The baron?

The baron rarely ever made an appearance in Bruyn. He rarely needed to. He was routinely updated with information by winglows, large eagle-like magical beasts that operated as message birds, and his younger brother was present to deal with anything that needed more immediate attention. As for the other town in his domain, he sold the rights to the mine to a merchant. The town had no other use to him so he paid it little mind.

Why would he come here?

—————

Having his land being micromanaged by others, the baron opted to live outside of his barony in a city called Gelis. Gelis was the largest city in the Alden Empire that wasn’t its capital. A coastal city, it also featured it’s largest port. It was supposedly the second busiest port in the world. Beyond the tens to hundreds of thousands of krwns that were exchanged each day, the port boasted some of the most diverse and unique people and items on Ethel. From reclusive races like the island loving Ittlarik, a race of tall, lanky people whose bones grew beyond their outer skin to form odd weapons and shields, to scarce magical beasts like the enlightened Diesfell, a group of highly intelligent and monstrously powerful malsirs that once walked the earth as mere tigers, the city had it all. Living there brought the residences face to face with experiences that couldn’t be found anywhere else on the planet.

The baron, like many nobles, had a taste for the exotic. Nowhere in the Alden Empire provided a scratch for that itch like Gelis. It didn’t come cheap though. A one story, one bedroom house in Gelis would be the same price as a five bedroom mansion in most cities. That price hike was prevalent throughout the town, everything from food to entertainment was expensive. The city was lavish in both the quality and bill it provided.

Even though the Baron was indeed a noble, he couldn’t really afford to live like one in Gelis. Beyond his stinginess, he wasn’t particularly business savvy and the coin he made from his barony was not enough to sustain his extravagant life. He could still live in city, but he wouldn’t be able to experience all it had to offer. He would have to lead a much simpler life, not a dull as a commoners, but ultimately lacking in excitement. Fortunately for him, he was blessed with charisma. Spending time at various parties, festivals and balls, he built a strong network of wealthy associates. While he didn’t directly borrow money, he used his connections to get a host of privileges. The chief of those privileges was his residence in the second most expensive apartment building in the city free of charge. He was nowhere close to the penthouse, but his condo on the fourth floor was still in the upper echelon.

It wasn’t all sunshine though. Due to the nature of his situation, he spent much of his time sucking up to others.To the noble that got him his residence, a marquess with ties to royal family, he was akin to an errand boy. He often performed the role of a messenger between the marquess and his various contacts. It was somewhat demeaning, but the real drawback was that he wasn’t a necessity. Being a small time baron with little to offer, he wouldn’t be too difficult to replace. There were many people in the city who knew their way around a conversation. As such, the baron had to routinely make his presence felt lest he lose the privileges he’d been enjoying.

——————

Maleek turned to Kain, “Wait here. If I’m not back within 30 minutes or so we’ll continue training tomorrow.”

Kain nodded and immediately laid on the ground to take a nap. Maleek paused for a moment, faint traces of astonishment could be seen on his face as he looked at Kain curled up on the floor while fully geared. He shook his head as he walked away.

Reaching the door he addressed the arberdir, “Head to kitchen. If they haven’t started already, tell the chefs to prepare a meal worthy of the baron. In the meantime, grab some fruit and wine. He enjoys mauju berries so mak—actually just find Joanna. Tell her to prepare what you need.”

“Yes, sir.”

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Sending the arberdir off, Maleek walked briskly to his bedroom. He had been training Kain most of the day and while it wasn’t much physical exertion on his part, a quick douse of water would do no harm.

After freshening up Maleek donned one of his more expensive suits. He wasn’t a fan of spending money on garments, but he understood that to play the part one must look the part. Walking out of his bedroom he was greeted with the odd sight of two arberdirs standing by his door, only one was tasked with standing guard. The other should have been taking care of the baron.

“Why are you here?”

She bowed, “My apologies sir. The madam was in the kitchen. She said she would handle the baron’s reception.”

What is she up to now?

“Nevermind then. Head back to Kain.”

Not waiting to hear her response, Maleek hastily walked towards his private living room. Unlike his wife, who had her living room attached to her study, Maleek’s was isolated from the rest of the house. He only used it to receive guests of a certain stature. The discussions that would go on would generally require a degree discretion.

Reaching the living room, he wasn’t surprised to see that one of his wife’s most trusted arberdirs was ‘standing guard’. She saluted him as he approached. He smirked in response. Not paying her any mind, he quickly opened the door and walked through.

“Adan! How are you? It's been so long.”

The baron, Adan Karel, stood up from his seat and shook Maleeks hand, “It has. Sit.”

Maleek’s concern was slowly growing. The baron coming to see him instead of simply summoning him was already a bad sign. Seeing the somber aura around him only worsened the bad feeling Maleek was having. He sat on the couch adjacent to the baron, a glass of wine was already placed in front of him.

“What’s going on?”

Adan grabbed a few berries from the tray in front of him and tossed them into his mouth. Chewing away, he nodded towards the drink in front of Maleek, “Take a sip.”

Maleek looked the baron over. The air around him seemed off to him. He never knew the baron to be a man of few words. Maleek, on more than a few occasions, has had to sit through a long, poetic tirade by Adan. The contrast between that and the man sitting next to him was too great. His concern levels shot up.

After taking a hesitant sip from the glass, he repeated his question, “What’s going on Adan?”

“Arkthur fell.”

What?

Adan continued, “It was taken by a group of bandits,” he paused to chuckle, “They’re trying to found their own nation.”

Huh?

Adan didn’t give Maleek time to process the information he was throwing at him, “When we first heard the news we laughed it off. ‘What can a small group of bandits do?’ I said. I was wrong. So very wrong.”

Adan’s head fell into his palms.

“What’s the army doing? Otger is only a few days away on horseback.”

Adan spoke through his hands, “We didn’t get the details about the first expedition, but it definitely failed. The emperor officially declared war on them just before I left.”

Maleek was beyond flabbergasted at this point, “Okay...so what’s the concern? There’s no way some bandits can defeat the royal army.”

Adan punched the desk in front of him in fury, “You fool! Its vrzli. Losing Arkthur for a couple months doesn’t mean anything to the emperor. He’s just making a show of strength. He’s not going to waste manpower trying to fight them in the snow.”

His head quickly fell back into his hands, “They’re not just some ragtag group of outlaws either, they’re skilled enough to not only take Arkthur, but defend it as well.”

Adan’s outburst stunned Maleek for a moment, but he quickly shook it off. He sat silently for a bit and tried to process everything Adam just told him. Aligning it with the tidbits of information he already knew about the bandits and a picture was forming.

‘We know too much about them; their numbers, their hideouts, their plans. The fact that all of the ‘bandit groups’ now operate as one.’

They’ve been planning this? What's holding Arkthur for a few months going to accomplish? You can’t found a country with one city.

Maleek turned his attention back to Adan, “What does this have to do with us? We’re nowhere close to Arkthur.”

“Everything. They’re not just in Arkthur. And…” His voice petered off towards the end of his statement.

Silence followed.

Maleek wasn’t feeling patient enough to wait for Adan to finish his sentence, “And what?”

“They’re...they’re coming here.”