I woke up late. Before I even sat up, I shouted. "Sleepy, come!" I raised my voice pitch on the "Lee" and "Co" sounds. Lupines react better to sharp sounds.

I heard an excited bark and soon the little guy was leaping on my bed. This was something we had to train soon because Sleepy would one day weigh hundreds of kilograms and my bed wasn't designed for creatures this heavy. The thought that they existed was mind-boggling. Some people had features that increase body density to such an extreme their mattresses were made of layers of spring steel bands with harde r metals to keep the structure.

The night was spent reading a treatise on Jackalopes and Wolpertingers Magister Penny gave me. I really appreciated that and it gave me most of the missing pieces to better understand my little friend's physiology and psychology. After I mixed it with the elements of canine monsters like Wargs, Barghests, and so on.

I might need to add Griffin and maybe eagle to the mix. Because while the Wolpertinger could fly, it was a species so rare you could count on one's hands how many were studied with the depth required.

Alice and the trio of experts she called had departed to see if they could find rhe source of the disturbances. And they better find it soon because a lot more people would suffer if things escalated.

I shivered as the memory of the slime pits and the death screams of William's former master came out of the mental vault I thought to have locked them in.

That many slime pits so close by one another was not natural. The slimes would eother starve because of the competition or migrate and spread.

Sleepy climbed on my lap and I tried to bond one more time. No System message appeared. Not even to tell me the attempt failed. I felt extremely frustrated. It was that same frustration that made me go talk to Melgart even though it wasn't a visitation day.

After making sure my gear was in perfect working order, I put Sleepy in the pet carrier and went down the narrow stairs at the back of my apartment to fetch William.

Then we set out to cross the Guild district and reach Melgart's clinic. A lot of Adventurers walked between the shops and the merchants were very loudly trying to attract their business. I noticed some unfamiliar faces, probably newcomers. The Guild Hall was also experiencing heavy foot traffic. I noticed an increased Guard presence on the street and assumed they were preemptively trying to keep the Adventurers on their best behavior.

Some of the newcomer Adventurers noticed me and drew attention to me. It wasn't unexpected. After all, I wore the Guild tabard and my badge over my chest. It sparked several conversations but I didn't stop to talk or meet these new Adventurers. I had too much going on in my mind. William kept pace with me in a perfect heel.

As I put distance between the Guild and me, the Guard presence remained constant. That was... a lot of Guards.

And they were following me. I changed my pace and some of the Guards stumbled to keep the appearances. Who were they trying to fool? I had no idea if they were trying to be inconspicuous or anything but It was stupid to try to hide from someone whose main Class feature was to find things that didn't want to be found. I changed paths and went to a nearby market square. It was unusually busy this time of the day. The Guards who were trailing me seemed flustered and some had to run to catch up with me.

Inside the market, I kept a low profile and watched as the distinctive Guard helmets appeared between the other heads. I vanished in the crowd, then went around and left the market through a side alley. I wasn't very stealthy but I just needed to be out of sight. I would know if someone was tracking me or not. The rooftops were clear. Outside the alley, I used side streets to go back to the Guild Hall.

Once I alighted on the main street, a Guard saw me and shouted to alert his fellow Guardsmen. Since he didn't address me, I kept moving closer to the Guild. Several Adventurers noticed the commotion and also alerted their party members.

Meanwhile, I thought why the Guard would show interest in me. Why would they perform this covert operation with so many officers. If they had an issue that required my aid or expertise, they would bring it to me. If I had committed any crimes, they would come and arrest me. This stakeout meant one thing. They weren't interested in me. What else could warrant such attention? Perhaps it was the valuable one-of-a-kind critter I carried in my left hand.

Whatever they were attempting, I was sure it was bullshit. Also, that this operation wasn't authorized by the Lord or anyone in the upper echelons of the city. It couldn't be a clandestine operation in broad daylight either. Too many witnesses. The orchestrators of this farce then went for the “close enough” approach in the middle, something that could be dismissed as a clerical error.

Several guards came running out of one of the side alleys before the Guild hall. I recognized their faces as the same guys who were tailing me.

"Hey, you!" I shouted and pointed at an agile Adventurer. "Go to the Hall and warn the deputy Guild Master that something is afoot here."

The woman tensed and shouted, "Yes, sir!" Then she was off, running ridiculously fast.

She managed to get past the Guards before they cordoned me off. The reason I didn't try to run myself was that I didn't want to trigger the Guards. Some of them were like bloodhounds, if the target of their attention ran, they would escalate things.

It was another of those little coincidences that might be anything but. They started this bullshit in the same day Alice left the city.

*

*

Kara was bored. She was at the archives, filing paperwork from yesterday's activities. She had to take the document, read it, then add an entry at the appropriate ledger, and finally put the document in a box to send to the archives. She could do that in her sleep thanks to her Class and was in a trance-like state, barely committing any of the information in these reports, warrants, and fine orders.

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Shock startled her awake when her eyes scanned the target of a warrant issued yesterday at night. Nightly warrants were not unheard of but highly unusual. it often was related to some emergency where expediency prevailed over procedures. It usually was also attached to an arrest report because these warrants were only issued that late in the day when the suspect was already in custody or about to be secured.

In jokes among officers, these were called "effective yesterday" warrants because in some cases, they were issued with the date of the day after the arrest.

The problem with this particular warrant, aside from the missing arrest report and the suspicious time of issuance was the object of the Warrant. A certain Guild Scout named George. The alleged crime was contraband. He was accused of smuggling dangerous creatures into the city.

Kara, her full focus on the document, searched it for any problems. She quickly spotted one. A Guard Captain signed the warrant. George was a Guild officer. They enjoyed some sort of privilege regarding the law, due to the need of maintaining good relations between the city and the Guild. That's why Alice was let off with just paying for the damages the elf caused to Kara's house when the irascible woman wrecked half of it trying to find George.

She noticed that George was classified as an Adventurer, not an officer. A Captain had no business issuing a warrant for a Guild officer but whether the mistake on the warrant was intentional or just a clerical error was irrelevant. Damn, George could be smuggling dragons into the city and only a Major or someone above that station could do something about it. On top of that, George went into a hunting expedition with Lord Hector recently. A remarkably successful one, given that her superiors cancelled every leave because of the parade to welcome Lord Hector back.

No fucking way. If the idiots tried to execute this warrant, heads would fly.

"Robert!" Kara shouted at her coworker as she ran out of the room. Robert's head poked from his desk's divider. "Secure the archive! I need to check something with the Major!"

*

*

The circle closed in. The Guards' attention shifted between me and the Adventurers, who were also becoming antsy. A Guard sergeant approached me.

"Are you the Adventurer known as George? We have a warrant for your arrest!"

I used my free hand to tap my badge. "No. I am the Guild's Reconnaissance Officer who's also named George."

That declaration made the sergeant halt his advance. He looked puzzled for a second. "You lie! You are no officer!"

"Dude, his badge is legit!" An Adventurer Mage said. "I can feel the Guild Master's Signature from here!"

"George is the Guild Scout. Never saw him taking a commission."

"He's the guy who finds the commissions for us!"

"Yeah, these Guards are full of bullshit."

The tension rose. The sergeant, however, was having none of it. "You are under arrest, Adventurer George!"

Some guards raised crossbows aimed at me. I raised a hand. "I'm not looking for a fight. What is the crime this Adventurer George committed?"

The sergeant's eyes drifted to the pet carrier before he schooled himself. "It's none of your business. Come peacefully or we'll force you to submit."

I laughed. It was a nervous laughter but the best I could do. "This won't end well for you, sergeant. I figured out your scheme and I swear to the Triumvirate, you will regret participating in this farce deeply."

"Let me pass through!" An Adventurer I didn't recognize, clad in full plate armor shouted. His breastplate was decorated with a dragon curled amidst icicles. A Paladin of the Dragon Goddess. "I am well versed in matters of law and wish to adjudicate this situation."

"Stay where you are, Adventurer! This is Guard business."

The Paladin pushed two Guardsmen aside and walked into the circle. "Let me see your warrant. If it's valid, I'm going to arrest that individual for you."

Sensing that he was about to lose control of the situation, the sergeant shouted, "Guards, attack!"

I dove down to avoid the crossbow bolts. I didn't need to outrun the bolts, just get out of the way from where the Guards aimed at. Three bolts still hit me but they were deflected by my brigandine armor. William bleated and clopped. Sleepy howled as his pet carrier fell to the ground.

"William, go home!" I shouted. The Tityron dashed away at a fast speed. Nobody wanted to be in front of those horns. Guards and Adventurers alike moved out of the way of the charging ram.

Several guards rushed toward me, armed with steel clubs. I returned the kindness and drew Scout's Oath from the quiver.

"Stop all of you!" The Paladin shouted, lacing his words with magic. "Let's talk it out before someone gets severely injured!"

"Adventurers, show the Guards your valor!" Another Adventurer that I couldn't pinpoint shouted, his words also laced with magic. The Adventurers, itching for a fight, shouted and joined the fray.

Whistles blew as more Guards rushed into the thoroughfare from side alleys. I was moved they had mobilized this many personnel just to steal Sleepy. I put the pet carrier down and pinned it between my legs. I had to use both hands to defend myself.

"Surrender!" The Guards harrying me shouted.

"Your warrant is bogus. Your sergeant is leading you astray!" I shouted back as I parried their blows with my staff.

This first exchange told me I was superior to the Guards in terms of Attributes. Stronger, faster. They had the numbers advantage and things would really get bloody very soon.

I also had no doubt that I would lose Sleepy if I let them have their way. To tarnish the Guard's honor and the Lord by association this badly, they would...

Shit.

Alice. She could both save me and destroy half the city. But I needed her help, once again.

Their expedition was set to last for a whole week. In that time, they could take Sleepy to the next Kingdom or further away. They would never try this kind of shit with her around. And the spiteful deputy Guild Master didn't come out of the hall. Was I hated that much by my coworkers?

I used a moment of respite to take one of Alice's special arrows and throw it upward. Since I lost the ones she gave me in the bandit forest, she commissioned new ones for me. The arrow accelerated on its own and then burst into a red circle stamped with the profile of a snarling jaguar in black high in the sky. Where did she get that thing?

I felt the symbol resonate with my badge, flooding my body with a strengthening spell. The next time I swung my staff at the guards, they parried but then were tossed on their butts by the force of the blow.

My peripheral vision noticed fast movement behind me and I turned to block a sword blow from the sergeant.

"If a single one of my men die, I'm going to kill you, criminal!" He roared.

Then other guards tossed a tiny, barbed net at me. The hooks caught on my cloak, tabard, and the leather of my armor. Other two shoved me down and yet another stole the pet carrier. Sleepy barked and yowled.

More guards piled up on me, grabbing my legs and arms. One of them took Scout's Honor from me and was instantly sylvanized. Where a Guard stood moments ago, a tree grew in the middle of the road.

"Heirloom weapon!" The sergeant shouted. "Leave it! Secure the prisoner!"

Then, in an encore of what happened at the bandit woods, someone struck my head with a cudgel and I blacked out.

*

*

I woke up in a jail cell. The clothes I wore stank of dead people. It was simple linen pants died brown with filth and a vomit-stained tunic. I focused on my bond and felt William. He was okay. But Sleepy...

I failed the little guy. Not only I murdered his whole family but I also couldn't bond with him. They said it was my fault but I had no idea what the problem was.

Now, I had to play the waiting game.