_{Still in the Stonehill District, still by the West Gate, and still getting rained on.}

---

"Firstly, I possess no pockets," Umara said to the two gargantuan guards, following after Tennaeus, and then gesturing plainly at her dress. She cast a questioning look back at Galahad, she had high hopes the knight would do something or at least provide a useful distraction, but she knew better than to rely on others, especially unmeasured and untested strangers. The self-proclaimed prophet seemed likely to confuse the ogres and if not, then his substantial strangeness might monsters arouse all the superstitious fears that such dim, dark creatures surely possessed.

"Secondly, I am clearly no mere human," she added, holding a finger to each of her eyes in slow succession. Perhaps the mammoth monsters would listen to golden haired speaker and her sweetly placating words, but what little Umara knew of ogres did little to inspire any great confidence in such diplomatic attempts at entering the city.

Umara was tired. She was growing increasingly cold. Her hooded cloak, waxed as it was, would not repel water endlessly. Were she not facing monsters several times her size, Umara might not have resisted the temptation to say some quiet rude things to the ogres. But she was no fool. She was no reckless adventurer. And so she waited, stoically next to Tennaeus, trying to adopt the somber, serious bearing of a clearly not human creature, annoyed at the mere implication that she might be something as mundane as a mortal human.

---

Galahad glanced at the demon Farfa as their guide attempted to cajole Galahad into taking matters into his own hand. Farfa’s false smile was returned with one from Galahad in kind. Broad, radiant, bright, fake.

"Oh, my dear Farfa," Galahad chuckled as though he were chiding a child that had done a naughty thing, his tone sickly sweet and endearing. "I wouldn’t dream of doing your job! It's your job, after all."

Tearing his attention away from the demon, Galahad regarded the two ogres that were now speaking to them. It appears one learned a new thing every day- He didn’t know ogres could talk, much less make coherent sentences. But it appeared the ogres were trying to extort them. Or at least the humans in their group- of which there were a few. For once, Galahad was almost glad of the fact that he had elven blood flowing through his veins. Would the ogres accept that? Who knew? They were ogres. Galahad was surprised they were able to comprehend the difference.

Already some of the others were trying to sway the ogres to let them pass. Avoiding a fight was likely the best course of action, Galahad figured. No sense starting a fight with the guard before we enter their city- Galahad liked attention, but not that much attention. Galahad offered the ogres a disarming smile as he brushed away his hair to reveal the pointed tips of his ears.

"No human here," Galahad said in a fake friendly tone, as he took a step in front of the small, blue haired woman, the weight of his covered lance shifting a bit on his shoulders. His eyes flitted from ogre to ogre. Ogres weren’t peaceful creatures to his knowledge. He didn’t think they’d attack without warning- probably, but being careful wasn’t a bad idea. "We’re travelers, and the humans with us don’t carry much that would be of value in the city."

Glancing over at the humans in question, Galahad regarded the crazy looking one, the hermit- or sage- or whatever he called himself. Galahad leaned towards the small blue haired human behind him. ”Are we certain we need everyone here?”

Deidamia shrunk down a bit when she heard that the ogres didn't take kindly to humans.

Should she reveal herself-

No, she'd rather not. What if the ogres arrested her anyway once she found out that she was a literal monster?

"Um," She softly spoke up, emptying her dress' pockets and showing that there was nothing inside, "I have no money, either. I'm really sorry for wasting your time."

"Ah, you caught me!" Germaine said, exaggeratedly feigning defeat. Inwardly, however, he was shocked. To think that thing inside the bundle of rags was a human all this time. Truly surprising.

Less surprising was the financial states of his new companions. With the world being in the state it was in, prosperity was pretty far from the grasp of most people. Not to mention the fact that people who sought work weren't usually those with lots of coin. Privileges of a freelancer, he supposed. Unfortunately for this strangely varied group of freelancing adventurers, the guards wanted that very coin that they most likely lacked. And they were likely expecting more than what had appeared. Expectations are poison to the mind, his mother always used to say, and they would only lead you to ruin. Germaine doubted these orcs would appreciate her wisdom, but he could use their expectations to his advantage.

"Here is my purse, good fellows." He announced, grandly revealing a coinpurse from within his sleeve. "But I doubt you would be happy with this amount. So here."
One hand held a coinpurse while the other fished around inside his jacket, soon emerging to reveal another fat-looking coinpurse. Holding both pouches int he air, Germaine took a step forward before quickly stopping.
"Ah, but wait, my companions have not paid their dues yet, have they? Please wait a moment."
Moving both pouches in one hand, Germaine rummaged through his jacket pocket and then his pants pockets, producing yet another purse each time.
"For the lovely lady and the... verbose older gentleman." He explained, smiling. "And while we're here..."
Germaine turned around and performed a quick count before returning his hand to his pockets, turning over a few more pouches.
"This should cover everyone, no? I'll entrust these to you, dear guards, so please don't be to harsh to my friends here..."

Finally, craddling a pile of pouches in his arms, he began to walk forward. But, suddenly, he tripped, sending the pouches flying. One of them split open, spilling its contents onto the muddy ground. What emerged were white pebbles, seemingly shining in contrast with the brown mud, though they were nonetheless a far cry from the golden coins traded in the realm. But, in the eyes of the guards, those stark white pebbles glittered like gold, looking for all the world like the treasure they so desired.

Really.... standing in the rain, still waiting to enter, and these guards want to shake down the humans in the group. Aelia silently sighed, and she guessed it was a good thing that she was not human. But, still, it isn't right, and maybe these guards are willing to just accept the coin purses that human put out and leave the rest alone. Since it appears that the rest of the humans are broke, or they could just be lying. And she would not blame them if they are, and maybe these guards are dumb enough to believe it.

Still, until these guards accept the possible lie. She, like the rest, are stuck in the rain, and Aelia is not sure how long until her cloak gets too wet and she starts to feel wet. She signed again, the first time in a demon city, and this happens. Not the best first impression, and she and her group are not even inside yet. Well, all she can do is hope that they can deal with this shakedown peacefully and it does not escalate into doing someone will regret. Not like these guards are that violent.