Isaac and Lenna arrived right as the sun climbed high enough to peek over the rolling hills all around them. Saetwixia was nestled between three of the incredibly wide mounds of dirt. Most of the area within a few miles was covered in tilled fields that awaited spring. The hills made growing crops a little more difficult than it would've been on the plains but it was nothing new to the people of Altia. Altia had very few areas of true openness. Hills, forests, mountains, and swamplands dominated most of the country. There were places, only ten to fifteen percent of Altia's total area, that were considered to be flat farmland and those areas were often responsible for keeping the kingdom's citizenry from starvation. Places like Saetwixia helped as much as they could but rocky ground, poor irrigation, irregular drainage, or wildlife often made farming in those areas far less fruitful.

"Who goes?!" A guard called out from the watchtower overlooking the road. The walls of Saetwixia were made out of large mud bricks that encased six feet of packed dirt and rose twenty feet high. The walls themselves were built to be able to handle mild amounts of siege weaponry or a few very angry monsters in a pinch. They were made by mortal hands and had been rebuilt and repaired by them countless times since long before 'The Kingdom of Altia' had even been the territory's name. The city population of sixteen thousand, despite its relatively small size, showed just how old the city itself was. At a mere half a mile across at the farthest point, people were packed in quite tightly.

Isaac took a step and appeared next to the guard so he wouldn't have to yell. The young man staggered back and dropped his spear in surprise. His comrade did not look as amused at the whole situation as Isaac was. "Adventurers." Isaac told the panicked guard in front of him and then turned to regard the other guard that had his spear leveled at Isaac and a look full of both caution and rage. "Double platinum level adventurers." Isaac told the guard who visibly paled. "Other than the obvious, are there any rules or laws we need to worry about while we are passing through?"

"The guard towers are off limits to non-guardsmen." The more put together guard told him and relaxed his stance slightly. The younger guard reached for his spear but Isaac put a boot on the closest part of it to him and that stopped the younger man cold.

"Fair enough." Isaac replied casually. "Anything else?"

"Every adventurer of gold rank or higher is to report to Marchioness Constantine upon their arrival." The older guard continued. "Follow the laws of Altia. That is all."

Isaac nodded. "I don't mind saying hello to the Marchioness, as long as she is buying dinner." Isaac commented which got a scowl from the guard that wasn't standing around helplessly. "What is the Guild Master like here?"

"Busy. Fine enough." The older guard replied curtly. "Now, sir,"

"Lord." Isaac corrected him. "I am the Lord of all that is Dark. Lord Isaac Wexler."

The title of 'Lord of all that is Dark' caused even the older guard to swallow involuntarily. There was simply too much threat in a title like that. It was a statement that proved that nothing had managed to take the title from him in the first place. Beings considered to be Dark or evil often didn't like being forcefully put under someone or something else, and a man walking around claiming to be their lord would certainly invite their ire.

"Understood, my Lord." The guard understood the decorum that he needed to use and fell into it naturally. "I must request that you vacate our station and allow us to return to our duties."

Isaac gave the guard a relaxed smirk. "Of course, as you were, gentlemen." He told them both with a nod and then vaulted the low guard tower wall. He fell nearly ten feet to the top of the wall and landed in a roll that left him with only mildly strained muscles. When he vaulted the top of the wall to meet up with Lenna at the gate, a few of the watching guards gawked. It was at least twenty feet to the ground but he went over the wall so casually that it looked as if he was expecting to land only two feet further down. What they did not expect was for him to vanish in mid air and appear next to the violet knight waiting for the gate to open.

There was a call to open the gates for the duo a moment later and then they entered the busy city that was just finishing its wakeup routine. As the gates opened, a few hundred workers were already waiting with loaded wagons full of waste to be spread on the fields. "This city, it has… character." Lenna commented as they forced their way through the tide. Thankfully, everyone that noticed them, moved out of the way by themselves but there were still plenty of people that weren't paying attention to where they were going. When they ran headlong into Lenna, they either toppled to the ground or stumbled out of the way. Some of them even swore only to immediately shut up as soon as they were met by Isaac's glaring silver eyes that peeked out from under his shadow-wolf cloak.

The city stank. It reeked of human waste, horse manure, and haphazardly discarded goods. Most of that may have been because that was what the workers were taking out to the fields, but even farther into the city, the smell just wouldn't leave. The roads were stone but they were covered in filth so deep that they were muddy.

"I am beginning to wish that we skipped this city." Isaac grumbled. "Shamesh is going to have to work overtime to get the smell out of our gear."

"We need to turn in our bounty and look for a caravan heading east." Lenna reminded him. "How are you feeling? The shadow-step was quite far, in the sunlight as well."

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"Sore." Isaac told her honestly. "It was almost too much at once." He added. "Well, maybe it was a little too much at once."

Lenna's frown was obvious in her voice. "You need to be more careful." She scolded him.

"I know." Isaac agreed. "I just… I feel like I am only as strong as I was when I got here. I have more tools, sure, but I can hardly power them."

Lenna nodded. "I know." She said with understanding and warmth in her words that were barely carried to him over the sounds of bustling all around them. "We will get better with time. Just be patient."

"We both know that is not my strong suit." Isaac commented.

"I know." Lenna chuckled. "You just need to hang in there."

The pair continued through the main thoroughfare, past shops both small and large, until they came across the Adventurers' Guild Saetwixia branch. They ducked inside and found the Guild Hall to be much quieter than the outside. There were only a few adventurers, all looked still half asleep, in the Guild Hall and they looked like they were there for breakfast more than anything else.

There was a young half elven woman working the receptionist's counter and she looked wide awake and cheery. Somehow, even Isaac and Lenna's dark and imposing figures didn't even dampen her enthusiasm for the day. "Greetings out-of-towners! First time in Saetwixia?" She questioned them immediately.

"Yes." Isaac told her and then scowled down at his boots. Even with his shadows coating the bottoms of them, there was still 'mud' caked up the sides with flecks of it on his shin-guards and pants.

"Don't worry. You'll get used to it. It helps that all of the important buildings have self-cleaning floors, flowers, and candles." She assured him. She was right, on the inside of every window, all of which were closed, there were flowers in winter bloom. The soft scents of a dozen different complimentary flowers did little to help with the smells from outside, but Isaac could see how the locals would cling to little blessings.

"Thanks, but we won't be getting used to it." Isaac told her and approached the counter while Lenna moved to look over the bounty board. "We are turning in a bounty and looking for a caravan east."

"I can certainly help with both!" The receptionist exclaimed. Isaac had no idea how someone could actually be that happy and cheerful in real life. Whenever he read about them in stories, he had always assumed that the author just hadn't met real people before. If her cheeriness was fake, then she deserved an award for best actor that Isaac had ever seen.

Isaac handed her the bounty. "We have most of it in her backpack." Isaac explained as the receptionist unrolled the bounty.

She eyed the target and the reward and then nodded. "Okay! If you will follow me to the back, we have a place where you can leave the corpse and I'll go ahead and get you two paid." Isaac had never heard the word 'corpse' spoken with such joy before. He was starting to doubt if she was even a real person.

—

Isaac and Lenna hadn't stopped to meet the Guild Master as they weren't going to be staying long. The duo were absolutely certain that they wanted nothing to do with the city that stank, and were already ready to move on. Unfortunately, the next caravan that was heading east wasn't going to be leaving for five full days. There was a caravan that had already left two days prior but by the time Isaac and Lenna caught up with them, the caravan would already be at the town at the base of the Altian Mountain range.

The pair stopped by a general store on their way to meet the marchioness and were immediately annoyed at the price of the dried meats. There were some cattle pastures in the surrounding area but they were mostly for milk and occasional slaughter. That meant that the only thing that was reasonably priced in Saetwixia was cheese. The cheese probably didn't end up helping the city smell any better. By the time Isaac and Lenna would normally be having breakfast in Safeharbor, they were already finished with their two main stops in the city and were at the main gate to the Constantine Estate.

There were two guards standing at either side of the wrought iron gate that was the main entrance to their final destination in Saetwixia. The guards gave each other a look but otherwise remained passive as the duo finished their very obvious and very direct approach.

"We are here to speak with the marchioness." Isaac told the guards.

The guard to the right nodded. "Of course. In order to enter, you must first speak the password. You may ask us, though-" He began but was cut off.

"One of you only tells the truth and the other only tells lies." Isaac finished for him with a straight face.

The guard looked taken aback. "Yes, how did you know?"

"You spoke the truth, either that means that it is you, or you already failed your little game." Isaac finished taking hold of the conversation and situation faster than the guard could react. "What is the password?"

The guard looked like he had no idea how to respond so he looked to his friend for help who was barely suppressing laughter. "I, uh, there isn't one." The guard on the right, who they had been talking to, said after a moment. "It was just a harmless joke we like to play on adventurers." He confessed. "I'll lead you to the waiting room and a servant will let her ladyship know of your arrival."

Isaac nodded. "Lead the way." Isaac told the guard with a slight nod.

The guard hurried and opened the gate and led them inside. The walkway was paved in pleasant sandstone bricks but it was only twenty feet long. The estate looked like it was packed in as small of a space as it could possibly fit. It was probably only half of the size of the Thronsen Estate in area and two thirds of it in volume. Apparently, not only the city itself was packed in extra snugly.

"Has your joke ever backfired on you?" Isaac wondered as they walked up to the double oak doors that lead inside.

"Once," The guard replied. "A particularly unhinged adventurer once slew a guard and then asked the other if he was alive or not in order to try and figure out who could only speak truths."

"I can see that." Isaac commented. "You have to be a certain kind of crazy to be an adventurer. There are safer ways to earn a living."

"Or help people." Lenna added.

The guard couldn't help himself and he glanced at her as he got the door for them. "Yes. Like becoming a guardsman." The man agreed.

"There are easier ways to solve your riddle." Isaac commented. "If I'd asked you any question with an obvious answer, I would've known who was who immediately."

"That is generally how it goes. Some adventurers just take a little while to get there." The guard informed them and then stopped just outside of a cozy tea room with three open entrances. It was decently central to the building and helped it feel a lot less cramped. "Her ladyship will arrive as soon as she is able. It was a pleasure." The guard said and gave them both a respectful nod before he turned and left.

Once he was out of earshot, Isaac leaned slightly closer to Lenna. "He didn't even wait for us to sit. What if we start pocketing candelabras or something?" He asked her. "Also, what's with all the well spoken guards today?"

Lenna just shook her head. "Maybe they just speak better here. As for the other part, either there isn't anything here worth stealing," She began.

"Or she is rich enough to not care." Isaac finished. "You don't think she is going to make us wait, do you?"

"She…" Lenna's voice trailed off. "Is there not a Marquess?"

Isaac shrugged. "Who knows. I suppose we could've asked."

"Cities are complicated." Lenna grumbled. "It is so hard to tell what kind of leader rules over it. The people and their rulers don't have to match."

"Gods, I hope this one doesn't." Isaac commented. "This city reeks."

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