The bright sunlight nearly blinded Yarro as the duo left the castle. Kael placed his hands above his eyes to shield them from the sun. “Alright! To the southern district. Finally, no more stuffy castle. I suggest you keep your change close,” Yarro said.

Kael glanced back at him with eyebrows raised in confusion. “Is it that bad?” he asked.

Yarro shrugged. “It’s what I’ve heard. Makes sense though, doesn’t it?” A place full of servants and non-elementalists looking to survive. The perfect environment for pickpockets and thieves. Kael sighed and began walking. It was the kind of sigh someone made when they didn’t want to continue the conversation. Was it something he said?

They passed through a number of streets that had begun decorating for the Midsummer Ball. Colorful cloth hung between close buildings, stalls were set up with various toys and trinkets on display. Some of them Yarro could tell were going to put food on later.

“So… why did you light the fireplace in the Lord of Commerce’s office?” Kael asked out of the blue.

Yarro looked at him quizzically. “I didn’t light anything on fire. I command water, remember?”

“Right, right.” The other looked slightly concerned. “But it wasn’t on before I entered. Then you entered the room and it was on. I thought… I thought it was related to the Fire Deity’s boon.”

“All I can do so far is see elements.” Yarro focused his eyes on Kael. “You, for example, are surrounded by a halo of rocks and dirt. Not in a dirty way though! It’s invisible without this, so I guess it’s more like an elemental aura?”

The concern didn’t lift from Kael’s face, but he said nothing else and they continued in silence. Yarro was beginning to feel awkward. Why wasn't he talking? About half an hour later, the two of them arrived at a guarded and gated archway. The gates were currently open but there was a line to get in, and upon closer inspection, a line to leave as well. The guards stationed there were inspecting everyone who passed through the southern gates to the district. Guards were posted on look out on top of the arch as well.

“That’s...suspicious,” Kael muttered.

“Yeah, it’s a bit much. I had no idea they were doing this for the district. I wonder if Guard Captain Lisa set it up like this? We’ll need be quick then, if we're too finish before nightfall.” Yarro looked over to Kael.

“Sure, but what do you think those guards are checking for?”

“No clue. Residency papers maybe? I heard the southern district uses those to keep track of them. We should be able to just use our seals to get in and out,” Yarro said as they made their way into the line.

Once they reached the front, the guard held out his hand with the most disinterested look Yarro had ever seen. “Official crown business.” Yarro held up his seal. Kael held his seal up as well a beat later.

The guard woke up at the mention of this and with a raised an eyebrow he snatched the seals. He pursed his lips as he inspected it back and forth under a careful eye. He held it to the light, glanced at the two of them over and looked back at the seal. “You don’t look like official crown business,” he stated with squinted eyes.

“They don’t hand out uniforms.” Kael crossed his arms.

The guard stared them down for the longest minute. Kael didn’t seem to break, but Yarro was beginning to sweat. Could the guard really turn them down? He was about to speak up on how it was illegal to interfere with official crown business, when the guard finally hmphed and handed the seals back. “Fine then. Curfew’s at sundown. If you’re not out by then, you’ll have to find some place to stay.”

“Got it, thanks,” Yarro said. He gave a side glance to the other guard as they walked past and through the gates. Plenty of eyes watched them as they passed through.

Yarro almost immediately smelled a stench in the area. There was a clear drop in quality workmanship and materials. The cobblestone path was more dirt than rock. The buildings had plenty of dead vines with chipped paint and shutters barely hanging on. Faded signs on commercial buildings, if they were even still there. Random furniture too broken to fix thrown about and what little “grass” there was, was either well trodden on or eaten by roaming animals. The southern district was the slums. Nobody in this area could afford to fix things, either from lack of job opportunity or lack of crowns. It was rare for them to be paid in official currency.

However, what the district lacked in appearance, they made up for in rowdiness that the rest of the districts didn’t have. Kids screaming and playing. Musical instruments from nearby open buildings playing as loud as they could. Past the smell of the slums he could sniff a whiff of delicious food that instantly made his stomach rumble. The entrance to the southern district was lively indeed.

“They’re having their own Midsummer festival,” Kael said in awe.

Yarro looked up to notice small flags on a line flying between the buildings. “Come on. The kind of people we’re looking for won’t be front and center celebrating.”

Kael walked slower than a snails pace. He must have wanted to absorb all of the festivities and excitement these people had managed to create. He looked this way and that, just liked a tourist. “Right. We should find a questionable alleyway, I suppose?”

They passed by a number of food and trinket stalls, though in definite lesser quality than the ones outside the district. People relaxed on the front steps of their homes, drinking, chatting, and playing. Though the further they got the more suspicious and out of place Yarro and Kael looked. They wore nicer clothes, not a stray thread and had neat hairstyles. Most folks looked a bit more worn down and wore simpler clothes compared to the duo. It rather quickly quieted down and the decorations became sparse at first before almost entirely going away. The real face of the southern district.

“Wonder what that entrance looks like when it’s not on holiday,” Kael mumbled once it was clear the scenery changed for good.

Once they left the main road, the area got worse, somehow. Some buildings had full chunks of walls missing from them, only barely covered with a bed sheet. People out stopped what they were doing to glare. The duo didn’t have to wander far for them to encounter a guard. The first one they had seen as well, and he was harassing a man with a basket full of groceries. The victim was backed into a corner, looking anywhere but the harassing guard.

Their eyes met. Kael raised a single finger to his lips, urging the victim to keep quiet as Kael picked up a rock the size of his hand. “Are we keeping our elements a secret?” he whispered, his eyes trained on the guard.

Yarro nodded. He had forgotten the first rule of being a water elementalist: Always keep water on him. He would be useless in this fight, so he needed to split the attention. He watched as Kael tossed the rock over in his hand a few times to determine its weight. Then in a blur, the rock was hurled towards the guard. It hit the man’s head with a loud thunk and he lost his footing. The second he turned around to face the duo, the victim fled the scene, and Kael already had another rock ready to toss.

“Now, why are you bullying that poor guy?” Yarro asked. He kept his hands behind his back, and he kept his shoulders relaxed.

“He owes me,” the guard snarled. He stood up straight now, and Yarro could tell even from this distance that the man was taller than them. He wiped the back of his head, and the gloved hand came back covered in red. “You got a death wish?”

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“I’d like to see you try,” Kael said. He threw another rock. The guard ducked quickly, but Kael was faster and was able to inconspicuously angle the rock further down so it hit the other square in the forehead. Blood trickled down the front.

The guard growled as he wound his hand back, and lobbed a fireball between the two of them. Yarro and Kael leaned far enough away that it didn’t touch them.

“You throwing fire at us? Tsk tsk,” Yarro said. “Bet you don’t got a permit for that, even though you shouldn’t be throwing that at us anyways.”

“Tch. I’ll throw fire anywhere I’d like!” The guard threw another fireball, this time directly at Yarro.

Yarro side stepped once more and watched as the fire hit the brick wall behind them and dissipated. He heard a rock being thrown beside him and a thunk.

“Oi, you got pretty good aim for someone living here!”

Kael sniggered. “What can I say, I’m a natural.” He tossed up another rock. How was Kael managing to find these rocks? Yarro didn’t see many around them, unless he was picking up pieces of rubble? He didn’t know any earth elementalists skilled enough to make rocks, much less as quick as he had been finding them.

Yarro didn’t have time to admire the man’s skill, as lines of fire at varying angles came at them, in closer and closer intervals as the guard made his way towards the two of them. Yarro tried to dodge them but it seemed the guard was targeting him. Presumably because it was Yarro who had antagonized him. While distracted, Kael tossed the rock in his hand, not at the guard’s face but at his feet. Once the rock landed and the guard began to lose balance, Kael entirely shifted the ground under his feet, causing the man to trip backwards.

“So, killing or capturing?” Kael asked. They stood over the guard that laid on his back, groaning.

The man tried to sit up. “I’ll fuckin’ melt your eyeballs and blind you for generations! The nerve of you two, assaulting a guard like this.”

Yarro rolled his eyes and hit him back down to the ground with an open palm, straight to the forehead where the injury was. He didn't have his element, but that didn't mean he was completely useless. The guard yelped and rolled over as he clutched the back of his head.

A rock that wasn't there before jutted out where the guard's head had landed, a small smattering of blood on it's tip. Yarro glared at Kael, who had a little smirk on his face. “One guard isn’t enough to warrant an investigation, much less gather the attention of the deities. But I'm sure Guard Captain Lisa would love to hear about this.”

Kael scratched his chin while he thought for a moment. “Very well then. Onward to the next one,” he said. Kael stepped over the guard still on the ground.

“Wait,” Yarro said. He bent down and started rummaging through the man’s pockets. “We need their guard permits, or we’ll be in trouble and he can deny everything.” Buried under his sweaty, standard issue breastplate, was proof of employment as a guard and all of the necessary identifying details.

“Hey! You can’t take that!” the man reached for it, but he was too busy writhing in pain to stop him with any strength.

“Shut up. You’re lucky you’re still alive,” Kael said. Yarro stuffed the paper in his pocket and the two of them began to leave. Behind them, they heard various shouts of profanities and threats that they easily ignored. "Hey, maybe you can use those fire eyes of yours to fine the other guy?"

Yarro didn't need the special eyes. T he victim from before Peeked out from behind a nearby building. He looked around, presumably for more guards, and when he determined the area to be clear, he stepped out and headed towards Yarro and Kael. “My name’s Avel. Thanks for saving me.”

“It’s what we’re here for.” Kael said.

"That man said you owed him money. What was he talking about?"

"Stuff stolen by the guards. He 'offered' to help and demanded excessive payment."

"Are they all like that?"

“Most. No one important looks after us here.”

“We’re going to change that, I promise,” Yarro said. He had seen enough. If most guards stationed in the southern district were as bad as the one they had encountered, they had a lot of work to do. Perhaps Kael was right to target the guards. He placed a hand on Avel’s shoulder and smiled softly. Yarro wanted the man to believe him.

Avel relaxed his shoulders. “But who are you guys?” he asked. Yarro held up his seal, but didn’t hand it over. Even though they just saved him, he still didn't completely trust him. Avel could run off with it. The man squinted at it and gasped. “Oh. Oh, thank the stars. You really do mean it, don’t you? Are you here about the protests?”

Yarro and Kael looked at each other, confused, then back at Avel. “Protests?” His heart dropped at the thought of a bunch of non-elementalists and servants protesting. If the Queen heard this, she would order the entire district leveled.

Avel frowned once he saw their confusion. “You don’t know? We been protesting for a week now. Surely some of our demands would have gotten out by now.” He seemed quiet for a moment. It seemed like their investigation was about to get much more complicated. “No matter. Follow me,” Avel said. Without waiting for a reply, he headed towards the northern gate.

Yarro and Kael followed Avel for about 10 minutes before they started hearing the shouting and screaming. And in just a few more minutes, they saw the large crowds. Hundreds, probably. Everyone was packed together with signs held up, mostly about the lack of proper pay and protection, the discrimination on their lack of elements, as well as various chants Yarro couldn’t distinguish from the cacophony of shouts.

Guards prowled the edges of the crowd for anyone who stepped too far out. If these guards were to have any luck capturing anyone though, they'd have to be quick. They would need backup before the mob were to overwhelm them. Suddenly Yarro was glad to have been sent to Dawic instead. How close was he to being assigned here? Perhaps he could have helped them and it wouldn't have gotten this far. Or maybe Dawic would have been lost with none the wiser.

“We really had no idea, Avel. And this has all been going on for about a week?” Yarro asked in disbelief. Avel nodded.

“Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We’ll take it from here,” Kael said. He looked at Yarro and motioned for them to move to the side. The two of them began to carefully observe the scene, but more importantly watch for any guards acting disorderly.

They stood on the sidelines, as close to the buildings as they could. It was quite crowded in this area. Which was amazing, in its own way. So many people, crowded all together, in one unified goal. And yet, the Queen didn't know? Did Guard Captain Lisa know? Surely she gotten a few reports about the noise disturbances, or the civil disobedience, or something. It was very unusual for an event this large to be ignored by those in charge. If they didn’t like or want the protest, they could easily squash it.

And even if they wanted to change how things were done, which Yarro doubted, they would have sent someone to gather information and send word that they were working on it. Someone was hiding this. But who? Yarro decided he would ask the Guard Captain on the first change he got. Yarro nodded to himself. “Guard Captain Lisa would know what’s going on.”

“What makes you think she’s not in on it?” Kael asked without missing a beat.

Yarro paused. She wouldn’t do that. She’s not that sort of person. “Guard Captain Lisa always puts duty above her personal feelings. She would never allow a protest to grow this big. Not even one in the southern district.”

Kael sighed. “Yarro, I know you’re a Peacekeeper and all, and I’m sure there’s some sort of guard fellowship happening in the barracks, but people can have ulterior motives. Secret ones. Unsavory ones.”

Yarro frowned. He could feel his anger rising. His body was heating of its own will. “I will not allow you to slander my captain’s work ethics.”

When Kael turned to him there was a half second flash of fear before a citizen grabbed their attention. “Your captain? You a guard? You don’t look like the rest of ‘em…”

Yarro blinked. “Yes, I’m a Peacekeeper from Dawic. I was summoned here to find guards that are abusing their position.” He thought it best to not mention the Deities, and instead held up his royal seal. Kael held his seal up as well.

The citizen grinned, and held out her arms. “Well you’ve come to the right place then. Take your pick. Every single one of the bastards here has a history of abuse.”

Yarro glanced around. There were more than a dozen guards prowling the edges of the protest. His heart sank at the number of guards here. There were too many here at the protest for one, but for all of them to have consistently abused their position? One by one the woman began to point them out and what they had done. Starting fights. Stealing. Extortion. Blackmail. Rape. Kael merely shook his head. It was real bad when a pessimist from the start was still disappointed.

“Are you the leader of this protest?” Yarro asked.

The woman looked shocked. A preposterous thought, apparently. “Oh stars, no. I'm merely a woman who has seen and heard of the many, many encounters with a number of these bastards with the other folks here.” She looked around. “I’m sure the leader is in here somewhere, probably up front. Do you need to speak with her?”

“No need,” Kael said with a hand up to stop her from wandering off in the middle of her sentence. “We’ll handle it from here. Thank you for the information.”

The duo watched as she disappeared back into the crowd. They turned to each other. Kael crossed his arms, as if to say I-told-you-so. Yarro groaned in response. “Yeah, yeah. I know what you’re going to say. Don’t. I get it. What’s the plan? I doubt they’ll all give up their permits willingly.”

“They might if they see a fellow guard with a royal permit asking for it.”

Yarro shook his head. Even if it was a fellow guard, they’re told to always keep those permits on their person at all times. It’s what allows them to do their jobs. Poof they have the ability to enact the laws. “We would have an easier time beating it out of them.”

“This is so troublesome.”

“You’re the one who wanted to inspect the guards here.” Yarro shrugged.

“We better get started then.”