"Wait," I called Captain Rayden. "What are you going to do about…him?"

"I'll write a report to my superiors. It's up to them how they evaluate the information you gave us. The name Frederic Dungreen is not unknown to the Sahal. Unfortunately, he doesn't move in our territory," the captain told me.

"But…" I tried to object.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do more, miss Grey. I'm sorry about what happened to you and what you had to go through. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair, you didn't deserve it, but that's life. My job is to keep Castiana safe. I can't do more than inform my superiors," Rayden said.

Her tone was stern but without anger.

I sighed. "I understand."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I should have been somewhere else fifteen minutes ago. Have a nice day," she said.

As she walked away, the aura she emitted disappeared with her. The peace of mind I had in her presence faded, and without it, my worries muffled only by my skill returned. I began to breathe hard, which the captain's assistant noticed.

"Please sit down," he pointed to three chairs by the wall. "Captain's skill has such an effect on many people."

"So it was a skill," I muttered.

Assistant nodded. "It calms the guards when the city is under attack or someone like you."

"And that I told her everything, even what I didn't want to?" I asked with bitterness in my voice.

"It's a function of interrogation rooms," Trevis said.

So the whole room was magical too, like a giant lie detector. At least Travis explained it to me, and I didn't have to worry about it anymore.

I didn't want to stand and wait for him to process my ID card, so I came to the chairs the assistant had pointed at. I turned one around so that I could sit comfortably on it.

As it turned out, processing my ID required filling in several forms. For me, such work would be a small hell. I could handle it if I had to, but I would suffer. The idea of stacks of papers around me, waiting to be processed was horrifying. It wasn't a job for me. But Travis was in his element, or so it seemed to me.

"Miss Grey, could you....," Trevis said but stopped when he raised his head and looked at me.

He blushed, immediately turned his head to the side, clearing his throat.

"Um, miss, when you sit there like that, I can see everything," Travis said.

I looked down. The back of this chair was not made of one massive piece, but its lower part was formed only by partitions, slim sticks. At that instant, I blushed too. I did not realize that. Rayden hadn't said anything before, but she probably didn't see anything behind the table. But now I was not sitting directly at the table but in the room. Trevis could see my intimate parts through the partitions.

I immediately stood up, put the chair back in place, and tried to pretend that nothing had happened.

"What did you ask?" I asked.

"Yes, I need a drop of your blood to confirm the ID," he said, still red in the face.

He wasn't such a tough guy as he seemed at first. I thought he was an arrogant jerk who was above everyone else, except his superiors. I imagined him as a typical ass kisser.

Trevis pointed to a device on his desk. Another magical tool, apparently designed to create ID cards. Mine was already located in it. There was a clearly marked place to place my finger. I sensed that something would stab me in the finger as soon as I put my finger there. How else would they get a drop of my blood?

I put my thumb to the marked space.

"Tsss," I hissed in pain as the device stabbed my thumb.

Trevis smiled. "Great"

He took the ID out of the device and placed it on the table in front of me. Then he got up and started taking other things out of the cabinet behind him. In a moment, I was looking at the card, the ring, and the pouch with coins.

"What is all this?" I asked him, pointing to the objects.

"The standard package Castiana gives to refugees or slaves like you. ID, fifty silvers and a spatial ring the size of one cubic decimeter, so that you have a place to put it all in", he explained to me.

I stared at him with my mouth open. I had no idea how to react to this. It was great to get something, but I had no idea how much it was. I had no idea how much a loaf of bread cost in the city or a night at an inn. I never expected to get the spatial ring. I thought it was expensive, even though the size of the storage space of ten by ten by ten centimeters wasn't much, just enough for the bag, ID, with room for a few small things.

"How does the ring work?" I asked.

Travis sighed. "You put it on, use a drop of your blood and let your mana flow through it."

I squeezed my thumb, which already had a small wound, and as soon as my blood was on the ring, I let my mana flow through it. It was a trick that took me a long time to learn. Mana was something that people on Earth did not have in their bodies. It was something entirely unnatural for me back then. But now mana was a part of me.

When I sent mana into the ring, I immediately felt the little cube in the space that was mine. It was a strange feeling that disappeared when I stopped sending mana to the ring.

"How do I get those things in the ring?" I asked again.

"Just touch them and will them to move to the storage," Travis explained.

I touched an ID that appeared in a magically created space when I imagined a card there. The same thing happened to the whole pouch. I even felt how much space I had left in this magical storage.

"So that's all, miss Grey. Have a nice day. The door is over there. In the hallway to the right, then across the courtyard and you will be out of the barracks," Trevis said, pointing to the door leading from his office.

I stopped. "Wait, I don't know anything about this city."

"That's not my problem," he replied.

"Can't you at least tell me where to start? Where can I, I don't know… find a job, a roof over my head?" I asked him.

Trevis sighed. "City hall, ask at the city hall. Before you ask, it's at Imperial Square."

"Ok, thank you...how will I get there?"

I could see his frustration, but I had to ask him.

"On the street to the right, basically to the city center. So, on the street go straight on until you reach the square. That's it. Look for the biggest building there."

When I woke up on the banks of the Treim river soaked but free. I did not expect to find understanding and compassion in the people of Eleaden. These were rare traits to find even in people on Earth. Instead, I met Scoresby, a merchant who gave me food, took me to Castiana, and he didn't want anything in return. I didn't even thank him. Now I got money from the city to a new beginning, instead of a beating and being taken out of the city limits.

I didn't expect them to lead me by the hand, tell me exactly what to do. But it would have been nice.

I found the way out quickly, it wasn't tricky, and Travis didn't lie to me. Even found Imperial Square and city hall, which really was the most prominent building there, with the biggest sign.

I stood in front of it, unsure if I should really go to the city hall.

The number of people heading in and out of the Castiana City Hall was one of the reasons I was so hesitant to visit the building. I didn't feel good in their presence. Each of them could be a potential enemy. However, I was in the city, and these were usually full of people. I couldn't hesitate or run every time I met a person.

After taking a deep breath, I headed for the city hall.

It was incredibly noisy inside. My ears and more sensitive hearing may have been to blame, but the truth was that dozens of people, maybe hundreds, were talking to each other here. A vast room where there were three receptionists behind the counters on one side, on the other, there were boards with notices. Opposite the entrance was a staircase leading to the second floor.

I didn't hesitate and stood in one of the queues in front of the reception. New people were continually being added to them, so it was not worth standing in the middle of the hall while I admired its architecture. I could do that while standing in the queue.

Behind the long counter at the front desk was a man and two women. I chose one woman who, in my opinion, looked the least threatening. The receptionist was smaller than me, black hair, round face, dressed in a green-yellow uniform whose appearance was the same as the other receptionists.