Knights of Tezoth

Finally stepping out into the fresh air, Lester inhales it through his nose and grunts thoughtfully. The city's smell is familiar, cool, in some ways dirty, in others majestic and golden, but there is a note of unease in it, uncharacteristic of its usual state. People seem to be going about their business as if unaware of the news, which is unsurprising given the artificial suppression of it, yet some intuitive nervousness shows in their movements: there, a shopkeeper dropped a couple of apples, and in trying to pick them up, knocked over the whole basket; here, two burly men bumped shoulders, and after glaring at each other, decided to part ways peacefully, each feeling they had been worn out; and over there, a mother slaps her child on the back of the head for straying a few steps to see a shiny toy in a shop window, the child cries that she left his father, and people look at her disapprovingly.

- We should clearly split up — that way we'll cover more ground in the shortest time, - Lester nods to Ambrose; then he claps his squire on the shoulder, who had been waiting outside all these two weeks of negotiations. - Missed me? Well, here I am! Show some manners, greet Lord Ambrose, my loyal friend, comrade, and brother. He can beat you so badly you'll end up in the next world without even realizing it, and the poems he writes — they'll send you flying into the stratosphere! But anyway, that's not the point. A test for you, Alceus. What unusual or strange things did you notice while standing at the gate? - Vargas gestures at the surroundings. - You surely weren't counting ants; out of boredom, you must have been noting everything happening. Go on, spill it, - the Dawn's enthusiastic face grins right at the squire, then he explains. - And throw everything at me, even if you think, "well, that's some nonsense, not worth my lord's attention..." — no, dump it all. I'll analyze it, and we'll see from there.