Voices carried loudly through the air outside of the Valkovian Municipal Building. The marble steps and white column pillars were as august and imperial as any other government building in the capital city. Scott cast his gaze about the area while taking in the sights and sounds of the locals. He was a little early, as it was not yet eight o'clock. Yet, he did not mind the wait. Life in a fantasy world city was always intensely fascinating.

A Minotaur wearing a toga walked by while holding the hand of what Scott assumed was his child. The little Minotaur, presumably a girl due to the flowers in her hair, wore her own little toga. The child would be barely waist height to Scott, but her father was half again as tall as Scott.

The sight of a father and daughter walking hand in hand immediately caused a spike of pain to radiate through his chest. Scott smiled softly at the scene for a moment before turning away.

"Papa, can we go to the park?" asked the little Minotaur in a high-pitched voice.

"It's your day, little one. You decide," replied her father in a deep masculine voice.

"Yay! Let's get ice cream too, then..." said the little Minotaur girl cheerfully.

Scott closed his eyes and tried not to feel anything, but it was hard. He'd never known just how much he actually would have liked to have a child. Reminders such as this one caused confliction on a deeper level that he'd imagined that he even possessed.

Eventually, the proper time arrived and Scott rose up from his bench. Once inside the building he went to the nearest enforcer on duty and inquired about what he should do. After a brief discussion of the situation, he was directed down the hall and to the right.

Scott stood in front of a simple wooden door. On the front a small engraved placard offered the words, 'Enforcer Recruitment Office'. "So, this was what that message was about..."

He knocked on the door and a feminine voice from the other side beckoned him to enter. Scott opened the door and saw someone slightly familiar sitting at the desk across from him. "Captain Trace?"

The armor clad captain nodded to him then offered a lazy smile. "The one and only."

She immediately changed her demeanor to one of strict professionalism. "Master Jacobs, you've been requested to come in once you recovered."

Before Scott could interject, she continued, "Valkovia wishes to offer you employment as an enforcer. We will start you out at the rank of lieutenant, offer free city services, and an equivalent expense account for housing, food, and equipment."

"Of course, this will include leadership training and other class work as needed to bring you up to speed on the laws and protocols for enforcers. Once that is completed, you will be given command of a twenty member unit," finished Trace.

Scott blinked at owlishly, "Captain, I don't really know what to say to that. I'm not even a citizen of this country. That's a pretty sweet offer for someone who barely knows which part of the city has the best food, much less all of the rules for living here."

"True. In all honesty, you are a Lunarian. We don't expect you to abandon your homeland to take this job offer but we do need to offer it, first," said the captain.

"Honestly, it sounds interesting, but I can't really see myself accepting that position. I have a lot of plans that I've been making and need to bring to fruition," replied Scott after a moment of careful consideration.

"It is regrettable, but expected." Captain Trace shuffled a few papers on her desk then pulled out a folder from a nearby drawer. "If not a permanent employment position, are you amenable to freelance government work? Sorcerers of your potential are rare, and those of your class are nearly non-existent."

"What manner of work?" asked Scott, "If it pays, and if I have an actual chance to successfully accomplish it, I might be interested."

Captain Trace opened her folder and showed Scott several sheets of paper that each listed critical missions in the area. "We are spread thin by the ongoing war with the Storm Tyrant. A lot of things that need to get done are not getting done due to a lack of manpower. As a freelancer you will have access to some of these missions."

"Six member strike team to cleanse the Undercity. Twenty member raid on Keeper's Rook..." said Scott while looking over the missions shown. "These look like monster extermination and bandit subjugation missions."

"Yes, normally the enforcers keep the number of monsters and bandits at bay. Adventurers and mercenaries typically fill in the gaps," said Trace. She gestured at the mission briefings then leveled a neutral gaze in Scott's direction. "Now adventurers and mercenaries are mostly joining with the active military units and fewer remain to handle these issues."

Scott inclined his head thoughtfully. "I see. So, you're no doubt making these offers to anyone who might be worth a damn?"

"Correct. Though, most do not get an offer to become a commissioned officer," said the Captain.

"If life had led me down a different road, I might have considered it," admitted Scott. A stable job as an enforcer for Valkovia did not seem terrible. He had adventuring in his blood now, and he had a world to help save, but if it were something he was offered as a normal individual living in this world he might have accepted.

Captain Trace shared a wry smile, "The higher ups wanted to sweeten the deal since it's difficult to get sorcerers into our ranks, much less a near mythological figure such as yourself."

"Am I really so rare?" asked Scott in a manner that seemed teasing, but he was actually curious about the answer. He heard conflicting reports on occasion when it came to sorcerers.

"Sorcery in general is not that rare, but Lunarian sorcerers apparently do not travel much," said the Captain. She squinted at Scott slightly then said, "Twilight masters... I have never met one until now, nor has anyone whom I've spoken with on the matter. A few of the higher ups have run across a master once or twice, but that's generally due to being elite guardsmen during state visits to the Lunarian Homeland."

"Ah, I see," said Scott. He offered a bit of information that seemed reasonably true, "I suppose we are rare outside of our places of training."

"Indeed, Master Jacobs," she said.

Captain Trace drew back in her seat a little and adopted a more formal appearance. "While we know that a royal Lunarian of your stature must return to your lands frequently, the Valkovian government would appreciate any aid that you might render during your stay in our country."

"A royal Lunarian of my stature?" asked Scott in a neutral tone. This was the first that he was hearing of his nobility.

"Yes, Master Jacobs. During talks with the Lunarian High Council our government was informed of your high noble status," she said, "Though, the council members that our government spoke of refused to admit your actual title, they freely admitted that any Twilight Master is at least a Prince of the Realm."

Captain Trace stood up and placed her fist to her chest in salute. "Valkovia thanks you for coming to aid her in her time of need, your highness. We understand that you obviously seek anonymity as you did not divulge your status to us, but worked as a subordinate to our enforcers."

Uncertain what else to do, Scott rose to his feet and returned the salute in kind. "Always glad to help someone in need."

The captain's eyes lit up briefly then she sighed in relief. "Thank you, master. I am glad to see that we did not offend you."

"Certainly, I was not offended in the least," admitted Scott freely. "I do not think of myself as royalty. There was a job to do, and I was able to help do it."

Captain Trace's smile grew three sizes, "Ah, of course."

They both took a seat once more then chatted about the most recent mission for a while. She inquired about his health. Scott admitted that he was a foolish creature, but he was fully on the mend. Eventually, the topic steered back towards the original reason that he came to the municipal building.

"So, helping with the typical issues that the enforcers need to deal with will net me more contribution points?" asked Scott.

"Yes, of course. You'll also be able to use those points at the municipal armory without restriction since you'll be considered an Agent of the Crown," she said. She waved her hand over the mission briefings then continued, "At least you will be considered such during any month in which you take or complete a mission."

"Sounds good. Do I come to you when I can take on a mission?" asked Scott.

"Ah, there is no need for that," she said.

Captain Trace picked up her Crystacom and held it out to Scott. "I noticed that you had one of these in your belongings during your transport to the hospital. We can add the Agent missions to your mission app, so you can get news of new missions and where to apply."

"Even better," said Scott. He took out his Crystacom and noticed a new message had arrived. "I just accept this app request from the Valkovian Imperial Police Department?"

"Correct," she said.

Scott accepted the update and a moment later it began to load onto his Crystacom. "That's a fairly big file."

"It has to be. It covers the entire empire," said Trace.

Scott eyeballed the bulky update for a moment then shrugged. Hopefully, it simply meant that he had a lot of work he could do in the immediate future. At any rate, coming to the municipal building seemed like it would be the best decision that he'd made in days.