Even if we had reached the better roads, it was still going to be some time before we reached the capital. We rolled on for a couple of hours before Altria grabbed my attention. She had been leaning against the window aimlessly looking out of it, when she suddenly sat up and called out to me.

“Hey Theo, you should come and look. I think you’ll want to see this.”

“What is it?” I asked, half dozing sat in between the other girls.

“Just come and look.”

“Sure.”

I got up from the seat and stepped over to the edge of the carriage to see what it was that Altria wanted me to see. I placed my head right up to the window so I could look along the road. The road was steadily rising up in front of the carriage and there were several carriages trundling along in front of us. There were also many people walking up the hill to the sides of the road, but none of this was what Altria had called me over to look at.

I pulled my gaze further up the road and into the distance. I soon realised what it was she had called me over for. The capital city had just come into view and it was unlike any of the other cities I had seen. It was vast in size in comparison and sprawled out over the large hill it was built over. The buildings caught the last of the evening sun and glistened, but that wasn’t what really caught my attention. The place was built in amongst a forest, with lanes of trees intersecting the built up area’s and the summit of the hill was crowned with towering trees that dwarfed the tallest buildings. It was an impressive sight.

“The forest is part of the city?” I blurted out as I looked on.

“Yes, this city was built for all the races of the alliance, to live together as one. The elves and other races came from the woods. Not all people live in artificial homes like the humans. The capital combines both of these worlds.” Altria explained.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.”

“It’s even more impressive up close, but I thought you would appreciate the view from here as it is your first time.”

“I do! Thanks for pointing it out for me.”

“No problem. It'll probably be dark by the time we arrive in town, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see it properly.”

I stayed at the window taking in the sight for a few minutes, until I decided to sit back down. Our carriage had slowed right down now. As we got closer to the city more and more traffic joined the main road and before long, we were in a queue waiting to enter though the main gates. It took almost two hours, before we reached the guard post situated at the entrance. As we drew close it became clear why, as almost every cart and carriage that passed through had its documents and cargo checked. I wondered if this was usual procedure or just because of the upcoming summoner ritual and the security was increased.

“I swear that every time that we come here the security has increased.” Complained Lillia.

“Well, we are at war and with the ritual happening tomorrow it’s no surprise that security is tighter than usual.” Serin offered an explanation.

The carriage came to a halt as we reached the guard post. The inspector first spoke to Rosa and checked over her paperwork, once he was satisfied there, he came to inspect the rest of us sat inside. He tapped on the window and made a signal for us to open up. Altria slid the window and greeted the man.

“Good evening, officer.”

“Evening… Documents and identification please.” He replied a little gruffly.

“Yes of course.” She replied before showing him her adventures guild tag.

“Documents, what do I need to show him?” I asked.

“Just show you guild tag like Altria did.” Serin explained.

“Right.”

Lillia and Serin both showed their guild tags to the inspection officer without him batting an eyelid, then it was my turn. I took the tag off from around my neck and passed it through the window just like the others had. He took one look at, then glanced over at me and opened the door to the carriage.

“Could you step outside please?” He asked coldly.

 “Sure… Is there something wrong? I asked concerned at my different treatment.

“Just need to make some checks, come with me.”

I did what he asked and climbed out the carriage. As soon as I had stepped out the man grabbed me tightly around the wrist and pulled me in the direction of the guard house. However, seeing what was happening, Lillia jumped out of the carriage and followed after us.

“What is the meaning of this?” She asked loudly.

The officer was slightly surprised by the sudden shout from behind and the questioning tone from my fellow passenger.

“Just procedure. The rest of you can head into town, but he is staying here to answer some questions.” The officer replied curtly.

“Questions! What for?”

“He is young man from the boonies, that’s strange enough in itself. What’s more the only documentation he has on him, is his guild tag.”

“The only identification we showed was our tags, but you aren’t hauling us inside for questioning!”

“His tag is barely a month old, and yet he’s coming to the city from the country. It’s suspicious. Don’t worry, if we can ascertain who he is we’ll send him on to you safely. Good evening.” The officer said, cutting off the conversation with a smug grin.

He turned around and continued to pull me towards the guard house.

“I’m not having it. He is with me and under my protection. I demand that you unhand him immediately and treat him with the respect a hero deserves!”

The man stopped in his tracks.

“A hero?”

“Yes!”

“Well, even if that happens to be true, we still need to go through the proper procedures.” He replied clearly annoyed at the tone Lillia was taking and went to turn back to the guard post.

“It wasn’t a request for you to unhand him. It was an order!” Lillia shouted loudly.

“Listen, you may be a ranking adventurer, but you have no right to go barking orders at me like that.” The officer replied angrily.

I was starting to worry that Lillia arguing with the man was only going to make matters worse for me.

“If you had done your job properly in the first place, you would have realised who you were talking to and wouldn’t be questioning following my orders.”

“Look, I told you before, you adventurers don’t hold any sway here!”

“That may be true, but what about this?” Asked Lillia as she pulled something out from her pocket.

“A royal seal?” The man gasped, dropping my hand immediately.

He stepped forward to closer inspect the object that Lillia had produced. He quickly realised that it was the real deal and dropped to one knee.

“I’m deeply sorry for the confusion princess Lillia.”

“That’s quite alright. Just make sure to conduct your inspection properly in future. Theo come here.”

I did as she asked and quickly ran back to the carriage, then climbed inside before the officer decided to change his mind. As I did the head of the guard who had noticed the commotion had come over to see what was going on. He immediately recognised Lillia and bowed.

“Princess Lillia. Is there something the matter?” He asked clearly worried.

“It is all cleared up. Just make sure to keep a closer eye on your men in future. Good day.”

“Will you be requiring an escort to the palace?”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Lillia turned around without saying another word and climbed back on board. The head of the guard waved on our driver and we rolled through the main gate and into the city. As we left, I could see the head of the guard asking the inspection officer what had happened. The poor man got a slap around the head and a good shouting at once he told him what had occurred. The guard might have been a bit of a jobsworth, but as far as I could tell he was only trying to do his job. It must have been a rare occurrence for man with only a month’s record and no other documentation to appear from the countryside.  

We had soon passed through the city walls and were travelling up the main street through the city. The streets were ever so busy compared Dunshelm, but that wasn’t the only thing that grabbed my attention. In amongst the many women, were men. It was such a shock after barely having seen them since I had arrived here. Sure, the guards at the gate were men and I did know that in the capital there were more, but it was still a surprise.

It wasn’t as if they were everywhere and it was probably under a quarter of the crowd that were male, but it was still a striking difference from everywhere else I had been whilst here. What Serin had told me before really hit home, now I could see it. The nobility really had pulled back their forces to the capital and had left the common folk to die, while they hid behind the city walls.