"Have you gone mad?!" Virgil shouted when he heard Ethans words, his face full of disbelief
Frans, who up to this point still held disdain for the young man who defeated him, was also in a state of shock
"You, You're willing to make such an oath to a criminal like me; just to gain my cooperation?" He asked doubtfully
"Of course. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to defend Lorik. If that means I must strike a deal with a Bandit to increase our number of defenders, then so be it." Ethan said resolutely
Such decisiveness! Both men were amazed by his attitude.
"So, what is your answer, are you and your men willing to serve me, serve Lorik, for a set amount of time until we know for sure that the village is safe?" He continued
Frans seemed to contemplate the option presented to him before deciding
"I, Frans, swear to serve Lord Ethan and lead my men to guard Lorik Village until such time we are no longer needed. If I break my vow, may the Heavens strike me down!" He shouted, and the same rumbling thunder from earlier echoed through the clear sky.
"Good, now I don't have to kill you all." Ethan said with a smile, but upon seeing Frans' face go pale "Relax, it was a joke." He added with a laugh
"Ahaha, good one." Frans said as he laughed nervously, he wanted to believe it was a joke, but something told him it wasn't.
"Okay, Get back to work for now. I'll have Virgil remove your seals for you later. You don't mind do you Virgil?"
"No, If that's what you want, then I'm fine with it." He replied
"Excellent. I'll see you later then Frans." Ethan said before returning to the village to continue constructing towers
"Farewell Lord Ethan." Frans said before going back to cutting trees
A short while later, at Loriks east gate
Ethan, who was using the system to build another pair of towers, could feel a piercing gaze behind him
"Is something wrong?" He asked Virgil
"Not at all. I'm just trying to figure out how many secrets you still have hidden." He said honestly
"Haha, is that all? I thought it was something more serious." Ethan said with a grin
Just then, Captain Dinnin returned to report that each gate now had the required number of logs
"Thank you for your hard work Captain." And then as if realizing something important Ethan asked "Would you be interested in becoming the Leader of Loriks guards? At least until I can find someone else?"
"You want to make me captain of the guard?" Dinnin asked in surprise
"I do. Though I know I can't force you to, since you're Virgils follower, since we're all in this together we might as well work together right?"
Captain Dinnin looked at Virgil who nodded his head behind Ethan
"Okay, I'll do it." He agreed
"Good. Then I'll leave organizing the watch, patrolling the village, and finding a place for your and Frans' men to stay to you." Ethan instructed
"Yes Sir." Dinnin replied with a bow before heading off to perform his new duties.
With the east gate towers now done, Ethan proceeded to head to the remaining two gates with Virgil and built towers there as well.
Once he was done
"Phew, I'm glad that's over." He said wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand
"Sir Ethan, If it's okay with you, I'll go take care of the business of removing the seals from Frans and his men now." Virgil suddenly said
"Yes, of course. Thank you for all your help today." Ethan said gratefully
"Oh, I want to ask-"
"Yes." came a reply that interrupted him
"You're agreeing without knowing what I was going to ask?" Ethan asked puzzled
"You want me to be in charge of upholding justice in Lorik temporarily correct?" Virgil asked as if reading his mind
"How did you guess?"
"I'm a Magistrate of Justice. It's only natural that I should be able to figure out that much right?"
"So you'll help me then?" Ethan asked
"You have my answer." Virgil said with a bow before taking his leave
It was now a few hours after midday so Ethan decided to head back home.
When he arrived, The irate Amira he expected to find was nowhere to be found.
'Where did she go?' He thought to himself
He decided to head to the only location he could think where she might be, the Blue Moon Inn.
Along the way to the Blue Moon, Ethan was stopped by several Villagers who needed his help to solve some minor issues. After what seemed like an hour, he finally managed to get everything in order and continued to his destination.
After making it to the Blue Moon Inn, Ethan released a relieved sigh when he saw Amira and Ms. B chatting like a couple of school girls.
"Well look who it is, your knight in shining armor. Aren't you a lucky girl to have the chief come and fetch you himself." Ms. B said with a giggle
"Ms. B, you're bullying me again!" Amira said as she blushed
"Haha, Okay I'll stop."
Ms. B then looked at Ethan and said "You really surprised me. To think you had something so amazing as a Blessing, And one that can do something as impressive as building towers in little more than a few seconds."
The fact that the news had already spread to this point no longer shocked Ethan. He would just assume from now on that anything he did in Lorik would spread like wildfire.
"Then are you aware of why I built the towers?" Ethan asked
"No." She responded "Nobody was able to find out from the soldiers. But I suspect it can't be anything good."
Now Ethan understood why the villagers weren't as panicked as he thought they would be considering the circumstances.
"Alright, Both of you come with me. I'm going to make an announcement to the whole village." Ethan informed
Without any argument, both ladies followed him out of the inn to the village square.
When they arrived, Ms. B rang a bell that was used in cases of emergency to assemble the people, the same bell that was rung the night of the bandit attack.
Within minutes everyone in Lorik had arrived
"What's going on?" one woman asked
"I don't know. Maybe the chief has something to say?" guessed an elderly man
"Thank you all for coming." Ethan started
"As you all know by now, My name is Ethan and I'm the new Chief of Lorik Village. I wish my first announcement was under better circumstances, but sadly that isn't the case today."
whispering began to spread throughout the crowd
"I'm sure you are all curious about the return of Captain Dinnin, his soldier, and the Bandits; as well as the new defensive towers at each of the village gates. These events all have one reason for happening. It is my solemn duty to inform everyone that the Embershroud Empire has invaded the Syrena Kingdom." Ethan said sternly
"No! It can't be!"
"What are we going to do?!"
"Calm down! Let the chief speak!" yelled the blacksmith, whose name was Markus
"I know you're all worried, It's only natural that you would be. However, we still don't know what the situation is outside of their invasion. I don't blame you for being fearful, but now is not the time to cower in your homes." Ethan continued
"I have already taken steps to ensure our safety. Although we are a small village, we now have a means of defending ourselves thanks in part to the towers. I have also put Captain Dinnin in charge of organizing defense, as well as convinced Frans, the Leader of the Bandits, to join us with his men."
"What?! You recruited those filth?!"
"You should just kill them, not have them join us!"
"Enough!" Ethan shouted down the people who were yelling at him
"I have no patience for your complaining about this matter! I have already made an oath between Frans and I to work together to defend Lorik. If you want me to eliminate them, then I'd say it's too late."
An audible gasp escaped everyones mouth when they heard that news. He had made an oath with a Bandit? Could such a thing be possible?!
"Now, until we receive any news about the success or failure of the Kingdom to defeat the Empire, I'd like for everyone to do whatever you can to prepare. If you have anything that can help with defense, see Captain Dinnin. If you have any disputes that can't be solved yourselves, please see Magistrate Virgil. Okay, dismissed." Ethan finished his announcement
The crowd soon dispersed to go about preparing for a possible invasion
"Why didn't you tell me this morning?" Amira asked when Ethan was finished
"Don't blame him sweetie." Ms. B said to her "It must have been hectic, so it probably just slipped his mind."
"It was, but I'm sorry I didn't tell you and just left for the whole day." Ethan said
"It's okay, I understand." Amira said
"Well, I better get back to the inn. With so many new people in Lorik, I can only guess how busy I'm going to be." Ms. B said with a sigh
After saying their goodbyes, Ethan and Amira returned home as well.
"Would you like a meal? I can't imagine you ate anything at all today." she asked
"Yes, please." He replied after realizing how hungry he was.
Amira then went to the kitchen to prepare food while Ethan sat in the living area on a chair that reminded him of an ancient recliner.