I pushed my way across the market. By the end of the main street, the inner wall rose like the menacing crest of a black wave adorned with red and golden banners. The Marquis's banner was flung at half-mast under the royal banner. Not only did the king’s army seek shelter in the city, but a member of the royal family was also a guest at the Great Hall. No matter how many merchants I asked, nobody knew who it was.

In front of the main gate, a squad of imposing stag soldiers stood guard next to the city guardsmen. The army men’s weapons and armor must’ve been repaired when I was out of combat because there was no trace of dents or scratches. None of the groups seemed too pleased to share the workplace.

Ignorant of the tension between guardsmen and soldiers, Firana walked beside me with a carefree attitude, striking sudden poses to trigger her new cape’s enchantment. I couldn’t help but smile. The fact I spent two gold coins on a ‘useless’ gift was going to ruffle Elincia’s feathers, but seeing Firana happy made the purchase worthwhile. I hoped the present for Ilya would serve to appease Elincia. The Cooldown Bow seemed extremely useful, at least on paper.

Seeing the main gate shut, I guided Firana towards a lateral door guarded by three guardsmen. The usual sloppiness in the guardsmen’s outfits had disappeared entirely. The men were dressed to the nines with fancy armor and well-polished billhooks that shone under the faint light from the winter sun. I envisioned Captain Kiln cracking the metaphorical whip of diligence over the recruits. Poor creatures.

The guardsmen saw us breaking from the crowd. We walked up the slope towards the Great Hall, and the two guards crossed their billhooks over the doorway while the sergeant, the one with the red plume on its helmet, stepped forward to meet us. My feet froze when my eyes fell upon him. Raudhan Kiln. His nose was crooked at a strange angle, and I remembered the blow I had administered to his face. It even hurt my hand.

“Very bold of you to show your face here, Scholar,” The young man said as he blocked the path.

I gritted my teeth and cursed my luck. Of all the guardsmen in the city, it had to be the only one I had punched in the face.

“Finally decided to surrender your orphans to the King’s army? Good call. At least they would be useful that way,” He said with a mocking grin, pointing his chin towards Firana.

Elincia’s words echoed in my mind. No fights.

“Don’t be so harsh, Sarge, she’s just a kid,” The veteran guardsman said with a tired voice.

Raudhan turned around, but I caught a glimpse of his angered expression.

“Don’t ask unless prompted, peasant. Unless you want to work a double shift for the rest of the month,” Raudhan threatened him.

The veteran guardsman seemed unimpressed by the threat but remained silent nonetheless.

“I’m here for official business,” I said, taking Sir Janus’ silver medallion and showing it to Raudhan. The medallion’s design made little sense to me, but the man seemed to recognize it because his mouth suddenly turned into a thin line.

“A medallion from the Imperial Academy? Are you here to see Janus?” Raudhan asked, trying hard to hide his surprise. He failed, though. The young man’s acting was light years away from the veteran guardsman’s.

“Yes. Sir Janus is expecting me,” I replied with a neutral tone. As much as I wanted to act smug, acting hostile against Raudhan would only undermine my chance of success. The orphanage had enough enemies without making new ones.

Ultimately, Raudhan grunted in discontent but signaled the guards to move nonetheless.

“Follow me. Captain Kiln should know where Janus is.”

I grabbed Firana by the shoulders and followed Raudhan across the thick, reinforced door. The man guided us through a dark corridor inside the wall, then across a second reinforced door, and we went out into an inner cobbled courtyard. The Great Hall boiled with activity. A batch of tall and robust young recruits with red shirts were training with the billhook under the supervision of a much older sergeant while a squad of royal soldiers practiced their formations. Army officials sparred while other high-rank soldiers watched from the corridors. Blacksmiths repaired weapons and armor in makeshift workshops in the corner of the courtyard.

At no time did Raudhan ensure that we were following, so I had to drag Firana, who was hypnotized by the drills, not to be left behind. We entered the barracks building unchecked, and we climbed a set of stairs towards Captain Kiln’s office. As soon as we reached the second floor, we were welcomed by the woman’s bellowing words. She was furious.

Raudhan stopped in its tracks and turned around. Then, he brought a finger to his lips and signaled us to follow him in silence. Firana and I nodded. We dragged our feet over the rug and stopped outside Captain Kiln’s office.

“Two bodies! You can imagine my surprise when I received the report! Two damn bodies and the reports took a whole week to reach my desk! Not in my thirty years as the Captain of the City Guard have I seen something like this,” Captain Kiln bellowed.

Someone was getting chewed out.

“Come on, Izabeka. They were two lowlifes. You are weaving conspiracies from thin air,” Sir Janus's voice came muffled from the other side of the thick oak door.

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“I am not weaving anything. Criminals must be apprehended and interrogated. That’s how things are in Farcrest! I don’t care if you are a Royal Knight or the damned High Priest. The rules must be followed to the letter,” Captain Kiln bellowed again.

“Every criminal you release is a potential threat to the city, Izabeka. We have more than enough with the monsters looming over our heads to be occupied with thievery and murder,” Sir Janus raised his voice. “At least the Caretaker and his kids are great with swords, so they could defend themselves until we arrived!”

“You cut their damn heads off!” Captain Kiln exploded again.

“They were scum! Wait. Someone’s at the other side of the door,” Janus said.

Raudhan cursed and signaled for us to step back. Then, he knocked on the door and spoke with a childlike voice. “Auntie, I brought two visitors.”

Firana and I exchanged confused glances. It was hard to imagine Captain Kiln having a soft spot for her dear cousin. Raudhan just shrugged his shoulders as if he were asking, ‘What else do you want me to do?’.

“Come inside, I’m done here!” Captain Kiln yelled from the other side.

The office was messier than I remembered. Stacks of parchment raised from the floor to the ceiling, bundles of scrolls protruded from the wall shelf, and the map table was covered with hundreds of painted markers and tokens. Captain Kiln’s face distorted when she laid her eyes on me.

“Great, now the troublemaker Scholar decides to appear,” Captain Kiln violently sat behind her desk, making her chair creak.

Despite my ignorance about weight taboos, I made a mental note not to comment on her weight any time soon.

Sir Janus turned around and greeted me with a nod and a smile. I nodded back, feeling a bit guilty. If anything, I was partially to blame for Sir Janus's situation. The thieves had followed me because I had been careless. Probably. My gut told me Kellaren Odrac-Aias was to blame, but it made little sense, considering he didn’t know I was a Scholar.

Raudhan closed the door behind us and crossed the room to stand behind Captain Kiln. He whispered something in the woman’s ear and was smart enough to cover his mouth. Whatever he said didn't make her happy.

“I’m too busy with the Royal Army stationed within my walls. The System damn them, take a seat and be brief.” Captain Kiln grunted as she put a rogue strand of white hair behind her ear. She looked like she had slept very little.

With long strides, I covered the distance from the door to the desk and sat in the chair next to Sir Janus. Firana stood next to me as a silent honor guard. I couldn’t help but notice Firana glancing at Captain Kiln with admiration. The woman had to be a legend in Farcrest, just like Sir Janus.

“You can go, Janus,” Captain Kiln grunted.

“That would not be necessary. What I have to say concerns Sir Janus too,” I said to the woman’s dismay.

“My two biggest headaches now working together, nice. You better bring me something good, Scholar; otherwise, I’m telling the guards to ‘escort’ you out of my sight faster than you take a breath.” Captain Kiln said.

Despite her harsh words, her eyes shone with a greedy glint.

“Allow me.” I replied with a broad smile as I pulled the box with Ginz’s deck of cards from my cloak’s pocket. Captain Kiln and Sir Janus looked at the ornate box with curiosity. All the credit went to Ginz and his excellent nose for pleasing customers.

The cards flew in my hands as I performed my small repertoire of cuts. Despite giving Ginz minimal guidance, he had understood the ‘feel’ the deck should have. Perks of using the System, I figured. The sound of the deck being shuffled would never cease to be satisfying.

“As you can see, this deck has fifty-two cards grouped in four suits. Each suit has ten pip cards and three face cards: a jack, a queen, and a king. This deck also has four jokers, but we will not use them now.” I explained, laying the diamond cards face up on the table. “Several games use this deck, but we will learn only one today. Poker.”

Sir Janus and Raudhan must’ve been avid gamblers too, because their demeanor changed as soon as I mentioned we were playing a game. They exchanged greedy glances like cats eyeing the last sardine. Luckily for me, I was working as the dealer this time. After playing liar’s dice with the Captain, I learned I was no rival to her.

“Can I play?” Firana asked from behind me.

“No, this is not a game for kids. You can’t learn it either.” I replied, making the girl grumble.

For the next few minutes, I explained the game's rules and wrote on a sheet of parchment the possible hands and their value. Luckily, the rules were simple, and after a mock match, Captain Kiln, Sir Janus, and Raudhan swiftly put their coin purses on the table. The tension in the air was palpable, so I started shuffling again before someone told me to deal.

“Alright, gentlemen, I don’t want to see any spying or illusory skills on my table. Play fair and smart. Please make your initial bids. A piece of copper may suffice?” I said.

The three looked at me as if I had just offered them a glass of boiling zero-alcohol beer on a hot day.

“A piece of silver?”

They nodded and placed the coins in the middle of the table. Then hell was let loose. Janus was an aggressive player, and after a few rounds, Raudhan’s coin purse was reduced to half. Captain Kiln’s face remained indifferent as she won several good rounds. Sir Janus was the complete opposite; he laughed, grunted, sighed, and betted a couple of times without seeing his hand. Even though this was probably the second game of poker ever in this world, Captain Kiln and Sir Janus were obviously counting cards.

Meanwhile, Firana paced around the room, examining the map desk or lying on the couch near the door. If Captain Kiln noticed, which I doubted considering the game's intensity, she didn’t complain. After a couple more rounds, Raudhan was out and depressed. His money had been more or less distributed evenly between Captain Kiln and Sir Janus.

“Enough for today.” Captain Kiln finally said, throwing her cards on the table: a jack and a queen of spades.

“Come on, Izabeka, we are having a good time.” Sir Janus complained, imitating her. He had two aces.

“I’m a pragmatic woman. I’m not spending time to end the game with roughly the same money as I had initially.” Captain Kiln replied as she counted her newly earned money while Raudhan looked at his empty purse, dejected. “Now, Rob, what is the reason for your visit?”

The Captain’s demeanor towards me suddenly changed. She seemed almost friendly.

“I’d like my kids to join the Stephannis Cup, and I’d like you to support our participation. Sir Janus already expressed his support.” I said, gathering the cards and putting the deck back into the ornate box.

Captain Kiln was caught by surprise and gave Janus a questioning glance.

“It’s true. I have seen how the kids from Lowell’s Orphanage fight. They have great potential, and I think showing their capabilities to the Marquis and his people will benefit them greatly.” Sir Janus explained with a calm voice.

Captain Kiln sighed and glanced at Firana.

“I’m assuming you are referring to the Aias girl and Dassyra’s kid? I think we can accommodate two more contenders… that will mean an extra qualifying match–” Captain Kiln reached for a scroll and quickly skimmed its contents.

“Actually, I was hoping for my four eldest students to participate. Firana the human, Wolf the half-orc, Zaon the elf, and Ilya the gnome.” I interrupted her just to win a glance of disbelief.

“Say again, a gnome?” Captain Kiln blinked in confusion.

“I’ll assure you, they are great. You can present me as their sponsor if you are too scared to smear your name.” Sir Janus interjected with a malicious glance.

“You’ll sponsor a classless gnome… in a fencing tournament in front of the entirety of the local nobility?”

“Ilya knows a thing or two about swordsmanship. I can vouch for Clarke’s School of Fencing.” Sir Janus just shrugged his shoulders. “Not to mention, I’ll laugh my Class off when those silly noble kids start having trouble dealing with a bunch of orphans.”

Captain Kiln sighed yet again. “Are they prepared to compete, Robert?”

“We can do a demonstration right now if Firana is down for it.” I said, looking at the girl.

A moment later, four pairs of eyes were fixed on Firana.

“Right… who am I supposed to beat?” The girl smiled full of herself as she gave me the thumbs up.

“Me.” Captain Kiln replied.