The crowd surged forward, taking advantage of the free passage, surging through the gate. Stathis noticed that a few of them were taking the opportunity to put the boot in, the furred figure of the guard captain getting kicked at as they passed him by. Stathis went to check on the children, having to pass through the crowd, using her body to try and shield them. Both of them looked dazed, still gripping the rusted swords.

‘You two OK?’ Up close, they were even smaller than she had thought – even allowing for stunted growth, they were small and scrawny. ‘You can go through.’ They looked at her distrustfully, before running away, fading into the crowd, keeping their weapons.

She went through the gate herself, the crowd not keeping their distance, bodies buffeting against her. How many actually wanted to travel to the next district, and how many were just going because they could, she wasn’t sure of. Everyone on the other side looked slightly surprised, group opening apparently being a rarity. There was a clear distinction between the buildings on each side – the area she was moving into was fancier, with trellises down the sides of the buildings, vines growing up them. Semari would enjoy climbing up them! Wherever the hell she was.

The locals on the other side didn’t seem to be enjoying the visitation, moving away from the incursion. Stathis looked through the mob, spotting Karanth.

‘Where do we go now?’ She looked up at the palace – it didn’t look any closer, although she had no idea about the layout of the districts.

‘Did you just… Why did you step in? He’s going to be pissed if he wakes up! Hope to hell he doesn’t realise I bought you here.’ He looked around nervously, drawing Stathis into an alleyway. ‘Did you kill him? Your blade sort of glowed, is it magical?’

‘Yes, it is.’ It didn’t seem worth clarifying that the glow had actually been from herself. ‘He seems tough, so he’s probably not dead. Seemed better at bullying kids than anything else though. He wasn’t holding back.’

‘Yeah, if they can defeat him, he’ll let them pass. Pretty standard.’ He hunched his shoulders, trying to hide himself in the crevices of the wall. ‘Bit of fun for the crowd.’

‘Beating up children isn’t “fun”. Especially not with weapons! Anyway, how do I get there?’ She pointed at the palace. Maybe flying would have been easier!

‘Sure you don’t want to sign up for the arena? That armour of yours is pretty good, and you’re not too shabby with your blade.’

‘No, just get me to the damn palace. Or at least close by.’

‘Sure, sure! Just seems a shame to not take advantage of your skills. Could make a decent purse betting on you.’ He held up his hands as Stathis drew herself up to her full height, about a head taller than him, and glared down at him. ‘OK, OK! Just if you ever need some money, if your owner won’t take you back, then I can find you some work. Could become a gate-captain yourself, if you catch the eye of someone fancy. Uh, again, I guess.’

‘Which way do we go from here? And please tell me that I don’t have to fight anyone else?’

‘You shouldn’t have to. All clear from here on in. Well, few palms to grease, but nothing that I can’t manage. At least, if you are allowed into the palace – if you’re not, you’ll be catching hell for it, and I’ll be in the wind, long-gone.’

He led her away, mercifully keeping to back streets, clearly not wanting to be seen with Stathis too publicly. The next gate was more straightforward, a simple commercial transaction, coins changing hand and then they were allowed through. Her armour was still attracting attention, but everyone here was keeping their distance – she could hear a babble of different languages, a few she even recognised the sounds of. They walked briskly again, still keeping to quieter alleyways – the few times that anyone looked like they might be about to stop them, they looked at her and stepped down, sensible enough not to tangle with someone in full armour. A nice change!

The palace was getting closer, looming above them, the sun starting to drop towards the horizon, making the shadows stretch out.

‘So, do you have any plans to actually get in? Just going to ask?’ Karanth looked back at her as they walked along.

‘Something like that. I’ve not been kicked out or anything.’

‘Well, it’s on your head. They tend not to like people trying to get in. Get very unfriendly about it, in fact. So, don’t be mentioning my name, I don’t want to get dragged into anything to do with the place! No matter how much you pay me.’

‘I really hope it doesn’t come to that! Is it much further?’ Maybe she could wait until night, and then risk flying up? Would that have magical defences or anything in place?

The next gate was open, three stone gargoyles mounted over the passageway watching those that passed through, necks occasionally moving with stony scrapes, eyes gleaming red. All three of them turned to look at Stathis as she approached, their eyes flickering blue for a moment, but nothing else happened.

‘Don’t worry, just get me there and I pay you more. You don’t even have to get me in, it probably has all sorts of special defences and protections.’

As they walked along, it became obvious that they were following along a wall, a passageway barely wide enough for Stathis to walk without having to turn herself, the looming outcrop of the palace getting ever closer, stabbing high into the sky above.

Soon, it was directly in front of them – they were in a wedge-shaped patch of land, a narrow V formed by the intersection of the palace-hill, and two walls, with a massive statue of a demonic figure watching over them, four hands all holding oversized weapons, a leonine head growling at them.

At the base of the palace was a metal cage, a long cable stretching upwards. Several servants were milling around, along with some burly guards, all in matching uniforms, their armour emblazoned with a rippling scale effect. ‘This is what some of the servants use, the ones that live down here, or when certain supplies need to get in and out without going through the main gate. But they need a real good reason to let someone up, and cost a lot more than I can afford to bribe.’

Stathis fumbled in her pouch and pulled out a handful of coin. ‘I’ll sort that out. Thanks for your help.’

She marched up to the guards, their leader easy to pick out, pips of rank on a shoulder-guard. They were outfitted in a more standard style as well, every soldier armed with a sword and shield. As she approached, they formed up into a loose formation, guarding the cage, a messily-formed shield-line getting created.

She kept her hand well away from her sword, hoping she wasn’t too blood-stained and battered. ‘Can you understand me?’

‘Yes. Bet no-one gets up without a reason.’

Stathis sighed. ‘I’m with one of the nobles. A Karhacki, I think? Janaxia Uth Tremari and probably a load of other titles. Can you get a message to her?’ She slowly slide her sword out, keeping it sheathed. ‘She’ll want to talk to me. I mean no harm.’

He took the sword, sliding it partially out, looking at the blade. ‘We don’t take bribes.’

‘It’s not a bribe, I want it back! Just that I’m not going to start anything. Can you send a messenger or anything? Otherwise the Karhacki will be upset.’

He raised a hand, gesturing another person over, this one wearing a robe. A whispered conversation ensued, which Stathis couldn’t understand, before the one on the robe started to cast a spell. Silvery light streamed around his fingers, forming into a sphere, a message getting whispered into it, and then it flew upwards.

‘Wait here.’

Several of the servants came forward, passes getting checked, before they were allowed to proceed. Five of them could fit, at a squeeze, into the cage, before the door was shut. Then the cable tightened, starting to lift it up. It moved upwards slowly and steadily, catching the afternoon light.

The sunlight had dropped even lower before a response came back, a silvery mote flying through the air, disgorging a message to the spellcaster.

‘She’s cleared, captain. And to be allowed her weapon.’

He examined it again. ‘Shame. Would have liked to confiscate this! Could do with an upgrade. Well, here you go.’ He handed it back over. ‘Don’t cause any trouble.’

She had to wait for the cage to come back down, disgorging a handful of servants, their shift presumably over. When they had been let out, then Stathis walked in – she could feel the thing shaking slightly, supported only by the cable above. When it started lifting up, the swaying got even worse, her every movement causing it to sway more. The rocky wall of the palace was just inches away on the outside of the cage, within touching distance, moving surprisingly fast.

As she was raised, her view extended, covering more and more of the city. It was cast into golden light, the afternoon stretching into evening. The walls were clearly visible as well – thick lines throughout the city, dividing it apart. Some of them had clusters of people nearby, waiting at the gates to be let through.

As long as she didn’t move to much, it wasn’t that bad a way to travel. Although she could hear metal creaking above her, as the cable tightened, drawing her ever upwards, until it finally stopped moving. Metal rattled behind her, and she turned as the other side of the cage clattered open, admitting her into an ornate dressing room, wooden benches and lockers for the staff.

A functionary bowed to her. ‘The blessed one wishes to see you. Follow me.’

‘Yeah, I want to see her as well!’

She followed them through the passages of the palace – this was a functional area, where work was done, with kitchens preparing food, clothing getting made, and cleaned. The passageways were all narrow, to maximise the amount of space that could be used for work. There were few windows, just some narrow slits for airflow, and the air was thick and steamy.