“Hey, Barika, is the city supposed to be glowing?” Anna asked.

“You’re seeing the ward placed over the city by the temple to keep evil beings out,” Barika replied.

“Oh, well, it’s pretty,” Anna said.

Barika sighed.

“I do wish I could see the world through your eyes just once,” she replied.

“I know it’s not the same, but I could draw you a picture if you like,” Anna said.

“That would be wonderful, child,” Barika replied.

They rode up to the massive gate. The guards stationed there didn’t so much as look in their direction as they passed through.

“Isn’t there a fee to get in?” Anna asked.

“This is one of the three holy cities. People from all over come here on pilgrimage, so entry is free,” Barika replied.

“Oh, that makes sense,” Anna said.

On the other side of the gate was a clean and well-ordered city with architecture similar to that of the empire’s capital, all be it more subdued. The streets were crowded with people going about their business. She looked around as they rode.

“Hey, where are all the women and children?” she asked.

“This city is dedicated to the god of light, and a majority of the population are his followers, which means mostly men,” Barika replied.

“Ah, that makes sense. So, does that mean that most of them prefer men?” Anna asked.

“One would assume,” Barika replied.

“I guess that explains all the cock sculptures and carvings,” Anna said.

Barika laughed.

“That’s not it, child. The phallus is considered a good luck charm by the god of light’s worshippers, so they tend to put it on just about everything,” she replied.

“So, does it work?” Anna asked.

“I couldn’t say,” Barika replied.

Thokri rode ahead of the others.

“This way, lads,” he said.

They started to follow the dwarf as he led them deeper into the city. Anna rode up next to him.

“How long has it been since you’ve been here?” she asked.

“Bout thirty years,” Thokri replied.

“Are you sure the guild hall is still in the same place?” she asked.

“No, but I’ve never heard of one moving before either,” he replied.

“Oh, okay,” Anna said.

The dwarf led them through the twisting streets of the holy city and to the adventurer’s guild hall where they stopped. Thokri and Anna slid off their mounts and passed the reins off.

“I’ll come and get you after we find a place to stay,” Voekeer said.

“Thanks, lad,” Thokri replied.

The rest of the party rode off, leading their horses away. She and Thokri walked towards the guild hall. It was a large nondescript building that was unadorned save for a small sign above that door that bore the guild’s crest.

“You really think this is going to take a long time?” she asked.

“Always does, lass,” Thokri replied.

She sighed, and they walked into the guild hall.

The inside was as plain as the exterior with a few tables scattered around an open space and a large counter along the rear wall. There were a few adventurers sitting at the tables, and like the imperial capital, they were all well-dressed young men. They walked to the counter where one of the attendants walked over to greet them.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“How can I help you today?” the attendant asked.

“I had a run-in with a Drusus Imperial Trading Company caravan, and the caravan master has been after me ever since,” Anna replied.

“Well, that’s quite a pickle. So, I take it you’re a member of the guild?” he asked.

“Sure am,” Anna replied.

She took out her guild badge and held it out for the attendant to see.

“Alright, well, let me get something to write with, and I’ll take your statement,” he said.

He got a sheet of paper and a quill with an ink well and placed them on the counter in front of him.

“Now, tell me what happened, and don’t leave anything out. Trading companies will usually accuse you of all kinds of things when we go to them with a complaint,” he said.

She sighed.

It’s just like Thokri said it would be. Well, I can’t lie to the guild, so here it goes.

“It all started when we left the imperial capital a few weeks back. The caravan from the trading company stopped at the same inn we did, which wasn’t a problem until after we all went to bed that night. Sometime after midnight, I heard a woman scream, left my room to investigate, and found that the caravan’s night watch was missing and there was blood on the ground. I followed the blood trail to the small patch of trees where I found the three night watchmen arguing over an unconscious woman. They were trying to figure out who was going to get a shovel so they could bury her alive. I confronted them, and the one that had attacked the woman attacked me, so I killed him. The magic in my sword activated for the first time since I got it and drained out all his blood. The other two men ran to get help, and I killed them as well. Then I buried them and brought the woman back to the inn. I didn’t want to tell everyone about my sword, so I called for help and pretended that I just found the woman lying there, and the innkeeper and a few men came out. The innkeeper was a jerk and told me to buzz off, so I went back to my room. The next day when we left the inn, we found the innkeeper arguing with the caravan master. The innkeeper told the caravan master he didn’t know what happened to his people and then told them I might know. I pretended to not know what he was talking about, and they all got in a fight. We left the inn to stay out of the fight, but when we got to the next inn, some of the men from the caravan came looking for me. They ended up starting a brawl which got broken up by another group of travelers and left without saying anything to me. After that, I dyed my hair a different color to make it harder to find me, but they ended up spotting me again a week later in a town we stopped at to buy some horses. When they spotted me, they confronted us in the streets. It got bad enough that the town guards broke it up and arrested the caravan master. That was the last time we saw them though,” She replied.

The attendant wrote down her statement and then looked back up at her.

“Tell me, did you ever mention your name to this caravan master or anyone that could have told him, like that innkeeper or one of his men?” he asked.

“I don’t think so,” Anna replied.

“Is there any chance he or his men know you’re an adventurer?” the attendant asked.

“No, probably not,” Anna replied.

“Then I think it’s for the best if we just sweep this under the rug,” he said.

“Why?” she asked.

“I’m not saying what you did was wrong. Honestly, I would have helped that woman too, but if the trading company ever found out what you just told me, they could have you charged with murder,” he replied.

“What should I do?!” Anna asked.

“Easy, lass. The lad already said we just need to keep this quiet,” Thokri replied.

“Exactly. I’m going to get rid of this statement and then pretend this never happened,” the attendant said.

“Okay,” Anna replied.

The attendant took the statement he’d written, walked out from behind the counter and over to the nearby fireplace where he tossed it in. The paper burned to nothing in moments, and he returned to his spot behind the counter.

“Now then, let me give you some advice. Get that magic sword of yours appraised so you know exactly what it can and can’t do so there aren’t any more nasty surprises,” he said.

“Where could I go to get that done?” Anna asked.

“We have an appraiser on staff. I could schedule a meeting with him if you like,” he replied.

“Never heard of a guild hall with an appraiser before,” Thokri said.

“This is the City of Light. We have the largest library in the empire here as well as more scholars than anywhere else. People drag weird junk from all over the world here to find out what it is, so the guild master decided to hire an appraiser to make sure guild members weren’t getting ripped off,” the attendant replied.

Thokri nodded.

“How much will it cost?” Anna asked.

“A silver for a quick appraisal. Ten for a detailed one,” the attendant replied.

“Put me down for a detailed one,” Anna said.

Maybe I’ll learn what else Ted can do!

“Good choice,” the attendant replied.

He walked over to the bookshelf and removed one of the books, opening it and flipping through the pages for a moment before putting his finger on the open page.

“How does the day after tomorrow at tenth bell sound?” he asked.

“Works for me,” Anna replied.

He took the book over to the counter and set it down.

“Name?” he asked.

“Anna,” she replied.

“Guild number?” he asked.

“Seven, zero, zero, five, nine, seven,” she replied.

He wrote her information in the book and then leaned forward.

“If anyone asks, tell them you came in to get your sword appraised and that was it,” he said.

“Sure thing,” Anna replied.

“Aye,” Thokri added.

“Good, now, is there anything else I can help you with?” the attendant asked.

“No, that’s all,” Anna replied.

“Then I hope you have a wonderful day,” the attendant said.

“You, too,” Anna replied.

They walked away from the counter and took a seat at one of the tables. They started to chat and tell each other ever cruder jokes as they waited for Voekeer to return.

The adventurers in the guild hall were of the same ilk as the ones in the capital and didn’t seem to appreciate their particular brand of humor, casting dirty glances in their direction every time they heard the punch line of one of the jokes. Anna and Thokri paid them no mind. They weren’t planning on taking any work in the city, so they didn’t care what the local adventurers thought of them.

They continued until Voekeer walked into the guild hall and over to their table.

“Did you get everything handled?” he asked.

“Aye, we’ll tell you about it on the way back to the inn,” Thokri replied.

“Works for me,” Voekeer said.

They got up from the table and followed Voekeer out of the guild hall and onto the busy street.