Verse 47: "Farewell, Elf & Cat"

We ate breakfast, packed up our supplies, double-checked our money, then returned to the path.
          As we got closer and closer to Kuzges, the Kings Wood became very dense, and the road began to show more signs of use. After walking for only an hour, we saw something incredible; other travelers.
          There were tons of them; merchants, single wizards, groups like ours, and more. There were a few people who looked unscrupulous, but Vivian stood closer to the rest of us as we walked and gave purposeful side-eyes whenever anyone suspicious came too close.
          The trees began to thin out after another hour of walking, and during that same hour the crowd of people became thicker. Soon enough, we were moving through a group of people several thousand strong. 
          Once the trees disappeared completely, I could see something very impressive ahead of us. It was a wall. It was made of huge cut stones and mortar, with parapets and small watchtowers running along the top of it. There were huge banners displaying a coat of arms that I didn't recognize, but I guessed that it belonged to Mandl's royal family. 
          “Excuse me sir, but would you be interested in–” Asked a doggish faunid merchant hawking small bottles of clear liquid.
          “No.” Said Niels bluntly as he led us towards the walls.
          “You seem like a bright young lady! How would you feel about–” Inquired a human selling collars with bells on them.
          “Not interested!” Hissed Elisa.
          “Sir, would you happen to need–” Pestered a faunid with bull horns.
          “No thank you.” I said calmly.
          None of the merchants bothered to ask Vivian anything.
          The crowd of people started to thin out as we got closer to the wall; at the same time, I began to see people in suits of armor wielding very intimidating weapons. The guards were only holding simple spears, but the closer we got to the wall, the more guards there were. There was a line leading into the main gate of the city, with a lot of people standing in it. Niels took us to the back of the line.
          “What is this?” I asked once we were in the line.
          “Mage checking.” Elisa said bluntly.
          “Oh.” I said. “What does tha–”
          “You’ll see.” She cut me off.
          I didn't appreciate her curt behavior, but it wasn't a big problem; I would be going home soon. I felt someone tap my shoulder. I looked back at Vivian.
          “Mage checking is when they have a wizard sense how much mirra you have.” She said calmly. “They’ll give you a mark while you’re in the city depending on how powerful you are.”
          “Thanks Vivian.” I replied.
          She nodded. We waited in the line for nearly an hour. Once we were at the front, an old human woman wearing long blue robes and a yellow pointed hat stepped towards Niels and tapped him on the forehead with a wand.
          “Above-average mirra.” She nodded at a guard wearing full plate mail. He grunted in approval. She turned back to look at Niels. “Your mark.” She muttered something under her breath and waved her wand in the air.
          A few moments later, a small flicker of pale grey light came off her wand and snaked into Niels’ chest. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he held up his hand and flexed all his fingers. He frowned, but went through the gate into the city proper anyway. Elisa walked up next. The old woman did a similar ritual with her.
          “Average mirra.” She nodded at the guard wearing full plate armor. He grunted again. She looked at Elisa. “Your mark.” The same flicker of pale grey light snaked into Elisa’s chest as well. She looked at her hands and frowned.
          “Ugh. I hate anti-magic.” She said to the old woman before walking through the gates of the city.
          I stepped up next. My stomach twisted into knots as she tapped my forehead with her wand. I uttered a quick prayer under my breath. When she pulled her wand away, her eyes widened. She narrowed her old brown eyes and tapped me on the forehead with her wand again. I tensed as she put her wand away and crossed her arms.
          “Apparently, no mirra. All that I can see are residual alchemical mixture effects.” The old woman said curiously.
          The guard in full plate mail made an exclamation of surprise.
          “Yes, I double-checked.” The old woman assured the guard.
          The guard in full plate mail stepped closer to me and looked me over. I tensed as he held out his left arm and a squire who had been standing in the gate ran towards him while carrying a sheathed great sword. The guard pulled the great sword out of its sheath and held it while looking directly at me.
          He slowly raised the great sword over his head.
          “Dodge.”
          The great sword dropped down as fast as lightning. I froze and shut my eyes. Something tapped against my forehead again.
          “Hmm. Nothing.” The old woman spoke. “No mirra tension at all, so he can't possibly be hiding his mirra. What do you think?"
          I opened my eyes to see the old woman holding her wand to my forehead. She took the wand off my forehead and looked at the guard. He sheathed the sword again and handed it to the squire, then grunted.
          “Alright.” She looked at me calmly. “You may proceed without a mark.”
          I sighed in relief and walked through the gates quickly. As I did, there were several guards standing in the gate watching me as I passed by them. 
          Once I went through the gates completely, I let my eyes take in the sight of Kuzges. The buildings were tough and impressive, and they reminded me of medieval Germanic construction. In the center of Kuzges on a raised hill was a large and imposing castle with multiple high-reaching towers and a clock built into it.
          Along the wall were several stalls and merchants selling all sorts of what I presumed were magical items. I looked around for Elisa and Niels, and found them standing next to each other, chatting.
          I approached them quietly. As I did, they glanced at me and slowly stopped conversing. By the time I was standing next to them, Vivian came through the gate and walked over to us. Niels and Elisa smiled as she approached.
          I noticed their reactions. I didn’t mind. It only made leaving this world easier.
          “Alright.” Niels said calmly. “Me and Elisa are going to go look for our own supplies. Do you two want to get an inn together tonight? It’ll be cheaper if we all split the cost.”
          Vivian and Elisa nodded. When I saw them do that, I nodded along with them quickly. Niels took note of their responses.
          “Okay then. Let’s meet up at…” He looked at the clock that was built into the castle. “You can all read the clock, right?”
          We all replied in the positive.
          “Good. We’ll meet here at seven o’clock. That’s in five hours. Understood?”
          Two truths and one lie were given in response.
          “I’ll see you all then.” He said, then glanced at me with a frown. After doing that, he looked at Elisa and smiled slightly.
          “Do you want to come with me? We’ll probably be looking for a few similar things.”
          “O-oh.” She said calmly, then smiled softly. “Sure. As long as you don’t slow me down.” She said with a smirk and flicked her tail.
          “I’d say the same thing to you.” He shot back.
          “Come on, everyone knows cat faunids are among the fastest ones. Elves, on the other hand…” She said with a shrug.
          “Elves understand the value of patience and planning! Besides, ‘fast’ doesn’t mean ‘efficient.’” He said sharply.
          “So that’s where you want to go, hmm? At least faunids can stand getting their hands dirty.” She replied strongly.
          Their argument got louder and more fierce as they walked away into the crowd of people. Vivian and I stood in silence as we watched them go away.
          Niels’ blond hair stood out in the crowd for a little while, and Elisa’s ears were also very recognizable. 
          Their heads slowly got farther and farther away until they completely disappeared.
          The thought occurred to me that that was probably the last time I would see either of them. 

Edited on 09/19/25