A pair of soldiers were waiting to escort Dallion and Eury to the Duke’s estate. It was all very civilized, one could say, even polite. The major difference was that the guards in question were both awakened, and as such didn’t have the limiting echoes Dallion had found to be present in the rest of the locals. There was no question that compared to this place, Nerosal could be considered a free city.

The guards led the pair to one of the “entrances” to lower Croya. This was the closest thing to modern infrastructure Dallion had seen in the world so far. A wide paved road went beneath the surface. Light crystals were placed on the walls and ceiling every six feet, making sure that everything was visible. There even were metal signs giving directions to the various districts one might want to reach.

“First time underground can be uncomfortable,” the gorgon said. It was clear that it was for her.

“It’s not that,” Dallion replied. “It reminds me of home.”

For a moment, Dallion imagined what it would be like if Earth was on the other side of the tunnel. This was the first time he thought about it. Up till now he hadn’t missed his home particularly. Half his memories being of this place, he didn’t have a reason to.

They went on to a small guard station at the entrance, where the rest of the hunting party sat waiting.

“Nice to see you got the invitation,” Largo said. There was no hint of mockery or sarcasm in his words. Incidentally, he didn’t have a cutling head either.

“Where’s the trophy?” Eury asked.

“Being inspected. Hopefully, we’ll get a little extra for it.”

“We will, don’t worry.”

“Vow to the Moons that you won’t harm his grace or anyone else in his presence,” one of the guards said. By the way, he did it, this wasn’t his first time.

“I vow we won’t attack unless provoked,” Eury said.

The answer made the guard pay a bit more attention, though not enough to be alarmed. After a few moments of consideration, he nodded.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you to the third level.”

The Montagne estate ended up being on the fifth and lowest level of the city. The initial set of guards only escorted them to the third, after which the party was handed over to a new set of far more pompously dressed guards. These too, only took them one level lower, there the personal guards of the duke were expecting them. Unlike all the ones before, the final set of guards were dressed in clothes of red and gold luminescent fabric with the Montagne crest embroidered on the left side of the chest. Also, they were dwarves.

“Take this,” one of the guards handed Eury a staff with a light crystal on top.

What’s that about? Dallion asked Nil.

Dark vision is one of the race’s benefits, the echo explained. I suspect that since the lowest level is inhabited predominantly by dwarves, they have gone without the light fixtures.

But why is Eury the only one getting one?

Clearly, they consider her the leader of the group.

That was both unexpected and alarming. As far as the town was concerned, Largo should have been seen as the leader. The local duke had more than a few skills up his sleeve.

The tunnels were wide and dark, though filled with the sounds of forging and drilling. Dallion was even able to recognize some of the tools used. True to expectations, this was the industrial part of the town—the heart that beat with a thousand hammers. There were moments at which Dallion was tempted to ask some questions regarding the local process, and from what he could see thanks to his music skills, the guards would have gladly answered. However, this was Eury’s show, and he didn’t want to undermine her authority before the meeting with the duke.

After a while, the hunters were taken to the face of a large mansion etched in the rock itself. Upon arriving, one of the guards knocked on the massive iron door three times. There was a slight delay, after which the door opened, bleeding bright white light into the cave. For a moment, it felt almost as if they had reached a magic portal to the surface. When Dallion’s light adjusted, however, he saw that the entire ceiling was covered in light crystals.

“This way,” the man said. One could instantly tell that he was a noble, potentially in his mid-thirties. Thin and elegant, he was wearing a finely crafted uniform of white and red, covered entirely with a golden motif. Other than that, his appearance seemed quite average. “And remove that ridiculous hood.” He eyed Euryale. “We know perfectly well what you are.”

“And what are you?” the gorgon asked.

Internally, Dallion smiled. This was the part of awakened etiquette he enjoyed: the verbal combat that had both parties vying for dominance over the other. Usually, it was a lot more subtle, but even a crude exchange of verbal blows was amusing to watch.

“I’m his grace’s chamberlain,” the man replied with barely a moment’s hesitation.

“And I’m Euryale O’Stheno, leader of this hunter’s party.” Eury removed her hood, the snakes on her head stirring non-stop to make her point.

“Don’t toy with my subjects,” a deep voice came from within the building. Dallion could tell that the voice came indirectly from the light crystals. “Carls will be glad to escort you to the feast hall, where we’ll have a proper discussion. Won’t you, Carls?”

“Your Grace,” the chamberlain bowed.

All that is part of the show, Nil said. The poor kid never was a player, he was just the pawn to extend the invitation.

That’s cynical, even for you.

It might be, but in this case, I’m right.

Leading the group through a corridor of light, the chamberlain continued up to a door of pure gold. There, he straightened his white shirt and opened it. A vast garden emerged within. There were trees, pushes, even grass, all beneath a ceiling of blue light that mimicked the sky. Sitting on a wooden throne in the middle of a meadow, not too far away from a small brook, sat the Duke himself. To Dallion’s great surprise, the noble was human.

“Not what you expected, I know,” the duke said, in a combination of snobbery and elegance that reminded Dallion of the general in Nerosal. “I had the place redecorated, but tradition demands I still refer to it as the feasting hall. If it were up to me, I’d call it the garden.”

A clear display of power. The amount of money the man had spent to get a few trees down here must have been astronomical. The same thing could have been done easily on the surface for no cost, but then it wouldn’t have the desired effect. Plaques with monster heads hung on the walls surrounding the garden. The cutling Dallion had killed was also there.

“I was rather surprised to sense you enter my domain,” the duke said, before sipping from a golden glass. “We don’t get a lot of hunters here. In fact, we barely get any. So, what brings such an illustrious group such as you here?”

“We’re passing through,” Eury replied, keeping her calm. “All we came for was some rest and provisions. And to sell our kill.”

“Ah, the cutling. Marvelous find. I had been trying to get one for ages, but it’s next to impossible to find them fresh. You’ll get a good price, of course. The least I could do. Oh, and you’re welcome to stay the night in my estate. Free of charge, of course.”

“I prefer the surface.”

“Of course, you would,” the man smirked. “Nothing less for the hunter gorgon.”

“I didn’t think you’d have heard of me.”

“Given your fame in Wetie province, it’s natural that I showed some interest. You’ll find that dealing with merchants gives me a huge advantage. Everyone needs ores and crafting skills, especially in times of uncertainty. I have plenty of those.”

“And you use them to gain influence and information.”

“Precisely. After all, what better currency is there? Artifacts? Creatures? They are an amusing hobby, but one quite dangerous, as you’ve recently seen.”

“What is life without a bit of thrill?”

The duke smiled, then laughed for several seconds.

“Well played.” The noble rose his glass in Eury’s direction, then took another sip. “Thrill and convenience are the salt of life. And no matter how well one’s doing, we could always use more. I know you’re skilled, and I’m willing to hire you for a job.”

That seemed too convenient to be true. Such a request didn’t require all this theater. The same could have been achieved by having a member of the guard make the same request on the surface.

“As I said, we’re only passing through,” Euryale said. “We can look into it if we pass through on our way back.”

“That would be unfortunate.” The duke’s expression remained unchanged, but one didn’t have to have music skills to tell that he wasn’t pleased by the answer. “The task is rather time sensitive.”

“All tasks usually are,” the gorgon held her ground.

“I can force you to do it, you know. This is my domain and not even the Moons have dominion here.”

“The Moons have dominion everywhere,” Dallion couldn’t stop himself. Strangely enough, that seemed to lighten the mood.

“Ah, the hero of Nerosal,” the duke noted. “Quite the honor to have you here. Although, I didn’t appreciate you looking in the minds of my subjects.”

“Your subjects have limiting echoes.”

“On their own volition. Limiting echoes are part of the price for living in Croya. Iron grip in a velvet glove, as they say. It makes things a lot more efficient, not to mention that everyone’s happy.”

The excuses were the same the general in Nerosal used as well. There, the man claimed he was giving purpose to the homeless furies that served him. Here, the duke explained away the limiting echoes by suggesting that they improved efficiency.

Now I understand why Aspion was afraid of the cities, Dallion thought.

Not all cities are like this, Nil countered. Croya isn’t even in the empire.

Maybe not all, but some clearly are.

“A compromise,” Jiroh said all of a sudden. “Half will continue with our original task and half will deal with your task. That should be adequate.”

“Three go, three remain.” The duke put a finger on his chin, thinking. “Will three be enough for the task?”

“Depends on the task,” Eury took over.

“Sanitation,” the noble said. “There’s some creature that’s been collapsing side tunnels. Nothing that can’t be handled, but it’s getting annoying. And as I said, one can never have enough thrill or comfort in life.”

“We don’t do jobs in the realm. You’ll have to find other awakened for that.”

“That’s not what I heard.” The duke frowned.

An air of tension emerged as several more snakes turned in the direction of the noble, engaging in a stare off.

“Not that it matters.” Surprisingly it was the duke who gave in. “The creature jumps between the two just long enough to crack a few walls, then hides again. It’s more a nuisance than anything else. Carls tried to take it, but…” there was a sigh. “Let's just say that there’s a lot to be desired regarding his services.”

“Largo.” A cluster of Eury’s snakes focused on the hunter. “Can you handle it?”

“A job’s a job. How do we split?”

“You take Rei and Shai. I’ll take care of our other job.”

“I love it when a plan comes together.” The duke smiled.