Just before I broke from the treeline to cross the clearing to Vehrehr, I stopped and a terrible thought occurred to me. How am I going to get this bag of blue leaf back into the city? I asked myself, realizing I had no plan whatsoever. For some reason I had completely forgotten the fact that, since blue leaf was illegal, I couldn't afford to have my bags checked upon entry. I was so preoccupied with hiding my face that I forgot that I would have to hide my contraband as well.

I stalked up to the western bridge which I had exited by from a steep angle, doing my best to duck behind rocks whenever the guards looked in my direction once I was in visual range. Maybe they're not checking bags, I hoped, looking at guards from around a hundred meters away. I waited for around half an hour until another human walked up to the guards, then strained my eyes and ears to pick out anything I could from the interaction. The entrant's body language was aggressive, contrasting the guards' more submissive stances, and he entered without issue. I should wait for more samples, I thought, that could have been a fluke.

Another half hour later a group of humans approached the guards. From what I could tell from my hiding place, they appeared to be field workers. One carried a shovel, and the other was holding a burlap sack filled with something. The guards stopped them, and after some protest from the entrants, searched not only their bags but their clothes as well. Damn, I cursed, why did they let the other one in so easily then? Comparing and contrasting the two field workers with the first human, I realized that the first man was wearing much more ornate clothing. Some kind of official, I concluded, can't use that method.

I saw another group of workers enter after being searched, then decided to back off and come up with a plan. I considered trying to get across the moat, but quickly nixed the idea. Weaving enough rope to do such a thing would take a very long time, and I would have needed some kind of hook which I didn't have. Killing the guards was certainly a possibility but even if I could handle the pair at the bridge, there were seven or more waiting inside the wall. I had won only a single seven-on-one fight since acquiring the body I was in, and I had no desire to fight another if I could avoid it.

Was I even searched the first time I came to the city? I asked, pulling up my memory of the entry. As far as I could remember, the guards at the south bridge I had crossed barely even asked for my name, let alone showed any sort of attention to security. The station inside the wall, if there even was one, was most likely left unmanned since I wasn't stopped after crossing. It's a two or three-hour walk to get to that bridge, I thought, but I guess it's my best option. I backed off further, outside visual range, then began following a wide path around the outside of Vehrehr towards the south bridge.

“Next!” the guard called out as the old woman he had just cleared stepped onto the bridge and began crossing it at a brisk pace that looked unusual for someone so aged. Finally, I thought as my stomach growled, food and shelter is just a hundred and fifty meters across a chasm.

“Yuwniht Lihyveyz,” I said, walking around the guard. The man held out an arm in my path, and I contemplated simply walking into it.

“I didn't say you could enter,” he growled, his rancid breath stinking so badly that it overrode the wafting stench of the city.

“You just need my name,” I said impatiently, “I've done this before. I'm in a hurry, let me pass.” Rationally I knew I was tempting fate with my attitude, but the nagging hunger in my belly was causing my body to insidiously influence my outward behavior to be less patient.

“Do I now?” the guard challenged. “You want to do my job for me? Want me to pay you too?” I sighed and tightened my jaw.

“What information do you need?” I asked, taking a step back and staring the guard directly in the eyes. Red irises gleamed back at me, and the guard smiled.

“What's your business in-” he began.

“Mercenary work, then transit to the mainland,” I snapped, “I have been working for the Steelheart Company lately, if that's relevant. If you need someone to back that up, you can ask for Dawpvaol. Now can I pass?”

“A doymztoyl like you, working for Steelheart?” the guard laughed. “What are you anyway? You can't be Gwahlaob, that accent sounds faker than my impressions at the tavern, and there's never been a wowzmahnay as big as you are.” The first insult I recognized as a jab at my complexion, but the second one was strange. The best I could figure it was mocking the way I walked, but I had a feeling it was allegorical. “Wait, are you that forest man I've heard people talking about? The one from Suwlahtk?”

“No,” I lied, “is this really relevant?” The guard's strange cheery hostility turned serious as he looked back at his friend who was sitting on a stool behind him.

“Zehv, come over here,” the guard said. I drew in an exasperated breath, but stopped before sighing when I saw that the guard's right hand was now resting on his sword in a loose grip. Shit, I swore internally as the second guard walked over and immediately stiffened up upon seeing his partner's body language.

“What's goin' on?” the second guard drawled. Slowly and carefully, I prepared to jump backwards and draw a weapon at a moment's notice. I felt my knees loosen to increase mobility, my heart rate increased. The second guard did a double take on my face, then put his hand on his sword as well.

“Is he the guy?” the first guard asked. I didn't wait for the second guard to answer before springing into action. Thankfully only two people were in line behind me, and a quick shoulder check revealed that both were unarmed and had backed off the moment the situation got tense. Using a twinge of force magic, I did a two-meter back-hop and drew my sword.

“It's him!” the second guard shouted, drawing his own sword and running towards me. In slow motion, I considered my options. I didn't want to draw any more guard attention to myself, but I also couldn't afford to be caught. Glancing across the bridge, I didn't see any guards at the interior post, so it was possible that nobody was nearby to hear the commotion. Making up my mind, I leaned back to avoid a clumsy diagonal slash from the second guard then swung with my full arm strength towards his neck. Blood splattered out from where his head was once attached to his body, flecking my face and armor as well as the ground around the site of the decapitation.

“NO WAIT-” the first guard tried to yell, but I was upon him in an instant and swapped my sword to a reverse grip. He tried to stab me with his sword, but I easily avoided the attack by turning my torso. My free hand closed around his extended wrist, then snapped it with pressure, causing the guard to drop his weapon. Before he could speak again my blade was through his heart, entering downward through his neck and exiting around the small of his back. Seconds later the guard slumped, and I slit his throat just to be sure he wouldn’t get up. When I saw that the wound didn't heal, I turned my attention to the humans behind me.

One was a man, and the other a woman. Both were blonde, but the man had yellow eyes while the woman had red. Unwisely, both had also chosen not to flee during the brief fight between myself and the now-dead guards. Only once I took a step toward them with my blade still drawn did they figure out what was going to happen.

“Please, sir!” the man begged. “We didn't see anything!”

“We'll leave, and we won't tell anyone!” the woman added hastily. “There's no need to do anything-” She stopped when she saw I wasn't listening. Both of the humans exchanged glances, then turned and began to run in opposite directions.

The woman was slower, so I chose the man as the first to die. Enhancing my stride I quickly caught up to him and shoved him to the ground. Before he even knew what was going on I grasped his forehead and reached inside with magic, frying his frontal lobe. It took only five seconds before his life ended and I was wiping my sword off on his robes. I looked to the woman and sheathed my blade, then drew my spear and began tracking her movement. The woman had made it around sixty meters from her starting position when I finished preparing my throw, and only five meters more when the spear sunk into her shoulder and sent her sprawling to the ground.

“Please don-” the woman tried to beg, but I quickly broke her neck, then I cooked her frontal lobe like the man's to end her life as well. She took longer to die, almost seven whole seconds, and I wondered if it was due to some physiological difference between her and the man or if I had altered my magic somehow. No witnesses should give me at least a day or two before they catch on, I thought after cleaning off my spear and putting it back in its sheath, and I already have a way to get rid of the bodies.

I picked up the woman's corpse and placed her on my left shoulder, then went and picked up the man and put him on my right. I then walked back to the bridge and simply tossed both bodies down into the moat. The water flow was slow, but consistent, and the bodies began to drift out towards the ocean. So long as nobody looks down in the moat at the wrong time they may not even know these people were killed, I thought.

After tossing the guards and their weapons over the bridge as well, I wiped off as much of the blood from myself as possible and then crossed into Vehrehr. As I suspected, nobody was manning the interior guard post, and the noise of the foot traffic likely drowned out the sounds of my fight. The instant I was clear of the entrance I began heading east to get to an area with a lower density of guards. While I was pretty confident that I wouldn't be caught quickly, being witnessed near the site of four disappearances wouldn't be good for keeping a low profile. Once the buildings began to be mostly wood again, I knew I could relax a bit.

The first place I headed was the inn. Upon entry, I saw the fat men who I had beaten up some days before, and we exchanged glances. Predictably they said nothing and went back to eating their lunch. Other patrons also stopped to take a look at my appearance, with most focusing on my torn pants rather than my blood-flecked armor, but aside from some snide remarks none took issue with me. I need to bathe, I thought, but I need to eat more. Finding a table near Yehpweyl's counter, I saw down and waited for the innkeeper to appear.

Five minutes later Yehpweyl descended the stairs while fiddling with her hair, freezing in place when she laid eyes on me. A man who was walking behind her bumped into her and nearly sent her tumbling, but she kept her balance and stepped off onto the floor. My expression told her everything she needed to know, and without needing a command she went to get me some food. Moments later a plate of bird meat, fried vegetables, and crushed tubers was placed in front of me along with a mug of water.

“Is that your blood?” Yehpweyl asked quietly.

“Not all of it,” I replied, then shoved a large handful of food into my mouth.

“Do I need to be worried about guards?” she asked seriously.

“Most likely not,” I mumbled with my mouth still full, “I'm sure you would turn me in quietly if given the chance anyway.” Yehpweyl frowned but didn't disagree. “I want to remind you that I will kill you in that scenario, so don't try it.”

“Of course,” Yehpweyl sighed, “was there anything else you needed?” She sniffed the air, then added “Besides a bath?”

“Do you know where I can purchase equipment for-” I paused, realizing I didn't know the Uwrish word for chemistry, “-extracting and refining fluids from harvested plants?”

“What kind of budget can you possibly have?” Yehpweyl asked. “That stuff is expensive.”

“We can discuss the budget once I finish eating and bathe,” I said, “you will be covering the expenses.”