Lord Kurtwell's black eyes focused on the map laid out in front of him. It was huge, large enough to fit across his entire desk. The tan map felt smooth to the touch as his bronze colored hands slid across the map over the black lines.
Every city was drawn, all the towns marked and every village named. The mountains that stretched on the east coast of the land was also drawn. The sea that surrounded them was named.
The Valorian Empire and everything under its banner was shown. To the north was unmarked land that filled the top portion of the map. The Great Plains of Elune.
Lord Kurtwell traced his finger just below that, passing over three major cities until he rested his index finger on a large circle with small images inside indicating a city. In big bold letters was the name, ChangLi. The capital of the empire, and home of the emperor.
It was here. The answer he was looking for was here on this map. He just needed to figure out what it was he needed to find.
His index finger dragged south, down below the capital city as it stopped on a village. Lord Kurtwell closed his eyes as he reminisced over the events that occurred at the gathering Lord Frost hosted.
'Baron Cecil.' A name he has nearly forgotten popped into his head as his black eyes stared at the village. Tritha Village, that was the official name as shown by the smaller but bolded letters underneath the image.
Lord Kurtwell picked up a transparent fountain pen that he dipped in red ink. He drew a quick circle around the location as he looked at the map.
"His lands are in chaos right now, and without a proper leader it is doubtful that any nobles will be able to pass through their lands. But, that can be changed as long as one of his sons becomes the new ruler. Traffic from the south should flow like normal, and neither son has any ties to any relevant nobles in the capital. So, why was he killed?"
Lord Kurtwell asked himself.
It was an important question, one that he still could not answer. There was some political scheme going on, he knew that for a fact. He just did not know who was supposed to be caught up in the midst of it.
With a rebellion on his mind, he had to see for himself it it was probable for it to even occur. The only way that was possible was if they had a large enough backing. Which was unlikely from his view point.
There was no noble in the Valorian Empire that would fund a rebellion. At least, not one on a grand scale.
To even come close to it, they would need millions of gold. A person who could gather other like minded individuals to lead the charge. Alliances with other nobles to turn a blind eye to the ongoings.
In his eyes, this was impossible. It would take a cunning individual who could masterfully manipulate all those around him or her. Someone who could blend into any crowd of different social statuses while also being able to have an influence others could only dream of.
'Who...?'
Lord Kurtwell stopped tapping his index finger on the map as all his thoughts went silent. There was one person that came to mind.
Dezmond Frost. His status in the empire was equal to that of a Duke. And the empire only had four of them. But, Dezmond was not a Duke. He did recover a relic that belonged to the Emperor and gained great fame. He was a hero in many people's eyes, which is why so many came at his beck and call.
Beneath the surface, Lord Kurtwell knew Dezmond was a cunning bastard with many tricks up his sleeve. He had built an inner circle with nobles of various ranks in positions over the years. He had friends in places none should ever reach.
Wealth wise, Dezmond was not the richest man. However, he did not need to be the richest in the world if people were lured in by his promises, or if they owed him. And, a lot of people owed him.
Still, the idea was a long shot. Something Lord Kurtwell refused to believe. If Dezmond was backing this rebellion that was supposed to happen, why was he dead?
Unless, he wasn't.
Lord Kurtwell shook his head as he glanced down at the map once more. He sighed.
"This is useless."
He told himself as he did not bother to look at the map anymore. He grabbed his black cloak and wrapped it around his body before he tossed over the hood.
Trying to figure out something from nothing was difficult and definitely not his strong suit. He was a man of action. If he wanted to find out about any of what was going on, he needed to see what the situation was for himself.
Exactly how bad had things gotten? Could a rebellion even be in the minds of the locals? That was something he could find out.
He left the academy, it was already dark out. When the sun was shining brightly everyone put on a mask to hide their true intentions. In the dark, the mask was taken off. The citizens rarely paid attention to anything that was going on at night time.
What caught his eye first were the homeless folks that hid in the alleys during the daytime. Most slept when the sun was out, and stayed away from the streets that were bustling with people. Now, he could see them roaming the road scurring to the restaurants that were closing.
Lord Kurtwell said nothing, he just watched the scene unfold before him. A man opened the door to his restaurant, in his hand a slice of ham dripping wet with juices. The homeless, starving citizens surrounded the door, saliva sliding down the edges of their mouths.
"Get back! Get back ya heard me!"
The man bellowed as he cracked a whip in front of the starving crowd. The crackle of thunder cause the crowd to jump back, giving the man some room. A devilish grin was plastered all over his face.
He tore the perfectly good ham as he waved it in front of the crowd. A moment later, he tossed it. His movement was fast, none of the starving citizens had the reaction speed to catch it. Even if they did, they lacked the strength and stamina to move in time to get it.
The piece of ham landed on the ground in the middle of the crowd. Hands started to stretch out for the piece as people were being shoved. Fighting quickly broke out with curses being shouted at one another.
The man who caused this found it amusing. He started to laugh as he tossed another piece of ham into the fighting crowd.
"Fucking animals."
Lord Kurtwell's sensitive ears picked up what the man mumbled to himself.
He turned his sight elsewhere. He could already forsee how things would turn out there. But as he gazed around at the other restaurants, he roughly saw the same thing occurring. A few made the homeless citizens fight each other and the winner was rewarded with a piece of meat.
It was not even large. The amount they received was about the size a small child would take out of their food. Bite size, but not enough to fill.
What he saw was enough to drive these people insane, but not enough to incite a rebellion. He had to dig deeper, to see what was really going on.
What could someone offer them? Food was definitely on the table, and from the prices he saw from the stalls that were still open, a reduction of tax was another one.
The price for a shirt was ten silver, which was an outrageous cost. Considering the cheap quality it was made of.
He could buy fine leather worth just as much but had a higher durability and better quality. The prices he saw were just robbing those with nothing of the little they had left.
Lort Kurtwell strode forward, with each step he took he observed what was going on. The shoddy deals in the alleys, the kidnapping of children and women, the beatings occurring at a stall, the petty theft. Eventually he made his way to the slums, the other part of the capital where the lowest class citizens lived.
No guards in sight, but what he saw changed his perspective. What he saw on the streets where the lights were still on could be considered child's play compared to what was going on here. This was truly night and day.