The morning was calm, but surprising - for the most.
Algier was the first one sitting in the open air and prepping up the fire to make breakfast. Which was an easy feat for him, considering that as a mage, he could quite literally snap his fingers and engulf the pile of wood in flames, weak ones but still.
Those actions don't surprise the ones who left their tents later, it was what was in the background.
Behind the camp, on a low-hanging branch, Algier's robe swung in the wind. It could be easily recognised that he tried to wash it, but the blood stains left residue deep in the fabric. Nothing a novice washer could deal with. As such, the beautifully green robe was stained, and reddish patches covering most of its fabric attracted the attention of onlookers.
"Did you go out in the dark?" Adam asked while looking around, and noting in his mind the expressions of the warriors - they weren't particularly surprised, at least not as much as he was.
"Yeah, the town's leader didn't like my advice. He went on a stroll through the forest." Algier responded plainly - while pouring water into a kettle that swung back and forth above the fire. The older mage couldn't live without morning tea.
"Oh, did he have company?" Adam questioned. He sat down on a log, near the fireplace to warm his freezing hands, and acted as if the death of the noble hadn't bothered him at all.
"Few men, weak and fearful. However, I am still wondering why would they follow that man. Even you could deal with him with ease… no offence, you are quite inexperienced at fighting for a mage in the second realm." Algier looked at his fellow arcanist and smiled apologetically.
The rest of the camp dwellers arrived near the fire embers and sat down on the logs scattered around.
Most of the warriors wore some kind of soft sleeping robes, colourful and full of beautiful patterns. Sleeping in the armour would be excruciating, so whenever the chance arose, the men changed clothes before going into their tents.
Adam and Algier lacked such garments, the first one due to his inexperience with travelling, and the second had something other in store. Algier didn't sleep in a conventional tent, he used his ability to fly and set up a simple hammock-like tree house high on the treetops.
There, he supposedly slept naked.
"I think they didn't fear him, they were scared by his rank, and of the one who gave it to him. Even if he was the lowest of the low among the empire's noble circles, someone had to put him there." Gravis was the one to speak. He was one of Fenfallal's subordinates, an advanced warrior, just like the rest of them. He had short black hair, soft features and brown eyes.
"Maybe, but that would only prove their stupidity. Their 'nameless' town is in such a 'good' shape only because of the bribes from our merchants. No one cares about this place." Algier stated. He was pouring his boiling water into a cup, where the tea leaves rested at the bottom. Then he waved the kettle around as if asking if someone else wanted some hot water.
"Empire's society is much more cruel and strict about social status. If he had been raised from plebs to nobility, that alone would grant him great respect." Gravis argued - he seemed to be more knowledgeable about the Pruinian society than Adam gave him credit for.
"If you say so… Either way, they were stupid to follow someone as incompetent as him." Seeing that no one else wanted to use his hot water, Algier put the kettle down and started to sip one of his horrendously hot tea.
"Well, yeah… Can you pass the salt?" Gravis agreed with the wind mage, who then took the salt shaker from a basket next to him, and threw it towards the warrior.
Gravis caught the flying seasoning easily and turned towards his food - it still required heating, but he preferred to as spices beforehand, as they would melt nicely.
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To say that the townsfolk were acting salty towards the strangers would be an understatement.
Resentful looks and unkind whispers were the most common among the ways locals could demonstrate their lack of favour toward the newcomers.
It was safe to say, that Adam, Algier and the warriors weren't a great sight for locals, but there was literally nothing they could do about it, nothing not involving some kind of suicide.
Walking through the small town made a huge impression on Adam. The resection of the Empire's civilians was to be expected, but it became more abstract the more Adam spent inside the walls.
From the outside, the hamlet looked worn out and poor. Its walls had visible cracks and splits, sharp spikes on the top were mostly destroyed and some pols forming the palisade swayed slightly in the wind. An outsider could see some holes in the roof above the defensive structure, but that's about it. Poor and requiring heavy restoration, but manageable - a trained team of Derdanian warriors could repair it in a week, and no professional builders were needed.
But as Adam entered the nameless town, through the gate broken by some frustrated mage, the rest of the town's pitiful state unfolded.
From within the walls, the town's buildings were much more visible than from outside - the walls were often cracked, filled with holes and bent, the residents wanted to repair them, as they filled the holes with thick fabric or some makeshift wooden plugs, but from the state of things, it seemed that there were no good woodworker in the entire town.
Normally, remaining something like walls was easy, and affordable as long as there was someone who knew how to prepare the material. Mounting it to the house's frame was a child's work after all.
If the state of houses was prevalent in all parts of the town as much as near the gate, there was no way someone capable of woodworking existed here.
Apart from the poor housing situation, a few other problems caught the eyes of the arrivals.
On the streets, there were only citizens, no guards, soldiers or other authoritative force that would guarantee peace and enforce laws. They existed, as Adam and the rest saw them walking on the battlements and even talked with them, they were just absent - but why? Adam couldn't figure it out.
As the group made their way through the streets - watched by residents intently - they slowly neared the centre of the town, which looked much better than the rest of the settlement. It was whole and in good condition, but still messy and dirty.
At the core, in the middle of the main square, stood a big mansion - its stone walls gave it an almost castle-like look. The building wasn't particularly clean, but it didn't scream 'clean me' like the rest of the town.
There, the envoys finally saw the guards - who stood both inside and in front of the building.
The ones inside wielded bows and crossbows, already loaded and ready to shoot. Those who stood in front - rested their hands on long halberds, very practical and useful weapons popular in the Empire, yet seemingly non-existent in Derdania.
One of the halberdiers stepped forward, taking the role of the leader, and shouted towards the group of people slowly riding their horses in his direction.
"My name is Rodney, the highest authority in this town until Lord Smith returns - what business do you have with us?" He asked.
"My name's Algier Windsworth, and I am afraid neither of the things you said are true, maybe apart from your name.
You see, we are here to announce to you that this territory belongs to our King, consequently - the highest authority belongs to me." Algier replied calmly, from the back of his horse.
"What do you mean by that, this is the territory belonging to The Emperor - The Radiant Sun, explain yourself." Rodney - the soldier in charge, ordered.
'Fun title - when will I get one as such? What will it be... maybe The Winter Bringer? - Nah, that's too grim. - Frost of the North?- That would reference my roots in Derdania but would be used only by non-Derdanians probably, so it's so-so..." Adam got lost in thoughts, imagining your future title, a thing reserved for the greatest and most prominent figures when you only recently advanced into the second realm must have been a great way to spend time.
"Your Radiant Sun doesn't look here often - as seen all around us. He expects you to deliver too much of your resources, so much even - that your tawn slowly falls into ruin.
Why not surrender willingly? Under our King's rule, this place will become a major trading hub for Derdania, and with it, your standard of living will reach the heavens, compared to it today...
Also, don't be stupid - the bunch of you may take down one of us at most, at that is if you get incredibly lucky, and three of us restrain ourselves." As he said the last words, Algier pointed at himself, Fenfallal and Stellmo - who alone could probably take down this whole group of guards, tho at the cost of the buildings.
The guard gulped down his saliva and took a look around.
Behind him, his colleagues stood relatively still - looking back and forth between their temporal leader and the arrivals.
Before him, a group of dangerous-looking warriors, clad in armour far better than anything he had ever seen sat on their horses next to two men in colourful attires hidden under their coats - one was surely a mage, they had seen him summon a whirlwind, the second - a mystery.
Around the square, numerous civilians stood in silence, nervously watching the standoff between two armed groups. Every now in a while, one of them would say something, then shut up either willingly or not.
Once again, Rodney looked towards the manor - so outstanding in between plan and modes houses of even the most wealthy townspeople. Would the King allow their next governor to exploit them, just like the recently deceased one had?
Lastly, he returned his gaze towards his comrades, askingly. Seeing shaky eyes and unsure expressions, Rodney made a decision.
"We will surrender..."
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And surrender they did, tho not everyone as eagerly as Rodney.
A few burly men, who thought of themselves as powerful warriors, despite being pitiful even in comparison to the town's guards, decided to stand up to the oppression from the group of Derdanians - and ended up unconscious next to some wall. It could end much worse for them if Fenfallal wasn't around. The stoic warrior was the only one who knew how to chain Algier's murderous tendencies.
Eventually, the town calmed down and the envoys could finally set things straight. Which meant much work for the wind mage, but a leisurely evening for Adam.
As they would be leaving the next day - Algier appointed Rodney as a temporal leader of the settlement. It was he who was given instructions on how to proceed until official settlers from Derdania arrive and take over the surrounding lands.
The town had been given the task of clearing the forest between the settlement and the waterfall - The ultimate goal was to build a fortress on the mountainside and a trading town surrounding it. A clear perimeter and abundance of wood usable for construction would make the job of the builders much easier when they finally arrived.
Of course, no one among the envoy group thought that the townspeople would manage to complete the task - not only was it a huge undertaking, but they also believed that the people wouldn't be as cooperative as they could. They were just annexed by another kingdom after all.
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The next day, Adam and the rest were on the road again - leaving the nameless town behind, without any way of knowing whether things would progress smoothly, or the settlers would have to fight for the land when they arrived.
The road leading deeper into the Pruinos Empire from the Fire Mountains was far better than those leading among the peaks, but still poor in comparison to the roads issued by the Derdanian King in recent years.
Yet, despite their experience with better roads, the travellers were very happy to move from riding on a mountain path to an actual road, regardless of its quality.
Having left the nameless town behind - Adam, Algier, Fenfallal and Stellmo, along with the warriors under the Royal Swordmaster headed further south, towards their destination - the faraway country of Ermanor, separated from Derdania by the wide, unpredictable lowlands of the Pruinos Empire.