Lisa, Sandra, and Doc accompanied Milton to the city gate, where a wide-eyed soldier greeted them. He spoke to Lisa.
"General Sevritas was here about half an hour ago. He told us to tell you to come straight to the palace if we saw you."
"Thank you. We're on our way there now."
Instead of stepping aside, he said, "I saw the thing when they brought it in…the thing they said was commanding the orcs. What a hideous beast. We're safe now, right? Now that it's dead?"
"From him, yes," she said. She hoped to imply that they themselves were a force to be reckoned with if displeased, but judging from his tremble, he already assumed that. Brax had told her they needed what he called 'street cred'.
"Good," the guard said, apparently reassured. "Thanks."
They parted company with Milton just past the gate, and the apprentice magician rushed off to try to find Ferman. She hoped he would be successful in convincing him to support their proposition about the orcs and the sewer system. It seemed an elegant solution that would benefit everyone, but successful or not, they had done what they had promised, and they would get the palladium they needed. That did not mean they would be able to get home, necessarily, but it did mean they could try to.