Tirsday, 23rd of Febrinna, 5662 AE, 468th Year of the 5th Era

Charles was riding beside a carriage that had the emblem of the church of Feldonia emblazoned onto its side. It was the carriage that Isabella was on and so he used his excuse as being Isabella’s guard to take his place by her side for the duration of this mission. The expedition had earlier set off from the guildhouse a few hours ago where Charles had met up with the rest of the Guild’s escort party. Besides Sir Geoffrey Mallory, whom Charles had a horrible first encounter with, there were five other adventurers - all of whom were Iron-ranks, ranging from the first to third ranks. These other adventurers proved to be far more amiable towards him, perhaps also due to the fact that they were closer to him in age.

Of these five adventurers, Charles had met his first non-human adventurer besides the resurrected Zuri. She was another wolf-clan beastman girl named Maria Agmendi. She had long dark-brown hair tied into a bun but with prominent sidebangs which stuck out of her morion helm. She looked to be in her twenties and had a dextrous build to her body which was equipped with a jack of plates mainly protecting her torso and normal lighter-version of a gambeson protecting her elsewhere. It wasn't as armored as compared to a plated Knight, but it was still better than Charles who only wore a suit of gambeson and a feathered cap. What made her appearance stand out the most was her prominent bushy wolf tail which stuck out of her sacral spinal region which wagged and moved according to her mood. She also had a second set of wolf ears on top of her head but they were hidden underneath her helm.

Besides Maria who acted as a typical warrior in the party along with Sir Geoffrey, there was Adam Gilmore, another adventurer who would act as the party’s scout and tracker. From what Charles had found out after conversing with the thirty year-old man was that he was born and raised in the neighbouring Kingdom of Blairbeth until he was about seven years old when his family moved to Feldonia in the Duchy of Ardunon due to the intensifying persecutions of Protestants within the Gaolidain Kingdoms which had caused quite a number of families to emigrate. Life on the road and a natural proclivity to hunting rendered itself a useful talent to Adam as he registered as a tracker within the Feldonian Adventurer’s Association. Adam was unique in that his preferred weapon in combat was the musket he had slung over his shoulders but he still kept a straight sword sheathed to his side. In terms of armour, Adam only chose to wear an overcoat over some light gambeson and normal trousers in addition to a wide-brimmed feathered cavalier’s hat with one of its sides cocked and bound to its crown. When Charles asked him why he would want to use such a terribly inaccurate weapon, Adam only laughed and began to explain how his particular musket was fashioned with spiral grooving down its barrel which greatly increased its accuracy and effectiveness by a huge margin over other firearms, though it was very costly to commission and make.

Two other adventurers were twin brothers, Peter and Philip Perkins, the younger sons of a minor landed knight from the Eldwoud Barony. They were the youngest of this expedition’s party being only seventeen years of age though they showed great promise being promoted to the second Iron-rank after only a year of registering with the Adventurer’s Association. They didn’t come from a particularly wealthy family, as such the two were armored with outdated mail hauberks over gambeson and kettle helms whereas they were armed with rodella shields and single-handed maces and warhammers. Despite their lack of means, it was surely evident from the guild’s meritocratic structure and their quick rise within the ranks that they were effective and skilled warriors. One could only imagine how much more famous they would be had they been born of a higher station in life, not even a nobility title would be necessary but a wealthy merchant family might have sufficed to help skyrocket their careers even more. Regardless, they were making their own ways in the world and that was good enough for them.

The final member of the escort party was a young mage who was the second youngest of the group after the twins being only 19 years old. Tristan Fellglow was a 3rd Iron rank adventurer and student-member of the Arcanium College of Coldreach, one of the Kingdom's major magical academies, frequently considered second only to the Imperial College of Skysea in all of Feldonia and perhaps the Archioric peninsula as a whole. Unlike Jenny who looked to be more akin to the stereotypical wizard from her equipment, while he still had a blue mage-like cloak equipped, under it, Tristan was armored with a plate cuirass complete with accompanying faulds, pauldrons, and a curlet. His arms were covered with gauntlets and vambraces while his wand looked more like a mace with a red gemstone on top of it. While he wasn't a member of the aristocracy per sé, Tristan's father was a very wealthy merchant also from the major Harbour-city of Coldrech and a member of the landed gentry as a ruling member of parliament within Coldreach’s governing structure, though Charles wasn’t too bothered by this revelation. If the daughter of a Ruling Duke and Member of the Royal Parliament could be an adventurer, why not then a merchant’s fourth son?

Sir Geoffrey and Gilmore rode ahead of the group alongside Bishop Tallant who was also on horseback while the carriage that was right behind them was carrying the old Bishop Mortimer. The yearly ‘cleansing’ must really be an important ceremony if it required the level of Bishops to preside over it. It must be tiring for the older Bishop Tallant to be riding on horseback for a couple of hours but it would be inconceivable for me to even imagine Bishop Mortimer doing so.

As I was riding my horse, Maria was sitting atop of Isabella’s carriage nonchalantly as she had jumped from her horse that now strode on riderless to sit on the carriage instead. I only smiled and shook my head as I saw her wild antics.

“Come on, Charlie! You should join me in enjoying the ride from over here!” Maria waved as she called out to Charles, in an accent that was uniquely foreign to his ears in comparison towards the other more typical-English accents the Feldonians had, where he could see her tail wagging. “We still have like half an hour and the view of the countryside is always so breathtaking!!”

“Hahahah! I don’t think I can be so free as to do that. I’m afraid the roof won’t be able to hold the weight and it’d collapse…” Charles answered

“I think Sir Charles is calling you fat, Ria! Ahahahah!!” One of the Perkins twins said as the other merely smiled and nodded.

“Oy!! Don’t put words in Charlie’s mouth, you dummies!!” Maria said in protest towards the older Perkins twin, Peter who only stuck out his tongue to annoy her more.

“I didn’t know you were on such friendly terms with Sir Charles already! Didn’t you two just meet today?”

“Well, his reputation precedes him, and any man considered a friend by the Great Ancestor is a friend of mine!”

Being a Wolfkin member of the beastmen tribes, Maria was undoubtedly descended from Edezuri who had just recently been ‘summoned’ back to the world through means no one knew for sure. Charles was told by Hunt that Zuri was currently residing at Skysea as an honored guest of the Royal Palace and much study is happening on him as well as negotiations with the current Beastman Confederation in regards to the re-appearance of one of their nation’s most celebrated near-mythical figures.

“Well, I didn’t expect for Zuri to hold such a high opinion of me, but it feels like a huge honour all the same!” Charles said

“Arrrghhhh!! I miss Zuri alreadyyy!!!” Maria said as she tumbled around on top of the carriage, hugging herself while fawning over her ancestor who wasn’t even present “He was soooo… cuuteee! His cute little white ears and not to mention due to his mana shortage, his transformation was altered!”

Charles laughed continuously at the girls antics but Tristan only shook his head at her before he gestured towards the still fawning girl and asked Charles, “Can you imagine this girl is the granddaughter of a Count?”

“Pffft, I honestly wouldn’t believe it if you’d told me that a few months ago, but recent events have made me keep an open mind.” Charles responded

But if Charles was being honest, he didn’t realise how much more important Maria was as a person before he had talked to her. When Charles first saw the beastgirl with her unique second set of wolf ears on her head, Charles had assumed she was one of the many Wolfkin who fled from presecution in Loweria after the conclusion of the Wars of Partition. However, that thought was immediately dispelled when he heard her speak in a unique accent that perhaps sounded like some form of a Romance-accent but with clearly alien inflections that didn’t sound like anything he was familiar with. Regardless, it was clear that the girl wasn’t raised in Feldonia. Some of the confusion was cleared up when Maria had introduced herself - with extra context being provided by the seemingly very knowledgeable Tristan Fellglow. Maria Agmendi was a daughter of Praetor Marko Agmendi, a prominent member of the Beastmen Aristocracy who serves as the Beastmen Ambassador to the Kingdom of Feldonia. Maria’s mother was a daughter of a prominent Vertefleurian-Feldonian Count who had met the Beastman Noble at a party at the Skysea Palace and the two quickly hit it off with each other, got engaged, and eventually married. Maria herself was born and raised in her father’s ancestral homeland of Orzakur - one of the many states and tribal entities that make up the Beastman Federation - but would frequently visit and travel between the Beastlands and Skysea.

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Maria was given the opportunity by her maternal grandfather in light of his high position within the Feldonian Adventurer’s Association to hone her talents within the guild and due to the distance between Feldonia and the Beastlands, there was no immediate potential for a conflict of interests between the two sovereign states and so Maria’s registration within the guild was approved. In more recent events, due to her special position as a guild member and daughter of the Bestian Ambassador, when news arrived from Alfred of the events that had occurred regarding the Malcanis Cult, the main branch had quickly sent Maria as a representative to gain an understanding of the situation and because of that, she was an instrumental figure in the ongoing discussions between Feldonia and the Beastlands regarding the returned Malcanis. All that to say, even with such an impressive pedigree, the young wolf-girl was just as rambunctious and independent as any other adventurer.

As Maria was still twisting and turning a top the carriage, finally a slightly annoyed Isabella had opened the window to her carriage and glared at the wolfgirl and said, “If it wouldn’t prove too much of a problem, I believe Lady Agmendi should be more aware of her station and act appropriately to it.” Isabella did her best to hide the annoyance in her voice as she forced herself to smile. Maria looked at Isabella as she hung her head upside down to look at the Lady Isabelle and she had a very mischievous smile on her face. She had expertly taken off her morion helmet and strapped it to her belt so as to not lose it.

“You know, now that I see you, you’re really pretty, Lady Isabela.” Maria said “I would say you’d make a good match for Charlie if it weren’t for the fact that you’re a ‘holy maiden’...”

“I don’t quite see how any of that has anything to do with what I had just requested of you, Lady Maria.” Isabella maintained her civil manner but this only caused Maria to want to egg her on even more.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to upset that pretty face of yours any more, Lady Isabela. Alright, I’ll get off… But…” Maria had dexterously crouched and leapt off the carriage but instead of heading towards her horse, she had instead chose to pounce at Charles who was caught off guard but luckily his reflexes fired off and he managed to catch her as she skillfully positioned herself into a bridal carry position. Charles was surprised to find out that the lady Maria weighed a little bit more than he had expected of her slightly lean figure. Taking advantage of the confusion, Maria planted a light peck on Charles’ cheek before looking back at Isabella provocatively and winking at her. “You’re stronger than you look, Charlie! I like that, hahahaha!”

As Charles was still flabbergasted as to the girl’s behaviour, Maria had immediately freed herself from Charles’ grasp and leapt back towards her own horse. It was amazing how athletic, agile, and flexible she was. Were it not for her clear wolf-like features, Charles would’ve thought she were a feline-kin beastman. As soon as Maria had returned to her horse, Charles immediately snapped back to reality as he turned to look at Isabella who still had a smile plastered on her face looking at him though it was all too clear to him that her eyes were not smiling. A chill permeated the air as Charles cleared his throat and was about to close his horse to the carriage to talk with Isabella a bit, unfortunately the former Spanish Queen had shut back her windows and closed the curtains.

Seeing this transpire, Maria couldn’t help but get an inkling of an Idea of what was going on between the two but she only laughed her thoughts off as she considered it too absurd even for her.

“The Lady Maria can be very vexing, Sir Charles. I hope you don’t give her too much mind, if only to save yourself some of your sanity.” Tristan said as he rode alongside Charles “Trust me, I’ve known her since before we became adventurers and she wasn’t any better either. The granddaughter of a member of parliament on her mother’s side, as well as one of the great Proconsuls of the Beastmen Federation on her father’s side.”

“Ugh, Tristan, can you not talk as if I’m not even here?” Maria said as she gave a playful look to the spellcaster “Noone wants to hear you prattle on and on about my life’s story… Or are you really that big of an admirer of mine, Tristie?”

“Milady, with all due respect, I’d sooner stick an iron rod up my ass than to get with you in any sense of the word. But, knowing you, you’d do it to me anyways if I were ever to pursue you or -Heavens Forbid- even being engaged to yourself.” Tristan fired back “No, I’m content to find myself a proper lady of Feldonian stock! Perhaps even a Vertefleurian noble-girl!”

“Oh please, like I’d marry the fourth son of a merchant! And not to mention a Northern heretic at that! Ptuey. If you all hate the Pretender Patriarch of Sanctum that much, you all should’ve returned home to the loving embrace of Holy Orthodoxy!”

“There she goes again…” Tristan palmed his forehead as he endeavored to just ignore her this time.

“I don’t know much about this ‘Holy Orthodoxy’ you always go on about, but it all sounds the same as that catholic nonsense!” Peter chimed in as he scoffed followed by a nod from his twin brother “All I know is, some prissy priest that lives thousands of miles away, has no business claiming they’re ‘the Universal Bishop’! He knows nothing of how we live here in Feldonia, and he expects us to learn that God-Awful Latin? Bah! If the Catholics want to force themselves upon us so badly, I’d welcome the chance to give my life in defending my homeland from such corrupt ‘priests’!”

“The Church of Sanctum is in no position to harm us here, let alone to convoke a crusade against us when they have their hands busy everywhere else…” Tristan said “From what news I last heard from my merchant contacts, the situation for the Crusader States of Sainterre is dire as the Moslem Infidels are currently amassing another great force for a push towards Eresallame. If the Catholics don’t want to lose the Holy City, their attention would be better used there… Besides, if they were to convoke a crusade against all of protestantism, where would they even decide to strike? All the Nordein Kingdoms have embraced the reformation along with the Woodland Elven Realms and half the Germanic states! Even the Southerlands have parted from Sanctum. If the Pope wants to quicken the rate at which Terradome tears itself apart, he’d call a crusade, otherwise, only a madman would do so.”

As the discussion continued, eventually Bishop Tallant had appeared before us along with Sir Mallory as he noticed everyone was discussing the political religious landscape of Terradome. Eventually he sighed out before placing himself within the conversation.

“Such matters of Religious Politics, Heresy, potentials of crusade, are the matters our own church should worry about, not the lay people.” Bishop Tallant said as he gave everyone a stern look while adjusting his glasses “Christ does not revel in the fact that His children are in the middle of tearing themselves apart for matters of Scholarly debate. It would be far better for everyone to focus on what it truly means to be Christian and to live out their lives as was intended by Scripture.”

Everyone quieted a little when they heard the bishop’s words. Charles smiled and nodded at the Bishop’s opinion. “Very well said, Your Eminence. I too think that it would do all of us well that we focus on the very important mission we have laid out in front of us.” Charles said to which the Bishop nodded.

“I’m glad to see that there at least still exist some cool heads amongst our nation’s youth. Everyone, prepare yourselves, it’ll be no more than half an hour until we reach Fort Oswald and you all need to be prepared to enter the dungeon!” With that being said, Bishop Tallant rode back to the front of the party along with Sir Mallory.

And just as the bishop said, not long after, the party caught sight of what looked like gothic-style fortified stone walls similar to the design of the walls that protected Ashfell. Though it was far smaller in scale compared to the battlements of a town, there were more defensive towers equipped with defensive artillery pieces and quite a few more soldiers than what one would expect, standing ready in front of the fort. It seems the fort was also prepared for the regular cleansing ceremony and has prepared a welcome initiative for the raiding party.

There were about several dozen soldiers standing ready in a neat formation with more uniform equipment of steel cuirasses, burgonets, and halberds, similar to the ones worn by Alfred’s County Army. Far more professional-looking than a simple levied group of militia and men-at-arms. At the front of the army stood the Commander of the fort, distinguishing himself from the rest of the soldiers with an emblazoned red sash over his cuirass as well as red ribbons tied into a fashionable epaullete over his cuirass’ pauldrons.

When the party finally reached the fort, the party members had dismounted their horses to show respect to the soldiers of the fort. Bishop Mortimer had exited his carriage helped by Bishop Tallant while Charles had gone to Isabella’s carriage to do the same for her. To his relief, it would seem Isabella didn’t intend to pester him on the matter with Maria and she accepted his hand in guiding her out of the carriage as she adjusted her dress and habit.

As the party had formed a proper line to enter the fort, the Fort’s commander rode out towards the party escorted by several guardsmen before he dismounted in front of Bishop Mortimer and gave a reverant bow.

“On Behalf of His Majesty’s Fort of Oswald, I greet your Eminences and the Noble Adventurers who would once more endeavour to aid us in securing the dungeon. May the Lord Keep us always, Glory to Archior and Glory to the Empire!” As the commander said that, as always, everyone replied, “Glory to the Empire!”

Charles could feel a rush of excitement surging through him. His very first true adventure was right before his eyes and he could not wait to see what was in store for him and his party.