The guard gave a side long glance at Emrys while walking over to the window of the carriage where Alannah was. Wearing a robe and hiding his identity in the middle of the say seemed to actually draw more attention to himself.
"Right, so that'll be five copper for the each of you unless you have a valid passport." He sounded like he's done this thousands of times and probably has.
Alannah pulled out a passport for herself and her maids and also gave five copper for Emrys. "Here you go."
He checked each of the passports to make sure they were still valid before handing them back. "Good day miss Hersilia. Let them on through!" He waved his hand in the air and the other guard moved out of the way and let them pass.
The inside of the city was packed to the brim with people moving about. There were carriages rolling slowly through the main road, merchants with their own stalls calling out to anyone walking by, and guards patrolling to keep the peace.
It was a very lively place to be for sure. Emrys was overwhelmed by all of this and froze up not sure what to do next or where to go.
Alannah realized they stopped moving and the line of people wanting to enter the city was building up behind them so she urged Emrys to keep moving and gave him directions on how to get to her home.
Thankfully the horses were used to this kind of setting and moved slowly but swiftly through the crowds of people with ease.
Some humans looked like they were geared up for battle having huge swords on their backs or bows that were taller then themselves. They mostly kept to one area of the city where a large building, that looked like a tavern, was.
Alannah knew them to be adventurers, people that would accept all kinds of jobs from picking herbs to slaying giant beasts.
Some of the humans gave Emrys a strange look but he didn't really notice. They finally made it out of the main plaza and were taking one of the many back roads. They started to see less and less people as they went.
"That's it right there! I finally made it home!" Alannah said relieved that she was somewhere familiar now. It felt like it had been ages since she left here even though it had only been a few days.
Emrys followed her eyes to find a large three story building, or more accurately it looked like a mansion. The hedges on both sides of the front yard were perfectly trimmed and there was fresh white paint on the mansion itself.
The mansion was so large Emrys couldnt think of a reason for someone to have so much space.
The horses automatically took them to the front entrance out of instinct and stopped. Alannah nearly fell out of the cabin when some human dressed in clean black clothes came outside.
Alannah flew into his arms and gave the man a heart felt hug.
"Young miss, your back! Its good to see you made it safe and sound." The man said relieved.
Emrys climbed down from the wagon and walked over to where they were standing.
"And who is this you brought with you?" The man said suspiciously.
Alannah tensed up for a moment but quickly recovered. "This man saved our lives. If not for him we would surely be dead by now. I let him ride back with us as thanks."
"Oh I see, its very fortunate you were in the area then. I believe the master would want to hear about this at once." He looked at Emrys when he said this and then motioned for them to follow him into the mansion.
Emrys hesitantly followed behind them. He didn't know who this master was or what he would want with him.
The inside of the mansion was even more impressive then the outside. Emrys thought it looked like a nice place but he had no concept of money back in the forest and wouldn't know just how much it would cost to build such a home.
As far as he knew, every human lived in a place like this. While walking Alannah informed Emrys that the man they were following was her fathers butler. Then she of course had to explain to him what a butler was.
The butler led them to a room in the very back of the mansion. They passed by many other maids doing various different tasks, running around here and there. The butler subtly knocked on a heavy wooden door and waited for a moment.
"Come in." A frail voice called out from within. The butler opened the door and ushered them inside.
"The young miss has returned safely, sir." He reported and then bowed.
"Yes, thank you Tom. You may go now." The old man said without even looking at him.
With that, Tom the butler quickly left the room and closed the door behind him. Sitting behind a large wooden desk was an older man with grey hair. He looked a little on the sickly side but still had an air of superiority about him.
Alannah walked farther into the room and greeted her father. "Good day father. I'm afraid I have urgent news that I must tell you before anything else."
Her father let out a long sigh. This was not what he wanted to hear right now. He had been working non-stop all day and was quite tired but he still decided to listen.
"Alright, go ahead then. What's so important?" He asked.
"While we were travelling we were attacked by assassins. They chased us into the forest of death and that's where we ran into this man." She pointed at Emrys when she said this. "He saved us from certain death. And I'm afraid that the assassins might be targeting you as well, father."
"Assassins? Forest of death?!" He said in a loud voice and slammed his hands on the desk in front of him.
Both Alannah and Emrys took an involuntary step backwards. She had not expected such a reaction from him. He's usually so calm, like he had already thought of each and every outcome to whatever situation he found himself in.
He looked like his heart was about to give out. On one hand it was the natural reaction to have after hearing that your daughter was almost killed but at the same time it felt like he was angry about something else.
He lowered his head in thought, then suddenly looked up and locked eyes with Emrys. "Please excuse my sudden outburst." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Thank you for bringing my precious daughter back unharmed. If there is anything I can do to repay you then don't hesitate to ask."
Emrys thought for a moment before replying. What he needed most was help saving his forest. For that he needed to speak to the king of the humans for he would be the only one that could command a force large enough to fight the demons.
"I need to speak with your king. My home is in danger and I fear he is the only one who can help." Emrys projected his voice using telepathy.
Suddenly hearing a voice inside his head startled the old man. "Was that you in my head just then? Remarkable!"
The old man walked around his desk and came in front of Emrys. He grabbed Emrys's hand and shook it with a surprisingly strong grip.
"My name is Osvald Hersilia. Its good to meet you." He said but then the smile disappeared from his face. "Are you wearing some kind of armored glove?" He asked when he felt Emrys's wooden hand.
Emrys quickly pulled his hand away. He was completely caught off guard and forgot that his disguise only worked visually.
"What an interesting fellow you are. You must be an adventurer to be able to take out a group of assassins and make it out alive. Come! Lets go somewhere more comfortable to talk." Osvald said and led them back out of the room.
When they were following behind Osvald, Emrys spotted the two maids that were with Alannah. Osvald stopped for a short moment to give them a couple of orders then proceeded on to a small room with nice furniture and a expensive looking dark brown wooden table.
Osvald sat down and motioned for the others to do the same. Then the maids entered the room carrying various snacks and drinks and sat them on the table.
"I must say I have yet to meet someone that is able to use telepathy like you do. Its quite the rare skill. Say, why don't you stay and work for me? I'll pay you well and of course you'll still get the reward I promised for saving my daughter."
"Father please! Emrys has issues of his own to worry about. You always do this!" Alannah scolded him.
Emrys was doing his best to stay patient but he was reminded almost every second of the pain his forest was in as he could feel it himself.
"If I may." Emrys said interrupting their bickering. They both turned to look at him. "In what direction may I find your king?"