We crossed the moat and descended the wooden drawbridge, entering inside. There was a large square behind the gates and several small houses along the walls that clearly couldn't accommodate the entire clan. The main structure was carved into the depths of the rock. A large hall with stone walls, beyond which stretched long tunnels with rooms. Most of the refugees from the main village settled there. The conditions were far from ideal. Essentially, people were living in caves and surviving on whatever they could catch in the surrounding forests. There wasn't much other food, as it could only be bought with money earned from looting.
"Yes, it doesn't resemble the village that stole half of the treasury," Vina looked around with sympathy, "it seems the baron indeed pocketed all the gold."
"Why take such a risk to steal the royal funds?" Katrina was overwhelmed by the betrayal of someone who once faithfully served the king. "He claimed to have always been loyal to the country."
"For the baron, that service became an obsession," Yuki tried to explain her point of view to the princess. "Since he became a feudal lord, he has done everything to strengthen his personal army. And in recent months, he has been buying weapons and gathering mercenaries in even greater numbers. It's as if he's planning to take over neighboring lands or preparing for war."
We exchanged glances and understood why he became so obsessed with strengthening his army.
"I believe he stole the money for his army too."
"If he has such a large army, why didn't he help you deal with the monster?" Katrina still clung to the hope of the baron's reasonableness, but her faith crumbled with each argument from Yuki.
"Because he wanted to control our clan, but according to an ancient treaty, we only obey the king of these lands, and he couldn't command us," the shinobi sighed sadly. "Once, he tried to force my father to serve him, but my father drove him away, and that's when the enmity began. Then when my father sought help, he also turned him away. But that's not all."
Yuki sighed and leaned closer to us.
"A day before the red demon destroyed the entire village and most of the clan, I saw the baron go up the mountain, and then he returned as if nothing had happened. I couldn't tell my father that our only hope for aid was lost. Most likely, the baron made a deal with the monster to destroy our clan. When the battle began, those who couldn't fight tried to retreat to the cities in the west, but soldiers were waiting for them on the road. They killed everyone who asked for help, sparing neither the elderly nor the children. That's when I had to reveal our clan. We led all the survivors to this fortress and managed to save a part of the clan that way."
"Yuki, I saw the burial ground behind the main clan. How many people are left?"
"Before the attack, there were almost three thousand of us, and now we can hardly gather five hundred, and most of them are children and the elderly. At my father's request, the shinobi didn't join the battle with the red demon and had to protect the residents. So, two hundred shinobi are all the forces of our clan that are capable of fighting. We might gather another hundred elderly people who still remember how to wield katanas, but I wouldn't risk sending them to the battlefield."
"This is terrible," Katrina couldn't believe her own foolishness, believing the baron and agreeing to everything. "I promise to make amends before it's too late."
"You are not bad people, but even gods can't undo everything," Yuki smiled and pointed us to empty rooms. "I'll arrange for the best dinner we can manage right now. After all, you are our dear guests."
"No," Katrina stopped the hostess, "save it for tomorrow when we return victorious. For now, simple food that all the refugees in this house share will suffice."
"Sister certainly knows how to choose her friends."
After dinner, we started preparing for sleep. In the corridor, I ran into our sturdy earth mage, Krito.
"Krito, it's tough to be in charge after all. Don't make such hasty decisions anymore," Grain looked exhausted after taking on the responsibility.
"Oh, come on, I knew you could handle it, and you'll also keep Hilda from doing anything foolish."
"I hope you have a plan of action for tomorrow?" Grain looked at me with hope.
... ...
"Surely you do?" After my silence, the mage became a little alarmed.
"Well, I'll think about it tonight. If anything, we'll come up with something on the spot."
"Hey! Don't scare me like that; you always used to come up with something!" The mage was almost shouting, but he managed to calm down in time not to wake anyone up. "Don't worry, I'll definitely come up with something," I assured him. I noticed a slight movement behind Grain, but as soon as I glanced in that direction, it disappeared. However, I could still see two tails, one white and the other blue, peeking out from behind the corner. "You know what? Better lock the door at night."
"Huh? Why?" Well, he really could be quite dense.
"Well, at least don't disgrace the guild's honor. Show some endurance and youthful spirit, as they say," I made sure the tails were still following the mage. "You know, I didn't think you were such a lady-killer. But I understand, with only ten guys among two hundred young people, there's no room for selectivity."
"But I still don't understand what you're talking about."
Patting Grain on the shoulder, I went to my room but decided to spy on what was happening. The girls ended up a couple of passages away, talking about womanly things.
"That old lady spoiled everything for us," the little girl sighed sadly.
"It's not nice to talk like that. After all, she's only a little older than us," the more sensible girl tried to object.
"She may not be much older than you, but she's at least twice our age," the third girl managed to offend both her friends with a sharp remark.
"But still, what does it matter? It's not easy to find a good guy for us in our situation."
"Yeah, strong, smart, and a little handsome, heh-heh," the middle girl chuckled mysteriously, lost in thought about something.
"But wait, I think now is not the best time for this," the older girl tried to calm her friends.
"When else then?! There are so few people left in the clan; we need to seize the opportunity! I'm sure we'll have strong and capable children with him; we just need to distract her somehow," the middle girl peeked around the corner to check if Levris was still there and met my gaze. "Wow! Who are you?!"
I stepped out from behind the corner and waved to the girls in a friendly manner.
"Oh, you're the deputy GM of that guild, and you," the older girl blushed sharply, "you heard everything?!"
"Yes, you got so carried away with the topic of continuing the lineage that you didn't notice how I sneaked up on you."
Gasping for air like a fish out of water, the girl tried to calm down.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, but I can give you a hint on how to help Grain so that, hmmm, he feels a little indebted to you."
The girls exchanged glances and broke into satisfied smiles.
"So, what do you suggest?"
"Your fortress is covered from above by a cliff, which is both a strong defense and a weak point. I want you to set traps there, preferably explosive ones, but ones you can activate when needed, and at the same time, the cliff will withstand."
"To be honest, we were often advised to set traps up there, but we never risked it because if anything goes wrong, the entire fortress could be destroyed. The idea is good, but the cliff is made of basalt and tuff, which may not withstand strong vibrations. It would be suicide."
"That's actually good. If there are no traps there now, that's even better. Set them tomorrow when we leave, but try to remain unnoticed."
"Haven't you heard what I said?"
"I heard everything, but we do have a decent earth mage who can be trusted with strengthening the defense. The rock will withstand everything, and you'll have a chance to get closer to Levris. Winked at the girls and nodded towards the guard Cerberus at Grain's door. Meanwhile, you better go to sleep."
After sending the three girls away, I headed to the sorceress in the neighboring room.
"You don't need to keep watch anymore; they won't come tonight."
"Why do you assume I was keeping watch? I was just passing by," the teacher awkwardly avoided eye contact.
"You need to get some rest. I want you to do something tomorrow."
"Am I included in your plan too?"
"No, you won't come with us to the mountain. I want you to do something here."
"Why?" "To be prepared for anything," before going to sleep, I gave Levris a task for tomorrow.