Bonifacius stood outside the small town, it was located in the middle of Grimwood along the side of a river.

It was still early, the sun was out in the sky, though something about Grimwood never failed to make the place look gloomy.

On every side of the town stood tall trees, the entire town seemed isolated in the dense forest.

The houses all looked clean and undamaged with the iconic murky-green tiled rooves of Grimwood, from the look of it there were no more than fifty buildings.

“Ah, Grimwood! How nostalgic!” Bonifacius thought stepping closer to the gates only to be stopped by two similarly dressed mean.

They had very odd-looking hair, one had a mohawk and the other an afro, both painted a crimson-red colour.

“Who the hell are you?” demanded one of them, they tried to sound and look intimidating, walking around with one hand in their pocket.

The guards were dressed in leather armour with brown cloaks.

“Greetings! I am Bonifacius! I have come to rid your town of petty crime!” he announced.

It was as if the world went silent for a few seconds.

The two guards looked at each other and back to Bonifacius.

The second guard walked up to Bonifacius, pushing the other guard aside as he reached for his weapon, a spiked mace with dry blood stuck onto it.

“Petty crime?!” he demanded.

“That’s right,” Bonifacius announced.

“Now that I think about it… Llime has not told me what kind of things the criminals have done… but alas, how bad could it be!”

The other guard gritted his teeth.

“He’s got some nerve talking to us like that!” he thought.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?!” the other guard demanded.

“Who the fuck does this dude think he is?!”

Bonifacius patted the man on the shoulder.

“I appreciate the concern, but there is no need to worry, I am in fact a professional” Bonifacius assured the man.

The two “guards” looked at each other once more.

“Something about this guy… he seems so… confident…”

“Is he trying to take us down?!”

“WE CAN’T SHOW WEAKNESS!”

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They looked more focused now, their eyes fixated on the smiling man.

“Look here, don’t underestimate us, alright!” the man held out his axe towards Bonifacius.

Bonifacius laughed.

“No, no – tis not that I think thee incapable of dealing with this town! I simply think I will deal with it quicker!” Bonifacius explained.

The other guard butted in.

“WE TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU HERE EVERY DAY! MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY EVEN!” he exclaimed, his hands trembling as he clutched his mace, ready to swing it at any moment.

“Yes, I’m sure! I greatly appreciate that, you two seem like wonderful guards!” Bonifacius exclaimed.

He glanced down at the axe and noticed it was trembling.

“Guards?... he’s… he doesn’t even consider us fighters… we’re not even a threat in his eyes!” thought the guard.

He looked at the guard holding it and saw that he was absolutely terrified.

So was the other one.

“Both of thee seem on edge, perhaps thou should take a break, I bet taking care of people like me puts great stress on thee, I would hate to make it worse!” Bonifacius said with a concerned expression.

The terrified man looked over to the other guard as if to ask for advice.

The other guard only shook his head.

“I see, even in such dangerous times they refuse to take a break, truly great guards!”

The guard took a deep, shaky breath.

“A-a-alright! Y-you can come in… but d-don’t go causing any t-trouble!”

“P-please!” he added with a polite bow.

Bonifacius smiled.

“Of course! Thou won’t even notice a thing!” he assured them before entering the town.

Bonifacius walked past the guards and into the town, as soon as the guards saw him leave their line of sight they fell to the ground, breathing deeply.

“That man… he’s going to kill the entire gang!”

“US INCLUDED!” the other one cried.

He got off the ground,

“If we run away… he’ll send people after us! The only thing left… is… is to switch to the winning side!” he exclaimed.

“You want to betray the boss?!”

“THAT MAN IS THE BOSS NOW!” the guard wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“If we’re useful to him, maybe he’ll forgive us for disrespecting him!”

“You’re right!”

They both ran off after Bonifacius, abandoning their post.

Meanwhile…

Bonifacius walked through the town.

“Mm, this place really must be under the control of a criminal organisation, even those nice guards seemed on edge…” Bonifacius sighed.

A few average-looking people walked past Bonifacius, avoiding eye-contact with the stranger...

Suddenly, he got stopped by the same two guards once more.

“E-excuse us, sir!” the guard exclaimed shakily.

“Yes?” Bonifacius asked uncertainly.

“Has something happened?! They seem even more nervous!”

Instinctively, Bonifacius reached for his blade.

Seeing this, the two guards collapsed to the ground.

“PLEASE, ALLOW US TO JOIN YOU!” they both cried in unison.

Bonifacius put the weapon away.

He breathed a sigh.

“I’m afraid I cannot,” he said plainly.

“Please! We’ll do anything! We can help you reach the top!” the guard exclaimed.

“The top?” Bonifacius thought.

“Perhaps they mean the top of the chain of command! A corrupt leader! That makes sense!” Bonifacius crossed his arms.

“Perhaps… I simply fear thou could get hurt in the fight though,” Bonifacius explained.

The two simply remained on the ground, pleading as people all around the town looked at the scene.

“He’s testing our resolve! WE CANNOT QUIT!”

Whispers began to spread.

“Aren’t those the boss’ men?”

“Why are they cowering before that stranger?!”

Seeing everyone looking at him, Bonifacius breathed a sigh.

“Alright, fine, thou may assist me, just please, stand!” he relented.

The two looked up with a look of relief.

“YES, SIR!” they exclaimed, jumping to their feet.

“However, thou must stay on-guard at all times, promise me that!” Bonifacius commanded.

“O-OF COURSE!”

Bonifacius, as well as his two ‘henchmen’, entered the local inn.

It was a tall building made from mostly wood, it had large glass windows.

As soon as they stepped inside, all eyes turned to Bonifacius.

A bard was playing music on a piano in the corner of the room.

Bonifacius sat down at the counter, the barkeeper walked up to him.

Still obeying their command, the two henchmen stood behind Bonifacius, not daring to sit down.

“I’m sorry, we don’t serve strangers,” the barkeep replied coldly.

“That’s a strange policy,” Bonifacius remarked.

“How do thou make any money here?”

Seeing their chance, the two henchmen spoke in unison.

“This is no stranger! This is Bonifacius, our leader!” they exclaimed.

Once again, the room went quiet.

“Leader, eh?” the barkeep crossed his arms.

“What kind of group are you guys, exactly?” he asked, squinting his eyes in suspicion.

The tension rose in the room as Bonifacius scratched his chin.

“This is the sign!” thought the first guard.

“We’re a gang!” the first guard exclaimed.

The second guard looked over to him with a visibly angry expression.

“DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE BOSS’ AMBITIONS, DUMBASS!” he thought.

“We’re an organisation!” the other guard explained.

Bonifacius looked back at the two.

“What are thou saying? Is this some sort of game?” Bonifacius asked excitedly.

“G-game?!”

“HE’S ASKING IF THIS IS SOME GAME TO US!”

“W-we’re a faction!” the guard exclaimed.

“A nation!” the other man exclaimed trying to one-up the previous guard.

People around the inn looked at the two henchmen and Bonifacius in shock.

“AN EMPIRE!” Bonifacius exclaimed, joining the game.

Once again, the room went silent.

“Did I win?” he thought.