WAR IS COMING TO STAARI CITY
"Newspaper..newspaper", a paper boy screamed and advertised in the streets of Staari city.
"I'll have today's paper", a gentleman walked to the paper boy and asked.
"Here you go, today's news, good sir", the paper boy said to the gentleman before giving him the news.
The gentleman took the paper and gave the boy several Aurs, transferring his money to the boy's money stone.
"Good sir, this is much more than the paper", the boy said to the gentleman who gave him more Aur than the paper's worth.
"Consider them my tip to you", the gentleman told the boy.
The boy hesitated a while before he took another paper from his bag and gave it to the gentleman, saying, "This is the real news for today", before he quickly ran off to sell his paper in another street.
The gentleman took the new paper that the paper boy gave to him and read it. To his shock, the paper read, "Demons at the gates of Staari city".
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Soon, the day arrived when the army of demons invaded Starri city. The news of the invasion could no longer be concealed by the Church even if they wanted to.
To further the spread, we distributed the news inside the daily newspapers. Soon, all of Starri city learned about the demon invasion. Even the denials from the church could not stamp out the citizens' horror and fear of the incoming war.
All the managers from the Trading Houses that signed the forward contract to supply grains to us rushed to our office to cancel the agreement, but we would not do that without a heavy penalty and compensation from them.
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"I don't understand, young master, why will the Houses come to renegotiate their contract when they know they will pay hefty penalties for them? I was wondering how to claim money from them, but they all came to pay up", Hagar asked me in surprise.
"They will pay any amount of compensation that we ask from them willingly", I told him.
"Why will they do that, son?" Orol asked me.
"Because we have all the grains in this city now. If the Trading Houses do not settle their forward contracts with us, we will not sell them any grains", I told them.
"Yes, you are right young master. The price of grains and necessities will increase by many folds after the war starts. The other trading houses must get their supply from us no matter the price if they are to stay in business", Hagar told us.
"Son, you are a genius. We made more than a billion Aurs just from the sale of the forward contracts. We are now the wealthiest Trading House in Starri city and perhaps in the entire Drachia kingdom", Orol said to me gleefully.
"Have we sold all our fixed properties in this city?" I asked them.
"Yes, we sold everything except the mansion and all our possessions have been moved to Tarah city, we shall run our business from there after this", Hagar told me.
"What about the fleet of airships that I asked you to buy?" I asked him.
"Yes, we have more than fifty airships in our fleet and the tickets for passage to Tarah city have been oversold by many times already", Hagar told me.
"Son, you are a genius, we will also get an airline for free after this war", Orol said to me.
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"Cardinal Koreen, we must leave Starri city now. The demons have started attacking our borders and our forces were defeated in the ear fights", a deacon informed the Cardinal.
"The apostles will arrive soon to escort our wealth", Cardinal Koreen replied to the deacon as his hands touched the oversized chest in his room.
There was a large chest inside the Cardinal's private living room. What contained inside the chest was worth billions of Aur and consisted of the wealth of the Church in Starri city.
The Church prepared for an evacuation from Staari city when they discovered the demons were coming to invade the city, but they believed the demons could be stopped. So, all the wealth of the Church was stored inside magical space artifacts, Faberge eggs, and locked inside the Cardinal's chest, temporarily, until the demons were defeated.
If the demons failed to be vanquished, the Cardinal's chest would be brought back to Elis by the apostles.
"Cardinal, the apostles have arrived", a deacon came to inform the Cardinal.
Suddenly, a tall man with a heavy build walked into the room, his back hiding a set of magical wings. He carried a magical sword which was unmistakable to the Cardinal, a Sword of Apostle on his left hand. On his right hand, he carried a shield, the Shield of Apostle.
It was unmistakable that this is an apostle of Elis.
"Your Excellency, I am not informed of your arrival. I have not met your excellency before in my prior dealings", Cardinal Koreen asked the apostle.
"I am the Apostle Haskeem. You have not seen me before and I am not in charge of the delivery of the chest to Elis and this is also not the scheduled time for delivery of the chest to Elis", Apostle Haskeem said to the Cardinal.
"Why then do you grace my humble presence?" the Cardinal asked the apostle.
"Something has changed. The wretched demons are coming here to steal the wealth of our church. I came here to organize the defense against the demons", the apostle said to the Cardinal to his shock and horror.
"How did demons get into Starri city?" the Cardinal asked the apostle, but he did not reply to him.
"Fortify this building with our magic. All templar knights protect the building and its contents", Apostle Haskeem started ordering the templar knights and conjurers to form a defense around the Cardinal's quarters.
"Is this really necessary your excellency? The demons will not dare come into our Church's compounds. We have many enchantments and shields here to protect us", Cardinal Koreen told the apostle.
"My order is to protect the wealth of the Church. Our information cannot be wrong", the apostle replied to the Cardinal who stopped asking further.
Suddenly, a fiery flame exploded into the compounds of the church.
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A mystical dome materialized, enveloping the compounds of the Church of All-Seeing in the bustling city of Starri.
The lingering flames bore witness to the aftermath of a potent magical onslaught, originating from a clash with the church's protective barriers before cascading into the cardinal's serene garden.
"The demons are upon us," Apostle Haskeem gravely informed the cardinal.
Soon after, a barrage of fiery explosions bombarded the enchanted shields of the church. Ascending into the heavens were twenty-four colossal beings, dwarfing both humans and apostles in stature.
Massive fiery wings extended from their arms, and three backward-bending horns adorned their heads. These were recognized by the preachers, they were Demonlords from Hell.
Infused with rage, these demonic entities unleashed hellish fires, attempting to breach the magical defenses of the church. It was only a matter of time before the church found itself unable to endure the relentless onslaught by these otherworldly assailants.
Simultaneously, on the ground, formidable ramming instruments relentlessly pounded the church walls, causing breaches and fractures.
The Church of All-Seeing was now under siege, facing a dire threat from the invading demons.
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"What are we going to do now? Our knights and priests cannot defend against an onslaught of Demonlords and their army:, a deacon asked the cardinal.
"Will the Church send more reinforcements here?" Cardinal Koreen asked Apostle Haskeem.
Apostle Haskeem gave those words some thoughts and replied to him sadly, "I am the only one the church sent here I am afraid. The war in the border is intense, there are not many of us who can be extracted to defend our church", Apostle Haskeem told the Cardinal.
"Our magic shields will be destroyed soon. If the Apostles do not come to relieve us, we will all be killed by the demons", a deacon cried out to the cardinal.
"Fools, to die for the Church is an honor and merit", Apostle Haskeem scolded the deacon.
Cardinal Koreen thought about the matter for a while before he said to the apostle, "I have a plan, your excellency".
"What kind of plan?" Apostle Haskeem asked Cardinal Koreen.
"We anticipated that there may be a siege of the church in the direst circumstances, and we are not in dire. We have prepared an empty chest, a decoy", Cardinal Koreen told the apostle.
"What is your plan?" Apostle Haskeem asked Koreen.
"All our knights and priests will send the decoy chest away from the church. The demon army will chase the decoy chest", Cardinal Koreen told the apostle.
"What if the demons capture the decoy?" Apostle Haskeem asked him.
"The decoy chest is made from the toughest magic. It couldn't be broken easily. The demons would have to take it away to break its enchantment and the siege of the church will be lifted", Cardinal Koreen told the apostle.
"But the demons may return soon when they find out about the decoy?" Apostle Haskeem asked Koreen.
"That is why, I will humbly ask your excellency to escort me to the Gate of Elis. I must send the treasures of the church back to Elis myself", Cardinal Koreen told the apostle.
"In that case, we have no time to waste", Apostle Haskeem told the Cardinal.
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