Much can be learned about someone’s character based on how they respond to extreme pressure. The human I was on the verge of skewering chose to respond with audacity, which told me that his character was profoundly annoying.

  “Unhand m-me at once!” he stammered. “Do you have any idea what you are doing?!”

  “At the moment, I am quite tempted to stab an idiot. Is that what you’re referring to?” I asked coldly.

  “I’ll h-have you know I am under the direct employ of Onas Hergeiros, royal surveyor! I repeat once more, unhand me this second!” His resolve seemed to grow with each word, as if invoking his patron had helped him find his backbone.

  “That’s wonderful,” I spat. “I’m sure Onas is a splendid employer. Now, what does that mean for us? Because as far as I am concerned, you started this little confrontation. I strongly dislike being grabbed out of the blue, you see?”

  For a moment, I was so rattled that I almost considered going through with the stabbing threat. Doubly so because I wasn’t sure which of the surveyors the fool was meant to represent. The elf? Or, as doubt and fear began to whisper at me, perhaps the fae?

  Had the fae surveyor noticed anything? Worse… had the kitsune said something?

  I had been keeping a careful lid on my worries about that nine-tailed fox. But if Ritsu had sold me out, I was going to make them pay before I was forced to run.

  The man’s face was now a full chalky white. Staring at him, I made myself swallow my anger and think rationally.

  I couldn’t kill him. That would be taking things a little too far when I didn’t know if my secret truly was out or not. But his attitude was grating on my last nerve, and for some reason, I was loath to back down.

  I wanted to smack my head against the nearest hard surface when I realized why.

  Alys. Alys was right there, watching. I felt ridiculously overprotective, not to mention a little prideful.

  Yet I had always considered myself better than the fools in Court who did idiotic things just to show off or appear ‘impressive.’ So, with considerable effort, I let the hand holding the dagger drop.

  I did tighten my fingers around the man’s wrist, though.

  “You have exactly one chance to justify your actions. If I am not satisfied by what you say, I promise I shall do my best to make your life miserable.”

  He glared, but his voice faltered a little from the pain in his wrist. “Y-You are the alchemist, are you not? You have been summoned to present yourself in front of the royal surveyor! Posthaste!”

  I paused, considering how best to respond.

  I had learned about the royal surveyors while chatting with my students in poison-handling class. Royal surveyors had been extremely important in Snowdrop’s early days, when the kingdom was still struggling for resources. As such, their selection was governed by certain strict rules.

  First, the surveyors were to be loyal to the crown, and only to the crown. If a noble wanted to assume the post, they would have to relinquish all their titles and their right to inheritance, and they would be under close supervision for a long while.

  Second, the surveyors were expected to be wholly impartial. They could never allow their emotions to hinder or taint their reports to the crown.

  Third, they always worked in pairs, and the pairs chosen were often people who were adversarial to each other. Each was expected to monitor their partner and report any misconduct to the crown.

  Finally, the job of the surveyors was to survey the towns they visited, not to get involved in the governance of said towns.

  Of course, these rules had grown a little slack over the years as the kingdom’s wealth grew. But the basic tenets were still there, and the surveyors were expected to adhere to them. In theory, ‘Onas Hergeiros’ had no more power over me than any of the merchants in this caravan.

  In practice, I wasn’t foolish enough to think the surveyor’s attitude had no impact on the reports the crown would receive.

  “Hrm.” I tried to copy Alys’ scoff of utter disregard, but mostly failed, on account of my inability to release flames from my nostrils. “I shall definitely be making your life miserable. Do tell me… since when do the surveyors have the power to ‘summon’ anyone?”

  “That’s not —”

  “Ugh. You shall stop talking this instant. No doubt your inability to communicate your orders properly is at fault for this whole disaster, along with your horrid attitude. As such, I will happily follow you back to meet the royal surveyor, and I shall report to him the atrocious manner in which you have sullied his name.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  I paused again, turning to Alys with a mischievous grin just to show her all was well. “Alys, dear, would you like to accompany me? Or…”

  “I’m coming.” Her tone left no room for argument.

  “Very well.” I turned to the dwarven matron and inclined my head slightly, keenly aware of the hush that had fallen over our surroundings. “I apologize for the scene. And again, thank you for the wonderful food.”

  She returned my nod, and I reluctantly faced the idiotic messenger once more.

  “Now, lead the way, and keep your mouth shut.”

  To his very minor credit, he did. He said nothing as he stomped angrily down the passage between the different stalls, his hand gripping the pommel of the sword that hung uselessly by his side. The weapon looked ridiculously ornamental. Even while it was still in the scabbard, I could tell its dimensions were all wrong.

  I had to wonder why the royal surveyor bothered keeping this fellow around at all, especially considering the ineptitude he’d displayed during our brief confrontation.

  I expected him to lead us out of the caravan, across the bridge, and back to town. To my surprise, he walked deeper into the labyrinth of stalls and wagons. It was only at the very center of the caravan that he stopped, in front of a carriage even bigger than those housing the shops of the twin vampires.

  It wasn’t hard to guess who owned the carriage. The vehicle was prominently emblazoned with the crest of the Snowdrop kingdom on every side. A signal to bandits that this carriage was not to be trifled with, perhaps?

  Seven other guards hovered around the carriage. Three were dressed like our guide, two wore robes, and two were arrayed in heavy plate armor. Our guide did his level best to ignore their gaze as he walked up to the carriage door and knocked.

  “Enter!” a snobbish voice called out far too loudly from within. As its unnaturally potent echoes faded around us, I sensed the lingering dregs of the mana that had powered the spell to make the voice reach us so powerfully. The door also swung open on its own, seemingly inviting us in as the guard stepped aside.

  I shared a glance with Alys, shrugged, and ventured forth.

  There must have been some sort of illusion woven over the door. I could see nothing beyond a swirling portal of darkness. The second I crossed the threshold, however, I felt like I had stepped inside one of the richly appointed meeting rooms of the Autumn Court.

  As with Morty’s Emporium, the room was far too large to fit inside even this massive carriage. Couches and chairs lined the walls. The many tables dominating the room’s center were covered with food and drink. I saw a door in each of the other three walls, all currently closed.

  The most important aspect of the room, however, was the single large sofa against the far wall. Two men dressed in rich dark robes sat there, each doing their best to lean away from the other. Four armchairs had been arranged in a semicircle facing them, currently occupied by the elders of Swiftband.

  The elders turned to look at us awkwardly. While I still doubted my ability to gauge the expressions of hawk beastfolk and wendigo, I was fairly sure all four of the elders were shocked at our arrival.

  “Onas, what is this?” the common fae snarled at his compatriot, eyes narrowed. “What are they doing here?”

  “Why, I invited them, of course,” the elf replied. He was trying to sound smug, though I had caught the displeasure in his eyes when he noticed Alys.

  “It is as I suspected, then,” I declared grandly before anything else could be said, managing to catch both men visibly off-guard. “Your intent was to extend a gracious invitation to us. Alas, the man you sent saw fit to put on a rather ghastly performance of ill-mannered rudeness.”

  “What?” the elf demanded.

  “You see, Lord Hergeiros…” I was betting that he had noble origins, despite the separation of surveyors from their roots. From the way he perked up, and from the other surveyor’s scowl, I had bet correctly. “The guard you sent accosted us while we were eating. He attempted to restrain me physically before saying a word about your invitation. He then claimed you had ordered us to be ‘summoned’ before you.”

  The elf’s face twitched while the fae’s expression grew darker.

  Smiling graciously, I went on, “I knew a man of your station would not act so crudely without proper forethought. Truly, your servant’s actions could harm your reputation. A regrettably large number of people witnessed his misconduct. We still chose to come, of course, suspecting the guard had overstepped, but I am afraid some damage has already been done.”

  “I see. I will be having words with him later,” Onas hissed. As far as I could tell, his ire was aimed squarely at the guard: right where I wanted it. “In the meantime, please do find a seat.”

  “We will be discussing the many faults of your guards,” the fae interrupted again, much more forcefully. “And soon. But you still haven’t told me why these two are here to begin with.”

  “Oh please, Ethlandom,” the elf drawled, apparently unaffected by his peer’s disapproval. “Is it not obvious? I invited them because I wished to meet the alchemist we’ve heard so much about! I couldn’t possibly miss the opportunity to meet someone capable of crafting a brand new potion in these… conditions.”

  “Must I remind you? We are here to meet the town’s representatives. No one else.”

  “We must meet the representatives, yes, as part of our duties. Yet there are no laws against our meeting other inhabitants of the… lovely town in which we have found ourselves.”

  His loud emphasis of the word made my skin crawl. I felt a sudden urge to strike him. Alys seemed to share that sentiment, judging by the creak of the wooden box in her hands as her grip tightened.

  While the surveyors continued to quarrel, I took the opportunity to pull another two armchairs over, all the while thinking furiously about how I might disentangle us from the situation as quickly as possible.

  The only glimmer of positivity I could feel about the whole affair centered around the fae. I now felt certain he was of common stock. His pasty gray skin didn’t match any of the predominant tones of the major Courts, and his eyes were a muddy sort of brown never seen on a Noble Fae. His hair was almost the right shade of gold to pass for a Summer Court member, but just a bit too dull.

  I still didn’t intend to relax around him, though.

  Then, of course, there was the elf. He was saying plenty about how he ‘just wanted to meet us’, but I didn’t like that gleam in his eyes when he looked at me.

  Not one bit.