The small guarded buildings along the way were fairly ordinary, guards were stationed with supplies from the Empire and with the exception of a few small buildings that were used as barracks, not much else could be found. Most Outposts were only meant as waypoints to another and offered little reason for people to stay.
At the final outpost before the Tanile, Regional Capital for the Empire, there were a lot more people.
Zadkeil's cart was easily lost among the crowded streets that seemed to stretch on forever. The city itself had expanded and the population had increased by many folds. As a result, there were thousands of houses scattered among the farms.
The Guards stationed by the exit of the Outpost were heavily armed. Security seemed tight but if the guards were armed, that meant danger still existed.
Shortie's stature while he walked through the streets made the guards feel uneasy. If Jacob had not appeared to have him under control, the guards might have been even more defensive. They felt relieved when the group exited their view but even more people were somewhat shocked to see Shortie.
The Cart kept up a regular pace but there were a lot of prying eyes. Jacob was unfamiliar and not affiliated, his mount was also a species that the beast tamers couldn't identify. They followed him for a bit.
A Terraycon flew by, it swooped down from the sky and landed in front of the Cart. The street was surprisingly strong, barely any damage occurred from the massive bird landing on its surface. Seven Conniroks circled above.
"You there. Why are you here?" A man stepped off the Terraycon and kicked his sleeves out.
"I am a merchant, these are my traveling party. We are on our way to the see Ectenor, is there a problem?" Zadkeil did his best to promote a sense of diplomacy.
"You, I didn't ask you." The man kicked a rock and sent it sailing into the Cart, it broke the roof apart and shook the whole carriage violently.
The Girls inside screamed in terror, they were not prepared for the attack.
Zadkeil slapped the reins, "Kid, this guy's trouble. Get to safety." The Cart wasn't made for speed and if the Man or the seven others on the Conniroks above chose to, they could easily eliminate him. As it tore past at its fastest, the Old Merchant bit his lip. 'Why here? Why now?'
'Chhhh' The man clicked his tongue and threw out a talisman. It landed on the back of the cart and stopped it in its tracks. "I didn't say you could leave either." Looking back at Jacob, he sneered. "I asked you what your name was kid, answer me or I'll chop you up and feed you to that beast."
'This is escalating way too fast.' Jacob held out his hand, "What are you talking about? Why did you attack?"
"I said, Why are you here?" A purple light fell down to the ground and levitated several of the fist size rocks from the ground. The spun until they glowed with heat and flew toward Jacob's vital spots.
Shortie was paying attention to everything, he moved to the left and started barking.
The Terraycon shook in anger, Shortie's barking translated as hostility and the bird was the local king of the Skies.
Their eyes met and Shortie lurched forward with Jacob on his back. Jacob pulled out his spear and leapt into the air above the Terraycon.
Shortie didn't slow down, his jaws widened as he sped forward. The right eye of the Terraycon had stayed with him the whole time but its reactions were much slower. As a bird, it was agile in the air but while it was on the ground, several steps would have to be taken if it wanted to fly away.
The Bird pitched to the left and clawed at Shortie's face to avoid the bite but Jacob was already coming down from the sky. His spear skid down the Terraycon's neck, into its collarbone and down into its rib cage.
There was a sharp jerking sensation and a moment where the Terraycon tried to bite down on either the spear or Jacob but Shortie had turned and begun to claw the belly of the beast into shreds.
Zadkeil looked out from the wreckage of the Carriage and saw a momentary glimpse of the battle. It wasn't a very long confrontation but each strike had caused a considerable amount of shock to the group.
"You Bastard! You dare kill my Terraycon!" The man held his hand against the wound on its neck, the Terraycon was convulsing and about to expire. Red gasses began to seep from the man's body, it flowed along his clothing and silhouette like steam licking from a pond. "None of you will escape. I swear it."
A sharp whistle left his lips and the seven Conniroks above began to dive bomb toward Shortie.
"You dare not to answer and even kill my Terraycon! There is no future for you!" The man pulled out a saber and charged toward Jacob.
Jacob had landed softly atop the dead Terraycon, it's body deflated slightly and Shortie looked up to see the birds owner lunging toward Jacob's face.
Shortie moved so quickly that what looked an afterimage formed behind him. In an instant, he had appeared next to the Beast Tamer and bit down on his arm. Sharp bones broke through the skin and splintered, his arm had been mangled beyond words with a single attack. The pain that radiated outward made the Tamer drop his saber and scream in horror as he rolled on his side grabbing the wound.
Shortie didn't wait, he grabbed the Tamer by the head and bit down.
The Connirok Riders were still on their way down, Jacob pulled the spear out of the Terraycon with the help of his foot and readied himself. The Seven of them would be a much bigger problem than just one opponent.
As the Conniroks flew down, their energies wrapped around their bodies and covered them like barriers to protect the riders. Many winding lights began to gather into a single point between the riders and Jacob.
"Kill the brat, his beast belongs to me!" As he fell, one of the Connirok Riders cried out.
Jacob moved toward Shortie but as he was running, more than forty spears came flying toward him.
He stopped and was prepared to defend himself as best that he could but against a single opponent, he was already at his limits. Facing forty weapons that were headed right for him, Jacob wondered if it was his time to die.
Shortie hadn't moved, he finished tearing the beast tamers body apart and howled in victory. The spears that were about to impact the two of them took a sharp turn toward the sky and blockaded the Conniroks above.
The spears circled them and rotated defensively.
"Who dares create trouble.." The voice spread across the streets and the air shook slightly, the speaker had used energy to amplify his words and then a tri-colored light slammed into the ground below the spears.
Jacob put his spear away and collected the Terraycon's corpse. Shortie still had the tamer's torso in his mouth, he was preparing to swallow the rest of him but put the body down. Jacob took the man's ring and his set of boots, everything else was damaged or destroyed.
The Tri-colored lights flashed once again and another man stepped out of the light. He saw Jacob looting the corpse and his eye twitched. 'This kid..?' Looking back towards the sky, the Conniroks were hovering in agitation.
"City Lord, This is a matter of the Tamer sect, Do not interfere!" several of the riders agreed at the same time to try to justify themselves.
"Shut up." The City Lord drew the spears closer to the riders and the Conniroks, instead of a few feet away, the spear tips were inches away from their bodies. "None of you are fit to judge the situation. Do not pretend to know my affairs or responsibilities. Speak again and they will be your last words."
Jacob pulled the other boot off of the corpse and stowed it away. Looking up, he saw the City Lord and stood up straight.
"Oh? Good child. Explain what has happened." The City Lord withdrew a single spear and held it in his hands. It flowed with the same tri-colored light as the rest of his abilities and had three blades attached to its edge like a halberd.
"Our group is headed to the Capital, I am to see the schools to find a place to learn. When we arrived, we came under attack by this guy. He tried to kill me and my merchant friend for sport." Placing his foot atop the dead man's body, Jacob had a moment where he almost smirked. "I didn't expect things to happen like this, why are people like this allowed to be like this? I heard the Capital was well guarded and safe, this doesn't look safe."
"Strong words. So it's true.. Our ways are strange to some and outsiders, conflicts happen and without resolution, many deaths can follow. People are not to be underestimated, clearly." Pointing toward Jacob and the corpse, the City Lord rubbed his chin.
"How would you make this resolved?" Jacob asked bluntly.
"Hmm." Releasing the hair in his hands, the City lord directed the spears to drive the men down from the sky. The Conniroks were made to prostrate and the men started to worry. "Child, what would you have me do?"
"I'm not interested in compensation. They tried to kill me and my friends. I'm pretty sure I have given them no cause to attack. Do whatever you want to them, I don't want their problems." Jacob kicked the dead guy in the dick and skid the rest of his corpse toward the others who had landed.
"If that is how you would choose to resolve it, then I must go one step further. Know this, I do this for your own safety." The City Lord's tri-colored light swallowed Jacob and Shortie, they were transported away.
The seven riders felt a bit of relief when they saw the two of them being pulled away. The City Lord turned back toward the riders, the remaining spears came in close and dragged along their skin. "I will say this only once! If you attack another within my City, not even your deaths can save you from the hell you will come to pay."