She did love them. When Delta presented them to Gwen, she didn’t know what they were at first. It seemed to be some strange human bonding ritual as she was strapped into the headgear. That or some practical joke, the way Zipper was grinning. But then they led her outside, and down to the end of their lane on the main street of the town.

The sun was just setting. It shone across the lake, over the harbor, and up the lane between all the buildings. The fishing fleet was just returning and there was a crowd on the street going between their daily locations and their nightly ones. Flags flew and painted shop signs swung in the breeze. There were so many details spread out over such a large landscape. The scope was so much broader than you would see at night, even by a full moon.

Gwen watched in amazement at this other world. Eventually after the sun went down, she took the goggles off and hugged Delta and Zipper tightly. “Thank you”, she said.

“Tomorrow we do some real sight-seeing!” said Zipper.

And that they did. They watched nearly a hundred small boats leave at dawn to go out fishing on the lake. There were fountains, statues, and gardens. For a few pennies they were admitted to an observation gallery and got to see a transition through the great commerce gate. Handlers lined up merchants and travelers in well-defined lanes. Little bells rang and magical light flared. When it died, what they saw through the arch was not what was on the other side, but somewhere far away. The handlers wrangled the people and carts through in quick order while, out of the other side more emerged, but not the same ones. A gong sounded, magical light flared again, and the gate went back to just being a stony piece of monumental architecture.

That was outdone by the Temple of Water Bearer, which was especially impressive. She was also the patron goddess of magic, and large spires rose in sweeping curves to the sky, defying gravity. Fountains and rivulets cascaded and leaped down the angles and parapets. And the famous stained-glass windows pierced every surface that light touched. They all found it breathtaking.

Then they took Gwen to see the craft workers who had made it. There was the nice lady in the glazier’s who was skeptical when Delta first asked her, thinking she was just looking for cheap souvenirs to sell. But warmed to her story of a friend who was sensitive to light and dug up cuttings from larger pieces they used for the constant repair of the temple’s windows. She was a bit surprised to see that her friend was a goblin but took it in stride given how thankful Gwen was.

The farrier was right pleased to see her and checked the straps and fittings to make sure she had freedom of movement and nothing was binding. He was delighted to fit something to a creature that could talk back to him and tell him what worked well and what didn’t. His grandson proudly introduced himself as the test subject. He didn’t see Gwen as anything more than a strange little lady with bad fingernails. That probably touched Gwen the most.

During the next day they worked their way through Lady Exentine’s list. There was a lot of climbing up and down castle walls and towers. Delta and Zipper took a hand carrying Gwen when Johnston got too tired. And Gwen was not going to give up seeing the view through her new sight.

The fortifications were quite impressive. Lady Exentine was right to have them witness them so they could tell the Imperialists when they delivered the message. Attacking this city would be costly for them indeed. They sat for a long time at the top of the last tower on the southern flank. They had an excellent view of the lake, the city, and the wide beach below it.

“You seem awfully moody”, said Zipper to Delta. “And not just in contrast to Gwen’s giddiness.” Gwen was hanging over the parapet, drinking in the details of the city below.

Delta sighed and made a vague gesture over the city. “I just kind of feel like… this is the last we’re going to see of this.”

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Waving her hands, Zipper dismissed her concern. “Oh, we’ll be back. I’m sure. Maybe not feted as royally, but there’s no point being maudlin about that.”

A serious look crossed Delta’s face. “I’m not talking about us. I just see this, and I see it all in flames, destroyed by war.”

Zipper looked at her, incredulous. “We’ve been up and down these walls all day. Even you, the siege nerd, think this place is beyond impressive.” She slapped a wall for emphasis. “This place is going nowhere.”

It was breezy up on the walls. Wind tousled their hair and drew their words away from any listening guards. “If you planned to conquer the world, it’s in your interest to do the impossible”, said Delta. “If they could pull off taking Avenio, through war and not diplomacy, then people will start taking them seriously. I think it is very much in their interests to take this city.”

“How?” said Zipper. “If Martius himself was to lead them, how on earth could they take it?”

“I have no earthly idea”, said Delta. “It’s just the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that they have to do it. I just don’t know how.”

“You better put on your strategic thinking cap”, said Zipper. “You need to think of a reason before we end up taking a message back to them. They’ll interrogate you and ask for ideas, like every other potentate we’ve delivered messages to. Only I half reckon they might be the sort to actually listen to you.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence”, said Delta, then, wryly, “and the pressure.”

With a mock salute Zipper said, “I do not doubt my Captain’s wisdom!”

Although it was tempting to watch the sunset from the high walls, they came down before then, as descending the winding staircase, while carrying Gwen, would have been extra difficult in the dark. Gwen, normally reticent around others, was quite chatty in the tavern that night. She talked a lot about her impressions of what she saw, how it differed from nighttime vistas in the mountains, and asked many questions. She even got pulled into a dice game with the other guild members. Although they quickly discovered that she had no little experience with dice, did not get tired as the evening wore on, and her avoidance of alcohol gave her yet another advantage. But she was generous with her winnings and so no one minded.

The third day started with shopping. Delta broke her heart over a beautiful set of fluted plate armor. It had been commissioned for someone who died before the final payment. The articulation on it was exquisite and she raved over the full range of motion her limbs had while wearing it. Zipper sparred with her using a blunt stick, and it shed blows from the angled surfaces like water off a duck’s back. She cried when she heard the price, though. It would take many years and much improved fortune for her ever to be able to afford such a masterpiece. The owner smiled knowingly. He said it had broken many hearts over the years, but likely wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He had several more modest pieces to show them.

Zipper got some sculpted metal greaves, trading in her leather ones for what she thought was a good price. They weren’t much heavier, but with her fighting style she tended to pick up a lot of low blows. So, it was worth it to her to have that extra protection there. Her hardened leather was good at deflecting things, but if you hit it dead on with a point it would stick and would knock her down at best, smash her shin at worst.

Gwen was quite content with her armor. The other two envied her chain mail, even though it wasn’t of top-notch quality. They did persuade her to buy a sturdy cavalry sword in case she ever got overrun. They explained how the slight curve of the blade made the point directly level with the enemy when bearing down on them. This was a bit lost given that Johnston, while large, was still smaller than a pony. Gwen decided that it would be good for fighting rabbits.

They picked up Delta’s brigandine she had put in for some repair work. She broke down and decided that, realistically, she couldn’t just save all her money for the plate armor and used most of what she had to buy a steel gorget. She zoned out for a while, remembering how she had stabbed the Metzre sergeant in the throat, gorget or no gorget. But Zipper brought her round reminding her about lunch.

The message from the castle arrived during lunch, while Gwen was taking her siesta. It was an official notification that there was to be a job on offer to courier a royal letter to a ‘person of importance’ and mercenaries were invited to apply. They needed to be mobile, defensible, and preferably familiar with the people involved and the terrain. The Mercenary’s Guild got a copy of the notice at the same time, ostensibly to post for their members. It was pretty clear the offer was specifically tailored for Wight’s Brigade. But they had made a good impression on the guild, and no one took it amiss.

So, the next morning they harnessed up the mules and reported, at dawn, to the castle.