The group stood a few hundred feet from Kadessa.

  With the exception of Simon who had been raised here, the group couldn't take another step closer. Trillia had thought the walls to the minotaur city were huge, but even Amelia and Malor stood with their necks craned backward, tracing the walls as they raced into the sky. Barracks were built halfway up the wall. Thousands of soldiers milled about on various levels.

  Trillia activated her mana-sight and had begun tapping Malor on the arm. "Look at the mana. Look at the enchantments."

  Malor was speechless. Every stone held a dozen enchantments individually. The enchantments made up a greater whole once they were in place.

  Massive statues of gryphons were spaced out every hundred feet or so, and the group got to witness that they were not simple statues, but golems that could take flight.

  Simon looked around at them and chuckled. "Yeah. That's about the average response. For all their faults, humans are amongst the most industrious races on Alirast."

  Trillia kept staring as she stepped up next to Simon. "How many years did it take to build something like this?"

  "Like...forty or so? At least, that's my best guess. We're gonna wait here for another hour. Not only will it let us skip the normal lines of entry, but I also want all of you to see Kadessa in the setting sun."

  The group had no complaints. They sat there and marveled at the pinnacle of human cities in the realm. The wall had to be at least two hundred feet tall. Trillia wondered at the size of the buildings houses within.

  As the hour ticked by, the magic happened.

  The sun slowly but surely moved to rest directly behind the city. As its light was reflected off of the ocean below, the city seemed to glow a faint golden color.

  The group was speechless again. Layla shook her head. "I don't know that I'd ever stop staring."

  "Well. I'm afraid you will have to." Miah's voice didn't break them from their gaze. She stepped in front of the group with a smile. "Come on. There is a guest residency that you'll be staying in. Until you've all met the Queen, Simon will be staying with you." She paused. "The view from your room is better." With a grin, she waved her hand, and a small portal shimmered open.

  It took some prodding, but they all slowly filtered through. The group stepped out onto a balcony and once more paused. They sat at least a hundred feet up on a cliff side, overlooking the ocean, watching the sun slowly dip below the horizon. The structure they were in was carved from the stone of the cliff face. A smooth white stone with various flecks of darker colors running through it. Even the room they stood in was heavily enchanted against temperature and the elements.

  "Is...is it really ok to be in here?" Layla looked around and inched closer to Trillia, afraid she'd break something that was expensive or difficult to replace.

  Miah smiled as she stared out at the sun. "Yes. It's quite alright. This is the room for lesser nobles and dignitaries. I'm afraid it's going to be a little cramped. There are a lot of bodies in the palace right now. So you'll be forced to share this room. I've asked some of the maids to bring you extra blankets and pillows."

  Trillia, with some great determination and effort, wrenched her eyes away from the sea and looked at the room. It was easily three times the size of her parent's hut. "How can there be this much space?"

  Malor is the one who spoke up. He had lost interest in the beautiful sea view. Instead, he was on his hands and knees inspecting the tiles on the ground. "Some sort of minor spatial enchantments? Looks like it is doubling the size of the room. Which is still a rather huge space. Why are there enchantments against explosions tied into the room? There are defensive enchantments here that we use on our outer walls."

  Miah had, at some point vanished, so Simon took over. "You have to remember. One of the strongest humans in the realm lives here. That human's husband is an axle, and her children are all gods. Her closest and dearest friends rank amongst the greatest warriors of our time, including but not limited to adult dragons and leviathans. There are regularly dragons and leviathans here in humanoid forms as diplomats and ambassadors."

  All of the pact-bound animals were quite content to let their masters ooo and aah over the room. The balcony was perfectly situated to catch a lot of the setting sun, and they were all too happy to bask in its warmth and doze off after a hard march.

  A gentle knock on the door had Simon walk over to it and crack it open. "Oh! Hello, Thea!" Simon stepped to the side and opened the door. A young elven woman stepped in with her hands crossed in front of her.

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  "Lord Simon." Trillia paused again. There was mana in the woman's voice, causing a soothing feeling to wash over all of them. "I am pleased to see you back in the Capital. I hope that you and Taz can stay for more than a couple of days this time?"

  Simon offered a shrug as he closed the door behind her. "I fear that is not up to us. As much as we would love to lounge on the roof of the palace. We go where we are required to. I hope you've been well."

  The woman curtsied to the others, walking over first to the table and extending her hand. She began pulling out trays of steaming hot foods and setting them on the table. "You know that the Queen treats us well. I couldn't ask for a better position, considering my birth."

  Trillia didn't miss a little frown cross Simon's face before he quickly forced a smile. "Food as well? Then we are expected to wait a bit?"

  The woman blushed faintly. "I'm afraid so. There are a dozen merchant lords trying to argue with her Majesty about tariffs and standing militia. I must say. I have served at her Majesty's pleasure for two decades. I've never seen her so full of energy and so combative."

  Trillia stepped up to the food as her stomach growled. "May I ask what sort of magic you are using, Lady Thea?"

  The elven woman's face turned a deeper shade of red, and she began to bow. "I'm so sorry! It's just a habit to try and soothe the emotions of weary travelers. I meant no disrespect, Avatar Fairtrade."

  Trillia blinked a few times and held up her hands. "No, no. I'm not offended or anything. I was just curious since I have a lot of protections against stuff like that, but the protections don't seem to be doing anything. Also, you can just call me Trillia."

  The woman seemed a mix of shock, disgust, and offense. "I would never dare be so familiar with you, Lady Fairtrade. You are the avatar of Prince Arlyss and the daughter of the Great General Amara. I am far below your station."

  Amelia couldn't help but burst out laughing. Trillia shot her best friend a glare. "Trillia. I realize you are used to being treated differently. But we are in human lands, and you are quite literally the equivalent of a Princess here. Even the mightiest of noble houses are going to tread carefully if the teaching I have had throughout my life is anything to go on."

  Trillia frowned at that but motioned to Simon. "She treats him as an equal."

  Simon answered immediately. "I'm an orphan who has become a knight in service to her Majesty. We both serve under Queen Alliyah and as such, we are in a similar position. We've also spent a lot of years together in Kadessa, so there is some difference."

  Thea hastily nodded in agreeance. "If we are in a public setting, I would show great deference to Sir Simon as well. He is an avatar to Princess Mariah and is a high-ranking member of the Golden Gryphons. It is expected of me for my station."

  Trillia found something she didn't like about the human city. Too much emphasis on titles. "I see. I hope one day you will come to view me as enough of an equal that you do not refer to me as some noble. Thank you for the food."

  Thea curtsied and walked over to the bed, once more summoning magic from her storage item and pulling out a bunch of blankets and covers. "If there is anything else, you can push mana into the small grey stone plate at the door. Let your intent be to summon help." As she stepped up to the door, she curtsied one more time before taking her leave.

  Trillia held a frown as she grabbed a plate and started to get food for Ialu and Dire. "Are all the people here going to be like that?"

  Simon nodded. "You're in a human city. It is human culture. While the Queen is certainly more lax about it than most, it still makes people feel comfortable."

  "How can this be comfortable? Bowing and apologizing for the slightest words? Wouldn't peasants be furious about having to pretend to be less than others?"

  As Simon started to respond, Amelia held up a hand. "What level do you think the average peasant is, Trillia?"

  Trillia looked over to Amelia with a puzzled expression. "Uhh... I don't know? I'd imagine most people are a pretty similar level?"

  Amelia motioned to Simon, who had some realization dawn on him. "The average level of an adult in the city is maybe a hundred. Guards sit closer to two hundred."

  Trillia seemed shocked at that. "What? How is that possible? Especially with all the monsters being at a much higher level?"

  Malor spoke up next. "It wasn't much different in minotaur cities. Non-combatants don't gain experience nearly as quickly as combat-focused ones do. Furthermore, a lot of people are content to slowly work on their passions and avoid combat altogether. Orcs are a very war-like species. They thrive in combat, even from a young age."

  Trillia sat at the table, slowly chomping away on some sort of seared meat that was smothered in a sweet sauce. It practically melted in her mouth. The food made it hard to be annoyed or to concentrate. But she did her best. "Are our cultures really that different?"

  "Yes." Layla said flatly. "Even how we respond to stuff is just different. Orcs are used to shouldering more and from a younger age. In human society, they would never dream of pushing a kid in front of a monster before their early teen years. Maybe out near the outskirts of civilization where they need to hunt and defend farmland. When I was raised in the church, there was a lot of shock around my traits and skills. As well as how much combat I had seen."

  Trillia continued to munch on her food. The skolls had both eaten and were happily passed out on the balcony. Taz had also passed out in a giant heap of fur and snoring. "I guess I just never thought about how different we all were."

  Fred smiled as he took a bite of a bright yellow apple. "Did you think D'Jamu was really just backward because of leadership? Don't misunderstand the slavery was abhorrent, yes, but nobility was always a thing."

  Trillia hadn't really thought about it. She figured there was such a difference in class because of slavery and corruption. "And the peasants are really ok with that? With being so...bottled up?"

  "You see it as bottled up. They see it as safe behind one of the greatest feats of enchanting known to date." Simon said as he took a big bite of meat.

  Trillia still held some doubts, but she'd reserve judgment. She wouldn't want a bunch of humans to judge her tribe on how they did things. Though, they probably did exactly that. Even having moved to the city for new prospects. She wondered how much of a headache leading Red River was for Tormash.