All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 251: Family Matters

I made a soothing motion with my grabby arm as Beatrice's face paled. "We are going to keep the Nighty Knights safe. But they're going to want to play and they're going to have friends. Children are very imaginative and much more willing to listen to proper instructions about cleaning. So I'm sure if they can introduce me to some of their friends, I can teach them how to use sticks properly, and we can have lots of fun with that. Then maybe they'll help us talk to their parents."

Beatrice shrugged, relaxing a bit after my explanation. "Well, it's true that they will need friends... but as long as they're safe. I don't want them risking anything by preaching on street corners or something stupid like that."

I wasn't exactly sure what she meant by preaching on corners, but I let it slide. The conversation drifted a little bit, and we started talking about how to keep the city clean. I was very curious about how all the humans managed to live together in such tight quarters on a permanent basis. I'd only ever seen a couple cities at this point, and apparently, the capital was even more massive than Caleb. And well, Caleb had been a bit of a mess when I got there, but I assumed that had more to do with the zombies at the wall than the fact that it was a city. The capital must have done a better job of keeping the city clean, right?

My horror grew, though, as Beatrice explained how cities were kept clean. Their methods for waste disposal and organization sounded so inefficient! Worse, they likely only kept the place partially clean! It was like spraying deodorizer on a pile of dog excrement. What were they thinking? It was a good thing we were coming here to change the leadership. The city really needed to figure out how to manage itself better.

When we reached a road that was finally paved, I had to slow down on my own construction efforts. Beatrice politely pointed out to me that if I continued on as I was, I would create a perfect path leading right back to the army. That could give away our cover and give the city ample warning. So, I just elegantly dovetailed my own path into the paved road a few days out from the capital.

It was disappointing that I wasn't able to fix up the road too much without being suspicious. It certainly could have used an overhaul in both cleaning and construction. Still, I did my best to level it out and make sure all the loose stones were firmly pressed in. I didn't think that it would be too noticeable, but I did the best I could.

***

We arrived at the city gates a full two weeks before the army was expected to appear. Our merry band pushed themselves quite hard to make good time. By the time the capital's walls loomed over us, everyone was exhausted and looking forward to lying down in a bed.

Everyone except for me. I was fine, of course. Even Beatrice looked half asleep as she rode.

As we approached the gate, I used my Sensory Disruption skill to project images of my surroundings in a little bubble around myself. The end result effectively removed me from other people's vision. It was a new use of the skill I had practiced after speaking with Beatrice a little bit. She had proven quite concerned about me going unnoticed in the city, which I found prudent. There was a rather distressing pattern where I made unfamiliar humans in this world panic on sight.

I would have done the same with Cliff, but she was just too big for it to be practical. She would also have to stay incredibly close to me the entire time, maybe even sit on my chassis.

Otherwise, there was no possibility of keeping her hidden the entire time. So we decided it was best if she came into the city in the open rather than people thinking there was a stray wolf running loose. Instead of a particularly large dog. Though perhaps Cliff was reasonably sized around here. I wasn't sure, still.

Either way, Tanu was going to have to keep a close watch on her to make sure no one freaked out too much. But as long as she behaved, I thought everything would be all right.

We queued up for entry into the city. But before we made it far, the wolf sitting next to Tanu's side drew a lot of attention, and one of the guards jogged out to meet us. He glanced over at us, trying to figure out who was in charge, but eventually, Beatrice stepped forward and cleared her throat. His eyes tore away from Cliff and focused on her.

"Er, ma'am," he said, looking down on her. He kept his face mostly professional, but I could see a small smirk.

"Madame Beatrice D'Lestrange at your service," she said with a slight curtsy. I have come with a branch of my father's business to set up an outpost in the capital."

Huh. I had never heard Beatrice's last name before. It seemed much more complicated than most people's.

The guard seemed to register the name, straightening slightly. His expression immediately became more polite, and he smiled. " "Ah, Miss D'Lestrange! It's a pleasure to see you. I have to say, the rumors of your father opening a shop had reached even the guardhouse. I'm pleased to see you all made it in one piece."

The guard's head tilted to the side slightly. "I didn't know that he was sending his daughter. I thought it was his sister that was going to be organizing the expedition. At least, that's who the captain told us to watch out for."

Beatrice's face flushed slightly, and she replied in a bit of a rush. "Well, there was a change of plans. Last minute. My aunt was delayed slightly. Family matters."

The man nodded and looked over our party again with a chuckle. "I'm surprised you didn't come with any wagons. It will be hard to sell goods that you don't have."

This time, Beatrice looked at him derisively. "Excuse me. We would not bring our merchandise into a city we have no set up for. The wagons and goods will come once we have secured proper accommodations. A location to sell from and know the market. This is simply an expeditionary force. The wagons should be along soon. As should my aunt."

The guard nodded smartly and didn't argue further. "Well, follow me then."

Our whole party moved off to the side and walked past the rest of the queue toward the gate. He took a last look at Cliff but shrugged and let it slide. As I rolled after them, Beatrice touched the guard's forearm.

"If I could trouble you… perhaps you could send a runner to me the minute my aunt arrives. I would appreciate it greatly," she said and slipped him what looked to be at least two different coins.

The guard made them vanish in a spectacular display of dexterity before coughing into his hand. "Of course, ma'am. We have a special service for that, and I'll put you down. You'll just have to come and let us know where you're staying or where a messenger can find you."

Beatrice nodded. "I'll let you know as soon as we have our rooms."

He nodded, but I wasn't really paying attention to the conversation anymore. I was too busy trying to figure out where the heck those two metal coins went. Even with my Advanced Sensors scanning his whole body, they were nowhere to be found. It was as if they had just disappeared. Did the guard have some sort of bribe-taking skill? It would be very concerning if this was the case.

We made it into the city with no problems. Briefly, one of the guards brought out a leash for Cliff to wear while in the city. Still, a single half-snarl from the large dog quickly made them reconsider actually putting the thing on her. Soon, we were off. The guard had given us some directions to a few inns where they thought we might be able to find room for everyone and would be accommodating to our assumed station.

Beatrice sent most of our group in that direction, but I followed her on a separate task: finding an auction house. Apparently, the bank would sometimes sell foreclosed properties at a discount, and my human hoped to snag one of them. As for me, I just wanted to see the city and check on Beatrice. I figured everyone else would be fine in a group.

As we meandered through the streets. I noticed a very odd pattern occurring. There were a bunch of people in white robes at most street corners, yelling things about the end times and cleansing themselves before it was too late. While I agreed with the cleansing part, most of it seemed like nonsense. I watched the people around us and found that, for the most part, these people were generally ignored. A few times, people would stop and yell at them. Others would stop and talk briefly, usually receiving some sort of small token.

Beatrice kept her distance from them. I wasn't sure what she was thinking, but if she thought they were trouble, I would follow her lead. I kept my disguise up, and this allowed me to hover off of the streets.

It was a really odd conglomeration of streets. Some of them were extremely tidy. In fact, I wouldn't have minded rolling along them at all. But others were… not so much. Beatrice had to pick her way along carefully to avoid stepping in anything untoward and dirtying her shoes.

It went against every fiber of my being not to immediately clean the mess up, but that would have ruined my stealth. I would have had to wait until no one else was around before coming back; otherwise, I might have gone insane.

Slowly, we made our way toward the center of the city and the castle. There was an inner wall circling a wealthier district, and Beatrice had to talk to some guards to let us in. I could have, of course, hovered over the wall, but I didn't want to leave her alone. Once we made it in, the streets immediately changed. Everything was more narrow but also better kept. Large buildings crowded the small streets, and opulent workplaces reigned.

There were rows of beautiful miniature palaces, all crammed up next to each other, and very narrow alleys connecting the few main streets that were intentionally kept broad enough for wagons to pass through. Things were clean, and no people were idling about.

There was also no one yelling on street corners. Everyone walked about with purpose. As I observed small groups of people talking with each other, the quality of people's clothes increased significantly. Even better, their overall hygiene was significantly improved from that of the rest of the city.

Beatrice was able to fit right in, though. I was very proud of her as she walked with all the neat, important people with the proper poise. Even though her neck did look a little bit stiffer than it probably should have, judging by everyone else around her. She quickly stopped a couple of people and asked for directions, and then navigated down a few streets and approached what looked to be a very wealthy house. The sign above it read Capital Bank.

After a quick conversation with the doorman, she walked inside. With the number of guards in this place, I wasn't sure if I should be concerned for her safety or relieved that she was well protected. But in the end, I resisted the urge to go exploring for myself and followed on her heels.

Beatrice approached the first open desk and sat in a guest chair. The well-dressed lady behind it began a conversation with her that seemed to be aimed at establishing who Beatrice was. I let her take care of this for now and started to inspect the room more closely. It featured a nice marble floor, well kept though with a little dust in the corners, but the back rooms seemed quite a bit more interesting.

Keeping my sensors fixed on Beatrice, I slowly rolled over to the room behind the desks. There, I found a massively thick door with huge rolled steel bars. For the moment, it was swung open as people bustled in and out so I could clearly pick up the interior on my visual sensors.

I could not wait to tell Daedalus about this place. He would love it.