There looks to be trouble

The streets are cluttered and jovial as you make your patrol. Banners from tall windows and streamers connected buildings from opposite sides of the roads. You pause for a moment as a parade runs the streets, gathering even greater crowds, and now stationary. Battalions of troops marched through, led by officers in their best finery. That there had not been a campaign to fight in, successful or not, had become irrelevant. They were soldiers to defend the Empire, that was enough. If there was trouble, they would defeat the enemy without question, as they had before. Behind them, musicians and dancers came through, demonstrating the superior culture and talent of the Empire. Intransica had been the last stand at that point in the War of the Triumverate. Had the battle been lost, the war would be lost, and the ways of man would be destroyed, along with that of the elves and dwarves. The enemy were oppressive and regressive in equal measure, so although there isn't anything that grand about song and dance in itself, it is still a reminder of what could have been lost, and what you should be thankful still exists. Beyond them were exotic beasts taken from the frontier of the Empire, showing both the extent of the territory that Intransica claimed as its own, but the power of the Empire to defeat and control such things.

The trail end of the parade was a massive float built specifically for the parade. Immaculately decorated, it was built to carry the Emperor through the streets, allow him to greet his subjects as well as allow them to view his divine majesty. That has not happened for years, and so it has been tradition that a painting of the Immortal Emperor has been placed in the throne in his stead. The cause for his absense has been a point of contention and wild speculation for a long time, with no clear answers anywhere. The most commonly accepted notion is that the Emperor is too busy managing such a large nation to be bothered with events like this. Others suggest that with his ascension to godly magnificence, that mortals are not fit to be in his presence. You personally had not put much thought into it either way. The Emperor is the Emperor, and you have your orders and responsibilities to serve him regardless of whether he appears before the public or not.

There were a few minor pieces to the parade that followed behind the Emperor's procession, though they escaped your attention. Looking through the crowds, you spotted something very suspicious. A tall, gruff orc stood in the crowd, next to a drow. The two represented the majority of the old war, and the only parts that the Empire would tolerate. That members of the defeated species would be watching a parade celebrating their defeat was highly odd, made all the more so that the two males were paying attention to the crowds. You didn't realize you had been staring before the dark elf had made eye contact with you, and quickly nudged his compatriot. You tried to look innocuous, though it was too late. The orc having seen you as well, and untrusting, the two turned around and started heading down one of the side streets. Having walked this area for some time, you know that pathway heads into one the bad parts of the city, where other lowlifes are.