The mountainous region remained a constant obstacle for Ari, but no further excitement derailed their progress during the upcoming days. As the region slowly became slightly more forested and the elevation in concert with the onward travel South brought colder weather, Ari began to realize he did not pack adequately. He stopped Ruenr on the evening of their second week of travel since they came across the women and escaped slaves, and broached the topic of stopping at a village to obtain better gear and supplies. Ruenr didn’t chastise him for not packing properly, but instead shook his head and pointed to some dim light in the distance back towards the central regions of the empire. It seemed to be about half a day’s walk, but there was a moderate sized village. Ari nodded to Ruenr, and decided to set off after awaking the next morning-but Ruenr stopped him.
“Sleep when you get to the village. I need to take care of something.”
Ari was going to ask about the ‘something’ that Ruenr needed to handle, but decided that he didn’t feel like playing this game of ‘ask and sometimes I’ll tell but never if you don’t ask’ that the champion seemed to be playing. ‘Or perhaps I have overestimated how good with people he is? He isn’t exactly human, I have only just started to realize that his behavior back in Aurele was a mask to prevent Colette and Cyrus from objecting to his involvement.’ Ari looked back at Ruenr, who was looking into the distance in the direction they were headed- sniffing the air as his ears flicked, the young man decided to broach the question anyway.
“What exactly are you going to take care of?”
“A beastfolk enclave is nearby, they shouldn’t be this far North from the wilds so I am going to figure out why. If you came they wouldn’t trust me, so you need to stay back.”
“That makes sense.”
Ari didn’t waste time further, and walked out into the evening heading towards the unknown village. As he navigated the darkness, he pulled out the map he had been marking to compare to the regional map Cyrus provided him with before leaving. There are a cluster of villages here that are a bit poorer than what he is used to at Aurele, but with them having passed beyond the border of the Laine territory and into a different barony he wasn’t that surprised. For all he knows he could be in the territory of a completely different count. The map only showed place names and not political borders or territories of the empire. He decided he would inquire about that as well upon reaching the village ahead of him.
He was more weary than usual upon reaching the walled village, an unusual occurrence for the villages this far from the wilds but reasonable with the coast just over the mountains. Raiders from the far Southern islands have been known to historically plague the less patrolled lands of the empire. The warmer waters of the Eastern coast of Henos made even the colder Southern regions habitable along the right locations, as long as the area along the coast had access to fresh water. Most of the rivers that historically lead to the ocean on the East coast have been dry or polluted by improper mining regulations, another aspect that contributed to the decline of the mountainous regions South of the wealthier Laine Barony.
He noticed a guard stationed just outside the wooden palisades. A dirt and mud path emerged at the gates and ran North from the village and slightly away from the mountains to the East. Ari approached the guard, who just seemed to be a farmer armed with a longspear, and waved to the man.
“Out here with no torch? That’s a bit strange.”
Ari appeared confused, but realized he was able to see fine. He was able to read the map earlier but assumed the moonlight must have been better, or his eyes were more adjusted from traveling so much in the darkness and early mornings with Ruenr. Ari regained his composure and spoke in low Henos.
“Ah, yes sir. I am an explorer–surveyor and usually need to travel without light as farther south or along the great passes it can attract beasts and monsters.”
Ari gave the man a slight bow, and brandished his scroll- making it seem like it emerged from his bag when it was actually stored in the space created by the runescript tattoos.
“Boy, I can’t read that” spoke the man with a gruffly but with less tension in his words.
“Ah! Sorry.”
Ari scratched his head and didn’t need to feign embarrassment. The traveler was so focused on the proper way to appear trustworthy and unthreatening that he didn’t consider they wouldn’t be able to read the high, or perhaps any, language on the empire. He placed the scroll in his pack, and started to withdraw a coin purse when the man broke the silence.
“What is your business in Resson?”
“Supplies, a warm bed, maybe a hot meal and some drinks.”
“Very well. We have a tavern that could move around the storage in the basement for you to rent some space. It should be warm enough for you. If Jess cannot have ya then there’s a few folks who would be willing to put you up for some work or coin.”
“I assume Jess owns the tavern then.?”
“Nah its her fathers but he mostly drinks and she works.”
Ari nodded with a polite smile, and the man heaved the wicket door open, leaving the large gate alone as Ari was motioned in. Entering the village, he found it had more in common with the town of Door’s Rest than it did with Aurele. It was slightly smaller than Aurele, but the roads were mostly mud and cracked claystone. The homes were built more in the way they were in the Southwest, which seemed a bit odd to him since they were weeks if not months away from the region by foot. They were closer to the capital heartlands than the region this village resembled.
He followed the sounds of talking and the smell of food in the small village of about fifteen buildings, and eventually found the building that he assumed was the tavern. He stepped in and off the poorly lit village road into a warm candle lit dining hall. It was extremely out of place, as this was straight out of the traditional drinking halls from the heartlands and parts of the Northeast. He made his way over to a table, ignoring the stares from the dozen or so men drinking and eating, and sat until a woman slightly older than him came over.
She had black hair pulled into a short ponytail, and wore a linen apron and pants with a partially dyed wool blouse reminiscent of some of the clothing Colette would wear. The strange mix and match fit in well with how this interior already juxtaposed the poorer looking village interior.
“Drink and food is going to require you to either do some chores or offer us something else. We only really spend coins here for large purchases and the closest city is nearly a week away.”
“What about drink and food for the night as well as shelter, and I obtain provisions for travel and buy some extra cold weather clothes and gear you have lying around?”
“Okay I can take coins for that if you're looking to purchase things. Let me know what you need and I’ll send a boy out to get what you’re asking from around Resson. Anything too fancy we won’t have, and a few things would be best if you waited a bit longer. A merchant comes to town thrice per season and should be here within a week or so.”
“Unfortunately I can only stay for a-”
Ari realized he forgot to ask how long he should stay, but decided Ruenr would make a way to inform him on when to leave.
“I don’t know I’m waiting for someone. Maybe I will be staying longer if you can have me.”
“Yeah that would be fine, just let me know when you're heading out and I will take your coin and give you your supplies then.”
Ari nodded, then looked around the room.
“It is a bit late to be so busy isn’t it?”
“Well normally but we just had our last harvest so even the folks living on outlying farms came for the night.”
“Where are all the women then?”
The words brought silence to the room. The woman, Jess, made to speak but a voice cut her off.
“Women are home safe. Why are you asking? You one of thems been taking the womenfolk from the other villages!?”
A large man, the largest in the room perhaps who stood nearly Cyrus size, stood up from a group of workers and made their way over to where Ari sat.
“No sir, I am just curious. The village I lived near had the whole village celebrate when the harvest was over, I think, so I just wanted to know whether its similar here.”
“Show me your hands.”
“Pardon?”
Ari looked at the man perplexed, and Jess took a step away.
“Your hands, let me see your hands and palms.”
Ari let the man take and inspect his hands.
“You have calluses like someone who holds a weapon and not a worker. What are you here for?”
“It's from walking with and training with my quarterstaff, I didn’t want to alert anyone so I left it at my temporary camp. I’m an explorer-surveyor training my survival skills in the mountains as I inspect old mines and abandoned towns.”
“You lie.”
Ari remained calm, but tried to show the right amount of emotion for a young man in this situation.
“No sir I just-”
Unexpectedly, the man slapped Ari out of his seat and to the ground. There were some laughs and the loud gasp of other onlookers including Jess.
“Now that I look you're too damn small to be no raider or slaver. Maybe you are some sort of slave who got their freedom in exchange for scouting out villages and the like?”
Ari made to turn over to his back, but a heavy boot pressed him into the floor.
“Why are you here?”
“I am looking for supplies. Go through my bag. You’ll find my deed for the exploration company I own and its contracts. You’ll also see I’m low on provisions and didn’t pack warm enough clothes which is why I'm here. Raiders usually come from the Southern Islands right? I would have better traveling clothes.”
“You just said you left a weapon outside to not spook us, so I know you could have left any number of things outside as well. Why don’t you tell me where my sister is before I crush that little head of yours, boy.”
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“Sir, look at me. I’m Krazhnori. I wouldn’t be working for-”
“Even better, my uncle and big brother died on those sands. This can be me avenging three people in one.”
Ari decided he needed to act. He summoned a dagger to his hand, and quickly threw it out behind him and into the hip of the man holding him down. He rolled over after the man screamed and stumbled, and jumped to his feet. He appraised the situation, most of the onlookers were not willing to get involved. A few of them were standing now, and some approached to try and check on the big man or join the fight. Ari took a neutral stance and backed his way to one of the walls to protect himself from flanking, with a window on his left for an escape if it proved too much. He could recall the scroll to him with the contract magic so he wasn’t worried about leaving his supplies behind.
The big man was staring at him, the dagger he threw was dull and barely pierced the man's hip more than a few finger widths. It was enough to make him unstable on his leg, but the alcohol was apparently doing an excellent job dulling the pain. That or the big man was not phased so much by the injury as one would think. One of the smaller, but still larger than Ari, me who came to the large man’s aide rushed at Ari to throw a punch. Ari ducked his head down and to the right slightly, and brought his left hand up to grab the man's right arm. He pulled the arm as he stepped forward and slammed the top of his head into the man's face. The young man felt the sickening crunch of the man's nose, and felt hot sticky blood run down his head and stain his hair. Ari winced as the man's tooth penetrated his scalp slightly, but he shoved the man away and the attacker dropped to the ground moaning and holding his ravaged nose.
Ari became thankful for Ruenr switching to focus on multiple opponent tactics, because that signaled the other two men, and the injured large man, to charge him. Ari attempted to duck blows but was tackled against the wall. He bit and clawed at eyes and faces to get loose, and made to turn over to climb the window when he was grabbed in a chokehold. He was hefted off the ground, but Ari reached into the front of the man's pants and squeezed while pulling what he found until the person holding his yelped and dropped him. Ari rolled away just in time to dodge a stomping kick, and sprang up ready to punch the man in his throat. Right before the punch connected a loud voice echoed from the door to the tavern.
“Enough! Everyone that was fighting, up against the wall! You will be spending the next few days as a scarecrow if I don’t like the explanation for this!”
Ari raised his hands, assuming it was over, but the two men closest to him tackled him to the ground and began pounding him with kicks and punches. He went unconscious for a moment, but quickly awoke to see the woman, Jess, looking down at him.
“Gregor, he's awake!”
An older man, older than Jarod would be if he was still alive, pushed Jess aside and kneeled down with the blade of hatchet resting on Ari’s throat.
“Why did you come into my town and make trouble?”
“Sir, I was just here to buy supplies and rent a room when they attacked men after I asked why the women weren’t celebrating the harvest.”
“That kind of question paints you as an outsider. Is this true?”
Ari closed his eyes, but barely made out Jess and a few patrons confirmed his words. His head swam and he briefly went under again, but the man shook him back awake.
“Where is that deed? You said it's in your bag? I can’t find the bag. I'm guessing one of the boys took it. What does it look like?”
Ari pulled the contract magic and summoned the deed to himself, not considering the implications of such a feat. The man sucked in a sharp breath then muttered. Jesse quietly made an ‘Oh’ sound and the room returned once more to complete silence as the speculating and discussions ended. Ari weakly handed his scroll to the old guardsman, who opened it and squinted at it while reading. Ari considered using one of his health potions, but he only had three and figured his injuries would get better sooner rather than later. If he was still in terrible shape by the time Ruenr came around, Ari decided he would take the potion then.
‘How did I let this happen? Three or four random farmers is a tavern in some poor village. I must have been more tired than I thought after marching all day and much of the night. I made a lot of mistakes I normally wouldn't.’
Ari tried to push himself through the pain, to sit up and try and take stock of himself. His right eye was rapidly swelling shut, and he could feel a fracture or break in his cheekbone. His nose was pouring out blood, and was definitely broken. His head swam from the punches and kicks, his neck and back were also pretty tore up from the fight. It lasted barely a minute or two, and this was against random people in a tavern. Ari shook his head imagining the disappointment if any of his instructors heard about this.
“Ah damn. You said they took my bag right? That had all my money in it. It's dark brown with some gray stitching and an embroidery of my name inside the main pocket. I had 20 small copper coins and 4 large ones, as well as three small silver coins.”
The older man looked down from the scroll at Ari who now sat up against the wall. He stroked his short-cropped graying beard before barking out a command to the men in the tavern.
“Go find who took the boy's bag right now, and if it isn’t back in less than an hour I’m going to be pissed. Since none of you had the decency to get involved in the abuse of some noble brat, I’ll be sure to mention names if his family comes calling.”
Ari shook his head at the misunderstanding, he figured they were probably taking it easy on him even further since he looked so young and hoped that his age and naivete would make it easier for the village to gain back his good graces and prevent fallout. ‘Or maybe he can tell I’m at least partially Krazhnori and knows, or at least believes, that I can’t levy kind of support. I honestly can’t tell what this guardsman game is.’ The guardsman in question turned an eye back on the young man, and surprised him by speaking in Krazhnori.
“What is your purpose here?”
“I am resupplying. I am traveling south along the East Range in preparation for more difficult journeys.”
“Do I need to worry about some merchant or noble family coming back here to try and make an example of my village?”
“Not unless I die here.”
“Well good. I’ll send my niece over and she should be able to help get you taken care of. The men who ambushed you are in worse shape so she’ll be looking at them first. Jess can take you downstairs.”
“Understood.”
Ari watched the man nod once, then head out the tavern door as he raised his voice to speak with someone. Before he could make out the words, Jess was leaning back over him and asking him a question.
“Are you curious?”
“Of what?”
“Why he speaks your language?”
“I assume the same reason most of the people I’ve met can speak it that aren’t from there.”
“What’s that?”
Ari looked at her and tried not to seem like he was insulting her intelligence.
“The war, maybe?” he asked with more sarcasm than was polite.
Jess crossed her arms to make an ‘x’, before smirking at the young man.
“He did serve in the war, but he was granted a position because he already spoke it. Apparently, his best friend was Krazhnori.”
“I imagine it was awkward fighting against your best friend in the war then.”
“He wasn’t a soldier, I’m pretty sure he was just a translator.”
“Sure.”
Ari didn’t want to burst the woman’s bubble, but the way the man stood and moved gave away his military and martial training to anyone who is used to the type. He might not have been fighting them directly, but he was still a part of the occupying military force which made him a combatant in Ari’s eyes. Ari frowned. When had he started thinking so negatively about the war? He never used to be positive about it, but he didn’t regard it and the empire’s military with such animosity before. Ari knew even from a young age that most of the soldiers were freshly recruited and conscripts that thought they were fighting in service of a ‘good cause’ not that it was much of an excuse.
Until the war the last military campaign the Empire had seen was back when it was consolidating the peninsula and attempting to wrestle control of the Northern pass. He read speculations that a few hundred years ago they were planning on taking control of the Western pass since the dwarves had stabilized it and made it more habitable, but that never amounted to anything more than the rare border skirmish. The Krazhnori, according to most recruits, were dangerous eight feet tall magic using men that wanted to tear down the empire and revert it the few disparate nations that it once was. Even many of the more educated were led to believe that the Krazhnori were dominating trade and preventing the empire from using the desert from being used to keep the empire dependent on them.
‘Well. That last part might have some truth to it, but if what Cyrus has given me is true then outsiders wouldn’t be able to navigate the sands anyway.’ Hindering caravans you knew couldn’t succeed and forcing them back could probably be seen as a blessing from the eyes of the Krazhnori, but even Ari wasn’t going to pretend like his people had never done anything wrong. Up until the nations of the peninsula became the Empire it currently is, the Krazhnori regularly raided the Western regions. Not that he considered that a valid reason to commit cultural genocide against his ancestors.
Jess showed Ari to the basement, where a pallet was covered in old blankets and then layered with hay. He waited for her to leave then summoned some of his extra supplies from his runescript tattoos. A larger blanket and a few comfortable pads to help him rest. Cyrus was originally jealous that Ari would be getting more than the large chest space of storage he was getting, until he learned how much more painful and how much more of his body the ugly runescript tattoos would cover. Even now they looked like jagged blocky letters that were more carved into his flesh than tattooed on. Cyrus had only his back done, but Ari had his back, chest and both legs and arms down to his elbow and knees. The blocky runes were carved into flesh in strange patterns that left raised scar-like markings on his skin.
Ruenr explained that he was able to make Cyrus smoother and smaller with less damage to the skin because the magic on Cyrus tattoos were only doing a few things: created a storage space the size of a royal cassone only he could access, the contents could be summoned to his hands or just in front of him, and he could store anything that fit he was touching as long is it didn’t go over the mass limit. The stored items were not quite chronally inert, but the progression of time within was about a 12th of the time outside of the space. Animals would die within seconds but plants could last as long as a few days, relative to time outside of space. It also took Cyrus a few seconds to store or summon the items in question.
Ari’s tattoos did much more. He was given about four royal cassones of space that were fully chronally inert and would not kill any living plants or animals placed within. He could store anything he touched with the same mass limits, but Ari could summon items to be worn or adorned upon his body and not just in front of him or on his hands. Ari could also summon the items instantly. The tattoos also were meant to encourage him to heal faster, as long as he ate extra food to help his body burn energy. Lastly, they reduced his ability to be detected by divination magic, but not to the degree that Ruenr was immune.
Ruenr also explained that the tattoos were so painful and damaging to the skin, because they were designed with the tougher skin of the ageling beastfolk and whatever species Ruenr himself was. As Ari traced the carvings in his body, and slowly considered treating himself if no one arrived, a knock on the basement preceded someone entering. The young woman that entered seemed upset. She looked like most of the villagers here, dark hair and pale skin with eyes that ranged from gray to blue and brown. Unlike the other villagers he saw, and the few women including Jess, she was stunning. She had smooth features with an angular jaw, she was slightly tall for a woman but in Ari’s eyes most people were tall. She was well built, probably common for any villagers here that weren’t malnourished. Her voice reminded him of a mix between Charlie’s and Colette’s. It was raspy like Charlies, but not low and without the obvious Southern and common accent. She spoke similar to how Colette did in the low tongue, but with a less melodic and refined touch.
“Strip.”
Ari started to comply, but a man walked in behind her and clarified with an exasperated voice.
“Keep your smallclothes on please, dear Adeline here can forget her manners at times. My name is Andre and I’m here because we couldn’t send Josephine down to monitor you since she is busy. We don’t want to leave a strange young man alone with the only apothecary for leagues.”
The man was a younger and more polite version of the guardsman, one who wasn’t as well trained evident by his lack of muscles but was much better groomed. He sat on a nearby barrel, and pulled a pocketbook from his coat. He began writing it and only occasionally looked up to check on Adeline.
“Josephine is?”
“Jess” spoke Adeline as she approached Ari who was now wearing just his loincloth.
“Oh interesting, based on your choice of undergarment you must be from the heartlands.”
“Northeast actually” Ari corrected the man who spoke up.
He allowed Adeline to begin putting something on his swollen eye, then let her fuss with his damaged cheek as she began rummaging through the bags she brought in.
“Oh, Marigney County or Stirum County?”
“Whichever the Laine Barony is.”
“Neither, it is an independent barony that reports directly to the Duke. It is actually more wealthy than either county and if it was in a place of more strategic importance the family would have been promoted to a march- they were offered county peerage a few decades ago but the family declined because they have favorable trade and tax agreements contingent on their status as a Barony. It is only slightly smaller than the counties as well.”
Ari looked at the man for a moment and he responded to the unasked question.
“I am visiting my father, Andree Sr, I am studying in Yrie at the royal college to become a taxation specialist.”
“Okay. I am going to sleep now, please wake me if I have to move.”
The woman continued working as Ari attempted to doze off, she had him move to his stomach to look at his back at one point but found nothing worth using her supplies on. The two left and he eventually nodded off, trying to avoid thinking about the headache the situation would bring him tomorrow.