I followed the female guard through a door in the side of the wall and into a short corridor, with a couple of doors each side and one at the end. She knocked at the first door on her left, to no discernable response.

  The fact that there was a door in the side of the wall was rather impressive, really. Yes, this corridor and adjoining rooms were within the tower, but the wall was still thick enough to hold the entrance. If this thing circled the entire canton, I couldn't even imagine the effort that must have gone into building it. Whatever for? Were they expecting the other cantons to gang up and attack?

  More important was what these rooms were for. I really hoped they weren't prison cells. Thankfully, if they were, the guard probably wouldn't be knocking.

  She knocked again, and a grunt sounded from inside.

  She sighed, then cupped her hands around her mouth and placed them next to the door.

  "Wake up, dammit!"

  There was another, louder grunt from inside, followed by the various biological noises of someone waking up very quickly. There was, in there somewhere, a painful sounding thud.

  The guard ignored it all, knocking for a third time.

  "Come in," answered a voice from the inside, obviously trying to pretend the previous exchange hadn't happened.

  She sighed and pushed the door open. "Traveller for you to process. Into the royal canton. No official pass."

  Oh, phew. I was fine.

  ... There was a glowing orb on a desk in front of him.

  I was potentially very very not fine! If he was about to do an appraisal, I was screwed!

  ... Or was it just to check my identity?

  I took a deep breath as I tried to calm down. Thankfully, the guy within the room was obviously still not quite with it, trying to subtly rouse himself back to full consciousness while simultaneously clutching at a knee that he'd presumably just whacked into his desk, and no-one had been paying me attention during my brief burst of panic.

  It was a small room, containing little more than a table, one rather comfy-looking chair behind it, with a pair of plain, uncushioned wooden chairs in front of it. The room's sole occupant was, of course, in the comfy chair. He wasn't wearing the full armour of the guards outside, but was still obviously part of the same organisation, wearing the same blue, adorned with what must be the royal canton's coat of arms.

  "Please sit down," he requested. "Just need to fill in the logbook, then we'll have you on your way. Won't take a moment."

  The guard stepped out, closing the door behind her. Neither of them mentioned the fact that the official had been sleeping.

  I couldn't really hold it against him. It was obvious that this gate wasn't seeing the traffic it was designed to handle. If it was completely closed to residents of the Harvent Canton, and merchants had blacklisted the place, who else would be using it? Why was it closed, anyway? I could see the count not letting people out, but this gate wasn't manned by his men, and why wouldn't the royal canton let people in?

  "Please place your hand on the orb, and, as far as possible, restrict yourself to yes or no answers," he continued as I sat.

  I obeyed without complaint. I didn't need [Expert Stealth] to tell me that questioning if this was a full appraisal would only encourage him to look at my Status more closely.

  He looked at something only he could see. "Robin, free citizen of Cargellen Canton, sixteen years old, zeroth growth marker?" he asked.

  "Yes," I answered, reassured this wasn't a full appraisal, and rather glad I hadn't earned a few more levels.

  "Do you swear loyalty to king and kingdom?"

  "Uh..." I answered, rather unsure about that one. "Yes?"

  "You sound uncertain."

  "Well, I've never met the king, will never meet the king, and don't really think about the king in my day-to-day life. Thinking of myself as loyal to him personally, rather than to the kingdom, is a little weird. I'm certainly not disloyal, though."

  My questioner chuckled. "You know, it's always disturbed me how people usually answer yes to that without hesitation. Such nationalistic fervour is unnatural, you know?"

  "Maybe?" I answered, wondering how close we were getting to treason.

  "Are you planning any illegal acts, or acts not in the interest of the royal canton or the kingdom of Robeld," he continued, thankfully dropping the subject.

  "No."

  "Are you in the employ of, or have received support from, or are acting in support of, any country other than the kingdom of Robeld?"

  "No."

  "Are you carrying contraband, or any material or items you believe would not be welcome in the royal canton regardless of legality, or would a third party have had opportunity to slip such items into your luggage or plant them on your person?"

  "No."

  "Are you aware of any reason why we might not want to let you through?"

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "No," I answered, rather sure of myself despite the generality of the question. Rather, if my Mark was as special as people claimed, they'd likely want me on their side of the fence.

  "Really? People can usually think of something, however trivial."

  "Uh... Nothing comes to mind. I'm not sure I really matter much, on the grand scale of things."

  My interviewer snorted. "I think that's true of most people, but you're the first person I've ever heard admit it," he said. "Very well, you can remove your hand. I assume you know your way out? It's not far."

  "Through the door, turn right."

  "Indeed. Thanks for your time, and enjoy your stay."

  "Thank you," I replied, sticking to politeness as I left. None of the guards spared me a second glance as I exited the tower and headed into the royal canton.

  I was a little surprised they hadn't searched my luggage, but I was quite thankful for it. I hadn't been looking forward to explaining Sir Galahad's various missives. I could have truthfully claimed I was travelling anyway, and had agreed to deliver them because it wasn't really any trouble, but there could still have been questions about where they were from and, when it turned out they were from a knight, why I hadn't mentioned them earlier.

  The other side of the wall was much the same as the Harvent Canton side. That wasn't a surprise; the wall was obviously not natural, so it would be very strange if the natural landscape changed abruptly between the two sides. Nevertheless, according to the map I'd memorised, the rugged, barren, rocky landscape only persisted a couple of miles in, after which it changed to grasslands. There was a trade town on the road at that point, where I intended to stop for the night and buy food.

  Maybe other stuff, too. Given Bishop Cornelius's reaction to a single gold coin, I was apparently quite rich. I had another two of them stashed away, along with a handful of other coins, of which the small, bronze-coloured ones were the only type I was familiar with.

  As I jogged, it became swiftly evident that the road on this side was no busier than the Harvent side, although in retrospect, that was another obvious fact. People used roads to go places. Harvent Canton was not a place people wanted to go. This road only went to Harvent Canton. Ergo, no-one would want to use this road. Just because this side of the gate didn't have the same set of problems as the other side, it didn't mean that a bunch of pedestrians were going to spawn into existence.

  ... Actually, that raised questions about the state of the trade town. Without any traffic passing through from Harvent Canton, it was likely having a bad time.

  When I arrived, it didn't look abandoned or on fire, and a pair of guards were standing to attention at the gate, looking alert despite the complete absence of traffic.

  The white wall wasn't as tall as the canton border, nor the gate as broad, but the area it encircled was certainly wide. The town was obviously larger than Greenhold, and this was just one of many in the royal canton.

  How large was the sapphire city? Not only was it the kingdom's capital, but it was also the only settlement in the kingdom that I'd so far heard described as a 'city'. It must be larger again.

  "What are you gawking at?" asked one guard.

  "I don't think that's the pertinent question here," said the other. "Seeing anyone come from that direction is surprising enough, but a kid? On their own?"

  "I have a letter of passage," I said, pulling one out. It wasn't sealed closed—I might need it to enter multiple towns, or a town multiple times—but it still had a seal of nobility stamped on it.

  "... Now I have even more questions," said the second guard, reading the letter. "Shame some noble I've never heard of apparently demands I don't ask them. We can't waive the inspection procedure, though."

  "Of course," I agreed.

  "Touch this," he asked, holding out a diamond shaped device with a small orb in the middle.

  I did. From the way it glowed, a smaller version of the device at the canton border?

  "Name?" he asked.

  "Robin, of Cargellen Canton."

  It apparently didn't display as much information, if he needed to ask my name.

  "Reason for entering Ogre's Rest?"

  "Purchasing supplies, and a soft bed."

  "Any nefarious intent?"

  "Nope."

  "Great. In you go."

  I almost asked if that was all before catching myself. Instead, I asked, "Any recommendations for an inn?"

  He shrugged. "Can't walk down the main street without tripping over one, and they'll all have spaces and be sufficiently glad of the custom that you'll be pampered hand and foot. Just take your pick."

  "I'd recommend the cuddly bunny," chimed in the other guard. "Third inn on your right. You can't miss the sign."

  "Only because your brother runs it."

  "Also, it has a cool name."

  "How is 'the cuddly bunny' a good name?!"

  I left the guards to their bickering and walked in. The ambience was immediately obvious. There were people on the street in clean clothes, looking well fed, but there were no horses, carts, or carriages. The street was lined with inns, but I didn't see a single mention of free rooms. They were all advertising food and ale, presumably trying to scrounge up what custom they could from locals instead of travellers. It seemed to be working to some extent; when I saw a dining area through a window, there were always one or two tables occupied.

  The fact that the buildings were not just made of brick, but had glass windows, presumably meant that the inhabitants were all filthy rich anyway. I'd only ever seen glass in the temples before.

  I spotted a sign on which an implausibly fluffy bunny was depicted, and walked into the inn behind it.

  "Welcome!" exclaimed a jovial voice from behind a counter. Given that he looked somewhat like the guard at the gate, I'd guess he was the owner. "Don't think I've seen you around before. Here to pick up an evening meal for your parents?"

  "I'm here to stay the night, actually," I answered. "Your brother recommended you."

  The innkeeper blinked. "A traveller? Seriously? But you look barely unlocked."

  I shrugged. "I get that a lot," I answered.

  "Well, who am I to refuse a customer?" He turned, facing into the back. "Hey, Bell! Do we have any rooms made up?"

  "Number four!" came a female shout from another room.

  "Number four it is, then. Glad she decided to keep one or two clean and ready for guests. That'll be a silver for the night, dinner and breakfast included."

  "I take it custom isn't exactly great right now?" I asked, wondering which coin a 'silver' was. I had two that were silver coloured, one smaller and one larger. Probably the smaller? It was the same size as the bronze-coloured coin that we called a copper and the gold-coloured coin Bishop Cornelius called a gold.

  "Isn't exactly great? You certainly have a way with words, young man," said the innkeeper, taking my coin without complaint. I must have guessed correctly. "Downright awful is what it is. But such is the way of things. A noble somewhere throws a hissy fit and we common folk pay the price. Let me show you to your room. The name's Jack, by the way, and this humble establishment is mine."

  "Robin. Nice to meet you," I replied as we walked. "Can you recommend any shops? Specifically, clothing and skill crystals."

  "Hah. I wasn't going to be so impolite as to ask, but that outfit is certainly rather big on you. A hand-me-down from your dad?"

  "It's second or third hand, yes," I agreed. "Now that I'm striking out on my own, I think it's time I changed my look."

  "Hah. You're a strange one. But yes, as it happens, my uncle runs a little clothing store. Great value. Not bespoke stuff, but I doubt that's what you're after, if you want to leave tomorrow. He'll certainly have stuff in stock that matches you."

  Wow, the nepotism ran deep in this family.

  "As for skill crystals, there's only one such store in this town. Just off the central plaza. How good is your Memory? Do you need directions written down?"

  I realised I'd stopped walking. There was a skill crystal shop? No-one was chasing me. I wasn't in a hurry. The shop was right there. At long last!

  "Huh? Something wrong?" asked Jack, which was the signal for my stomach to give a loud rumble.

  "Let's just say that I'm looking forward to that dinner," I said.

  The store would still be there tomorrow.