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He smiled, expression torn between amusement and a cringe of understanding. Paperwork to do with injuries on his premises was bad enough, but the idea of someone dying under his employment was⌠Tragic, of course, first and foremost, but the paperwork would likely be, well, astronomical.
Across town was perfectly doable alone, Regal thought, as far as safety was concerned anyway. Heâd never visited this area, of course, and had asked George to hire him a guide. He hadnât expected to be provided a guard instead. He supposed Georgeâs concern was touching and he was perhaps either overestimating himself or underestimating the potential dangers of this new city. âI donât expect trouble walking across town,â Regal said after a moment. âThough I am unfamiliar with the area so it could be difficult to say.â
An eyebrow raised at the comment. He didnât know the other man well so he couldnât gauge if it was a battle tactic or something to psychoanalyze. Though it wasnât really his business to dwell on at the moment. âI can work with that, if youâd prefer.âÂ
âHow many towns have you visited lately?â Raven sighed, looking very much the frumpy âannoying drunk,â as he so desperately wished to advertise. Well, he WAS that, at any rate, but he was also guard at the moment. Juggling two different personas was hard work~
But he had tragically gotten pretty good at it regardless.
âA visiting dignitary? Thatâs just ripe grounds for intrusion. Not like they kept it quiet.â Why would they? That was an exciting venture, not really all that frequent either. But where âgaldâ was concerned, everything was different. Even though the danger was obvious, people were bound to advertise their wealth at every chance they got. Including the stupid leadership of the place who just couldnât keep their traps shut about the important figure coming in hot.
⌠and there he was as the chosen guard. Joy of joys.
âSo why are you here anyway?â
Regal looked at the man curiously for a moment. He didnât often run into trouble inside city limits where he was from. There were some areas that could be rougher than others, of course, particularly in larger cities like Meltokio, but in general he didnât worry about walking around in towns. Though this was an unfamiliar land to him. Perhaps things were worse here.
âIâm here to meet with Madam Kaufman,â Regal answered. âSheâs the president of a trading guild in this area-- you have likely heard of them? I have a company in my own country and weâve corresponded previously, but this will be our first meeting here.â
He smiled, the practiced, polite one he used while he was working. âWe believe our organizations have the potential to be more helpful to people if we work together.â
After a moment he asked, âhow long have you lived in the area, if you donât mind me asking?â















