Unlike The Valentine Clan's main castle which looked like its lower levels became part of the slope, Dunlon, the capital of Midas, castle was carved out of the side of a mountain and the mountain peak towered over the city. As part of the mountain, there was only one in the front. The major city value was simply the gold mine. Donlun has the largest known gold mine in the world.

The issue with the shadow spy in the midst of Midas's army hadn't been resolved. And would be a subject of controversy. The surrounding town was later put before the castle; it was still raised above even as a relief of the mountain.

Surprisingly they were bothered at all by entering and coming to another Montgomery company warehouse. This one was noticeably smaller than most of the rest especially considering the importance of the Capitol. The town seemed welcoming enough to Kurt. He wasn't sure why everything seemed a bit less than normal for them. Carl did more of his business in Hamlet.

There was a message, an invitation, from King Lucas. Though it was polite clearly this wasn't simply an invitation. He was going to bring Betsy this time what was going to be said most likely would affect her job anyhow. If everything went right then hopefully most of the political problems would be dealt with, dealing with the King of Midas and the Crown Prince Hamlet would make their lives on the continent much easier.

The streets of Donlun were quieter than Kurt was used to; there was a bigger presence of military here than in most cities. Even though the streets were filled with mostly off-duty soldiers. There was a lot in the way of food and armor shops. There were large industrial sections of what seemed like forges and smoke stacks.

Donlun was also the military headquarters and main training facility. The harsh mountain made marches hard but gave them incredible endurance. It was common for their armies to cycle and come back here to be resupplied. It was a mix of newbies and veterans on the civilian streets. There was also a decent amount of sailor groups as there was a naval station in the next town and there was regular back and forth. You could tell by their uniforms that the sailors tended to move in packs. There were still workers and citizens but to stay Donlun was a military town would be an understatement.

It would not be the best place to find new people for his settlement as almost everyone was employed as a part of the military. They couldn't get AWOL troops and maintain peace.

"Whoa," said one of the soldiers, "never seen a sword like that before." Giving Kurt a look up and down. "Where'd you get it?"

"It's custom-made," said Kurt.

"You don't seem to be soldiers, what are you doing here?"

"We're traders invited by the King."

"The King really? Any proof of that?" A few more soldiers had gathered.

"Well actually," said Kurt, "I do have this message from him. We haven't yet met. This is my first time here, I'm not trying to cause any trouble. Is there a ban on arms in the city? I will return to my carriage and remove it. I saw many of you are armed and didn't think much of it."

The man looked at the invitation and the broken seal that was undeniably the King's. "And you would be Kurt."

"Yes, Lord Kurt actually," hinting that it would be better to just forget about this.

"Where are you heading?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I usually take a bit of the town when I visit a new place. I have been traveling for a bit and need to move those legs right? Do you have any suggestions of perhaps a place where one might get a drink?"

"You see that place over there?" He pointed to a small pub. "They can help you, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to remain there," signaling his guards, "I'm going to have to confirm this. It would be best if you kept that blade in its sheath."

"Of course, I'm not too busy," said Kurt. "But please hurry." Kurt was opposed to a few drinks and didn't want to cause any more trouble than this was.

Kurt had a seat at the pub's bar and ordered a simple ale. And talked to one of the others at the bar. There were guards still at the door. No one seemed to mind or care. Kurt had taken some time and finished his first drink and was about to signal the bartender for another when the first officer came back and the other guards soon left as he walked in.

"So," said Kurt, "everything checked out."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry for interrupting your visit," the man signaled the bartender, "this man's tab is on us."

"And another," Kurt added. "Stay a while, what was your name?"

"It's Kevin sir," said the officer nervously.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure it's weird seeing a strange man with a weapon walking about, you were probably just doing your job."

"Yes sir."

Kurt signaled the bartender whose attention was far easier to get to get one for the man he was paying anyway right? "You should probably start saying more than just, sir and yes."

"Yes…ummm. I think…sorry…my commander was not very happy about the report."

"Yeah, I can see that," said Kurt, "I could write something about your professionalism if you'd like."

"That would be amazing," said the man, finally taking a drink.

"You know it's a damn shame if you never really took a look though," said Kurt.

"A look sir?"

Kurt undid the belt that held the sword and sheath, as it was easier than removing the sheath. And handed it to Kevin. "At the sword that caused the problem in the first place."

Kevin took the sword and unsheathed it. The polished blade seemed flawless elven writing wrapping around the blade. "It's beautiful." He tested the blade's sharpness, "This must have been just sharpened and polished."

"Nope," said Kurt, "actually been through several fights."

"What's the metal, it's not steel it's some alloy, and is this a mana stone in the pommel? Where in the world did you find someone who could make this? Balance sharp, just that bit of flex you want."

"Oh I know a guy," said Kurt.

"I've never seen markings like this either."

"It's sort of their trademark."

Several other soldiers had come and gathered to admire it. Talking amounts to admiration. Kevin finally sheathed the sword and gave it back to Kurt who refashioned his belt back onto his pants.

Kurt and Kevin had many more rounds of drinks. Somewhere in the middle Kevin remembered to give Kurt a badge from the commander that would stop anyone else like him from bothering him.

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