After two flights and a little over three hours of travel, Theo and the others finally stepped out into the city closest to Petra.
’’Wadi Musa,’’ Owen mumbled, struggling to pronounce the name properly. ’’And you’re really sure this place is the closest to Petra?’’
Theo nodded without thinking about it.
’’It’s the only city within fifty kilometers of Petra,’’ he said. ’’Everyone heading for the ruins gathers here first.’’
Owen looked around curiously.
The streets were utterly packed with hunters.
It was to the point where he actually struggled to point out any civilians among them.
Every few steps, another group walked past.
Some wore matching combat robes embroidered with the emblems of powerful organizations, while others simply wore plain clothes with a logo sewn onto them.
Yet, there wasn’t a single person who wasn’t carrying a weapon.
Theo’s eyes quietly swept through the crowds.
’Gold Cores,’ he thought. ’And there are so many of them too.’
Just from a brief glance, more than half the people present appeared to be at that level.
The rest consisted of either Silver Cores or ordinary civilians.
’’This is crazy,’’ Jim muttered. ’’Don’t any of you think this might be a bit over our level?’’
Owen’s head snapped toward him with a deadpan expression.
’’You want to start with the pointless fear again?’’ he asked, raising his fist.
Jim’s expression instantly darkened.
Memories of being dragged through the warehouse flashed through his mind once more.
’’I’m good,’’ he said with a forced smile.
Lyra couldn’t help but chuckle.
’’Good choice,’’ she said. ’’I don’t think any of us want to watch that again.’’
Jim coughed awkwardly before pretending nothing had happened.
’’Anyways,’’ he muttered, quickly changing the subject. ’’Where are we going now?’’
Pulling out his phone, Theo opened the map.
’’First, we need somewhere to stay,’’ he said slowly.
’’And how do you plan on doing that?’’ Jim asked, glancing back at him. ’’I doubt there’s even a single hotel left unbooked!’’
The others nodded slowly.
Theo chuckled lightly as he shook his head.
’’The leader of my hunter group arranged a place for us a long time ago,’’ he said, still glancing at his phone. ’’Apparently, the owner is one of the locals who has guided expeditions to Petra for years.’’
Raising an eyebrow, Owen couldn’t help but look at Theo in surprise.
’’Harold did?’’
Theo nodded once as he stashed his phone away.
’’Let’s go,’’ he said, nodding ahead.
The others exchanged glances for a moment.
Then they quietly began following Theo through the crowded streets.
It didn’t take long before the fancy hotels and busy restaurants disappeared around them, replaced by much smaller sandstone houses. Even they, however, seemed filled to the brim.
After nearly twenty minutes, Theo finally came to a stop in front of a modest two-story home surrounded by a low stone wall.
Theo glanced at the address on his phone once before nodding.
’’This is it.’’
Owen looked between the house and Theo.
’’You sure?’’ he muttered. ’’Doesn’t look like much...’’
Shrugging lightly, Theo simply stepped up to the wooden gate and knocked firmly.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then faint footsteps echoed from within.
CLICK!
The front door unlocked before slowly creaking open.
A young woman stepped outside.
She looked to be around their age, with short brown hair that barely reached her jaw and lightly tanned skin. A curved dagger hung by her side while athletic clothes were wrapped tightly around her athletic frame.
’’Can I help you?’’ she asked sharply as her gaze swept over all five of them.
Theo nodded and took a step forward.
’’We’re from the Northern Line Hunter Group,’’ he said politely. ’’We were told to come here to meet a senior.’’
The girl’s eyebrows shot up immediately.
’’Hah?’’ she scoffed loudly. ’’I thought you people died or something.’’
Theo frowned slightly.
’’We ran into some problems while traveling here,’’ he said.
The girl didn’t even flinch.
’’So those ’problems’ made you late by a week?’’ she replied coldly. ’’And let me guess, you expect me to invite you in now that you’ve finally shown up?’’
Owen let out a low whistle behind Theo.
’’She’s kinda scary,’’ he said, glancing at the others.
The girl’s head snapped toward him immediately.
’’Shut it, you freak,’’ she shot back. ’’You wouldn’t even fit through the gate with that gigantic head.’’
Owen’s mouth fell wide open in shock.
At the same time, Jim almost couldn’t stop himself from laughing.
Just then, a warm chuckle came from behind the girl.
’’Enough, Nadia.’’
A middle-aged man slowly walked out behind her, leaning on two crutches to compensate for a missing leg.
Although the man’s hair had grayed and his face was covered in scars, he still carried a calm, warm smile.
’’They’ve clearly been through something,’’ he said lightly. ’’Why don’t we invite them in and hear their story first?’’
The girl clicked her tongue in disapproval.
’’Yeah, yeah,’’ she said, stepping aside with an exaggerated sigh. ’’Invite some more trouble into the house. Why don’t you?’’
The middle-aged man simply laughed as he raised one crutch to hold the door open.
’’Please,’’ he said, looking at Theo’s group. ’’Come in.’’
Theo returned a warm smile and gave the man a respectful nod.
’’Thank you, sir,’’ he said sincerely.
The middle-aged man waved the thanks away.
’’No need,’’ he replied warmly. ’’Anyone sent by Harold is welcome here.’’
Theo nodded once more before stepping through the doorway, followed by Iris.
Jim wasted no time following after him either.
Only, as he walked past Nadia, he practically ducked to avoid her scary gaze.
’’Coward,’’ Nadia called after him.
A few steps behind them, Owen leaned closer to Lyra.
He lightly tapped her shoulder before pointing at his own head.
’’Be honest,’’ he whispered. ’’Is my head really that big?’’
Lyra looked at him for several long seconds.
Then her gaze slowly drifted to his head before returning to his eyes.
’’A little,’’ she admitted.
Owen froze completely.
’’What?!’’
Lyra nodded with a perfectly straight face.
’’I just never wanted to say anything.’’
With that, she followed after the others and walked inside.
Owen instinctively reached up and grabbed his head with both hands.
’’No way...’’ he muttered, eyes wide.