Amukelo and Eliss went to the nearest pub. They picked a corner table near the back, away from the noisier patrons.
After ordering their meals—a hearty stew with a side of flatbread for Amukelo and a spiced meat dish for Eliss. Eliss poked at her food skeptically, but when she finally took a bite, her expression softened slightly.
"Hmm… it's not that bad," she admitted grudgingly.
Amukelo, already halfway through his stew, nodded. "Not everything has to look fancy to taste good. This is really tasty."
Eliss tilted her head, still chewing. "Wouldn't go that far, but it's not as bad as I expected."
When they finished, Amukelo paid the tab, and they headed back out to their inn.
Eliss walked slightly ahead, flipping through her notebook. Amukelo followed, observing the culture that was still new to him.
As they neared the inn, Amukelo broke the silence. "So," he began, glancing at Eliss, "what spell are you learning that it's more important than food?"
Eliss didn't look up from her notebook. "Hmm… Really funny. There are a lot of things more important to me than food."
Amukelo smirked. "More food?"
Eliss finally looked up, trying to put on offended face. She crossed her arms and huffed. "I'm not telling you now!"
Amukelo stared at her, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Seriously? What are you, a kid?"
Eliss turned her nose up and kept walking, refusing to respond. Amukelo sighed, shaking his head. "Unbelievable," he muttered under his breath. He was about to tease her again when two orc soldiers emerged from a nearby alley and stepped directly into their path.
One of the soldiers then said. "Show us your badges," he said gruffly. "Unless you're traveling with a merchant, then take us to him."
Amukelo froze mid-step. He raised his hands slightly in a gesture of compliance. "Wait a second," he said cautiously. "What's going on? Did we do something wrong?"
The second soldier shook his head. "No, it's just a control. Humans and orcs created a trading alliance recently. That means stricter checks to make sure no one's sneaking through with bad intentions. Terrorists, you know."
Amukelo let out an awkward laugh, glancing at Eliss, who had worried expression herself. The first soldier, clearly unimpressed by Amukelo's reaction, repeated, "Badges. Show us your guild badge unless you've both got a recent enough rank."
Amukelo hesitated for a moment before reaching into his pocket and producing his personal adventurer badge. He handed it to the first soldier, who examined it with a scrutinizing eye.
"Impressive," the soldier muttered, then handed it back. "That's your personal badge. Now show us your guild badge. She's not at the same rank, is she?" His gaze shifted to Eliss, whose nervous fidgeting was impossible to miss.
Eliss slowly pulled out the bronze guild badge. The first soldier, scarred and broad-shouldered, leaned in slightly to get a closer look. His expression darkened almost immediately.
"So," he said with skeptical voice, "you're traveling with a merchant, I assume?"
Eliss instinctively stepped back, clutching the badge as though it might shield her from the mounting suspicion. Amukelo, standing slightly in front of her, laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Uh, well, not exactly…"
The second soldier frowned and tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. "Or," he interrupted, "did you come here illegally? You know the consequences of that, don't you?"
Amukelo raised his hands defensively while letting out a awkward laugh. "Whoa, whoa, wait a second. There's no need for that! We're just—"
"Visiting," he finally blurted out. "We're here to visit someone."
The first soldier arched a thick eyebrow, his hand still resting on the hilt of his sword. "Visit someone?" he repeated with disbelief. "And how did you get here with those badges? If you're visiting someone, where are they now?"
Amukelo opened his mouth to answer, but nothing coherent came out. His mind scrambled for an explanation as Eliss instinctively ducked behind him. Amukelo glanced over his shoulder and shot her a look that screamed, What are you doing? Stop making it worse!
"I mean… we met him," Amukelo stammered, turning back to the soldiers. "But, uh, we don't exactly know where he lives…"
Eliss piped up from behind him repeating like a parrot. "Y-yes. We met him. But we don't know where he lives."
Amukelo snapped his head back to her, his expression a mix of frustration and panic. That's not helping! his eyes seemed to say.
The first soldier had clearly had enough. "What kind of bullshit is that?" he growled, stepping closer. "You came here illegally. Admit it! Surrender now, or we'll have to use force."
The threat made Eliss shrink further behind Amukelo. He could feel her trembling slightly, and his own pulse quickened as the soldiers' hands inched toward their weapons. Amukelo raised both hands again, his laugh returning, though it was shakier this time.
"Hold on, hold on! No need for swords! We're telling the truth. Really, we're here to meet, uh…" And then memory of the orc he traveled in the past came to his mind. "Naguk!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "Yeah, that's it. Naguk. We met him before."
The first soldier's eyes narrowed. "Naguk? From the Thunderjaw tribe?"
Amukelo seized on the chance, nodding again even though he had no idea who Naguk was beyond the name. "Yes! That's the one. We helped him. He helped us. We're friends!"
The second soldier, however, wasn't convinced. His expression hardened as he barked, "Enough! Stop playing your stupid games. We know you're lying."
The second soldier tilted his head. "If it's the Naguk I'm thinking of," he said, almost to himself, "this might be worth looking into."
He turned to Amukelo, studying him carefully. "Follow us," he said curtly. "We'll find out if your story checks out."
Amukelo's heart sank. "Uh, sure. Yeah. Of course. No problem," he said, his voice laced with nervous laughter. He glanced back at Eliss, who was still half-hidden behind him, her face pale and uncertain. The look he gave her was clear: This is bad.