Jorgen and Bossia stood on a small hill beside the highway, looking at the Westbrook Garrison not far away. The two barracks were like huge milestones, sandwiching the bridge leading to the Westfall.
"Are you ready?" Jorgen said.
Bossia nodded.
"Remember what to say later?"
"I remember everything, let's go."
"Don't be too nervous."
"How did you see that I was nervous?"
They rode down the hillside and returned to the highway, slowing down as they approached the Westbrook Garrison. They saw the flags flying above the barracks, the soldiers practicing swordsmanship against dummies in the open space by the high walls, and even children chasing pet dogs on the grass by the roadside. This was a place accustomed to peace, but that did not mean the guards here would be at a loss if something unexpected happened. Jorgen was already thinking about which route to escape from if the plan failed.
Two sentries stopped them about ten meters from the bridge. If they found something wrong, they would immediately signal the guards at both ends of the bridge and the archers in the watchtowers who were ready to shoot down those crossing the river at any time. Jorgen and Bossia dismounted as ordered.
"Crossing the border?" The sentry said.
"Yes." Jorgen said.
"Legal border crossing requires appropriate documents. You know that, right?"
"The situation is a bit special," Jorgen reached into his cuirass and took out a bronze plaque representing the identity of a MI7 investigator, "I am Jorgen, the MI7 investigator. She is an important witness I have to protect. We must cross the border together and then conduct some follow-up investigations."
The sentry hesitated for a moment, then shouted towards the barracks, "Call the major quickly!"
Bossia looked at Jorgen anxiously, but immediately realized that she was too nervous, turned her head and looked at the horses, stroking its neck to conceal her emotions.
This was a gamble. There was no doubt that Stormwind's people must have noticed Bossia's accidental escape, but Jorgen believed that the news of him leaving Stormwind and traveling with her had not been exposed yet. He was confident that he had not left any obvious traces in Goldshire Town to confirm his whereabouts for the undertaker. The time it took to return from Goldshire Town to Stormwind and to go to Westbrook Garrison was roughly the same, so even if the old man learned through the undertaker, he could not notify Westbrook Garrison in such a short time to forbid the two from crossing the border.
The sentry was obviously lacking in rank and experience, thinking that he could not judge the authenticity of the current situation, so he called his superior. A major in his thirties came to the two and, after hearing the sentry's introduction, said to Jorgen, "So you are Mr. Jorgen. I have heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you."
"I'm afraid now is not the time to say these things, Major. We have a road to catch. You should know that active senior MI7 investigators have the right to cross borders without documents."
"Although this is the case, we still have to summarize a border crossing report every day. Perhaps you don't know, our superiors have very strict requirements on us. Even if a rat crosses the bridge, we have to write it out."
"It seems that the requirements for military preparations here are not as strict as those for paperwork."
"You're right, but fortunately the kingdom is peaceful now. I heard that you were teaching young Master Mardias?"
"The course is over. I have now resumed my schedule as an investigator."
"I see...It is said that the young lady is the witness you want to protect?"
"Yes."
"Miss, please turn around and stop staring at that horse."
Bossia had no choice but to turn around, just happened to meet the major's eyes for a moment, and then lowered her head.
"Please speak." The major said.
This man was a careful veteran. Although he showed an "I have heard a lot about you" attitude at the beginning, Jorgen saw that the major did not really think so in his heart. He always maintained a friendly yet mysterious smile, but his eyes were carefully observing, not losing vigilance just because the other party was a seventh investigator.
In response to the major's request, Bossia was silent for a while. This was dangerous behavior. Any hesitation would arouse his urge to explore further. Just as Jorgen was about to give Bossia a secret signal, she finally spoke: "What do you want me to say?"
"Nothing. That's enough."
"She is not dumb, Major," Jorgen said, "just a little nervous. Before I found her, her life had always been in danger."
"I understand. Well, miss, may I ask your name?"
"Verna Kid."
The answer was too hasty, Jorgen thought. Two syllables sounded like stuttering.
"Hmm...can you tell me how to spell it?"
"I can't read, sir. Only my brother went to school in my family."
The tone of each sentence was inappropriate. Jorgen had to interrupt Bossia's words: "Sorry, Major. To protect the witness, I can't let her say too much."
"No problem, right? I won't write what I just heard in the report, even if I do write it, no suspicious person will see it..."
"This is the principle of the Seventh Bureau."
"It seems that the principles of our outpost and the Seventh Bureau have no small contradictions."
"But that is not your fault or mine. So the best solution is to avoid this trouble."
The major nodded, then said, "You really are in a hurry to cross the border, aren't you, Mr. Jorgen?"
"My work requires me to fight for every second."
The major still smiled and nodded. This action made Jorgen think that the other party's suspicion had extended to himself. But then the other party said, "I have no more questions, sorry to waste your time."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"However, there is one more thing. We need to search Miss Verna. Please don't mind, it's not doubting her identity, just a security procedure to confirm that there are no dangerous items. No undressing, and female soldiers will be in charge."
"Then please finish it quickly." Jorgen turned to Bossia and said, "Verna, you are too nervous. No one will harm you."
The female soldier who searched Bossia found a dagger on her waist, but did not raise any questions. But when her palm patted around her clavicle, she patted lightly for several times, then took out a cross-shaped object emitting a faint yellow glow from her collar. Seeing this object revealed in front of everyone, Bossia seemed a little impatient and looked at Jorgen for help.
"Don't take it off." She said.
The female soldier looked at Bossia, then pinched the object between her fingers and said to the major, "Major, it's a golden key."
Jorgen frowned. He had never heard Bossia say that in addition to armor and swords, she carried such a thing. Any item that did not match her identity would cause trouble.
"Gold?" The major said.
"Yes, I'm sure." The female soldier said.
"Mr. Jorgen, it seems you brought a rather peculiar witness. Such an expensive item does not seem to match Miss Verna's clothes in my opinion. Or to ensure her safety, did you change her outfit? I think there is no need to hide such things from us, right?"
"Yes, the key..." Jorgen made a mistake and revealed some words before organizing a good answer. The major raised his hand and the guards behind him became alert.
The raised hand did not come down for a long time. Jorgen knew that if it came down, the order would be completed and the guards would rush up. The major still had a smile on his face, but his eyes showed that he would not be soft-hearted.
"Give me an explanation, Mr. Jorgen. Otherwise, I can only follow the rules."
Jorgen turned around and looked at Bossia, originally intending to signal her to immediately get on the horse and escape, but Bossia opened her mouth, attracting the major's attention.
"He gave it to me," she said, "I didn't dare to accept it at first... When he put it on for me, I had a bad premonition. My identity is so different from his, I must bring him misfortune. Now the nightmare has come true."
These were not the lines Jorgen had prepared for Bossia. He saw Bossia raise her right fist and press it against her lips, covering the lower half of her face, her eyes flickering uncertainly. Those naturally revealing words made her seem deeply confused.
At this time, the female soldier put down the key and turned around awkwardly looking at the major. The major hesitated, the smile disappeared from his face. He frowned and raised his hands to make a dispersing gesture to the guards behind him before putting them down.
"Sorry to waste your time," he said, "if I wasn't oversensitive, I wouldn't be assigned here. You can go."
"You did the right thing, Major." Jorgen turned to Bossia and said, "Let's go, Verna. Don't stand there in a daze, get on the horse quickly."
Their horses slowly walked toward the bridge. The guards gradually dispersed on both sides.
"Well done." Jorgen said. He knew Bossia was not completely acting.
Instead of responding to Jorgen's words, Bossia said, "Can we rest for a while?"
"Wait a little longer. He can still see us."
After crossing the bridge in silence and turning left onto the avenue, Bossia stopped by a dead tree. She dismounted and sat on the ground. Jorgen stood by her side.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Jorgen was about to ask some more questions, but Bossia spoke first. "What I said just now was about Neil."
"I heard it. No matter what, it was very effective in the situation just now."
"Don't mock me."
"I didn't mean to."
"Aren't you going to ask me why I hid this from you?"
"If you don't want to say it for the time being, that's fine. But I was indeed curious about the origin of this thing."
"He gave this to me before going to Month Creek Town for the first time after he was released from prison."
"You asked him for it? That's different from what you just said."
"It's different. At that time, I was afraid that he would never come back, so I wanted something of his to keep as a souvenir. He gave me this and promised to come back for it someday."
Bossia did not answer again. She twisted the small golden key between her fingers, letting it swing back and forth, while her gaze swept over the withered and silent yellow earth in the distance.
The major returned to the barracks rest room, where a guard brought him a cup of tea. He took a sip of the hot tea and then said, "Leave for a while, and call the messenger for me."
"Yes, sir."
Soon after the guard left, a slender messenger entered the room. The major put the teacup back on the table and said to him, "I'll prepare the fastest horse for you to go back to Stormwind City and notify Master Shawl that Bossia Wislanzo has just crossed the border, accompanied by a man claiming to be Jorgen. Also tell him that a golden key was found on Bossia."