Casper found himself packing his things in relative silence, despite the passive conversations happening all around him the next morning.

Elisayra and Annabelle chatted about something that seemed to be making the small half-elf embarrassed. Casper watched them for a moment, until it ended with Annabelle picking up Elisayra as if she weighed no more than her own camp pack, and proceeded to try and load her up into the other luggage stuffed into the wagon belonging to Rathiel’s party.

Casper chuckled at the sounds of her protests disappearing into the mess of gear they had stuffed into the back.

The nameless girl was finished already, waiting for the two to finish their games so they could get going.

Alex and Laihal spoke softly to one another off some ways from Casper. What faint traces of the dialogue he did manage to pick up seemed to be predominantly suggestive comments and teasing words that made Alex blush rather obviously.

Nephinae stayed by Casper's side, as per the plan, and helped him finish the packing.

“Enough delay then.” Rathiel huffed, and initiated the final leg of their trip to the next city.

Everyone stuck together in tight clumps as they worked they way through the rolling hillsides heading southeast along the stretch of dirt road.

Him companions and Rathiel's appeared to get along perfectly fine, in spite of the fact that everyone was throwing up on one another the morning after.

It didn’t last long thankfully, Rathiel managed to cure everyone of the alcohol sickness, but it was still quite the bonding experience.

His father had always said you don’t truly know a man until you have seen him in at least one of three scenarios: fighting, fucking, or dying.

It was a strange saying, made after Casper’s father had several mugs of ale and thought it would be the best time to give some more advice.

Casper supposed it was at least partially true at least…

As their walk took them through the open countryside, the sun beat down on them all as if punishing them for daring to travel…

For the non-humans, being all of Rathiel's party, Casper, the nameless girl, Nephinae, and Laihal, it was largely painless. For Alex, Annabelle, and Elisayra however, it was a big task.

They stopped every hour to rest and allow them a chance to drink water and eat. Casper and the nameless girl of course had to play along, which unfortunately ate through their supplies much quicker than they would have liked.

The wind offered the occasional reprieve as well, though mostly the passive conversation is what made the trip more enjoyable.

Not a soul was short on stories to tell, or questions to ask, mostly for Rathiel and his party.

Alex was a big fan it seemed, pestering them quite often about the details of the journeys she had heard about, asking if they really did the things everyone believed they did.

Casper had to admit, as he listened in he was impressed. If the stories had come without him seeing their performance the night before he wouldn’t have believed half of what they talked about.

Annabelle and Elisayra talked to one another for the most part, interrupted only occasionally by an interjection from Alex or Laihal. Despite their pretending to be slaves belonging to the nameless girl, Annabelle was having a hard time playing that role.

On occasion, Annabelle would outright dismiss the nameless girl, and instead look to Casper for guidance, only to be reminded of the plan they were supposed to be playing along with. Elisayra didn’t have a hard time, which helped a little at least.

As Casper watched the groups, he thought to himself that he should talk to them all as a collective to better explain his intentions with them all.

Maybe he was imagining it, but he could have sworn the way Elisayra looked at Alex, Alex looked at Laihal, Laihal looked at, well, everyone, and his experience with the nameless girl, it was possible that every single person in his group was dealing with some manner of emotion they were too nervous to talk about out loud.

While they wouldn’t be able to get and meet up right away when they entered the city, given the fact that they had a bunch of other shit they needed to get done, it would have to wait just a while longer, but he couldn’t simply let it fall to the wayside any more.

Just because he had a few one on one conversations didn’t mean the mess of misunderstandings and miscommunications were made clear. It might not be the most comfortable thing in the world but he would have to talk plainly to them all, and make sure everyone understood one another.

Before Casper knew it, they found themselves in view of Highspire itself as they took the last bend around the hillsides.

The view spread out before them like a classical painting he had seen inside Alex’s uncles castle. The hills around them gave way to plains of farm fields rolling with golden wheat. The landscape was spotted with small patches of trees all around the large river that twisted its way through the city's center before going out to sea.

Highspire itself wasn’t large, not by Crimson Harbors standards, but it was still larger than Ostlen.

Moving in from the farmlands, the city's walls rise up in a much more militaristic style than what he had seen before, dotted with large towers it looked more a fortress than a city, exemplified by its namesake, a massive spire of polished stone that twisted upwards in a corkscrew high above the cloud line. The spire took up functionally half of the entire city at its center, with the buildings beyond the walls rising slowly to climb the spire in a progressive spiral all around.

At what could be considered the halfway point up the spire, was a communication of carved stone and man made structure within its center, continuing to span upwards like a wizards tower and military fortress all in one, made all the more grand by the heavy arching cathedral like buttresses and additional smaller spire structures all jutting up from it.

For as grand as the place was, as they approached the heavily guarded gates to join the other masses of travelers looking to get inside, the atmosphere was anything but grand.

Armored guards protected the metal reinforced doors, each one performing their own inspection to a person in the ever growing line.

A very close inspection, Casper realized.

As the guards made their way passively down the line every so often, or as new arrivals approached the gates to be inspected, Casper watched as they flipped through papers containing pictures and descriptions, holding them up to individuals, nameless women with long black hair, and women with short brown hair.

“Shit.” Casper muttered, making sure not to look back at any of the others for fear of drawing unwanted suspicion their way.

They were right then, the guards had been informed of the nameless girl and Alex this far out already, and were inspecting everyone to try and find them.

Inching closer to the front of the line, Casper found himself silently analyzing the disguises of the women. It appeared they only had notices for Alex and the nameless girl, along with some other unfamiliar faces or other troublemakers or important people to be aware of.

The nameless girls disguise was better, dressed as a man with some extra padding around the shoulders and legs to give her skinny build some thickness, worked well alongside her bleached short hair.

Alex on the other hand, would be harder. Sure she was in a male disguise as well, but her face was still pretty, and if they scrutinized her, it would be more obvious she matched the description on the papers.

Casper felt his senses heighten, as he considered the possibility of having to kill these men.

He would prefer not to, he needed to give the women a chance to breathe and relax in a city, but if the options were being captured or being free, he would pick being free every time.

Remembering the weight of coin on his person, he also considered potentially bribing the guards to look the other way, then again that might cause future issues if the guards got it in their head they could be easily extorted.

Another shuffle forwards and Casper found his hand tensing slightly, watching each step the guards took as they examined yet another long haired woman, and a short haired boy, asking questions, comparing the images.

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“Relax… Everything will be alright.” the nameless girl whispers from nearby, just barely audible, only to Casper's enhanced senses.

It was a damn hard thing to do, especially as the closer they got the more of the posters he saw.

A bounty was placed on Alex, to capture her alive. And a kill order had been given to the nameless girl, the Duke himself likely wanting her dead as soon as possible.

As they approached to be inspected next, Casper realized it would be impossible to relax. His fist balled ready to take off the head of the first person who looked like they were going to alert other guards.

The men in armor had quickly surrounded both Casper’s and Rathiel’s parties.

One guard passed up the nameless girl without bothering to check her, though a second guard did give her a look for a moment that had Casper on edge.

He watched as they passed behind him, one guard beginning to hold the paper up to Alex’s face to compare.

His blood ran hot, as the guard began to look closer.

Casper listened as the guard's breath caught for a moment, a realization, a familiarity.

Casper readied himself to strike the guard down in a flash, only to be stopped by the nameless girl who rested her hand on his and whispered once more. “calmmmm”

“Lord Rathiel! Forgive us for not seeing you sooner! Please, right this way.” A guard called out, making his way over to the man's party with profound reverence.

Casper's eyes flicked to the guard who had called out, watching with surprise as nearly every other guard, including the one who was examining Alex, rushed behind her to greet Rathiel and his party.

“It’s no trouble, I would not allow myself to skip the process, there are many others already looking to get in who arrived before me.” Rathiel dismisses the guard.

“Though, if you do wish to make it up to us, our companions here need entrance into the city as well, they are friends of ours.” Rathiel explains, motioning to Casper and his companions.

“Of course, no trouble, right this way please.”

Tension still built in Casper's chest, though it was quickly ebbing away as he realized that the body langue of the guards had switched quite substantially.

The guard, who Casper could barely even see for how close together everyone was, guided them away from the mass of the entrance and into an auxiliary door that opened just for them, all the while the guard apologized and thanked Rathiel for his contributions to the kingdom.

Beyond the huge walls, the city itself was laid bare before them all, reminding Casper of his first time in one.

He was incredibly disgusted.

The Crimson Harbor was certainly more disgusting in its practices, that was without question, but the city of Highspire felt more in line with what he was expecting that place to be. Dirty on the inside, dirty on the outside, and damnit was this place dirty.

Buildings, houses and slums are packed tight against each other, every structure trying to squeeze as much space out of the ever growing mass as possible, creating a claustrophobic cave-like network of elevated pathways, steep staircases and overhanging balconies.

Mud, shit, piss, and the fates knew what else filled the gutters that lined the roadways, all of which were packed full of shoulder to shoulder foot traffic.

Casper could see from here that conditions got better the higher up they ascended the gradual slope of the spire itself at the city's center, but getting there alone would be its own quest.

“Ugh, I'm sorry but I hate this place.” Rathiel groaned, wrinkling his nose as the breeze wafted up the smell of sweat and refuse.

“Why are you here to begin with?” Casper asked then, also trying his hardest not to gag with every breath.

“I'm needed at the fortress there.” Rathiel explains, pointing upwards to the middle of the spire. “It’s where I will be staying with my people, unfortunately I can’t get you in there as well, but I can recommend the Gilded Crow, it's a nice place near the spires upper wards, tell them the dawn sent you and you will be allowed a few rooms I'm sure.” Rathiel offers almost like an apology.

“Well, I appreciate it friend, I’ll be sure to do that. If I don't see you again, it was a pleasure, and thank you. If I do see you again, I will see you later.” Casper offered, extending a hand to the man.

Rathiel took it and shook, and soon everyone else was exchanging friendly goodbyes until Rathiel's perfect golden hair disappeared into the crush of people deeper into the city.

“Let's head to the Gilded Crow first, then we can talk and get some shopping in.” Casper offered to the response of enthusiastic nods from the others, though he knew it was less about the shopping and more about getting the hell out of these gutters.

Highspire was everything Ostlen was, but amplified to the highest possible degree, Casper realized as they navigated the labyrinthian network of stairs and roads.

Casper passed by brothels, slave markets, tap houses and taverns that all stunk with the same stale air of bodies and booze. More than once he had to actively stop a pickpocket, and pull Alex away from a street vendor selling jewelry before she ended up getting robbed on the prices alone.

“Oh for fuck-” Annabelle started cursing suddenly, as a splash of some liquid from a pot is thrown out a window, landing directly on her and splashing the others around.

“Casper-”

“You are Engee’s slave.” Casper quickly corrects.

“Engee,” Annabelle turns and looks at the thin girl. “Can I go in there and bash their skull against the wall?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I disagree.”

“Annabelle.” Casper lowered his voice to a more firm tone.

The large woman sighed, “I understand, forgive me.” she says in apology.

“I know it’s hard, I know it’s degrading, but lets all just bear with it for the time being.” Casper tried, though he too had half the mind to go up there and knock the teeth out of the asshole himself.

The city slowly rose higher and higher, away from the deepest parts of the rabble and into a more clean section of town.

It was still far from presentable, and was occupied by all of the same fixings as the lower city, just with less of a piss smell to it all.

The climb got harder the closer they got to the spire itself. Switchback stairs or ramping paths climbed in elevation rather rapidly. The buildings became taller, and slightly more spread apart until they couldn't expand outward at all, and every building they came across was build directly into the spiraling stone, acting as a natural ramp.

It reminded Casper even more like a cave, or perhaps a massive spiral staircase with no walls, and instead of stairs it was a ramp large enough to support buildings on either side.

Finally, after what felt like the better half of an hour walking just inside the city, they finally managed to escape the smells, aside from what lingered on their cloths

There was still plenty of city above them, though it looked more like noble estates and private housing than anywhere pedestrian travel would be permitted.

Walking along the upper city wards, the view of the rooftops below made it seem like the very earth itself was made of slate. Like a rolling hill of shingles you couldn’t spot the ground through, only the faint movement of shadows from people passing by. Eventually they found their destination, though not without having to avoid several more street side merchants, a few more pickpockets, and a large procession of labor slaves along the way.

The Gilded Crow was relatively nice. Not even truly comparable to their penthouse inn at the Crimson Harbor but it was still leagues better than anything below this ward.

“We should get separate rooms based on our plan. It would be better to occupy a majority of a level as opposed to having strangers share our walls.” The nameless girl suggests.

“Agreed, let's just see how far the dawn sending us, get us.”

“Pretty damn far I guess…” Casper offered a low whistle as he stood in the open doorway of his room.

The front desk of the establishment had been a small counter top only, with a single woman working behind it. Casper didn’t have much hope for the space, that was until the door was opened for him.

The room was spacious, but not too large, rather it made up for the lack of open floor with high end amenities instead.

A gorgeous bed rested against the far wall blocked from the view of the door by a folding wood divider painted with a magnificent forest mural. A large writing desk and comfortable looking chair sat near a window overlooking the city below. The room additionally had a sizable wardrobe, personal storage chest, lounge and seating area with a table, and a small servants bed.

Casper could hear the sound of the small half elven body jumping full force onto the bed in the room next to his, though he could only pick up that much because of his heightened senses.

Casper's room was the corner, with Alex’s room and the nameless girls room positioned to the left and right of his.

He felt bad for making Annabelle sleep in the same room as the nameless girl, given how strongly she disliked her, but it was for the best.

They had discussed beforehand the possibility of being followed, or spied on, and if that was the case it would be best to stick to the sleeping arrangements that would make the most sense given the lie they had constructed. Of course they could still talk and congregate but when it came time to sleep for the evening it would be better to keep them all separated.

Furthermore, given the guise of having a bachelor party in a sense, it would likely come to the point where they had to take someone to the room with them. Casper had no intention of doing anything, and he doubted any of the women pretending to be men did either, but still, for the sake of the cover story it was essential they maintained the image should something come up. After all, it's not like blowing up an auction house in the crime capital of the kingdom or killing a count and stealing his niece were just things the people in power would simply brush off and let them get away with.

Casper settled his things down in the room, and called for the others to join him to discuss the day's plans.

Once everyone was inside, he shut the door, and took a seat on the bed to address them all.

“Alright, I told you I promise we won't get run out of every city, and I mean that. We need to really play things straight here so let's not get into any trouble unless it's totally unavoidable.”

Casper looked around to make sure everyone was hearing him.

“We should try and be casual about most of this, we don’t want anything to seem too organized or else it might draw us attention. So, here is what I think we should do. Let's get some new clothes, and some new gear. Stock up on our adventuring supplies for when we need to leave eventually and so forth. We need some information as well, about when these slaves are likely to be coming back to port so I can use these ownership deeds to help them out. So while we are out doing whatever we are doing let's try and keep our ears out for that. Until then, lets treat this as much like we are vacationing nobles as possible. We will almost certainly have eyes on us, as evidenced by the flyers and papers and wanted posters.”

I don’t know how to feel about spending your money though…” Alex offered softly.

“Well, too bad, we need to spend it. Here.”

Casper portioned out a sizable sum of coins to each of the women posing as nobles.

“Besides, with all of the walking we have been doing lately, all the fighting and surviving and struggling, we deserve this. Let's live some noble city life while we can use our disguises as an excuse.”

The girls murmured their understanding as they grabbed the coins and looked around.

“Casper, can I ask you something?” the nameless girl raises a hand.

“Of course.”

“Why Engee?”

“That's a good question, I was wondering that too.” Nephinae spoke from Casper's side.

“It was pretty on the fly. In my head I've just been referring to you as the nameless girl, N, G, en gee, Engee.” he explains.

“Oh…” the nameless girl looks at her own hands.

“I thought it was good,” Casper shrugs.

“Nephinae, please help him pick out his clothing.” Alex says As she shakes her head.

“What? Why? I can pick out my own clothes.” Casper protested

“If you picked out “Engee”, I can't trust you to pick anything yourself.” Alex responds solemnly

Casper watches as the other girls all collectively signal their agreement with Alex.

Maybe he shouldn’t talk to them all, just to get back at them for this right here…

He wasn't that spiteful, he thought to himself with a faint laugh. "fine, fair enough"