Entering Indestria

As we stood there on the hilltop, Chiyo took in the view and pointed towards the city.

“Wow! What are those towers? They’re huge.”

I thought for a moment, trying to remember what dad had told me during our tour of the city when I had last visited.

“The eight-sided tower with the flat top on the left is the Inquisition headquarters, built after the Great Holy War. That enormous building in the middle of the city is the Cathedral of the Heroes. They must’ve only finished it recently since they were still working on it when came here as a kid. And the tower with the conical roof is the oldest one, the royal castle’s inner tower.”

“So that huge eight-sided tower is where we need to be. I imagine it won’t be easy to get in.”

“But we’ll make it if we work together like we’ve done up until now, right?” I tried to reassure her.

She gave a firm nod and a smile.

“Right!”

My heart fluttered again after seeing her determined smile. We had certainly grown closer over the past few days. First we had ran away from the village, then narrowly escaped death at the hands of a witch hunter, had a long conversation in the cow shed, and finally gotten into a play fight by the lake. We’d become good friends already, but I couldn’t help but think about what the future held for us.

We dismounted and set the horse free. It had done its job well and deserved a break. We watched together as it walked off. A cool breeze swept over our now tanned skin as the sun hung low to our right. It was time to find a way into the city.

We soon came across a busy road leading to the city. All kinds of people were walking there, going about their day. We saw horse-pulled carts filled with exotic goods, people sitting by the wayside, and merchants who had spread out their wares.

After taking it slow at the lake the previous day, we were certain that the news had already outpaced us, and were now being looked for in the capital. So we made sure to stay out of sight of the road.

As we were walking through the fields surrounding Indestria with its three massive towers looming in the distance, I noticed a man resting in the grass with his hands behind his head. A black hat covered his face to protect him from sunburn. As we passed, he stretched himself out and rose to his feet with a groan. His hat almost fell on the ground but he caught it in mid-air with a casual swipe. He started following us, but Chiyo hadn’t noticed.

“Walk closer to me.” I whispered to her.

Chiyo, clueless, loudly mocked me. “Do you want us to walk hand in hand as well while we’re at it, hmm?”

“Hush, we’re being followed. No, don’t look behind you!”

She was already turning around as I said it.

The man, seeing he had been noticed, grinned and quickly caught up to us. He bowed at Chiyo.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance young lady, my name is Aldo. I will be honest, at first I thought that the two of you would make for a good target to… relieve you of your possessions. However, now that I’m getting a proper look, you two look awfully similar to the description of the witch and her enchanted lover that everyone’s been looking for.”

Chiyo got flustered again and spoke without thinking.

“I didn’t enchant him, and we’re not lovers! Just travel buddies, okay!” She immediately covered her mouth, realizing she had said too much.

Aldo laughed mockingly. His suspicion had been confirmed.

“See, I could just report you to the authorities and get a bounty paid out that is big enough to spend the rest of my life in comfort. But that would be no fun! At the Thieves Guild we value excitement and thrill above else, and I have the feeling you two are going to turn this town upside down. So, I will gladly arrange a way in for you. But it’ll cost you.”

This man was clearly out of his mind.

“What do you want, exactly?”

“Well, the news of a witch appearing only reached us yesterday evening, but the city has already enacted strong measures to preserve the peace. Elite witch hunters are now posted at every gate into the city. For me to help you would certainly be a dangerous job.”

“Get to the point.”

Aldo did just that.

“Give me all the money you have on you.”

Packed with great-grandma’s provisions was a coin pouch, filled with gold. We hadn’t had any chances to use it yet, so the pouch was completely full. I hesitated for a moment, but this may have been our best shot to get in. Furthermore, we would stay at my father’s place for the time being and he could probably take care of us.

“We have deal then, I’ll give you our money, and you’ll lead us into the city.”

“Perfect! I know a guard who's in debt with the wrong people. He's in desperate need of a bribe, so he’ll happily look over a stowaway or two. He’s currently guarding the western gate. We’ll go right up to him, have a chat, and be on our way.”

Before I knew it he was behind us and walking away, juggling our coin pouch. A nimble thief indeed.

“Follow me, let’s get there before the change of the guard at dusk!”

We arrived right as the sun was setting. Aldo went up to a tall and skinny guard wearing armor that was way too small for him, while we nervously waited on the moat’s bridge in front of the city gate. They casually started conversing and cracking jokes at each other, but soon got down to business in hushed tones.

A witch hunter who was posted at the gate was eyeing us with a frown the whole time, and had one hand placed on the hilt of her sword. She had shoulder length brown hair with bangs that reached up to her eyebrows and was dressed in a beautiful silver chest plate that had white, snaking dragons decorating it. The thin scabbard on her hip matched the chest plate, but was also decorated with small circular sapphires.

“She must be one of the elite witch hunters Aldo was talking about. We’d better not mess with her.” I whispered to Chiyo. She nodded with a gulp. I instinctively felt this was not someone we could take on.

After talking to the guard for a while, Aldo motioned us to come closer. He grabbed our arms and pulled us in close.

“You can go in, and I’ll distract that witch hunter. Don’t raise her suspicion. By the way, I have information you could make handy use of. It’ll help you find answers to some questions you may have, but I can’t discuss it here. Come to this address at the earliest convenience.”

He handed us a slip of paper.

“Off you go now, turn this city on its head!”

We nodded gratefully to him and the bony guard, and waited for Aldo to make a move. He sneakily went around the woman and tried no steal her sword from behind. He had effortlessly made off with our coin pouch before, but this person was a lot more vigilant. Right as he was about to grab onto the scabbard, she spun around and drew her sword. It was a rapier, which shone with a golden hue in the twilight glow.

“Halt, you thief! How dare you touch my sword! You’ll be coming with me.”

Aldo shrugged at us as he was led into the city by the witch hunter. Now the rest was up to us. I stretched out my hand to Chiyo. This time she accepted it with a blush and we walked through the gate together. I didn’t feel a powerful buzz like last time. Instead, a warm glow filled my body.