Renn hummed a happy tune as she chewed on the somewhat burnt breaded snack.

The bread she ate had some sugar icing on it. Something that was expensive. Expensive enough that if she had been any normal human woman, she would have thrown a fuss over the burnt bread it was slathered on.

“I uh… like this. A lot,” Renn said as she nodded and took another bite.

“I can tell,” I said. Wonder if the burnt bread was what she liked the most. Maybe it gave it that extra bit of flavor to make her happy.

Renn licked her lips, which had gotten smeared by the sugar. “This place seems lively. But I like how it’s not as busy as Telmik, too,” Renn said.

Ah. So that was why she was as happy as she was. It wasn’t just the tasty food and drink we had just enjoyed, that she was still enjoying, but also the lack of traffic.

“It gets busy in certain areas. We’re avoiding them,” I said.

“Oh? Thanks!” Renn smiled at me, telling me she had understood very quickly that I had been doing so on purpose.

I sighed at her, and decided to let it be.

While we walked I studied the familiar city. Lumen like always was very clean. Too clean. It made me feel uncomfortable somehow, even though it shouldn’t.

The city was also busy… although not busy enough to bother Renn and make her queasy, there were still quite a few people walking around. Like usual most of the city was full of commoners. Most stared at us as we walked by, but I knew it wasn’t just because we both carried weapons but also Renn’s appearance.

She was a beautiful young woman, and it was very obvious she was enjoying life. She was dressed well, seemed very healthy, and was genuinely happy. To most people that was a rarity. Especially here in Lumen. With her huge happy smile as she chewed down on the snack, people’s first impressions of her only became that more set in stone.

Seeing such a woman with a man like me, while dressed like a mercenary and carrying weapons on her back…

Yes. She was a unique sight.

Those merchants in that line had found her just as fascinating. It had been humorous to see them glance at her, only to look away quickly. As if they had never even seen a woman before.

“Where we going now?” Renn asked as she swallowed the last bit of her snack.

Watching her lick her fingers, I sighed at the sight.

I reached over to wipe a line of sugar icing off her cheek. She let me do so, and I licked the stuff off my thumb. “The Society has a guild here. We’ll be going there first,” I said.

“Oh…?” Renn sounded odd, but I ignored her as we crossed an intersection. The roads here were larger than normal, to accommodate the large wagons and carts. None of those carts or wagons were here now, but I was making sure no one was following us. Some of those guards and merchants had been a little too intent on staring at Renn…

But what did I do? It’s not like I could make her less attractive. The only thing I could do was dress her in rags, and make her unhappy. But neither of those things would let me sleep comfortably.

It was my job to make those I protected as safe and happy as I could… and here I was sniveling that I was actually doing a good job for once.

“This place is neat, though. Where do they get all the stone from?” Renn asked as we passed a strangely shaped building. It was oval instead of square. Reminiscent of the architecture found farther south.

“The mountains nearby. There’s a giant quarry near here,” I said.

“Huh… how does the stone buildings last compared to a wooden one?” she asked.

“Depends on how it’s made. Stone will usually outlast wood, but only if constructed properly,” I said.

“Anything that would last our lifetimes?” Renn asked.

“Certain methods, yes. A combination of steel and special stone mixtures. They’ll need to be maintained over the centuries, but it’s possible. That bridge we crossed on the way here was older than you Renn, by several factors,” I told her.

“Ah… you had mentioned that. Does that mean no one’s been maintaining that bridge since then?” she asked.

“Not in the way that it needs to,” I said. For a tiny moment I thought of all the things that bridge had probably needed. The chutes, the warming blocks, the circulation pipes… I shivered at the idea of having to retrofit and repair that thing. Since I’d not be able to enlist any help from anyone, and would thus have to do it all alone… it’d take me years. Maybe even decades.

Renn and I crossed into another street, heading towards one that would lead us to the center of the Lumen’s merchant district.

“Like most cities this place is built in districts. Unlike most though those districts are owned by guilds. Powerful merchant ones, too. You’ll start to see knights and guards wearing not the colors of Lumen but the guilds who employ them,” I explained to Renn. So far I hadn’t seen any of them, but once I did I’d point them out.

“Guilds who own knights?” she asked.

I nodded. “They’re become very powerful here. The monarchy here was purchased a few generations ago… making a very… money focused community,” I said, choosing my words carefully. Not because I worried who was listening, but precisely because of who was for a fact listening.

I’d let Brandy teach Renn about this land and its markets. The capitalistic mindset here was something she had to figure out herself. It’d not be hard for her; really… although most of the lands today were ruled by monarchies, influenced by the church, they were still relatively profit and loss orientated. Half the nations that collapsed did so not from war or plague but because their economies collapsed underneath them.

“You said the society has a guild here?” she asked.

“That’s where we’re headed,” I said with a nod.

“Do we have knights too then?” she asked, excited to hear if we did.

“Well… I’m sure they employ guards. Not sure if they’ve gone that far just yet,” I said.

“Ah… true… I guess if they really needed someone they’d just summon you I suppose,” she said with a nod.

Glancing at her and her confident smile, I wondered why she seemed to enjoy such a thought so much.

“This way,” I guided Renn down a smaller road. One that rested in-between large houses. Not noble homes, just wealthier merchants.

Renn studied the homes we passed, seemingly interested. “Is there a house here for us too? Like at the Cathedral?” she asked.

“The guild here has homes, yes, but we will be staying at the guild itself while we’re here,” I said.

“Oh…? That’s too bad,” she whispered.

Too bad? Did she want us to stay in a house or something?

“If you wander around on your own, make sure you carry coins with you. There’s a fee to enter certain districts, and it can add up if you’re not careful,” I warned her.

“A fee? Just to walk around?” she asked.

I nodded.

“That’s ridiculous,” she grumbled and shook her head. Her happy smile died a little, she was now a little upset.

“We pay taxes and tolls when entering different lands,” I told her.

“Lands, yes. Not within the same city!” she said loudly.

I shrugged.

“Don’t shrug! How do they even tell whose entering and leaving? What if people do what we’re doing now, walking down smaller back roads?” she asked.

“They fence it off with walls, Renn. Similar to the gate we went through when we entered the city,” I told her.

“Oh… that’s dumb,” she complained.

“Not to these people,” I said. Most had voted in favor of it.

Though… people had been given one month’s salary in exchange for a positive vote. That might have had something to do with it.

Exiting the road of houses, we returned to a business road. We took a left, heading deeper into Lumen, and the shops started becoming more frequent.

“See that symbol?” I pointed at one of the building’s front awning. It had a blue and white emblem sewn into it.

She nodded.

“That’s the company guild that the Society owns. The Animalia Company,” I said.

“Huh? Really?” Renn stood up straight, and I realized it was probably a little hard for her to see clearly. Thanks to the angle…

Looking up and down the street, I found another shop with the symbol. Some kind of bakers shop. It had the symbol painted onto the large window displaying breads and other items.

Walking over to it with Renn, I let her examine the symbol for a moment.

“Just… just the letter A? really?” she asked.

I nodded. That it was. “Well, the letter… in a circle. With colors,” I offered to defend it, even though I didn’t care for it either.

“It’s not neat at all,” she complained.

“Hm…” I turned to go, but Renn stopped me before I could. She gave me a happy smile, and I sighed and nodded.

A few minutes later she emerged from the bread shop with two loaves, both warmly baked.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Renn happily returned to my side as we went back to walking to our destination. She hummed as she slowly munched on the bread.

“How much were they?” I asked her.

“Three of the copper pieces each,” she said

“Oh?” That wasn’t bad at all. Either the crop yields this year had been great, or the shop owner had taken a liking to her.

Something told me it was the latter.

“Want a piece?” she asked, offering me a bite.

I took it, even though I didn’t want it. How was she able to eat so much? Better yet how did she seem to always enjoy it, too?

“So… do we own those stores then? They had all been human in there,” Renn asked.

While we rounded a corner, I realized that maybe that had been what she really wanted. Not just the bread, but to check if any of our kind had been in that store.

“We own it. Or well, at least fund or supply it. Brandy and the guild leader handle all that stuff,” I said.

Thank goodness too. The thought of having to deal with all of that stuff again made me pissed off.

“Hmm…” she hummed as she chewed off a big bite of the bread.

As I ate the piece she had offered me, I recognized the taste of sourdough bread. It was bland, and didn’t deserve the happy smile she wore as she ate it.

“They said this was made with ale,” she said.

“Ale yeast, yes. A process fairly new to this region.”

“It’s tasty,” she said.

“Usually this bread accompanies something else, Renn. It’s an addition, not a snack on its own,” I told her.

“Oh?” she mumbled the word as she took another big bite.

No matter.

Rounding another corner, the Societies Company came into sight. Down the road, at the end, was a massive building.

“There she is,” I told Renn.

She paused, and looked around. Then her eyes fell on the huge building at the end of the road.

“That big castle?” she asked with food in her mouth.

“Not really a castle. There’s a large trading firm behind it, and then there’s a bank and commercial residence too. Other than the Cathedral Renn, this is one of the largest buildings the Society claims,” I told her.

“Huh… from a church to a trading post,” she said as we started walking to it.

I scanned the street leading to the company, and didn’t recognize any of our members. There were a few people who were busy working and walking around, that were probably employees or something… but they were all humans.

“The bank is at the end of a large commercial road. A road that has businesses running down it all the way through the city until it reaches the port. There’s another large road opposing it, that’s used by carts and wagons. You can walk down it just be careful, sometimes the merchants aren’t very attentive,” I explained.

Renn giggled. “Ran over by a wagon.”

“It happens,” I said.

“Ah… probably does,” she sounded more solemn as she nodded… then took another bite of her bread.

“Never seen anyone hurt by a horse or cart?” I asked her.

“Hm… I have. But it hadn’t been moving,” she said.

“Hadn’t been moving?” I asked.

“The cart broke, and fell on the man. Honestly I hadn’t seen it first hand, and I had only seen the… results. I’m not sure how it happened, or why he had been under it in the first place,” she said.

“Humans always find ways to get themselves hurt in the oddest ways possible,” I said.

“They do,” she agreed, and munched down on the last bit of one of her loafs.

Walking past a large warehouse, I noticed the three carts within being loaded. The crates had our companies insignia painted on them.

“We own these too?” Renn asked.

“So it seems. We hadn’t last time I was here,” I said.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” she asked.

“Was Lughes’s hoarding of wealth good for him?” I asked.

Renn stopped walking, and I flinched. I shouldn’t have phrased it like that.

“I uh… really don’t want that to happen again, Vim. Please,” Renn spoke seriously, and had even squeezed the loaf of bread in hands as she did so. I sighed at the sight of her squishing her snack, and looking so distraught.

“Sorry Renn, I hadn’t meant it that way. Brandy is far… more astute than Lughes. You’ll see upon meeting her, that such a thing like that won’t happen here,” I said.

“Yet you had said that for a reason. Why?”

“Because great wealth is more trouble than it is worth,” I said.

“Are you… against this then? What the Society is doing here?” she asked as she looked around.

“We can talk about that later. I want you to have your own opinion first, before you hear my own,” I said. I had been doing so well too, with not revealing anything to her. I had wanted… I needed her, to form her own thoughts on this place. On Brandy.

I needed Renn to form her own thoughts on the Society as a whole.

Renn studied me for a moment, and then looked down. Her happy face was long gone, and was now going to stay away based off the sad frown that took its place as she studied her now half squished loaf of bread.

“Remember the favor I asked of you?” I asked her, hoping to salvage this moment.

She should be happy. Overjoyed. She was about to meet one of the largest communities of importance in the Society… she deserved to experience this moment with absolute joy, not worry.

Renn nodded. “The painting,” she said.

I nodded. “Can I ask one more favor of you?”

She tilted her head at me, and I knew her ears had flickered under her hat. “Sure?”

“Do for me what no one else will,” I said.

Renn’s eyes hardened and she nodded stiffly, waiting for the rest of my request.

“Judge them,” I asked of her.

“Judge…?” she didn’t seem to like the idea of it.

“Judge their methods. Their community. The company, the guild, and the people they employ,” I said.

Renn stepped forward and shook her head. The loaf of bread in her hand shook as she did. “Wait… wait, Vim!” she started to speak but I didn’t let her interrupt me.

“I need you to study them. To learn everything you can, about everyone you can. Especially of Brandy and Gerald, the guild leader,” I asked her for help.

Unlike the last time I had asked her for help… she now looked upset. Hurt. Offended, even.

Stepping closer to her, I reached out to break off a piece of her now mostly squished bread. It tasted the same, even squished.

Renn took in a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She ignored me as I took another piece of bread.

“Why wait till now to ask me this? Why now? Why when we’re right in front of them?” she asked quietly, with her eyes still closed.

“You wanted me to test you. Here it is. A real one. One that can change everything,” I said.

A tiny whine came from her as she lowered her head, and I could tell by the way her hat shifted that her ears had drooped.

Two men, both talking lightly to themselves passed us by. They glanced at us oddly, but didn’t draw too close or seem too interested. Their conversation never even switched to us, even when they drew farther away.

“You can say no, Renn,” I told her after a few moments passed.

“No,” she said.

I frowned, a little surprised that she actually had done so. I couldn’t help but blink a few times, and hesitated.

She had said no.

“Okay…” I said lightly, and my mind whirled at the rejection. I honestly had not expected it at all and…

“I can’t say no. I’ll do it. What am I supposed to be looking for?” she asked, looking up at me. She blinked at me and tilted her head, as if seeing something odd. “Vim?” she asked, and I realized I probably looked absolutely ridiculous.

Calm yourself.

“There’s nothing you need to look for. I just want you to evaluate them. I want you to learn everything that you can, and afterwards tell me about them. Your thoughts, the good and the bad,” I said.

“Oh… So I’m not going to get anyone in trouble?” she asked.

So that was what she had been worrying about.

“Likely not, Renn. Even if someone was doing something I disapproved of, do you really think I’d do anything about it? If they’re not endangering the society I don’t stop anyone from doing anything they want,” I said.

She nodded, understanding that.

“Then…” she glanced past me, to the building in the distance.

“Just study them. Judge them. I wasn’t going to bring it up at all, honestly… but maybe it’s for the best. As I said, you wanted to be tested. Well… this is a good way for me to do it. I want you to basically report to me, after some time, and I want you to tell me everything on your mind. The good and the bad. About everyone. Everything.”

She slowly nodded, understanding. “Okay. I can do that. I can do that Vim,” she said.

“Please and thank you,” I said.

Her eyes held my own, and I noticed the way her pupils were thin and narrowed. She was focusing very intently on the thing before her. Usually I’d not be bothered by such a gaze… yet…

“Next time give me more warning, please,” she said softly.

“If there’s a next time. Sure,” I said.

Renn giggled and then took a huge bite out of her bread. Right where I had been pulling pieces off. “Please Vim! Of course there will be,” she said and stepped past me. Hurrying forward… now excited.

Following her, I kept pace with her as I studied the look on her face. Her smile had returned… but I could see the worry behind it. Especially in her stride, and the way she chewed on the bread. She wasn’t eating for enjoyment now, but instead to simply eat it as fast as possible. It was no longer something to relish, but now something to finish so she could move on to something else.

I sighed at myself, and realized I had done that rather foolishly.

Oh well. It was done.

Next time… next time I’d do it better.

“What’s a guild leader, by the way?” Renn then slowed to ask.

Frowning at her, I put my hand onto her back as to keep her from stopping completely. She picked her pace back up, but it was obvious she was upset over it. “The one who leads the company. They call the organizations guilds here, he’s one of us. A dove,” I said.

“A dove?” she perked up at that.

“Brandy is an otter. She’s the bookkeeper,” I said.

“Otter,” she perked up at that even more.

“Though she may not be back yet,” I said.

Renn nodded. “The Clothed Woman had said that.”

“There’re a few other members too. They’ll introduce themselves,” I said.

Walking up to the Animalia Company Guild, I glanced down the large roads that circled the massive complex. There were carts and wagons down one side, some lined up and waiting to get in. Down the other side were people coming and going. There was even a carriage waiting at the bank’s entrance, possibly a noble or wealthy merchant was making a deposit or asking for a loan.

“It is a castle, Vim,” Renn whispered as she stared upward.

Glancing up at the many floors, and balconies that littered them… I guess I could see how she’d think such a thing. It did have towers and spires, but I knew most of them were just for decoration.

“Well… as I said. Wealth becomes too noticeable too quickly,” I said.

“Obviously so,” she agreed as we headed for the entrance in the center. The one between the bank’s entrance and the large depot for goods. The one most people wouldn’t usually need to enter, since it was more for the workers than customers of any kind.

Patting Renn on the back as we crossed the wide street and entered the company, we passed through the massive wooden doors that were propped open wide. They looked pushed to the limit of their hinges, as if to invite any and all into the building without hesitation.

Upon entering we found hustle and bustle. The large entry room was created in a way to mimic the building itself. Massive, for the sake of being so. There were large stairwells to the back, which led to the upper floors. The cardinal directions also had large hallways. One to lead to each section of the building. Then there were of course doors and hallways scattered around them, all having their own purposes. There seemed to be twenty or so people here, but some were heading elsewhere. One was walking up a stairwell, to head deeper into the building and another pair of women were heading down the right hallway. Based off the uniforms they wore, they were heading to the bank as to go to work.

Amidst all the paths one could take, were desks and tables. Offices ran along the left side of the large room, and tables for people to sit and work on whatever task they were entrusted with littered the right wall. In-between them, was a large circular counter. Where three women were currently sitting at. Each woman was directed towards one of the hallways, or the front door.

The one who sat facing the door noticed us as we entered, and quickly stood from her seat.

She went wide-eyed, and then screamed. “Oh my gosh!”

Renn went perfectly still, as did most of the dozens of people in the room. Every conversation, all the shuffling of papers, and the echoes of feet upon ceramic tile all ceded in their noise making as the receptionist leapt over her counter and ran at me.

I stepped aside from Renn a bit, to give the woman enough room.

With a happy shriek, Reatti charged into me, wrapping her arms around my waist as she happily giggled and greeted me.

Smiling down at her, I glanced around and noticed the gentle smiles of other members… and the odd looks of those who were obviously not.

Yet none of those looks bothered me as much as Renn’s did.