Darius hoped he'd had his fill of surprises for the day. Though deep down, he kept wondering what else might go wrong. On top of that, he kept thinking he'd have to go to the town in the centre of the enclave, even though he hadn't planned to. He was already grinding his teeth as he counted how many meetings he'd have to attend. Of course, he would mainly have to discuss management errors with Lieutenant Al-Satar, and later with the governor himself. Whilst the first conversation shouldn't pose any problems, he was wary of the second. To be honest, he had no desire to find out what an unpredictable person was capable of.
Now, however, something else was important: the task for which he had been sent here. Upon entering the enclave, Bleist had the opportunity to view the structure grandly proclaimed to be a castle. In reality, it was a four-storey tower on a square plan, with a single-storey, horseshoe-shaped building attached at the base, whose inner courtyard was enclosed by the tower itself. The whole structure had been built from sandstone, widely available in the area, and covered with a clay facing, but this had long since ceased to serve its purpose and was flaking off the fortifications in thick patches. It did not look very welcoming and hardly served its purpose. The castle stood on a small hill opposite the entrance to the enclave, but nothing blocked the path along the rocky cliffs marking the boundary of the magical territory. If anyone wanted to avoid the military outpost, they didn't have to go to any trouble at all.
Before saying goodbye to the sergeant, Darius asked him about the village where the murder had taken place. Unfortunately, the soldier couldn't say much. He merely confirmed what Bleist already knew. The settlement lay a two-day's walk from the castle, though on horseback they should reach it before nightfall. According to the sergeant, the village was home to about three hundred people, which meant there was at least a semblance of comfort to be found there – an inn. Darius said nothing, though he was tempted to remark that he'd sooner sleep on the bare ground than get a wink of sleep with the scene of the crime right next door. He merely thanked him for the information and left the non-commissioned officer to his rather unpleasant task.
Surprisingly, the rest of the journey was uneventful. They rode through the bush for several hours before unexpectedly emerging onto a hilly savannah. Once they left the shade of the trees, the sun once again took its toll on everyone. Travellers who could not use magic and had no means of employing a suitable artefact did not venture out in this scorching heat, so the reasonably well-maintained road was deserted.
The monotonous landscape accompanied them for the next few hours before they finally caught sight of their destination. Darius was the first to climb the hill, from which a view stretched out over a ploughed valley, dotted with green copses in only a few places. The farmland was criss-crossed by irrigation channels, from which a light mist rose. Almost on the other side of the valley, they could see buildings which Bleist took to be a village. From such a distance, it was hard for him to say anything for certain, but at least it didn't look as though anything bad was happening there.
He spurred Bellator on, urging him to make a little more effort. Fortunately, the sun was already beginning to approach the horizon, though it was hard to tell if it had actually grown cooler. With their destination in sight, it seemed as though they were travelling much faster. They knew, however, that this was merely an illusion.
When they were quite close to the village, a cart laden with hay and some materials began to emerge from it. The driver seemed oblivious to what was happening around him, but the clanging of armour and the heavy stomping of the Tarian caught his attention. The elderly man nearly fell from the cart, and a look of terror spread across his face. The paralysis did not last long, however, and the driver managed to get down to the ground before they caught up with him. Darius watched as the cart driver bowed low, not daring to raise his eyes even slightly.
The village was surrounded by a low wall, over which the roofs of the nearest houses jutted out. It was hard to say much about them. The enclosure was interrupted by a gate, or rather a passageway barred by a palisade. Clearly, the inhabitants feared smaller monsters and wild animals more than bandits.
The party passed through the gate without any trouble. And immediately caught the attention of everyone who had come out of their homes to enjoy the evening cool. People, Sheheds and halflings stopped in their tracks, staring at the Guards with looks of sheer terror. Those closest to them scurried to the sides as quickly as possible, just so as not to block the newcomers' path.
The main road, if it could be called that, soon branched off into several uneven streets disappearing amongst the haphazardly arranged houses. It seemed that all the buildings had been constructed in a rather interesting way – the ground floor was below ground level, and the upper floor was quite high. Darius scanned the paths leading away from the junction and halted their column. The colonel cast a brief glance at Rex, who gave a barely perceptible nod.
The corporal looked around, chose the nearest person and turned the chimera towards him.
'You!', he began in a voice that brooked no contradiction. 'Where is the inn?'
The man addressed could only manage to point towards the road on the far left. The corporal quickly tossed a silver coin to the local and returned to Bleist.
'It seems to be this way,' he muttered, not very enthusiastically. 'I don't know what's got into these people,' he complained as soon as they set off again.
'I reckon even the army is a rarity here.' Darius sat proudly upright the whole time, which was rather uncomfortable for him. 'You saw what the outpost looked like. Besides, less than forty soldiers at the border? In a castle that'll crumble after three spells at most? It's not worth talking about.'
'Even if that's the case, I still think they're a bit odd.' Rex stuck to his guns. 'At the portal, I assumed they were afraid of inspections and some shady dealings coming to light.' He glanced at the alleyways they were passing. 'But here? I expected something different. Curiosity? Yes. Anxiety? Maybe a bit. Distrust? Oh, absolutely.' He looked around again. 'Yet everyone's terrified. They're looking at us as if we're about to burn this backwater to the ground.'
'It might be difficult, because everything here is made of clay,' Darius joked grimly.
'The Colonel knows what I mean.'
'In the provinces, legends and blood-curdling tales told on long evenings by the fire are very much alive. You know full well what stories are told about the Guard.' Bleist shrugged. 'It doesn't take much for someone to twist a few words and make us out to be harbingers of doom.'
'To that extent?' The corporal looked around the deserted road sceptically. 'I think there's something else going on here.'
Before Rex could share his thoughts, however, they drove out onto a larger square flanked by somewhat more imposing buildings. To their right stood a small temple; on the other side, a building looked fairly new, or at least recently renovated. Darius concluded that it must be some kind of local seat of authority – the village elder, a judge or an administrator.
However, it was the three-storey building opposite them that caught their attention. The inn seemed completely out of place amongst the rest of the village. It was the only building constructed of stone, and its façade was painted white. Curtains fluttered in the tall windows, the thick doors and shutters were reinforced with metal, and pots of heat-loving plants stood by the entrance. The building looked as though it had been plucked from a completely different fairy tale.
Surprisingly, a small crowd had gathered in front of the inn's entrance, consisting of locals and travellers, most likely merchants heading for Bushtabhar. Everyone had their backs turned to the Guard unit and seemed not to notice them. Darius stood up in the saddle, trying to see what had caught the attention of the gathering.
Above the heads of the crowd, Bleist spotted four people arguing with one another. Just in front of the inn's entrance stood a well-dressed, burly dwarf in an apron, brandishing a metal ladle. Opposite him were two sturdy lads who seemed to be letting their emotions get the better of them. The third party in the argument was a man in priestly robes, alternately calming and reprimanding the participants in the feud. The violence and scale of the conflict effectively drew in everyone hungry for entertainment.
Darius merely nodded to his deputy, who slowly moved forward. At the same time, the unit slightly spread out its formation. Two heavily armoured men stopped close to the colonel, another pair took up position at the rear, and the rest took up positions on the flanks, shielding the members of the Azure Guard.
Rex's Chimera approached the crowd, remaining unnoticed the whole time. It was hard to believe, but Bleist saw it with his own eyes. Logic dictated that even a monster moving so quietly should have attracted someone's attention, even if only one person's, but that wasn't happening. The row outside the inn was clearly more interesting and engrossing.
'What's all this commotion!?' The corporal's voice rang out across the square, drawing the attention of everyone gathered there. Those closest to him began to flee, screaming, to get as far away from the chimera as possible. The panic grew when the crowd realised that the monster nearby was by no means the only one, and others were blocking one of the roads leading to the square. 'Calm down!' Rex's magically amplified voice made the air tremble, and the residents and merchants bowed to its power. Silence reigned all around, broken only by the weary panting of the mounts. The Guard looked around at everyone. 'Who owns the inn?'
The question sent a shiver through the crowd. People glanced at the soldiers in fear, the Sheheds tried not to draw attention to themselves, and the halflings vanished into the throng. Darius, however, focused on the cause of the earlier commotion. All four stared at Rex, who was waiting opposite them. They all reacted in an unusual way, at least for this place. The dwarf paled slightly, yet seemed to feel relief at their arrival. The two burly young men seemed surprised, but they did not appear at all shocked by the sight of the Guards. It soon became clear why – both saluted and froze to attention. So the victim's friends are right here, thought Darius. A broad smile lit up the priest's face, and words of thanks flowed from his lips. He was probably the only person who was glad to see the Guard squad today.
'I am the owner of the Southern Star, sir.' The dwarf took a few steps forward and bowed to the non-commissioned officer. 'Kervet Stave, at your service.' The innkeeper glanced uncertainly at Rex.
The corporal scanned the square, which was still thronged with a frightened crowd.
'The show's over!' the non-commissioned officer raised his voice again. 'Disperse!'
He didn't need to repeat himself; one by one, the onlookers rushed towards the nearest clear passages. Amidst the shouts and hoots, the square emptied before their eyes. The travellers, who were clearly customers of the inn, hurried to the back of the building.
Darius gave the reins a gentle tug and Bellator set off. Right behind him came the tarians with heavily armoured men on their backs. The colonel had to admit that Rex really was cut out for the role of a strict non-commissioned officer and knew how to carry himself as such. It was therefore no surprise that his demeanour commanded such obedience.
'Thank you, Corporal,' said the earl as he stopped beside his deputy. He took another close look at the four men who had remained at the entrance to the inn. It seemed the Watchmen recognised Bleist's insignia, for they turned pale. 'You've had nothing but trouble of late, Mr Stave.' He remarked dispassionately.
'You must be joking, sir.' The dwarf tried to smile. 'Having such guests on my doorstep is an honour my great-grandchildren will be talking about.'
'Speaking of guests, that's why we're here.' Darius hopped lightly down from his saddle, and his two bodyguards followed his example almost immediately. 'However, it would probably be better to talk inside.'
'But this is an honor for me and my establishment.' The innkeeper was not pleased, already knowing what the newcomers were looking for. He must have sensed the questions and everything that would follow. Yet there was no escape.