Darkness and Hellfire

Chapter 40 Let’s Go To The Barracks.

“My Lord.” Lenna said only a little louder than a whisper. Isaac didn’t even stir. There was a small team of adventurers approaching them. The one that had pointed Lenna and Isaac out, to the rest of the team, was a short woman about five feet tall with a pair of ruby lensed goggles on. “Lord Wexler.” Lenna said a little louder and nudged him.

Isaac only groaned and shifted a little. The adventures continued to approach. The one in the lead was a tall man in full-plate armor much like Lenna’s. There was another woman who looked to be the first’s sister with a bow on her back and a pair of curved swords on her hips. The two women were in light leather armor that only really protected vital areas. “Isaac!” Lenna said sharply, while being careful to keep her voice down, and nudged him again.

Isaac tossed off the blanket and sat upright while disappearing and looked around. Lenna rose to meet the incoming adventurers. Isaac, still invisible, stood up and rubbed his eyes once he was sure they weren’t about to be eaten by something.

“Hey there.” The armored man said in a casual tone. His voice was a little deeper than Isaac’s but not nearly as deep as Claus’ earthquake of a voice.

Lenna couldn’t see Isaac so she took a deep breath and prepared to converse with the locals. “Greetings.” She reciprocated his salutation.

The adventurers stopped about a dozen feet from Lenna and Isaac decided to get a closer look after a long yawn. He walked up next to them and started walking around behind them while taking a look at their gear. They had a few pouches with what looked like small glass vials in them but carried no coin purses. The archer had two quivers of about two dozen arrows each. Only the armored man had a backpack. The girl with the ruby goggles had a satchel that seemed to be stuffed with something but Isaac couldn’t tell without opening it.

“The city’s right there. Why sleep out here?” The knight asked. The question sounded like an interrogation but his tone was nothing but casual friendliness. The lantern on his belt casting them in shadows wasn’t helping him seem any friendlier however.

Lenna was about to answer when she saw Isaac reappear behind them. “Long trip.” Isaac said cheerily. The adventurers all jumped. The archer screamed, the girl with goggles squeaked, and the man whirled around with his hand halfway through drawing his weapon. Isaac raised his hands in mock surrender. “Jumpy today huh?” He asked.

“See I told you there were two of them.” Goggles told the rest of the team. The knight slid his sword the rest of the way back into his scabbard.

“Shouldn’t be sneaking up on people like that. It might lead to a misunderstandin’.” The knight told Isaac.

Isaac lowered his hands and raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What kinda misunderstanding?” He asked.

“There was a drow spy caught in town last week. Maybe that you’re with them. Or maybe that you're a thief. Not sayin’ ya are. Just mentionin’ it.” The knight replied wearily. His blade was stowed but his hand still hadn’t left the hilt.

Isaac made a dagger out of shadows appear in his hand and started spinning it around his finger. “Gimme your gold.” He said completely monotoned. The knight started to draw his sword again. “By the gods, relax man.” Isaac chastised him. He made the dagger disappear. “It’s a joke.” He shook his head.

“Let’s get out of here. This one seems more trouble than he’s worth.” Goggles said to the knight.

The archer chastised her sister: “That’s rude. Especially when that person is right in front of you.”

“Nah.” Isaac replied. “She’s right. Trouble follows me around like it’s my shadow.” Isaac smirked at his own bad joke that only a few people on the planet would have even understood.

“My Lord. Perhaps we shouldn’t antagonize the locals.” Lenna cooly reprimanded.

Isaac started walking back over to his bedroll and blanket. “Yeah, you are probably right. It was fun though.”

The irritation coming off the knight was almost tangible. The archer put a hand on his arm. “He’s just messing with you.”

“Like I said. Trouble.” Goggles reinforced her sister’s statement.

“Maybe we should take them in and see if they have an outstanding bounty.” The knight replied through gritted teeth.

“Some people. You have to relax man or you’re gonna pop something.” Isaac told him. Then he looked at Lenna. “You don’t think somebody would have put a bounty on us for that?”

Lenna shook her head. “No. Harsh words only get bounties if it was a noble. My Lord.”

“Even if they did, we would have beaten a messenger here. Side note. If I ever mention going through the mushroom kingdom for any reason ever again I want you to hit me.” I replied. He wasn’t joking.

“As you wish.” Lenna agreed with a smirk under her helmet.

The knight huffed and yanked his arm free of his companion’s. “We can check on their bounty when we get back.” He said and started off in the direction they were originally going before they had spotted Lenna and Isaac.

They were still in ear shot when Isaac asked Lenna: “You think any of them were over level six?” He didn’t really feel like he was in that much danger when they were around.

“I think they were all level six actually.” Lenna replied and pulled on her backpack.

“Really?” Isaac said while doing the same. “Lucky guess I guess.”

Lenna glanced sidelong at him. “Maybe.”

The two of them started walking towards the city. “You aren’t gonna ask why I was antagonizing them?” Isaac asked her.

“No. Either you had your reason or you were relieving tension. After the past week I wouldn’t blame you for almost picking a fight.” She explained.

“Oh. Well. Thanks for the faith I guess.” Isaac said while scratching the back of his head bashfully. “I figured if people think we are too much trouble to deal with then they will leave us alone. There won’t be people trying to sneak a peek or uncover any secrets if they are wary of talking to us in the first place.” He explained his reasoning.

“Understandable.” Lenna acknowledged.

The two of them walked in relative silence the final distance to the city. As they approached the gate Isaac saw two guards stationed above it and two stationed on either side of the entrance. “How likely do you think they are to recognize your last name?” Isaac whispered even though they were still a little ways out.

“Likely. Safeharbor has been a thorn in my family’s side for almost three hundred years.” She told him.

“Oh.” Isaac replied.

When the pair approached the gate one of the guards stepped to meet them. “Greetings travelers.” He said casually. “Not many new faces come from this direction.” His torchlight bathed the three of them in orange light. Isaac turned off his darkvision when the guard got close enough to see his face.

“Hi.” Isaac returned the greeting. “I bet. That trip was awful.”

“Oh? Where you coming from?” The guard asked.

“Ben’s End.” Isaac replied.

The guard nodded. “Long way to go with just the two of you. Hard to carry that much water.” It was starting to look like an interrogation.

“We took a shortcut.” Isaac explained. “Through the mushroom forest.”

“Just the two of you?” The guard questioned.

“Yeah. Why?” Isaac asked.

“What’s your name and age mister?” The guard continued without answering Isaac.

Lenna cut in before Isaac could properly answer. “Lord.” She said.

“What was that?” The guard asked.

“It’s Lord. Lord Isaac Wexler. And this is my guard Lenna. I’m twenty. Now, officer, why are you asking all these questions of a pair of tired travelers who could really use a drink?” Isaac demanded calmly. He reached into one of his backpack’s side pockets and pulled out his badge.

“There’s been worry of drow spies so we gotta make sure everybody’s safe. I hope you understand Lord Wexler.” The guard replied.

Lenna also retrieved her badge and, along with Isaac, ran mana through the card making it glow. “I understand. Now, if you please, I would like to sleep on a bed after getting something warm to eat.” Isaac responded. He really wanted to get through the checkpoint before any of the guards looked too closely at Lenna.

“I’m going to have to ask your guard to remove her helmet and also answer some questions.” The guard insisted.

“Is this really necessary?” Isaac asked.

“If you have nothing to hide then this will all be over in a minute.” The guard replied. “If you do have something to hide we can all go down to the barracks if you want and we can send for the magistrate. He’ll decide if you are a threat or not to the city.”

Isaac glanced at Lenna. “Tell me about this magistrate.” He said to the guard.

“He is a paladin who’s sworn an oath to protect king and country. He will make sure you are telling the truth and if you aren’t drow spies he’ll let you go.” The guard explained. His hand was gripping his spear tightly.

“Will he use Under Oath?” Lenna asked.

The guard nodded slowly. “I would imagine he would, yes.”

Isaac looked at Lenna. “What’s that?”

“It prevents lying. Typically used in the presence of a judge.” She replied.

“Well, I don’t really see any other options.” Isaac said. “Let’s go to the barracks.”

The guard seemed taken aback for a moment before he regained composure. “Alright. Follow me.” He told the pair.