"Alright, all of you, stand to the right side of the road and face the wall." The shout came from the front of the line and the caravan members silently shuffled over to obey. Rebbi followed them, finding herself at the end of the line. The two men beside her whispered to each other.
"We might need to run." Said Thomas. He stood beside her, dwarfing her in height. He made sure to keep his eyes forward while speaking.
"It won't work." Replied Noah. His voice sounded panicked compared to his companion. "At the top of the wall, there are hundreds of soldiers watching us. Probably in case someone tries anything funny. If we run now, they'll see and send the guards after us." He bent forward slightly to look down the road before straightening again. "Damn, they've already started."
Rebbi too looked down the way. A middle aged man in red armor, similar to the soldier at the lift, walked down the row of outlanders. He stopped at each of them, checking their faces, and uncovering those that were shawled. She felt reminded of the slave markets they had seen in the cities before coming to Tovoran. How they prodded and violated their products' personal space. Only, this man seemed to be looking for something rather specific, and when he did not find it, he moved to the next. This process came at a rapid rate.
"Maybe he won't notice." Noah said, though he lacked any real confidence.
"Won't notice? You think he won't notice two southerners in line with this lot? That would be a miracle." She looked down the row again. Nearly halfway down now, the man came closer with two soldiers following him. Her gaze went up from the approaching guards and to the top of the wall. Dozens of distant faces watched down at them. She looked back down the way they had come. The road was empty and long.
"Then what do we do?"
"I don't know. Not yet. Either they let us into the city without finding out who we are, or they do it knowing who we are. I have friends on the inside. They should be able to help us. Until then, we play the game. Understand?" She looked between them, confused.
"Right."
The three guards had made it to them. Rebbi looked sideways at the man in red. His face was thin and long. He had no facial hair, but his black eyebrows looked to her like a bushy mustache. The gray and black hair on his balding head was slicked back and hung stiffly upon his shoulders. She noted the stench of onion coming her way, which she suspected originated from him.
He halted at Noah, whose face was covered by the turban he wore, leaving his bright eyes shining out. The man leaned forward to him, and time felt as though it slowed down. His near black eyes snapped over to spy Thomas, who stood nearly a head above the man. He walked over to him and did the same as he had to Noah. Then, standing upright, he turned to the two guards accompanying him. Rebbi felt her heart near to bursting, and wondered if the two men next to her felt the same.
"Go back down the line. The two men, ten down, check them again and then question them."
"Yes sir." The soldiers responded in unison, turned, and marched back down the line. Rebbi furrowed her brow, confused as to what was going on, but she remained put. The old man turned back to Thomas, and a smirk formed on his lips. He reached out a claw like hand and lowered the man's face covering. He studied him and then began picking at his clothes, testing the style and fabric. It looked to Rebbi that he was a man out shopping for a new tunic. He did not look Thomas in the eye when he spoke again. His voice was low and smug.
"Did you know, we were informed by someone to be looking for two southern men coming down the road. That they would be trying to enter the gates without being noticed. Seems we have just caught them." He looked over at Noah and smiled with his thin lips. "Although, it does seem that your little network has reached even beyond our walls." He looked back at Thomas. "In fact, one of your little vipers stopped me a day ago. He told me that you were really coming here under orders from the king himself. A story I don't believe for a second."
"Then why offer us an out?" The smile faded from the man's face and he looked as though he had been insulted. He stepped closer to Thomas.
"And who said I was giving you an out? You take me for a traitor to my country?"
"I take you for a man who knows his worth." Thomas's response came back cool and respectful. The man watched him closely, before giving him a toothy grin. Thomas returned the smile.
"Yes." He said. "Yes, indeed I do." He stepped back. "I am not really afraid of letting you in my city. As long as I know you are here, there is not a single move you could make without my knowing." He looked down the row back to where the other two soldiers were pulling two of the caravan members from the line. Rebbi could not see them well, but knew one of them to be her cousin, Saul. He spoke out in defiance as the man dragged him and the other through the gate and out of sight. The old man held both hands behind his back satisfied. "Well, it would seem we have indeed found the men we might be looking for."
Rebbi could not believe what she was seeing. She stood dumbfounded and horrified at the sight as the whole of her people stood by and did nothing while two of her kin were taken away like common horse thieves. She looked down the row to her father, whose massive form made no suggestion of movement to aid the two men.
"If I could request one thing." She looked up at Thomas, his words bringing her back to life. The old man looked back at him with frustration.
"What? What is it?" His voice was now more than a bit shrill with impatience. Rebbi kept her eyes on Thomas, hoping that he would be the one to stand up for her family. To step forward and reveal himself and have them set her cousin free.
"If you could be so kind as to take us to a clothing shop once we are inside. My friend and I will need to change our appearance to blend in more with your people. We will of course add to your payment." Rebbi felt her chest sink and her cheeks flush with anger. What did he mean by new clothes? What about her people?
"You presume to demand anything further than what I have so kindly given you?" He got close again to Thomas's face, and the scent of onions became more potent to Rebbi as he spoke. "I could just take all of it and arrest you along with the other two. Execution of traitors always draws a crowd." Thomas smiled back at him.
"Yes, however, you are a guard accepting a bribe from that traitor. And as you've said, I have many vipers within your walls. I wonder how long it would take for this news to reach the king's ears." The man froze. "I am sure he is the type of man who could replace someone like you. And we both know the people won't mind. As you said, traitors always draw a crowd." The man took a step back and scoffed.
"It seems you don't need to pay me after all. Not if you can accuse me like this."
"Oh, do not worry. You will be paid." The old man looked him up and down suspiciously.
"Why?" Thomas leaned forward and brought his voice low.
"Bring us to a place to be outfitted, and there I will tell you." The air hung cold about them, though Rebbi's face burned with a vengeful anger more than the weather could contend with. She felt her fist clench till her nails bit into the skin of her palms. She felt the urge to strike out, at anything, nearly overtake her right when the soldier barked out a command.
"Right. All clear!" He gave Thomas one last look before making his way down the line. "All of you back as you were. Let them in." The caravan members shuffled their way back to the center of the road. None of them spoke, or seemed off put in the slightest by what had happened. Rebbi saw that even her father continued on as though all had gone as normal.
"What a stroke of luck." Noah breathed a sigh of relief. Thomas kept his eyes ahead, watching the soldier make his way back to the gate.
"I wouldn't say that. In almost all regions of Tovoran, you'll find men like him. It is important you spy them out, Noah. We will need more pieces on our board before we are done here."
Rebbi's eyes went dark and she left the two in the back of the line. She hated them now, for what they had let happen. She hated the soldier for doing it. But mostly, she felt a hatred towards her father for acting as though it had not happened right before his own eyes.
Slowly, two by two, the caravan marched under the black archway of the gates. Deep they went, forming more as a tunnel than a gateway. They were shrouded into darkness with the black stone shimmering its odd start like dots down and around them. Then they came out the other side, and into Windgrad. The massive gates shut behind them.