“So let me get this straight, you were banished from your tribe for not sharing their isolationist views and were turned away by the other nearby towns due to your inherent nature as Variant?”

”Well I wouldn’t say ‘inherent nature’ so much as my simply being a Variant”

Presently Corvo found himself in a stone room just a short walk from the gate itself. After being seated in the only furniture in the room-a wooden seat-he was joined by an effeminate looking man with way to many highlights in his gaudy captains armor. Behind him stood the one eyed woman in her armor although she seemed far more relaxed when she looked at him compared to before.

’although that might have to do with the fact I’m not covered in blood anymore.’

When he’d given himself up Corvo had expected the woman to stab him right then and there.

’It might have been a mercy if she had.’

Shaking off the dark thoughts Corvo recalled how the aged woman stared at him with her single eye. The murderous intention in those eyes had made even his spine shiver a little. After a long moment however, she seemed to come to some sort of decision and had hauled him in through a thick wooden door next to the gate. At the same time she casted a spell under her breath and all the blood and dirt simply slid off of him and onto the stones at his feet.

Now he found himself face to face with some gaudy peacock who was somehow the gaurd captain. The man was spared none of Corvos attention, instead he eyed the woman standing in the corner of the room by the bars that made up the door.

A fact which the gaudy fool did not seem to take kindly. Puffing himself up like a genuine peacock he opened his mouth no doubt about to give Corvo a piece of his mind and a reminder of his imagined power. He was quickly disillusioned when Corvo locked eyes with him, a pressure like being stared down by a predator overwhelmed his conscious mind. Almost immediately Thommins felt his mouth dry up as words left him, he would not  be speaking again for the duration of this conversation.

”Now that the jester is done with his routine may I enter your city or will I have to keep walking?”

Posing his question to the woman in the corner Corvo folded his hands in his lap and waited patiently. Holding the Variants eyes Sadie mulled over her response for a long time. After several silent minutes punctuated by the forgotten captains fidgeting Sadie finally opened her mouth.

”Frankly a large part of me doesn’t trust you in the slightest, it tells me that letting you run free is a mistake and I should gut you right here and now.”

The silence in the room returned, this time it was deafening. Thommins fidgeting finally stopped but sheer terror filled his face when he realized he was right in the middle of these two monsters, one figuratively the other literally.

“However against my better judgement I’m going to let you enter the city, be warned though that I don’t trust you and the guards will most likely not take your side if trouble breaks out.”

Looking her dead in the eye Corvo slowly nodded his head in understanding. Just like that the tension in the room began to fade like it was never there. Pale faced Thommins jumped to his feet with shaking knees and opened the door to the cell before trying to walk away with as much dignity as a coward can muster while fleeing.

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”Please tell me this was just an elaborate joke and he’s not really the captain of the guard?”

Sadie’s sigh expressed more than a paragraph of words could ever hope to express. Nodding in sympathy Corvo held up his hands to reveal thick chains binding his wrists and ankles together. Recognizing the gesture for what it was Sadie removed a scroll from her waistband and tore it in half breaking the spell written on it. 

Quickly the chains unwind themselves and retreat into the shadows at the back of the cell. Rubbing his slightly sore wrists Corvo stood up and walked behind Sadie who gestures for him to follow.

Without turning around Sadie grabs a bag of coins of her belt puch and tosses it to Corvo over her shoulder.

”That’s for taking care of those bandits plus the bonus for bringing one in alive, also...”

Corvo stares for a second when a familiar iron sword appears in the gaurdsmans hand. The blade had been cleaned of any blood and given a less worn sheathe.

”The young man asked us to give this to you as thanks for sparing his life, the sheathe is from the farmer as well as a few extra coins, he said it was for protecting him and hauling the cart to the city.”

Corvo stares at the two items for a long time before slowly nodding his head. Try as she might Sadie couldn’t even begin to guess what he was thinking so she stopped trying and just kept walking.

”Ya know it’s kinda ironic but if those two-especially the bandit wannabe-hadn’t spoken up for you I never would have let you in.”

Or walk away.

That was the unspoken message that passed between the two of them. Corvo didn’t ask why she seemed even more distrusting of him than most others he’d met. He didn’t need to, she agreed to let him enter the cot despite her own personal reservations. He knew it wouldn’t make her happy to hear it so he didn’t say it. But the one-eyed former adventurer definitely had his respect.

Eventually they had made their way out into the city. From here Corvo could see a long line of street vendors hawking their wares. All along the street people from various races were going about their day. He was the only one of his kind on the street and most likely for several miles.

Not dwelling on the thought Corvo turned to the female guardsmen to ask for directions only to see her back as she began walking away. Shrugging he began making his way down the crowded street conscious of the wide birth and sideways stares he was getting. Corvo ignored it with the ease of a man used to having many eyes on him.

Instead he began debating on whether or not it was worth getting ripped off his few coins just to buy himself a sword belt. As it stands he was just carrying it by the sheathe in one hand while his coin pouch sat tucked away in his shirt. Well out of sight of any would be thieves. Although he seriously doubted any would be willing to get close to him especially considering the five foot gap people were giving him as he walked.

Lost in his ruminations as he was, Corvo still noticed the small figure darting toward his back like an arrow to its target. Sighing to himself Corvo pivoted on his heel ready to scare the little pickpocket off with a menacing stare. Or at least that was how things should have played out, instead all that greeted the confused Variant was the same Davis foot gap of space and a lot more stares. 

Blinking Corvo slowly turns around to continue on his way when something very soft and furry brushes in between his shoulder blades. Instantly he becomes aware of a small presence sitting on his shoulders and rubbing its face in his hair.

“Wow mister your hair is soooooo soft~ I wish I had hair this pretty and silky.”

Gently reaching over his head Corvo’s fingers register a softness similar to the one brushing his back. Exploring further he confirms to himself that this is indeed someone’s head. He reaches a little higher and finds even softer pointy things on top of his little passengers head. 

“Ah, you’re a beastkin child, my your kind really does have the softest fur along your ears I don’t know why you would want my hair.”

“Oh really, you think so? I disagree yours is like a silky curtain made of clouds.”

That day the citizens of Riverhold were treated to the unique spectacle of a Variant and Beastkin child touching each other’s hair and complementing it. In the distance a certain keen eyed female guardsman watched this happening from her post at the gate.

”Just what the hell is that wierdo even doing?”