King’s service – Chapter 20
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Erik POV

People glanced at me as I walked the gilded streets where the upper class of the city lived. I did not fit in. I was still covered in grime and the ragged clothes on my body were tattered. Only social politeness, kept the people walking the streets from telling me to go back to the poor section of the city that I was all to familiar with.

Maybe I wasn’t familiar with the capital, but I had spent my fair share of time scraping by in the slums. I was certain that the capital’s poor weren’t all that different from my own upbringing.

It was easy walking along the streets, if you didn’t mind what other people thought. They parted like the red sea, giving me an abundance of room to go wherever I was headed. To them, Rats carried the same diseases I don’t.

The buildings resembled the noble estates found in Cartinth, only here in the capital they were significantly bigger. Ornate gold trimming was commonplace, covering the edges of almost all the buildings in the area.

I could care less about these houses, who owned them, how they looked. I was looking for the nexus that was rumored to be in the Capital. If it was anything like the one in Cartinth, I knew it wouldn’t take long for me to spot it.

“You shouldn’t be here.” said a posh looking man who latched onto my arm.

I sighed in frustration. It wasn’t like this man could stop me but I didn’t want to attract any unwanted attraction.

“You don’t own the street. I’m just passing through.” I said as I pulled away from the guy who grabbed men.

“Doesn’t matter. Can’t have the filth of the city tainting these nice streets. Children live in these neighborhoods.”

“Children live in every neighborhood. I have somewhere I need to get to.” I said as I finally broke free from the nosy man.

I continued up the street, continuing my search for the nexus. I put some distance between me and that man. I couldn’t afford to cause any trouble.

“Stop. You’re coming with us.” said a group of guards who had snuck up behind me.

“I’ve done nothing wrong.” I stated.

“We’ll determine that” stated the Guard. “That man down the street.” said you were causing a ruckus in this upstanding neighborhood. You should be ashamed. Kids live in this neighborhood.”

I thought about using my powers to escape but I knew every guard in the city would be searching for me if I did that. I didn’t want to notify the King that an unregistered mage was lingering in his city.

“Okay, I’ll come with you but I do need to be somewhere.”

“Only place you need to be is back at the station for interrogation.” said the guard with a stupid grin smothered onto his face.

I was dragged into a small building, or atleast small compared to the mansions that surrounded it. It was a well-kept guard station. They strapped me to the chair inside and left the room. The longer I waited the more irritated I grew. This was a waste of time. I could always escape but it wasn’t worth the extra attention, at least not yet.

The guards exited the building leaving me alone. I stared at the boring grey walls, waiting for whoever I had to talk to returned. It was odd. I wondered why I wasn’t being interrogated immediately. Did some other issues rise up or was I not deemed a very high priority in their eyes? I didn’t know. I didn’t really matter.

A man unlike the guards entered the room. Instead of the leather and iron armour that was the hallmark of the capital guards, this man was wearing simple but well-woven robes. I was slightly worried. This certainly wasn’t the norm.

I shifted my body just in case I needed to escape. It was always good to be cautious.

“No need to be nervous. We know what you are.”

“Your powers are impressive. They caused quite the scene. We were definitely worried at first, but after some digging we found how you’d entered the city.”

“You found the wolf-men?” I asked.

“Oh, this is news to me. I guess they aren’t just normal slavers. That won’t do.” said the robed man before writing something in a small notebook.

“Look. The King needs mages like us keep the other Nobles in check. I’m sure you’ve heard rumors of the mad Duke rampaging through the countryside. The King isn’t perfect but he’s a lot better than the other options.”

“And if I don’t except?” I stated, trying my best to hide the anger. The King was no different than the Duke. He didn’t care about the people. He only cared about using those with power, locking them into their service.

“Well, we aren’t allowed to have rogue mages wandering the kingdom freely so I’d suggest taking my offer.”

“You could just let me go through the nexus. I’d be gone in an instant.”

“Maybe in the past that would’ve been viable, but there are too many unknowns to let you travel through the nexus. Besides you have more use here in the first realm than up in the higher realms. Here you’re special. Everyone in the higher realms has awakened some power, many you don’t want to trifle with. In fact, I know from first hand experience.”

“I’ll join” I said, while seething with anger. I didn’t want to work for the King and had no attention of doing so. I decided I would slip out the first chance I got.

“Very wise. I’ll show you around while the others are finishing up the battle with the Duke. It won’t be long before the Duke’s army submits or they are slaughtered.”

I just nodded. My freedom was again short-lived.

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