Walking out of the store, Mark could see more and more people gathering under a small wooden stage in the center of the town square, knowing that not that much time was left, Mark quickly led them to a couple more stores and finished his preparations quickly, then going back to the Dancing Goblin they left their things and moved towards the square, it was almost showtime.
Walking up to the stage the people gathered around started recognizing them and making a small path for them to walk up to the stage. When they neared it they could see a small section cordoned off by some guardsmen.
Within the small patch of land Mark could see a well-built older gentleman conversing with the people he saw earlier, the caravan representatives. He looked to be about seventy years old, based on the wrinkles on his face and the almost white hair and a long well-maintained beard. Though for an old man, his physique was very impressive, Mark could see his musculature rippling through the tight silken shirt he was wearing.
His clothes all in all looked very expensive, with golden embroideries woven in motifs of leaves and nature, embedded with precious stones in such a way that added contrast and depth to the patterns, making the forest seem almost lifelike. Mark had to admit, even on Earth, not many people could afford such frivolity.
The guards seeing them approach, thanks to the crowd that has now completely parted to make place for them, quickly walked up to the man Mark assumed as the Mayor of this town. The man turned his head and looked at Mark with unveiled interest, watching his every move, judging every single detail he could find, and apparently pretty satisfied with what he saw, he smiled gently and moved his hand in an inviting gesture, asking them to come forward.
“Welcome sir, it is a pleasure to be able to finally meet you. I am the mayor of this town, Dunwall Treah, but you can just call me Sir Dunwall. I have heard a great many things about you, but truly, personal experience cannot be beaten by a thousand rumors. You have truly done Pharia a great favor this time, you can be sure it will not be forgotten.
I have already heard about your wish to leave the town, so I will not insist on your stay, but I want you to remember that you will always be welcome back if you decide to visit us in your future travels.
For now let me introduce you to sirs Prus, Auster, and Ross, they are the representatives of the three merchant guilds responsible for the caravan, now hosted by our town. I have already talked to them in your name about a possible transport to Tirdram, and they have already agreed to take you and your companion with them. They were very impressed by your exploits here.”
With this he pointed to the three merchants, they all looked around middle-aged, all clean-shaven, and overall looking very well-maintained for people traveling through the wilderness with a caravan. They wore clothes that looked even gaudier than the mayors, though much more chaotic and truly ugly, the patterns were just some random squiggles that filled almost the whole fabric, and precious stones embedded all over the cloth. You could tell they were much more expensive than the mayor's clothes but that was all. They also could not rival the mayor in his posture, you could feel authority radiating off of Dunwall, an authority that completely overshadowed the merchants.
“It is our pleasure to get to know you, Sir Mark, we will make sure to make your travel as comfortable as possible, if you need anything do not hesitate to ask any of us three for help, we will make sure that you do not lack anything.”
The middle merchant, Ross, suddenly stepped forward with his hand stretched out for a handshake, Mark could tell the merchants were the sleazy types, only interested in their profits. All the more he was wary of why they would agree to let him travel with them, that also not as a bodyguard, but apparently as a guest of honor. Looking quickly at the mayor he thought of one thing and stepped out to shake the man’s hand.
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“It is my pleasure, I appreciate your hospitality, but I do not deserve such high praise, just the ability to travel with your caravan is much appreciated, no need for such special treatment.”
He wanted to sound out how insistent they were, if they tried to butter him up with no restraints then he could think of only one reason, and that was not his martial prowess.
“No, no, we would not go as low as skimp on our care for a guest, truly if there is anything we can do, feel free to ask.”
Yeah, Mark was sure. It would seem that the mayor knew of his recent connection to the Lady of the house Terrence, and must have also used this information to have the merchants treat him like this. He decided he would accept the offer, he would be doubly wary of snakes like this, but there was no reason to reject such a beneficial offer at a time like this.
If he wasn’t treated as an employee of the caravan he would have much bigger freedom and could use his time in the day much more effectively, instead of wasting his time on watch duty, he could use his time on additional training and maybe some forays into the wilderness when the caravan stopped to rest.
“Very well, I will be under your care for this trip then gentlemen.”
“Ah, excellent, excellent, wonderful to hear that, we cannot wait, I am sure you have many stories to tell about those bandits. We would be delighted to hear the full tale from the protagonist of this story, no doubt.”
The three merchants laughed and clapped their hands on Mark's shoulders a little, he had to suppress the urge to break their wrists. He always hated the merchant class, they were much more dangerous and more murderous than the assassins, but somehow they were treated like normal people, while it was the assassins that wore the stigma of an evildoer.
“Very well, now that this is done, I think we can proceed with the celebration. If you could come up with me Mark.”
The mayor, seeing that the merchants and Mark came to an agreement, decided it was time to start the event.
They both walked up the small stage and momentarily cheers erupted all around them. Dunwall gave the people a moment and then raised his hand to silence the crowd.
“Welcome all citizens of Pharia, today we have a very joyous occasion. For months our town and the people living on this land have been terrorized by a group of bandits calling themselves the Stranglers. They murdered our men, raped our women and children, and burned our farms and homes. They would stop at nothing, even when you gave them all you had, they would still not let go, and torture and kill our citizens just for the sick pleasure of it.
But finally, after all this time, one brave man managed to track those bastards down, he found their lair and with the help of our brave guards slayed every last one of them, while Sir Mark here personally killed their dreadful leader the Bandit Queen Vesthia.
With his skill and bravery, he finally rid this town and the world of the Strangler's vile existence, and so he is more than deserving of an award. Thus with the authority as the Mayor of Pharia, I name him the Hero of Pharia, from this day forth, until this town falls into ruins, and is reclaimed by the earth under us, he will always be a guest of honor in this town.
He will always find food and shelter here, no matter what was to happen, so help us the Stars”
The ground trembled and the midday sky suddenly darkened, to the point that above them stars could be seen shining down on the town. A great wind has risen, forming a miniature tornado above the stage, and then Mark knew. This was real magic, from this day forth, he knew that no one in this town could refuse him food and shelter.
It was truly magical, the feeling was very similar to the Bond he had with Donny, but also very different, this one did not unite him with a person, but with every single building, rock, or grain of sand in the town. From today on, it was his home, no matter what.
Suddenly the phenomenon died out, the sky going back to clear and blue with not a cloud in sight, while all that was left of the wind was just a slight pleasant breeze.
“I would also like to pass this Tome, as a token of my gratitude for the help sir Mark has given to our town and my people, I hope it can be of use to him in his future endeavors and help him achieve his goals, whatever they might be”
The mayor continued and from his assistant, who at that time walked up on stage, holding a thin booklet bound in hardcover. Taking the book from him the mayor passed it on to Mark. Looking down, Mark read the words engraved in the leather covering the book.
“Protection”
He wondered what it was but looking up he saw the mayor looking at him with expectant eyes, he quickly figured he was supposed to do something, and he guessed it was his turn to speak. He didn’t really want to but they would probably not let him go without at least a word.
“I am very thankful for your trust Mayor Treah and the people of Pharia, I am happy that I could be of service to you”
With that, he bowed slightly and turned to the Mayor, who smiled and nodded his head a little. Cheers once again sounded out throughout the town, accompanying Mark as he walked down from the podium.
Once down there he was stopped by Dunwall.
“You are always welcome back whenever you wish, son. Remember that. Now I leave you to those sirs, I hope you have a safe journey.”
And with those words he departed together with his assistant.