Karria could well understand why that was. As far as she knew, nobles could get away with pretty much anything in Laedrin, short of revolting against the king. So, if one were to catch wind of insurrection, Kyle could probably be killed, or worse, for the crime of voicing his displeasure.
“Sorry about that,” Kyle said, turning back to her. “Could you please just forget about what I just said.”
“Forget about what?” Karria asked, feigning a look of confusion.
The guard seemed genuinely confused – for far too long – before a look of understanding finally dawned in his eyes.
“Much appreciated, ma’am,” he said, bowing slightly at the waist. “I apologize for holding you up. You enjoy your time in Fivora.”
Karria gave him one last smile.
“Try and take a break every once in a while,” she said as she and the others walked past. “Your Captain can’t make you stand forever.”
“I think he’s in love with you,” Kya said, giggling lightly once they were out of earshot.
“Oh, shut up,” Karria muttered. “It never hurt anyone to be nice.”
“You laid it on quite thick, didn’t you?” Kya continued. “If he doesn’t hunt you down later and try to ask you out, I’ll eat my left shoe!”
“Damn it all,” Karria muttered. “Did I really leave that much of an impression?”
The look Kya gave her let her know that, yes, she had left that much of an impression.
“Let’s try and focus on the task at hand, shall we, ladies?” Akkard said, his head swiveling from side to side. “We need to start asking around for any signs of an injured person coming in sometime in the past couple of weeks. I think the best place to start looking would either be in the healing sector or the jailhouse.”
“I say we go to the jailhouse first,” Kya said. “It might make it easier for Karria to find out more about that…Ow!”
Kya shot her friend a glare as she rubbed at the sore spot on her arm where Karria had slugged her.
“Healing sector it is,” Karria said, marching off in a random direction, as she had absolutely no idea where it actually was.
“In all fairness, you probably had that coming,” Akkard said as Kya continued to rub her arm, before heading off after the girl in question.
“I was just making a joke,” Kya muttered, following soon after, and still rubbing her arm, which by now, she was sure would bruise.
4
“I still don’t understand how someone so petite can hit so hard,” Kya complained, feeling her arm throb painfully.
“Just because I’m a girl, doesn’t mean I can’t wreck someone,” Karria said, her voice tinged with pride.
In truth, she hadn’t meant to hit Kya that hard. She’d only wanted to stop her friend’s ribbing, but apparently, she was stronger than she’d realized. Her Mythic magic was less physically involved, so she didn’t really think that her punch would do much.
“Clearly,” Kya said, pulling back the short sleeve and examining the red mark once again.
It stood out in contrast to her pale skin, highlighting the area of impact and making it look far worse than it likely was. Even though Kya was trying to guilt her, Karria refused to apologize. In her mind, Kya had had it coming, and so, she would just have to deal with it.
“Have the two of you noticed anything strange?” Akkard asked, breaking into their conversation once more.
“Strange how?” Karria asked, looking down at the dwarf walking beside her.
“I mean strange. As in out of the ordinary. Take a good look around and tell me what you see.”
Karria wanted to snap back, to tell the deposed dwarven ruler that, yes, she knew what the word ‘strange’ meant. But, instead of lashing out as she might once have done, Karria instead simply did as she was asked and began looking around.
Crowds thronged around her, people going about their daily lives. People were shopping at the various stalls, heading into houses off of side-streets, or stopping to chat with friends and neighbors. All in all, it looked just like she’d expect of a city — alive and bustling with people.
“I don’t see anything strange,” Karria said after a few moments.
“And how about you, lass?” Akkard asked, turning to Kya.
“I don’t see anything out of the ordinary,” Kya said, her brows furrowing. “But I can sense an overall air of excitement and festivity. Something must have happened here, and pretty recently for so many people to be feeling it.”
“How much do you want to wager it has something to do with that noble competition the guard at the gate mentioned,” Akkard said, stroking his beard.
“What would make you think that?” Karria asked quickly, in case mention of the guard gave Kya any ideas. “For all we know, it could have happened months ago.”
“Well, for one, the way he talked about it. No one complains about something that happened months ago, at least not guards of a major city. They tend to complain about the most recent events, as they stick more prominently in their minds. Also,” Akkard continued, “because of that sign hanging right over there.”
Both girls turned, following the dwarf’s line of sight until their eyes alighted on the massive banner hanging from one of the larger buildings. It was brightly decorated in hues of green, blue, and gold, and scrawled across the top were the words ‘Congratulations to our new Nobles!’ Below that was a list of names, though they were still too far away to make anything out.
“Who cares about a bunch of new nobles?” Karria said after a few moments. “In case you’ve forgotten, we’re here for a reason.”
“Come on, Karria, we haven’t had any real excitement in weeks,” Kya complained. “Let’s just go and read the poster, at least. Maybe someone you know will be up there.”
Karria gave her friend a very odd look.
“Why ever would you think that someone I know – other than the two of you – would be nobles?”
“Well, I’m not a noble,” Kya said. “In case you’ve forgotten, I was adopted.”
“And as far as my people are concerned, I’m dead,” Akkard said with a shrug. “So, we’re all in the same boat here, lass. Now, stop being such a sourpuss and let’s go read the poster. It’s been centuries since any new human nobles have been named, and believe it or not, knowing the names of those in power can be very beneficial to your health, especially if you run across said individuals.”
Karria blew out an annoyed breath in the way of a response, but seeing as she’d been outvoted, she had no choice but to go along with them. They had a bit of a harder time shoving through the crowd, as it seemed to be growing thicker here for some reason. Through some squeezing and maneuvering, they eventually got close enough to see the poster. Karria’s eyes traveled up the list of names quickly, noting that there was absolutely no one she knew.
“Okay, we’ve looked. Now can we please…”
Kya’s excited squeak made her stop in her tracks.
“What is it?” she asked, giving the elf girl an odd look.
“Look, Karria! Look! At the top of the banner! Look at the name!”