With Mattias and Klemens staying in the parked APC, Kate and Ethan disembarked and looked at their surroundings, while they walked to the fort.
When Kate and Ethan entered the fort, they were greeted by an armoured guard who sat behind a counter with a small stack of paper on top of it. He paid them no attention as he read a book. They came to stop at the counter and hit the bell next to the papers. He then looked up from his book and saw Kate in her dress. He immediately said:
"I am sorry ma'am, I presume you are here to attend to duke's party?"
"Yes, and my bodyguard will be coming with me."
"He can, but all weapons must be left over there. You are advised to take the key from the locker with you." guard replied while pointing to a room behind him.
Kate gave Ethan a short look and he immediately went to deposit his rifle in the locker room.
"Also, I am very sorry to stop you, but the party will begin in half past nine. In the meantime you can stay in the lounge with the other guest who is there. I hope you will enjoy this party, miss?"
"Gottfried."
"Thank you. I have a letter from duke for you."
"Thanks."
"Good bye, and see you later." refinished with a slight bow.
"See you later." replied Kate as she went with her bodyguard to the lounge. There in a corner sat a young man in tuxedo. He had green hair and green eyes, which surprised Kate a little bit. She went to sit on the other side of the room, which had a few cushioned chairs, a big crystal chandelier in the middle and three doors. One were giant and the other two were smaller, but still big. As she sat down the stranger started talking.
"Hello, I am honoured to be in presence of such fine lady like yourself."
"Thank you, and hello to you too."
"Of course my lady. My name is Lubbock and I am an important merchant in the Capital. Pleased to make your acquaintance. And you are?"
"I am Kate Gottfried, a commander of mercenaries who helped a nearby village against bandits. Could you tell me a few things about the Capital?"
"Oh, so you are the commander of those forces we heard so much on our way here. And about that information, what do you need to know?" said Lubbock with a small smile.
"Well, for example, how many people live there, how big it is, something like that."
"We estimate it covers about 15 000 km², is home to approximately 2.5 million people and has garrison of 30 000 guards. It's also HQ of the Imperial army. In the middle lays the Imperial Palace, home to our Emperor and that bast.., I mean Prime Minister Honest. Also what can you tell me about yourself and your squad, Kate?"
"I was born in a country named Germany, in city called Dresden. This country is far, far away. When I was two my parents died in an accident and I was moved to orphanage. Few years later my home was raised to the ground by some fanatics. I was lucky and hid in a basement. I swore to destroy them. Few days later I was found by a soldier called Tobias Gottfried. I then lived for a short time in another orphanage before he adopted me. There I met my brother Karl. We lived happily together, as my adoptive father left his position and moved to training new recruits. A few years I joined the army, as did my brother, but found it boring, so I decided to join a mercenary group. We then travelled through the land and ended up here. As for my squad, they are all trained with firearms and are a good company to be with. The person next to me is my second in command."
"Ethan Archer, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too. You have some impressive armour on you, what is it made from?"
"That is a trade secret, sorry." replied Ethan with a jovial tone. But he continued: "But I find it very interesting that a merchant might be interested in it."
"Ehm, it's just a hobby of mine." nervously chuckled Lubbock as he was rubbing back of his neck. "After all, selling arms and armour to Imperial army is a very lucrative business. So after a few years in trading business you learn to recognize a high quality equipment everywhere. Just made me curious where is it form, never saw armour like that here."
"So, how would your eye of an experienced merchant evaluate my armour?" asked Ethan while watching as Lubbock shifted his focus from him to Kate's neckline, which slightly irritates her.
After few seconds of silence, Ethan distracted Lubbock by clearing his throat, saving him from his irritated colleague. When he had Lubbock's attention (for the short while) he repeated hi question.
"Oh, sorry, from what I had seen it would be one of the best ballistic armours I had seen, but it seems like it wouldn't do well in a melee. Overall it would be a 7/10." Answered Lubbock while he started leering at Kate once again. Both Kate and Ethan were bewildered at his answer, as commando armour was the best of the best, in all regards and it also looked the part, with full body and extremely high coverage of all limbs.
After both of them decided that Lubbock is an idiot, and a pervert in Kate's case, they ignores him to the best of their capabilities. Few minutes later, other guests started arriving, so Lubbock shifted his attention to other women. Grateful for this, Kate decided to do some small talk with other guests. Ethan, after some consideration, stayed in his seat watching out for possible threats.
Circa ten minutes later the giant doors opened and in them stood an older gentleman and his two guards. The guards looked like a soldier of Swiss Guard, with top half of their armour being full plate, and the trouser having green and white stripes. The older gentleman, who introduced himself as Lord Thomas Rainer, wore a blue tuxedo so dark, that it seemed black, green shirt and white bowtie. As people started slowly trickling into the great hall behind him, he boomed: "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to my humble abode. I hope you enjoy my hospitality. I would also love to introduce everyone here to our guest of honour, Lady Gottfried, who with her mercenary band heroically saved a small village. Please a small applause for the hero of the day."
A polite applause broke out, with some people wearing happy expressions, while others, generally the richer ones, had very disinterested expressions. After the applause ended, everyone moved to the dancing hall, which was made in the same style as the rest of the fort with a few crystal chandeliers. On both sides of the hall were tables with what looked to be regional specialities on one side, while on the other were less region specific foods.
The party was in full swing, people were dancing, and Kate just finished discussing the situation of Revolutionary army with some nobles. Ethan was standing in the corner, happily eating a steak, when he saw the duke approaching Kate.
Seeing his approach, Kate asked him: "Lord Rainer, How can I help you on this fine evening?"
Lord Rainer looked around and when he thought that no one was watching, he started. "Lady Gottfried, I couldn't help but hear that you were asking around for the way to the Capital. Let me give you an honest suggestion, don't go there. Corruption is ripe there, people are acting more like monsters and the Army garrison is rotten to the core. But, if you still think you have to go there, let me give you a piece of advice: Trust no one, especially rich people who act kind. Well, thank you for listening to this old man and I wish you luck in your endeavours." With these words Lord Rainer turned around and went to get more steak.
Kate stood where she was, contemplating everything she just heard and its implications. She turned around and went straight to Ethan. When she reached him, she told him she had some important info and that seemed to be everything they will learn from this event. After a few minutes of comparing notes between them, they decided it was late enough and went to leave.
They were intercepted by Lord Rainer. "I hope you had a great time at my party", he said," and I which you well in your journey to the Capital. Farewell, and I hope to see you again." With these last words he left to talk to other guest who were also leaving.
Without complications, they boarded their APC and with Kate descripting her night they left the fort. Nearing the place they will have to leave the road, they met a mysterious rider slowly riding in the opposite direction. She had a distinctly female figure, blue hair, a white uniform which length was on the edge of decent, a corresponding cap and a very long rapier. When she looked at the APC, she seemed surprised with it, but nearly instantly, her expression changed to a grin. At that moment everyone tensed and started feeling uneasy, like the quiet before the storm. When both parties passed each other, the feeling disappeared. With everyone weirded out, their ride home was silent and uncomfortable until they reached their base.