“The world is divided into four halves. The land where the sun rises belongs to the Empire (South in this world…based on magnetic alignment and some weird explanation as provided by the Abbe at some point before he stopped speaking to me). The frozen north to the Alliance. The salty waters to the Merchants and the wastelands in the East to the Darkness.”

To begin with this sounded like Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings fusion. Empire? Alliance? Wastelands of darkness? If I had to explain the map, then it would be the following:

Apparently, the planet of this world was similar to most game planets….one massive continent. The southern region belonged to the Empire. It was the largest nation in this world. I could easily say it spanned half the lower half of the continent. It shared borders with the Merchants and Mordor (my way of reference for the “land engulfed by darkness”). The Alliance and the Empire were separated by a fifth region which it seems the Abbe failed to mention.

“What’s that? There in the centre of them all?”

“Not centre but what separates them all yet maintains the peace.”

“…”

“The Great Arid Desert.”

Ah. The damned stretch of sand. If I guess right, it took us about a 100 days to get from the middle of the desert to the Empire border. If the empire needed to attack the Alliance it would take about 200 days to accomplish the same. So the reality is there exists peace coerced by nature….but wasn’t there an entire nation in between the two? I think the Abbe is hiding some information from me. This oath of loyalty is bull crap; there seem to be a dozen loop holes in it when it comes into play…

I took my time to think this through. “So we are at the borders of the Empire?”

The Abbe nods.

I have a feeling where this is going. “Let me guess, the Alliance and the Empire are at war with each other?”

“Yes.” The Abbe showed no surprise to my accurate guess. I guess he expected me to figure it out.

“What about the Merchants? Or Mordor?”

The Abbe gave a puzzled look at the mention of Mordor.

He probably missed the greatest series of all time. I might have to fill him up later about this.

“The Merchants are uninterested in anything but profit. As the saying goes where there is to gain there is a merchant. The Eastern Lands are uninhabited….”

“Still….couldn’t the Empire suddenly capture the Merchants or take over the Mordor?”

“There is nothing to gain by heading east. There have been several conquests for the West however they are yet to relent. The Merchants protect their interest by the employment of mercenaries.”

“Also, the Alliance would not idly sit by and let the Empire do as they please…” I completed the sentence for the Abbe.

The Abbe nodded his head in agreement.

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“I understand what you are saying….but why are you telling this to me now?”

The Abbe hesitated for a moment. “You may find it difficult to gain acceptance in the Empire.”

“I know that. I am a monster, isn’t that given I would find it difficult to gain acceptance anywhere in this world.”

The Abbe kept silent; his expressions hinted there were other reasons.

“Okay, tell me the reason why will I find it difficult to gain acceptance in the Empire.”

“The Empire truly detests Adventurers.”

Oh.

That I did not see coming.

***

I am sure there was no point in asking why they hated adventures; but I asked anyways. “Why?”

“You might be glad to know the hatred for each other is mutual.”

“…”

“Of the six adventures I have been associated with, five of them hated the Empire and settled with the Alliance. They never told me why but after visiting the Empire they hated it.”

“What about the sixth?”

“He died before he could ever set foot in the Empire.”

“We could have gone north when we were in the desert.”

“We could have.” The Abbe nodded in agreement. “However, the Alliance has its own set of issues. The Alliance is not one country but several. All of them are scrambling for power. If you entered in either country it might trigger devastating consequences for yourself. In the most ideal situation, we should have headed to the Merchants; whose motives are clear as water.”

“Yet you brought me here?”  I hope my voice conveyed my annoyance.

“No Sora-sama, you specifically said Alright, then let us go south while I suggested we head to the land of the Merchants.”

That may have been the first time in a long time the Abbe referred to me as Sora-sama. I know he is being cheeky however his words sound familiar. I do remember vaguely something about “heading south.”

I stare at the crudely drawn map for a while. Why would I go against what the Abbe says….I don’t know anything about this world.

Snap. South in this world is the equivalent of East in our world. At the time…when I was new to this world…. I had no idea that the sun sets in the south here. So….I must have meant lets go West but ended up saying South….

Snap.

Not good.

But at least we made it to some sort of town or outpost right?

This isn’t really the dumbest of mistakes I have ever made in my life.

How bad can things get?

As always when in doubt apply Murphy’s Law; answer – very very bad.

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