The Camden guest house is surrounded by enforcers. Standing in their white-and-blue uniforms, they're loitering in the plaza outside and two of the streets leading away. They've "accidentally" left an escape route through an alley that I have no doubt will be even more heavily watched than the front, as well.

Rowan groans upon seeing them. "Oh, Tiganna, this is bad. What do we do?"

[Let me check their quest logs and see what they want,] I tell him.

Their auras are still ridiculous. Camden seems to be the sort of core that thinks it needs to give people quests for every little thing. I suppose it makes sense in a way, though, as then it can give them a continuous feed of extra experience for doing their jobs.

Most of them have the "Keep the Silence" quest, but before I go messing with their jobs, I keep looking to pick out who is in charge here.

A woman with four stripes on her uniform stands in a cluster of other officers on the far side of the square.

Name: Peace Camden Gleam Tiganna Race: Human | Gender: Female | Rank: Epic | Tier: Master | Class: Vivid Paladin Disposition: Neutral | Mood: Doesn't want to be here, doesn't want to be doing this

"An Epic?" Jade whispers in alarm. "Rust!"

[If anyone's senses are good enough to eavesdrop on her, please do. She's talking to her captains and I can't make out what they're saying from here.]

"We really shouldn't have stayed here last night," Rowan says.

"Shh, I'm listening," Jade hisses, then mouths, "Though she's being rather loud in her dissent. Can you still understand me?"

[Yes. What's she talking about?]

Jade mouths, "Complaining about wanting to retire and having to chase down kids who were probably having parties in the sewers."

I scan through the long, long list of quests representing laws Peace Camden is expected to enforce. The more I read on her aura, the more I realize these people are completely dependent upon their quest logs to do their jobs.

"Peace's naming day is next month," Jade mouths. "She's about to turn 63 and reach Elder tier, and choose a new class."

I focus on that to find out what exactly her job here is, and of all the assorted quests, I find the one that's clearly related to us.

Name: Suspicious Activity Quest Giver: Camden Description: A group was found behaving suspiciously after curfew. Their belongings were not searched due to suspected trickery. Discover their intentions.

"She's coming inside," Jade mouths as the figures out the window start moving. "To get coffee and wait for us while sitting down. Should we try to slip away?"

I shake my head. "I'm going to go say hi to her."

"Need I remind you that those Gleams in Amroth had quests to kill a little boy?" Rowan points out.

"Her quest is to discover our intentions, not kill us," I say. "That might shift to killing us if we have intentions she doesn't like but I don't think so. I have a hunch here. Camden's not one of the cores that sent assassins to kill a little boy."

I head for the door.

"Wait, don't forget your hat!" Rowan says.

I shake my head and keep walking. "Hunch."

Rowan grumbles and falls into step behind me. "You're insane. You're going to say hi to a potentially hostile Epic and you're not even scared."

He goes quiet when we step out into the hallway, and my party hesitantly follows me downstairs, though some of them hang further back to watch what I'm doing rather than get into the middle of whatever is about to go down.

I pause out of line of sight so I can get a closer look at her aura. I need to figure out what sort of person Peace Camden is and how she's liable to react to being told what.

I could detect that Carter the gnome's frost wand had murdered and tortured people before. I could probably detect that on a person's aura as well. Killing is a Deed that marks the soul. The slaying of a monster is like war paint. The murder of a sapient being, like a festering scar.

Skill acquired: Clairvoyance (Kill Record) Description: You can detect imprints of death and battle on a being's soul. More detail can be gleaned at higher levels.

I can't pick out any exact numbers yet, but I can tell readily that while Peace Camden has defeated plenty of monsters, she is no child killer.

I emerge from the staircase and approach her as she's leaning against a wall drinking coffee.

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"Chief Warden Peace Camden?" I ask.

"Yeah?" Peace says, looking at me critically. "Who're you, kid?"

Peace Camden is using Enhanced Senses (Detect Lies) Description: You have an ear for falsehood. You always know when someone is lying to you. Difficulty of detection depends upon the degree of deception and their opposing concealment skills. Note that this skill will not detect if someone speaks falsely unknowingly.

I had a hunch that she had a skill like that, and probably something that would have been able to see through my Invocation (Illusory Mask) as well. I bounce that notification to my party along with a warning to relax and absolutely do not lie to this woman.

"My name is Drake Corwen Tempest Tiganna," I say. "And this is my best friend, Rowan Talgarth, also Tempest Tiganna, of course. He wants to be a Paladin when he grows up. We just arrived in town last night. I'm sorry if we alarmed anyone. We didn't know about the curfew."

"There weren't any dark-haired kids in Sergeant Talon's report," Peace says.

"Oh, right, yeah," I say. "I'm a reincarnator, you see, but being treated like a kid all the time because I look like one gets tiresome. I have Invocation (Illusory Mask) and like using it when I need to deal with a business that might give an odd look to renting a suite to a bunch of kids. My family knows about it and considers me the 'responsible adult' of the group."

Peace takes a long drink of her coffee while digesting my words. "I see… and what exactly are you doing in Gleam?"

Peace Camden is an unknown skill. Aspects: Command, authority, speech. Auto-naming: Incantation (Voice of Authority)

"Doing quests, training skills, and delving dungeons, mainly," I say.

"Where are you going next?" Peace asks.

"Westminster," I say reflexively.

"And what exactly do you plan to do there?"

"Re-attune the Sacred Bell," I say. "I have a quest from Harrow to do so specific to my [Resonant Child] class."

Peace is silent for a long moment, her aura rippling with a complex mass of feelings. "Not from Westminster?"

"Westminster told me to join his party, though," Melody says, stepping up behind me. "Hi, I'm Melody Westminster Gleam Tiganna."

"The kid who rang the bell was a Harrow, wasn't he?" Peace says thoughtfully, and we nod. "Ah. I see. So Harrow gave you a quest to re-attune the bell as restitution for the damage the boy did when he rang the bell. It must have taken some time to find a [Resonant Child] willing to come and do it. I wouldn't be surprised if you were the only one with that class in Tiganna."

Three quests on her aura flash and give off varying amounts of experience, and one of them dissolves. A flicker of emotion follows, with more disappointment in it than one would expect of completing quests. She has one month left of "middle-age" before she starts accruing aging penalties, unless she manages to do something that pushes her over the edge into Legendary by that point. As an Epic, her lifespan is doubled, but she's not immune to old age, and people generally want to reach Legendary without their body having started to deteriorate. I don't know if any of her current quests will be enough. They're all worth under 1% rank progression for Epic to Legendary. Dribbles. She's close, though.

"Melody Westminster," Peace says. "You're carrying musical instruments, aren't you. Rumor has it that there was a Westminster girl who ran off to become a Bard and traveled all over the City."

"Music is good," I say. "Music brings people together and allows them to express their feelings and shared culture. I believe that the addition of music can only be an improvement to a society."

I aim Sorcery (Defiance) at her "Keep the Silence" quest. There's slightly more resistance than usual, but it's still gone in a moment.

Peace frowns in puzzlement as her quest disappears. "What did—"

Camden has given Peace Camden a quest: Escort Drake Corwen Description: Drake Corwen is here to help Gleam. Escort him safely to the Sacred Bell of Westminster. Reward: 5% Epic -> Legendary rank progression Result: Increase happiness rating of Gleam by 20%.

Peace draws in a sharp breath upon reading it. "Apparently Camden agrees with you." She takes a deep breath, her aura rippling with emotion, and bows toward me. "And by Camden's name, no harm shall come to you, Hero."

That… was not how I expected this to go. I'm pretty sure she can't see just how much experience this quest is worth, but her mood skyrockets and her face cracks to almost a smile.

Camden has issued you a challenge: Don't Defy the Law Description: Please refrain from using Sorcery (Defiance) within the bounds of Camden or on members of Camden Hearth. Reward: Experience, reputation with Camden Timer: 30 days

I nearly laugh when I see that. Fine, I can see when I'm being bribed into not making a mess. I'm sure it could tell how tempted I was to cause chaos.

Except now I'm slightly worried in what might be in that tower that Camden thinks I'd need an Epic-rank escort for.

"I need to know everything I can about that bell," I say.

"Of course," Peace says. "I'll tell you everything I know. Have you kids had breakfast yet? Never skip breakfast if you can help it. It's the most important meal of the day. Ah, there's my niece. Hope, get our guests some breakfast, would you?"

"Of course, Aunt Peace," Hope says.

While waiting on the food, I say to Peace, "You should know that I ran across two individuals in Amroth who had quests to kill Bucky Harrow, the boy who rang the bell, who is now seven years old. Their names were Diamond Barnet and Loon Sutton."

Peace scowls upon hearing that. "Barnet and Sutton. Of course they would be behind something like that. I do hope that hasn't given you the impression that Gleams condone murdering children, no matter what they've done."

"Fortunately, I met Melody next," I say.

"Melody," Peace says. "The name sounds like nonsense to me, but you say it like it means something."

"It's a musical term," I say. "I couldn't tell you why Westminster named her that."

Hope Camden reappears with plates of hearty food to place in front of us. Peace steps out to give new orders to her enforcers and give us a chance to eat.

"How did you know that would work?" Jade wonders, barely moving her lips. "What if she'd gotten a quest to kill you instead?"

[Then I would have removed it. But, I've gotten an impression of this place and the people who live here through reading their aether and vis. They're not bad people and this isn't a cruel place, despite how stifling their quest logs look. Aside from the "no music" thing, they didn't have any quests I'd find completely abhorrent.]

"And she's named Peace…" Melody says.

[I won't put it past people to have ironic names,] I point out. [But I promise to be careful should I meet anyone named 'Murderface' or 'Killsalot'.]

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