Guards met them at the biggest gate Nyal had ever seen. It stood much taller than the one in Dreeva. He almost couldn't see the guards on the wall above. The gate was made of strong silvery metal twisted in an intricate and beautiful pattern, despite how thick it was.

Looking up, he could see that all the guards were aiming bows at their small group, arrows notched and ready to fire. They just looked like deadly grey blobs from his spot on the cobbled road.

Earlier they had thought about going around the city to the bridge, only to find out that it to had a very defended wall lined with guards. Getting a boat across would be impossible and Elora wasn't sure if she could fly with another person in her arms. She hadn't wanted to test it, just in case.

It seemed that going through Vulpor was the only way. And even then, it might not be possible. If not, it would mean going back the way they came and using the other bridge towards the north, something that would severely put them behind the dragon.

"Who goes there?" one guard yelled. Nyal couldn't tell who in the swarm of silver suits of armour.

None of them could get a word out before one of the others cried, "They're wearing Fiume armour!"

Elora turned sharply, staring at their two extra companions just as the rest of the guards started yelling frantically. "Drop your swords," she ordered, before looking to Nyal. "You too."

Slowly Ragen and Mikhail pulled their swords from their sheaths, showing the guards by holding them high in the air. Nyal followed, dropping his sword on the cobbled road below.

"We're here peacefully!" Elora yelled up at the guards. "We don't wish to cause trouble!"

"Then leave!" one bellowed back.

"We need to cross the bridge!"

"No one is allowed in the city without orders from the King!" another said, Nyal recognised the voice as the first guard's.

"Then may we speak to the King?" he called.

He could just imagine the look on the guard's face, and almost regretted the question. "What? -" the guard started, only to stop and turn away. Someone new looked over the lip of the wall straight down at their group.

He gestured at the guards around him, and the sound of yelling could be heard as he ordered them about. Whoever this was had a lot of power.

It was then that Nyal heard the sound of metal creaking. He looked away from the top of the wall to see the thick metal gate slowly being opened. He glanced at Elora, who looked at him warily like she was worried about what was going to happen. It was an expression he was unfamiliar with when it came to her.

Guards holding swords and spears rushed out from the gate as soon as it was open enough for them to fit, surround them in a huge circle, weapons pointed at them menacingly. The four of them stepped towards each other, their backs touching. Nyal could feel Elora's wings brushing against his skin.

Someone Nyal could only assume was the important man that had appeared at the top of the wall wandered through the gate. He stood tall and proud, a red cape flowing behind him, the metal of his helmet glinting in the sunlight. it wasn't a plain suit of armour either, not like the other guards. The helmet had metal horns like a bull jutting out the side, while the chest plate was engraved intricately like the gate behind him, swirling across the metal like blades of grass in the wind.

The guards parted for him, allowing him a thin path towards the group. He strode forward, deliberately trying to look intimidating. It didn't seem to phase any of them of them, Elora flared her wings out in response, while Ragen and Mikhail just glared around them.

The man in armour kicked at Nyals fallen sword, looking at the group. "Who are you and what in Veridun are you doing here?" he asked in a deep voice.

Elora stepped forward so that she was barely a step away from the man, causing the rest fo the guards to tighten their grips on their weapons. Instinctively Nyal reached for the water flask he now had attached to his hip, a gift from the people of Fiume.

"My name is Elora, this is Nyal Belthorne, and Ragen and Mikhail," she started. "We need to cross the bridge."

"Not happening," the man growled. "We don't allow Fiume refugees anywhere in the city. Go."

The words only seemed to irritate Elora. She let out a huff of breath. "Maybe I should reword this, we aren't refugees. I am the Gate Keeper, these people are helping me, and we need to cross the bridge."

The man, whoever he was, only scoffed. "You think status will get you through these gates? For all we know you could be a spy for Fiume. Obviously very stupid ones seeing as you're going around in Fiume armour. That's if you're even telling the truth." The man shook his head, looking to the four of them, giving Nyal a particularly distasteful expression.

"And who are you?" Elora asked. "All the times I've been here, I've never seen you."

Nyal heard the man suck in a breath sharply like he was already over the conversation. "I'm general Piodus Bramban."

"Ah, Kiatat's son," was all Elora said, looking him up and down. Nyal had no idea who she was talking about, and he didn't really care to know.

General Piodus said nothing, only stared at the four of them, as if he was trying to think of what to do. Elora answered for him, "Send out the Kings advisor, or one of his daughters, they would know who I am. Or even your father if he's still alive. Just someone who can vouch for us."

Again, Piodus said nothing, his gaze completely fixed on Elora. Nyal could see his dark eyes through his helmet, revealing nothing about himself.

"By the Gods," he heard Ragen mutter behind him, sounding irritated, like he was going to explode any minute.

"Calm down, we'll be fine," Mikhail told him. Ragen only scoffed.

"Go get King Johannes advisor," he heard Piodus order, making him turn back to the rigid general. The general was looking right at them. "You will stay here, we'll see what the advisor says."

It took maybe another twenty of minutes of waiting and staring and uneasiness before someone else came through the gate. Two guards were escorting a well dressed older man who also wore a flowing red cape that accompanied a black button-up jacket with gold trim. This had to be the advisor.

"You're lucky I wasn't busy, General," he said as he walked closer. "I'm not able to come to your every beck and call."

"Apologies," was all Piodus said, moving so the advisor could see why he had been called there.

"Keeper!" he cried, surprised, eyes widening as they locked on Elora's bright green eyes and inky black wings. "What? -" He shook his head and walked right up to her.

"It's very good to see you again, Lucian," Elora replied, although from what Nyal could tell, those words were certainly not the case. She looked at him with utter contempt, like she hated everything he said and did.

"Hmm," Lucian started, finally seeming to notice the other people around him. "You brought friends. Friends from Fiume as well."

"This isn't eastern business," she told him as he looked at Nyal and the others the same way Piodus had. In all honestly, Nyal wanted to wipe the distasteful look of their smug little faces, but he held back. Doing something like that wouldn't end well.

Lucian nodded with wide eyes, before stepping even closer to Elora, if that was even possible. Nyal tensed, trying to make himself seem as tall as possible, which wasn't exactly a hard thing, he towered over most of the people around them, including their two Fiume companions, the General, and Lucian.

It didn't faze the aged advisor, who only looked briefly at the southern warlock (although Nyal was sure he could see a little bit of nervousness in his eyes) and leaned down towards her ear. What in Veridun do you think you're doing? He thought angrily.

The advisor whispered something he couldn't hear. He watched his cracked lips moving next to his companions' ear, watched her sneer and flinch away from his breath.

She nodded. "There is no need to whisper, my companions know the situation. I assume the King has been told as well?" she said, stepping as far away from him as the circle of armed guards would allow. "That is what our business is about, we need to cross the bridge."

Lucian frowned then, looking at Ragen and Mikhail, the former returning with a glare. His eyes then drifted to Nyal, who looked like an eastern peasant in his Skodurian style clothing and constantly muddy jacket.

Lastly, he looked to Elora, his eyes drifting up and down along her billowing cloak, he wavy hair, her spread wings, as though he was inspecting every feather. "I don't know if that's possible, Keeper," he finally said. "The King hasn't been letting people cross the bridge much as of late. You may have to speak to him."

General Piodus made a noise of disagreement, stalking forwards. "You can't possibly-"

"I vouch for her, General," Lucian snapped, and for the first time since he appeared Nyal was grateful for his weird attachment to Elora. "You do not know the current situation, I do. If the Gate Keeper is here, then it must be very important. These people need to come into the city. If you are so wary about the two soldiers, then they do not need to see the King."

Nyal couldn't see Piodus's face through his horned helmet, but the growl he let out said enough about his mood. "Fine," the angry general said, waving for his guards to disperse.

"Come," Lucian the advisor said, gesturing for the four of them to follow. The guards lowered their weapons, forming a path for them to go through into the city. Nyal could feel them glaring at them as they passed, even though he couldn't see their faces. A couple trailed behind them, obviously there as an escort and supervisor.

"Walking right into enemy territory, just great," Ragen whispered behind him. He heard Mikhail make a noise of agreement but didn't hear him say anything.

Elora looked at them over her shoulder. "You'll be fine, I promise," she said. "King Johannes favours me, I will make sure no harm comes to the two of you."

"Because we can trust your word here," Ragen replied sharply as they passed underneath the strong metal gate.

Nyal narrowed his eyes when he saw Lucian look over his shoulder and smirk, as if watching their dysfunctional relationship was entertaining or beneficial for him. When he caught sight of Nyal's angry scowl he quickly turned away, face flushing red in embarrassment.

Vulpor was nowhere near as beautiful as Fiume, the streets were dirty with only the Gods knew what and there was a disgusting overpowering stench Nyal couldn't name. The roads were made of dirt and covered in horse manure, so much so that Nyal felt like he was playing one of those kids games as he skipped around the streets, trying to avoid as much as possible.

There weren't many normal people walking about the musty stalls, and he saw no children running around, which had been normal in Dreeva and in Fiume. Guards took up most of the walkway, normal citizens keeping a wide berth. He even saw a couple of them hassling a man at a fruit stall whose awning was riddled with holes.

He ignored it as they passed, knowing he couldn't do anything and instead turning his attention to the cracked and collapsing buildings around him. The only buildings that actually looked decent were the military buildings, which looked newer than the rest and King Johannes castle of pale stone.

It seemed that this city was more about the military than any other, completely prepared for war with the other eastern cities. Everywhere he looked was the Vulporian crest, an eagle crossed over by two swords. A crest that, according to Lucian, meant the building was owned by the soldiers.

It didn't take them long to reach the castle, seeing as Vulpor was much more organised streetwise than Fiume. Instead of twisting streets that lead nowhere, Vulpor's streets went straight towards the centre, where the castle stood tall.

A courtyard stood in front of the huge set of stairs that led to the gigantic double doors of the castle. In the centre stood a fountain at was filled with more rubbish than water, surrounded by cracked bricks and trees stripped of most of their leaves.

"King Johannes knows of your arrival, he will be waiting for us in the throne room," Lucian said as the group trod through a pile of dead leaves, listening to them crunch underfoot.

The entrance hall of the castle was only a little bit nicer than the courtyard outside. There were no curtains on the windows, allowing the bright light to seep in and ignite the whole room, a chandelier twinkled high above them, unlit and covered in chipping paint. No painting adorned the walls, instead the wall was a painting, one that spanned the whole room, reaching high up on the ceiling, depicting countless battles and wars.

A red and gold rug lined the floor and the stairs at the other end, leading towards double doors much like the ones they just came through, sitting in the middle of two other sets of stairs heading towards the right and left.

It was the double doors Lucian led them towards, pushing them open carefully, as though they would break under his touch. The throne room was a lot simpler than the entrance hall, beige walls covered in portraits of dead kings and queens, red and gold curtains hung over closed windows, two shining chandeliers lit up the room, and the red and gold carpet led to an ornate wooden throne etched with pictures of battle.

King Johannes sat on the throne, a gold crown resting on his long brunette hair. He looked old, older than Nyal that is, with hair down to his chin, the beginnings of a beard and wrinkles around his eyes and on his forehead. He stared down at them with pursed lips and furrowed eyebrows.

The four of them knelt on one knee in front of the King. "Good day, Gate Keeper," he said, looking down at the four of them as though they were horse manure that he had just stepped in. "Would you care to explain to me why you have bought Fiume men to my castle?"