Elysia knocked on the wagon door, which she was told belonged to the baron's master-at-arms. She was alone mainly because her partner, Frey, was in charge of maintaining his armor and giving his sword a perfect edge.
"Ahead". said a voice.
Opening the door, her nose was assaulted by the smell of bear grease, so she reached for the hilt of the sword.
Five men were gathered inside the wagon, and she recognized three of them: they were the hunters she had met the night before. The other two were a young man, richly dressed and with delicate features, with short hair in the style of a noble warrior, and a tall, powerfully built man clad in furs. The latter was tanned and appeared to be in his thirties, although his hair was silvery gray. He carried a quiver of black-tailed arrows slung across his back, and close to his hand was a long, sturdy bow. The men she didn't know, Elysia, bore a certain family resemblance.
"That's the bitch." Lars said through his missing teeth, and the two strangers exchanged glances.
Elysia watched them warily, while the one with gray hair inspected her with apparent indifference.
"So you're the girl who knocked out one of my guides' teeth." she commented.
"One of your guides?"
"Yes, Manfred and I hired them to make the path between the mountains easier."
"They are mountaineers, not adventurers." Elysia commented to buy time, as she wondered what kind of trouble she had gotten herself into.
"As mountaineers, they know the mountain very well." replied the well-dressed young man, with a cultured accent. "They are able to move in the mountains without much trouble using their skills as Ranges."
"I don't see them as much of a Ranges style." Elysia responded as she held out her hands open before her.
"What have you come here to find?" she wanted to know the one with the gray hair of hers.
"I'm looking for a job for my group of adventurers. I wanted to see the baron's master-at-arms."
"That's me". answered the elder. "I'm Dieter. I am also the Baron's Ranger, the trainer of his hunting dogs, and his falconer."
"My uncle's farm is going through quite difficult times." commented the young man.
"This is Manfred, nephew and heir to Garfield Von Deyl, Baron of the Northern Fringe of the Gray Mountains."
"Old Baron" Manfred corrected him. "The Emperor saw fit to revoke my uncle's title, remove him from office, remove all his rights as a noble, and confiscate our lands using the new law reforms, under the guise of centralizing the power of the Empire. The only thing the emperor does is amass power for himself and administer it."
"Political differences, you know?" he added upon seeing Elysia's questioning look. "After the death of the previous emperor, the recently appointed emperor Sebastian Kaisar Octavian, he has reformed the laws and central politics of the empire for his convenience; he appoints his personal assistant consul, has a friendly relationship with the minister of magic Gregori, has a powerful witch as his lover and adviser, and controls all the imperial legions since the marshal is his childhood friend. He seized all legislative power by revoking the power of the senate and displacing them to a secondary role as a mere council with no real political power. He began to centralize executive power by dismissing many nobles on the grounds of 'incompetence' or suspicion of conspiracy; he founded a new government body called 'Administratun' which would be in charge of administering the territories whose nobles have been removed using specially trained commoners to serve as governors and territorial administrators. And he has all the judicial power by having the four judges who regulate the Inquisition as advisers and direct subordinates, these judges are recognized for being the most powerful judges in the history of the Empire."
"My family comes from an ancient lineage of nobles of the Empire." Home Manfred "And like most of the nobles, both of the Kingdom and the Empire, we are in charge of governing the territories that are in our jurisdiction, therefore we have political and economic power, along with the right to influence internal politics and have voice and vote in the Imperial Senate. But with the new reforms and legislations, all our rights as nobles have been revoked, now we are just as important as commoners."
"In these turbulent times, it only takes the slightest excuse to strip you of your noble titles and have the central administration seize the lands your family had ruled for generations. They banish us for not accepting the designs imposed by the Administratun, who would agree to subordinate to an organization whose members are commoners without lineages or former nobles who preferred to lick the boots of the emperor to keep their lives stable? Dieter, the Baron's Ranger, shook his head in disgust. "Imperial politics, right?"
Dieter shrugged and turned to face the highlanders.
"Wait outside." he told them he. "We have business to attend to with Miss…"
"Elysia." I leave her.
The hunters prepared to leave. As he headed for the door, Lars gave Elysia a look filled with hatred. The cat girl looked them straight into their bloodshot eyes, and their gazes locked on each other for a second. Then the hunters disappeared, leaving behind only a whiff of bear fat floating in the air.
"I'm afraid you've made an enemy." Manfred commented.
"It does not worry me."
"You should be concerned, Miss Elysia. Those kinds of men are the ones who hold a grudge." Dieter said. "You say you're looking for work as an adventurer?"
Elysia nodded.
"My partner and I..."
"The guy in the black armor?" Dieter raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Frei. He and I form the group Ragnarök, we are Platinum rank".
"Platinum… If you want a job, you already have it. The Shadow Mountains and Westelands are violent lands and we could use two more warriors. Unfortunately, we can't afford much."
"My uncle's goods are now scarce." Manfred explained.
"We do not ask for much, it is not necessary to be paid the remuneration of a platinum group, with half or less it will be enough. But we ask for bed, food and transportation." Elysia replied, and Dieter laughed.
"I think it's great. You can travel with us if you wish. In case they attack us, you will have to fight."
"Are we hired?"
Dieter handed him a bag with some gold coins.
"You have accepted the baron's money. You are with us." The gray-haired man opened the door. "And now, if you'll excuse us, we have to plan the trip."
Elysia bowed to each of them, taking out a scroll from her backpack; it was a request from the adventure guild. I tell them that they should sign and seal it, saying that she left.
"One moment."
Elysia turned to see Manfred climb out of the wagon behind her, smiling at her.
"Dieter is a gruff man, but you will get used to him."
"I am sure it will be so, my lord."
"Call me Manfred. We are on the border, not in the Imperial Senate. Here the range is not so significant."
"Very well, sir... Manfred."
"I just wanted to tell you that you did the right thing last night. Defend the girl, even if she is the assistant of that sorceress. Thank you."
"Thank you. Can I ask you a question?"
Manfred nodded, and Elysia cleared her throat.
"The name of Manfred Von Deyl is not unknown to me, in the capital of the Empire. That name is related to a playwright."
Manfred gave him a wide grin.
"It's me. By the gods, a cultured woman! Who would have thought that she would find one in these lands? I can assure you that you and I are going to get along just fine, Miss Elysia. Have you seen Strange Flower: Did you like her?
Elysia considered the answer carefully. On the occasions that she had accompanied her owner to her Theater, she had not been interested in her play, which dealt with a noblewoman's fall into madness when she discovered that she was a mutant who he devolved into bestiality. Strange Flower lacked the benevolent humanity that could be found in the greatest dramatists of the Empire. However, the work was very topical in those days when the number of mutations was apparently increasing.
The Inquisition had banned it, Elysia remembered.
"You have a lot of strength, Manfred. It's very haunting."
"Obsessive, very good! Really very good! Now I have to go visit my uncle, who is sick, but I hope to talk to you again before the trip is over."
They bowed, and the young nobleman walked away. Elysia stared at him, unable to reconcile this friendly eccentric young man with the brooding, dark god-obsessed images of her work. In the circle of friends of the previous owner of it, Manfred Von Deyl was described as a brilliant playwright... and a blasphemer.
Elysia had a bad feeling about this trip, her sixth sense warned her.