Aether Lightning

Chapter One

We begin the fifth arc in the adventure of Stella Orchis Aron along with her friends Renee, Florian, and Jasper as they search for Orphea. The pursuit, so far, had led them to a location called Skordo City. They don't know who Orphea is and what Orphea looks like, but that is part of the assignment. This arc will be called Aether Lightning and we will begin with everyone in front of the city.

The time right now is about noon. The weather and temperature feel like no seasons exist in this location. Stella and her friends had reached the city from the northwest corner, but it is a closed wall city, so they had to walk down to the eastern entrance in order to enter.

The city walls are lined up like a square. Each section of the walls has an entrance point where visitors must go through the guards. The entrance points correspond to each of the cardinal directions. North, south, east, and west.

A large sign showed that the name of the city is Skordo City. The security guards seem to be very lax. Stella and Renee were able to go through just fine. Florian and Jasper, for some reason, were questioned and groped. The boys were annoyed by this and the girls had a small laugh.

Upon arrival, Stella looks around and sees that this was a big city. There aren't any tall buildings. In fact, due to the large number of buildings, it is impossible to tell how many buildings and districts there are from only one viewpoint.

Stella begins to think to herself. "I'm thinking Orphea has to be someone important or someone who has just obtained some level of authority."

"That would be a safe assumption," Jasper said. "So, maybe the leader of this city?"

"Like the mayor?" Stella said. "We can start there, but this will take some time, so we should check in at an inn first."

"If we could find one first." Florian said. "This city is huge."

Stella turns to the street and sees that this corner is mainly commercial buildings. Independent food vendors, cafes, restaurants, and others.

"Since we're here," Jasper smiled. "Anyone hungry?"

The nearest eating place to Stella is a lamb restaurant. The group enters and the only empty table is the one next to the window.

Everyone ordered the same thing from the waitress who was a girl with blue eyes and brown hair. The meal of choice was grilled lamb with a hint of garlic.

After eating, Stella asked the waitress for a nearby inn. Apparently, the closest one was about a ten minute walk towards the center.

Inside the inn, Florian ordered two rooms. One for the boys and one for the girls. Stella allowed Florian and Jasper to go off on their own as long as they returned by six o'clock in the evening. She and Renee discuss their own plans.

"Since the mayor is a public position," Stella said. "We should go to a public place such as a city hall or any government building."

"That sounds like a good idea." Renee agreed. "Where do you think we would find any?"

"Probably towards the center and any building that looks nicer than the others. Assuming government employees leave work around four or five in the afternoon, we still have time."

The walk to the center of the city was actually longer than expected. It took over thirty minutes just to go from the inn to the center. Stella scans the area and sees a building that has several guards.

"I think we found our building." Stella said.

"Alright, let's hope it's not some rich guy's house." Renee said as she and Stella approached the building.

The guard is tall and wears a black suit, muscular and a shaved head. Stella looks at him from across the street. She and Renee come closer to the building. They see a girl approaching the guard. This girl looks professional. She is wearing a white collared shirt, a black shirt, and black stiletto shoes.

"Ah, Charis! The mayor is waiting for you. Come in!" said the guard to the professional looking girl.

"Did you hear back?" Stella asked. "That guy just said the mayor."

"Yeah," Renee said. "I guess we just need to follow her to get to the mayor. Once we get to the mayor, we can find out who Orphea is."

"That sounds like a plan. Now, the question is how to proceed…" Stella thought to herself for a moment. "I'm assuming that Charis girl just got back from lunch break. If we wait for her to come out, we can follow her."

Renee looks around the city. There are many people walking around with their everyday life. "If we do wait for her, where would we stay?"

"Assuming she gets off work around four or five, that'll be at least three hours that we'll be here. Let's go back to the inn for a nap. We'll come back later."

It was Jasper's idea to go back to the security gate to ask the guards how to apply for jobs. The plan was to get a job as a security guard and then obtain information on the mayor from there.

At the security gate, Florian and Jasper both approach the nearest guard. He is about the same height as Florian, with dark brown hair, and light green eyes. His outfit consists of a white security uniform.

"Hi," Jasper said. "We would like to become a security guard. Do you know where to apply?"

The guard looks at Jasper and then at Florian. "Why would you guys want that? There isn't anything special about this job. All you do nowadays is just stand around and see people walk in and out. There aren't any actions that make this job wonderful. I get bored really easily, but I need this job to afford my life."

"Hm!" Jasper said. "I don't mean to interrupt, but we just want to apply if that's okay with you."

"Yeah," Florian said. "Protecting the mayor isn't that bad, right?"

"Oh, you don't know?" said the guard. "We don't protect the mayor anymore. He has private security for that. It happened a few months ago. Do you guys live around here?"

"Private security?" Jasper asked. "Where can we find that job?"

The guard sighs. "Just go to the center of town and then north. It'll be a fancy building."