The day turned into the afternoon as Rya, Quinus, and the rest of the group rode in the carriage heading for the city of Ironside.

Rya noticed a lot of dead green bodies lying around the outer walls of the city which made her question if this was normal for this world.

"What's going on here?" Rya asked Quinus.

"Yeah, that's why we were dispatched to the Labyrinth. A monster stampede was about to happen, Rya. You saved thousands of people's lives. Not to mention, you killed the leader of the goblin horde. Now the remaining goblins will be directionless and the human-dwarven alliance should be strengthened now," Quinus said with pride.

Rya looked to Quinus, "It wasn't all me though? You helped too, Quin." Rya smiled.

"Well, I did do a little... But I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for you," Quinus replied trying to downplay his importance in destroying the Dungeon Core.

Both Rya and Quinus look to the ground embarrassed by each other's praises.

"My Lord. We are about a mile out from the city wall. Do you wish to disembark from here? Like you asked earlier?" Sir John asked as he took the reins and guided the horses to the edge of the road.

"Yes, let's get off here. We'll walk the rest of the way in." Quinus said.

They disembarked from the carriage and put cloaks on in hopes of concealing their identities from his uncle's spies if they were in the area. Duke Alaric, Quinus' uncle, has his influence running throughout the kingdom. He always seemed to know what was going on before the Major Nobles did.

"B-Beta do I really have to put this cloak on? Can't we just use the shadows or something?" Dalia was complaining about putting on more garments that she thought was pointless as the wolfkin hated most forms of clothing. She would use any excuse to get out of the small dress that she was already in and now she had to add on this cloak. It didn't sit right with her especially if she was going to take it off later in the day. Like at night, when she would slip out of her dress so she could mount her mate, Percy. Which happened almost every night since they started their journey from the village of Kishin to the city of Ironside.

"Relax Dalia. It's just a disguise. If anyone asks us what our business is here we tell them we're traveling merchants. That way we won't attract much attention." Rya said as she held up her hood to hide her face.

"Alpha! I'm not good at hiding outside of a combat situation! And I'm not sure I can keep my tail from wagging. It has a mind of its own!" Dalia complained.

"You're overthinking again, Dalia. Just relax. If we get caught we'll deal with it. Right, Quin?" Rya said, looking at Quinus.

Quin smiled and nodded his head, "Right."

"Lady Dalia. I'll be there by your side. I believe in you," Percy said as he started to pat Dalia's head, which she happily accepted.

"Aw! My little wolf will protect me? So cute!" Dalia said happily while she wrapped herself around Percy as her tail went into overdrive under the cloak.

'Jeez. I think Dalia's right about her tail having a mind of its own.' Rya shook her head when she saw the wolfkin's tail wagging all over the place.

"Yeah, I got you covered, love," Percy said as he hugged Dalia back.

Rya and Quinus both chuckle at the couple while Sir George was looking lonely watching his former pupil surpass him in the ways of courting.

Sir George whispered to himself, "I thought I had at least 5 more years before Percy found someone... Maybe Rya is right?... No. I can't waver in my resolve... I know my methods work! It must be that demi-humans are easier to court. That's all."

"What did you say, Sir George?" Rya asked with a coy smile on her face.

"Nothin' Lady Rya. It's nothing," Sir George replied nervously as he walked away.

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'Haha! Some people are too stubborn for their own good. You'll learn sooner or later Sir George. I'll see if I can help you out with your problem.' Rya chuckled to herself while putting on her cloak.

Once Rya gathered her things she finally had a chance to get a good look at the city of Ironside. The city wall was impressive to see. It stretched from one end of the city to the other. The walls were wide enough on top that several wagons could pass along each other without touching. It was almost siege-proof if you had a big enough army to man the walls and towers. Rya could see a few towers every 100 meters or so. And then another two high stone towers near the large front gates in the middle of the impressive wall.

The other thing that stood out was the carvings on the city walls. It showed off the history of the city, which was mostly of dwarven history it seems. There were images of the ancient dwarven kings, the first king of Hjorleif, the first great war where the dwarves defeated the Orc horde, and another showing a human and a dwarf sitting at a table drinking beer and smiling at each other. But then there was one carving that had the face of a different dwarven King that looked vandalized. The face looked chiseled over with a dwarven word that said, coward.

"I wonder if that's King Balgruuf? Quin said he ordered his people to abandon the city. Hmm... Well, I guess these Dwarves aren't too fond of the Kingdom of Hjorleif?" Rya mumbled to herself.

After looking at the city she noticed the terrain around them wasn't the best. It was hilly and rocky. The grass was short and brownish with a bit of green here and there. There was also a forest miles away from the city, with a huge snow-capped mountain range in the distance. The sky was a bright blue with no clouds. It felt like she was back on Earth by Denver, Colorado.

"Look at this place. Now that the goblins have been dealt with. The city looks so peaceful now... There was so much death and destruction the last time we came through." Quinus said with a sigh.

"I can only imagine... So, what's the next move, Quin?" Rya asked while observing the city.

Quinus thought about how to answer but then looked up at the sky and sighed.

"We need to go see the Baron first. He should be in the palace in the center of the city. We might not make it there until tomorrow morning since it might take us four hours just to get past security on the outer walls."

"So, we're going to have to deal with the guards and soldiers of the city first? That sounds annoying... Do we have to hide our identities from them?" Rya asked with concern.

"Luckily, Baron Zellin Coldforge is a good friend to my father. So they aren't looking to stop us. But the main problem is, that we can't cut in line without alerting or being spotted by my uncle's spies," Quinus said as he took Rya's hand.

Rya gave him a gentle squeeze for some reason. She needed to understand who she was after turning into a woman. But his hand felt nice.

"That's if your uncle has his spies watching the outer gate," Sir George stated, still looking at the city.

Quinus shook his head, "I rather err on the side of caution than negligence. Better to expect the worst and hope for the best..."

Sir George nodded while looking out for anyone who might be spying on the group.

"Well... I guess we shouldn't linger for too long... It looks like it’s rush hour right now. You can see a long line of civilians at the gate from here," Percy said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"It is that time of the day Percy, when the people are finishing their daily tasks, from farming, hunting, mining, smithing, and more... It could be to our advantage. The more people that are in line, the more likely they won't be paying attention to us... But It would be unwise for us to stand around and not take the initiative. Come on, everyone, let's get moving," Sir George said while motioning for everyone to get in formation.

"Wait! Will they worry about me being a Dark Elf? I don't want to give them any reason to question us," Rya asked while looking at the long line of people and carts full of supplies. Most of them were dwarves waiting to get into the city.

"Relax, I'll make sure you get inside safely. Just keep your hood up and try to blend in. That's all we really need to do. I'm sure the Baron will be happy to see us."

Quinus grabbed his bag and so did the rest of the group.

Quin looked up to Sir John sitting in the driver seat of the carriage. "Sir John, watch yourself out there. That's an order."

"Aye, My Lord. I'll be careful. The 5th Rangers should be patrolling the Fiafyr border right now. If I see them, I'll group up with them and head back to Kishin." Sir John said.

"Drive safe, my friend!" Sir George added as John mushed the horse forward.

The carriage turned around and continued down the road that led to Kishen. They didn't wait for Sir John to be out of sight before heading towards the line of people a mile away.

"Alright. Let's get moving. We don't want to camp outside the city walls," Quinus said while glancing at the city gate in the distance.

Rya took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the city. She looked at the stone walls, and the beautiful carvings one last time before heading down the road. She was looking forward to seeing more of the city and its culture.