“Papers, please.”
I glanced over at Gladio, who took out a package and placed it on the table. An armoured guard took the package and delivered it to the official. As the official uncurled the string holding the package together, he opened it and extracted papers from the container. The official took some time to examine the documents, so my attention was quickly diverted elsewhere.
We were in the town’s hall, where all the bureaucrats work. It was not a fancy one as it was relatively small. There were only one or two administrative officers on duty, and foot traffic was low. Gladio and Alevanine were sitting behind me, but armoured guards on both sides flanked them. Alevanine kept her head down and kept tugging on the hood. Her attire included a full-body robe which helped covered her non-human features below her waist. Her walking was akin to hopping, which could be easily explained away. Anyway, fewer questions are asked.
“Jay Famulus Servus. Is that correct?” I nodded.
“Gladio Servus.” Gladio nodded in response.
“Mind explaining the details on your female companion?”
“A slave I recently purchased. No paperwork, of course.” The official nodded and continued following protocol.
“Purpose of visit?”
“Business.”
“How long do you think you will be conducting it?”
“A couple of months.”
“Papers seemed to be fine. We have calculated the fees required due to your transgressions in our commerce. It will total up to about three silver coins.” I once again glanced at Gladio, and he handed over four silver coins. I stacked them on the table. Before the official continued, I winked at the official. He gave an understanding smile and said,” Alright. You may pass. Welcome to Dominatus Imperium.”
“Humans seem so complicated,” Alevanine remarked. “So many customs to remember and go through. What a bother!” The two men shrugged and began taking a walk about the marketplace. Gladio bought many potatoes due to them being cheap in the town. Salted meat required for a long journey was bought in much more significant amounts. I was looking for a store that analysed magical goods, but it seemed the town did not have one even as I walked past many alleyways and streets. With nothing better to do, I decided to gather information on our surroundings. Alevanine followed behind me as I went to the town’s bulletin board in the centre of the town square. People just made short, cursory glances at the board before moving on with their lives.
“Glorious victory by the Imperium once more! The Elves were crushed once more in the Battle of Willow’s Creek!” Spending only a few minutes browsing the bulletin board, the journalism’s quality abhorred me. It was very one-sided towards the Imperium, and statistics about battles were not present at all.
“What does it say?” Alevanine asked.
With her words, I realised why people were ignoring the notice board. It is not that the headlines were uninteresting; it’s just that most people can’t read the news. After explaining what the bulletin board state to Alevanine, her expression changed from a curious one to one in deep contemplation. She opened her mouth, revealing the many sharp teeth underneath, seemingly wanting to say something. However, she immediately closed it.
“Hey, isn’t that Gladio and the arranged meeting spot?” I remarked as I pointed over at a bench where Gladio sat, with sacks of things sprawled all around him.
Meeting up with Gladio, he passed over some sacks to us. Noticeably, the number of sacks I had to carry was much more than Alevanine. As I suppressed any comments out of my better judgement, Alevanine asked,” So where are we heading next?”
“Cristetia, the provincial capital of the region.”
Unlike the canyons, which provided a tremendous natural defensive barrier to what remained of the Yumalian Empire, the roads to Cristetia were bustling with merchants, peasants, and even armed militias. The armed militias roaming the roads made me wary. Gladio even lowered the speed of our carriage, anticipating danger. Only Alevanine seemed carefree, taking in the rare sights on land that an aquatic species would never see. Our trip was mostly uneventful, filled with brief interludes of us taking breaks by camping in the nearby forests during nighttime.
While travelling on the roads, a traffic jam seemingly occurred. Drivers swore as the horses were restless. Alevanine was carefully observing all the many different types of carriages all around us. Their designs were indicative of their owner’s wealth and the region where they hailed from. Many of the region’s guardian beasts were depicted on the carriages: from the meek rodent to the ferocious dragons.
BOOM! An explosion erupted far away in front of the traffic jam. Everyone in the vicinity covered their ears due to the sound and bore witness to a red fiery mushroom cloud seen on the horizon. Sounds of the leaves rustling due to the explosion masked the relatively minuscule sounds of the whizzing of objects through the air.
“Get down!” Gladio called out, and we immediately dived to the carriage ground. Arrows that aimed at our heads struck against the carriage walls. Cries and screams were heard from the unlucky victims who were struck down by the arrows. Sounds of metal clashing against metal vertebrated amongst the forest.
“The Elves! Urgh!” A voice cried out before it was quickly silenced.
Thud! Someone leapt on the carriage. The shifting centre of balance could be felt by us who were lying on the carriage ground. Gladio quickly got up and met the intruder head-on. Alevanine and I followed behind. A humanoid with a relatively short stature greeted us. Its skin was ashen to the point of it being as white as snow. Its ears were pointed, and it had a gruesome smile on its face. As it snarled, it lunged, and Gladio went on the defensive. In a few seconds, it seemed Gladio was overwhelmed by the elf’s quick attacks. His sword’s full capability was limited in the small confines of the carriage.
While suffering cuts and nicks from the blade, the guard was looking for openings to exploit. Finding one, he hurled a kick right at the elf. The elf was sent flying out of the carriage, but it quickly reached into its pockets and grabbed some trinkets. Sparks could be seen flying in his hands, and the unnatural energy waves could be felt coming from the elf.
“Get out!” I quickly cried out. Gladio immediately dived out of the carriage. As I glanced towards Alevanine, her face was full of panic but just stared lifelessly at the elf. As the cold frigid winds strengthened in the carriage, I quickly pushed Alevanine forcefully out of the carriage. The fireball materialised, and it flew out of the elf’s hands. I leapt out of the carriage at the same time. As the carriage burst into flames, I fell onto the ground and rolled to cushion my fall.
As I got up and surveyed my surroundings, I first noticed Alevanine, who fell flat on her face onto the ground. She was picking herself back up and was rubbed her forehead with great displeasure. She stared at me with many daggers in her eyes, but I merely shrugged.
A fierce melee was taking place amongst the carriages. It seems the elves have exhausted their arrow barrage and has decided to get close and finish the rest. As I studied the surroundings for a place to hide, I noticed an elf approaching me. It lunged at me with a short dagger, which I quickly sidestepped.
“Where’s Gladio when I need him….” I sighed as I began running from the elf. As I glanced at Alevanine, a possible substitute for Gladio, she took out her recurve bow and cocked an arrow in it. This time, however, I began to be afraid. “No, no, no! Alevanine, don’t you fire the arrow! You might hit me!”
As Alevanine pulled back the bowstring, she stuck her tongue out at me and let go of the arrow.
“Damn you!” I cried out as I dived to the ground and used the momentum to roll away from any possible Elven strikes.
“urgh!” The elf cried out as the iron tip meets flesh. As the elf held his right shoulder where an arrow had embedded itself into the flesh, a swift reflection of light followed behind the elf. After a stream of red flew in an arc, the elf tumbled onto the ground with a thud. Gladio held his scimitar coolly and quickly surveyed his surroundings before looking back at us.
“Where the hell were you?” I demanded.
“I thought some training was good for you. I was always nearby just in case if something goes wrong. However, instead of taking it out yourself, you had to rely on a rookie.”
“Beginner’s luck.” Alevanine quickly cocked another arrow into the bow and aimed right in my direction. I quickly lay on the ground. She let go of the arrow, and it went flying somewhere. As I turned around to observe the arrow, the sound of metal hitting metal was heard. Sounds wrong; elves usually don’t wear metal armour… As Alevanine flushed red with embarrassment, she quickly hid behind a tree to mask the firer of the arrow.
As Gladio and Alevanine engaged the elves, I was deciding my next course of action. Since using magi will endanger my allies, I just laid on the ground and observed the situation. After a while, the elves seemed to have begun retreating. As explosions and arrow fire cover their retreat, the elves disappeared into the nearby forests.
Cheers could be heard emanating from the battlefield, shouts of joy echoed among the people present. As I glanced over the charred remains of the carriage, I turned over and looked at the injuries of my party members. Gladio has suffered some arrow wounds; luckily, however, they’ve never penetrated deep into the flesh, just mere surface wounds. Some medicine should be able to fix it. Other than a couple of bruises, Alevanine was relatively okay. I was fine, to say the least, as someone who did not even participate in the fight. I was, however, fearful of the bow and the angry glances that Alevanine constantly aimed at me.
Slight rumbling could be felt on the ground and only grew stronger as time passed. As I picked myself back up behind a tree covering me from Alevanine, the distinct thumbing of the ground caused by a particular animal can be heard. As the first light scout cavalry rode their way into the scene, the people made a line for them to pass through. Regiments of light cavalry followed by heavy cavalry trotted along the path. A vast horde of cavalry passed by. Cavalrymen dressed in ornamental looking armours flanked another cavalryman, dressed in iron plate armour, arrived. As the cavalry group stopped, the flashy looking men cavalrymen, together with the individual they were protecting, got off their steads.
The man lifted his vizor, showing a stoic gaze that contained some fury. The man glanced at the corpses and survivors on the ground. He quickly barked some orders to the men around him, and the men promptly ran off.
“Marquis Cristo!” Whispers of awe and joy spread amongst the people here.
The men returned and brought back some elven captives. Cristo knelt and grabbed the chin of one of the elf and seemed to have said something. As the elf mouth moved, he was greeted with a punch to his left cheek. Another punch was then delivered to the elf’s right cheek. As the elf lay on the ground, speaking in an unrecognisable language, Cristo struck a kick to the elf’s chest. As he began stomping on his victim, the men around him tried to pull the Marquis back. As the Marquis resisted his men, one of the men brandished his blade and lowered it on the elf. With a quick slice, a head rolled on the ground. The Marquis seemed to calm down and surveyed his surroundings. As the marquis eyes seemed to lay on us for about a second or so, Alevanine quickly pulled down her hood and masked her non-human features. The Marquis barked some orders and got up on his stead, riding away with some of his retinues.
A man stood in for the marquis’ place and made an announcement with the help of some magi. “Marquis Cristo has generously decided to provide everyone here with free healthcare due to everyone’s contribution. As long as you travel to Cristetia and state that you had participated in this battle, you can redeem a free medical check-up at any clinic!”
“Glory to Marquis Cristo!”
As cheers infected the crowd, Gladio, Alevanine and I began continuing our way to Cristetia. Alevanine had some difficulty travelling, hopping continuously on our way to Cristetia. Due to the loss of our carriage, we lost much of our supplies as well as Alevanine’s beloved fishbowl. She was cranky and constantly demanded a carriage. Gladio and I slowed our travel speed, making sure to stop at water bodies frequently to help stem Alevanine’s complaining.
But soon, we reached Cristetia.
