Captain Sieghart, Jules and Mimier arrived at the Georg Manor in tense silence. They were promptly guided to the mayor, Lord Heinrich Georg's, office once the Knight Captain talked to the butler.
Reaching the office, the three entered together and Sir Sieghart briefly mentioned the issue, which prompted Lord Georg to dismiss his assistant so he could listen to the report.
"Sir, this is Mimier, a Priest of Thaumar. He was found wounded and dying yesterday night near the east gate, and was barely able to be saved. His condition seems to be related to our current issue" Sir Sieghart introduced the Dwarf.
"Almost dead? He seems perfectly healthy." Heinhrich Georg inquired, to which Jules explained the priest had, as a Priest, used healing magic. The mayor thus told them to continued.
"Good morning, Your Grace. The trading caravan I had been traveling with towards the Central Astra Empire was ambushed in the late afternoon yesterday. The guards tried to fend the supposed bandits off, but the 'bandits' were too well equipped and organized." Mimier recounted the previous days events, which piqued Jules' interest for an unexpected reason.
"A caravan? Were any of its members Astrean citizens?" Jules inquired, to which Mimier nodded affirmatively.
"Aye, there was a couple, Octavius and Helena. They were Humans with Patrician sounding names, so I assume they'd be citizens of the Empire" the Priest informed.
"That does sound like it should be the case. I'll need to check the customs records for them and report it upwards to inform their families. Could I bother you to look at the portraits to identify them later?" Jules asked of the Dwarf, who agreed to help.
"Now, back to the matter at hand. Mister Mimier, what makes you say that about their equipment and organization?" the Guard Captain brought the talk back to the potential threat.
"They had armor in pristine condition beneath their ragged seeming clothing, and their weapons were of excellent quality. They used variety and coordination to more easily subdue the guards, something mere bandits don't usually do." the Priest explained his reasoning. The Captain and the Mayor exchanged concerned looks before turning to Mimier for further clarification.
"What happened then? How did the fight go, and how were you, and only you, able to escape?" Sieghart asked, trying his best not to sound accusatory despite the wording.
"At first, I tried to assist as best I could with some Spells, injuring some enemies in the process, but once I was the last one standing from the caravan, I had to run away." the Priest explained, raising his guard a tiny bit due to the wording. The knight didn't seem to have an accusatory intent, but it's best to probe the situation when in doubt.
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"I see. You were so heavily injured, though, how were you able to reach the town?" Jules asked, recalling the man's state the previous night.
"I was badly wounded in the fight, but it could still have been recovered or stabilized with magic, however I prioritized using body reinforcement magic to gain distance towards the town, which was relatively near. Unfortunately, I passed out from exhaustion when close to the gate a bit after night started. The physical strain and delay in tending to the wounds allowed them to become critical while I was unable to do anything about it." the Dwarf described the remainder of the sequence of events.
"I see..." the three figures of authority: the Mayor, the Captain and the Customs Manager, said before becoming silent while digesting the information, its meaning and possible branching effects.
"Now, do you need me for anything else, milord? I should make haste in replacing my lost supplies." Mimier interjected. His traveling pack had been lost in the previous day's scuffle, so he needed to buy new supplies.
"Yes, yes. Thank you very much, mister Mimier, you are dismissed. I'm sorry, but I must ask that you don't divulge this in town for now, and it might be ill advised to depart anytime soon. The supply lines were cut off at both sides of the town." Lord Georg asked this of the Priest and let him go.
After the Dwarf left the office and was led towards the exit, the three others began devising their strategy moving forward, including their reports to forward to their superiors, how to organize the guards and the civilians, and possible evacuation procedures.
*****
The children arrived at the Frontier Hügel a little bit before Sofie finished cooking lunch so, after greeting them, the innkeeper asked them to help set the table for lunch.
Since the dining hall wouldn't be open that day, she included the Dwarf in the number of seats to prepare, and the kids quickly got to work, finishing in a short time.
"Careful! Coming through!" Sofie cautioned as she brought the pot and set it atop a support to avoid burning the table, right as the last seat had been set.
"Hmm! It smells delicious, miss Sofie!" Martha complimented after sniffing the air. Leon and Johann followed by also praising the food.
"Thanks, Martha, boys. Now we just have to wait for mister Mimier and Jules, and then we can eat." Sofie told them, smiling at the praise she received.
Just then, Mimier arrived at the kitchen through the back door, carrying a few sacks and a backpack and greeting the children and the innkeeper with short words and a nod each.
"Sorry for coming through the back door. The front one was locked. Is everything fine?" the priest inquired.
"No problem. It's just that the dining hall won't open today because I need to rest." Sofie explained.
"I see. Sorry about yesterday. And also, thank you. Let me just take these things up to my room and I'll be right down." the Dwarf said, getting ready to head for the stairs before recalling something and pausing.
"Also, mister Jules said he won't make it for lunch today. He's busy discussing things with Sir Sieghart and the Lord Mayor." he told her and continued on his way to his room.
Hearing what the Dwarf said about their parents, the three children silently exchanged worried looks. When the guest came back to the kitchen, they all ate lunch making light conversation.
Some time after lunch, Jules came back holding an envelope. He greeted his wife, his son and his friends, who were playing a card game together, before excusing himself and going to the priest's room.