The two undead walked through the wild pasture for about a bell before reaching the first proper sign of civilisation in two months, an outhouse. Iris could see an arrow stuck in the door inviting more questions on why would someone use this so far outside the protective walls. Past it, the two found old overgrown remains of an earthen wall, a simple mound of dirt with a steep slope facing outward and a gentle one pointed inwards. Due to lack of maintenance, this defensive earthwork offered no resistance to the two monsters with its front face having sheered off and filling up the dry moat.
Looking at the town in front, Iris noted the town's oddness. Normally village and its liege castle would merge into one, the village producing food for both while the castle offered protection for the villagers. The town in front of her didn't look normal. There was a clear distinction between the simple village in the north and the abandoned-looking complex of stone buildings which resembled barracks. The two undead walked eastward, under the shadow of the sandstone walls, finding a crumbling section of it behind which they saw a closed gate with rusted portcullis blocking their way.
"Why is it so empty inside?" Kia said running her porcelain finger along the rusted iron.
"I don't know," Iris replied as she examined the portcullis finding the mechanism meant to keep it locked rotted so much she could freely move it up and down. "Either the people here are insane and do not care about their safety or the power that be decided that it is too expensive to keep garrison around." She said as she gripped the iron bar with both hands and lifted it enough for Kia to walk through.
"Ahhh," Kia nodded as they slipped into the compound taking in the alien architecture. "What do you think it is?"
"Both," The elf replied as she lowered the chunk of rusted iron and headed toward the other side, walking through what used to be a training field. "Even if the troops left there is nothing stopping them from watching over the keep and using it." The tall elf looked around trying to guess to whom the settlement belonged. There were only two states which dared to settle east of Vitas and they were Oriripol and Marinya. She could comfortably place her bets that the settlement they entered was part of Oriripol since Marinya was way down the south.
The elf opened the large doors leading out and saw that the other side was barricaded from the inside with sacks of sand and rocks blocking their way in rather than out. She put her foot against the barricade and pushed forward, causing the sandbags to fall onto the cobbled pavement. She couldn't understand why the humans had barricaded the complex from the inside preventing themselves from finding safety amongst its stone walls in case of a raid or monstrous attack.
"Kia, hand me some coin." The tall elf said as she walked the lonely road toward the life-filled village.
They paced around the main village square for a short moment before the elf felt someone tap her shoulder.
"How the fuck did you get here?" An armed guardsman asked the elf before catching his breath seemingly having run towards her. He was wearing a gambison with colours unfamiliar to the elf and leather boots looking tired of their continual existence. On his head was a strange helmet which resembled a thin cone made out of fabric which overhung above his face protecting his eyes from the afternoon sun. When he caught his breath his hand rested upon the handle of the falchion hanging on his left side.
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"We used the gate?" Iris turned around and with a large frown pointed at the sandstone wall.
"What!?" A second soldier who must have just arrived shouted as he over heard the elf. He looked similar to the first soldier with curly black hair peeking from under the metal bucket with a wide circular rim casting his face in cool shadow.
"Shut up man my head hurts." The first soldier who looked a little older pulled Iris's hand down before turning toward his companion.
"But she entered the Mage Lord Jahaar's-"
"I fucking know that, if you scream louder everyone in the village will know that those two idiots had just entered His property." The slightly older man's whisper cut through the air seemingly cutting all sounds but his own. "You tall bitch, I swear if this leads to us being hung I will make sure to hang at the branch above yours and shit on you. Now you will come with us and we can sort this out in private.
"I don't understand why?"
"Do you have no laws in your fucking forest? Why are you even here in the first place, here to spy on us?" The soldier said before looking around and noticing that the locals began to notice their conversation.
For some reason, the necromancer followed the guard causing the elf to let out a sigh as they could have just ignored him since it seemed that someone had slept on their job and them entering the town would cost him his life if he would say it aloud. The soldier led them inside a house which looked small with a tarp set above the front door shading a guardwomen sitting on a chair who quickly stood up and walked away as they got closer.
"You can explain yourself now." The soldier opened the door before finally noticing the spear in the risen's hand causing him to close the door and point at the ground.
"I don't know why am I even here in the first place."
"You just snuck into the village you know that?"
"Oh." The elf finally understood what the two soldiers nervously holding their weapons meant. She had gotten so used to being able to do whatever when underground that the habit had carried over into the world.
"Yeah, you fucked up but you fucked up really bad because you have gone through the property of the Lord Jahaar." The soldier observed his surroundings before speaking his liege lord's name.
"Why would your lord punish people from going through there? Looks like an abandoned barracks?"
"We don't know elf! The Lord Jahaar said not to enter that's it. You and I can leave thinking to the mages." The second soldier chimed in.
"Is your lord even here?" Iris asked perplexed as she scanned the horizon seeing only the humble village and the wooden wall, no place for a lord to make a proper residence unless lord Jahaar was a frontier noble.
She was used to guards simply letting small infractions go, their hands busy with more important things.
"No he is ten kilometres west in his estate, but Lord Jahaar is a powerful mage, he can cast fireballs and explode our heads from the other side of Niuran if we speak ill of him." The man quickly and with a hushed voice explained sounding like he was invoking the wrath of Aspects on himself by telling an elf about this.
"Where is deliciousness?" Kia suddenly spoke up as she had run out of patience and was looking around with a dangerous predatory look.
"Huh? Wait is she with you?"
"Yes." Iris answered.
"Wait, she is a slaver? Are you here to sell her?" The other human spoke up.
"She is not my slave." Iris cut the two soldiers seeing the hate filling their eyes although she doubted it was because of the slave part.
"Liar, do you think we are stupid, why would a human girl and a knife ear be together?"
"Siri, can you give me the necklaces I gave you?" Iris turned toward Kia.
"Huh?"
"The adventurer necklaces, the brown ones, Siri."
"Oh," The girl's arm disappeared into thin air before reappearing with two necklaces with the Adventures' Guild sigil on them.
"Y-you two are adventures?"
"A-nd s-she is a ma-mage?" The soldiers began to stumble on their own words. "We are so very sorry for this mistake of mine, I'm so incredibly stupid I must have imagined you and your companion walking from the old barracks." The older soldier grabbed his cap and knocked on his skull before excusing himself onto a patrol.
"Deliciousness?" Kia frowned the entire time the soldier bootlicked his way out, and turned toward her creation with large begging eyes.
"Sure, I will buy a cloak first though. Something telling me that these people had met my kind on less fortunate occasions." The elf said as she noticed some humans passing them either hurrying their pace or giving them angry stares fitting the people of the dangerous and cruel frontier.