Struleren was so far into the desert that there were neither waterways nor state-sanctioned roads. Transportation was piss poor. Goods had to be carried by enterprising merchants, at their own risk. As a newly settled region, it lacked a strong enough population to lure in said merchants.

Baron Heldermann was trying to change that

Eustace Ernst was in his way.

Viz sat cross legged in front of their informant, “You’re saying he’s the only noble up here?”

“Yes! Ernst is trying to ruin him!”

Viz rubbed his jaw. Kaiz did the same.

The details weren’t adding up. A new territory the size of Struleren would normally have a dozen or so nobles running around luring commoners to their fiefs. They would bring their wealth or their expertise or just plain old high work ethic. The nobles would then make sure they were working, producing goods or providing services, and—crucially—trading. With enough of them working in consort, the process of jump starting an economy could be completed relatively painlessly. One mere Baron trying to accomplish that on his own was a mad man desperate to fail.

To add to that, Viz knew every noble family in Waldaun by name and he seemed to have never heard of the Ernsts. Plus, sending rogues into another noble's territory was one of the very few executable offenses for a noble. None would ever be foolish enough to have their name attached to such.

But. Viz turned around to Kaiz. Even when both had their heads covered, they understood each other’s thoughts immediately.

Count Emmrich.

‘Simple run, huh?’ He communicated with his body language.

‘We’ll see’

Viz turned back, “Eustace Ernst. Why does he want to ruin the Baron?”

“To steal? Silberg h—”

Carl cut in, “Have some pride! They could be spies!”

Viz nodded his head, “We certainly could be. And you could be pillage, raping, ambushing marauders. Should we both keep our assumptions about the other?”

Rieka looked like she wanted to comment, but held her tongue. No matter how she cut, she couldn’t question the validity of their innocence claims without putting her own claims into question. If they were lying, she was lying, and they weren’t the ones tied up.

Carl wasn’t that smart.

“Any officer could vouch for us! You three are strangers who won’t even show your faces!”

“Are these officers close by?”

He stammered, “Well… no. But—”

“Then you have no one to vouch for you.” Viz cut in, “So you’re all strangers who violently attack innocent travellers. Unless you have some useful information to add, please stay silent from now on. Thank you.”

He turned back to the loose lips, “So what does Ernst want to steal?”

“Uh… yes. Right. The Baron controls a lot of mines so there are huge warehouses full of metals in Silberg.”

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Both Carl and Rieka grimaced at that revelation, but their concern was ill-placed. They weren’t spies and they had no interest in deteriorating their situation further. Whatever riches Silberg held did not matter to them in the least. Though Kaiz did have a very pertinent question.

“I’d assume Ernst would have sent those outlaws you’re so worried about to sack it by now?”

“They couldn’t if they tried. Silberg has proper reinforced walls. They stop him from trading any of it.”

Viz knew not to turn around.

Kaiz continued, “So what? All the smaller towns and villages are left unguarded while the Baron hides behind his walls?”

“Watch your tongue! The Baron is an exemplary man, he fights side by side with his men to protect the people.”

While Carl’s outburst provided a bit more information, it didn’t answer what Kaiz was truly asking.

He tried again, “So he’s ‘exemplary’ and the rest of you are toothless? An army would be one thing, but thieves and riff raff locked down the whole region?”

Carl was suddenly comfortable speaking, “We are no such thing! Foul as they are, they are an army. They have many trained soldiers, and even high level mercenaries. They’re not just beggars that picked up kitchen knives.”

Viz didn’t dare move a muscle.

He did speak though, “If it's so obvious that Ernst is behind these rogue forces roaming around, why hasn’t the Baron had him arrested?”

“He tried! I don’t know what kind of scoundrels live in Waldaun, but they denied him.”

That was a point in favor of this ‘Eustace Ernst' character being a fiction. The council would have been the ones to hear the Baron’s case. Scoundrels they most definitely were, but negligent of their duties they could never be.

While Waldaun, and Struleren even more so, was at the very edge of Goldfrucht, far from the crown’s administrative center, noble bureaucracy was ever-reaching. If the Baron had even the barest grounds for a claim, it would have been given serious consideration and investigation. Not doing so was one of the other very few executable offenses.

He already had an inkling that Ernst was a fake, a cover for Emmrich, so the only new information obtained was that the Baron had travelled to Waldaun over the issue. Which, on second thought, was strange. Even though it was unlikely the name Emmirch had ever come up, if Kaiz could deduce that Ernst wasn't a true nobleman, Heldermann had to be an idiot to not see it too.

Viz beat him to the punch, “Ernst isn’t a noble.” He started thinking out loud, “But he isn’t a fake. He’s real… so he must be a merchant. That smooths the clay. All violence that occurs within one’s territory, that aren’t acts of war, are classified as civilian delinquency. The council didn’t deny him because he never went to them. He knew by law that was his, not their, responsibility. He also knew that if he wasn’t completely on his own, he would share that responsibility with others and they could band together. Only a fool would le—Shut it.” He silenced Carl before he could interrupt, “Only a fool would let that situation continue.” He also gave Kaiz a signal, “So he must have gone to Waldaun to recruit. Yet, even with how many unlanded nobles languished around, none came north.”

Kaiz covertly got into position while Viz turned toward Rieka, “Nobles are selfish, so I’m not surprised that no one wanted to help. But. No one wanted to grab land for themselves? Impossible.”

She just stared back.

‘Left hand’ Kaiz signaled back.

He continued, “So Eustace Ernst isn’t just a merchant, he has to have immense power and reach. I didn’t recognize the name at first, but that fact helped jog my memory. Phoenix Cliffs Trading Company just officially opened their branch in Waldaun. They call the head of it ‘Stance’. Apparently he made quite the splash in the south.”

She continued to stare while they both prepped.

“Do you know how he did it?”

Viz didn’t get the opportunity to answer his own question. ‘Carl’ had activated a fire spell. Before he could burn them all in an inferno, however, Kaiz pounced.

[Execute: Absorb, Ext ‘Fire Hands’]

The explosive manafire halted at the touch of his hands. It was a brief pause. They spell output far more mana than he could absorb, but Viz wasn’t just sitting on his thumbs. He retracted his blade and quickly sliced ‘Carl’s’ left arm.

Captain Not So Righteous and Honorable started flailing as the fire retreated.

Kaiz kicked him in the groin.

While the flailing and wails intensified, Viz went up to Rieka.

“I believe you, Squad Leader Rieka Dern. I also believe I can be an ally to you and your Baron.”