"Why am I not shocked that a Fire Elemental Mage wants to wage war?" Clarissa shouted.
"Context?" Barda turned to Theo questioningly.
"Mages who can manipulate the Fire Element tend to have a short fuse," Theo enlightened.
"If that's what it takes to finally get people to make a move, I have to agree with the Fire Mage," An elder chimed in.
"We all know what kind of weapons the fort has, we cannot hope to overcome them,"
"And not just their weapons, The fort has a mage regiment that we still haven't found a solution for. Have you all forgotten about that?"
***
When Barda got to the magical society, Theo requested the council be convened to make a ruling on a matter. There seemed to be a sharp division between those who were for war against the fort and many who were not.
The entire community numbered 792 members, with more than 30 representatives from the various grouping. They were the ones on the council. They didn't seem to agree on anything.
"Young man, we do not know where you came from, but we will not be rushed into war!" an elderly woman said that. Barda expected more opposition but it seemed the woman's word was law, everyone quietened down.
"I see that you have a forge, can I use your forge to make weapons then?" Barda inquired, at the very least, that was one thing they had over the villagers he had met.
"We cannot allow the use of our forge to make weapons. It is only meant for useful tools," The woman answered. Barda realized he was not going to get anywhere with this woman. He even wondered why he had come at all. He had one more question to ask:
"Would you know where to find the Key of Thogodan?"
Upon hearing the question, the entire hall went silent. It was crystal clear that they knew something. Perhaps even the villagers knew as well.
Previously, they had assumed Barda was just a passer-by, but now that he asked this question, things were not so clear.
Initially, Barda had intended to keep his mission a secret. He may have made a splash but that did not mean he had to announce his mission to everyone. However, now that he was in a friendly faction, he could use this to get more information.
"Why do you seek the Key?" The elderly woman asked with frowned burrows.
"I seek to win a war for my people. I was informed that the Key was important."
"Tell me, do you know anything about the Key?"
"No, unfortunately."
"You didn't have to cross the barrier, did you?" This was the question that was on everyone's mind. The woman had found a tactful way of asking it.
Barda guessed the barrier in question was the hall he had to go past, so when he confirmed, everyone was shocked.
"In that case, Brave Hero, take a seat and let me tell you of the key," The woman said. Barda noticed that her attitude towards him had done a one-eighty, perhaps he should have led with that.
As the woman told the tale, Barda was shocked to see that the tale did not exactly match what he had heard of this great Emperor called Thogodan. While out there in the world he was held in high regard as a hero, in this plane, he seemed to be more of a villain.
The stories about Thogodan's conquest of the entire world matched. It was said that this Thogodan was a great inventor and his talents were multifaceted. He had built an empire of the entire world in one generation.
This came when he was to die. However, instead of going to the grave like everyone else, Thogodan chose a different way of clocking out.
Firstly, he did not name a successor, instead, he left a cryptic message that at the time of great need, the successor shall rise.
Secondly, he made sure to lock away as many designs and blueprints he could. He also hid his arsenal and anything he had used to gain power. Some remained, but the bulk of the work was hidden away.
To ensure his secrets remain hidden, Thogodan put all his secrets in his home fort, where he had grown up. Years later, he had conquered the lord who governed the area and took it as his retirement home. Away from the cities and politics of the empire.
At the point of his death, Thogodan cast a spell, locking away his fort in this dimension, or plane. Barda was shocked that the fort was the highest form of urbanization. The villager had alluded to other cities other than the fort, so Barda was confused.
"Yes, we do have other cities. We grew and became more than what he had intended for us. However, the fort remains to be the most secure since the Lord in charge can control the arsenal left there. The reason they used non-magic weapons on you was so that they could unleash their magical weapons on you."
Barda thought this had been a good idea, getting intel on the fort before attacking. He would have been blindsided had he attacked all half-cocked. There was a reason many that tried did not come back.
"Arabella, I see you picking up strays again," A loud voice boomed from outside the perimeter, startling even Barda. The woman he had been talking to rushed out to see who was talking, with Barda following behind.
"You, why are you here?" The elderly woman asked with her eyes wide open. There was definite fear in those eyes as she looked at the man levitating on the sky just outside the compound.
"I came here for him," As the woman, he was elderly, but he wore elegant purple robes and held an alabaster white staff. He was pointing at Barda. "I will make it easy for you. If you toss him out, I will leave your collection of hopeless cases be."
"You know we cannot do that," The woman answered.
"Cut the crap Arabella, I know he only just got here. I also know he had not taken the initiation, which means he is only visiting," The elderly man answered, showing how well-versed he was of the rules of this place.
"Be that as it may-" The woman was about to defend her community when a large hand fell on her shoulder. Turning around, she turned to see Barda giving her a reassuring look.
"It's okay," He said as he stepped forward.
"I see, another one who is tired of living," The elderly man said, "step forward and I will send you to meet your maker."
Clarissa moved fast to where the elderly woman was and asked:
"Grandma, we just going to let him be taken?" Clarissa had had a favorable expression of Barda. Like so many she had met, he looked like a mage with a lot of anger issues who just discovered they had the power to do something about it. It didn't help that Barda was in commoner's clothing.
However, the moment she learned that he was one of those heroes she had read and been told about, she changed her entire opinion of him. His being there brought hope of a better life, other than this sham she had to live.
"It is out of our hands now," Arabella replied to her granddaughter. she understood all too well what Barda's coming represented. Still, she did not have the strength to fight off the monster that stood at her city gates.
Watching the hero go out to meet the man, she could only offer a small prayer and hope against hope. She knew all too well how powerful this man was.
Barda had no intention of letting others fight his battle. The way he saw it, this was an opportunity to showcase his strength. The man was powerful, no doubt about that, but Barda was no pushover either.
He slowly made his way to the outside of the compound. Already, the entire community in the compound was gathered to witness the showdown about to happen.
Theo held as his breath, looking forward to seeing what Barda had to offer. However, against the person he was facing now, there seemed to be little hope.