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30 — Checkpoint
🕑 Added 2025-07-12 06:43:43 +0000 UTCRennia covered her face from the burning sun's gaze. They were sunburnt and probably tanned by now, despite being covered in the lumberhauler's cart. A half-hour's ride for a few gold coins spent seemed like an amicable trade, except for the lack of shade. Ishmere seemed happy she didn't have to walk any further.
They were kicked off as soon as the city's gates were in sight. The hauler's words stung at the back of her ears: "Not getting fined for carrying a bunch of strays." As if they were refugees and stragglers. She was too tired to get worked up by a poorly worded comment. Instead, she drew her awe into the big city's capital walls.
Ivarcant loomed over even the thick walls—a jagged spire, and tall buildings made of hard brick seemed to reach the skies. Guard towers were built into the walls themselves, and a detachment of soldiers were patrolling on them, beating drums and blowing deafening trumpets. For Rennia, it was an awe-inspiring and frightening experience to witness it up close and to think that both her sisters lived in such a place.
The checkpoint they had to go through was packed with caravan companies and heavy cargo manually carried in by city workers. Men with clipboards inspected every detail, and guards with bows and halberds stalked the entrance grounds. So much security—if she hadn't studied, she would have thought it was a full-blown army.
Her heart was racing with anticipation and fear—fear of the people inside, uncountably more people than those who lived in Kibblestadt. Hordes upon hordes of people with different accents, exotic foreigners, bringing merchandise and things she'd never laid eyes on.
It sounded interesting, and yet the excitement in her heart was too much to bear.
She stopped abruptly, barely four paces toward the smaller gate, and they were halted at once. A man with a stoic face but sharp eyes stood in front of them, his sword nearly as tall as Rennia was—a greatsword wielder, an uncommon sight from where she was from. Great weapons were heavy, really fucking heavy.
"Papers, please? Or a permit or a pass."
Papers? What papers? She didn't recall Ishmere packing papers or bringing them along. If she had known such a thing would happen, she would have packed her guild certificates with her.
Ishmere stepped forward, grin as wide as a half moon. "Ahem, I'm a citizen living on the outskirts beyond the city. Unfortunately, I lost everything in a house fire, including those papers. Of course, you would have to let us through so I can address the issue with the necessary authorities."
The man raised his brow and folded his arms. "And her? Is she also a citizen with burned papers, or did a dog lick the papers wet? I've heard just about every excuse this week from people who don't want to pay the entry fee."
Rennia shuffled her feet, looking downward—not shy, but caught off guard. What was she supposed to say here? Ishmere rubbed her elbow against hers and gave her a sidelong glance. The guard was not impressed, to say the least; he tracked it all.
"She's my niece from a neighboring country. There are laws about that, aren't there? As her guardian, she should be let through with me," she said, rubbing her chin.
"Uh huh, that's if you can prove it." He took a stride forward, standing over Ishmere. "Neighboring country, huh? Outside of the borderlands. Let me take a wild guess—Seldia, Osterria, or the Myryethan dominion. Truth is, it doesn't matter. If you can't produce citizenship, adventurer, or merchant papers, or anything of relevant stature, you're not going through without a fine. Two hundred gold per person, and that's final. I don't care if your grandmother's dying or your house burned down with your life savings inside. Pay up or turn around."
Ishmere raised her head, arms on her ribs. "Very well then. I didn't want to do this, but since I'm cornered—" She held out her hands like she was casting a nasty spell. Rennia had to make doubly sure she didn't jinx the man. "I'm Ishmere Hurshaya. There, that should be enough."
The guard remained unfazed and snorted. "Ishmere is dead, burned in a terrorist attack. Seen that old rust bucket of a tavern myself, which would add up to your paper story except she's dead. Unless you've got some kind of remarkable truth—and just so you know, I saw her once when I was much younger, and she looked way older than you appear to be—so I will ask again: papers, please."
"You know damn well 400 gold is practically extortion. That's more than most people see in a few months! What's next, charging us for the privilege of breathing your city's air? This is highway robbery with a badge."
Rennia stepped backward, unsure if she should add a rebuttal or intervene in the conversation. This wasn't going well. The clinking of the coins in the bag made the man turn his head. His eyes narrowed, and then he whistled in the direction of the guard station.
"I was about to let you turn around, but now I'm concerned." Ishmere, caught off guard, stared at him with a blank face, unperturbed. "Boys, we got two toll dodgers."
Rennia panicked and instantly gripped her sword. Ishmere's hand kept her from drawing, still composed. She gave a glint of the eye and shook her head. "Don't."
She swallowed as leering guards approached.
"Take them to the tent, shake them down, check their coin, then bring them back here for judgment."
"What? This is tyrannical. We really aren't criminals," Rennia argued. She felt helpless but had nothing to do but lay her fate in whatever trump card Ishmere had up her sleeve.
"Which would be correct if you two didn't seem like the most suspicious folk—bloody smears, a bag of coin on your back, questionable stories, false identity claims. What else?" the guard rattled off.
Four hands grabbed Ishmere by her arms and dragged her. "This isn't standard policy. Let go of me straight away, you mongrel fools."
"Strip search—standard policy, in fact." He turned to Rennia and sighed. "Do we have to carry you as well? Just walk, won't you? You're not getting out of this one."
"I guess not."
There really was no room to fight. They were tired, she was exhausted and outnumbered, and in front of an armed faction as well. Rennia lowered her head and sagged her shoulders, walking on as the bag of gold was ripped off her back.
***
Ishmere was thrown on the ground like a sack of unwanted goods. She groaned in pain and rolled over. The guards rummaged through the backpack, starting to count the gold coins piece by piece.
The three guards shut the curtains of the tent, and Rennia had an ominous feeling in her stomach. She started breathing heavily. Her sword was confiscated, but nothing barred her from grabbing one of their weapons. Trapped in a room full of male guards, with no way out. The way they were lecherously staring at her made her heart race. She hoped Ishmere thought of something.
"Alright, two ways we do this. Here's how this works, ladies. We're reasonable men, but we need some... insurance that you're not here to cause trouble. You can either lighten your purse considerably, or one of you can show us just how grateful you are for our discretion. And you don't need to let the guard captain know."
It wasn't the money that scared her but the fact they wanted to take immediate advantage of them. Sure, she was slutty, but this...
He dropped his pants, and she saw his visible hard bulge, smirking all the while, displaying his despicable behavior. She was not going to play along with their game. She was going to shout as loud as she could, or she would stab one in the groin.
They let out a laugh.
Ishmere tugged at the edges of her blouse, then drew out her bare breasts by the edges, which spilled out, bare and heavy from being tucked in. She didn't cover them, displayed them openly. She put one hand on her breast and cupped it, another hand over her mouth making a sucking gesture. "So why didn't you say something earlier?"
The room went quiet and all eyes fell on her. Men were really simple, and most cruel in their hearts.
Rennia attempted to cover her, frantically scrambling all over her. "Ishmere!" A guard held her back, and Ishmere smiled, giving her another all-knowing look. Rennia hated every moment of this and would have preferred to just get thrown in a cell than go through with it.
Ishmere, on her knees, took it a step further. "Fine. As you say, a mutual agreement by civil folk and fellow citizens." Ishmere lifted her skirt, and the guard tensed.
A guard nudged the other and tapped him on the shoulder—a confirmation to them that even their despicable acts had borders. "Woah, hold on now. We didn't ask for the full package. We just might get in trouble. What we wanted—"
Ishmere, still in the process of stripping, stared the guard dead in the eye, her jaw clenched. "Is this not what you wanted? A little assurance and maybe something more?"
Rennia put her hands over her face. She knew what would come next—they would see it, her cock in full display, and then what would happen to them?
"Ishmere, what are you doing? This is insane—there has to be another way. Please, just stop this madness before it gets worse."
The immortal winked at her, and then Ishmere threw it all off as she rose, letting the skirt and blouse disappear from her body. The tent of corrupt bastards were left stunned. Her swaying hips, soft supple breasts, wide hips, and tantalizing skin that would put even fair women to shame. And below it all, of course, her trap—her cock, half-awake, resting against her balls.
One guard fell off the chair he was sitting on, another stepped back and stumbled against a wooden pole. "What the actual fuck—"
"Don't look directly at her! My grandmother always said creatures like that can curse you with a glance. Turn away, turn away!"
"Another futanari? Here?"
Another?
Stunned as they were, their bravado had completely disappeared. "As you know, people like me are quite rare in Ivarcant, or most of the western continent. You should be thankful, fools, to bear witness to my divinity. Now you shall let us pass, or I shall lay waste to your wives and daughters."
Panic—utter panic—was all Rennia could describe what was happening. The guards were frantically scrambling, unable to decide where to sit, likely due to fearing her. Rennia was both ashamed and glad they were perturbed by her stunt, although the monologue was overly embarrassing.
A guard stepped slightly forward. "A trick—it has to be. Or are you a man in disguise?"
Another one, twitchy and irritable, shook his head. "Can't be. Must be a witch or succubus or demon from the north. Didn't that demon queen have a schlong too?"
"No, you idiot, she's a normal person, just weird."
Rennia sat quietly in all this, not knowing what to do. Perhaps Ishmere should handle it all. It didn't take long for the guard captain to appear—the very same guard that had stopped them from entering. He flinched, his eye twitched, and then the massive sword he held fell and clanged to the ground.
"What the hell is this?" He stared in confusion. His stoic and rigid wall of a face finally broke. Rennia was having a headache. They should have just paid the fine. "Why the fuck is she naked, and why the fuck does she have a cock?"
"It's one of those, cap. You know..."
He gave his fellow guardsman a heavy stare and a sneer.
The man rubbed his hands over his face. He took a deep breath. "Are you a descendant of the goddess Arosia, or is your affliction dungeon or magically related?"
"A bit of both... maybe," Ishmere hummed.
"I—I don't have time for this." He stopped himself briefly from speaking, pondering very hard. "Well then, you should know people of your 'stature' have religious connotations to the Church of Arosia in the city, and I'd hate to get on the bad side of those lunatics. Though I find it very hard to believe that you are the Ishmere you claim to be—"
"The Arosian Church knows my worth, and death? Death is for mortals who lack imagination. I've danced with oblivion and made it beg for mercy. Now, I suggest you remember your place and grant passage to someone who could turn this entire checkpoint into a crater if properly motivated."
A black lie.
"That doesn't explain this person," and he pointed at Rennia, much more wary than he was before.
"She's my apprentice, a country bumpkin from Kibblestadt. No one important."
"Hey!" Rennia called out at the blatant insults.
"You're telling me you traveled all this way from Kibblestadt, in the neighboring kingdom of Osteria, just to follow this woman? That's quite a journey for someone so young. What exactly are you hoping to find in Ivarcant, Ms.?"
"Rennia," she said shyly and in shame. She nodded. "I—I don't quite know just yet."
One guard winced and tried slipping out of the tent. The captain gave him a stink eye and held up his hand. He turned to them. "Explain to me why Ms. Hurshaya was naked. Abusing your authority again? Maybe I'll have you all flogged at the next training camp."
The guard scratched his head. "You know how it is, cap. We were just trying to have some fun. Work is heavy and all. But what we're seeing here isn't normal. No one just walks out of the otherworld. You'd need at least a month's worth of prayers and a sanctioned resurrection spell, and last I heard, the people of this city didn't like—"
"Shut the fuck up!" He coughed into his hands. "You're free to go, Ishmere Hurshaya, and Ms. Rennia. I ask that you modestly redress yourself, Ms. Hurshaya." Ishmere let out a victorious giggle.
"Ah, good. I was beginning to wonder if the stories about Ivarcant's guard intelligence were true. Now, unless you want to explain to your superiors why you detained a very powerful mage, I suggest you step aside."
"Yes, well, try not to display your cock in public too much. You'll attract the wrong crowd."
The guard had a very dead-inside face. Rennia could feel his pain, honestly.
They were being let go, at least. A flimsy reason that was absurd, but they were free. Never in a million years had she seen such a thing play out, much less had she expected such a favorable outcome. The people of the city knew her, and as a revered figure no less. The acts and her behavior were wild, all things considered, but perhaps there really was more to her.
"Let me be clear on one thing, Ishmere Hurshaya," the guard captain spoke up. "I don't care if you're blessed by every god in the pantheon or cursed by every fae in the faeland. You cause trouble in my city, you display yourself inappropriately in public, or you harm even one citizen, and I'll personally drag you to the Church of Arosia and let them decide what to do with you. Divine protection or not, I have a job to do. Are we clear?"
Ishmere gave him a wide grin.
"That goes for you maggots as well!" he shouted, and every man in the barracks swung their arms upward. They shuffled, and some started fleeing. "Poor excuse for guardsmen."
