The next few days past uneventfully as they rode on towards Hargest. Chance and Alyssia would take turns sharing their senses and memories as their bond deepened and grew stronger.

Try as he might though, Chance could not get many details from the Captain about his cryptic answer about him needing what he was beginning to think of as informants or spies throughout the kingdom. He was just simple journeyman blacksmith in his own eyes. Yes, apparently his adopted parents had some secrets that he had not been expecting and to find that he had Ard was startling but it was not something that should lead to him needing to keep track of things happening outside of his immediate area. It just made no sense to him.

So it was that six days after leaving the Travelers and eight days after leaving Mern, they arrived at Hargest.

Chance was impressed, the walls were at least a good fifteen spans high which was five spans or so higher than the walls around Mern. The gates themselves looked to be sturdier as well. Whereas Mern’s gates were wood with bands of iron around them to provide additional strength. These looked to be encased fully in steel and from what chance could tell there was even a portcullis that could be dropped down to add further strength to the gate structure.

Chance checked Alyssia’s illusion quickly as they approached closer to the line in front of the gate. Having resumed her disguise as a lizard with a bandage around her middle over her wings. She was resting in Chance’s lap enjoying the afternoon sun.

As they waited in line for the guards to inspect the wagons and carts in front of them, Chance took the opportunity to ask the Captain a few questions about the differences in the defenses of the two cities.

“Captain, why are the defenses here so much more than what we have in Mern? We have not seen war or even an attack, other than some goblins or orcs, in decades if not longer.”

“The walls and defenses here date back to the time of when I would guess Alyssia’s mother lived, if not before. This land used to be considered the frontier of a great Empire from what history tells us. The Empire fell for a reason unknown to historians and the people fled to fringe of the known lands to escape whatever caused the fall. Upon arriving here, they established small territories and fortified their cities. Grensmar and Hargest were two of the cities established back then. There was a third but it was destroyed according to historical records of the time.”

At that point they had made it up to the gate and as they approached the guards, the Captain reached into the chest pocket of his tunic and withdrew a coin. Tossing it to the guards he said, “Afternoon gentlemen, we are just passing through on our way to Grensmar. Is there a problem?”

The guard on the left caught the coin and glanced at it as the other guard placed his hand on Noble’s bridle. He was about ask them a question when the guard with the coin smacked him in the shoulder and interrupted him. “No, sir. You may enter.”

Startled the second guard turned to the guard with the coin after Chance and the Captain had passed. “What do you think you were doing? They looked to have the coin and we could have shaken them down for at least enough for a few drinks tonight.” He asked angrily.

The first guard held up the coin, or as the second guard could now see, a king’s token. Going pale, “Dear gods, thank you Burt. I owe you a drink. That could have been my head if I had been caught shaking down a King’s man for coin to enter the city.” With that they resumed their job of questioning and inspecting those that desired to enter into Hargest.

The town itself seemed much like Mern, except where Mern had the area outside of town for the merchants and caravans to trade their products Hargest had a section of the city inside the walls for the caravans to store their wagons but no place to sell their products. This meant that they had to rely on selling their product to local merchants who would then resell with a markup or to pay for a permit to setup a booth on the main roads through town.

The booths and those shopping in them caused considerable traffic on the already narrow roads. This meant that Chance and the Captain had to dismount and lead their horses lest they accidentally trample on someone. Chance had moved Alyssia to the pocket inside his cloak to keep her safe and away from prying eyes.

“Do you know where we are going?” Chance asked as they led their horses through the crowd.

“Yes. We will be going to the local barracks. They will put us up for the night and feed us as well. The food won’t be as good as some places but will be better than the rabbit you fixed the first night.” The Captain said as he laughed at Chance.

“Hey! It was not my fault my salt and sugar containers had the lids mixed.” Chance replied quickly.

“No, but even Alyssia wouldn’t eat it.” The Captain teased.

I agree with him Chance. It was not good. Alyssia chimed in.

Now, you are supposed to take my side. Not his. He responded.

He could hear her giggling from inside his cloak.

“Fine. Both of you are right. It was pretty bad. You have to admit though that the grouse the next time I cooked more than made up for it.”

The captain nodded his head appreciatively. “That it did. You will make someone an excellent wife someday if you keep cooking that well.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.”

Soon they were out of the Market district and turning down a side road. The crowds thinned out and made moving down the street easier.

“Let’s mount up,” the Captain called out. “It is still some ways ahead.”

They rode on in silence the rest of the way to the inner wall around the central keep of the governor of the province. The barracks were located just inside the inner wall and housed the local guard as well as the local battalion of the army of Chavira.

They were stopped at the gates into the inner wall, but were allowed to pass when Captain Herrera showed his papers and medallion representing his rank and position in the King’s Army. They asked and were directed to the visiting officers’ quarters. They were a building near the barracks but separate. They were complete with their own bathhouse but visiting officers were expected to dine either in the Keep or with the rest of the local troops in the mess.

Two enlisted men were waiting for them at the Officer’s quarters, “Can you take your horses for you sirs?” they offered.

“Thank you soldiers.” Chance and the Captain responded as they grabbed their saddlebags and packs off of their horses before they were lead away to the stables.

As they entered the building they are greeted by a gentleman wearing the chevrons of a Staff Sergeant. “Can I show you to your quarters sir?”

He showed them where they could clean up, where to leave their clothes for cleaning, and their rooms. Then as he was leaving he said, “Dinner will be at the first bell after sunset. Lunch is as you can make it to the mess hall. We have a board laid with a variety of breads, cold meats, and cheeses to make yourself a plate. It is cleaned up at the fourth bell after midday. If there is nothing else, sirs?”

After they responded that they did not need anything further, he bid them a good day.

After they had a chance to bath and change into clean clothes, they took some time to clean up their gear that they had brought with them into their rooms. It took some time to wipe the road dust from the bags and gather the items to be sent out for cleaning.

“We need to go over your forms and practice some this evening or tomorrow morning before we leave Chance.” The captain informed him. “We have not been able to do it on the road and I don’t want either you or I to get rusty from lack of practice.”

“Yes sir.” Chance responded out of habit when discussing anything related to drills or sword work.

Smiling, Captain Herrera stood and motioned for him to follow. “Let’s go see what they are having in the mess tonight.”

“That sounds like a plan. Alyssia, do you want to stay in the room or do you want to come along?” Chance asked as he buckled on his belt and sword.

I want to come. Let me get my illusion in place. Alyssia responded as she launched herself from the bed she had been resting on to land on her spot on Chance’s shoulder.

“Ready?” Chance said as he glanced over to see the familiar illusion of a bandaged lizard. He was amazed once again how much she had grown. That first day of the bonding she was able to fit fully in his open hand. Now five months later, she was the size of a month old kitten. He knew from conversations and Alyssia’s shared memories that full grown her body would match that of a cat. Although with her tail, elongated neck, and wings she would look larger. Memories showed that it was not uncommon for her ancestors to ride on shoulders or be carried in the arms of their bonded. It seemed that Alyssia’s favorite spot currently was on his shoulder with her tail curled around the back of his neck or down his back and curling into his armpit to provide stability.

Ready. She responded.

As they headed out of their rooms and made their way out of the building, they were met at the door to the outside by a young page.

“Good Evening Sir. The Governor would like to invite you to dine with him and Captain Berens this evening in the residence.” The young man said as he gave the captain a salute by bringing his right fist up to his left shoulder.

“Good Evening, young man. We would be happy to join the Governor and the Captain for dinner. When will it be served?” The Captain responded as he returned the salute to the young page.

“Sorry sir. The invitation was just for the yourself. It will be server in a half hour sir. If you would follow me I can take you to the dining hall.”

Raising an eyebrow, the Captain turned and looked at Chance and whispered. “Will you be alright dining in the Mess? I can insist or defer.”

“It is fine. One of us should at least get a fine meal. I will dine with the soldiers. Enjoy yourself and I will talk to you later.” Chance answered quietly.

“Very well then, lead on.” The Captain responded.

Chance watched as the Captain followed the page into the Governor’s residence, then turning he got an opportunity to look around the area inside the walls for the first time.

Are you ready to eat yet? He asked.

No, not really. I could eat some now but my appetite is still small.

Dear, most things about you are small but I would never use that to describe your appetite at any time. Chance laughed as he responded.

Ha. Ha. Very funny. Let’s walk around and see what all is inside the walls. Alyssia suggested.

They spent some time wandering around the inside of the walls. They saw the blacksmith’s stall as well as a stall for a bowyer and a fletcher. There was a training area with training dummies, as well as a few dueling circles. It looked much like the compound in Mern that he had trained at for the past few years. There were several soldiers out working on their skills as well as a sergeant running what looked like new recruits through some exercises. They looked to be fairly new as many of them were huffing and puffing or would bend over holding their knees trying to catch their breath during the breaks.

Chance stopped to watch a couple of the soldiers in one of the dueling circles. They looked to be fairly skilled from what he saw. There was an older gentleman fighting against a younger man. The older one was using a shield and a sword, while the younger man was using a sword and a parrying dagger. Chance had trained with both in the past and preferred to dual wield, himself, either with the sword and parrying dagger or two shorter swords.

The fight was progressing slowly with each fighter testing the other’s defenses and then backing away to prevent the riposte. Chance had trained long enough that he could see that the younger man was willing to take more risks in the fight and was too impatient to wait out the older man. Chance felt someone step up beside him.

“What do you think? Which one do you think will win?” a voice said from his side.

Turning in the direction of the voice, Chance saw man in his middle years with the stripes of a First Sergeant on his sleeve.

“First Sergeant, I think that the older gentleman will probably win out. The younger man is brash and risks too much, too frequently that the older gentleman will eventually score a hit it might not be a large hit but it will be the signal of the move to the end of the match. Although, if it was not a practice duel, I think that the younger man might not be as aggressive and that the older man behind the shield would not be so passive. The gentleman with the dagger has let the fact he will not be injured in the fight affect how he is attacking, which could lead to bad habits being formed. I was always told to practice as if it was war and that death is on the line. Otherwise, it was not a true practice but a sham of how you be in a real fight.” Chance said as he looked back to the duel. “At least that is my opinion, Sir.” He added thinking that he might have gone too far.

“It is the right one though. I can see what you are saying. Phillip, or the younger man, as you call him, is dropping his guard dagger more than he should, and he has missed a couple opportunities to get past Robert’s shield.” The First Sergeant said as he moved toward the fighting pair.

In a voice made to command men, the First Sergeant yelled out, “Alright you two, break it off.”

Stepping up to the pair as they backed away from one another and worked on catching their breath. He began to berate and criticize their effort as only a sergeant can. Chance could see them glance his way a couple times as the First Sergeant continued to berate them. The looks they gave him were not pleasant and Chance wondered if he should have kept his mouth shut.

I hope what I said does not cause any issues with those two. Chance thought to Alyssia.

The First Sergeant is telling them that even a youngster could see the issues in their fight. That they needed to correct the issues and that until they could do that, they would spend the mornings doing extra drills and sparring. Alyssia relayed what her sensitive hearing was picking up.

Oh goodness. They are not going to be happy with me. I am glad we are not staying long. Chance moaned.

Chance did not think that he needed to be watching any more of the duels. With that, they decided that they had wasted enough time and that they should go see about dinner in the mess hall.

One of the many good things that could be said about the King’s Army and about the Hargest City Guards, they set a good table for the men with plenty to eat.

Chance and Alyssia went through the line, he got a few strange looks for having Alyssia on his shoulder but it was fairly common for falconers to come through the line with their birds so the cooks seemed to take it in stride.

Turning from picking up a tray with some grilled beef for Alyssia and a bowl of beef stew for himself, Chance glanced around the room. The tables were all bench seating except for a couple of round tables off in a corner but from his experience at home those were reserved for the officers.

He picked a table that had one end occupied and the other end open. Sitting down at the open end, he set Alyssia in his lap, I would rather you not have to eat in my lap Little One but others might not appreciate my “lizard” being on the table.

I understand. I long for the day when I can shed this disguise and be open about who we are. I dislike this deception. Alyssia answered.

True. I think that if we had not found the stolen armor or the issues with the merchant guard that we could have travelled openly. It is just with the unknowns out there and from what I can tell we will be seen as being a way to shift the power either way. At least that was what Dad explained to me before we left.

They were lost in their conversation that they failed to notice that the room had gone quiet and that the younger of the two men was standing on the other side of their table. To everyone else it looked as if Chance was staring off into space, he was so focused on his conversation with Alyssia.

Alyssia was the first to notice the legs on the other side of the table from her position in his lap, Chance someone is standing across from you. You might want to pay attention to what is going on.

Startled, Chance refocused and looked at the man in front of him. “Sorry, I was lost in thought. May I help you?” Chance asked.

“Where do you get off criticizing me and Robert and our dueling? We know how to fight. There was no need to bring the Sergeant into it.” The man answered angrily.

“I did not bring the Sergeant into it. He asked my opinion of the duel and I gave him an honest answer. You both were slacking off and that can develop bad habits and that can get you killed. I have trained with the sword and could have whipped you easily your defense was that poor.” Chance responded hotly. He did not like the tone in the young man’s voice nor his attitude and being young he responded to anger with anger.

Chance… Alyssia chirped.

“Oh you know so much about fighting, huh? Why don’t we see how well you can back up your talk, I challenge you to a duel in the morning? Then I can show you how a real man fights.” The soldier stated.

“Fine. In the morning then!” Chance ignored the claws digging into his leg trying to get his attention and accepted the challenge.

Chance! Do you really think that is wise? Alyssia asked as the soldier stormed off to join his friends.

What? Was what wise? The challenge? Taking a deep breath and calming down a bit he answered. No, probably not but he came over here mad and looking to cause trouble. He was trying to put me in my place and bully me. I can’t stand bullies. So we will deal with it in the morning. As the one challenged, I get to set the terms and I will make sure to keep both of us safe.