Bullio and Leileh, the two guards, turn out not to be the most talkative of people – answers to my questions are short, though polite, and they don’t volunteer anything beyond their names. Even while we’re still within the estate’s protective wards, their eyes roam everywhere and their hands are never far from their weapons.

  I suppose it’s a good thing they’re taking their jobs seriously and in the end I give up on trying to make conversation.

  The two guards walk behind me, but at angles so they can cover all the approaches if necessary. Bastet scouts ahead as usual and Sirocco glides in slow circles overhead. She does need to descend to my shoulder when we pass through the gates – apparently they’re the easiest way in and out of the wards while the protections are active. That must make them a significant target if the mansion is ever attacked.

  “Where do you wish to go, my lord?” Bullio asks me respectfully.

  Shall we head to the courthouse first so you can deal with your business there? I ask Loran in turn.

  If that’s possible, Loran replies a little tentatively. He’s nervous, but I don’t want to invade his privacy to find out the exact cause.

  Of course. I turn to Bullio. “The courthouse, please.”

  “Yes, my lord,” the guard replies and then nods towards the left. “We should go that way, then.” I sigh silently even as I start walking in that direction. Apparently he’s going to be ‘leading’ me from behind – and within a few minutes, it’s clear that he’s not nearly as good at it as Sarran is.

  Would you like me to direct you? Loran asks, clearly noticing my irritation.

  Yes please, I answer gratefully. Loran’s mental directions prove to be more useful.

  It’s not long before we’ve left the manor behind. The streets are clean and in excellent repair, flowers perfuming the air. Considering this is the most expensive and well-appointed area of the city, and that this is the capital of Azaarde, all that is to be expected. Our route isn’t direct, but even the side streets that are narrower than the main ones are still more than wide enough to let two carriages pass. The main boulevards can be as wide as four.

  And though there isn’t a lot of traffic, what there is uses that space to give our party a wide berth – accompanied by wide-eyed looks and urgent whispers. Even the various guards patrolling the streets tighten their hands on their weapons as they see one or more of my non-human companions. But, true to Nicholas’ words, the livery the guards wear is enough to prevent any confrontations from happening.

  I notice that there are lots of statues around – both humans and monsters. The humans invariably look noble; the monsters vicious. Typical propaganda, that. But, as I see someone approach one of the human statues, it becomes clear that their purpose isn’t only decorative.

  “What is she doing?” I murmur under my breath as I watch the colourfully-dressed woman pause in front of the statue and start speaking. My breath catches as the statue moves. Only the fact that no one else – not even the woman herself – is reacting to the movement stops me from gathering my magic.

  It’s an enchanted statue, Loran explains, though I’d gathered that much. It gives directions and does nothing else. Well, there are theories that they can protect the city as well, but no one’s ever proven that. He quickly cuts himself off as his explanation starts to go off at a tangent.

  I eye the statue suspiciously. As Loran indicated, its mouth moves for a while, the woman listening attentively, and then it returns to its original position and freezes once more. The woman turns away and bustles off with renewed determination.

  An interesting concept, I comment into the Bond network. Are these all over the city?

  Just in the fancy districts, Alyna answers before Loran can, a hint of sharpness in her mental tone. Poor folk just have to ask someone.

  Or touch the signposts, points out Loran. They don’t give directions, but at least you know where you are.

  I’m a little surprised.

  Touch the signposts? Don’t you mean read them?

  Sure, if you can read, Loran replies practically. If you can’t, touching them makes them whisper the name of the street in your head. And those are everywhere.

  Except the slums, Alyna interjects. Loran just shrugs wordlessly in agreement.

  That still sounds pretty amazing to me, and useful for those who can’t read. As for it not being present in the slums, while that’s a pity, I suppose it’s to be expected. From what Nicholas has taught me, the slums aren’t recognised as part of the city, so it makes sense that the roads wouldn’t be named and signposted. Something else I want to change in time.

  A sense of wistfulness comes from Loran.

  What is it? I prompt – the strength of the emotion has me curious: it’s even stronger than his nerves were.

  I’ve seen the statues many times before, but it was never a good moment to actually activate them, he answers slightly obliquely.

  I can guess what he’s referring to, and just before a heist or running away from the scene of crime wouldn’t be a good moment to stop and get directions, no.

  Well, maybe we can get directions to the enchanter’s workshop from a statue after you’ve dealt with your business at the courtroom? I suggest.

  Loran looks at me with a complicated mixture of emotions on his face and in the Bond.

  That…would be…great, he replies with difficulty. I just give him a smile and we continue walking.

  I’d be interested in getting a closer look, too, Hunter tells me thoughtfully. I bet there are interesting enchantments there.

  You won’t be able to see them, Alyna pours rain on her parade. When we all look at her with curiosity, she withdraws a little into herself. I was curious, alright?

  I prevent myself from holding up my hands in what I would consider a peace signal and instead cross my closed fists at the wrist briefly in the local gesture.

  Nothing wrong with that, I tell her soothingly. And I believe you. But there’s no harm in Hunter looking – or me, to be honest.

  You know something about enchanting? Alyna asks me curiously. Ah, if you’re willing to tell me, she adds a bit awkwardly afterwards.

  She’s got more used to my way of doing things, but she hasn’t entirely settled. She very much reminds me of a cat – prickly and defensive. She’s kept her claws away from me, but I’m aware enough of some of her discussions with Loran and Rory to know that she has them.

  I’m only a novice in the art, I tell her honestly, but that’s more from lack of time than interest. Though, I suppose that if I were really interested, I’d find the time.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Alyna’s curiosity doesn’t seem assuaged and she asks me probing questions one after another as we move through the streets. It almost feels like she’s trying to catch me in a lie - trying to make me admit that I was pretending to like enchantments for some random reason.

  After about twenty minutes of walking, we reach a much wider boulevard than any we’ve traversed so far. The main shopping street, according to Loran. The equivalent to Oxford street, but, in keeping with the fantasy-like nature of this place, it is far more magical.

  Markus! Look at these!

  Unlike the other streets we’ve walked down, this one actually has a raised pavement to the side of the road on which carriages trundle. Delineating the two are regularly placed street lamps that look like nodding snowdrops. And these are apparently fascinating to Hunter.

  Moving close to one, I suppose I can understand her interest. The light is clearly magical, caused by subtly glowing runes that can be found in several places along the iron body and glass head of the lamp.

  Hunter doesn’t want to leave, but we have other things to do. The only way I can convince her to keep walking is by promising that she can examine another lamp while we’re waiting for Loran to settle his affairs.

  Ooh, this reacts to my paw prints! Lathani is the next to be distracted as we start walking on stone that, at first, appears to be marble with streaks of black, blue, and red. That it’s more than it seems is quickly apparent – Lathani leaves ink-black pawprints that take a little time to fade back into white.

  Gazing around, I see more evidence of this stone’s reactivity. Bastet attracts red around her, even if it doesn’t form itself into paw prints but instead just encircles her and leaves traces where she’s been. The two Pathwalkers seem to attract the blue.

  It’s not just the beasts, either – colour also clusters around me, though more blue and red than black and white. The effects linger for a little bit of time and then go back to the normal pattern. It also seems to have benefits beyond the purely aesthetic – when someone walking ahead of us accidentally spills a little of the drink they’re sipping, the stain starts to fade within a minute. By the time we draw level with where it used to be, it’s gone entirely.

  “That’s a clever enchantment,” I remark, “though I can imagine that it makes painting anything pretty much impossible.”

  One of the guards snorts at my comment but is straight-faced again as soon as I turn to look. It’s only because I heard the distinctly feminine tone that I know it was Leileh.

  No one tries to paint manachite, Markus, Loran points out with an unconscious sense of exasperation. The whole point of it is that its design changes with magic.

  That suddenly makes more sense. Curious, I push more mana into my foot and see as a circle of swirling red and blue expands around it. I pull the mana away and good portions of the colours drift away, though some red and blue remains in place, lingering for a few moments like a footstep as I lift my foot away. Looking backwards, I see a short trail of footsteps behind me that quickly fade back into the otherwise abstract swirls.

  None of the other humans leave traces, though – nor does Catch. Is it because they don’t have magic? Or because they’re not using it? Catch does have a Stealth ability that uses magic, but it’s not active at the moment.

  Curiously, I ask him to activate it. Though he doesn’t fade from my awareness as I’m looking right at him, I notice that the design beneath his feet is reacting a little – black is gathering underneath him much as it does beneath Lathani’s feet, though not as strongly. It must be reacting to active magic rather than just any magic, then. That would explain why it’s reacting to me, but not to the two guards – I almost always have Flesh-Shaping active in my body, healing or strengthening. I intentionally stop it and see that the material beneath my feet stops reacting to me too.

  Interesting, I comment. It’s got to be pretty good for the local guards – if someone tries to creep into the shop with a stealth Skill, they’ll see the person coming. I do wonder how it would do with Noir’s version of Stealth, though, as that has a distraction element.

  It is certainly one of the security measures the shops around here use, Loran agrees, a touch of ruefulness in his voice. And it isn’t just your own magic it detects – it can tell if you’re using a magical device too.

  Then why isn’t it used all over the city? I ask, not bothering to ask how he knows that. Expense?

  Exactly, Loran agrees. From what I’ve heard, you could build a house for the cost of a small chunk of manachite. It’s almost as expensive as it would be to use Cores as cobblestones. That Azaarde has a whole street of it is a way to show off how rich it is. Even my richest master only had it forming the steps up to his main entrance – and that little was almost enough to bankrupt him.

  So instead of gold, people who want to show off their wealth use manachite? Come to think of it, none of the other places I’ve visited had manachite on display – clearly Lord Pevril and Layton didn’t view the expense as worth it. And Nicholas doesn’t have it in his house, that I’ve seen anyway. However, if the manachite is so valuable, that makes me wonder about another question.

  Is it a big target for thieves, then? If it’s so valuable?

  Loran reacts to my question with a sense of slightly nervous discomfort. Alyna is the one to actually reply, and the way she speaks feels like she’s jeering a little – though not at me, I don’t think,

  Steal it? It’s not worth the effort.

  I frown.

  But Loran said it was highly valuable.

  Sure, when put down by a mage.

  She’s right, Loran replies ruefully. If you don’t have a mage, you have to try to chip pieces away. That’s hard enough by itself – the material is very durable. And then even if you do manage to chip a chunk away, you need a mage to put it down in a new spot – otherwise, it loses most of the characteristics that make it valuable.

  Speaking from experience? I ask wryly. Loran blushes and looks away.

  I…might have tried it when I was young and dumb. But I gave up when someone more experienced warned me about how little I’d be able to sell it for afterwards – the guards who walk this street made it too risky an option for such a poor reward. It was more profitable to go back to cutting purses. His self-directed amusement abruptly dies, perhaps reminded of what happened even on that ‘safer’ route.

  I see. That makes me even more curious. Maybe while Loran’s inside the courthouse, I’ll use the time to examine it.

  We continue walking purposefully down the street, passing all manner of shops. I’m reminded of the palace market in the sheer quantity of goods available, but there is even more variety here since it’s not only catering to the nobles. I still haven’t quite got used to seeing signs boasting about the enchantments on their weapons or clothes, or the potions shop that proudly displays all manner of concoction in their window – River is the one who had to be dragged away that time. And like Hunter, is only placated when I promise that we’ll return there later.

  Sudden shrieking makes me jump and jerk my head around to the source. There are a group of about five children surrounding a man holding what looks like a long antenna. He points it at a space in front of them and a dragon about the size of a horse flickers into view.

  As soon as it appears, the children shriek again, but against all sense, they run towards it. My heart races as adrenaline rushes into my system. The snarling beast looks all too real.

  I send magic into the ground instinctively to throw up a barrier between the children and the beast, but I’m too slow – there’s too much resistance in the material below me to get to them in time.

  But my aid turns out to be unnecessary. The children run straight through the ‘dragon’ – it’s an illusion. Just an exceptionally realistic one.

  I breathe in and out steadily, pulling my magic from the ground and then transforming it into Flesh-magic so I can wipe the adrenaline from my system before it starts making me tremble.

  By the time I open my eyes again, I realise that my two guards are looking at me oddly.

  “Lord Markus, are you well?” Leileh asks cautiously.

  “I’m fine,” I say a little more brusquely than I intended – I’m glad I didn’t actually create a barrier now. That would have been an embarrassing overreaction to something that, in retrospect, was obviously going to be harmless. “We’re almost at the courthouse, aren’t we?”

  “It’s just ahead, sir,” Bullio confirms, nodding in the direction of an imposing building. I notice Loran is sweating slightly as he eyes it.

  Are you OK? I ask him silently.

  I’m fine, he replies quickly. Then he swallows. There isn’t any reason they should reject my papers, he tells me, as if trying to convince himself.

  Ah. So that’s it.

  You’ll be fine, I agree with him. And if they have any questions, I’ll be right outside. Or I can even come in if you like, I offer.

  No! he replies immediately, then shame curls along our Bond. I mean, no, thank you, Markus. I need to do this myself.

  Entirely up to you, I murmur to him and start walking again. Around us, I realise that several people are looking in our direction and murmuring to each other. And, as I look at where else they’re gazing, I realise why.

  Instead of a footprint, this time I’ve left behind a massive splodge of swirling red, blue, and black, with a long spur that points towards the children who are still playing with the dragon illusion, unaware of anything else around them.

  “Magic-sensitive stone, indeed,” I murmur quietly to myself, increasing my pace so as to get out of the area before anyone decides to investigate.

  here!

  here!

  here!

  here!

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