"Here's your damn payment!" Alden said as he placed the dead rabbit that Huginn caught, on the counter.
CAW!
Huginn flapped her wings vigorously as Alden walked with her in hand. They left the building shortly after the small scene.
"Alright, already! Calm down you blasted thing!" The innkeeper grumbled as he quickly reached for the rabbit. There wasn't much blood on it, which was a testament to her effective hunting skills.
"Sheesh, dirtying up my floors." The innkeeper said as they carefully picked up several black feathers that had fallen on the ground.
When the great earthquake happened many decades ago, a large ravine was created. It exposed many veins of precious metals in the earth.
The discovery of the metals led Malvri and Greshir to a territorial dispute, the area was near the border and there was a separate conflict.
This all culminated in open warfare and ended with Malvri's complete victory. Greshir was pushed back and lost its claim on the area as well as some of its borders.
It was primarily a mining town, but in recent years there was an emphasis on settling the frontier close by.
"How's the town recently?" Alden brought it up casually as they were walking through the marketplace.
"Busy as always, we produce a good part of Malvri's iron. We'll need it too if what you're saying is true."
"It is, I swear on the Goddess Malvri's name. Greshir knights rode through and burned my village down. As well as did this to me." Alden pointed to his covered eye.
"It was a matter of time until they broke the treaty, but to do it while the "Demon Lord" of the North is gathering their forces? That is suspicious."
"Could you please tell me more about this "Demon Lord"?" Alden subtly cast a glance at Daiyu to pay attention to this.
"I guess you are from the middle of nowhere. His brutality and strength are unmatched. He has forced the northern tribes to either kneel or die. Out of desperation, the tribes have been trying to attack the borders of the five kingdoms."
"But surely, brutal warlords are something we have all seen before in the north?"
"The interrogated tribesmen all whisper about the dark power he and all his close followers possess. We're going to the Goddess Malvri's power to get through this one, perhaps as well as the other four Gods too."
Alden raised an eyebrow at the soldier's last statement. For the threat to be bad enough to require the five kingdoms to come together, the Demon lord may very well lead him to the first Demon God.
Without another word, they continued walking until they reached the very end of the town.
Stonevalley was built at the foot of a hill that was right next to the ravine that was mined. The mayor's house both functioned as a mansion and a defensive position on top of the hill.
They passed through several gates and more guards until they reached the front door.
"You are Alden?" A man dressed as a butler asked with disdain as he saw Alden.
"Yes." Alden frowned and returned the man's words with the same courtesy.
"Ahem!" The butler coughed as if to get Alden's attention about something.
"…yes?"
"No pets!"
Alden was tired of the attitude he had received from this town, so he pressed on.
"Huginn is my partner, she's not some wild dog that will growl at you," Alden said as he petted her and showed her to the butler.
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"Very well then, come! The mayor is a busy man, make sure not to take too much time from his dinner."
For some reason, the mayor had agreed to see this vagabond from Malvri knows where.
The butler turned around and waved for Alden to be let inside. Two guards walked in front of the butler and two more followed behind Alden.
'Interesting, this young man seems unfazed by the treasures of our mayor. How suspicious for a country bumpkin!'
The butler thought as he cast Alden a glance every once in a while.
It was true, as the butler lead Alden through the mansion, there were countless shiny objects on the wall.
CAW! CAW!
Huginn was enjoying the sights very much though.
"Please shut that thing up! Guest or not, I will throw you out of here!"
Huginn's squawking was echoing throughout the halls and Alden did his best to hold his laugh in. They had already shown him a dismissive attitude, he could already guess how this was going to be.
"Huginn, shush please."Alden said as he stroked her feathers until she calmed down. Huginn gave Alden her version of puppy eyes as if feigning innocence.
"You're quite comfortable with her now, aren't you?" Daiyu gave Alden an annoyed look that made him sweat a little. He couldn't help it, he had always wanted a bird in his past life.
Finally, they had arrived at the dining room and Alden entered the fragrant room.
The mayor was exactly someone he had expected him to be. He was middle-aged, bald, and a little on the heavy side. Enjoying the prosperity of his town was certainly one of his pleasures.
"Sire, this is the one named Alden. A so-called survivor of the Greshir forces' supposed attack."
"Supposed?" Alden angrily interjected, he had seen them burn his village to the ground.
The mayor glared at Alden for speaking before he did but waved his soldiers to stand down.
"Do you expect us to believe something so outrageous, young man? Why would they start a conflict with us when the northern barbarians are at their borders?" The mayor shared as he continued to carefully eat his meal.
"They want the mines! That's all they ever wanted!"
"Yes, and they will continue to covet it. But they are not stupid. Coming for it now will result in both us and the barbarians overwhelming their forces."
"Why did you agree to see me if you were going to ignore my warnings?"
The mayor finally set down his utensils and looked up. He then stood up as the table was being cleared away.
"To look you in the eye and see just who was inciting us towards war! Perhaps it is true, perhaps they did burn your village down. But what does that have to do with us? We are here to support the kingdom with the resources from the mine, not go to war after every village is sacked by bandits."
Alden got angry and nearly reached for his sword, meanwhile, Huginn sensed his mood and got very quiet. She was staring directly at the mayor's eyes, readying her talons.
"What happened was a tragedy but if you are from that village, then you were mistaken. It was burned down by bandits dressed like Greshir knights, after all, why would the actual Greshir forces do such a thing?"
The mayor shrugged as he shot all his soldiers a glance. They all slowly moved their hands to their weapons.
"Besides you're from the countryside, have you ever seen what a Greshir knight looks like?"
"They had the silver wolf emblazoned on their armor, and the wolf helms were quite a giveaway!"
The tension had suddenly reached its boiling point, but just as things were about to explode…
"Emergency!" A soldier suddenly ran into the dining room with urgent news.