Cyprus stared at her in exasperation even after she admitted she was joking, and despite being completely invisible and silent, the distaste was palpable. "Very funny. I haven't forgotten how you got to this position in the first place, you know. You've been risking your life for how long? I realize that it was the only way out of your station, but right now, that needs to stop. We're going to be doing too many suicidally dangerous things for you to go around taking stupid risks." No matter how nonchalant she was about it, killing that man had been a stupid call and he wasn't going to let it go unmentioned. Though once they got safely out into the world he was sure he'd forget all about it as she gave him new things to complain about.<br/><br/>He'd been listening as well as she had, and of course he had vague memories of the world still, so while he definitely couldn't remember the name of every hidden hamlet the way he could back when every last one of them had a shrine to him tucked away somewhere, he still knew a few. "Azkad is the closest village, only a few hours from the city. Close enough that it gets their protection, and close enough that they use its farmland." Not that there was much viability left in farming. With rain becoming so rare, the crops couldn't survive on their own, and now the rivers were drying up, taking out the possibility of irrigating or manually watering. If they didn't fix things, this might just be the last harvest humanity ever had. "Of course, its main claim to fame is the women, and the services they offer. You'll fit right in." Not that they could compare to Shanna, even in the village's prime, but despite the sparse population of the village it had been rare for him not to have an Azkadi women among his nuns. Then and now, though, they served as a source of income for the town, in a brothel that was much cheaper than any remotely reputable one within the city-state itself.<br/><br/>"Let's just focus on bluffing our way past the guards," he said, leading the way. Admittedly he liked the image of Shanna putting on another striptease, but he'd have to save that for when they were alone. Maybe he could try to convince her it was how he'd been worshiped back in the day, though he doubted she'd buy that.<br/><br/>The city was crowded, and though Shanna got some stares, no one stopped them, and there were no whispers of a murdered guard going around the streets. A good sign all around. There were no interruptions between them and the gate, but as far as obstacles went, it was a doozy. 20 feet of foot-thick solid wood that was mounted in a stone wall twice as high. Archers were poised on the wall above, while half a dozen guards stood across the gate itself, which currently stood open. There were gaps between them big enough to run through, but they had horses tied up just outside the wall, ready to run down any troublemakers. Lining up to the side of the gate was a small group of civilians, where they made their appeals to a guard in a stone guardhouse. Those who wanted to get<em>in</em>were subject to a lot of scrutiny, but those who wanted to get out were typically given a once over to be sure they weren't an escaped slave or prisoner and let go.<br/><br/>"Looks like even life in these awful walls is better than life out there for most. I can't stand what they've done to this world." But that was a topic for another time. He gestured for Shanna to get in line.