"Well, that was surprisingly easy..." Sherry commented as the party entered the town.

The difference in the atmosphere in Penitit from Elowen was clear as day. Most people looked like everyone else owed them money, and were out for their blood.

"Excuse us for a second, Lady Aurelia." Riku said as he gestured at the other girls to follow him. Aurelia was confused for a bit, but nodded.

Riku led the girls into a secluded, narrow alleyway just inside the city gates. "Wait here," he said.

He looked at Lila, Sherry, Lysaria, and Elara. He saw the unease in their eyes. "This city is too volatile. Everyone here looks like they're looking for a fight. For all of us to walk around together... it makes us a target."

"So what's the plan?" Lila asked, her hand resting on the hilt of her knife.

"I think it's best if you four stay somewhere safe," Riku explained, looking at Sherry, Lysaria, and Elara. "Somewhere out of sight. I will take Aurelia to find an inn and gather some information."

Sherry frowned. "And where would that be?"

"My world," Riku said simply.

A moment of silence passed between the girls. Then Elara spoke, her voice quiet but laced with a sharp, teasing edge. "Or," she said, "you just want to spend some alone time with the pretty noble lady."

Sherry and Lysaria immediately nodded in agreement. "She has a point," Sherry said, a cynical smirk on her face.

Riku's face flushed. "What? No! That's not it at all! This place is dangerous!" he denied frantically.

He turned to Lila, looking for support. "Lila, tell them!"

Lila just smiled, a playful glint in her eye. "Well," she said, "it is a very good opportunity to be alone with her."

Riku stared at her, betrayed. He was being cornered from all sides.

"Fine!" he said, throwing his hands up in defeat. "New plan. Lila, you're with me. The rest of you," he said, looking at Sherry, Lysaria, and Elara, "are going to the safe place."

He gestured for them to huddle together. "Close your eyes."

He placed a hand on Sherry's shoulder. He focused on the Seed. Enter.

A silent, imperceptible flash of light. When Riku stepped back, Sherry, Lysaria, and Elara were gone.

He and Lila walked back out of the alley. They found Aurelia waiting patiently, though her expression was confused.

"Where did the others go?" she asked, her gaze darting around the empty alley. "They were just here."

Riku offered a calm, mysterious smile. "They are scouts," he said, his voice a low, perfunctory rumble. "They have their own ways of moving. They will be back presently."

Aurelia stared at him. She knew it was a lie. But she also knew, after seeing him fight, that he was a man of impossible power. She decided not to press the issue.

"Alright," Riku said, his tone all business now. "Let's go. We need to find a place to stay. And then, we need to find some answers."

The city of Penitit was a chaotic, dangerous place. The streets were crowded with hard-eyed mercenaries, nervous merchants, and soldiers of the Tempest Legion who looked at everyone with open suspicion.

Riku, Lila, and Aurelia moved through the crowd. They kept their heads down. They tried to look as unassuming as possible.

"Where are we going?" Lila asked, her hand resting on the hilt of her knife.

"The city guard's office," Aurelia replied, her voice a low murmur. "It's the best place to start. They'll have records of local bandit activity. Maybe even a bounty on the men who attacked me."

Riku nodded. "Good idea. And they may have information about who controls the territory where you were found. It could be a clue."

They found the office in the center of the city. It was a squat, imposing building of black stone. Two heavily armed guards stood at the entrance. They looked even more grim than the ones at the city gate.

The three of them took a deep breath. They walked up the steps and entered the building.

The inside was a single, large, noisy room. Guards shouted orders. A captured thief was being dragged in chains towards a holding cell. A long queue of people waited to file reports or pay fines.

Riku, Lila, and Aurelia joined the end of the queue. They waited patiently.

They were just a few people away from the main desk when a man near the front of the line turned. He was a bounty hunter, his face scarred and his eyes sharp. His gaze swept over the room.

It landed on Aurelia.

The bounty hunter's eyes went wide. He stared at her for a long, shocked moment. Then, his face broke into a greedy, triumphant grin.

He raised a finger. He pointed it directly at her.

"There she is!" he roared, his voice cutting through the noise of the room. "That's her! The girl from the poster!"

Every head in the room snapped towards them. The shouting stopped. The guards froze. A hundred pairs of eyes, all filled with a sudden, predatory interest, were fixed on Aurelia.

Aurelia's face went pale. She looked at the bounty hunter. She looked at the wanted posters plastered on the wall behind the main desk.

She saw her own face staring back at her.

There was no time. No time to run. No time to explain.

Riku moved.

He did not draw a weapon. He did not prepare a grand spell. He reached out and placed a hand on Aurelia's shoulder.

Disguise. Minor Alteration. [-30 Goodwill Points]

A flicker of magic, too fast for any normal eye to see, passed from his hand into her.

Her silver hair, for a single, shimmering instant, turned a simple, mousy brown. The stormy grey of her eyes shifted to a plain, unremarkable hazel. A small mole appeared on her cheek.

The change was subtle. It was instantaneous.

"Where? Where is she?" The people started to gather around the bounty hunter who had cried out earlier.

The bounty hunter pointed a trembling finger at the now-disguised Aurelia. "Her! Right there! The silver-haired girl!"

A man standing nearby squinted at Aurelia. He then looked back at the wanted poster on the wall. "Silver hair? Are you blind, Jorn? Her hair is brown."

"And the poster says she has grey eyes," another woman added, shaking her head. "That girl's eyes are hazel. You've been drinking again."

The bounty hunter stared. He looked from the poster to the girl in the queue. He saw the plain brown hair. He saw the common hazel eyes. He saw the mole.

He blinked. He shook his head, trying to clear it. But I was so sure... I saw her. The silver hair...

The triumphant grin on his face faltered. He looked from the wanted poster to the girl in the queue.

The girl on the poster was a stunning silver-haired beauty with piercing grey eyes.

The girl in the queue was... plain. Brown hair. Hazel eyes. A common face.

They looked nothing alike.

The man in charge of the office, a grizzled captain with a bored, annoyed expression, slammed his fist on the desk.

"What is the meaning of this?" the captain roared at the bounty hunter. "Are you blind, you fool? You're holding up the entire line!"

The bounty hunter stammered. "But... but I was sure... she looked just like..."

"She looks nothing like the poster," the captain sneered. "Now get out of my sight before I throw you in a cell for wasting my time."

The bounty hunter, his face now a mixture of confusion and embarrassment, quickly scurried out of the office.

The captain watched him go. He let out a long, frustrated sigh. He then turned his tired, annoyed gaze to the front of the queue.

It was Riku, Lila, and the now-disguised Aurelia's turn.

"Alright," the captain grumbled, not even looking up from his paperwork. "What do you want?"

The grizzled captain's voice was a low, impatient grumble. "Alright. What do you want?"

Riku stepped forward. He leaned casually against the high desk. He projected an air of bored, professional confidence, something that would be natural for a native citizen.

"We're new in town," Riku said, his voice a low rumble. "My associates and I are looking for work. We heard there might be some high-value bounties in this region."

He jerked a thumb towards the wall behind the captain. It was covered in wanted posters. "That one, for example. The silver-haired girl. The reward is substantial. What's her story?"

Following Riku's gesture, the captain and the girls looked at the poster. The girls finally realized what had happened.

Lila's breath hitched. Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she forced her expression back to a neutral mask. She stared at a point on the far wall, trying to look bored.

Aurelia, standing beside her, went rigid. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She kept her head down. She focused on the scuff marks on her simple boots. She willed herself not to react.

She was still unsure how she was not immediately arrested, but she decided to keep quiet for now.

The captain glanced back at the poster. He then looked at Riku with a new, appraising light. He saw a tough-looking mercenary. He saw a potential source of income for the city.

He let out a short, humorless laugh. "Ambitious, are we? You're not the first to ask about that one, sell-sword. And you won't be the last."

"Well, we would like to try anyway." Riku spoke back with a calm expression.

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