Year of the Phoenix 462
Dear Diary,
Today we (by that I refer to me, my beautiful Stanley and Stede, and not this arrogant jerk sitting next to me) finally arrived outside the town of Frankfurt, and there is no other way to put it; I’m really anxious. On our way here, the atmosphere has been strange, and it only increased once we got inside the borders of Fei.
The border guards of Fei searched us intensively twice even though we announced our identity and we were also questioned on our purpose of entry, with the interrogation carried out by a nervous looking official. If I didn’t know better, I would of thought he was considering running from the country. They then proceeded to confirm the details of our cargo matched with our motives, before searching our cart and horses, checking the underside of the cart and the inside of the carriage and even going as far at to check the inside of Stanley and Stede’s mouths. The only thing you will find there is some dirty molars and half chewed grass.
We soon learnt the reason why when we arrived at our first town in Fei. The Duke had apparently rebelled. This was a quite a surprise to me as the last time I met him, he didn’t strike me as an ambitious or idiotic man, so why did he start rebelling during such an unstable period? However, after his sudden written declaration, the city was just closed off and no further action and message or information been passed on. The King had apparently attempted to have this information suppressed, but something on such a large scale that could be considered a suspension of the country’s second heart, couldn’t be easily suppressed. It had already spread among the merchants, and from there it would not be surprising if spies from other countries had caught wind of it…No actually that should be incorrect. The rebellion was probably done in cahoots with other countries, and their spies were probably the ones quietly stirring up unrest and spreading rumours.
The merchant that told me took some cash for the information as per normal. There are no free meals. But the information I got from him explained everything. Why this city seemed to have a lot of merchants, many who were planning to leave the country. The Dukes rebellion had effectively blocked out trade from the South and Western regions. Not many merchants, especially those who were not selling weapon and armour would want to go to a warring country. First there was the question if they could enter a city like Frankfurt in its current state, and that even if they could, it would be pointless if they could not leave it in one piece or with a profit. Thus when we (again, does not include egotistical fool beside me) left the town, we were detained and questioned even more thoroughly.
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Their fear was understandable though. The country had originally overcome the Jungle of Illusions being near the centre by having most travel and trade go around its southern side. This route connected the capital to all the other western regions of Fei, but the duke’s declaration had effectively cut them off and paralysed the country. The only way to reach the capital now was to either circumnavigate Frankfurt, and only travel in the outer region of the dukedom or to travel north, heading past the Wesley Mountain Range, before making east after going north of the Jungle of Illusions. Both journeys have had their dangers and were not for the faint hearted. We ended up taking the southern route because it was quicker and needed less preparation. Thus that led to the suspicion place on us that even a prestigious count’s title could not be wavered. We ended up being detained before being interrogated by the local flustered baron. However after showing the envelope the king previously gave me, he then tried to plead with us to pass on a message and help clarify the situation and…well I just left at that point. I’m sure the count will pass on the message as a foreign diplomat from afar.
So, with an eight-day delay to our original plan, we finally reached the eastern side of Frankfurt. Of course we had gone through the outer fringes of the dukedom, but we decided to take a close peak before leaving, so once we passed the point directly south of Frankfurt, we started heading north. Of course as previously mentioned in my other short diary entry, we had sold our carts. Although the off road journey was tough (which was also why I had no time to write in here) I had ridden hard on Stanley, so we decided to give them a break here.
Looking at it from afar-we doesn’t dare approach too closely- the castle looks exactly the same as the last time I came and although I don’t know what’s going on inside, a storm was surely brewing.
And this storm would be bigger then all of us. If the duke really ended up in the pocket of Shadow Soul organisation-which seemed quite likely by his sudden and inexplicable timing, then the capital might be facing a three front war. Or more likely a three front massacre. I can’t help but shudder thinking about that… Then I guess it’s decided. I will do the most I can for a friend on his last leg. It’s not my place to fight in this war, but at least I should be able to carry some people to safety. And to avoid them or me from being chased, I will need a safe place to raise them…if I pull some strings, I should be able to get about seven entry spots into the Talent Academy-though whether they can enter and receive the academy’s protection will depend on their own talent…
Huh…looks like I need to get going again, the horses should be done resting and the jerks back from his closer look.
I hope Timothy has been studying hard.
Today's Memo:
People go…where the…rivers flow.
The river flowed beyond the plain,
To the wide open sea,
Beyond the mountains, past the stormy rain,
Beyond the eye can see