Walking outside Woody’s newly finished wall, Caster and Phoebe made their way around its northern bend toward Elenore’s training area.

From the outside, Casterville’s wall looked even studier. The gravel and rocks that Woody and the villagers were able to gather all spread out evenly, giving the barrier the appearance of being made almost entirely of stone and tar. A handful of villagers had already been posted along the top of the wall, though some of them had gathered at one spot, playing cards.

“No, no, no you gotta you gotta swing with your hips! You’ll never cut through someone with wet noodle oomph!” said Elenore.

Caster and Phoebe turned the bend to see Elenore, Able and a dozen other villagers gathered around. In front of the group were two wooden planks that had been stuck into the earth. Each of the two planks had been given the same tattered sacks to ‘wear,’ and both had crude smiley faces drawn on.

Able grunted, swinging a wooden sword at the target. He hit it on the side, where a human’s liver would have been. The plank barely budged.

“It’s no fair! If I was using my real short sword, and this thing was a person, they’d be long gone!” He defended himself.

“If they was a person you’d be dead, cuz you’re busy whining to me instead of hitting them,” Elenore folded her arms. “Plus, you ain’t using steel to hit wood. Your toothpick blade is already duller than a plain sandwich.”

“Shows what you know! I’m the best Challenger in Perdita! I’ll kill this dummy without a weapon at all – HIYAH!” Able launched himself at the plank, kicking it mid-air.

After he landed, he closed his eyes and folded his arms with a proud smile, chin toward the sky. The plank was now barely tilted toward the direction he hit it. Elenore made a fist, and swung straight down on top of Abel’s head, bonking him.

“Bear Witness!” Phoebe announced again. Yet again, Caster flinched at her shout – as did the rest of the villagers. “Hail his Holiness, Caster.”

The group all turned to face Caster and Phoebe.

“Hi… everyone,”

They seem surprised.

“It’s Caster!” They cheered.

“No, no, don’t mind me. I just wanted to see how the training was going,” Caster waved them on.

“Bet you saw that sweet kick I did. huh?” Able returned to his proud stance. Elenore raised her fist once more, but this time Able was watching, and he readied two fists of his own to fight back.

“Stop it you two,” Caster laughed. “Is everything going well Elenore? I’m guessing these are the future warriors of Casterville…” Caster trailed off as he looked at Elenore.

Good God, I guess being a giant doesn’t just apply to her height. Ahh, focus!

Elenore was wearing the lower portion of her reflective shatter-plate armor, but the upper half had been laid aside. Her black training top was a skin-tight long-sleeved shirt that cut-off at her midriff, it left little to the imagination.

Beginning to sweat, Caster forced his gazed to look over the crowd.

They seem mostly sickly. None of them have weapons or protection besides those terrible sacks of cloth.

“Well… they’re a start. But they’re learning fast! ‘Cept Able, he doesn’t wanna learn nothing at all,” once again, the two shot a glance at each other.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Is there anywhere we could get more armor and weapons from? I bet Woody could smith some but, we’d need ores or a quarry I think.”

“Well, there’s two cities not too far north of here. Hale’s Pass is to the north-west and Kirkwall is to the north-east through Jester’s wood.”

That’s right, they’re not too far from us on the map. I bet if I visit the nearby towns and started making alliances, that would help Casterville bigtime.

“What does each do? I’m planning on visiting the nearby areas to see who’s friend and foe.”

“Well, Hale’s Pass is the midpoint between the Badlands and Cairngowan, and I’ve always heard that they’ve been trying to build it up into their own puppet town so that they can get a better stake in the Badlands. They probably send a lot of supplies and stuff there to get the people on their side, so I’d be careful with them. Not that you couldn’t handle it since you’re a God and all.”

Hmm, a puppet state? I wonder how that works here. Maybe I could try building an alliance, or at least sue for non-aggression with one of the City-State through them.

“And what about the other city, Kirkwall?”

“Kirkwall ain’t doing so well last time I checked. They’re the closest town to the middle of the Badlands, so there’s been a lot of fighting over who gets to control it. The thing is, Kirkwall is real close to another town, Alguard Citadel. Alguard’s less of a town and more of huge, military barracks for Mainhelm. It’s where they put about half their soldiers or something crazy like that. When I was growing up, I remember my family saying that Mainhelm never cared about the Badlands like the other City-States do, they just keep an eye on it to make sure they don’t get some huge army showing up at their doorstep.”

That’s right… Elenore grew up in Blasted Hills, and the Elenore I knew became queen. She probably knows a lot more about politics than anyone else here. I’ve gotta talk to her more about it sometime soon.

“Good thing you’re our Grand General, as long as you’re around I have no doubts that we’ll become the strongest City-State the world has ever seen,” Caster applauded.

“Aww, shucks,” Elenore blushed.

“Are there any towns in the Badlands that aren’t marked on the map?”

“Well, there’s at least a couple dozen different settlements and villages that move around inside the Badlands, and dozens of more bands of soldiers and mercenaries that work for the City-States too. There ain’t no borders here, cuz no one’s been able to control the whole place. It’s too big and in the middle of everyone else. Back home they always said it was pointless trying to conquer it.”

Wait, back home… the Blasted Hills! I forgot! Those knights that I crushed when I landed here, they were from Blasted Hills!

“Are you sure about that? When I arrived at this village, there was a column of knights who were attacking. They were from the Blasted Hills.”

“What? Why on earth would they come here? That don’t make any sense,” Elenore

“Are you trying to claim that his Holiness is a liar?” Phoebe took a step forward.

Here she goes again.

“No, course I ain’t. I’m saying that there’s no reason for them to do that. Badlands ain’t had nothing we wanted.”

“We? So, your loyalty does still lay with the Blasted Hills City-State,” Phoebe hissed.

“They kicked me out years ago. I’ve got nothing to do with them anymore!” Elenore’s ember hair began to glow, and a light vapor began to rise from her exposed skin.

“A spurned agent is an agent still,” Phoebe stood still, staring with blank eyes at the ever angrier Elenore.

Elenore growled, her chest heaving with deeper breaths every second. It distracted Caster enough that he hadn’t realized the Grand General was becoming literally visibly upset.

“Agent? How ‘bout I agent-ly shove my boot up your ass!” Elenore took a step forward.

Phoebe raised her hands, fingers all facing each other as countless strands of crackling energy streamed between them.

Huh? Oh! They’re about to fight!

“Enough you two!” Caster stepped between them. “Elenore, don’t worry, I trust you. Your grandmother was a kind woman, and if you’re anything like her, you’re one of us,” Caster reassured her.

The scowl on Elenore’s face softened, and her bared teeth hid behind her lips. Her hair lowered, the red energy that gave them life, vanished.

Elenore gave Caster a big grin, then knelt down and gave him a bear hug, lifting him into the air.

Agh! My spine!

Caster thought, but he couldn’t speak. Elenore had buried his face firmly into her chest.

“Thanks bud! I knew it was the right choice to come here! We’re gonna turn this town into the best City-State there ever was!” She cheered.

You know what? I didn't think this would be so enjoyable. Guess I really do learn something new everyday.

Clever – Knowledge is Power, Activated! +1 Arcane Level

Caster grinned as he embraced the sweet bliss of death by snu-snu.