Three days after their departure, Mika and Cynrik arrived at the city of Pachopa, the city was split in two, the first part looked more like a giant village with regular houses and a river running through it, women and children were gathering water or washing the clothes. The sound of hammers against metal could be heard from the many workshops, smells of fresh leather were rising from the tanneries. Farms were surrounding the city and expanding into the countryside. The second part of the city was surrounded by walls, the castle and it's lord were located at the eastern part of it, the rest was a collection of noble houses and shops. The only entrance was the gate everyone had to go through which was guarded by a few guards. Mika and Cynrik arrived at the gate, one of the guards raised his hand to make them stop.

  " Halt travelers ! What business do you have in our town ? "

  Cynrik stepped forward.

  " Good day mister, my name is Mark and this is my sister Leona, we are humble merchants coming to scout merchandise. "

  " Hmm, well you gotta leave your weapons at the entrance, only guards and some nobles are allowed weapons inside of the walls. "

  " My sword is pure decoration, given by our mother, it's the only thing I value, not as much as my sister of course. "

  " Sorry but it's the rules, no weapons or you don't enter. "

  " Ok, sis ? "

  " Let's just do what they say. "

  " Fine. "

  Cynrik unbuckled his sword and handed it over to the guard, Mika did the same with hers. Cynrik sighed as the guard was carrying it into a nearby building which was a guard tower.

  " You better take good care of it aight."

  As he was passing by the second guard, the man side eyed Cynrik and stopped him.

  " Wait a second, do I know you ? "

  " Hmm I believe not, I just have one of those faces. "

  The guard stood there for a few seconds before shrugging.

  " Move along. "

  " Sure thing sir, have a nice day. "

  Cynrik walked faster to get away from him, quickly followed by Mika, once they were far enough from the gate, she decided to speak.

  " What was that about ? "

  " What ? "

  " The guard, thinking he knows you. "

  " I have never met him, like I said, I just have a common face. "

  " Hmm. "

  " I feel like he isn't telling me everything." She followed him through the stone paved streets, they were walking in front of diverse shops and luxury houses.

  " Cynrik, where are we going exactly ? "

  " We are meeting with a friend of Jonah, another tavern owner, should be a few streets away. He will give us a room for tonight and tomorrow we depart with the letters back to Halvi. "

  " I see, so this friend is the one who collected the letters ? "

  " No, it's a complex underground operation, the civilians contact some of Jonah's friend men, who then report to someone else who comes to pick the letters at a remote location which is always changing. Finally, once they have picked them up, they deposit them at a spot that another messenger picks up and finally brings them to Jonah's friend exactly on the day that they are getting sent away. "

  " That's a lot of measures. "

  " Necessary measures, you don't want to get caught with those letters on you as you will be considered an enemy of the country. The king was so parano?ac that he forbade anyone from having a pen and paper except from the nobles and every captain of the guards in every city. "

  " This is crazy .. "

  " He is. Luckily for me, I know how to read and write but this measure was put in place almost twenty years ago, so anyone of that age living in this country is very uneducated. He basically feeds his people propaganda while being the oppressive force and the aggressor on Tsungstat. If you mention magic or not supporting the war, people might report you and have you imprisoned. "

  " Why would they do that ? "

  " Out of fear, fear is a powerful tool to condition living beings into doing your bidding, by having the constant threat of being thrown in jail or being hanged, they simply bend the knee and by fear of being associated with traitors, they just give them away, friends and family alike. "

  " I can't imagine living this way, you can't trust anyone .. "

  " Indeed. We have arrived, let me do the talking aight ? "

  Mika simply nodded and followed Cynrik inside of the building. They entered a large room with a few customers enjoying a meal, the two headed to the bar where a skinny man with long brown hair was having a chat with some customers. Cynrik leaned on the bar and the man lifted a finger to signal to him to wait. After a minute, he moved to Cynriks' side.

  " Hey travelers, what can I get you ? "

  " Hi, I think we have a friend in common, he wants us to pick up a few items for you. "

  The man looked at Cynrik and then Mika, he seemed worried.

  " He didn't tell me you were going to be this early and that there would be two of you. "

  " What does that change ? "

  " Nothing ... I just don't really like change of plans, that's all. Anyway, the name is Liro. "

  " I'm Nemet, this is my cousin Myra. "

  Mika nodded in silence as Liro greeted her. He then turned his attention back to Cynrik.

  " When can you pick it up ? "

  " We need to spend the night to rest but we can go tomorrow morning. "

  " Ok, I'll have to contact some of my associates, you can have the empty room up the stairs, second on the left. In the meantime just take a look around town or stay in the room I don't give a damn. "

  " Thank you. "

  They headed upstairs and Mika looked behind her, noticing that Liro was staring at her back.

  " Cynrik, I don't like this guy. "

  " Me neither but we have no choice. "

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  They entered a small room with the bare minimum in furniture, a bed, a cupboard and a stool. Cynrik sat on the bed and took off his boots, massassing his tired soles from all the walking, Mika looked through the window and glanced at the city. The sun was starting to go down, in the distance she could see the castle standing out compared to the rest of the town.

  " So what's the plan now ? "

  " We wait, I don't feel like going to town much, want to play a game ? "

  She smiled and sat on the bed next to him.

  " What kind of game ? "

  " So, I think of something and you have to guess it. "

  " That's it, that's your game ? "

  " Yeah that's it, come on try it. "

  " How should I guess ? "

  " Easy, just guess. "

  " Hmmm, is it an object ? "

  " No."

  " Is iiit a person ? "

  " No. "

  " I give up. "

  " I haven't told you the clues yet. "

  " You didn't tell me there would be clues ! "

  " You didn't ask. "

  " Ok so what are the clues ? "

  " I can give you the first letter of it. "

  " Ok, what is it ? "

  " T. "

  " T ? "

  " Yep. "

  " Trap ? "

  " No. "

  " Tea ? "

  " No. "

  " Come on ! Give me another clue ! "

  " Ask questions . "

  " Is it around us ? "

  " Yeah. "

  " Is iiit alive ? "

  " Technically yes. "

  " Hmmm, a tree ? "

  " Yes ! "

  " Ok my turn ! S. "

  " Sword. "

  " Wh- HOW ?! "

  " Did I guess right ? "

  " That's so unfair ! "

  " My turn, let's add a twist to it. If I guess right, you tell me something about yourself. "

  " Ok, so what's the letter ? "

  " H. "

  " Home ? "

  " Dammit ! "

  " Ahah ! So what happens since I won? "

  " Well I have to tell you something about myself. What do you wanna know ? "

  " Hmm, where were you born ? "

  " I was born in a small village close to the border of Tsungstat and Fardug. "

  " Ok, my turn, the first letter is K. "

  " Ah, so easy, Kyllian. "

  " Fuck .. "

  " Ok, my question is, what's your favorite color ? "

  " Really that's your question ? You don't want to know something more interesting ? "

  " It's interesting to me. "

  Suspicious yet intrigued, she leaned against the wall while being sat on the bed.

  " Ok, it's blue. "

  " Noted, my turn, T.

  " Tree again ? "

  " Fuck ! "

  " Come on, you don't even try ! "

  " I was hoping you wouldn't think I'd pick it again. Ok ask away. "

  " Alright, why did you want that chest so badly and where does your map lead ? "

  Cynrik paused for a few seconds and had a chuckle.

  " The answer is too stupid and simple for you to believe me but, money and fame, I heard of these map by a friend of a friend and I needed to do this deal to aquire them. How they found themselves in the hands of those thugs is a mystery I do not care to find the answer to, all I know is that they lead to the dragon queen continent of Mada?nn. "

  " Ok, last one ? "

  " I'm game. "

  " L. "

  " Light. "

  " No. "

  " Logiticus ? "

  " No. "

  " Is it alive ? "

  " It helps keep someone alive. "

  " Hmm, do you have it ? "

  " Everyone has it. "

  " Can you lose it ? "

  Mika looked through the window with sad eyes.

  " Yes. "

  Cynrik noticed her sadness and touched her hand, at his contact she wanted to reflexively move her hand away but instead she looked him in the eyes.

  " Is it love ? "

  " Yeah. "

  " Then let's stay on topic, do you still love him ? "

  " I don't know .. It's the first time I feel like this for someone, I don't understand myself, I don't understand this body. Everything feels out of place and my feelings are everywhere. "

  Cynrik moved closer to her to comfort her, gently patting her back and letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

  " You are young, you will one day understand what those feelings mean. You will lose some and develop new ones for new people."

  She raised her head to look at him, without thinking, she pressed her lips against his, less then a second later she moved away as if she had received an electric shock, she stood up and stormed out of the room. He stood there, smiling " it's going perfectly. ".

  Mika was walking downstairs to calm herself. " Why am I like this ? I don't even like him that much! Stupid stupid stupid ! . " As she arrived downstairs she saw Liro and a hooded man speaking, she hid behind the wall and listened, the man spoke first.

  " So they arrived earlier ? "

  " Yes. "

  " So it's a problem for the plan, what if they don't pick it up properly ? "

  " It's fine, just have the right number of people ready."

  " You better not fuck this up for us Liro, remember what's on the line here. "

  " I know sir, you won't be disappointed I swear.

  The man walked away into the reserve and exited the tavern using the backdoor, before Liro could come back at the bar, Mika moved and sat at a table. When he went behind the bar he waved at her and she waved back. " I wonder what that was about, his customer seems very hellbent on the plan being rigid, I have a bad feeling but I don't really want to talk to Cynrik right now, I'll wait for him to sleep. "

  She decided to spend a few hours outside until the lights were out and finally returned to the room, only to find Cynrik sat on the bed waiting for her, she let out a heavy sigh as she closed the door.

  " Dammit .. "

  " I couldn't sleep unless I knew you were ok, I was seconds away from coming to get you. "

  " I needed to clear my head. "

  " Understandable. "

  In silence, she walked up to him and sat on the bed, looking straight at the door.

  " Cynrik, listen I - "

  " Didn't mean it, I get it, it will be more awkward if you say what you were going to say. Let's just say this never happened and swear to never talk about it ? "

  " Are you sure ? "

  " It was just a mistake, at least on your part, I did enjoy it. "

  " It's not that I didn't enjoy it, it's just that I was not in my right mind. "

  Cynrik Chuckled and sat on the floor.

  " That's the senso effect, never underestimate me. "

  " Oh come on don't flatter yourself too much. "

  " Anyway, we have to get some rest, the pickup spot is not that far but we need to wake up early for it. "

  Mika was going to lift her shirt to remove her bindings.

  " Don't look ok ?"

  Ok. "

  She unwrapped the bandages around her chest and laid down, fixing the ceiling.

  "You can sleep in the bed as long as you don't try anything funny, ok ? "

  Cynrik had a slight chuckle as he laid next to her.

  " I should be the one telling you this, you are the one who kissed me ! "

  " I thought we weren't supposed to talk about it again ? "

  " It's just funny, I'll embarrass you with it as often as I can. "

  " I hate you. "

  " I know ahah, good night Mika. "

  " Sleep well. "

  She woke up the next morning, Cynrik was already up and looking through the window, she sat down and stretched.

  " Morning. "

  " Good morning miss, slept well ? "

  " Well enough, you ? "

  " Same, we have to go soon. "

  " Ok just give me a minute. "

  He looked away as she was putting her bandages back on her chest, once she was done, they both exited the room and headed downstairs. Liro was pacing nervously behind the bar, he stopped in his tracks as he noticed them coming down the stairs and leaned on the bar while trying to act nonchalant.

  " Hello, how was the night ? "

  Cynrik sat on a high stool in front of him.

  " It was alright, is everything ready ? "

  Liro pulled a small map of the city with a cross on a specific point.

  " Alright, so you have to go there to get the package, no one should be there and make sure no one sees you getting into the alley ok, it's very narrow so there should be barely any space for two, I advise that one goes in and the other stands guard. Once you have the package, make your way out of the city. "

  " Won't they try to search us at the gate ? "

  " They literally never do, they only check when you enter to pick the weapons off people. "

  " I see, then, let's go, ready cousin ? "

  " Yep. "

  Cynrik grabbed the map and began to walk towards the exit. Mika followed him a few seconds later and she could hear what sounded like a sigh of relief from Liro. She kept looking around themas they were walking in the streets that were barely lit.

  " Something is off about all of this. "

  " I know, let's get the letters and get out, I don't believe a word of his so stay vigilant. "

  " Right. "

  They finally arrived at an alleyway between two shops. As Liro said, it was narrow, from the street he could see a few objects, which seemed to be trash but the letters were probably hidden among them. Cynrik engulfed himself in the alley quickly followed by Mika. He looked through the trash for a few minutes with no success.

  " Where the fuck are they? "

  Out of nowhere they heard a voice that was familiar to Mika.

  " They aren't here, traitors to the king. "

  They looked at the end of the alley and a man in shining armor and a helmet with a few holes in it was standing with two guards in the street. Mika looked over her shoulder and the other side of the alley was blocked by two guards as well. Cynrik and Mika stood back to back, the man kept talking, he was looking Cynrik in the eyes.

  " Surrender without making a fuss and we won't torture you too much. "

  " How about you go fuck yourself aight?! "

  " That's not very nice, what was it? Mark or is it Nemet this time? A lot of aliases. "

  " I have problems remembering my own name sometimes. "

  " Hmm, you don't remember mine then? Kerou, captain of the guard of Pochipa. "

  " Well, I don't think I do.. "

  " I know who you are, you commonly go by Cynrik Senso. "

  " Oh, I'm famous. "

  " When one of my guys gave me your physical description at the gate, I felt I needed to take this matter into my own hands. " The man removed his helmet, revealing a horrible scar going from the top of his left eyebrow to the right side of his neck. " YOU gave me this. "

  " Ohhh, I remember you now, between you and I, you look better this way. "

  " RAAAAHHH! BRING ME HIS FUCKING HEAD !!! "

  Two guards walked into the alley from each side with their swords out, Cynrik only had time to whisper to Mika.

  " We are gonna have to fight this out. "

  " No shit, you really had to provoke him? "

  " It's a part of my charm. "

  " Your charm is gonna get us killed! "

  " Just trust me ok? I have a plan. I'm going to count to three and when I say three, you face me and you'll understand the plan. Ready? One .. "

  " Cynrik what's - "

  " Two "

  " -the plan ?! "

  " Three ! "