In the morning, the rested travelers left the friendly farm. The children rode on a small gray donkey, bought by Cassius for three silver Roman denarii. Gray was sitting behind Grace, hugging his sister's waist to keep from falling.
The girl clung to the reins of the donkey and led it after her mother. She was vigorously swinging a stick she found somewhere nearby. In her mind, she was a general accompanying the royal prince on his journey. Fighting off hordes of imaginary monsters every now and then, crossing endless forests and plains, the brave General Anna had to deliver the wounded prince safely to the border town.
On their journey full of difficulties and dangers, they met a ferocious dragon (lizard) who blocked their escape route. Brave general's wife Anna, risking her own life, managed to tame a ferocious monster (a small lizard). Now the terrible beast followed the beautiful general's wife everywhere (sat on her shoulder), helping to fight off endless enemies.
After two days of such an adventure, they saw a small town.
The town of Dunmoor was a medieval stone fortress. The city was small and served as a checkpoint for various merchants, small caravans and immigrants. The high stone walls of the city were surrounded by various wooden buildings that served as a transit point between the outer and inner cities.
The city's population numbered approximately 100,000 inhabitants. There was life everywhere. There were small stalls on the sides of the road offering various goods to passing travelers. In the distance, a line of wagons could be seen being inspected by guards for contraband. There is an agricultural market nearby, where residents of the surrounding villages could sell or buy animals for breeding.
The architecture of the outer city was full of variety. Here, classical Roman buildings and medieval wooden huts mingled in a strange harmony. The stone walls of the inner city towered over these buildings. There was nothing to see beyond them except a tall magic tower that stuck out like a thumb, indicating the obvious identity of the city. Numerous magicians worked on their research in this tower, ensuring the stability of the state by their mere existence.
Approaching the gates of the fortress, the family was greeted by tall men in full uniform.
"Full name, occupation, purpose of the visit, length of stay in the city, availability of goods subject to declaration," the bearded man, who was sitting at a wooden table registering those entering the city, spoke the standard phrase without raising his head.
"Ahem, ahem... Cassius and Lucia Ashfort, with us are the children Alexander and Anna. I am a sales agent for Neco International Products. We are passing through here, heading to the port of Stormdale to board a ship to the Nightingale continent, from there we will go to the capital of the werewolves, Samar. I have to deliver an urgent order from the head of the company. However, our caravan was attacked by man-eating wolves in the Nightmare Forest, and we found ourselves in a difficult situation," Cassia replied in a low voice, playing her role perfectly.
The security officer raised his head to inspect the strange company. When he saw Katerina's figure, his eyes lit up. He did not try to hide the lustful desire he felt for this beautiful lady, who looked weak and feeble after a difficult journey.
"Um, um, I see. I need to do a "thorough examination" of your wife. I suspect she's hiding contraband goods. Miss Luvia, come with me to the "due diligence" room. You don't mind waiting, Mr. Cassius, it won't take long to check. After that, we will be happy to let you into the city," the bearded man said to the approving laughter of his colleagues.
The poor soul didn't understand at all who he was making such an offer to. If he had only known that this "weak, fragile, and defenseless" miss had threatened the governor of the Province of Light two weeks ago to completely destroy his capital and hunt down every inhabitant, he would now be trembling with fear for his life. But he didn't know. And so he was all in anticipation when he felt a dagger on his neck, pressed by a young neko. The blood-curdling killing intent seemed to seep into his very soul. Cassius's violet eyes made him want to fall to his knees.
"What did you say, worm?!" Cassia whispered in his ear, her voice hoarse with rage.
The border Knights immediately, albeit a bit belatedly, pulled out their weapons. Someone hurriedly called for help. The knights patrolling on the walls took notice of the situation below and turned their crossbows on the young man, neko.
"Honey, we're at the border, don't be impulsive, I'm scared... There are children here, please stop," Katerina said, feigning fright and covering the children's eyes. Although, in fact, she was closely following everything that was going on here. One wrong move on the part of the guards, and she would blow up the entire city to prevent information about their location from leaking.
She was on edge. Her hands had been itching with irritation for a long time. For all her kindness, she was a celestial. She was not afraid to stain her hands with the blood of innocents if such an action would ensure the safety of her family. Unaware of the sword of Damocles that loomed over them all, the guards looked aggressively at the young neko, ready to start the process of destroying the city.
Before anyone could point a sword at his wife and children, a loud shout rang out: "What's going on here?!"
The owner of the voice, an elegant man in his 40s with a bushy mustache, stepped forward, roughly pushing the guards aside. The man was the head of security, responsible for maintaining law and order throughout the city. He was a magician. A high-ranking magician. After hearing the report of the incident, he turned his gaze to the couple and spoke:
"Young man, do you understand where you are?!"
"Just because I understand where I am, that bastard is still able to breathe," Cassia replied in a man's voice.
"Master... um... Cassius, it was rude of him to address your wife like that. This is a Magical Empire, there is a law here. If such a situation arises, you must first contact your superiors to resolve the conflict before attacking an official in the line of duty." – the head of security tried to reason with the man.
"And what are you suggesting now?!" asked Cassia, who understood the expediency of the man's arguments. However, she hadn't lowered her dagger yet, waiting for his response.
"Uh, Mr....?" came Katerina's voice, which sounded very timid.
"Underwood, Dave Underwood." – the boss introduced himself.
"Mr. Underwood, this guard didn't do anything, let's make do with a small apology and a warning from our side. I have a letter. It's from Clyde's mother, and I was supposed to give it to her, but I didn't have time because of this unfortunate incident. Please, let's resolve everything peacefully, there are children here after all." – Katerina turned to the boss, trying to smooth out the situation.
"Oh, Clyde, he's my assistant. Show me the letter." Mr. Underwood came forward.
Katerina put the letter in the hands of the boss, not worrying about anything. She looked naive and scared, not realizing that she might be taken hostage. But really, she just didn't care. She has already checked the area and has not found anyone here who could threaten her or her children.
After reading the letter and confirming its authenticity, Mr. Underwood spoke up:
"Why didn't you say earlier that you were Clyde's acquaintances? Don't worry, we're all family. Somebody get Clyde over here. Jack, apologize to the missus immediately... Ashfort. Mr. Ashforth, could you please put away your dagger to hear his apologies." – the head of security spoke up, having received a convenient way out of the situation.
Such a solution to the situation will not create unnecessary problems for him and will not damage his reputation. The whole conversation took place only because Mr. Underwood felt great danger from Cassius. And I didn't want to provoke him unnecessarily. Yes, even in the Magic Empire, justice from the law could only be obtained by those who were strong enough to demand justice.
After the issue was resolved. The guard apologized to Katerina. Cassius apologized and received a stern warning, which he did not object to. Clyde finally arrived. A 25-year-old man, the son of Luda from the village and part-time assistant to the local head of security.
"Clyde, register our guests and escort them to the city. You have the day off for today. Take care of their safe stay. Here's a letter from your mother."– after giving the last instructions, Mr. Underwood left.
"Guests, please follow me," Clyde offered after skimming through the letter he received.
Inside the fortress, the border town was divided into four parts. To the north is the noble quarter. To the south is the commoners' quarter. There were military barracks in the west. In the east there is a shopping area, where the company of 5 people went. And at the center of it all was the magic tower that every city in the Magic Empire had. The place of the elite, the place where every inhabitant of the empire aspired to enter.
The names of these districts speak for themselves. The noble district was the residence of all the nobility. The shopping district was the place where all the goods were sold. It was the busiest place in the city where visiting travelers gathered. The barracks quarter was the result of the reform of the last king, King Orion. Only soldiers, knights, and mages responsible for guarding the border were allowed to enter there. The commoners' area had all the commoners and inns. Travelers visiting Danmoor had to live in the commoner area.
Katerina held Gray and Grace's hands as the group, accompanied by Clyde, entered the shopping district. In the shopping area, the entire ground was paved with stone. The buildings were mostly built of wood and concrete. There was a carriage path and a path where people could walk.
"I'm selling fresh bear meat for 5 bronze lire!"
"Wolf skins for 10 bronze lire!"
"Slimy cores for 2 coppers"
"A mana stone for 1 silver! Straight from the Roman mines"
Stalls lined the streets. It was a busy place where street vendors shouted their prices, attracting the attention of passersby. Grace's eyes were shining with interest. She kept trying to escape from her mother's arms, noticing an interesting trinket. Gray was an obedient boy and followed closely behind his mother, although he looked around with an interested look.
Seeing how the children were looking around the shopping district with interest, Katerina took her time. She watched the children enjoying their walk. Deciding to let things take their course and not attract attention by being too hasty.
"Clyde, how long have you been in such a high position? The villagers don't know at all that you're an important person here." Katerina asked, breaking the long silence.
"I haven't told them, they'll be worried, and I can't afford to move my whole family to the city yet. This is not the best place to raise a child. Let him stay in the village for another year or two, and then I can pick him up with Julia (his wife)."
"Don't get too far away from them. Try to visit them more often. You know, it's very frustrating when you raise a child without the father's involvement," Katerina said in a slightly melancholic voice.
Clyde gave Cassia a strangely sympathetic look that sent shivers down the maid's spine. Deciding that he had just revealed some dark secret of Cassius, Clyde replied:
"I'll try to take your words to heart."
"By the way, we didn't cause you any trouble at the gate, did we? The villagers have taken very good care of us, and we don't want to cause trouble for you."
"Thank you for your concern, Mrs. Ashforth. Don't worry, the boss is not a bad person, he understood the whole situation. With your appearance, I wouldn't be surprised if such problems haunt you all the time," he commented, unobtrusively making a small compliment. Even Clyde couldn't help but cast a few appreciative glances at Katerina's excellent figure.
"Fu-fu-fu, you have no idea how much," the mother replied, sending Cassia a meaningful smile.