What followed next was a spell of tense silence. Xander gripped his revolver but didn't make any attempt to pull it out of its holster.
The junior guard, armed with the rifle, knocked on the carriage window and shouted. "We haven't got all day. Show yourselves!"
Master Arwin pulled the curtains aside and rolled the glass pane to his left. "We are headed to Silver Pine village. It is an urgent matter. Please let us through."
"How urgent?" The guard scoffed at him. "Urgent enough to flout the rules of our city? No one is allowed to enter or exit the city without express permission from the Count's court."
Master Arwin pulled out a rolled-up paper from inside his pocket and unfurled it in front of the guard. "I have a permit from Governor Giovanni. It has his official seal on it. You can che—"
