Lucas left the shop and then quickly made the return trip back to the estate. Thankfully, now that he had the right uniform, he was able to pass the guard and get into Maidbanger’s keep without more than a cursory glance. It quickly became obvious as he treaded deeper inside that everything had been decorated with at least one common theme in mind: everywhere he looked, there were statues and paintings of beautiful women, all of whom were either naked or barely-dressed. There was also at least one maid in every room. Most carried around feather dusters as if they were hard at work, but he noted that they giggled at nothing randomly and often.

Lucas snorted, imagining who had first dreamed up this Baron’s home. Whoever programmed this is definitely a deviant.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” one of the guards asked as he caught Lucas studying the art. “Makes you really appreciate coming to work, it does.”

“Yeah . . . I bet.” Lucas responded without giving the guard a second thought and continued through the stronghold. He pressed forward, easily navigating the building’s corridors, until he came to a guarded door with two men blocking his entrance. He could hear the sounds of women moaning from the other side, and he did his best ignore it as he turned to the guard on the right.

“I’m here with news from Kegan’s territory,” Lucas announced. “Do you know how long the Baron will be busy?”

“He’s never not busy,” the guard said, failing to hide his irritation. “All day, every day, so you’re better off just reporting what it is you have for him to me.”

“It’s a matter regarding a serious financial issue,” Lucas countered. “I have proof that Kegan has been lying about how much he owes in taxes, and I need to show the proof to Dray directly.”

The guard’s eyes lit up as he listened to Lucas’s report. “You have tangible proof? You, a regular, lowly soldier has tangible proof of Kegan’s misdeeds? That’s great. Absolutely great! We searched high and low after that Dwarf brat from Kegan’s village tried to tell me the same thing, but we never found the real book. Everything appeared to be on the up and up, but I knew better. I knew that penny pincher couldn’t resist stealing. He seems too upright to actually be a good person! Ha!”

“Yeah, you did call it,” the other guard said. “That’s exactly what you said, Erik. Called it on the dot, you did.”

“Right,” Erik replied with a grin. “Now, show me the proof. This has got to be juicy.”

“Don’t show them anything,” a deep voice boomed from the other side of the door. “It is their place to guard, not to scheme. Bring the evidence directly to me.”