Compared to the one-sided security around the Naga enclave in Torop, there actually were human guards around the enclave in Nobost, there even was a low fence in the middle of the road. It looked a little weird, the fence giving the impression of a mere symbol, after all a fence less than a metre high wouldn’t stop anyone but the truly infirm or infants. A glimpse through Lenore told that, while the fence itself had some magical properties, there was nothing in the air above, nothing that hinted at the sort of warding I had seen around Torop at least. Just from looking around, I felt confident in my ability to simply leave the enclave without any trouble and, ironically, that confidence only served to make me nervous.

If there had been some sort of detectable, magical defence, I could have considered its power and aspects to determine the threat level, but now, where I couldn’t detect anything, I wondered if I failed to detect because there was nothing, or if I didn’t detect anything because their defences were so far beyond me that I didn’t even notice them. If the former, weird, but no problem, if the latter, I may have a serious problem.

Either way, the uncertainty meant I wasn’t going to do anything that might cause some unknown magical security to trigger. Due to that, Lenore left my Hallow and after a word from me, Ylva did the same, padding along with the rest of us.

The checkpoint was a simple affair, an opening in the fence with a small guard post next to it, housing a pair of guards and a single official.

“Good Afternoon, welcome to Nobost. If you would present your papers, please?” the official asked Adra, a polite smile on his face.

“Greetings,” she gave him a polite nod, before continuing, “What type of papers are you referring to?” she asked, a little confused. The smile of the official didn’t change a single bit, unfailingly polite and as natural as plastic. Likely just as biodegradable.

“You need either an identification card issued by one of the great Guilds or you need proof of citizenship of the Empire,” he explained, getting a nod of understanding from Adra.

“Certainly, here is my Adventuerers’ Guild card.” she pulled the card we had received so long ago, in the frozen north, out, handing it over. The official briefly scanned it, and I felt a subtle surge of power, focused on the card, before shifting to Adra.

“Seems to be in order. You are good to go but please remember, if you want to engage in commerce outside of your Guild, you need to have official permission,” he warned Adra and while Adra gave a nod of acceptance, I made a mental note to investigate the laws governing those kinds of things. It was quite obvious that Aletoma was a lot more organised and united, compared to the lawless and wild Aretia we had been travelling through before. Just the existence of the Empire meant that there was a level of organisation above the city-states and tribes we had been dealing with before, and that annoying one party might haunt us, even hundreds of kilometres away. Knowing their laws and avoiding notice would be crucial.

As I was pondering that, Rai had been processed and it was Olivia who stood at the front. When she presented her Guild card, the official glanced at it and a brief frown crossed his face.

“Did you lose your citizenship papers? If so, I can direct you to the relevant authorities to have your status confirmed,” he asked, sincere sounding concern in his voice.

“No, thank you. I will visit my hometown soon, and there, all things will be sorted out,” she replied, a gentle smile on her face. There was something in her voice that I couldn’t quite put a finger on, but I wasn’t about to ask about it, not right in front of the guards and officials.

“Certainly. Welcome home,” the smile on his face morphed just a little before the earlier, artificial smile returned after he scanned her card.

With Olivia sorted out, it was my turn. After the polite greeting, I presented my own Guild card, and it was scanned, just like the ones from the others had. Then, it was my turn to receive the magical attention and I felt shivers run up and down my spine, resisting the reflex to shred his attention and make sure none of the secrets I held got detected.

I could feel that he was far below me, in terms of power, likely not even level forty but that he was quite capable with his skills, possibly some variant of the general Observe-skill I knew. Regardless, I wasn’t about to strike against an official doing his job, I even let his magic scour me, despite the unpleasant, intrusive sensation. Instead, I pulled my concealment in, trying to focus it on the aspects of me I wanted to keep hidden. Things like the Ruthless trait, my Mortal Hubris and the few Blood Magic related traits and titles, those would get me into deep trouble.

“There’s something…” he muttered, focusing fully on me and I felt his power surge. Closing my eyes, I activated Overflow and carefully controlled the Cloak of Twilight to keep him from penetrating my concealment. After a few seconds of increased pressure, he shook his head and the sensation faded. “Eh, just don’t make trouble,” he advised me, obviously noticing that there was something off, but now willing to get into things. He gave Lenore a brief glance, but only let out a sigh, waving us through.

Sigmir stepped up after me and he studied her closely, making her squirm. I felt my face twist into a scowl, angry that he was intruding on my love’s privacy in that manner but kept my cool. No matter how good it would feel to seal him in eternal darkness, the satisfaction wasn’t worth the trouble. Luckily, he didn’t give her as much scrutiny as he had given me, quickly waving her through and looking at Ylva.

For a moment, I wondered if she would be asked for her papers, too, but he only looked at Sigmir again.

“Please, take note that you are responsible for your wolf,” he warned her, treating Ylva like a normal animal. I wasn’t able to stop the mirthless chuckle from escaping, the irony too much to bear. While I wasn’t certain about Ylva’s attributes, I had a good idea about Lenore’s and could say with certainty that, by measure of the system, she was smarter than the human before us. While Ylva was more focused on physical attributes, I was confident that she could hold her own with most humans, especially those who were weak enough to serve as ordinary guards. But it was their town, if they wanted to treat Spirit beasts that way, I wasn’t able to do anything about it, not without starting massive trouble.

Not worth it.

While I briefly considered if large-scale annihilation-magic was the right answer to their lacking decorum, Adra asked the guards for directions to the Adventuers’ Guild, before setting off, with the rest of us in tow.

As we walked, I began to look at the old, somewhat ramshackle buildings around us. There was no consistent style or material used and I quickly realised why. If the docks in Torop had been the city’s slum, the docks in Nobost were even worse. The locals used whatever materials they could find, making repairs whenever possible. When I breathed in a little too deep, the disgusting smell of old fish, rot and unwashed human entered my nose. It was bad enough to overwhelm me and I started to gag, almost vomiting into the streets. I briefly considered stepping up to Sigmir and burying my nose in her clothes in an attempt to lock the smell with her comforting scent but common sense prevailed. Instead, I conjured up a small mug, taking a quick drink before letting the Astral Power escape as mist from my mouth.

“We should head out of town as fast as possible,” I suggested, trying to breathe through my freshly cleansed mouth. Sadly, that only meant I tasted the air instead, making me grimace.

“Why don’t we visit the Adventurers’ Guild, we should get the lay of the land at the very least,” Adra suggested, though the expression on her face told me that she was just as interested in getting out of town as I was.

“I suppose,” I nodded, a frown on my face as a sigh escaped my lips. Luckily, the Guild wasn’t far from the docks, the better areas of the town had been built further from the water and the danger it represented. The Guild, while prestigious in its own right, was an institution for all levels of society and so it was located where everyone could comfortably reach it, and likely where the prices were somewhat reasonable.

Following behind Adra, I walked towards the surprisingly small and simple building, curious what we’d find.