Pentas was blinding.

  “Is that gold?” Elias breathed slowly, imagining how much money must have been spent to build solid gold walls that covered what appeared to be miles. He dug into Varen’s memories and was assured that gold was still valuable here. Not as much as in Ward’s life, but enough that this was a massive endeavor.

  “Yes.” Ila shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but the awkward tug of collars and adjustment of robes from his guards was loud.

  “It looks like gold. Or is it that thing, malachite. Was it pyrite?” He mumbled.

  “It’s gold leaf.” Ila shifted her feet and wouldn’t meet his eyes. “On the outside only.”

  “Still impressive.” Elias swallowed. “Must have cost a fortune.”

  “It did. But it was worth every bit spent. Pentas is a perfect model of our cooperation.”

  That sounded like she was trying to convince herself, so Elias nodded. The collar was far too boring. Enforced silence was like enforced fasting.

  The main road was packed with carts and people waiting in line. Every few seconds someone was processed and the crowd surged forwards. Cultivators dashed towards Pentas on flying swords but descended about half a mile out, the silver streaks of their arrival serving as announcements.

  Ila led them to a small gate away from the main road, manned by two bored-looking guards in green robes.

  “Chief Disciple Ila, of the Viridian Forest Attenine court arriving with the core Enforcer division to take up duty in Pentas.” Ila declared and bowed with hands clasped together. Her companions did the same, fingers locked in a specific position and bodies bending in sync. Elias stood upright for only a moment before following suit, the cuffs clanking like a clay pot dumped into an already precariously loaded sink.

  His guards shot him a surprised glance. Evidently a prisoner shouldn’t have bowed, but Elias wasn’t planning on being the odd one out. The guards just glanced at him before bowing to Ila.

  “Welcome Chief Disciple. Please wait for a moment. We shall request Head Enforcer Justin to come.” The guards were smiling happily, one of them dashing through the gate. The other beamed at them, making Ila’s group sigh or pout. One girl stuck her tongue out at the guard, which made his smile light up and approach her.

  Elias couldn’t hear what they were saying but each word from the rapidly gesturing man made the girl’s expression darker and redder. Before she could explode, the guard returned with a sharply dressed young man in tow. His robes were crisp, creases clear in the sunlight and a small peacock sitting on his shoulder.

  Elias and the bird stared at each other while the young man bowed to Ila.

  “Chief Disciple Ila! How good of you to arrive. We’ve been eagerly anticipating your arrival.” Justin bowed deeply, a flourish of his cape punctuating the motion with the peacock scrambling onto his head, never taking its eyes off Elias.

  Oh. A lawyer, Elias thought. Or maybe a politician. Justin’s voice was like silken honey.

  “Yes. Justin. It’s a pleasure.” Ila bowed back. So much bowing. This time Elias didn’t bow. The bird was watching him, occasionally fluttering its wing feathers. Now that he looked closer it looked too small to be a peacock, and there was a red streak on each of its wings.

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  “Let’s process you all quickly and get you set up at the Enforcer’s Quarters why don’t we?” Justin ushered them into a surprisingly large gatehouse. The walls were much thicker than he’d seen from outside.

  Elias was made to stand to the side.

  With the peacock.

  In short order the Viridian Forest cultivators were processed. The man was handling each entry personally.

  A competent lawyer.

  He spent almost 10 minutes with Ila, whispering something that made her grimace. He was calmly passing over several stone disks that Varen recognized as low grade stone tablets. They were perfect for storing information. Like small flash drives.

  Justin shook hands with Ila once and came over to Elias.

  “I see you’ve lost your shoe.” Justin smiled sympathetically, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  “It would seem so.” Elias nodded. “I also seem to have lost my freedom.” He shook his bound wrists a little.

  Justin’s smile slipped, but he casually bent over to collect his bird and pat Elias again. “I’m sure Head Enforcer Ila will have it all sorted out soon.”

  “I thought you were Head Enforcer?” Elias glanced between the two of them.

  “Yes. Until my replacement arrived. Now, I may return to my true work.” He coughed. “Of course security in Pentas is important, but my personal cultivation has stagnated a little over the last year.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  Justin’s smile turned into a grin and he held up the bird. “Boo says you’re interesting.”

  Elias pursed his lips and acknowledged the bird. The man was either crazy or his bird was special. Either way, better not to get on his bad side.

  “May you live in interesting times, Boo and Justin.” Elias scowled at the bird eyeing him with titled head.

  “Why thank you. You too little prisoner.” Justin bounded off before Elias could retort. The curse didn’t seem to have gone over.

  Now that it was pointed out, the missing shoe was going to be a problem. There’d been no trouble walking so far, but his foot was feeling cold. The Viridian Forest cultivators were lounging in the guard room, the green robed team having followed Justin out. Ila was frowning while seated at the head of a table, poring over the stone tablets, small flashes of mana releasing little floating holograms of text.

  “Can I get a new pair of shoes?” Elias asked of one of his earlier guards.

  The boy scratched his cheek for a moment, eyeing Ila. He must have decided not to trouble her as he pulled out a pair of worn shoes that curled at the toes. Elias thanked him and switched before finding a corner to sit in.

  “So when do I get interrogated?” He asked the air.

  “When we have time.”

  “When will you have time? Maybe you could give me an estimate. Like an hour, maybe two?”

  “Elias please be quiet.” Ila said, not looking up from the tablets.

  “Sure no problem.” Elias counted to a hundred. “It would help if I knew how long to be quiet.”

  “Do you want to be thrown in the dungeon?” The boy asked him. “Anyone except Disciple Ila would have you dragged over the coals by now.”

  “You all seem like the nice sort.” Elias shook his head. “Kids don’t drag people over coals. Wasn’t there some righteous code of conduct?” There should be according to Varen.

  “Right, you’re also a cultivator. You’re kind of dim and talkative to be one.”

  “I’ve been told that before.” Elias grinned. Varen’s parents had made sure to have sour candies or puzzles on hand to distract him for years.

  “I’m surprised you haven’t been killed till date.”

  Elias nodded. “I’ve been told that too. Look I may have been hit by a demonic scroll but I’m such a pleasant person. You’ve known me for a few hours now so look into your hearts.”

  Ila shuddered and paused. A frown flashed across her face and she switched between tablets searching for something. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled tightly at Elias. That was the look of someone who was about to do something unpleasant.

  “You’re absolutely right. You’re such a cheerful and reasonable person, we’ll offer you parole. Just report your place of stay within 24 hours and we’ll handle your case when time becomes available.”

  “I don’t know anything about this city.” Elias offered carefully.

  “You’re resourceful enough to be walking away from an arrest with a new pair of shoes. Thank you and don’t forget to return in a day or we’ll hunt you down.” Ila waved him away and he was dragged outside the guardhouse and released.

  “Remember. One day.” The guard ignored Elias pointedly rubbing his forearm and hustled back into the guardhouse.

  “Alone, with wonky memories, check. New shoes, check. Arrested and released, check. Had a staring contest with a funky peacock, check. What do I do now?”

  “Find a place to stay. An inn would be best.”

  The voice made Elias jump and he turned to the grizzled man in a blue tricorn standing behind him. “Yes. Thanks.”

  “Wonderful. Have a good day young man.” He doffed his hat and sauntered further into the town.