Devon looked up when he felt a pair of eyes on him, he turned and saw desmondesa staring at him

"devon"

"huh" he turned and looked at garcia

"what's wrong?"

"nothing"

"and so its a threat... There's going to be a... Yes, the soldiers are doing their best... No ... " the man speaking to the crowd is getting blasted with questions

"what's he saying?" devon asks jonas

"you weren't listening?" jonas asks bemused

"don't be an ass"

"there's a dungeon three miles from here, in the woods... The council is calling a state of emergency"

"for a dungeon?"

"yes" jonas says curtly and devon wonders what the problem is

"dude, are you okay?"

"why wouldn't i be?"

"you just seem off"

"is that so?" jonas folds his arm and glares at devon

"we've all had a rough weekend" garcia says as she tries to defuse the situation

"And so we're offering a reward for each monster killed in the dungeon!!!"

The speaker yells and pauses to see the crowds reaction

"15 silver peices for each monster killed" he continues

"and a rare artifact for whoever kills the most monsters"

"think of it as a tournament, thank you for coming and remember there's a curfew, from high noon to day break"

A few people grumble at that but he continues unperturbed

"remember, the law is a respecter of no man..." the speakers yells a few other things and then rounds up, after the announcement a few people wait behind for the complimentary meal, devon is walking briskly towards the council when a guard blocks his path

"where do you think you're going?"

"i want to speak with the council"

"you want to speak with the council" the guard mimics devon and chuckles

"get out of my way, i won't ask you again" devon grips the handle of his short sword

"oooh, i'm scared"

"you should be" some one says from behind the gaurd

"excuse me???" the guard turns around and his eyes widen in surprise

"lord lekan ..."

"you're lucky he didnt draw his sword or you'd be with a healer right now"

"i... I..." the guard stutters

"he's with me" lekan says and devon brushes past the guard

"well my boy, what are you doing here?"

"i want to speak to the council"

"come with me"

Devon walks with lekan to where the council stands discussing

"sorry to interrupt,okay i'm not sorry "

"lord lekan" a bald man in his late forties with blue eyes, dressed in a noble man's outfit hisses

"lord isah" lekan says without looking at him

"i want you to meet someone,my boy; devon"

"you interrupted us because of this lowlife" lord isah mutters

"yes, and he has a few things to say, devon"

Devon clears his throat then starts

"fist of, you look like a fish out of water" he says turning to lord isah, who looks affronted

"secondly, looking good " he says and winks at desmondesa who tries not to smile

"thirdly, i want to know where levi is"

"ah, the snarky one" father joab says to lady merril

"he is where he deserves to be" lady merril says with a laugh

"???"

"you know he tried to hit me, a lady; here that means treason" lady merril says with a yawn

"sweetheart, i would have hit you if you hadn't been that far away from me"

Devon grins and lady merril scoffs

" he has been tried guilty and would have been put to death if he had not defended the walls" father joab says

"i've heard that before" devon mutters and desmondesa glances at him

"and so he is in the dungeon with option of bail for 700 silver coins" father joab continues; ignoring devon's statement

"i'll get the money, let him go" devon says

"do you forget you're in debt?" lady merril says

"that's hard to forget" devon drawls

"i say we give him a chance" a lord who had been quietly listening says

"lord Kesak, you have a soft spot for these vagabonds" lord isah spits

"lets not bark just yet" lekan says staring at lord isah who makes a strangled noise

"i say we vote" father joab says

"we do not release the criminal" lady merril says

"i agree" father joab says

"so do i" lord isah

"i say we let the boy go, surely they will clear their debt" lord kesak says

"i agree" lekan says

"so do i" desmondesa says

"i too agree " a tall lady, with auburn hair, dressed requisitely and with dark skin and green eyes and pointy ears

"lady Rea" lord isah looks surprised

"i didn't think you'd make an appearance" lady merril says with disdain

"a lady is always fashionably late" lady rea says

"and so it is decided, your friend shall be returned to you on the condition you clear your debt" lord kesak says and walks away

"we trust you devon, don't make us regret it" lady rea says and turns to talk to lekan

"come on" desmondesa says and leads devon away

"i didn't know you were part of the council" devon looks at her

"a lot happened while you were away"