Chapter 7-1

Impromptu hiatus over, now let's get back on with the story.

With the excitement of Nariev behind them, the trio began the long journey of walking their way across the Dutchies. They managed to get some normal clothes and started scamming again, this time with Milly occasionally taking part. Occasionally she still wondered about the morals of what she was doing, but it was better than starving. With their extensive collection of fake goods gone, they had to resort to old-fashioned confidence tricks.

Milly shrieked as the heavyset man bumped into her, subtlly shoved by Leonas behind him. She dropped the box she was holding to the ground with a shatter of broken glass. “Sorry,” the man muttered.

“My vase!” Milly shrieked. She opened the box. Inside was a chaotic assortment of glass shards, a complex jigsaw puzzle. “I just got this new vase and now it’s ruined! It cost four gold!”

The man shrugged. “Too bad, lady.” He turned and walked away.

“Um... pay it back?” she called after him, but he didn’t stop.

Leonas slapped his forehead. “Milly, for the last time... you have to be more insistent. Don’t let him walk away. Yell and scream, demand money. That’s the way it works.”

“I’m not good at demanding things,” said Milly sheepishly.

“Well, you seem to be good at crying, do that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing,” said Leonas. “Now here comes the next guy. Try again.”

Milly picked up the box of broken glass and waited for the man now turning the corner to be bumped into her.

* * *

The Great Dome of Kendran was always something that Leonas had wanted to see for himself. One of the most elaborate spells ever cast, it formed a large red dome that covered the entirety of the large nation. Nothing got in and out without the Kendrans knowing. It made them nearly impervious to attack, but it also limited any sort of expansion and most trade.

Still, it was physically impressive if nothing else. A foot-thick wall of red lightning, crackling and shining. Beyond it the gates of the border city Barret were red, the air was red – everything coloured as though through a trick lens.
Leonas whistled. “Impressive.”

“Watch out, he’s going into ‘magic nerd’ mode,” Anjanette warned.

Leonas stepped closer to marvel at the barrier, abandoning the traffic on the trade road. He got as close as he could without being fried by the magical energy. Besides him, merchant carts moved through a room-sized gap in the barrier, at a speed easily beat by the last bit of syrup in the jar.

Finally, their group of three horses reached the gate. They were immediately greeted by two uniformed guards and what looked to be an official of some kind. His mustache and big nose made him look like an editorial caricature of a Kendran communist.

“And what is your business in Kendran?” asked the official.

“Questing,” said Anjanette.

“That is strictly forbidden,” the official said, his voice ringing with haughty indignance. “You shall not rob the graves of our great culture, simply for your own greed.”

“Aw, come on,” said Leonas. “What’s the harm in letting a few people in? We just want to sample this great nation. We may come back to live here, who knows?”

The official looked like he would be more enthused with the plague coming to his country. “You can absolutely not go in. Resources are stretched enough without foreign freeloaders. Go back to whatever slum you came from.”

Anjanette tensed her fist, and swung back. Leonas waited for an international incident, but Anjanette stopped just in time and put on a brave smile. “Can I talk to you in private?”

The official looked Anjanette up and down. She may have lost her clothes in prison, but it hadn’t taken her long to assemble a suitable skimpy outfit. “I can’t see the harm. You two wait outside.”

Anjanette and the mousy official headed to a small building off the side of the road. Behind them a long line of merchant carts groaned at being delayed even more.

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