I was roughly shaken awake at dusk.
"Oi, you! You can't be camping outside the city with a permit."
I blearily opened my eyes, my head was pounding and my mouth was dry.
So this is what a hangover feels like, I mused, as I tried to focus on the uniformed person standing in front of me, this just proves that humans are undeniably capable of deliberate self-harm.
"Pardon?"
"I said: you can't camp outside the city with no permit."
"Oh, we aren't camping," I explained to the dubious city guard. "My friend is, was, hurt. We were just resting."
"Friend?" He glared at me. "There's noone here but you."
I took a better look around, sure enough the only sign that Sallan had been there was the blanket I was seated on.
"Ah, well maybe he had to... you know."
I tilted my head at the nearby shrubs.
"A likely story," he replied with a disbelieving snort. "On your feet, I'm arresting you for camping without a permit."
"I wasn't camping, you idiot offspring of a mule and its mother!"
Did I mention that I learned a lot about insulting humans from Sallan?
"That's enough from you, Missy," he snarled, grabbing my arm and hauling me to my feet.
"Please don't do that," I protested queasily, the man ignored me - right up to the moment I... ahem... emptied the contents of my stomach onto his nicely polished boots.
"I'm sorry," I murmered, rather insincerely.
"Oh this is just wonderful," he muttered, dropping my arm, "don't move!"
"I did warn you," I protested, as he pulled off his boots and tried to clean them on the grass, I politely handed him a rag to use on them.
"New boots too," he muttered, as he cleaned them off.
"Really am sorry," I said again, "and I did warn you."
"Aww shut up, what's your business here anyway?"
"Travelling performer," I muttered sullenly, my head was still aching and the taste I had in my mouth doesn't bear describing.
"You registered in town yet?"
"Registered?"
"All transient performers must register with the Performers Guild of the town in which they intend to perform," he said very slowly, in the manner of someone who has to practise long words.
"What?" I exclaimed. "Since when?"
Surely it hasn't been that long since we were in a town.
"New law, passed last month."
I quickly tallied the days, it had been over a month since Sallan and I had passed a town large enough to have a Guild Office.
"Well, no I haven't. My partner and I where travelling the country villages."
"Your partner who was injured and disappeared?" he replied. I guessed that his remark was intended as sarcasm but he couldn't quite pull off the tone.
"Yes that one, he'll be worried if I'm gone."
"Should have thought o' that before you broke the Law." He finished replacing his boots and pushed me in front of him.
"Off we go."
No one seemed surprised as the guard led me through the backstreets of the city, as I was obviously a performer - carrying an uncovered Harp was a dead giveaway.
They've been arresting a lot of performers, it seems, that can't be good.
"Got another unregistered one," announced the guard, we had entered a building, one of the local jails I presumed.
"We're full to bursting with all these bloody unregistered performers, take 'im to the next section."
"She is also guilty of camping without a permit and lying to a member of the city guard!"
"Guardsman Hansson, you claim this female..." he looked at me like I was a piece of rubbish on the street "...lied to you. I feel I must point out that last month you arrested a baker for being on the street before dawn, despite his assertation that he had a permit on his work premises."
"I thought he was just impersonating a baker, sir. But she had no permit and she was sleeping within city limits."
"Name?" asked the superior officer, the guardsman opened his mouth, "not you, her."
"Lora."
"Full name?" he said again, rolling his eyes at me.
"Lora."
"Fine, Miss Lora, you are under arrest for illegal loitering and failure to register with the local Guild, your case will be brought before the magistrate in two to seven days. You will remain in our custody until then."
"Yes sir," I replied blandly, the Guard took my pack and harp, "I'd like it if all my possesions were returned when I leave," I remarked coldly.
"Would you like to make a list?" asked the Officer, mockingly handing me a piece of parchment and a pen.
"Yes, I believe I will." I took the pen from the shocked man and quickly listed our combined posessions.
"Right, take her to the cells," he ordered the guard, who quickly pushed me into a narow hallway and from there a crowded cell.