Rya, Quinus, and the rest of the group made their way to the main gate of the village. It was closed at this time at night. Everything seemed fine until they were stopped by the town's guards.

"Oi! Who the hell are you lot?!" A guard shouts atop the wall to the city. He was having trouble seeing whoever was approaching the gate.

"You are not wanted here!" Another guard shouted out next to the first guard.

'Wow... Talk about a warm welcome.' Rya thought as she looked up at the wall.

The captain of the knights walked next to Prince Quinus and held his magical torch up in the air. So, he could show the Town's Guards who they were speaking to.

"You, MORONS! You're speaking to the Crown Prince of Fiafyr! Open the gates this instant!" yelled Sir Menns, captain of the Knights who was staring at the two guards with anger in his eyes.

The captain of the guards, a large man, with a full brown beard, looked down at the knight and then at the twenty-year-old boy with his fancy armor that looked like it had seen better days, "Tch! He doesn't look like a prince to me," He muttered to his comrade.

"Yeah, they might be pulling a fast one on us. And look... There's a Dark Elf with them. They are probably up to something bad. I've heard about the dark elves, they are nothing but trouble. I bet this one is planning on taking over our town."

The Captain of the Guard took a step forward and leaned over the wall.

"If that boy is the Prince, then why does he have a Dark Elf and a Mutt with him!? No respected Royalty would ever be seen with a dog or a dirty elf." The guard said, spitting on the ground as he looked down at the group.

Rya was dumbstruck. 'What the hell?! Is this how every new person I meet is going to treat me? Is this how it's going to be for the rest of my life? GAH! This sucks!!!'

She wanted to slouch in defeat, but her pride wouldn't let her.

*Growl!* "Looks like we're not welcome here, Alpha!" Dalia says with a glare.

"You better sheath your tongues!!!" Sir George snapped back at the city guards.

Quinus looked cool and calm at a glance but if you could see through his façade, you would notice his clenched jaw and fists as a fury was building inside him. He could shrug off insults being thrown his way but when they started insulting Rya and the rest of the group... Well, he was starting to get mad.

"I'll deal with this, Sir George," Quinus said to his retainer while he pulled out an amulet that glows when he pours his mana into it. 

The amulet is a Royal Sigil that only the royal family and those who have earned the trust of the royal family can have. The amulet glowed as the prince poured mana into it. The glow was bright enough to light up the area and even the guard's faces changed from smug grins to shock.

"Ahhh, what is this?! A Royal Sigil!?" One of the guards asks as he leans over the wall trying to get a better look at the Royal Sigil.

"My patience is wearing thin!" Quinus replies angrily while staring up at the guards.

The Captain of the Guard felt a pit form in his stomach. He knew the Prince and his Party had come through their village about a week ago to deal with the goblin menace. Everyone thought it was a suicide mission and the Prince was only coming by for lip service. But here he was, alive and well and the guard couldn't deny that the goblin numbers have dropped dramatically. He would be an idiot to continue his insubordination.

"OPEN THE GATE! NOW!" Shouted the Captain of the Guard. He was yelling down to his guards on the ground level.

"Yes sir!!" They all yelled as they moved towards the rope that raised the portcullis. Four of them grabbed the rope and started to pull with all their might. It didn't take long for the four guards to raise the portcullis before Quinus and his comrades could come into the village.

"Hmph... Should we discipline them, my Lord?" Sir George asked Quinus.

"Make sure to dock their pay for one month and if they continue troubling us, then we'll do more than that," Quinus replied before continuing, "For now, I want to rest in a proper bed and I'm sure everyone else feels the same."

"As you wish, my Lord." Sir George said with a bow.

Rya was listening in when she heard Quinus mentioning a proper bed. And it made her feel giddy.

"Oh, my Goddess! I would die for a real bed," Rya moans. She couldn't help herself, it had been so long since she slept in a proper bed. She was so tired from everything that's happened to her over the past few days.

Quinus and the others chuckled at the dark elf, while Dalia was confused.

"I would rather you live, Rya," Quinus teased her with a smirk.

"Yeah, Beta is right, Alpha! I don't want you to die over a bed," Dalia says with a concerned look.

'This poor wolfkin takes things too literally... I guess that's something she'll have to work on in the future.' Rya thought as she rubbed the top of Dalia's head.

"Hehe. Dalia, it's a figure of speech," Rya laughed.

"Figure of speech? I don't understand, Alpha?" Dalia said with confusion.

"She meant it as a joke, Lady Dalia," Percy said with a smile.

"Aww. A joke... I still don't get it," Dalia said with a bashful face.

"You'll get used to it, Lady Dalia. Don't worry about it too much," Percy said.

"Really? I hope so, young one," Dalia says as she wags her tail happily.

"Well, I believe in you, Lady Dalia... Anyway, what's our next move?" Percy asked the group as they waited for the large doors into the village to open.

"We'll have to talk to the Mayor of Kishin first. I'm sure he isn't going to be happy to see us without that traitorous dog by our side," Sir George says with a bit of disdain in his voice.

"Rya... Dalia... Stay close to us. The people of Kishin are not hostile towards non-humans but they aren't friendly either," Quinus said.

"My Lord? Should we give them our cloaks?" Sir Menns asked as he was looking at the girls. They weren't human so it would make sense to give them some clothing to hide their appearance.

"Yeah. I think that's a good idea. Hand over some cloaks to Rya and Lady Dalia, Menns," Quinus said.

With that two of the knights handed over their travel cloaks to the girls. The cloaks were a bit big on them, but they fit.

"Thank you," Rya said as she put her cloak on.

Dalia wasn't too pleased about putting on more clothing, but she put the cloak on without any fuss.

"Lady Dalia, don't forget your hood. You wouldn't want the villagers to see your ears, would you?" Percy asked Dalia.

"I don't see what the big deal is. I don't have a problem showing the world my ears," Dalia replied as she pulled her hood off.

"It's not a big deal outside but in this village, people will treat you differently if you don't hide your ears and tail," Quinus explained.

She huffed before saying, "Fine. I'll wear the hood," and placed her hood back on her head.

"Good girl," Rya praised her.

Dalia wagged her tail a little after getting praise from her Alpha, "Okay, I'm ready."

It was at that moment when the doors to the village were unlocked. Walking into the village proper, the doors finally open for Quinus and the group. On the other side stood the Captain of the Guard. He and a few of his men stood at attention, waiting for their visitors.

"I'm sorry, my Lord! We were ordered by the mayor, to not let anyone enter the town without his permission!" said the captain of the guard as he and the rest of the guards bowed their heads when Quinus, Rya, and the rest of his party entered the village.

Quinus only shook his head in disapproval in response to the guards.

"You're lucky that the Prince is merciful, Captain," Sir George said through clenched teeth.

"We are eternally grateful, Your Highness! I-It won't happen again!" said the Captain, who had tears streaming down his face.

"Your wages will be garnished for one month. Don't make me add another month because of your behavior, Captain. Am I understood?"

"Y-Yes, Your Highness! T-Thank you, Your Highness!" The Captain stammered and nodded.

"You're free to go about your duties, Captain. Make sure your men don't get out of line either, or the next punishment will be much worse," Quinus warned the Captain.

"T-Thank you, Your Highness. Y-You won't have to worry about that, Your Highness. You have my word, Your Highness!" The captain responded while saluting.

"That's what I like to hear, Captain. Dismissed."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" With that, the Captain turned and hurried away from the group.

 

***

 

Kishin is a small village of about 1500 residents. It was one of the newest territories to be added to the kingdom. This village was one of the last remnants of a fallen kingdom to the west. What was the cause of this kingdom's downfall? It was a simple misfortune of three labyrinths spawning monster stampedes simultaneously. The Kingdom of Alvara was known for gaining large amounts of wealth thanks to the many Labyrinths that were within its borders. It was a risk to create a Kingdom with so many Labyrinths, but it was a necessary risk.

Alvara's economy was built around mining the Labyrinth's resources, creating and selling high-quality weapons and armor, and farming the many farmlands within their borders. But when three of the Labyrinths closest to the capital started spawning out their monsters, it was too much for the country to handle.

It only took a week before the entire Kingdom fell to the Labyrinth stampedes. Most of the survivors fled east towards Kishin. By the time the capital fell, Kishin was one of the last surviving villages in the fallen kingdom and the town couldn't support all the refugees, which led to the village becoming overpopulated. With nowhere else to turn the Mayor of the village reached out to the City of Ironside declaring that they would join the Kingdom of Fiafyr if they helped defeat the last monster horde.

Upon hearing of their plight, Baron Arathar Coldforge took the initiative before he could get the King involved. Kishin wasn't too far from "The Tomb of the Horde" and it would be a good frontier outpost in the future for farming materials from the Labyrinth and the lands around the Dungeon.

After the dwarven-human army was victorious in defending the last survivors of the fallen kingdom. Baron Coldforge, along with a delegation from Ironside, returned to the capital to gain the King's blessing and they accepted forty thousand new citizens into the Kingdom of Fiafyr and the surrounding land became Fiafyr territory. This took place almost one hundred years ago.

Over the decades the village had expanded into a medium-sized town, with many new residents coming in and out. Kishin established an Adventurer's Guild Headquarters, and their biggest export was lumber, thanks to the large forest to its west.

Everything seemed to be going well until about twenty-five years ago when Duke Alaric saw the town as an asset. He needed to gather as many Minor Nobles to his side as possible since the Prime Minister had the majority of the support of the Major Nobles. He had been gathering support and money for his goal to get his son the throne. And Kishin was his most recent conquest. The corruption and greed of the major noble family started making life harder for the townspeople, and the few minor nobles, who didn't agree with the way the Dukedom was handling their town, were slowly being replaced by nobles loyal to the Duke.

Over the decades most of the population that could leave, left and moved to the neighboring towns and cities. But the ones that stayed couldn't afford to leave and start a new life. The town was more like a village again in population size and when the Labyrinth stampede occurred they nearly lost the town entirely. If it wasn't for the heroics from the Adventurer's Guild, all would have been lost.

 

By the time Quinus and his party were walking around the streets of the village, a few of the townspeople were out late at night. There was the main square, an open-air bar, and a restaurant that was closed at this time. There also was the usual Adventure Guild building and a couple of stalls where people sold things like fruits, vegetables, and fish. The main street had several houses on both sides but they all looked empty. The village Kishin's major attractions were logging and monster harvesting. Thanks to its location being so close to the giant forest to its west called the Great Greenwood Forest. The only downside was the many monsters that roamed the forest which was where the adventurers came in handy. They would keep the monster numbers in check. But after the stampede, the town had been undermanned, and the monsters had become a real problem for the small town, which was in a bad state.

Rya looked around and noticed the main street had several houses on both sides but they all looked abandoned. The doors of many of the buildings were either broken or nailed shut. They didn't see any lights in most of the homes, which made it look pretty gloomy. She could tell that not much had been happening in the village for a while now.

Percy noticed Rya glancing at the abandoned buildings and put his hand on her shoulder. "This village took the worst of the horde before we arrived. Many homes and lives were lost. There were several times when the village had been overrun, but thanks to the Adventurer Guild's guild master they managed to fend off the horde. But, they lost their Guild Master."

"Isn't there a mayor or a lord that's supposed to keep things in order?" Rya asked.

Percy grimaced and was about to speak when Quinus interrupted him. "The Mayor is loyal to my uncle. He is a coward and wasn't willing to put forth any effort to stop the stampede. Let's just say he is more concerned with his own needs than the needs of his people," Quinus said, clenching his fists.

Rya nodded as she made sure to cover her ears. 'Of course, the uncle is evil... What type of fantasy world would it be if there weren't any evil Lords or Nobles!' Rya thought with a sigh. 'So much for the easy life in the palace... With my luck, I'm going to be drawn into whatever bullshit he has up his sleeve... This is so fucking cliche!'

They continued to walk to the other side of the square and the few people around were looking at the group strangely. Rya could hear some of them as they started murmuring to each other. But Rya’s Dark Elven ears could hear them clear as day.

"Is that the Crown Prince?... Does that mean they stopped the stampede? I thought it was a fool's errand?" A man said to his friends as he walked past them.

"Don’t know? Maybe they did? Wait a moment, isn't that a Wolfkin and a Dark Elf? What the hell are their kind doing here?" Another townsfolk questioned as they saw Dalia and Rya trying to hide in the middle of the group.

Rya pulled her hood down when she heard them talking about Dalia and herself. 'What's their problem? Why do they have such an attitude against a Wolfkin and a Dark Elf?'

"Don't worry. They're probably just the Prince's slaves or something," One of the men reassured his fellow townsman.

"Huh? But the King outlawed slavery in the realm... Well, we can't take any chances. Let's get some more guards so we can protect our homes from them," the townsfolk said as they left the town square.

'The fuck? Is this what it feels like to be discriminated against?... This SUCKS!... I have to remember that I'm no longer a white man anymore! Ugh, I hate this... This is an experience I didn't need or want.' Rya thought to herself as she balls up her fists in frustration.

Dalia, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to what the townspeople were saying.

 

***

 

Quinus led the group toward a big-sized house, which was probably a mansion, with a wall around it. It was hard to tell, with how dark it was. While Rya was taking in her surroundings, she noticed a man running toward them at breakneck speeds from the large house. He was an older man wearing an official uniform of some sort.

"My PRINCE! My apologies!" The man cried.

"Well, look who has come to greet us?" Quinus muttered just loud enough for only the party to hear.

"Aye, the Mayor's minister. I guess Tomas is too busy to greet His Highness in person. Or maybe he's too scared to show his face," Sir George said with a chuckle as he glanced at Quinus for a quick moment.

The man who was dashing towards them finally made it to where Quinus and his party were. Once he was within range of the party, he dropped to his knees and bowed his head before the prince.

"Please forgive my foolishness and disrespect! I- I was unaware of your arrival!" the man pleaded.

"Which one were you again?... Tomas was the one who did all the talking with my cousin the last time we were here," Quinus asked with an irritated tone.

"O-Of course, Crown Prince! I am the Minister of Trade, Mr. Marko Aitken. I serve as the Mayor's right-hand man, my Lord," He spoke without looking into Quinus' eyes.

Quinus looked at him unamused as he was deciding how to deal with this.

"And how is the situation here?" Quinus asked.

"Our people are doing well. Since we haven't had a monster attack for almost three days, my Lord. It is all thanks to your bravery," Marko said with his head still down on the ground.

"I'm sure your people are pleased with that, but I'm not pleased with the welcome we've received, once we returned from the Labyrinth, Mr. Aitken. I'm sure that was Tomas' doing," Quinus stated.

"I-I didn't know my Lord! And I'm sure the Mayor had no idea either. Please don't blame him, I'll make sure the mayor knows that you are displeased. I'm sure he will have a proper punishment for those who wronged you," Marko replied.

"You will do no such thing, Marko. I am going to speak with Tomas myself," Quinus said with anger.

Marko bowed his head in defeat. "O-Of course my Lord. I'll see if the Mayor can receive His Highness this instant!" Marko said as he quickly turned around and ran back towards the mansion, in the distance. The building was about three hundred yards away from their location.

"Umm. He's going to tell the Mayor everything, isn't he," Rya said, watching the man run away.

"Probably... If Tomas knows what's best for him, he won't make an appearance, but I don't think that's going to happen," Quinus replied.

Rya couldn't shake this bad feeling she had. "So, what's going to happen now?"

"Well, since he's an ally of my uncle. I'm sure he'll send news that Marcus isn't here," Quinus said with a stern look.

"So, we'll have to fight him, your Highness? I guess our rest is going to be delayed then, huh?" Percy asked, with a sigh. *Poke* "L-Lady Dalia?! Why are you poking me?"

"Hmm? No reason, in particular, young one," Dalia said with a straight face but her tail was wagging.

'Aw! That's adorable! Haah, but I have to stay vigilant.' Rya thought as she refocused on her surroundings.

"Let's just try and keep our heads up, and deal with this problem. But it has to be the last thing we deal with for the night. I want to sleep in a real bed, Quin," Rya said with a smirk.

"Well... If my Lady commands," Quinus replied with a laugh.

This made Rya blush with embarrassment. She was tired and it was getting to her.

Sir Menns walked up to the Prince, "Do you wish for us to deal with the Mayor, My Lord? We can handle him."

"No. I need you and your men to patrol the village to see if Tomas tries anything funny. I don't want any messenger leaving the town and alerting my Uncle," Quinus answered.

"With pleasure, Your Highness. We will report if we find anything. Men!" Sir Menns replied, and he gave the signal to the Royal Knights to follow him.

The captain took off to patrol the village with his Knights. Leaving the Prince behind with his retainers and the two girls.

"..."

"Well, let's pay the mayor a visit shall we," Quinus said in a serious tone.

They all followed the prince as they walked towards the mayor's estate.