against the outside world.

The settlement was not prosperous by the standards of the worlds they had visited before, but it was clearly functional.

Then another detail reached Erend’s senses. The smell. He exchanged a glance with Eccar.

The settlement carried a strong mixture of sweat, dust, smoke, old machinery, and unwashed bodies. It was not difficult to understand why. Water was obviously a precious resource here, and bathing could not possibly be considered a priority when people had to worry about drinking, cooking, and surviving.

The four Dragonborn exchanged heavy glances.

"This is going to be a long journey," Erend said through their telepathic connection.

Aesa’s response came immediately. "I want to get out of here as quickly as possible. This world is too hot."

"We’re all thinking the same thing," Sylven replied.

After several minutes, Norma finally emerged from the building.

"I found a place for you," she said. "Follow me."

The four Dragonborn followed her through another section of the settlement. The streets became quieter as they moved away from the central area.

Small houses stood along both sides of the road, most of them built from the same mixture of stone, wood, and salvaged metal.

Eventually, Norma stopped in front of a modest house near the outer section of the settlement.

"This is the best I can provide," she said. "It’s only one house, but there are three bedrooms inside. You should have enough space."

Erend looked at the house before nodding. "Thank you, Norma. This is more than enough."

Norma nodded. "If you need anything, come find me. Just say my name and someone here should be able to tell you where to find me."

"Alright."

Norma gave the four Dragonborn one last cautious look before turning around and walking away.

Erend watched her disappear down the dusty road before looking toward the house.

For now, they finally had a place to stay in Valthoria. But they still had no idea where the ancient Dragonborn trial was hidden, and they had a feeling that finding it would not be nearly as easy as they had hoped.

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