“What despicable fellows,” Sir Karra said, staring at the Half Elf and the Drakken.

“This should be a place of honour, but it’s sullied by the likes of the beasts,” Sir Roseia agreed.

Sir Charles narrowed his eyes at the Half Elf who he had spoken to at the beginning of the tournament. It had been queer that the Half Elf hadn’t removed his helmet to speak with him, but it made sense. He was a damn leaf ear.

Of course, the group did not speak too loudly while in their corner, unlike the boisterous rabble in their own corner.

“Do you want to go again?” Vasera growled, leaning in towards the Half Elf.

“I already told you that I wasn’t interested in beating you a second time,” Adam replied, casually.

“You really think your boy could beat me?”

“If you didn’t have any magical weapons, I’d bet on him, that’s all I’m saying,” Adam replied, shrugging his shoulders far too emphatically. “I mean, look at him. He’s bigger than any of us, was trained by Jurot, mostly, and a little bit from me. He’s ridiculous. Hell, he gave me so much trouble when I fought him.”

Vasera’s brow pulsed, seeing the unsaid words on his lips. However, being Adam, they didn’t remain unsaid for long.

“More trouble than you.”

“Don’t hold me back, Rook!” Vasera growled, standing up.

“Okay,” Rook replied, before returning back to picking at the potatoes.

Vasera remained standing awkwardly, while Adam chuckled. Eventually he poured her a drink from the bottle she had managed to smuggle in. Jurot and the others soon arrived back within the long room where the other fighters waited.

“Jurot, do you think Nobby could beat Vasera?” Adam asked.

“It would be difficult,” Jurot stated.

“What about without her magical blade?”

“It would be much easier.”

“See?”

“That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy!” Vasera growled again, before drinking from her cup, and then grabbing the bottle to drink from it. She eyed up the rest of the Iyrmen, each of whom were a part of Adam’s party. ‘How many Iyrmen are around him?’ “I see most of you have the same tattoos. How did you come to join together, you five?”

“Four of our families grew up together,” Amokan began. “The Jin family and our Kan family have been long time rivals.”

“So you all grew up together?”

“Yes.”

“How did you all meet?” Adam asked the Drakken.

“They tried to rob me so I beat them up.”

“Oh…”

“Vasera offered us a way out of our life,” Rook said. “She beat us up and offered to help us. We’ve been together for almost ten years now.”

“So she beat you up when she was about fifteen?”

“Yes.”

“All of you?” Adam glanced around to the rest of their companions. There were six of them total. Adam found it hard to believe that five fifteen year olds had gotten bodied by a teen Drakken.

“She wore chain mail.”

“Oh,” Adam replied, slowly nodding his head. “At that point, you really should have known not to mess with her.”

“We did not realise how well chain mail protected someone.”

“So you’ve been travelling together for about ten years?”

“Yes.”

“Cool. I hear that you’re from around the Western Confederacy?”

“We are,” Rook confirmed. “Vasera is from further east.”

“Oh yeah?” Adam focused on his mental map of the Confederacy. “From the deserts?”

“No. I’m from between the deserts, in the hills. I’m from a group of Free People who don’t like the rest of the Confederacy.”

“Are you the Free People near Kilyun the Restful?” Jurot asked. The area between the deserts and within the hills, while also being hostile to the Confederacy, there was only a single place he had managed to gather from the statement.

“That’s the one.” Vasera grinned wide, thinking of her people. “Surrounded on all sides by the Confederacy. It’s always fun to be able to pick our own targets.”

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“Why did you choose to become a mercenary?” Jurot asked.

“It was just one of those things,” Vasera replied, drinking from her bottle once more.

“Who is Kilyun the Restful?”

“A Dragon who was active five hundred years ago. He gained the nickname after withdrawing from the world and spending most of his time sleeping. One of the reasons why the Tribe State is unable to be dealt with is because of the Dragon.”

“Oh?”

“Another reason is that we’re hard to kill,” Vasera growled playfully, still grinning wide.

“Have you met Kilyun?” Adam asked.

Vasera shook her head. “He spends all his time sleeping. The only time he wakes up is during the gatherings for the next chief. He oversees the peaceful transition from one chief to the next, so he only wakes up every few decades.”

“How close are your people with Kilyun?”

“We’ve been close forever.” Vasera furrowed her brows. “I think, before the time of the…” Vasera tried to recall what she had been taught. “A few hundred years before the Confederacy was formed, there were small unions between groups. Some of my ancestors were from further north at first, beyond the lands of the Confederacy, and they were forced south. They travelled for decades, being forced away from all the lands. Eventually they met across a group who accepted them. They were Drakken, with some being descendants of Kilyun and their family.”

Vasera motioned to her bronze scales. “Where we were once five, no, six?” She thought back to the peoples of the time. “Six peoples, we eventually became one. Kilyun became less active during that time, so even if most of us have some Dragon blood, it’s not much.”

“How come you guys don’t like the Confederacy?”

“When the Confederacy formed, there was a plot to deal with us. Unfortunately for them, the Dragons which were allied with them didn’t make a move. Some of them were old friends of Kilyun, and others who disliked Kilyun still understood that he was neutral, and it wasn’t a good idea to antagonise a neutral Dragon. There were other neutral Dragons who were technically not a part of a formal union. If they had decided to deal with one neutral Dragon, then it would have meant war with all the neutral Dragons.”

“Yeah, that does sound like a bad idea,” Adam admitted.

“The two greatest powers of the time sent a small group to discuss with our chief a potential alliance. They had tried to force us to join them. When they were declined, our chief were all killed. They call it the Battle of Nighthill, but we call it the Massacre of Nighthill.” Vasera snorted. “What a bunch of unrighteous bastards!” She began to laugh immediately after her outburst.

“They then prepared four armies to deal with us from all sides. Kilyun killed half of two of the armies, and some of the other two armies. They assumed Kilyun wouldn’t have fought since he had gained the nickname Restful, and had said he wasn’t going to deal with politics. How they thought Kilyun meant he would allow them to kill some of his descendants, I still don’t understand. Even if the Confederacy was one of the greatest forces of the world, they still couldn’t go around fighting Dragons.”

“I have heard the tale,” Kitool said. “Jaygak is more familiar with it, but I have heard the Confederacy wished to continue the war.”

“They only gave up once three of the nearby neutral Tribe States decided to fight alongside the hostile faction. It caused one of their Dragons to move. That then caused the two nearby neutral Dragons, who weren’t a part of any of the Tribe States, to become hostile too. Even now, they’re still considered hostile, while two of the three Tribe States returned to being neutral Tribe States.”

Adam narrowed his eyes, doing his best to keep up. “This is all so complicated.”

“You haven't heard of why almost all the desert Tribe States turned hostile,” Vasera replied, chuckling. “Even I barely understand.”

Adam threw a look to Kitool.

“I have heard something about it, but I cannot give a reasonable explanation,” Kitool admitted.

“Those bastards hated each other with a passion, the Tribe States, but they were neutral to the Confederacy. Then, after a series of events happening over the course of the first ten years of the Confederacy, the neutral Tribe States in the desert ended up becoming hostile with everyone around them. Then, over the course of about five years, each separate estate changed stances at least six times each. One Tribe State flipped only six times, the rest all flipped at least ten times. Now they’re all generally hostile to everyone around them. They aren’t hostile towards the Dragons, since all the Dragons near the desert are hostile to the Confederacy. Only Glasswing has decided to remain neutral, which usually would have caused issues with the desert Tribe States, but Glasswing is a Wing, and that name carries greater weight than even an ejir of an ejirate, or a shen of a shendom.”

“In all honesty, I’m still trying to understand why the Confederacy hasn’t united to fight everyone one by one.”

“We have almost zero contact with half of the states. I don’t believe I’ve ever met anyone from a place like Voodur. The Confederacy has plenty of enemies at its borders, from the various fallen empires, shendoms, and of course, Aswadasad to its west, which is always looking to reclaim its borders. No, no. There is very little outright antagonism. The Confederate states each pay a peace tax to its bordering antagonistic Free People, and have other agreements with the neutral Tribe States.”

Adam wondered what the difference between Free People and Tribe States was. She had used them interchangeably, but other times she used them to mean two different things. “Cool. How’s the road situation in the Eastern Confederacy?”

“If their network was anything like Western Confederacy, there would be no Free People in the land,” Vasera said. “I once passed through Western Confederacy lands. Even a village in the middle of nowhere had a road, not a simple dirt path. I heard from a local that they allow the Free People their territory in order to train their blades and I’m inclined to believe them. The people of the Western Confederacy are perhaps some of the kindest, and craziest, people you will ever meet.”

“They are?”

“As long as you don’t speak poorly of their culture or religion, they will leave you alone. I had some trouble finding some women there, but as long as I didn’t cause trouble out in the open, in the sun, they did not mind it, even if they knew.”

“Oh.” Adam furrowed his brows. “How does that make sense.”

“Keep it out of the light,” Jurot said, nodding his head. “It is a rule even in Aswadasad.”

“Oh. You know, the more I learn about other places and cultures, the more I want to travel. Are you familiar with Yellow Turban?”

“Speaking of crazy bastards,” Vasera said, shaking her head. “Some of the Turbans remain in the desert in Aswadasad, but one group has taken a spot north of us with other Tribe States. They’re up to some dark business, but they keep to themselves so no one bothers them.”

“Dark business?”

“Everyone has their own secrets, but the Turbans? They’re…” Vasera tried to find the word for them. “Have you seen Salafi gold?”

“I’ve heard of it,” Adam said, looking to Jurot. “Oh, you mean the colour of cloth?”

“The cloth itself is great, but the gold it’s named after is stunning.” Vasera held up her gauntlet, the brass which moved like liquid at her will. “This is Yunni brass. It was gifted to me by myself when I slew the man who held it, and it’s considered nothing compared to Salafi gold. The magical weapons made from Salafi gold are, at a minimum, Greater Enhanced. One cannot make Basic or Basic Enhanced weapons with it, it’s impossible.”

“Damn,” Adam whispered. “Cool.”