The walk back didn't take too long, as the dungeon hadn't been very far from Bastion City.
And much to his delight, the guards at the outer wall couldn't care less about the stray cat he was carrying in his arms, even if the fur on said cat was an ever-changing surface of pink, purple, and green.
Now, he only had to walk to the inner wall and hope the guards there would let him through.
Chronos hadn't gone into the inner city yet, even though he was technically allowed access, ever since he joined Paragon. He was content with staying in the more bustling outer ring, where life was vibrant and the flow of time pulsed with activity.
He met a few other players from the guild as he walked toward the inner circle, and nodded his head at them in salute, being respectful. Most of them nodded back, but some just huffed in response.
Chronos ignored them, as he had more urgent business to attend to than get into disagreements with nobodies. The ones that acted this way would most likely never meet the guild leader, and he had just dungeon'd with him.
So he couldn't care less.
Reaching the inner wall gate, Chronos stopped at the guardhouse for identification.
The guards there threw one look at him and signalled him to proceed inward, not even taking the time to ask his name or reason for going inside.
Chronos looked at them deadpan, his eyes reflecting his confusion, but not his face.
One guard saw this and stepped up to him.
"Sir. The king passed here earlier and gave us a list of names to let through without the usual checkups. Your name figures on this list. You no longer need to stop for identification from now on."
Chronos looked at him and smiled as best he could.
"Alright then. Good day to you, fine gentlemen."
He walked through the gate; the guards giving him a salute, before going directly toward the tree palace.
Chronos wondered why Astaroth would do that, but then again, he wouldn't complain. Even if he preferred to live in the outer ring, having easy access to the inner ring was a boon.
The checkups to enter weren't always the shortest, after all.
He wondered if it would be the same for the palace, though. The guard around the palace was much tighter.
After walking for a while, and reaching the palace plaza, a squad of royal guards stopped him.
"Please hold, sir," the one up front said.
'Makes sense that they would stop me here,' Chronos thought.
"What are your reasons for visiting the palace today, Sir Chronos?" the guard asked, using a scanning tool to identify him.
"I wanted to meet the guild leader. Would that be possible?" Chronos stated, remaining calm.
The soldier smiled at him, putting away the scanning tool.
"We have orders to bring you to the secondary meeting rooms if you come seeking an audience, Sir Chronos. Please follow us. We will guide you to them."
Chronos nodded his head, walking behind them as they spun around toward the palace.
Two of the guards walked ahead, while the other two flanked him, making him feel like an important person.
'Why did Astaroth order them to do this? Did he know I would come to seek him?'
In the meantime, the cat in Chronos' arms had woken up and was looking around with rapt attention, his tail swishing from left to right. He took in the details, seemingly looking for something.
Reaching the palace doors, the guards there saluted the squad and their escort, opening the doors for them. Chronos looked at everything around him with curiosity.
He hadn't visited the palace yet and wondered how it was on the inside. He was impressed when he came into view of the slick wooden architecture, as well as the ornamental statuettes and paintings that adorned the halls and walls.
This was far fancier than he envisioned, for a palace ruled over by Astaroth. This felt like it was more of a facade than his genuine expression of decor.
He wasn't far off the mark, given Astaroth loathed all this presentation. But he couldn't order the staff to take it down, since Phoenix wanted the visitors to feel the wealth in the halls of the palace.
She understood the importance of portrayal when receiving ambassadors, political figures, and other monarchs.
Even though she had yet to meet any of these people, since they had only recently come back from the update, she wanted the decor to state their superior status. If only to ensure a more levelled playing field when discussing with them.
Chronos walked with the guards until they arrived at an open door, which led into a study of some kind, with library-adorned walls and fancy sofas. The guards motioned for him to go in, and two of them left immediately, probably to fetch Astaroth, while the two others stood outside the door.
He wasn't sure it was to keep him in or to keep others out. But he felt a bit trapped.
Not long after, he heard footsteps from outside the room, followed by some grumbling.
"You didn't need to stand guard outside the room…. Jesus. Now he'll think he's a prisoner… Come on. Off you go."
"Yes, my lord! Our apologies, my lord!"
Chronos heard a deep sigh, as the metallic boots clanked on the wooden floor, getting further.
This drew a brief smile to his lips before his face became emotionless again.
Astaroth walked into the room, already out of his armour, and into some fancier clothes. His bloodied figure was now clean, his long hair still wet and falling slightly on his shoulders.
"I'm sorry if you felt inconvenienced, Chronos. Everyone is so… uptight here. I just wanted to be sure you were tended to, not guarded like a criminal."
Chronos shook his head in response.
"It's fine. They were only doing what they thought their job was. I take no offence to it."
"Good," Astaroth said with a sigh.
"You wanted to see me?" he added.
Chronos shook his head. As he did, the cat in his arms jumped off of him and sauntered over to Astaroth.
"Not me. Him. Or her? I haven't checked if it's a male or female…"
Astaroth watched the cat on the ground as it walked to him and passed in between his legs.
"The cat? The cat wanted to see me?"
Astaroth frowned, as he thought it was a joke. But Chronos looked dead serious.
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