Alaster crested the hill, after a week of near constant battle, one would have expected the escort to look ragged and tired, yet they looked just as pristine as the day they set out.
Zolis finally came into view, as did the escort of the Nobility from Zolis, come to welcome and guide the foreign diplomat into the capital city.
Alaster, at the top of the hill and atop Nightmare, looked down at the personal Guards of many Nobles. It seemed as if all the more prestigious of the Nobles had sent a few men.
As a diplomat sent from the newly formed Independent Alliance, everyone wanted to form some sort of connection with him. Even more so for the few who knew that the diplomat himself had no oath binding himself to either of the Independent Cities. This was known as a Free Noble, a title that held little power and even less qualifications but coupled with his designation as the messenger from the Independent Cities, held great significance.
It meant that he was held in great regard, despite not holding allegiance to either, enough trust to serve as their mouthpiece to a foreign power. That meant he was valuable.
In the end, the Zolis Escort numbered just over fifty, each one a powerful Adept, except for three, who exuded the aura of a capable Expert. Each of the Experts bore the colors of the Redmond House.
The gear of the escort was as diverse as the Houses they served, though the majority wore heavy plate and chainmail armor. They all sat atop their own steed in five neat lines of ten. Two of the Experts sat in the middle of the front row, right behind the third Expert.
Alaster’s hooded Forgotten lined up behind him along the crest of the hill. The Noble Escort looked at Alaster’s, sizing them up. Wondering if how they would kill them if it came to blows. Wondering if they could survive. Yet the Forgotten merely looked down at them, uncaring. They would kill whoever threatened their Master, regardless of the situation or foe.
The third Expert prodded his horse forward a few steps, bringing everyone’s attention to him.
“Welcome esteemed guest from the Independent Alliance. We are here to escort you into Zolis, the capital, to our great Kingdom.”
Alaster kept his face void of all emotion, “Very well, lead the way.”
Alaster slowly rode down the hill, his Forgotten followed behind him, slowly surrounding him. Alaster continued forward, uncaring of the soldiers in front of him. Upon seeing that he was not going to stop or wait, they quickly spread out around Alaster and his Forgotten. The three Experts from the Redmond house led the way.
After a few minutes, they reached a road. Even as quiet as the capital had become, it was still the center of the economy for Lissura. As one of the roads leading the capital, it was full of people, carts, wagons, mules, and even a few horses. Yet they all got out of the way at the sight of the Noble Banners, both of the Zolis Nobility, and of Alaster’s own.
They stood to the side of the road, bowing their heads. Alaster might be a foreign Noble, but he was still a Noble, at least according to the Independent Alliance. It would not be the first time a visiting Noble punished a civilian for not showing enough respect.
Alaster pulled out a book from his Ring of Holding and began to read. He was uninterested in all of this. If it was up to him, he would have simply appeared within the court and not bothered with any of the pompous acts.
Though Alaster did not focus on the book. He was going into enemy territory, even if they did not know they were his enemy. He remained vigilant, checking in with the numerous Shadow Assassins he had around the area.
Nothing caught his attention, though there were a few interesting people on the side of the road. Some Adventurers, some farmers going to the Capital Market, and some merchants. The most interesting person was the Adventurer riding a large brown wolf.
Regardless, Alaster found himself bored. Bored of the charade. Bored of the trip. And bored of not just killing the Noble Guards around him and taking what he wanted. But the information that Fenrir extracted from Quinn Reyes put a new light on the matter.
Alaster had already suspected that the person responsible was one of the higher ranked Nobility, but he was still surprised that the Duke himself had been responsible, at least in some way. Alaster would have to learn more before he could act in anyway.
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Fenrir had already focused many of the Shadows on the Duke, but they were struggling to get close, let alone actually learn everything. It seemed as if every location the Duke visited held some defense against spying and infiltration. Every person allowed to get close to the Duke, held some item or ability to spot the Shadows, or were just that observant.
As much as Alaster wanted information, he was not yet willing to risk detection. He knew so little, and until he knew more, he wanted his enemy to be as relaxed as possible. Especially since Alaster did not know if it the responsible party was the Duke himself, or if he was simply complacent.
Either way, the Duke was the one in charge of the organization that murdered his parents and stole his sister. Even if the Duke held no knowledge of the action, he held responsibility. A responsibility that Alaster would enforce.
Sighing, Alaster stored the book detailing the biology of the Furborus Ice Rats, something that held very little interest to Alaster, and instead took out a notebook and pencil. He instead began to draw.
Alaster held no innate talent or skill for art, but as an Expert, he was able to put down the image of whatever he saw with relative ease. Alaster had learned that when he idly drew a rose in the dirt one day and found its amazing likeness. Since then, he had been drawing to pass the time.
His notebook was filled with pencil drawings of various things. Trees, flowers, some magics as they were used by his Forgotten, there were even a few drawings of Monsters, both living and dead. None of them were particularly great, none of them were creative, but they did hold incredible likeness to the source. Alaster found that he did not hold the artistic creativity to draw what he had not seen before.
His current project was drawing the Capital of Zolis as it came into view. Its majestic spires and banners gave the drawing its own sense of grace and power. Alaster merely captured the image he saw and put it down on the paper.
By the time it was finished, Alaster found himself before the great walls himself. Dozens of soldiers were before the gates, both in ceremonial dress for Alaster’s arrival, while others wore more practical armor. Alaster sensed over a hundred more atop the walls, going about their usual patrols and maintenance.
From a Shadow, Alaster noticed that one of the numerous ballistae atop the wall was having an issue turning it’s designed one hundred eighty degrees horizontally. A crew of four engineers were pouring over every single detail of the weapon, trying to diagnose the problem and how to fix it. Alaster found that one of the gears had come slightly loose, causing it to slip its track at a slight angle. The engineers would first have to turn the ballista until the gear slipped back into position, before they tightened or replaced it.
Another crew of engineers were bringing over a cart filled with test ballista bolts on one of the four separate tracks on the wall, meant to easily transport parts or ammunition. Of course, the test bolts were still thick sharpened logs that would be shot out at immense speeds and power, they simply wouldn’t have the magical enchantments on them meant to truly cause destruction.
The Noble Escort was bringing Alaster through a smaller side gate, meant only for official city business. This small gate was still plenty large enough for five horses to pass through with plenty of space, but still smaller than the massive civilian gates meant for five wagons to be pulled through.
This gate led to a much smaller road that led directly to the Castle. There were only a few roads that connected to this one, but each one led to a Guard Station, barracks, or armory. This was a road that was reserved for the military.
It was a well-maintained road, despite the recent snow, there was none remaining on the road, even at the edges. Bright Mages lights lined the buildings on either side, leaving no dark spots. But none of this was surprising to Alaster. He had seen this road, and all others connected to it, many times through the eyes of his Shadows, as had Fenrir.
The road was completely straight, leading from the castle to the city walls. That meant that the welcoming party of Nobles was seen from far off. Alaster spotted the numerous banners depicting the ‘honorable’ Noble Houses. He recognized all of them, as Fenrir had studied them beforehand.
Alaster added one last touch to his drawing of the Zolis Walls and put away his notebook, sitting up straight as he did so.
The road widened into a large stone area, meant to serve as a staging point for any military actions, but today, it served as the meeting place between two national powers.
The Noble Escort left Alaster, rejoining their individual Houses. As they did, the formation of his Forgotten widened out behind him.
Nearly two hundred stood in a line, facing a mere twenty-five, yet it was not the few that felt apprehension.
Silence reined. A slight gust of frostbitten wind blew through the courtyard, bringing with it a hint of snow.
Alaster dismounted Nightmare, the sound of his armored boots scraping against the stone bouncing off the buildings.
“I am Lord Ashborn, serving as delegate to the Independent Alliance, sent to establish relations with the Lissurian Kingdom.” His proud voice echoed through the courtyard.
A man walked out of the middle of the Lissurian Nobility, dressed in fine clothes. He walked away from his guards and met Alaster in the middle of the courtyard, in between both lines of soldiers.
The man had short hair and a carefully maintained beard, yet the whisper of age crept into it, shown in the greying hair and aged lines on his face. His hardened eyes and calloused hands revealed him to be a man who had seen many things, and done many things.
The man offered his hand, “I am Duke Redmond, serving as the voice of the King of Lissura, here to welcome you, honored guest, to our home. I hope we can establish a strong friendship of mutual respect and gain.”
Alaster studied the man as he took his hand. Shaking the hand of a man he wanted to disembowel.