“This isn’t exactly the type of welcome we were expecting, but thank yo-” Rory started.

The elf motioned to the big orc, who immediately stepped down on Rory’s chest, causing him to blow out a wheezing breath and a strained “Hurrrkhhh”.

“Excellent. You are the courtier of your party. You will be silent. Should you speak again, Naurg will put his foot on the ground. Nod if you understand,” the elf’s demeanor was still genial, but the steel in his eyes was a threat.

Rory nodded.

“Warrior, remove your helm,” he gestured at Erin.

She undid the strap and pulled the heavy helmet off, brushing the fly-aways from her face.

“Human. How boring,” the elf harumphed. “Which of you is the necromancer who raised this undead?” the elf gestured at Jack.

“I’m free-willed,” Jack said grimly.

“Interesting. Not illegal in Moryven, by the by. Is the succubus your summon?” the elf continued.

“Also free-willed,” he stood, dusting his hands off.

Several of the archers drew back on their bows, and the woman with the spear pointed it at him.

“You expect me to believe an unbound demon is prancing about the hills of the Pass, and that you all just… went to sleep with it lying here? Moreover, it didn’t fuck any of you to death while you slept?” the elf chuckled.

“Yep. That’s what I’m sayin’,” Jack smiled darkly.

The elf looked at him, then glanced at Layla, then shot a double-take back at Jack’s savage expression.

“Rinze,” he called out, maintaining eye contact with Jack.

“Yes, commander?” a young man, robed in grey and carrying a thin black wand stepped forward.

“Any laws on the books that forbid,” he chuckled again, “unbound demons from entering the city?”

A white spark passed behind the man’s eyes as they shifted back and forth, as though reading an invisible tome.

“No, commander. Lots of laws about what happens to a demon’s summoner if they misbehave, and the decree from six summers ago about ritualists that unleash unbound demons being drawn and quartered, but nothing that makes it illegal for an unbound to enter the city. Probably thought it would never come up,” he nodded. “They’re still covered by Custom, of course. Just all the crimes they commit fall on the summoner.”

“You have a name, demon?” the elf leaned toward her.

“Layla,” she smiled at him.

He stood, staring at her, for nearly a minute.

“Hmph. Not even an attempt to bespell me,” he raised an eyebrow. “This is turning out to be an interesting day.”

“Seems like that would be a quick way to get us all killed. Little self-control goes a long way,” Erin offered.

“Yes, quite. However, as you know, or perhaps you do not, demons do not have self-control. They are creatures of vice, incapable of exercising any better nature. An unbound succubus seduces and drains away life force until it is discovered and slain,” he stared at Erin. “Without exception.”

Layla raised her hand, with a smirk.

“Hmm?” the elf lifted his chin at her and quirked an eyebrow at the gesture.

“I’d like to file for an exception,” she smiled.

“I expect you would,” he turned to the other three. “Was it your intention to enter Moryven?”

Jack and Erin nodded.

“Very well. Rise. Pack your belongings. You will be escorted to the guardhouse at the gates, where you shall be audited and answer the customary questions, and any others I deem necessary, under the watchful eye of an Examiner. Should you be judged to not be a danger to the city, you will be allowed to enter and, if you so choose, register with the Hunter’s Guild,” the elf gathered his hair with a flourish and donned his helm.

“You have a Hunter’s Guild here?” Layla asked.

“Of course,” he smiled, and then looked Layla over again before shaking his head and walking toward the Pass. “Bring them along.”

“You know, commander, you’re very confident about four unknown hunters found in the wilderness, given that you barely outnumber us two to one,” Jack called after him.

The elf turned and Jack could see his smile through the helmet, before he lifted his hand and released a glowing orb of warm golden light that floated upward, revealing another thirty soldiers standing at the foot of the hill where the Chosen had camped for the night.

“If you would, my lord undead, I have reports to file before I can get some sleep for the day,” he called back, then turned again to walk away.

-----

The ten miles to Moryven seemed to drag on forever. The soldiers seemed to stick to a comfortable walk, and after the supernatural pace the Chosen had kept for the last three days, the hike up into the Pass seemed to drag on forever.

“Naugr, was it? You seem like a fun chap. What’s there to do in Moryven?” Rory grinned.

The human woman with the boar spear laughed and called out to him.

“He can’t hear you. He was born deaf. That’s why he gets to guard you,” she teased.

“Why would that matter?” Rory raised an eyebrow.

“Because then you can’t charm him,” Layla interjected.

“Exactly,” the spear wielder laughed again.

“Is that really a problem?” Rory asked her.

“You must be new to this. A powerful courtier can turn battle-brothers against each other with only a few words. It’s best when talking to an unfamiliar group to not let the one who wants most to speak actually do the talking,” she smiled. “There was always the risk it was the pretty one with the white skin, but I thought it would be you.”

“Why is that?” Layla asked.

“Because he’s dressed like a shopkeep is why. Look how clean he is,” she continued to laugh at their expense.

“It’s rather telling, I think, that your culture has a man whose job it is to kill the fellow who wants to talk things out,” Rory replied with a grimace.

The man in light armor with the heavy crossbow took a few steps toward them, the point of his weapon never straying from Erin’s back.

“Perhaps, but after the first time you wake up in a field coated in your friends’ blood just because a man in a double-breasted doublet told you to kill them, you’ll be more vigilant against letting well-dressed fools talk too much,” he growled. “Now, quiet till we get to the guardhouse.”

The rest of the walk carried on in silence, until they reached the road stretching from the city in the west back east toward the coast. They turned toward the city gates and double-timed it the rest of the way, the soldiers clearly ready to be done with the Chosen.

Once they arrived, as promised, they were escorted to a large stone building, set into the city walls on either side. They skipped the line of wagons and travelers, waiting to enter in the crisp air of dawn.

The soldiers attempted to take the four to separate rooms for interrogation, but after the guard that attempted to push Jack down the hallway was thrown against the wall by a forest of writhing shadows, the commander reconsidered.

“Very well. I can see you’re nervous about being separated, and since you’ve committed no crime more serious than failing to use the Saltwind road, you may be interviewed together,” the elf had removed his helm, and now pinched the bridge of his nose. “An Examiner and an Auditor will be along shortly. I will return to conduct your interview. Please wait inside here.”

The elf pushed open the door of a room that was more conference table than interrogation chamber.

“Fine,” Jack pushed past him, his shadow limbs evaporating into wisps of dark mana.

Once the four had entered, the elf let the door swing closed and his footfalls echoed as he stomped away.

“What do you-,” Erin started.

“Nope. Rule one of dealing with the cops: Assume they can hear you when they leave you alone,” Rory held his finger up, then turned to Jack. “Did you notice that?”

“Yeah, I caught it,” Jack growled.

“Caught what?” Layla cut in.

“Jack just assaulted a guard, and not only did they not arrest us, they suddenly got very polite and put us all in the same room. I don’t think they have any legal cause to hold us,” Rory grinned.

The door swung open and the elven commander, a gruff dwarf with greying hair and a midsection that had gone soft, and a half-elven woman with shimmering silver hair filed into the room.

“Well, I guess now we can finally do the intr-” Rory started, but the commander held up a finger to his lips, staring Rory down as he did.

“Examiner, if you would be so kind,” the commander turned to the half-elf.

“Greater Lion’s Heart,” she intoned, and a yellow light played across the commander, settling like a halo on his head before disappearing entirely.

The commander gestured that Rory could continue.

“... introductions. What was that?” he asked.

“A powerful spell of the Clarity aspect, which protects the Spirit from assault by courtiers and magics of the mind,” the commander gave him a genial smile.

“Fun. So, as I was saying, introductions,” Rory returned the smile.

“You don’t seem concerned. Most courtiers become disgruntled during this part,” he chuckled.

“Mate, your assumption is that I’m going to try to manipulate you, but I’d just like to answer your questions so we can find a bed and a hot meal,” Rory’s smile finally faded.

The silver-haired half-elf murmured something to herself that caused her eyes to glow with golden light.

“If you would kindly submit yourself to my associate, mister Silvershield, he will conduct an audit of each of you, to ensure you are safe to interact with the citizens of Moryven,” the commander explained wearily.

“I don’t believe we will, mate,” Rory’s smile had returned.

“I assure you that you will,” the commander’s expression had hardened.

“I don’t think so. In fact, I think what you’re doing here is probably terribly illegal, and you assume that because we’re foreigners, we’re just going to go along with whatever you demand. But I saw how you consulted that young chap back at our camp. I think Moryven is very keen on the law, with rather a lot of protections for the citizenry, and I don’t doubt some of those protections extend to visitors. Stop me if I’m wrong,” Rory leaned back in his chair.

A muscle in the commander’s jaw bunched and quivered like a wounded animal.

“Lythas… is this true?” the portly dwarf pushed past the half-elf, stopping short at the commander’s elbow. “Have yeh arrested these travelers without charges? Yeh would have me audit them without a magistrate’s edict? I could be charged fer such a thing!”

The elf stood suddenly, his chair clattering behind him, as he wheeled on the dwarf.

“An undead who claims their demon is unbound, an imperial,” his finger shot out to point at Rory, “and a titan of a woman in the heaviest plate I have seen since Rogyn fell at the bulwark are spotted camping in the hills around the city, and you want me to FETCH A MAGISTRATE TO ISSUE A SANCTION!?”

“Yes, commander, I do.”

Behind Lythas, a half-elf woman with pale skin and red hair stood leaned against the doorjamb.

“Captain, you needn’t concern yourself with this. I am interrogating some vagabonds we found in the hills-” he began.

“I know what you’re doing, Lythas. You’re breaking the law,” she replied calmly.

“But they-” he began again.

“No,” she silenced him with a glare.

She moved toward the Chosen, heat radiating from her as her eyes changed from rich brown to glowing embers.

“You. Are you a danger to Moryven or her peoples?” she eyed the four.

“No. No. No. No ma’am,” they answered more or less at once.

The woman’s hair had begun to wave in a nonexistent wind, giving off a gentle light like a candle flame. She turned to the other half-elf and quirked an eyebrow. The woman shook her head with a slight smile.

“Well, then. Welcome to Moryven. Register with the Hunter’s Guild for your badges, unless you already have them. If you don’t plan to do any hunting, we politely request that you register with the clerk’s office so that the correct taxes for any mercantile activities can be levied. I suggest you educate yourselves about the local laws, but otherwise, thank you for your time. You are free to go,” she smiled and gestured at the door.

As the Chosen collected themselves and headed for the door, Rory stopped and offered his hand to the woman.

“Rory Poole, merchant and adventurer,” he smiled.

“Meryn Haley, guard captain of the city watch.”