The harsh command echoing in front of the colossal gate of the Nireskaya Fortress instantly cut through all the warm air inside the wagon. The moment she heard the clanking of armor outside, Akça's expression, which had just softened with her joke about sucuk and roasted vegetables, shifted back to her usual sharp, alert composure. Kaahn, completely unbothered, adjusted the stack of legal documents between his fingers.
"Perfect timing," Kaahn murmured, looking out the window at the guards who had leveled their pikes. "They're shouting exactly like town criers announcing the precise moment the meat should meet the roaring fire."
Akça narrowed her eyes and shot him a glare. "If they realize the seals on those documents are counterfeit, the thing meeting a roaring fire won't be meat—it will be our heads, Kaahn. I hope your genius intellect factored in the possibility that the guards at this checkpoint might not even know how to read."
"They wouldn't make someone a sergeant here if they were too illiterate to read orders coming from the capital, Akça," Kaahn said, standing up to open the wagon door. "But if such a thing happens, you can just explain to them how nutritious those flour sacks actually are. After all, you are the caravan's official flour expert."
"I am holding myself back from stuffing you into one of those sacks and rolling you down the mountain," Akça whispered, her hand slipping toward the hidden dagger hilt beneath her seat despite the mocking tone in her voice.
Instantly donning his arrogant and authoritative mask of a "Regional Auditor," Kaahn opened the wagon door and stepped outside.
The air outside cut through bare skin like a knife, driven by the high altitude and the freezing gale-forces blowing from the northeast. Beran sat frozen atop his horse, his eyes locked on every movement of the guard sergeant who was reaching for the paperwork. Kaahn walked toward the center of the checkpoint with heavy, confident strides. The sergeant hesitated when he saw the Mayard emblem and insignias of nobility on the clothing of this young yet proud man standing before him.
"I am Kaahn, Chief Auditor of the Northern Regions on behalf of the Royal Chamber of Commerce," he said, raising his voice to cut through the howling wind. "By direct royal decree, I am responsible for the auditing of this caravan, which supplies flour, grain, and strategic timber to the border lines of Namtab and beyond. Our documents are in order, and we have no tolerance for delays."
Through his thick armor, the sergeant of Nireskaya Fortress cast a suspicious glance at Kaahn and the six heavy wagons behind him. As he took the parchment Kaahn extended and held it up to the torchlight, the heavy, red wax seal gleamed. Noticing the man's hesitation, Kaahn leaned forward slightly.
"If you keep us here for another five minutes, Sergeant, I will personally file a report of delay to the royal court in your name regarding the winter bread flour for the Namtab garrison. Though, perhaps chewing on stones instead of flour in this desolate mountain pass is a local custom of yours, I wouldn't know."
The sergeant swallowed hard at Kaahn's sarcastic, condescending remark. The sheer confidence and arrogance displayed by the man before him thoroughly cemented his belief in the legal authority backing him. "We have no intention of causing unnecessary delays, Lord Auditor," he said, hurriedly handing back the sealed document. "Safe travels. Open the gate!"
As the heavy iron portcullis was hauled upward with a loud rumble, Kaahn returned to the wagon, closed the door, and took his seat. The faint warmth inside provided a small sense of relief after the freezing chill outside. The convoy moved through the stone tunnel of the fortress and set out onto the second path leading toward the capital.
Releasing her grip on the dagger's hilt, Akça took a deep breath and looked at Kaahn. "Chewing on stones? Did you seriously just threaten a military sergeant with that?"
"It worked, didn't it?" Kaahn said, placing his pocket watch back into his vest pocket. "The man took the idea of eating stones instead of flour so seriously that he completely forgot to ask why the wagon axles are riding so close to the ground."
"One day, that tongue of yours is going to get us into massive trouble," Akça muttered, leaning her head against the window once more. "But for now... we've left Nireskaya behind as well."