The building they exited was impressive - in the paranoid, prison-complex kind of way. It was a pair of concentric circles, a moat dug in-between each set of walls. It was basically a building inside a moated walled complex, with guards on both sides. Of course, the guards themselves had a variety of ranged weapons on the wall, ranging from slings to bows to crossbows and even a few conveniently placed stacks of rocks.
Not that Arthur was discounting what a good thrown rock, empowered by a skill and the stats of a climber could do to an unlucky recipient. He was thus doubly grateful he hadn't had to fight his way out - or subject him and his Clan to a search.
That, however, didn't make him any happier to be rushing after Casey as she stomped along the thin bridge, the entire thing wobbling and bouncing as she literally pounded her way across it. Considering right under the bridge were a bunch of stakes, he really thought maybe being a little more considerate about the infrastructure would have been smart, but hey.
He wasn't the one currently raging.
Which was a nice change.
"So... exactly why are you angry?" he asked as he finally caught up to her at the gates. Mostly because it was taking a while for it to swing open, the guards in charge being a touch too slow.
"Because my idiot aunt is getting greedy. Again," she growled, under her breath. She was - at least - keeping her voice low. "Her job is supposed to be running the floor, collecting our share of the beast stones and passing it on. That's it. Don't cause trouble, don't overreach, don't make a mess of things."
Arthur was about to ask a little more, only to actually catch a glimpse of the world outside as he stepped out. The seventh floor's settlement was a proper town, a place of residence for thousands. Even if few people managed to make it here each month, the inflow of Climbers over the past twenty plus years was enough to populate the Tower itself. If not for the forced sterilisation that every Climber basically underwent - outside of some rather specific techniques and pills supposedly - the entire place would have been filled with little brats.
As it was, it was still busy with quite a broad range of ages - though the oldest still only capped out around late fifties or early sixties would be Arthur's guess. Which tracked considering most people older than their thirties or so wouldn't have risked the Tower. The occassional midlife crisis notwithstanding, those who didn't train didn't manage to ascend.
Still, having a bunch of strong, powerful and disciplined individuals in a small space had pushed the building out of the town quite a bit. There were actual roads - not just places people walked, but pressed earth roads with a mixture of crushed gravel and packed earth on top of it leading away from the building. There were roadsigns hanging high above, indicating where people should go with signposts indicating major points of interest.
The Tower Administrative center. The teleportation center. The baths. The supermarket. The auction house. Prime Inc's Banking Service. Mosque.
And the buildings. Quite a variety, though many were made with wood, with a few a mixture of mud and brick, all of them with simple trush and tile roofs. Most had big windows, though few had actual glass within them and those that did, most were cloudy and the glass themselves were warped. Instead, the majority of the windows were covered by either paper - or in some cases, pressed leaf - constructs or were just wooden windows with slits in place.
It was rather jarring in that sense, the entire place. The occassional flicker of modern living - a bicycle there, solar panels on those roofs, metal gutters leading to a couple of barrels for collecting rainwater - and then the rather more rustic majority; people wandering around in dirty or torn clothing, furs here and there; men not even bothering with shirts in other cases. The flow of commerce up a Tower was hard after all, and this far up; what there was carefully hoarded and practical.
In between all that, the magical. Lamps that hung outside windows, a few glowing even now as the processed beast stones drew upon their internal power and the Tower energy to shed light without end. Enchanted scrollwork on window frames that blocked entry of bugs, or waded the entire house against them. Weapons with a glyph or two, glowing and pulsing with the energy of the Tower.
Oh, yeah. That was the other major shift.
Weapons, everywhere. Just like every other floor, but those here carried their weapons like it was a third set of limbs, unconsciously, shifting them and holding them and wielding them without thought.
"Oy! Move already lah," Yao Jing, behind Arthur called.
Waking up from his startlement, realising he was blocking the exit, Arthur stepped outwards and away. His self-professed bodyguard stepped through moments later, the big bodybuilder scanning the surroundings and moving ahead of the group to ward off the curious. Not that they got more than a glance.
"It's something..." Arthur grunted, looked at Casey who had stepped aside, tapping her lips in thought. "So what now?"
"I'm thinking."
Arthur just grunted, watching as the rest stream out. Mel joined him in moments while Uswah waved a hand - her only one - and started walking, not stopping.
"Where you going?" he called after her.
"Mosque," she called out behind her.
He frowned, but didn't stop her as she stopped only long enough to check the signposts before turning away. Arthur could have suggested she take a moment to clean herself in the Clan building but really... He had no right to dictate her schedule. Not as though they were leaving anytime soon.
"I'm going to get a drink," Rick said, his words making Yao Jing perk up and then look sad as he glanced at the unmoving Arthur. Giving them all a nod, still holding onto his backpack, he strolled off.
Eyes narrowing though, Arthur sighed and waved to Yao Jing. "Keep him out of trouble."
"You sure, boss?"
"Yes." He waved at Jan who looked like she wanted to join them and added. "I got her. And it's not like this floor is actually supposed to be casually deadly."
"Only for monsters," Mel muttered under her breath, but it didn't stop Yao Jing or Rick from heading off, the pair throwing arms over one another. "You know, those two could really get into trouble..."
"Drunk?" Arthur said, then snorted. "With what alcohol?" He chuckled softly. "Imported stuff is stupidly expensive, the local brewed amounts taste like turpentine so I'm told and are just expensive." He shrugged. "They'll get tipsy but I doubt they'll get into real trouble."
Jan was nodding along, adding. "Jing's bukan terlalu bodoh lah."
No one mentioned Rick not being stupid. The man - of them all, other than Casey - probably had enough funds to actually get drunk, if they took real cash. Which was not always a guarantee.
"We should get you the Clan building first," Casey said, suddenly.
"Tower Administrative center then?" Arthur said, gesturing down to the road to their left. He grunted after a moment, watching the flow of traffic, those who were watching them or the area around. He wasn't surprised to see a few watchers. It always paid to know who might be arriving, and seeing some of their hurry off soon after he exited was one thing.
Watching a pair trail after his own people, not so much.
Still...
"Leia. Eric..." He jerked his chin and the pair nodded. They didn't need any further information. Then, looking at Casey, he gave her a firm nod. "Let's go."
Time to get the Clan building and establish themselves. And hopefully make it clear for the predators on the floor that the Durians really did have sharp thorns they didn't want to be prucked by.