Chapter 326: Back at the gates

The city of Higrove was situated at the southeastern edges of the Kingdom, with only a few days' distance to the southern shoreline. To the west, the seemingly endless Forest stretched all across where the eyes could see, whilst to its east you were met with what was simply nicked the 'Plains'. 

A massive, ever-stretching field of plains that, just with the forest to the east, was seen as eternal, never-ending. Whilst this was obviously not true, it was a fact that besides the vague silhouette of a hillside at the far-away distance, only the slithering road and the riverside to the north was the only spectacle for the eyes of the occasional traveler.

Still, despite that, it wasn't barren, away from the prying eyes of the city walls life always found a way. Small, miniature huts stretched along the broad riverside, where a variety of folk resembling a mixture between humans and fish lived their lives. 

In the thick, vibrant green, lush foil of grass, critters and smaller animals of all kinds could be spotted every now and then, with abundant variety. Whilst the vicinity of the roads were mostly safe for the wayfarers, the occasional intercourse did happen, especially during the shroud of the night. 

Anyway, while the western side was mostly uninhabited, at least for what was known to the city folk, the east had several villages placed alongside the road as it ultimately slithered towards the capital, Elsaid.

Many merchants, farmers came to and fro daily with their carriages, on horseback or even on foot, to sell their wares for money or exchange them for a mixture of necessities.

All in all, whilst the city had 3 official entrances, gates to the city, all guarded by the City Guard, the eastern gate seen the most traffic throughout the day, with the southern side coming in a close second. Contrary to them, the western side rarely ever seen anybody coming in, it was mostly used by the adventurers and hunters setting out for their accepted quests and whatnot or getting back from their hunts.

As for the northern part of the town, there were no official gates, nor bridges, as that part of the city was the Nobles Quarters which also housed the City Hall, the City Lord's estate as well. There was no place in that district for the riff-raff to venture into the city. How could those of higher social standing allow the dirty wanderers to soil their territory? Not to mention the fact that the river was flowing there.

Even the guards were distributed in a fashion that matched the importance of said entrances: The east and south had a stronger presence, whilst the west was pretty lax, laid back.

Under the bright rays of the sun, 3 cloaked and hooded figures could be seen walking at a leisurely pace on the dusty road. They were sticking to the left side of the roads, letting the mounted traffic pass by them without any issues.

All three were mostly of the same height, with two obviously having a more masculine physique than the third, more slender, slicker figure.

They were sticking to the main road, their destination was clear, they wanted to reach the city.

As they walked, the figure walking at the center, who also happened to be wearing a black, faceless mask spoke up. His tone was calm, not showing any signs of the wear and tear of the long journey they must have gone through over the course of several hours by now. What was strange, however, was the language he spoke. It was not the common most of the human civilization was used to, it was hoarse, and rough-sounding, primitive. 

"[Goblin] Galina, my dear. Make sure to not say a word once we get to the city. You have not learned the human language as of yet. Although most would have no idea, some might still recognize bits and pieces of it. Let's not risk anything. If you want to ask something, just use the mental connection, okay?"

The feminine, cloaked figure that was walking on his left nodded silently. Following her young master's command, she spoke out mentally instead.

'[Goblin] Yes, young master. I will follow your commands!' Her tone was cheerful, she was clearly in a happy, elated mood. How could she not? After a long session of preparation, she was allowed to accompany her master to the city and wasn't forced back to the other world!

Also, even though she was incapable of their speech, her looks matched that of a certain fiery, red-haired princess that was almost going crazy by the unease she was feeling. A few minutes ago, as the sturdy walls of the city appeared on the horizon, her masked young master gave her the command to use the ring she received from the third member of their small group, the silver-haired human prince, Drake.

"You know… that language of yours, sounds really weird. Try not to rely on it too much, if you don't want to garner any attention guys." Drake advised. By now he heard their rough-sounding chit-chat several times, and although he was quite sure that Aiden would be aware of it, he still wanted to advise them just in case. After all, the guards they will need to pass through relatively soon might recognize some bits and pieces…

Turning his head to look at him, Aiden spoke with an obvious smile visible through his tone of voice.

"Don't worry, we are aware. Galina will not speak a word at all, we will tell them that she is mute and can't talk."

Hearing the calm and cool from his friend's voice, Drake couldn't help but smile wryly. He couldn't share his friend's attitude at all. These guards are usually part of the corrupt forces, enjoying the small piece of power they held. They were utterly unpredictable, and in most cases were the judge, jury, and executioners of any problems that could arise.

"Well… I hope you are right…" He helplessly sighed.

—

Sometime later, they finally arrived at the eastern gate. A long line of people was queued up at the side waiting for their turn to get in. No matter if you came with a carriage, on a horseback, or by foot you had to wait your turn to be checked and questioned while you paid the entrance fee to be able to pass through. Well, unless you were a noble, because then you could just march into the city, unquestioned like it was no one's business. 

In truth, Drake and even the disguised Galina could just waltz in if they would have revealed themselves, but that would bring way too many eyes on them. Not to mention Drake, who as a crown prince should have been at the capital, in the palace, Galina, or to be more precise, Scarlet, due to her circumstances, wasn't overly known by the public at all. 

So, they took their places at the end of the snaking line, without revealing themselves. Still, even though they were mostly silent and tried to not bring any attention to themselves, their strange-looking, cloaked trio was anything but ordinary in the line of fat merchants and ragged peasants. 

People couldn't help but take a peek at them, only to be shocked and frightened, as they saw the central figure hiding behind a dark mask, letting only a pair of golden dots shine through from the darkness. To them, he looked like a monster, a beast that could pierce into their soul if they weren't careful. They ended up getting scared, letting out frightful yelps, and turned around, doing their best not to get into further contact with the horrific entity.

So, in the end, even though they tried not to, they ended causing a commotion, grabbing the attention of a group of guards that were just a bit of distance away from there, currently doing their 'routine check' on the merchant's cart.

"What is going on?" One of the guards, guarding his captain in looting, khm, INSPECTING the back of the carriage exclaimed, as he tried looking through the crowd of people. "Captain, something is happening there, should we check it out?"

Hearing his men urging him to finish tasting the delicious red wine he found to be too 'dangerous' to let it into the city, he grumbled in annoyance as he turned around to look at the warrior.

"Grrr, what is it, Earl? Why are you bothering me in the midst of inspection?! You should know by now not to bother when I'm in the middle of *burp* serious work." He spoke sternly, but an escaping burp did ruin his strict figure a moment later.

All the while, the obese merchant was standing by the side, with mixed emotions. He was mad that his wares were used, but also fearful and wary not to anger these corrupt guards. When he heard the commotion from the back, a tinge of happiness also seeped into the mix, as he was hopeful that this farce will finally come to an end, and he could finally move on. 

He didn't care about the poor sods that will now earn the ire of this captain and his merry band. All he cared about was to finally get through this checkpoint and sell his stuff.