The Illumination Kingdom was guarded on three sides by a majestic mountain range. The mountain range was concealed by a green hue resembling a mist.
At the north of the kingdom piercing the mist stood the most unique natural wonder called, the Sacred Mountain, it dwarfed the other peaks.
The Sacred Mountain was vibrant with an oppressive aura. It had a vitalizing effect, causing the whole mountain range to be full of life, with giant trees, herbs and distinct plants. The vitalizing energy assimilated with the green hue creating a mysterious environment with unique attractions.
Sacred and rare plants would grow here, making it an ideal place for adventurers and mercenaries to seek their luck.
The closer one got to the mountains, the better the environment. The quality of air improved, the energy in the air became denser, causing people to be more happy and carefree. However, this also created the perfect environment for beasts, making the location very dangerous.
The beasts made the mountain range their homes. Utilizing the magical energy, they became more powerful and the dominant force that controlled it.
It was said that the founder of the Illumination Kingdom had visited the mountain range in one of his adventures. He built a village near it to take advantage of the many benefits that the mountain provided. He had said that there is probably no place better than the sacred mountain in the Empire. He identified it as the most essential location for the prosperity of the Illumination Kingdom.
Currently, on the way to the mountain was a group of five people, each riding a creature similar to a horse. It had soft blue fur, and a body size twice as big as a horse. What really made it unique was the speed of these mounts. They were travelling at least 5 times faster than a racing horse. (~200 miles/hour)
One of the riders, a young man around the age of 20, was happily smiling. He had a curious expression on his face, observing the magnificent green hue and the shadows of the mountains behind it. He had the spirit of an adventurer looking forward to the unknown.
The person next to him, who had a generic look and an average body said: "Hey, why did you come on this mission, did you not just get married yesterday?"
The young man replied, "Yeah, it was a political marriage." He started to remember something when he became depressed.
The generic-looking person next to him said: "You do not like her?" Then he looked at his depressed expression. Seeing this, he laughed as he said: "So she does not approve of you? No wonder there is no honeymoon."
He kept on teasing him, and the young man became annoyed and angry.
The third person who seemed more authoritative came and joined in the conversation and laughed a little at the young man. Then, he asked the person with the generic look, "Did you not have a child a few days ago? Why are you here?" Hearing this, he too became depressed, and he had a complicated expression. There was clearly more to the story.
He put on a half-smile and said: "Marcus, you are the same boss, did you also not have a daughter recently."
Marcus laughed, "Haha, the three of us are kicked out of our houses."
The atmosphere turned depressing, and everyone was silent.
After a while, the young man changed the topic and said with a bit of excitement: "I cannot believe that revitalizing grass was seen in the outskirt of the sacred mountain range."
"Yeah, it is hard to believe that one would be spotted on the outskirt of the mountain, it almost sounds like a rumour," said the generic-looking guy riding next to him with a flat tone. His tone was full of doubt, showing his stance on the reliability of the news.
"Haha... the news came from a reliable source there is no need to doubt it. We need to celebrate that we do not need to go to that dangerous mountain. If we manage to find the revitalizing grass on the outskirts, we will still get paid… right boss?" Said Marcus, his last words were very loud clearly meant for the leading figure of the group.
The trio quieted down and waited for a reply, the man at the lead turned his head. He had a natural domineering aura and then nodded at them.
A happy smile could be seen on the trio's face.
The fifth member, an older man, slowly guided his mount next to the leader and approached the leader of the group. He said in a barely audible voice "Duke White, we do not need them now, the revitalizing grass is in the outskirts of the Sacred Mountain."
The Duke replied, "They will have other uses, do not worry Hunter."
The older man Hunter had a confused look but did not refute him.
The Duke looked at him and nodded, he was clearly happy with his behaviour.
He then chuckled and asked Hunter, "Do you think that this revitalizing grass can easily be obtained?"
Hunter still had a confused look. He thought to himself, "It is not in the sacred mountain, so what is the danger?" But he did not say anything.
Seeing Hunter with a confused expression, the Duke sighed. He then said: "If it was easily obtainable, we would not hear the news about it. But news of someone obtaining it."
Hunter's eyes gleamed in understanding, and he nodded.
The group of 5 continued on their journey until it was nightfall.
The group pitched their tents a clear divide could be seen, the trio on one side and the Duke and Hunter on the other side.
Each group had its own food roasted.
Once they were done eating, the Duke looked at Marcus, a burly man with an eye patch on one of his eyes and shouted his name, "Marcus" and gestured him to come.
Marcus had an unhappy look on his face as he came towards Duke White. He had a bad foreboding feeling. He thought he would lose this easy moneymaking opportunity.
"Marcus, tomorrow we will reach our destination. I would like to make an adjustment to our deal. In our previous deal, your group was in charge of dealing with the dangers until we receive the revitalizing grass. Upon safely returning with it, to the city, you all will get a gold coin…"
Before he could finish, Marcus said passionately, "You will not go back on your word? We are lucky that it is found on the outskirt of the mountain. Our end of the deal was to securely take the two of you to the revitalizing grass, irrelevant of its location and danger level."
In a calm tone, the Duke replied, "Do not worry, you will not lose in this adjustment, first listen to me if you do not like it we can go back to our previous deal."
Marcus was curious, he nodded and gestured Duke White to resume.
The Duke continued, "The new deal will be, once we receive the revitalizing grass, I will pay you 1 gold coin. Then you spread a rumour that someone got the revitalizing grass and will auction it off in 3 days. During this time we will quickly leave the area. Once you buy us enough time to return safely, I will pay you an additional 2 gold coins. What do you say?" After finishing, the Duke had a slight smile on his face, expecting an immediate positive response from Marcus.
As he predicted, Marcus replied with a smile and nodded.
Marcus quickly started to butter him up, assuring Duke White that he made the right move and the mission will be done with utmost care. He wanted to make sure that the Duke does not regret the new deal.
As he left, a cunning smile could be seen on Duke White's face.
Hunter approached him and asked, "I am perplexed, why did you promise him more gold coins? They had to escort us back anyways, and you have given Marcus many small tasks over the years. He would not have rejected you if you added the extra task without such a big reward."
The Duke looked at him and said, "Do you really think they would do something extra without a reward. The second task will be much more troublesome this time. The extra money will only blind them to accept the task without questioning it too much. Plus, they have become a burden to us. They are weaker, and their mounts are inferior. Leaving them there to cause confusion will allow us to leave with a peace of mind and we will leave more efficiently..." The Duke stopped talking after conveying his brief explanation.
Hunter nodded, but his curiosity was not sated. He had another question to ask. Seeing the curious face of Hunter that remained perplexed, the Duke asked him, "Do you still have questions?"
Hunter nodded, "I understand why they should remain. However, I do not understand why you propose to offer them a gold coin in advance. It would be risky to give them the gold coin as they might not stay and spread the rumour of the fake auction. After all, that was their reward in the first deal. They can get the gold coin without facing the difficulty to escort us back?"
Isn't it obvious Mr. Hunter, you can promise the world to someone but you wont have to deliver if that person is dead.
Thanks for the chapter