It was certainly an impressive city - at least from what Fen could see from his vantage point in the clearing a small distance above Felhaven. He was also still a few kilometres away, but was sure he would arrive at the towering city wall in no more than an hour.
Fen allowed his previously brisk walk to slow a little, taking time to navigate the fairly steep path in front of him - he imagined slipping and falling down the now toughened dirt would be quite painful, as well as a rather anticlimactic injury.
'I suppose there'll likely be some guards, or at least someone on watch that I'll have to get past.'
Sighing, Fen reached into his pocket and removed the Emblem he had been graciously gifted by Auxley, bringing it up closer for inspection.
It was a circular shape, mainly of a verdant tint and covered in stars that, despite the fact they were painted on - in what looked to be quite a rushed manner at that - seemed to dazzlingly shine, as if wondrous specks of light were truly real. In the centre of these glamorous spots was a large, skeletal, skull - likely of some kind of rift creature. Of course it was only large in comparison to the other proportions of the emblem, and was certainly not really such a rare piece of decoration - but it was still quite fantastical.
Unfortunately, this already all known by Fen - he had long since inspected it, albeit briefly, before the darkness of night had descended. No, what he had been looking for was some kind of details - an inscription, a code, anything that would give him a hint of its origin or use.
After all, walking blindly into a guarded city with nothing but the circular token as his identification - of which he knew nothing about - was not something Fen had wished to attempt.
Regrettably, it looked like he was going to have to.
It took Fen even less time than he had originally estimated to reach the colourless wall - his elegant pocket watch reading only fourty minutes more than the time it had shown when he had first arrived at the clearing.
Now that he was almost upon Felhaven's doorstep, Fen could make out much more.
His first observation was the large, powerful and ornate looking gate that currently hung open, accompanied by two well-dressed men, scabbards attached neatly to their waists.
'Looks like I was regrettably right - It really would of been much easier if I could have simply walked in.'
His second observation was the bustling of the city - it was barely sunrise by this point, but there were at least a dozen people moving outside around the gate, some talking, some moving with purpose to their jobs, some simply existing. The activity inside the city was no less astir, hundreds of people moving to various different occupations and locations, a sprawling market taking up most of his eyes view.
'How exciting.'
As he strolled almost completely up to the imposing gate, a sea of faces turned to face him - most quickly losing interest, but a few's gazes lingering - namely the two well-dressed gentlemen.
'So much for walking straight in, huh?'
"Excuse me sir, do you have any identification?"
Surprise and a slight relief washing over Fen, he yet again brought the mysterious emblem from his pocket, offering it forward as the man who spoke leant forward to inspect it.
Thankfully, they seemed proper - and hopefully reasonable. Fen had been half expecting the traditional archetype of the raging, arrogant guard who looked down on the dishevelled protagonist, but of course this was reality - not some fantasy novel.
"I received this from the oracle known as Enlightened Auxley Audrett - and was told this would serve me as some kind of identification?"
The two men looked up at Fen in shock, clearly not sure how to act in such a situation.
After a while, the man who would previously spoke yet again opened his mouth.
"This is certainly… unexpected. I suppose you'll want to follow me - this will certainly serve as identification, but we will first need to verify its validity."
Fen smiled and looked towards the dark haired man who addressed him.
"Of course - Please do lead the way."
***
Fen wasn't exactly sure who he had expected to meet after the guards proclamation - maybe a senior officer, or someone who's job revolved around identification. Someone reasonable.
Definitely not the Magistrate of Felhaven.
Fen had thought the nameless guard's hazel eyes had shone a little too brightly on their way to the chamber - Fen had thought there had been no sense in his excitement.
He supposed however, it wasn't every day you got to meet, and talk to, the leader and likely progenitor of the city you resided in.
After the guard had exchanged a brief conversation with a rather large man who's profession Fen could not discern - he guessed either a overqualified butler, or a high ranking officer of the city's military, they had entered a large yet cozy chamber, illuminated by grand chandeliers and emanating a air of importance.
The overexcited guard had briefly given a fervant report, before moving backwards to the doors of the chamber, not quite leaving but enough to have exited the chamber.
Three people occupied the vast space in front of Fen.
One, a tall but fairly lean middle aged man who was obviously another high ranking member of the military - Fen surmised that it was probable he even ran it, given his place in such a clearly important chamber. His amber hair was a little unkempt, and he sported a fairly rough beard of the same hue, but he gave off a powerful and sincere aura, matching with his neat and well-kept crimson uniform. His razor-tipped claymore hung from his hand, clearly priorly engaged.
The second person his view fell upon was a shorter, but equally lean young woman - she looked to be about the same age as him, her silky hair a raven black, complimenting thr azure eyes that carefully pierced his, clearly analysing him. She wore more casual clothes, and Fen could not discern her profession nor her identity. She also wielded a sword - this time a crimson katana, and stood opposite the man.
The third person, and clearly the one he had been taken to see, was a older man - likely in his fifties, who unlike the other two had been seated, paperwork spread out along a large wooden table. His hair still had tinges of onyx, but was mostly greyed out by now, his mop tidily falling over his forehead. He wore a air of refined dignity, well dressed in a uncreased milky shirt and jet black trousers.
It was not hard for Fen to guess his identity - after all the reverence the guard behind him was exuding was still clear, as well as his overexertion of the word 'sir' in his previous report to the man now picking himself up from the table.
"I see. Thank you very much Officer Lamenth, you now may return back to your station - unless your shift is over, of course."
The awe-struck officer behind Fen nodded his head, before briskly exiting the grand chamber, leaving Fen on his lonesome.
'Yeah, this seems about right. Why would I not be thrust right into a discussion with the most powerful man in the city?'
The Magistrate turned his gaze to Fen, his azure eyes not only giving out a slight twinkle, but also giving away the identity of the casually dressed woman across the room from him - their eyes really were almost identical.
"Well then young man, you'd better let me take a look at that wondrous emblem you currently have in your possession. It's been a while since I last saw it, but I'm sure I'll be able to discern a fake from the authentic."