In the distance, I see a thin trail of smoke snaking towards the sky, the first sign of habitation since my awakening. Though the source of the smoke lies slightly to the south, I determine a detour to be a reasonable response. My speed is redoubled as my heading is altered, moving with as much speed as I can muster towards the smoke.
Before I can come to the realization that smoke doesn't necessarily equate to human habitation, I can make out the details of a small village. A few buildings come into view, a low fence surrounding them, low enough to not obscure any attempt to peer into the village. A banner flies proudly over the city, a banner that quickly allows me to determine this to be a property of the empire, a great relief in that it signifies I am nearly finished with my journey. On the side from which I approach, a single man stands at an open gate.
Once he notices my appearance, he casually moves to close the gate behind him before directing his spear towards me in a move that is simultaneously defensive and nonthreatening.
A moment later, I come to a stop in front of him, a dozen or so feet away.
"Identify yourself," he says to me, his voice carefully neutral. "Who are you and what is your purpose here?"
My general response prepared, I bow before him, answering "Good soldier, I am but a commoner of simple descent, from the Kingdom of Eroen. I have heard tell of this empire's great appreciation of and need for adventurers, I am here to seek fortune in this regard, filling a vital need by taking up an occupation which is given far more respect here than in my own kingdom. This village was merely the first one that I came across, I thought it best to not skirt around it but to come here directly in order to obtain directions."
Where on Earth most countries do not take kindly to foreign nationals crossing their borders, in this world that is generally not the case. Other than the Arenese Empire, for the obvious reason of being at war with nearly all of their neighbors, no human nation restricts movement across their borders. This does not at all apply to the non-human nations, which are nearly universal with their strict immigration policies, but in this case, moving from Eroen to the empire is not likely to be seen as much of an issue, especially when I am filling their vital need for more adventurers to handle the bordering monster nations.
Among the more interesting details of the Eastern Empire is that it possesses no standing army due to the various principalities and kingdoms constituting it fearing oppression at the hands of the central government. This has led to a situation where the frontier provinces are tasked with establishing their own armies to counter the threat posed by demons, beastmen, and other monsters. All that the central government can do to aid them is hire and send adventurers, meaning that adventurers within this country are as valuable as the military in any other. For this need of adventurers, I determined this to be the best nation to travel to.
After thinking for a moment, the guard replies "Well, in that case, welcome to the westernmost town in the Duhnlaost Kingdom of the Eastern Empire. As you are already aware, our nation is greatly appreciative of any new adventurers, we are happy to have you.
"Within this village, you will find a general store, a small tavern with some rooms available, and some housing for our residents. You may stock up for your journey to the nearby cities and spend the night here, if you wish. Whatever you do here, I must warn you against making any trouble. We may be a small village, but we have no patience for outside troublemakers. Understood?"
"Yes, sir, quite clearly. Rest assured, I won't make any trouble, I only desire to prepare for my journey to the nearest city with a guild hall. Actually, would you mind telling me where I may find such a city?"
"Gromlaust, located about a hundred miles to the northeast, should meet your needs. I would recommend buying a map from the storekeeper for directions."
"Alright, one final question. Is there any way that I could make a handful of coins in this town to purchase said map? I'm afraid to say that I lost my possessions to bandits whilst traveling through the monster territories."
"Bandits? Near here?" He immediately takes on a much more serious appearance.
"No, no, closer to the end of the mountain range separating Aren and Eroen. As I'm sure you're aware, conflict between the nations has been escalating, apparently evildoers have seen this as an opportunity to ramp up activities in the region."
Actually, what I said is mostly true. I had heard that such was the case mentioned by Reinhart when he outlined our journey, the only falsehood in my statement is that I was a victim of such groups.
"Ah, yes, I actually had heard of that. If such scum made their way to this village… well, they would not get past me, I would never let them. You're lucky to have survived, I reckon."
"Yes, they would have taken my life too, I would wager, but my demonstrated swordsmanship ability was enough that they let me leave with my weapon and life. I figured my odds of winning against the whole group were slim, and they seemed to think poorly of their odds of all surviving the encounter, we were each willing to give a bit to escape it, thus why I have no coin. Again I must ask, is there any way for me to rectify this sad truth within this village?"
"Ah, yes, my apologies, I was distracted by the mention of bandits. The need for labor in this village isn't particularly high, but I'm sure you could find a job to do for someone for a bit of money… Actually, I would recommend going to the general store. The storowner is an alchemist, he always has a need of ingredients, I'm sure he could give you a list of them alongside what he can offer."
"Thank you for the assistance." I move to enter the village then, but he steps back in front of the gate.
"I forgot to mention, weapons are not allowed within this village by mandate of this region's governor. We have a storehouse where the resident's weapons are kept while they are in the village, they can be retrieved when the village is under attack or when their owners leave the village. Please, hand over your blade, you may retrieve it when you leave."
I try to suppress my desire to be unnecessarily difficult, but I am unable in this case. Blame the madness, I guess. "Oh? I had heard that this was a nation greatly respecting warriors and their personal strength, an attribute which necessarily includes weaponry. Is such a descriptor inaccurate, to take my precious weapon from me before entering this place?"
"Now, now, no need to cause any trouble. This is a policy specific to this region and its governor, as appointed by our area's king. Banditry has been on the rise as of late in some parts of the region, all people entering villages are being disarmed so that bandits can't just walk past our walls before initiating their villainy. I can assure you, your weapon will be perfectly safe in our storage. My apologies, but if you cannot accept this policy, you cannot be allowed to enter the village."
Not willing to drop the point, I continue this pointless disagreement "If this village is under such threat by mere bandits, is it not deserving of destruction? I thought that this empire was run on the philosophy that 'might makes right,' if bandits are mightier than the village, they have the right to do with it as they desire, unweakened by unfair methods, such as being disarmed."
"Perhaps you may be right about our cultural philosophy, but banditry is clearly a violation of this when the scum sneak into our villages fully armed, right past guards and walls alike, ignoring our own might, before attacking us. If they truly wanted to compare power, they would attack us fully armed from the outside, fairly challenging all of our defenses as was intended.
"And, most importantly, our cultural beliefs do not supersede the role of our government and rule of law. While the strong are respected here perhaps a bit more than they are elsewhere, they are still bound by the law. The way for the powerful to show their power and the right to rule that it brings is to challenge rulers and governors to duels and battles, taking positions after their victory, not to sneak around and use their power for personal benefit and chaos. It is not only power that is respected, but honor as well. A man with power but without honor is a criminal, while one with honor but no power is a fool. A man must have both. And, as for bandits, they have neither. Their power comes in groups and finding situational advantages, not in real strength, as I'm sure [you] know. And honor, that is completely lacking."
"Ahh… fine. But you should know, this sword is of great value, if anything should happen to it, this village will pay."
"I'll pretend that you didn't just make a threat, but I can assure you that we shall take care of your sword."
With a sigh, I hand him my precious blade, my only possession, a weapon of great power and my greatest asset.
[It seems I misunderstood this nation's philosophy a bit. Might makes right, perhaps, but their interpretation of might involves more than just power. Honor, circumstance, and the nation all seem to take a position of importance as well. Still a better nation in which to pursue power than any other, and their understandings make sense if they actually want stability. Power is respected here, but not to such an extent as to be of greater importance than the functioning of society. Well, it may make sense, but it is a bit silly. What is the purpose of imposing rules and laws when there are those with sufficient power to ignore them? Even now, my skills are at a higher enough level to easily slaughter dozens of commoners, if I pulled it off well I could do with this village whatever I please. Easy levels, easier money, my goals met. Still, I already must stay out of three nations. It would be best not to cut off any other locations for travel, for now I will play by the rules.]