The guard to the left eyed Ferren and his company with a scrutinizing gaze, before leaning over to his compatriot to the right.
"He doesn't look much like royalty," he whispered.
"Who knows how far they've been traveling? The head guard would go bananas if he found out you even touched a boy who could be royalty."
At Tayus's comment about Lina, the right (and seemingly more cheerful) guard perked up.
"Ha! He'd better have a good spot of gold if he wants to see that lass, but more power to you, son!" He let out a hearty chuckle and began to push open the door, while his sullen companion kicked at the dirt, his tough facade diminished in his fear of punishment, and Ferren blinking in surprise that Tayus had seemingly worked some magic on the two.
When the gates opened, the boy's eyes set on the first town he'd ever seen. Tall tenements made of gray brick, cobblestone roads and near the entrance an old fountain, seemingly rusted and malfunctioning. To an experienced traveler, this town would seem drab and perhaps even a bit slummy, but Ferren's eyes lit up a bit when seeing just how different it was to his home village.
Still, he had to remember he was on a mission. The less he thought of that, the longer it would be before he could get home and return to normal life. He tried to think of what they had to do.
"We're... supposed to find a higher quality map, right? And more supplies?"
He knew that was what they needed, but his leadership skills were still mostly non-existent, so his 'commands' ended up being more like puny requests.