Ascended

This was the reception I had been expecting.

A quartet of guards stood behind the old man. Their armor shone as they stood at attention. The metal was branded with the emblem of the city on each of their shoulders. Their swords were on their left hips and crossbows were strapped across their backs.

“Thank you for your warm welcome,” Max stepped forward, “I hope we didn’t wake you?”

I glanced at my companion. What did it matter if we had woken up the Mayor? We were Bokor on a mission, and the city should be happy to help us.

“Of course not!” The Mayor’s face was covered with a fake smile, “Though I must admit, we weren’t expecting you for a few more days.” He scowled as he looked at Val, “I can assure you, this problem won’t happen again.”

“It’s fine,” Max assured him, “You can’t be too careful.”

The old man looked relieved. What had he been expecting, I didn’t know.

“Have you ever seen someone with fake papers?” I asked.

The Mayor turned to me, “Not personally,” he stammered, “but Cyprus arrested a thief with fake papers a few years ago.”

He was referring to the mayor of the closest railroad station. Cities that were on the rail system attracted more problems, so it made sense that something like that would happen there.

“But nothing like that has happened here?”

“I caught a man with one of your swords last year.” Val crossed her arms, “He didn’t have any marks or papers.” She shifted her gaze between us, “We handed him over to the next Bokor that came through.”

I could tell that was what she wanted to do with us. I thought about daring her to try it. We were outnumbered eight to two, but I doubted they would be able to take us. Even if they did, the consequences would be harsh once the Bokor came to collect us. As tempting as teaching her manners was, I couldn’t risk my mission. The council wouldn’t forgive such a delay.

“As you can see,” Max held up his paper, “we have our papers.”

The mayor looked at the paper but didn’t touch it. The ink had been mixed with heart stone dust, giving it a purple hue. Most humans refused to have anything to do with the stones, though it didn’t hurt that we told them that touching them could turn a human into a zombie. It wasn’t a lie, the heart stones carried the infection as well as magic. In the polished form, there wasn’t much of a risk of infection. It was when the heart stones were broken that an infection could occur.

“Everything seems to be in order,” The mayor turned to me, “do you, um, have your papers too?”

I reached into my vest and pulled out my papers. The mayor read over it quickly and smiled. He clasped his hands together, “Looks like everything here is in order.” He took a step back, “Once you rest, you can dispose of the zombies.” He turned to leave.

I hadn’t been expecting that “There are zombies?” I put the papers back in my vest, “Shouldn’t I handle that tonight”

The mayor froze mid-step. A worried look crossed his face for just a second, then he was smiling again.

“We have them penned up outside the city.” He nodded at Val, “Our wranglers have them where they won’t be a threat to anyone, so I’m sure one night won’t be a problem.”

I thought about insisting, but considering that I couldn’t bring Max with me, it wouldn’t be smart to go back outside the walls at night. I also had a feeling it would be Val who escorted me. While I had no doubt I could beat her in a fight, I didn’t want that fight to happen around zombies. It would be too dangerous to fight her while also making sure neither of us got bit. The option of waiting until morning would be the best route.

“Sounds good,” I replied.

“Great!” The mayor clapped his hands, “Val will show you to your rooms and we’ll send someone to get you in the morning.”

I watched the mayor scurry off. I could tell he didn’t want to be around us. That was fine by me, as soon as I cleaned the zombies, I would be happy to leave.

Val turned to the right and motioned for us to follow her. Without a word, Max and I took off behind her.