They reached the gates of Rellen shortly after the sun had set below the horizon. Ethan handed Jasper a thin cloak and the gremlin pulled it over himself. He took care to ensure his ears were tucked snugly into the hood.

A spark of purple energy flashed under Jasper’s hood. The gremlin’s skin rippled and turned from green to a tanned white. His nails shortened and became neatly trimmed, and the shadows under his hood darkened. He gave Ethan a quick nod and they resumed their trek toward Rellen.

The massive metal door at the front of the city had long since been shut in preparation for the night, but the significantly smaller traveler’s entrance remained open. A single bored looking guard manned the entrance, bouncing his halberd from hand to hand to pass the time. His eyes landed on the duo approaching him and a smile lit up his face.

“Ahoy, travelers!” The guard called.

“Greetings,” Ethan said with a jovial wave.

Jasper said nothing.

“What brings you here at this hour?” The guardsman asked, adjusting his helmet to move it out of his eyes.

“Just travel,” Ethan said and nodded his head at the mountain range in the distance behind them. “We come from a small village on the other side of the Whiteridge Mountains.”

The guardsman glanced down at Jasper. He narrowed his eyes and peered down discretely to try to get a glance under his hood. The effort was fruitless. It was impossible to see under the cloth in the dim light. The guard shrugged and stepped to the side, pulling a large scroll from a loop in his belt.

“Just passing through, then?”

“We’ll only be staying the night,” Ethan said.

“And I don’t suppose you have any news of interest?” The guard asked hopefully.

The swordsman shrugged helplessly. “I’m afraid not. We don’t like the mountains much.”

“Not many do,” the guard said with a heavy sigh.

He leaned his halberd against the city wall and unfurled his scroll. He placed the pen on the paper and then sent Ethan a pointed glance.

“Ah, our names. I’m Jack, my little friend is Jill.” Ethan said with a straight face.

Jasper’s hood twitched and he muttered something under his breath, but the guard didn’t notice it over the scratch of his quill on paper.

The guard finished writing and slipped the scroll back into his belt. He waved them into the small door and returned his attention to the road behind them. As they walked by, Ethan pulled out a gold piece and tossed it to the guard.

The man looked disbelievingly down at the coin, his mouth half open in shock. He spun to thank the two, but they had already vanished into the city.

“Jack and Jill? Really?” Jasper complained as they passed a shop full of intricately decorated and utterly useless weapons.

“I’d say you make a great Jill,” Ethan said with a chuckle. Jasper’s baleful glare burned into Ethan, but the swordsman ignored it.

Shops of every size peppered the city streets before them, but most of them had put their lights out for the day. All the buildings had clean walls and polished windows displaying all sorts of expensive goods. Despite that, Jasper wrinkled his nose and covered it with one of his hands.

“I swear the smell of this city is worse every time we pass through,” Jasper said, pinching his nose shut.

“You aren’t helping it. When’s the last time you took a bath?” Ethan asked.

“The same time you took yours,” Jasper replied.

“Touché.”

Ethan’s rapid pace forced Jasper to jog to stay in step. As they pressed deeper into Rellen, the shops transformed into houses and the streets grew smaller. Many of the larger houses had one or more guards patrolling their premises. They received no shortage of dirty looks as they passed by.

“The city is on edge,” Ethan observed.

“For good reason. We look suspicious.”

“I’m not convinced we’re the reason,” the swordsman said.

Ethan and Jasper lapsed into silence. They soon chose to forego the main paths in exchange for the small backroads. It didn’t take long for the enormous mansions and guards to transform into crumbling hovels and starved rats. Within minutes, every trace of the beautiful city had been replaced by decay and grime.

“I didn’t think it was possible, but it smells even worse over here,” Jasper hissed to Ethan.

Ethan nodded, but his attention wasn’t with Jasper. The swordsman’s head tilted slightly to the side as he concentrated. The gremlin stopped talking when he saw the tall man’s expression and waited for an explanation.

“I hear fighting,” Ethan said.

“In the middle of Rellen?” Jasper asked.

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Ethan replied, shrugging. He jerked his chin toward a nearby alleyway. “This way.”

Jasper rolled his eyes but followed after him. They emerged from the alley and immediately froze. Bodies were scattered all over the ground before them, some in multiple pieces. Only a short way down the street, an enormous man stood with his back to them.

He was almost two heads taller than Ethan. A battered piece of sharpened sheet metal that posed as a sword peeked out from below his waist and behind his head. His hand was wrapped around the neck of a struggling man. The brute’s head suddenly tilted to the side and he let out a chuckle.

He dropped his prey to the ground and turned to face Jasper and Ethan. His face was haggard and riddled with scars of various sizes. A small beard was attempting to set root on his chin with little success.

The three silently evaluated each other for several seconds. Then Jasper stepped past Ethan and lifted one hand in greeting.

“Hello, Garm. I see you haven’t changed much. I hope you didn’t hurt yourself bullying children,” Jasper said.

Garm gave Jasper a cocky grin. “Nothing worth changing, shortstack. I see you’re still cruising around with your metal friend.”

“And you’re still a muscle brain that kills civilians to stroke his own ego,” Jasper shot back.

Garm chuckled. “It’s good to see you’re still kicking, Ethan. I can’t say the same for our gremlin friend, but what’s to do. I’m sure he’ll get what’s coming to him soon.”

“It’s good to see you, Garm.” Ethan said. His lip turned up slightly and his eyes narrowed.

Jasper walked up to the pile of bodies and nudged one of them with his toe. There was, somewhat predictably, no response.

“What did this lot do to you?” Jasper asked.

“Tried to rob me,” Garm said. He sounded happy about it.

Jasper checked a few of the other bodies, but none of them were breathing. The gremlin shook his head and walked back over to Ethan.