This was new.

Standing next to Vim, I stared ahead at the line of people before us. Most were men, and most looked far more tired than I felt… which was saying something, since I really was tired of standing in line. Yet as tired as they looked, most were in deep idle chatter with one another. Either about the world, the city, or some kind of business talk.

“Why are we not just going in like those people?” I asked Vim as I pointed at a pair of people riding a horse. The man looked rather well-dressed, and the woman holding onto him from behind was covered in a dull looking cloak. She looked as if she was trying to hide her face.

“We don’t have permits. Nor are we residents. We’re almost thru Renn, just a little more,” Vim said calmly. He was growing a little too used to me. If I had complained and whined in such a way during the beginning of our journey, he’d have glared at me… Now he just glanced at me with a soft smile when I voiced such annoyances.

“Just be lucky you aint’ a merchant girl. Twice the tax it is,” a man in front of me said with a sigh.

Smiling at him, I wondered what kind of merchant he was. “They tax you even without goods?” I asked.

“They’d tax thrice if they could!” another man behind us said. His yell got some laughs from the line, and I realized that most of the people in line were in fact merchants.

Merchants yet without goods…

“Their goods are likely waiting at the port of entry, Renn. Remember that road full of carts and wagons?” Vim said.

Ah. He was right. When Vim and I had left the forest, I had indeed seen a road full of large wagons. The massive style ones, which I had seen on that bridge before.

“Aye. Lumen does not allow us to ride our own carts into town. Tis’ a lawless place,” the man in front of me complained, confirming Vim’s words. The man turned around to look at me as he spoke, and actually froze in place for a moment.

I stared at the oddly shocked expression on the man’s face, and then he coughed and returned to looking forward… this time doing so while standing up much straighter.

Vim scoffed quietly, so lowly that I doubted anyone else had heard him. But it had been loud in my ears, since he stood so close to me.

What had he seen, or recognized, to act like that? Had he recognized Vim? Did Vim recognize him?

I glanced at Vim, and then behind us. Sure enough there didn’t seem to be anything of note… other than the dozens of people behind us who were also waiting in line. At least behind us looked to be some women and children.

“Lumen imposes a more… strict warehouse system. All goods need to go through their customs gate before being allowed entry. They’ll be able to pick up their goods and carts once inside,” Vim explained.

“Lawless,” a man a few spots away said, agreeing with the former man’s comment.

“Seems a waste of time,” I said.

“She gets it!” someone said loudly. Another voiced his agreement, and we all suddenly got to move.

The line moved forward, and Vim and I finally stepped onto the large wooden bridge for the first time. I groaned as I realized at this rate it’d take another hour or two before we got in.

Across the bridge, was a gate. A massive stone structure, which had what looked like three iron gates within it. It was daunting up close, but also exciting… it made me wonder what kind of sights I’d see inside. Especially since I really couldn’t see much of the town, even when we had been approaching it from the forest up on the mountainside.

Giant walls surrounded the city of Lumen. And within those walls were more walls. The few buildings I had been able to see over the walls were rather standard… other than the very massive castle that lay in the center of the town. That had been a sight. It made me wonder how many people lived in it. The castle alone looked as big as Ruvindale.

There were two lines into the city. The one that those horse riders had used… which let you just walk right into town, and then the one Vim and I stood in.

This one was long, and seemed to move slowly.

How long did it take to pay an entrance fee? What were they doing to take so long? Did people have to mine and chisel the coin themselves on the spot or something?

Vim sighed and crossed his arms. His elbow bumped into my arm a little, but not harshly. We were standing rather close to one another. I smiled at his annoyed face, and wondered if sometimes Vim wished he didn’t have to act so… normal.

That was probably the only reason we were standing in line. To appear as normal as possible.

I had no doubt if Vim really wanted into the city, there’d be no reason for him to wait in line. If he didn’t have a method to get in without notice, he could just climb the walls or something. Or just pay his way in. Yet here we were… patiently waiting… as if we were normal people.

“Mercenary though aren’t you? Don’t see a mark or flag,” the man behind us then spoke up to Vim.

Glancing at Vim, I watched the way his annoyed expression disappeared. Hidden now beneath the calm and placid face he usually wore. “Who were we last with Renn?” he asked me.

“The Silken Band,” I answered.

The line of waiting merchants grew quiet all of a sudden, and the man in front of us actually stepped forward… as if to get away from us.

Woops?

“Ha! Wish Frank was here. He’d piss his pants if he heard that!” the man behind us laughed though, breaking the weird silence that had formed.

Another man laughed, and then the idle chatter returned… and I noticed that a few of the people who had been silent this whole time had joined into those conversations. As if to distract themselves, or look busy.

I glanced at Vim again and found him slightly smirking. He had known my answer would have caused such a unique response.

Wonder why? Was it famous? If it was, it must not have been in a good way. The only reason the man behind us had laughed, was because he had been amused over imagining his friend’s reaction to the news.

Vim noticed my staring, and then smiled at me. I felt an awkward smile form on my face in return, and had to look away from him.

Come on Renn, don’t act so weird in front of him!

“Still, mercenaries… If you don’t have contracts already let me know. I could use a few more hands on my trip south,” a man a few ahead of us said. He turned to give us a warm smile.

“Sorry, already paid for,” Vim said calmly.

“Ah, typical. Your kind don’t come here without, after all,” he said with a sigh.

“Aint that the truth. Wish I could get paid before even showing up,” another man said.

“You could if you sold something that didn’t flipping spoil,” the man next to him said.

“I like the smell of bananas!” the man laughed in response.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The line laughed a bit, and I wondered if everyone here knew each other… were they all together? None seemed to be. They weren’t dressed similarly. Some looked like poor peddlers… some looked wealthy. One of the men in front of us was even wearing robes, and had rings on his fingers. They didn’t look gold, but such a sight was still an odd one.

Our line moved again. I got to step a few more steps out onto the drawbridge, and was able to study one of the massive chains that connected the bridge to the wall.

Reaching out, I touched the hard metal. It was cold, and a single part of the chain was bigger than my arm.

“The links aren’t that bad,” I noted. Whoever had made them had some skill. They were huge, which would have made it hard for a normal human to work them. Odds are many blacksmiths had forged each link, at the same time.

“My guild made those chains, mercenary. You’re damn right they’re not bad!” a man a few behind us said.

“You’re part of the Yapls? No wonder you stink,” another man said. This time, people didn’t laugh.

“Lotta nerve saying that in front of me!” the man two in front of us turned around and actually stepped out of line as to address whoever had spoken.

“And’ahl say it again!” the man behind us raised his voice, and I turned to watch as a rather lanky man stepped out of the line to shout at the one who had been in front of us.

The two men began yelling at each other, and I was a little surprised to see most of the people only shake their heads while watching them. No one seemed overly concerned.

“Get back in line George, before you get tossed into the river!” a man with a familiar voice shouted at the two arguing men. He had been someone who had spoken to me and Vim earlier.

River…

While the line watched the two men, as their arguing fizzled out, I stepped up to the railing as to look down past it.

Yes. There wasn’t a moat beneath this drawbridge… but a genuine river. It was a rather far drop, and looked deep and wide.

“Feh, spineless spice merchant,” the man who had left the line from in front of us returned to his spot, huffing and red in the face.

Glancing behind us, I saw the lanky man who had confronted him. He was also red in the face, and was muttering with the men who stood around him. Most of the people he was talking to looked displeased with him, or annoyed.

“Is that common?” I asked Vim.

“Merchants don’t deal in blood, Renn. They deal in coin,” Vim said calmly.

The line burst out in laughter, even the man in front of us who had been involved in that confrontation laughed.

“True words!”

“The truest!”

“A wise mercenary, who’d think it!” another laughed.

Smiling at them all, I suddenly didn’t feel so bad about being stuck in this line. This was entertaining.

Vim seemed completely unbothered by the commotion around him, which he had been the cause of, and our line moved again.

Stepping ever closer to the large gates, I once again realized how big they were… and how massive the actual gates were themselves.

The first iron gate of the gateway was the full length of the open bridge. And even from this angle, I could see that the metal the gate was made of was thick. Nearly thicker than the chain I had just looked at.

How did they lift it? Surely using some kind of pulley system… but the weight of that gate alone…

And there were three of them.

Could I lift them?

Could Vim?

The line’s laughter died down and their conversations quickly returned. Most sounded much more lively than they had before, as well.

While the line became noisy I stepped around Vim. I held onto his arm so I could bend a little, arching to the left as to try and see the end of the line. I wasn’t able to see over most of the men. Especially since most wore hats of some kind.

We weren’t that far it seemed. I could see the inside of the gate finally… and what looked to be knights. There were men with swords and spears, and most looked bored.

I leaned back, and returned to my spot. Releasing Vim’s arm, I sighed and tried to hear the sounds of the city just out of reach.

Between the hat muffling the sounds, the loud line I stood in… and the massive walls, I couldn’t hear the city of Lumen at all.

Which was weird. It was so massive, it should be loud. Yet wasn’t.

“Almost Renn,” Vim said gently.

I nodded, and sighed all the same.

A few minutes later and our line moved again. I stepped forward, and finally stood on solid brick again. The wood of the bridge was left behind, and I smiled in triumph.

Vim smiled at me, watching me as I nodded to him… wondering if he even understood as to why I was smiling.

“Next in line!” a young voice called out, and our line moved again.

I finally was able to see our destination without having to stand on my toes, or by peeking around Vim. There was a window lodged into the stone gateway, off to the right corner. Guards stood around it, and the people in line were both talking to whoever was within the window and handing them stuff as well.

I watched as another person was called to the counter, and I saw the pair of men put not just coins onto the counter but papers as well. Whoever was hidden behind the window grabbed the papers and spent a long time reading them.

“Read faster,” I complained.

The man behind me snickered.

“Next in line!”

We were finally next. The man who had stood in front of us all this time spoke loudly to the one behind the window. He seemed animated, waving his hands around.

“Excuses?” I asked.

“Sounds like it,” Vim agreed.

He sounded like he was trying to get the entry tax lowered.

I glanced to the right, and saw the bowmen up above. There were two I could see up there, and they were leaning up against the rampart. They were staring at Vim and I and whispering to each other.

“Don’t scare the knights,” Vim said lightly.

A nearby knight shifted in his armor, and glared at us.

I coughed and smiled at him, which made the armored knight suddenly look very troubled… and then look away. He suddenly found the end of his spear very interesting.

Vim chuckled but said nothing.

“Fine!” the man at the window shouted and slapped something onto the counter. I heard the sound of metal scrape stone, so I assumed it was some kind of coin.

The man huffed and turned away, heading into town… and as he left he quickly became calmer. After only a few steps, his upset face contorted in frustration became calm and normal, as if he hadn’t even been actually angry.

“Next in line!” a man in leather armor shouted from next to the window.

Excited, I skipped ahead of Vim and hurried forward.

Stepping up to the window, I stared at the young boy behind the counter. He looked… a little silly in his metal armor. It clanked loudly as he moved the coins he had just gathered behind the counter, implying that he was as scrawny as he seemed. He barely fit the armor, let alone filled it out.

“Welcome, welcome. Occupation and purpose of visit?” the young boy asked as he went to writing something before him. I couldn’t see it thanks to the counter being too tall.

“Mercenaries. Here to answer a call of employment,” Vim said.

The young boy hurriedly looked up, and his eyes went a little wide upon seeing me… and then became less shocked upon seeing Vim. “Ah… yes. Sorry, sir. Mercenaries… that’s five Lumen Marks each, since you have weapons,” the boy said quickly.

As he spoke I noticed the two guards on the left stood up a little straighter, all the while glaring at Vim.

Vim said nothing as he reached out and dropped the two coins onto the counter. The boy smiled happily at the sight of them, as if relieved that Vim had so willingly obliged.

“Thanks! Have a wonderful stay in Lumen!” the boy repeated the same phrase I had heard him say to the others before us.

Vim turned away, and I quickly went to follow him. As we left the giant gate, I noticed the stares of the guardsmen around us. Especially the stares directed at me.

“That was it?” I asked.

“What else were you expecting?” Vim asked as we headed into the city, walking along a giant archway to another gate. This one was smaller, and had only one metal gate. It was also not housed upward in the sky, in the archway itself, but instead opened up on hinges along the sides.

“Well… it had taken so long I had expected actual inspections? Or questions?” I wondered.

“I’m sure one of those men would happily inspect you if you’d like them to,” Vim said.

“Oh shush, you know what I mean,” I said. Why’d he say that like that?

“Hm.” He seemed to have noticed my distaste for his comment and nodded. “We are obviously what we appear to be, Renn. They only inspect those who look out of place. Plus the merchants have to tell them their goods and guild information. They have more questions than mercenaries do,” Vim explained.

“Ah… is that why you chose mercenaries? Because of how easy it was?” I asked.

“To a degree. I had thought of using you as a traveling nun, but you get this wickedly sinful smile when you see something interesting, so that idea was kicked rather quickly,” he said with a sigh.

I giggled at him. “That’s a joke I approve,” I said with a nudge of my elbow.

“Hm. Would you also approve something nice to eat and drink? I’m actually in the mood for something cold,” Vim offered.

“Oh my yes.” Yes indeed.

Walking alongside Vim, I smiled happily as we entered Lumen.