“So, I’m guessing that didn’t go exactly as planned?” Ian asked over the bustle of the crowd, unable to keep the frustration from his tone.

“I think it went about as well as it could have,” Vale replied.

“Well do you mind cluing me in? I am a bit lost on what we’re doing,” Ian said, dodging around a street vendor.

“I thought you were a detective back on your world,” She continued before he could respond. “By establishing ourselves as potential clients, we had a reason to enter the law firm in the first place and an excuse to return. By lying but remaining close to the truth, we were both believable and non-threatening. I expect one of two things to happen from this point. If they are associated with the Har-” She caught herself, “With the Court, then they will come after us to silence you. If they are not, then they might be able to take your case and help you. Either way, we will learn more about their firm and whether they have powerful enough resources at their command to be of use. That is how it helps.”

“Alright,” Ian conceded, feeling slightly admonished, “But what if they do try to silence me? Neither one of us would put a dent in the Big-Baddy Dakon back there, and that’s assuming he’d even be alone. Not to mention that I couldn’t get any kind of read on him. I mean if he hadn’t been breathing and blinking I would’ve thought we were talking to a wall.”

“That,” She said, swiveling back to him with confidence in her eyes, “is why I didn’t tell him where we are actually staying. If they attack we will be safe, and we will know that the Court operates through Justiciar Law, and we will have someone to follow or interrogate,” She spun back around, nimbly avoiding a dwarf. “And his demeanor was unusual, but I have met monks who behave in a similar manner. Perhaps he was meditating on the problem while we explained it to him.”

“I guess I should never have doubted you, Miss Ranger,” Ian said with a grunt of approval. He’d used similar tactics before himself and it was a tried and true method for smoking out enemies. “We’ll be staying somewhere nearby the Five Crowns then?”

A minuscule smile spread across the elf’s lips. Even laced with sarcasm she detected a hint of Ian’s admiration in his voice.

“Precisely,” Vale said. “We’ll be staying across the street in the Golden Fleece.”

Ian watched her as she moved through the crowd and a smile spread across his face. Fortune, luck, fate, whatever he wanted to call it had led him to her. She wanted to help him, even if it put her in danger and that was a rare thing in his experience. The longer he spent around her the more he felt like he had a partner again.

Vale led them to a street corner and flagged down an empty carriage. The ride she’d chosen had no top to it and in several languages painted on the sides was the word ‘tours’. An orc boy with coppery skin and short tusks sat in the driver's seat, hands on the reigns. He wore a heavy black jacket that looked professional and clean, albeit somewhat ill-fitting. Nevertheless, he sat tall and proud in his seat. He stood and bowed respectfully as Mal hopped right in and laid down across the left facing bench. Vale and Ian sat across from him.

“Please take us to the Five Crowns Hotel, but by way of the historic district. My friend and I are doing a bit of sightseeing!” Vale cheerfully instructed the driver.

Smart - she’s passing us off as forgettable tourists. Ian thought.

“Happy to, my Lady!” With that proclamation, the orc boy sat down and tugged on the reins urging the pair of three-eyed oxen-beasts at the front to pull out into traffic.

Despite his best efforts to check for a tail, Ian couldn’t maintain his focus. The historic district had smaller buildings than the newer offices they’d left, but they were vastly more grandiose. Pillars carved from marble and granite with intricate designs marked many of the building’s forward facades. There were also a handful of tall shining spires that Vale referred to as Magic Gatherings. Robed figures poured in and out of them in a quiet, orderly fashion. Other buildings were municipal in appearance. Functional in their sharp lines and bland paint jobs. Which made the old shops stand out even more. Each shop had a uniquely tailored architecture. One was a top hat complete with a giant feather in the brim. Another appeared to have been crafted from bone, creating a giant dragon skull. Or that was a dragon’s skull. Ian thought as they rolled past.

As they rode on the ride turned less into a check for a tail and more into an actual tour. Vale pointed several of the most famous structures out as they passed them. Their driver chimed in now and again with informative quips. The mighty temple of The Grand Priests of Zerudin, the Adventurer’s Guild which reminded Ian of an old-world tavern, the Healing Sanctuary of the Order of Fae. Ian even caught a glimpse of the palace, which was everything Ian hoped a fantasy castle would be. Massive towers, an imposing wall, and a floating spire were the only details he had time to take in before they turned down another street.

“There is also a moat,” Vale said.

Ian’s eyes lit up with barely contained glee. “Is there a monster in it?”

“There is. Though he is less monster and more pet these days. If we have time we can go and see it,” Vale said in a kidding tone.

Ian scowled and turned to retort only to have her burst out laughing.

They moved on past the historic district and a few more turns their cab pulled up to the Five Crowns. Climbing out of the cab, Vale paid for the trip with a handful of til. Mal climbed down after her and then stood by Ian once he got down. I am still not a sheep. Ian thought grumpily as he noticed Mal was penning him in.

The orc boy tried to explain that she had given him too much, but she was rather insistent that she’d paid the appropriate price for the fine service he’d provided. He stood up on his driver’s perch and bowed deeply again as she waved him off, and they entered the hotel.

“Welcome to the Five Crowns,” said a three-foot-tall green-skinned goblin woman. She was dressed in a fancy black suit opened the door with a smile.

Inside, the lobby wasn’t as nice as the Star Tree Inn, but it was nice enough Ian recognized it as a high-class hotel. Several clerks stood behind the mirrored front desk, each one dressed in a similar uniform to the door-goblin. A friendly looking human gentleman waved them over as they approached the desk. Ian couldn’t miss the judgmental look the man shot his way; it made him adjust the cuffs of his billowing shirt in annoyance.

Vale took the lead and requested their room, handing him an exchange crystal when prompted. She gave the same false name that she had used at Justiciar Law. The transaction passed without consequence, the clerk busied himself with completing the log entry in a leather-bound tome on the desk. Ian noted the crystal Vale used was different than the one she’d used at Gerty’s back in Landorei.

“Business expenses,” Vale said as she placed the crystal back in her pack.

While they waited, an orc female with olive skin and braided black hair tried to strike up a conversation by offering Mal a bite of her lunch. A charred leg of meat that she referred to as squastrich. The wolf’s mouth hung open and his tail started to thump against the carpeted floor, ready to become fast friends with the stranger.

Vale, however, was already on her guard and refused the offer by insisting that Mal was on a strict diet. It was enough for the woman to move along, and for Mal to offer a huff of disagreement at the defensive tactic.

“Would you rather be poisoned?” Vale said quietly to Mal.

Mal snorted and turned away from her. It was clear from his posture she’d just insulted him.

“You can’t smell all poisons.” Vale reminded him.

The clerk finished and offered their room key. Vale took the key, and a breakfast menu, and thanked the desk clerk. Then she ushered Ian and Mal towards the bank of floortals on the opposite side of the lobby. The floortal dinged and out stepped a herd of minotaur. Five in total and they provided the perfect cover for the tiny, by comparison, trio. Vale, Mal, and Ian slipped out through a side exit. Vale led them across the street towards their true destination.