The thick stone walls of the city could be clearly seen now. In all of the kingdom, there is no place bigger and safer than Radiant City, the capital of the country. Or so everybody says. Arthur has very vague memories of being here as a child, but back then all he did was follow his mother, so he doesn’t have a clear picture of the inside of the city. He remembers a lot of stone buildings, and that’s about it.

The dirt road they follow leads directly to the huge and thick wooden gates. They’re reinforced with narrow metal sheets, so even a big monster ramming it would be hard-pressed to break it. Add to that, there are two cylindrical towers at the sides of the gate, and Arthur can see guards looking at them from up there. It doesn’t take a genius to know that, should a monster even get near, the guards would rain arrows upon them.

Once the guards deem the cart close enough to the gates, they stop them.

“State your business, travelers!” One of them calls with a very loud and clear voice from the tower.

“Let me speak.” Marina says, getting off the cart and stepping forward. “I’m with the Dusty Hall. These people are with a trading caravan and were attacked by bandits on the road. I come to report a job and we bring two captured bandits and the bodies of three allies.”

There’s a few moments of silence before the guard on the tower speaks again.

“Very well. A representative of each group can come into the office and we’ll check your paperwork.”

Paperwork? Man, that sounds like a hassle. Thankfully, it’s Marina and Donald who’re called into a small room inside one of the towers and get everything ready for their entry. However, once they admitted they’re carrying ulzer in the cart, they assign a couple of well-armed and strong looking guards to escort the group.

They’re allowed inside the city, and Arthur watches as the heavy doors part to give them access, and as they’re led through the streets, Arthur gets a good look at the famed settlement.

To start, the most noticeable thing that distinguishes the capital from every other town or village is the stone pavement. The whole street is paved, and if someone told Arthur the entirety of the city was, too, he’d believe it.

The size of what he sees here easily surpasses even the town of St. Fiona. The many buildings are almost forced to be as close as is safe for the purpose of conserving space. Some of them, the more important-looking ones, are made of stone and clay tiles on the roofs, but almost every other store or house has either wooden frames and plaster walls or is completely made of wood. Definitely still a step up from wattle and daub buildings back in Yellowseed village.

One of the previously mentioned stone buildings is the guardhouse they’re taken to, located in the southeast sector of the city. One of the guards calls it the Sword District. It’s a long, one story building very close to the outer walls.

They take every single member of the group into custody for interrogation. It seems the matter is being dealt with a high degree of importance. Arthur wonders if they treat all cases like this or if this is some special case.

The guards lead them to a waiting room while also taking the bandits to temporary cells, Melvin to a doctor and the dead… to an unoccupied room. It seems they’ll inform their families before handing their bodies over.

They interrogate them separately, so Arthur is on his own in a small room with a couple of guards. He saw Marina going into another room while other guards stay with the rest while they wait.

Arthur sits on a chair, a rough wooden table between him and the guards. There’s not much else in this around, not even windows. The place is lit up by some strange, blue light on the ceiling. Looking at it, it’s like some kind of blue glass, and light is coming from it. It’s dim, but it does the job. Is it magic? Arthur would like to know, but now is not the time.

“Alright, kid. We need to ask you some questions. Don’t worry, this is all standard procedure. If you’re innocent, we’ll let you go when we’ve confirmed your story with that of your companions, okay?”

The guard speaks plainly, like he’s going through a routine he’s done a hundred times already and wishes to get it over with as soon as possible. He has a sheet of paper and a pen in front of him to take account of the testimony. His partner seems to be here mostly in case Arthur tries something funny.

“Very well.” Arthur nods.

“First. They said you are a guard with the caravan, right?”

“Yes. I was hired to protect the cargo coming from Yellowseed Village to this city.”

“You’re a new hire, then?”

“Yes. This is… should be a single trip job. I was only looking for a way to come here with a group.” Arthur clarifies.

“I see. Well, tell us what happened when you were attacked.”

The young man retells the story, trying to be as clear and concise as he can. He tells them of the mercenaries of the Dusty Hall stopping their caravan, the appearance of the bandits and the fight with the assassin. He doesn’t elaborate much on how the fights happened, but he does tell them of the metal-like powers of the woman.

That makes the guards share a look and the interrogator writes it down as something important.

“Lastly, you said your objective was to come to the city, not get the guard job. What did you come to this city for?”

Arthur sighs. “I’m here for the Knight Selection Tournament.”

“Oh, you’re here to watch? You made it in time, then. It should start in four days” The guard nods as he starts writing. “I hope you got your ticket, though, because they’re already sold out.”

“No, I’m here to participate.” Arthur clarifies, making the guard stop his pen. He gives him a raised eyebrow before he sighs heavily.

“Sorry kid, but only nobles, selected soldiers or those recommended by nobles can participate in the tournament.” The guard says, as if regretting that he has to be the one to give the kid the bad news.

“I know, but I do have a letter of recommendation.” Arthur argues, then realizes the letter is on his bag… on the cart. “If you look inside my bag, you’ll find it! It’s in the cart.”

“A letter of recommendation? From whom?”

“A knight named Samuel Alba. I know he’s of captain rank.”

Both guards stop in their tracks, as if frozen. They raise their eyebrows and give Arthur skeptical looks before the interrogator turns to his partner. “Go get his backpack.” He tells him.

Arthur gives instructions detailing which backpack is his, and while that’s happening, the guard starts asking even more questions.

“When do you say this letter was handed to you?” He asks, far more attentive and serious than before.

“Three years ago. Although… I don’t really know Sir Samuel. He gave the letter to my mother and said that I could come participate in the tournament when I was of age.”

That is 18 years old. According to his mother, no one in the kingdom can become a soldier, certified mercenary or knight before 18. This is to improve the quality of the kingdom’s forces by having the early years of future warriors be for training instead of uselessly dying in their first assignments.

“Well, then I should inform you that Sir Samuel Alba is no longer a captain.” The guard says.

Arthur’s chest tightens and a chill runs down his body. Is the captain dead? If he is, what does that mean for his participation in the tournament?

“Two years ago, Sir Samuel was promoted to Vice-General of the Radiant Knights. He’s now the organization’s second-in-command, so saying he’s involved in something can’t be taken lightly, you hear? If this turns out to be false, you may be in trouble.”

…

Arthur lets out a heavy sigh of relief.

He made him think the guy was dead or no longer a member of the knights! He got worried over nothing!

Soon, the second guard returns with Arthur’s backpack. They search their contents and predictably find the letter.

“It does bear the symbol of the Sunlight Brigade.” The guard nods and reads it. “Yes, everything seems to be in order. I don’t know who you are, kid, or how you know the Vice-General, but it seems you’re not lying.”

He passes the letter back to Arthur.

“If you want to meet Sir Samuel, you’ll need to go to the castle. If, for some reason, you don’t find him there, you can leave the letter with one of his servants and they’ll make sure he gets it.”

“Thank you.” Arthur gives a low bow.

“We’re done with your interrogation for now, but you’ll still need to wait for the others to be over before we can let you leave.”