I’m an idiot.

“Please hand us your weapons and bags, sir,” the monk said with his hand extended.

I didn’t think about how they would want my stuff. They will find the beacon and all the weird things I have stuffed in there. The massive series of straps, chains, and hooks will probably befuddle them and make me look like some kind of pervert.

“I would prefer not to,” I said, gripping tightly on my bag of holding.

“Sir, I will have to insist,” he responded.

A few of the surrounding guards moved to flank me.

“Fine, but I do not consent to any unlawful searches,” I said and tied a rope around my bag so they couldn’t open it without removing it. “If you look inside, I will know and bring this up with your superiors.”

“Thank you, sir. I promise your belongings will remain unmolested,” he said.

Hope so. The Cobalt Soul is the kind of organization that would either respect personal property and not search someone's bag, or they would search someone's belongings regardless of who they belong to. I am hoping for the former, but it might be the latter. They probably don’t know what the Beacon is, so that they might give it back to me. If I tell them what it is, they might still give it back to me. They could also lock it away forever. I know they store some dangerous artifacts since Fjord would give them one of the Cloven Crystals needed to unseal Uk’otoa.

They didn’t have any buildings around the entrance to the ruins, so I was sitting on the ground with about a dozen other adventurers. Once they start looking, it will be pretty obvious I am not a part of any group and entered the ruins illegally. Not sure what I will do then. Would they arrest me and ship me to the Cobalt Reserve in Rexxentrum?

That actually might be a good idea. I had forgotten till now, but there is a teleportation circle to the Vasselheim Archives in Rexxentrum. If I get on the good side of the archives, I can teleport right to Vasselheim.

----------------------

Expositor Kresh

“That's him right there,” Kresh asked.

“Yes, Expositor. We detained him as he walked out of the ruins and has sat there for the last half hour. There was some worry when we asked for his belongings, but he agreed to relinquish them as long as we left the items undisturbed,” the curator said.

“You should have let him keep them, Curator. You were informed that he might be a dragon in disguise. If he wanted them back, he would no doubt take them anyway. I will handle this from here, Curator. Keep the people back, and do not let the Assembly interfere. Use whatever means you feel appropriate to stall them as long as it won’t create a bigger incident,” Kresh said, hoping the curator wouldn’t create a bigger mess. The Assembly could be scarier than a dragon if you push them enough.

Kresh had a reputation for being brutally efficient, with some saying her methods went too far. She might have actually given these rumors some thought if they weren’t so often spread by Empire sympathizers. Some members seemed to have forgotten their duties to the Cobalt Soul and spent too much time sucking Dwendal’s cock. She was not going to stand these incompetent fools. High Curator Yudala could handle that. She would simply be her shadow and smack around those abusing her trust.

Now it's time to question this potential dragon. Kresh approached the unknown dragon and decided to cut out the bullshit straight away. “Who are you? What are you? Why are you here? What did you do in the ruins? How did you get past our guards? Go!” She said and grabbed his arm, injecting Ki into it.

The creature was either a master actor, or they sucked at keeping their emotions hidden as panic was easily seen across his face. “Ahu-okay. I am Edsom Lewis. Adventurer. I came to explore the ruins and look for treasure. I killed some vampires and a bunch of undead in the ruins. I got in by sneaking past the guards because I wasn’t a part of any group,” he said.

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Not a complete fool, then. My Ki ensured he could not lie for at least ten minutes, but he answered each question without giving too much information. Everything he said was true, but Kresh would need to work harder to get the real truth out of him.

“You can do better than that. What was the dragon seen in the ruins? Was it you?” Kresh was all about the direct approach. This man would either tell the truth or shut up. People said you should let sleeping dragons lie, but Kresh felt that was actually bullshit. Best handle them right away, not pussyfoot around.

“Ugh. Can I have your name first,” he asked.

He might be stalling for time, but playing the game of tit-for-tat would go a long way in information gathering so she could humor him. “I am Expositor Sia Kresh.”

Kresh couldn’t place what the face he made meant. Somewhere between thinking and recognition. Did he know her? How?

He took a moment and a long, deep breath before finally speaking. “Yes, I am the dragon that smashed and burned his way through the ruins.”

He revealed that too quickly. It wasn’t a confident reveal or a threat. He said it like he was annoyed to disclose that little fact.

‘I’m sorry, am I boring you, little drake?’ she thought.

“Okay, why are you here?” She asked.

“I wanted something from them. A magical relic I felt they did not need, and so I decided to come by and take it,” he said.

“What is this relic?” she asked.

“I don’t want to tell you that,” he said. The dragon was cooperative, but this seemed to be the limit.

“Why not?” Kresh was about to stop pushing now.

“Cause you don’t need to know that yet, Expositor Kresh,” he said, drawing attention to the title.

“I don’t need to know? Come on now, there is no need to be mean. Why can’t I know?” she asked.

“Expositor, it is hard to explain. The significance of what I recovered could have rippling consequences if the empire found it. I took it upon myself to remove this item so it would have little chance of causing conflicts here in your homeland,” he said. The meek attitude had faded, and he seemed more comfortable with himself now.

“I supposed to take your word for this then?” She asked.

“Yes. You are a member of the Cobalt Soul. An organization that investigates and manages threats so that the people of the empire can live in relative comfort and safety. And I imagine sometimes you leave certain individuals alone simply because it's the better option. I haven’t hurt anyone other than some vampires living in a forgotten ruin. If anything, you should be thanking me for making future investigations into the city easier,” he said confidently.

This dragon was starting to piss her off. The earlier meekness was now gone, and a new overflowing pride could be heard in each of his words. It really annoyed her to think, but he was correct. The only law that had been broken was trespassing. Other than that it wasn't illegal to kill undead or be a dragon, so there was nothing she could do to hold him. The Cobalt Soul had limited authority in enforcing the kingdom's laws. It was why they usually worked in the shadows around the law. If her team found nothing that contradicted his story, she would have to let him go.

____________

Edsom

Expositor Kresh was kind of a bitch. She was described in the book as being a kind of hard ass that policed the Cobalt Soul looking for people that would undermine the organization. This usually meant exposing crown sympathizers and either having them removed or weakening their influence so they couldn't be a problem anymore.

I doubt she would let me into the Rexxentrum Archives or near their teleportation circles. So, how am I going to get to them? I might need to follow her to Rexxentrum. Given my recent activities, I have probably reached celebrity status amongst the Cobalt Soul. Maybe if I give them some information, I could trade for access to the teleportation circle like I did in Uthodurn.

“Am I free to leave Expositor?” I decided to ask.

“Yes. I would rather you not be here anyway,” she said spitefully.

“Aww, and here I thought we could have been best friends,” I said sarcastically.

“I doubt that. Now leave quickly, please,” she said.

“Actually, there is something I need?” I said. Kresh wasn’t the best person to ask this, but she had the most authority of any other member of the Soul here.

She took a deep breath and sighed. “What do you need?”

“I would like to know what I must do to use one of the teleportation circles in Rexxentrum. I need to get to Vasselheim, which your circle would be the quickest way to do it,” I said.

She took a moment and looked at me. I basically asked her if I could walk into her home and hop over her backyard fence to get to her neighbor's backdoor. Vasselheim is very much against arcane magic, and teleportation circles are one such magic. The fact that the Cobalt Soul has one such circle is a sign of trust. She can’t make a decision that could violate that trust easily.

“Why do you need to go to Vasselheim?” She asked.

“I was approached by some priests of the Raven Queen. Someone wants to have a meeting with me,” I said.

“Why couldn’t you have gone with them then?” She asked.

“I was in the middle of a fight. Afterward, I was injured and needed to recover. I came here simply as a small stop on my journey across the continent,” I said truthfully. Her Ki had left my body, meaning I could lie again, but I told the truth anyway.

“Hmmm. Wait here. I need to discuss this with some others,” she said.

I sat there for around ten minutes before she returned.

“I have spoken with the High Curator. She is interested in what this meeting could be about and has agreed to meet with you,” Kresh said.

That was easy. Too easy, in fact. They will probably use this as an opportunity to learn more about me and my trip to Shattengrod. But that is the trade I hoped to make, so I guess this is good.

“I accept. When do we leave?” I asked.

“We can go now. This way,” she said and walked to another group of blue-robed people. I followed closely behind.