The Legend of Voden: The Rise of the Hollow

Chapter 5: A Quest and a Questionable Questioning

"So why the mask, again?" The dragon in front of her impatiently tapped a talon on the ground while waiting for her reply.

"A part of our culture, sir." She replied as politely as she could. "We're not supposed to let strangers to see our faces."

The inspector raised a brow as he took note of her. Raziela took an inevitable sideways glance at him, then quickly moved her head away, not wanting to arouse suspicion. From what she assumed, the inspector that was questioning her now was just like an ordinary guard and no more.

But no matter what she did, the slight tremor in her heart wouldn't go away.

She still remembered the first few lines of small talk with him, the polite gestures, the hearty laugh when he greeted her and told her his name-Thermal. The memory slowed her pounding heart a little. She most definitely could still remember that he was the one, and the only one that insisted on "obligatory procedures" before letting them into the city. The other guards didn't care at all.

Thermal's sweet talk even managed to persuade Raziela to "ask her some questions". She agreed whole-heartedly without thinking twice. Who could resist the invitation of a polite gentleman?

Alas, her face was a mixture of dread and regret when she was invited to a cold, dark room near the barracks of the city. A room that she perfectly knew that was used as the interrogation room if she guessed correctly.

And Thermal certainly knew how to use that room.

So far, Thermal had only asked her a few basic questions, nothing out of the ordinary. She had to lie about her name and his mentor's, of course. The names alone would arouse suspicion among the citizens of the city. Etherion would be unhappy, of course but it had be done anyway. "Rebecca" and "Eric" seemed like much more sleek and pleasant names to her at least.

The questioning went well for a few minutes when there was a knock on the door and Thermal had to answer it. The face of a guard appeared and Thermal only muttered a few indecipherable words before hushing the guard out the doorway.

"Security stuff." Inspector Thermal explained. Indeed, security measures were to be expected of a grand city that had to keep its reputation intact. The City of Seasons was like a haven to almost all creatures-not just dragons. Cheetahs, gnomes and even the occasional friendly goblin were also inhabitants of the city. Merchants, mercenaries made the city their homes as they traded and eventually settled down. Of course, a large population always meant thieves and other criminals would become a problem, just as in every other city in the Continent of Aurania.

At least she knew the inspector was trying to do his job well.

"Culture, eh?" The inspector said as he resumed his questioning. "So you must have come from the Howling Desert."

Raziela nodded. It was indeed a traditional practice for the natives of the Howling Desert to wear their masks, not that she knew much of it though. She wasn't one of them after all. She had just bought the mask for fun, much to her mentor's dismay. At least, it came in handy now when she had to disguise herself and hide her face from the inspector that was studying her.

"To be honest with you," The inspector said as he began to pace around the room. "I have not seen many from that-a-place nowadays."

Raziela nodded, lowering her head but not her eyes. She couldn't think of a suitable reply so she decided it was best to be quiet about it.

She could hear Thermal tapping his talons on the ground again, the sound echoing in the empty room. To her, that sound was deafening.

"A quiet one, are you? No offense. But, are you here for the spice trade?"