The stern, vicious looking kobold guard glared at the young man dressed in red, his spear poised between his clawed hands. Kobolds were not known for their foul dispositions, however, lately they had become very uneasy and distrusting of humans. Even Ridley himself kept a low profile amoungst his non-kobold counterparts. The only way anyone was permitted to see the noble Kobold commander was by appointment. But as Camus found out, even by 'appointment only' still did not guarantee an entrance into Two-River

"But, Sir! I am Camus, the commander of the Matildian Red Knights! I have been sent by Lord Gordo to discuss some important matters with Sir Ridley! Please allow me to pass!".

"Woof! Liar!" the guard snarled, "If Commander Ridley was expecting a visitor he would've told us! Now be gone!"

It was no good. Trying to deal with Two-River's kobold guards was like trying to convince Miklotof that Matilda has no business with the affairs of Muse. Both were hard-headed and stubborn to say the least. Furthermore, there was no other way to enter Two-River easily, without having to cross the Muse, Southwindow and Lakewest areas.

How odd, Camus thought to himself, Did Gordo not pass on a message to Lord Ridley telling him of my arrival? Ah, no matter...I'll simply tell Gordo what happened. I hope he'll understand.....

As he mounted on his horse, Camus noticed that he was missing a small velvet pouch which was attached to the hilt of his scabbard.

Damnit.....!

The young commander of the Red Knights was not the kind to curse under his breath, but it had been a terrible day for him. First of all, the trip from Matildia to Greenhill was anything but pleasant as he was 'greeted' by several low flying griffins. Secondly, he was stopped in his tracks by a trio of travelers, to which one of them took a special liking to Camus and insisted on going with him. A young woman, whose name he had temporarily forgotten, was no more than twenty years old with long, flowing, jet black hair. She smiled smugly at Camus, hoping to hitch up with the Matildan knight, while her cohorts, an overgrown young boy who looked like he had taken too much steroids, and another young knife wielding girl, watched with bemused looks.

Rina....that was her name.....as beautiful as she was, Camus had his sights on another girl....

Lastly, there was no way to enter Two-River and his wallet was missing. What more could a commander ask for? Camus began to search his inventory for the missing pouch when he heard the cackling of a young boy. It appeared to be coming from above, which surprised him since he did not know of any intelligent creature, other than Griffins, that were able to fly...

"Hehehehe...Thanks for the loot, buddy! Cid was right, stealing from a high ranking soldier was a great idea! This guy must be loaded!"

A small winged figure was all that Camus was able to make out. It circled above him for several seconds before it vanished into the clouds.

Camus chuckled politely. "No matter, there was only 500 pochi in that pouch..whoever..or whatever stole my wallet, won't be able to buy much for that amount..."

As he turned his back on the now less hospitable city of Two-River, Camus pondered over a good explanation he could give Gordo for his failure to secure an alliance with Commander Ridley. Perhaps Gordo made a boo-boo and did not deliver the message to Ridley as he thought previously? But the leader of the White Knights rarely made mistakes, and when he did, rarely apologized for his actions. The blame was usually shifted to someone else, though Gordo would do nothing more than to talk the 'wrongdoer' down, it was appalling that he would govern his people this way.