Chapter 032:

It was early in the morning when they arrived at the edge of the forest that gave way to Maxill. It was clear to him, and the former bondsmen, that things had changed and apparently for the better. There were tree stumps everywhere, recently cut.

The wall, that was beginning to rot with chunks missing, had been mostly restored. Rudimentary repairs had been superseded by completely new sections. There were more guards on top of the four meter tall wall, their green and white armor now bright and crisp in the early sunlight. About twenty meters away from the wall was freshly tilled soil with a wheat-like crop that looked ready to be harvested.

Anton had forgotten about the Earth mana flowing through the ground that allowed plants and monsters to grow incredibly fast, food was probably not the limiting factor for civilized creatures and their kingdoms and empires. Death was, in whatever form it took; monster, beast, or their fellow man.

Either side of the main gate were two large piles of freshly cut logs, past them looked to be some workshop shacks. There were a few people there working, stripping the bark off the logs while other cut the pieces of wood to work them into building material. The sound of metal axes striking the wood resounded in the air.

“W...What?” Raston could barely hold in his surprise.

"It's only been a month.

Anton was surprised too, Duchess Belinda may have actually listened to his words. Though it seemed like there was more than just one persons directive at work. Perhaps her butler had a hand in this change.

The faces of the people seemed to be quite happy, considering they were working very hard. Their faces were already glistening from the sweat, but they continued to work. It would be hard to keep up a smile like that if they were being beaten and oppressed like they were before.

Kal, and the other Atros Villagers, did not know what Maxill looked like before. Dana brought her horse closer and looked at Anton.

“Seems like this place is doing quite well. Guess some of your fears did not come to pass.” Dana looked at Raston, who smiled back. He saw Anton glance at him, his face changing to a more professional and stern appearance.

Raston finally let out a smile.

“They don't look to be unhappy, from here at least.”

Anton turned to Kal, she was rummaging through her coat and brought out a thin piece of cloth. It looked like it was the one that she wore when she first arrived at Atros.

“Good thinking Kal.” Anton said, Kal smiling as she pulled down her hood.

“Could you help me? It'll be quicker if I have someone help me.”

She did seem to be having trouble doing it up. He had her turn so her back faced him and helped her  tie it up, using two of the ends. It looked a bit like a bandanna with her hood down. While he tied it up he got a feel of her hair. It was rough but he felt it was because she had not looked after it in decades. If she were to start caring for it, it would look quite beautiful. Soft and delicate.

Kal gave her face cloth a quick pull to make sure it would not come loose and pulled up her hood. The cloth wrap really only covered her face, leaving her ears free underneath her hood. She murmured a 'thank you' and turned to him. He could not see if she was happy but she seemed to be.

With Kal having covered her face they continued forward.

As they fully emerged from the forest, a light metal gong came from the wall. It appeared they were now taking decent precautions with their security.

Some of the bondsmen saw Raston and the other freed bondsmen. They looked in complete disbelief before finally recognizing him. Some downed their tools and jogged to the cart.

“Raston!” one of the male bondsmen exclaimed, “By the Holy Father, you're alive. And back.”

He and the others seemed quite confused.

Raston, and the other freed bondsmen, chuckled.

“Did you think I would be gone forever?” Raston said somewhat slyly. Anton looked at him, loosing a bit of his confidence.

“I thought you'd be dead.” A female bondsmen said.

“I thought I might be too. But, we've got a good life over in Atros.”

“Well, after you left, things really changed. This are getting a little better here to, day by day.” the woman replied.

“That's fantastic news. We've got to head in, but I think I'll get the chance to catch up in a bit.” He looked to Anton who nodded. “I can't wait to hear how it's all changed.”

The male bondsmen grunted something loudly, sounding quite happy, and they got back to work, a hint of extra happiness on their faces.

Anton looked forward and saw the guards waiting at the gate. Before they had looked loathed to even move from their resting position on the gate. Now they had clean weapons and armor. It was clearly not brand new but looked like they were starting to take care of their equipment.

He recognized the one that had extorted money from him, the man also recognizing Anton straight away. The man said something to the other three guards and moved towards them.

Dana brought the convoy to a halt once the guards reached the first cart.

“Hello again...Anton, I believe. To be honest, most of us thought that you would not return.”

He and the others looked at the carts.

“And there's some people that aren't from Maxill I see. Where's that silver haired girl that was with you last time? Is that her?”

“No,” Anton replied, hoping the guards would not look too closely at her, “Not this time. And what about yourselves? You seem to be doing much better now.”

The guardsman smiled, “We are. We've been given much better equipment, and the people are working much harder as well. Couple of days after you left things started to change for the better.”

That's interesting. Though I doubt that I was the only source that tried to get her to change. She doesn't seem like someone who listen to a traveling mage. Perhaps her butler Alfred was always trying to get her to change, and I was just a tiny push. We'll see in a bit.

“That's very good to know. Can we head in? We have quite a few things to get done today.”

The guardsmen nodded and waved to the guards on top of the gate. A few seconds later the gate rumbled open, even that appeared to be in a early state of repair.

At least he didn't try to take money from us. Maybe they're being paid a decent wage now.

None of the guards searched their vehicles, nor made any movement to do so. They must have trusted him to be a good and honest traveler.

The guards moved back to their post as they allowed them through.

Anton leant towards Kal.

“Good thing you remembered to cover your face. Sorry I forgot, I've gotten used to seeing your eyes that I didn't think about it.”

“Force of habit.” Kal replied, somewhat happy, “I'm glad that I haven't had to wear it for quite some time.”

Anton smiled, he thought that Kal was but he could not be sure.

Inside it looked completely different. The dilapidated buildings had fresh pieces of timber and the holes in the roves had been covered with whatever could be found. Holes in the roads had been filled in with rocks and dirt and the sparse vegetation looked like it was actually being maintained.

But it was the change in the people that most surprised him. No longer were they beggars, sunken and hollow eyes that looked like they would attack if they thought that they had something to steal. Waiting for something to happen rather than trying to make change.

It was still there but nowhere near as bad. While some still sat about, the vast majority were moving about, working in teams to carry large pieces of wood for construction, others carrying baskets and pulling carts full of, what looked like, grain and fruits.

It looked to be a city on the return to bustling activity. Such a shocking transformation.

Why did the Duchess not want this? Maybe when she inherited it, it was going very well, but she started asking more and more in tax for her rather lavish lifestyle for a small town. Asking for more and getting less each time, tricking her into an increasing spiral of demands where she did not realize that it was her fault the people were making less money and not theirs, not becoming lazy and worthy of her scorn.

Maybe. Maybe not.

She may be more obstinate or uncaring underneath a facade, but her desire to live in the capital was not. Maybe that's what's spurred this recent activity. I'm sure she'll be able to explain this change.

I guess this is what Maxill is capable of when everyone starts working.

“Where are we going?” Dana asked, snapping Anton out his mental wandering.

“At the second crossroads, take a right. We're looking for a building with a fish and a leaf on a sign out the front.”

Anton turned to the guards, watching them enter the city before starting to close the gate.

“Is Lester still where he was before?” he asked back to the guardsmen.

“Yeah,” he replied, “He's doing very well now. He'll be glad to see you guys.”

The guardsmen raised a short sword hanging off his waist.

“Got this from him. Good price for what it is. He's got a lot more stuff for sale now.”

The gate closed, the guardsmen remaining on the outside to keep a watch. Those on top of the gate glanced over at the Atros villagers but directed their attention outside.

“It's good to hear that Lester's doing better. Hopefully he'll be able to get us most of the gear that we need.”

As they traveled towards Lester's shop, more and more people looked to be living in a little better condition. At the second crossroads they could see towards the closed iron gate that led to the Duchess's mansion.

While outside of Maxill had undergone a transformation he could see that the inner ring, and it's richer inhabitants, looked exactly the same. Though now they looked a little less grand compared to the improving outer inhabitants. He hoped that the poor's improving situation would not make them behave stupidly, like trying to put them back in their place.

Lester's shop had improved too, seemingly have been expanded into a neighboring building for extra space. The outside, like everything else, had been repaired to some degree. Either side stood a Maxill guard, wearing the green and white colored armor of their kingdom. When they saw Anton and the villagers approach they nodded with respect. One entered the shop while the other remained at his post.

Anton and the others disembarked from the cart, Anton offering his hand to the villagers and to Kal, who this time accepted it. Like her foot, the fur underneath felt very soft. She did not say anything but he could see her hood perk up where her ears were, all from such a simple act.

The guard emerged from the shop along with Lester. He looked confused, but his face turned to pleasant surprise when he saw Anton.

“Hello Anton. How are you? It's been quite some time since I saw you. And there's a lot more of you this time.” Lester began, not giving Anton time to respond, “Please, all of you, come in. I've got a much larger selection this time.”

Lester appeared so much more confident now. Anton waved for the villagers to enter, turning to them.

“Some of you need to stay out here and keep an eye on the cart, we'll get you to swap shortly so you can see what's on sale.”

Three of the villagers stayed outside while everyone else entered.

The inside of Lester's shop looked far more impressive now; more lights, more display cabinets and some better jewellery on display. There was no sign of any broken glass or signs of a scuffle, the guards posted outside probably saw to that.

Anton looked at some of the jewellery cabinets as he walked past. A few items caught his eye. One was a small barrette, adorned in the center with a small four pointed star of a red metal surrounded by silver trim, one that he thought would look great on Verona. He also wanted to get something to help hold her hair together, something so that she could have shoulder length hair without it becoming a liability in battle and still look pretty. For now though he had to focus on getting resources for Atros.

The villagers started to fan out and look through the items of display.

“Don't take anything. If you see something tell me in a bit and we'll see about buying it.” Anton said.

The villages nodded, keeping their hands by their sides. Raston and Dana went over to look at some weapons while Anton walked up to the main counter, Kal right behind him.

“It's good to see you again. How are things going on your side of the forest?” Lester asked. He seemed more confident in the way he stood and smiled at the villagers looking through his selection.

“Alright.” Anton replied. “But we need a lot more supplies, and you're the only one I trust here for such a thing.”

“Well, I'm glad to have your continued patronage.” Lester said with a smile. “We've got an expanded selection now. The Duchess is leaving us alone and people are starting to come in here with money, rather than to try and steal things. It's quite a new experience for me. Still pay some high taxes but nothing like what they wanted before. By the way, I've got that powder you wanted, do you want to see it?”

“Oh, in a bit. But first we need a whole lot more of the traditional things. Crossbows, bows, bolts, arrows, armor and shields.”

“I now have quite a bit.” Lester replied, looking quite happy, “How many do you want?”

“As many as you can afford to sell.” Anton replied.

“That's quite a few, now.”

“I was hoping that was the case. Everything we do now needs to be quickened. We also need some more carts and Ix, or horses, to pull them. Can you get those as well?”

Lester nodded.

“There should be a few that I should be able to get. I'll probably be able to have it by the middle of the day. Anything else?”

“We really need some stonemason tools and books on the subject. At the moment we're building the stone wall as best we can but it's really rough. Zac is a good builder, but we'll need taller and stronger walls and buildings, and we don't have time to experiment with crafting stone.”

“I can get those.” Lester's face had a light frown. “It's not going to be cheap, all this. Books have to be written by hand, so they're very expensive.”

Right, no printing press.

His frown turned into a smile.

“Though, if you have the same amount of gold that you did last time, it shouldn't be a problem.”

“I also want some books on magic, I guessing those will be expensive too.”

Lester shook his head.

“I'm sorry. The only place that would have anything like that is in the capital. But that's almost twenty or so days travel by horse, if the weather's good and you're not attacked by bandits.”

Anton opened his mouth to speak but Lester raised his hand to stop him.

“Not even the Duchess could get one of those books to leave the capital. The royals hoard the teachings so they're the only ones with the ability to use magic and control those who can. Keeps them very powerful amongst the people.”

“That's a shame.”

“There might be some for sale in the Grataeris Empire. Their...attitude to things like magic is considerably more free than ours.”

“Pity. I was hoping to find out more about my own and Verona's blood power.”

Lester looked over to Kal, Kal remained still, though he heard her hands grip tight on her daggers.

“Either your Blood Berserker friend got a lot taller, or you have someone else with you now.”

Anton chuckled.

“Verona's back at home, making sure that nothing bad happens. This is Kal. She's...a scout, of sorts. Quiet but very tough and reliable.”

He glanced back and thought she was smiling back, not that he could tell. Kal seemed to be taking great effort to remain motionless, to not let anyone know that she was a Beast-kin.

“If you could get all those items and have them loaded onto our carts, that would be great.”

Lester smiled, clapping his hands together.

“There is now just the matter of payment.”

“Just a moment.” Anton said, spinning around and hurrying out of the shop. Kal was stunned and remained in place.

The villagers outside looked at him a little oddly until they saw that he was going for the small locked box with the money. He had some on him, enough gold coins to probably buy some of the material and items outright, but now was the best time to find out how valuable the gems that they recovered from the Yellow Goblins were worth.

He took out a green, red, blue and purple gem before locking the box and returning to the shop.

The villagers were still well behaved, keeping their hands to their sides while they chatted, like excited shoppers. Kal stood at the main counter, awaiting his return.

“We found these,” Anton began, putting the gems onto the table, “And I've been told that they are worth quite a bit of money. I'm wondering how much.”

Lester's eyes practically bulged from his face as he saw them placed infront of him. He seemed hesitant to reach out and touch them, as if they could break.

Eventually he regained his composure and picked up the green and red gems.

“These are Emerald and Ruby crystals. I...I won't ask how you managed to come by these, but each of these is worth at least twenty to thirty gold.”

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Anton let out a deep breath. He was expecting them to be valuable, but something tickled at the back of his mind.

“I remember someone saying that these would go for a few silver.”

Lester chuckled.

“Maybe in a place where the prices of things were different, I don't know what they were like in the Kar Kingdom. But, I can assure you that they are easily worth that many gold coins. ”

I guess that inflation happened over the years, and it's been so long since Bertram had any need to spend money, with Atros being the only village left in the Kingdom.

“And what about these two?” Anton pointed to the blue and purple gems.

They looked nearly identical to the others, bar the difference in color.

Lester put down the Emerald and Ruby gems and picked up the other two.

“This blue gem, I think, is called Benitoite. Extremely rare and only found in the Kouris Dynasty, far, far to the west. The purple one is called Tanzanite. They mine it in the north of the Seocuria Empire.”

Kal grunted something angrily, almost growling at the mention of Seocuria. Anton turned around to look and could tell that she was furious, despite not being able to see her face.

“Where is the Seocuria Empire? Is it north of the Grataeris Empire?” Anton asked.

Lester glanced between them and nodded, he could tell that Kal was angry though he was not sure why.

“It is.” he answered.

Kal remained angry but seemed to be calming down slowly. Her breath was beginning to calm and her posture started to relax.

I guess that's where she came from. The Beast-kin were probably used as slaves to do everything, and not pleasantly. If what happened back on Earth was anything to go by, it's probably so much  worse since they look so different. We have problems with skin color. Can't imagine we would have even let them live with feet, hands, eyes and ears like Kal. And she's meant to be relatively human.

“How much are they worth?” Anton asked, trying to get the conversation in a direction where it would not keep angering Kal.

Lester seemed to understand the reasoning.

“The Benitoite would be worth about a hundred gold coins and the Tazanite is about four hundred.”

Anton was honestly stunned. There were still a few more of those gems back at Atros, and not to mention the chest full of gold coins. They were extremely rich, almost unfathomably. It was strange to think that it was all thanks to the Yellow Goblins and their hoarding of the treasures of the Kar Kingdom.

“I'm thinking that you don't have that much gold on you?” Anton asked.

Lester chuckled and shook his head.

“I'm afraid not. But, it would be easier to carry that much wealth as the gems. The Ruby should be more than enough to buy nearly all the weapons and armor that I have and that I can get a hold of.  That should be about sixty to seventy crossbows, forty bows and a hundred sets of leather armor, as well as thirty full plate steel armor. Not to mention hundreds of bolts and arrows.”

“I...You have that all in here?” Anton asked, looking around.

The building looked like it had been expanded but did not look to be that big. There were many weapons but not nearly enough on display.

“I have learned to keep quite a few things hidden, especially when the Duchess was running things like she used to. Other people, some on the inside of Maxill, will have them in storage and sell them. A bit pricey but the best I can do.” Lester replied, “They are not going to be fine pieces of armor, like the knights or royal army would use, but they'll keep you safe.”

“Take the ruby gem as a down payment for now. If it's not enough, we'll sort that out when we come to collect the goods.”

Lester nodded.

“Thank-you. I'll get my people to get them organized.”

“You have assistants now?” Anton asked.

“Only a few. I can afford to now, though they are basically doing it for a better feed and a bit of spending money.”

Anton shrugged lightly, he was not going to judge what someone did to ensure they got a good meal. There was still the pieces of jewellery that he wanted to get. He had no idea what they were worth, but he doubted they would be worth the hundreds of gold coins that the Benitoite and Tazanite were worth.

He picked them up the other gems and handed them to Kal. She glanced down and then back up at him.

“Can you put those back in the strong box and get some gold coins?” Anton asked.

Kal nodded and turned to leave. She scurried out, holding the gems close to her chest.

“Who is she?” Lester asked, sounding very curious.

“Another time, perhaps. It's a little difficult to explain here.”

Lester did not push the issue.

“Actually, there is another thing.” Anton continued, “I'm looking for some jewellery for Verona.”

“Anything in particular?”

“I saw something as I walked in.” Anton said as he moved to the jewellery glass cabinet, looking at the red and silver barrette. “I don't know much about her fashion sense, but I think that she'll like it.”

“I'll add it to the list of other purchases that your colleagues may buy.”

“Anything for keeping long hair together, so it wouldn't be a liability in a fight?” Anton asked.

“I have this.” Lester replied, bending over and getting something from underneath the display cabinet.

It looked like a piece of string made from some silver material. From the way it glistened it looked to be a metal. At both ends there was a small bead, made from a darker material. Lester wrapped it around his hand and tied it off using the small bead ends.

“Seems good,” Anton said, “I'll get that and the barrette. I think Verona will like cute in them.”

There was something else that caught his attention, it was a simple wooden brush. It was on the extreme side of the case. By the amount of dust present on and around it, it had been placed there and never been moved since. His mind drifted to Kal and the knots that were ingrained into the fur on her feet and her rough hair.

She's probably never had the need or desire to straighten out her fur, doesn't really matter how it looks when you're covered and running for your life. I seriously doubt she would buy something herself, maybe she would like this? I don't want all the beast-kin to have to cover themselves all the time, or look like they're slaves. They should be able to be proud of what they are.

“And that too.” Anton said, pointing to the brush.

Lester raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He grabbed all of the items and moved back to the main counter.

Kal was taking her time in coming back. He glanced out the door and saw that Kal was stuck in conversation with the villagers guarding the carts. By the look of her body she wanted to return to the shop but the others wanted to know if they could enter, judging by the way they kept between the shop and her.

Eventually Kal was able to tear herself away and ran back into the store. She said nothing as she made her way back and returned to Anton's side as he moved back to the main counter. She handed over a few gold coins. Hopefully they would be enough to buy any trinkets the villagers wanted.

Lester kept the items hidden as he put them into a small bag.

“I'll give these to you when you're ready to go.” Lester said with a smile.

“Thanks.” Anton replied. “I think it's time that we get something to eat while you get everything ready. If I remember correctly, it was Isobell's?, place that I went to last time. I remember it being pretty good food.”

“It was,” Lester replied, his eyes focusing at the door, “Although, it looks like you may not be able to right now.”

Lester nodded to the door.

A figure walked through the shop door, Anton noticing the subtle change in light. He turned around, seeing that Kal had already noticed and had turned side on. He hoped it was not one of the villagers.

The last thing he wanted was the cart and the wealth it contained to be left unguarded in a city that was still a long way from being safe. Lester's expression told him that it probably was not.

It was not a villager, but rather one of the thugs that had taken him to see the Duchess. Not the same one that Verona attacked in self defense.

The first time Anton had seen the thugs Lester looked quite afraid of what he, and his fellow cronies, would do to him, but now it appeared to be the other way around.

The man coughed awkwardly.

“Are you Anton?” he asked, a strange sense of fear and apprehension in his voice, especially for someone that probably struck fear into the people of Maxill. He also must have not forgotten about what Verona had done to them.

“I am,” Anton replied, “And what do you want to speak with me about?”

He emphasized 'you', knowing very well that he was a thug of Duchess Belinda, but he did not know if that had changed. For all that he knew, the thug could be seeking revenge for loosing his position and power.  

The thug frowned and took a deep breath.

“Duchess Belinda has heard of your arrival and would like for you to see her when you can.”

“Just me? Or does she want all of us to come?” Anton nodded towards the villagers and Kal.

They had stopped browsing and looked at the thug, their hands resting on their weapons. Kal took a step forward and pulled out one of her daggers, holding it in a reverse grip.

The thug began to pale a little but remained resolute.

“I was told that it was to be you and Verona.”

Someone at the gate must have sent a message the moment that they saw us, before we even entered, for them to have received the message back from the Duchess.

“Well, since Verona is not with me this time, it'll just have to be me.”

He looked towards Dana and Raston.

“This leaves you two in charge until I get back. We've got a bit of spending money for stuff here but I don't want you to go nuts with it.”

Anton turned to Lester.

“Can you keep my things separate from the others, like the books and special tools?”

Lester smiled lightly and nodded.

“Of course,” he replied, leaning close so he would only have to whisper, “Thanks to you I've had got things to the best they've ever been. I'm actually starting to make some money. Also, your lady friend, Verona, seems to be very strong and so does this other person you've brought. ”

He glanced at Kal. Anton could not disagree. Getting stabbed through the foot with a broken off wolf tooth, and was more worried about what he would think at seeing her Beast-kin foot rather than the pain. She was very tough.

“Yes. Yes she is.” Anton said while he looked at Kal.

She was trying extremely hard but the sides of her hood moved upwards, her ears perking up a tiny bit. His heart ran cold for a moment, thinking that the others may have seen, but nobody appeared to have.

“Anyway, I'll be back soon.”

Anton was about to ask a few of the villagers to come with him, just in case, when Kal made an odd noise. She held out her hand, like she wanted to grab him and say something, but she still did not have the courage to say something yet.

“What's wrong?” he asked, trying to not be insensitive with his tone.

She lowered her hand and her head tilted downwards. She began muttering something, so quiet that he could only really tell she was speaking as her mouth moved the bottom of the cloth wrap.

Her head darted up to him, her body looked like she had just made her mind up and was filled with confidence.

“You should not go somewhere like that alone, in a city like this. I would like to go too.”

It was a new side to her, one where she was actively demanding to go rather than being dragged along and accepting it. She was almost puffing out her chest. But he felt like it could all evaporate in an instant if she was pushed.

The other villagers looked between the two of them, nothing really on their faces.

Kal's body started to slump, like she had spoken out of turn.

It's a pretty good idea. She'll also know roughly how much a bondsmen should be worth, thanks to her past as a slave. I hope she doesn't get too angry with me. We also can't just keep throwing money around, we'll need to use it more wisely as we don't have a real income yet.

I don't think the Duchess will try anything but with me everything should be safe. We're not friends but she should respect her business partners. Kal's doing a pretty good job of hiding her identity, any movement of her ears to be disregarded as the hood moving in the air or being overly stiff and reacting to her head moving. Everyone at the moment seems to think that she's just some oddity that I found. She should be able to keep it up.

“Sure, You can come.” Anton replied. Kal looked very happy.

He thought about it and having just Kal, a stranger when they were expecting Verona, one that wielded a bow and was completely covered, may make things difficult. He would definitely need to bring at least one more villager to seem somewhat normal.

“Dana, can you come with me as well?” Anton asked, “If it's just the two of us I think it'll raise quite a few questions. Ones that will distract from what I want to say.”

Dana looked at him in thought and nodded. He glanced over and saw that Raston looked a little jealous, like he thought that he might be trying to take her away, even though he had no intention.

“Okay, Raston, that leaves you in charge. This thing may take some time, so it'll give you guys some time to get something to eat and rest. Head over to Isobell's place, she had some good food and will appreciate the business. Just don't leave the carts alone.”

“Shouldn't I come with you, as someone who used to live here?” he asked.

“If it was like before, definitely. But now I don't think so. This change appears to be genuine. We'll play it safe and see what she's willing to offer us straight away. She's probably already heard of you and the other people arriving, and you are all alive and in good shape. If she needs convincing to get a decent number we'll come find you.”

Raston did not look terribly happy but agreed to it nonetheless. Dana turned and whispered something in his ear, his face brightening up in response.

“Just be safe in there all of you,” Raston said, waving a little goodbye. “Just...don't upset her.”

“I won't.” Anton replied. “I'll see you all in a bit.”

He lent towards Kal.

“Just don't let them know about your...kind,” he whispered to her, “We don't want anything stupid to happen.”

“...Then why bring me?”

“Information. Because you know more of the wider world than either of us. We barely know of anything outside of Atros. If they try to lie about something, you can tell us. Basically just keep quiet and tap me on the shoulder if they say something that you know is wrong. It's a bit of a gamble but I think it'll pay off. She seems like she can keep quiet as long as money is involved. You'll be fine Kal. ”

He patted her on the shoulder, Kal slowly nodded.

“Okay. I'll keep everything under control.”

If the worst happens, I think that we'll be able to just cough up some gold and that should be the end of it. She didn't really care too much about how Verona and I looked once we showed some gold.

The thug started walking out, Anton, Kal and Dana followed.

Outside there were a few more thugs, one of them was the thug that Verona injured. He moved with a little limp and did not put much weight on the leg but looked otherwise fine. They all took a breath in apprehension when they saw him.

“So, shall we go then?”

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Hello

Second released chapter, although it was written at the same time as 31.

I wanted to show how a city can change for the better once it has some good leadership. It's also been a month, or so, since they left. So it's not like it's been an overnight change. Exactly why will be revealed in the next chapter.

It's still rough living, shown by the people in the early morning sun already sweating heavily, but compared to how they used to be, living like beggars, they have good reason to be happy.

The other thing was the tight control that this Kingdom has on magic, like an elite class of people, while the Empire to the east is more liberal in that regard.

There will be a map next chapter so look forward to that.

Kal's unfortunate knowledge of how much people are 'worth' in this world will come into effect next chapter too. She's been able to keep a calm head so far and she was brave enough to head to two human cities despite not knowing what fate may await her. She's not going to flip out and show off that she's a half breed. I think it's also showing that she's becoming more proactive in regards to her future and not just being dragged around like before.

Duchess Belinda allowed Anton and Verona in, despite not surrendering their weapons and looking like peasants. She really didn't care when quite a large sum of money was plonked in her hands. Despite the unexpected change, she's not going to change that part of her. The worst she would do is ask for more money for the bondsmen, especially as she knows that Anton has gold to burn.

That's about it.

Thanks for reading.

P.S.

And no, it will not follow in the steps of the old 24 (is that my thing when something goes wrong?)