With a polite bow, a pair of thankful brown eyes rose up to the mounted party. "I can't express enough gratitude for your help earlier. A pleasure to make your acquaintances. The name is Sergius Orata."
Loose curly brown hair, brown eyes with flecks of gold, and youthful warm olive skin. Sergius, upon first impressions, could be considered a warm and gentle person. He was garbed in a white silk and cotton mesh toga, coupled with an ornate red pin cloak that was opened at the side to reveal his right hand. It didn't take much for the party to glance between Sergius and carriage behind, to know that he was an affluent person, most likely a merchant.
"And this," continued Sergius as he pointed to a gray-haired, middle-aged man in a robe standing slightly behind him," is my personal attendant, Sebastian."
"Pleasure to make your acquaintances," greeted Sebastian.
Hearing Sebastian's introduction, likewise, the party introduced themselves.
Curious, Cisse asked, "If you don't mind me asking, where are your guards? From what I can gather, you seem to be a merchant, and it goes without saying that within this region, you're are a piece of meat the surrounding raider groups would love to take a bite off."
"Ah, that?" Began Sergius. "I did have a guard detail hired, but unfortunately, when the Realm Quake struck a few days ago, the tool I was using to cloak my carriage malfunctioned right in the middle of raider territory. And Like you said, like a delicious piece of meat, the ravenous eyes of raiders turned to me. At that moment, the guard detail I had hired placed down their arms in surrender."
"Hell, some of them joined in the chase," continued Sergius.
"Alas, with intermittent use of my cloaking tool, we lost the majority of them but not all as you can see," Finished Sergius as he pointed to the riderless horses in the surroundings. "Again, I can't thank you enough for your help enough today."
"It's alright. We did it for our benefit too. Besides when and where a good deed can be done, it should be done." Replied Ayfia.
"Very well then," smiled Sergius as he gave Sebastian a very slight nudge.
Receiving Sergius' signal, Sebastian pulled out five tokens with oysters engraved on them.
"A symbol of our acquaintance, if you will," began Sergius. "I plan on staying at the plains' main city for a while. So please, when you come around, do please visit, and I will be sure to take good care of you. Present a token to any guard within the city, and they will be sure to guide you to my residence."
Noting that Sergius simply wanted to express his gratitude in a more meaningful way, releasing a polite smile, everyone received a token as Sebastian made his way around.
…
Courtesy of the raiders' chase bringing them further southward than their desired destination. After recloaking themselves and Sergius and Sebastian began making their way northward towards the plains' main city.
Turning to his master, Sebastian asked," may I know why you wished to give out your tokens, master? After all, some gold coins would have sufficed if you wished to express your gratitude."
"If they were your run-of-the-mill people, I would have. With their strength, they could have subdued the two of us and accessed the carriage's spatial storage, and made away with great gains. However, they didn't seem interested in such a thing. Which could mean a few things, either they are genuinely good people or such wealth poses no interest to them. Either way, they are people worth befriending. "
"Brilliant as usual, master."
"Within this line of work, is it a choice Sebastian?"
"I suppose not," nodded Sebastian.
…
Having left Sergius and Sebastian, the group proceeded for a couple more hours until they spotted a large structure on the horizon.
"5-meters high and 1.5-meters wide walls, built in a hexagonal shape with watchtowers placed on each corner. Housing warehouses, a command center, stables, barracks, and few other necessary structures. Built a very long time years ago as a brace point for invasions toward the continent's southernmost point. It has yet to meet with defeat, and for now, its name is Fort Kante. Every opposition it has faced has been given the honor of having the fort named after them." Described Cisse to Arthur as the party made their way closer and closer.
Nearing the southern gate of Fort Kante, the party could make out patrols atop its walls who upon seeing the group gave nods of affirmation. However, they weren't the ones who caught the party's attention.
Standing in front of the southern gates with open arms was a well-built man with a profound aura and vibrant smile on his face.
"Welcome!"
.
.
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[Historical Tidbit: Sergius is based on the historical character Caius Sergius Orata an Ancient Roman who was a successful merchant, inventor, and hydraulic engineer. He was an innovator of the cultivation of oysters and refinement to the hypocaust method. As for what a hypocaust is? It's a hollow space under the floor of an ancient Roman building, into which hot air was sent for heating a room or bath.]