I was pacing around and can’t shake this feeling that they have been kidnapped. But that’s only one of the scenarios, other than being kidnapped there is always a possibility that they just strolled off without my approval, then again, that possibility is very slim because they won’t know where to go and they would probably get kidnap by some lowly bandits.
Which…. brings it back to them being kidnapped, but the question is who would want to kidnap them? the empire wouldn’t have known it because, every emissary that is suspected, a possible, and even a blatant spy has already either been apprehended or set aside to minor jobs.
So, it only left me with only one possible kidnapper, the Cult of Dubh, Rider Cultist. Ruith has already warned me about this before summoning the heroes, the Rider Cultist will know and can detect the heroes after they have been summoned here.
After that... letter was sent to me, my heart was really in shatters, but hatred only grew in me towards the cult. If they are the ones who are responsible for this, I will make sure they would have a very nice long chat with the inquisitors and the executioner.
“Princess, are you alright?” Marie asked concernedly.
“Ahh… oh, It’s okay!” I brush aside her concerns.
It was nice of Lady Marie to be concerned about my well-being, but this tension can’t be eased alone with words of concern until both of them are found I might find some peace then.
* * *
We were in a somewhat Mexican standoff, Eleanna was behind me, I was holding the bandit’s leader hostage with his goons already unsheathed their weapons.
The only choice I had is probably to negotiate with them or make a run for it, but I think they'll just catch up to us, and there are still the suspicious knights around here trying to find us.
“Okay… I’ll release your boss but with the condition, you people stay here until me and my lady friend here have found our way back to the main parts of the city!” I said to them sternly.
“You think you can negotiate with those buffoons! They only listen to me and me only!!”
“Well then Sir Bandit, I’ll say this again, we will release you with the condition that three of them stays here, where after we found our way back to the main street, we will release you unscathed.” I re-proposed as delicately as possible to him.
“What if I say no?” he said with a snarky remark.
“Well…. Our negotiations fall apart and you will be choked with your own blood!” I retort sharply.
“Slit my throat? Hahahaha, you’re still against 3 people boy!”
“Who says anything about attacking the three of them after slitting your throat?”
He was stunned after hearing my comeback, it’s probably a shocker to hear that a noble is going to do something unhonourable.
“LISTEN HERE BOYS, YOU THREE STAY AND DON’T MOVE A MUSCLE!”
“But… boss?”
“DID I FLINCH?”
““NO BOSS””
And so, we took the bandit's leader hostage until we found the main road. While walking through the slums, we were getting mixed and weird looks from the folks in the slums, they were responding in different ways, some completely ignored the three of us, some gave a mean look at us, and the other some were giving a ‘thank you' look. I don’t know if it’s because of my and Eleanna’s noble appearance or it’s because of this guy, but either way, it was smooth sailing.
Observing the slum I could see its usual beggars and hooligans around, but what caught my eye is that there are elves here apparently. I mean it is another world where unordinary creatures can exist, but I didn’t think it would be this generic in a sense.
Other than that, the slums are expectedly quite rowdy. From people yelling around to the sound of a broken vase from a distance.
When we finally found the main street or in this case the central market, I took his scabbard and hold on to his sword. It was a nice broadsword with no engravings or any gems placed in it, but it was nice regardless. I took his sword and scabbard as a guarantee if he is going to attack us after we release him.
After taking his scabbard and releasing him, I sheathed the sword back to its scabbard and took Eleanna’s hand where both of us disappeared into the crowd.
At that point, I don’t know where to go but both of us are in the safe, if the four of them tried to attack us in the crowd they’ll probably going to be caught by one of the guards or knights wandering or patrolling around this area.
The only place that probably is going to be even safer for us is the Fountain in the middle of the market, there’s a lot of children and people there lounging and relaxing, so we went there and rest up for a bit too after that tense encounter.
We sat down in one of the chairs that were prepared there. While Eleanna took a huge breath after she sat down, trying to ease the tension on her shoulders, I on the other hand still was on guard, not only for the bandits but for the two suspicious knights. Back there I couldn’t really identify them, they wore a bulky armor with their face covered too with a bulky helmet, nothing special really stands out from them.
“Hey, relax a bit, will you? They're already gone.” Eleanna said to ease me.
“Yeah, I guess your right” I replied.
Even though the suspicious knight and bandits were still prowling around somewhere, I can at least relax a bit because we’re in a dense location. Children and their parents are playing around near the fountain and because the fountain is near the market it's going to be too crowded for them to take any hasty actions against us.
“Soo…. We got summoned into a new world, the first outing was quite a memorable one huh?” I said.
“Nearly getting kidnapped and killed? Yeah, it would be one hell of a story.” Eleanna said sarcastically.
“Yeah, that was a doozy, hehe,” I said while chuckling a bit.
After my chuckle, Eleanna tensed up again, it was as if she was preparing to ask a big question.
“Martyn, I am gonna ask you something important and please be honest with me!”
“Yeah sure?” I asked curiously.
“If this is a two-way trip…. would you go back?”
“Hmm…. I don’t know, we’re still new to this world, I could hate it, I could love it, it’s just too early to decide. But the outing is already fun as hell, so I give it a plus for the beginning!” I smiled and gave a thumbs up to Eleanna.
“Jeez… I forgot that you’re a thrill-seeker.” She said with a disappointed tone.
While we were talking, a small group of knights came to us.
“There they are! One of you go back and report!” A knight said and from the looks of it, he is the squad leader.
I began to tense up again, my muscles were readied to use the sword against them and I was about to put up a fight, until.
“I’ll go to the cathedral and report back to Her Royal Highness!” One of the knights responded.
Once I heard ‘Her Royal Highness’ I relaxed again and sat tight waiting for Her Royal Highness.
* * *
Bang!
The cathedral’s door was slammed open violently by one of the knights that I send to search for Martyn and Eleanna.
Please be good news.
“Your Highness, we have found them,” the knight said vigorously.
“Ohh thank Lux,” I sighed in relief. “Where are they?!”
“They’re at the center of the central market, sitting near the mermaid fountain!”
“Okay… I’ll go there, kindly wait here and guard Sir Arthur and Lady Marie, Sir?”
“Sir Foulques of Andecavi!”
“Right… Sir Foulques of Andecavi, please guard them both while I go to the central market!” I said.
After ordering him, I departed quickly and went to the fountain in the center of the central market.
* * *
When I finally met them again, both of them were guarded by the knights that I sent to find them, they were sitting relaxingly in the chairs that were prepared there.
“Thank Lux we found you!” I said in relief. “Where on Lumenter did you both go off too!?”
“Both of us… how should I say this… almost got kidnapped…?” Martyn said hesitantly.
“Kidnapped?” My face then tensed up.
“Yeah… two knights just took us through the slums and when I asked them where they are taking us, one of them said ‘there is a place where we want you to see’” Sir Martyn told me.
After hearing that I was at ease and got confused by that quote, ‘a place that they want the heroes to see’? I am sure as Enfer that they weren’t imperial spies or one of the Rider Cultists, they.... yes, they are something else. I still don’t know if they're a friend or foe, but I’ll be preparing myself if they want to be a foe.
“So… are we still going on that tour?” Martyn asked hesitantly.
“Are you serious Martyn? After all of that!?” Eleanna bashed his question in anger.
“Ahhh… jeez… fine… we’re going back to the castle then?”
“Yes, it is much safer, and I think the four of you are targeted by some unknown organization.”
“Unknown organization?” Eleanna asked curiously.
“Yes, I don’t know who they are because they are out of my bound of speculation. Due to this, we should go back to Castle Krone right away!”
After that, we went back to the cathedral and picked up Arthur and Marie where we went straight back to Castle Krone, along the way I noticed that Martyn has a broadsword sheathed in his left hip.
“By the way where did you get that sword Sir Martyn?” as I peeked curiously at the sword beside his hip, I asked him.
“Ohh this?” Sir Martyn said while showing off the sword in his hip. “At first I was going to use this if the bandits were going to go after me and Eleanna.”
He then told me about his and Lady Eleanna's daring escape from the bandits and suspicious knights, then when he told me about the threat part, I flinched in a disagreeing and somewhat disgusted manner to him.
“That’s not very noble of you…” I disagreed with his choice.
“Well, so what? I am not even a noble.” Sir Martyn bashed my remarks.
“But you are a hero, shouldn’t you act a bit more chivalrous and noble against your opponents?” I said.
“Look, Princess, it was 4 against 1, and if I did anything stupid back there, my head is one the line, which is fine. But there was Eleanna! If I am dead at the spot, she’s either going to be raped, killed or even both and I don’t want that!”
“Ahh… I mean… no, you’re right.” I was still disagreeing with his method, but his logic was undeniably true. “So… what are you going to do with that sword now?”
“I think I’ll keep it as a memento.” He looked at the sword with a slight smile on his face.
“Well, it is now yours I suppose… but, there is another thing I want to ask!”
“That is?” he curiously asked.
“What do you think of the slums?”
“Well... The slums are the slums! It's smelly, it's dark, it's crowded, and of course, filled with bandits. What’s there to think?”
“Ohh… you don’t remember?” I said in shock.
“What do you mean remember? Ohhh… do you mean what I think?”
“Yes!”
“Well sorry to disappoint you Princess but we aren't the first heroes' incarnation either," he said convincingly. "Me, Eleanna, Arthur, and Miss Marie are completely different people from... whoever the first heroes are. And though slums are an unsightly sight, it’s natural really, especially in this rigid hierarchical society.”
“Ohh…” I replied with a sad tone.
“So, do you know the first heroes?” Martyn asked.
“Not personally because they were summoned roughly a thousand years ago,” I said.
“Well damn...” Martyn said in a shocked tone.
“But I have read about their adventures, journeys, and especially their efforts to help the poor and the weak!”
“Then that’s why you asked me about the slums.” Martyn realized.
“Yes, Sir Martyn, if you four aren’t angels it might be that the four of you are connected or an incarnation of them. But alas that theory went straight to the gutter...”
“Hahaha…” Martyn chuckled. “So, what was the era of the first heroes look like?”
I then told him about the first heroes’ arduous task of gathering a huge amount of gold coins. At first, they took odd jobs left and right in the Adventurer’s Guild and were somewhat dangerous jobs too against bandits and rogue Familiars, then they went big and gambled their lives on taking Mercenary’s contracts on attacking, capturing, and plundering many Bandits’ den around the western realm.
They ransomed many bandits, got some rewards for killing or capturing their leader, and sold a lot of the loot and luxurious stuff that the bandits stole, for the 'gift' they want to send to the people.
Cities in the western realm like Londini, Vin Côte, Geamradh, Sanctiacob, Cotier, Plasu, Lugrevar, Tiburón, and many more flourished to some degree, but it most definitely bettered the common man’s life.
But of course, people are people, greed is and will always be looming in everyone’s back, waiting for the right time to strike the hearts of those who are weak-willed.
King Arnulf II Karl Krone of Albion was one of those weak-willed ones, he idled around in his palace with his whores and boozes, and when he ran dry the crown's coffers, he 'repurposed' the heroes' gift that was kept by the city’s officials that were still using it for improvement of the ordinary folk's lives.
His scheme was backed by half of the city’s officials and while the other half...
Well... previously they were doing their paperwork, as usual, but now they’re recorded as 'traitors and embezzlers', by Lux I can’t believe I am related to that pig...
And so... the slums came back, and the people's lives became worse than before. But this was just Londini, I haven't visited the other cities in the western realm, well... except Geamradh.
“I am assuming that Geamradh kept the first heroes' gift intact?”
“Yes! I've always been in awe at Geamradh since a little girl on how they treated their people. There are no slums to be sighted, people starving in the streets, and the alleyways are always clean! I have a somewhat idea on why it's the case and it's possibly because of their nightmarish winter, and also the fact that the Grand Duke who received that gift was known to be a charitable and a considerate man.”
After having that pleasant conversation with Martyn, we finally arrived at Castle Krone and immediately hid there from danger.
The Next Day…
We were walking in the hallway where our destination is the council room, in that room awaits my Father, King Clovis X Karl Krone, my step-mother, Queen Adelaide de Pied, my half-brother, Prince Kristof Clovis Krone, and the Maîtres. The knights in my front, Sir Acier and Sir Fionn opened the long doors that stood between us and them.
“Amadela! come in, come in…”
“Father!” I bowed my head. “Let me introduce you to the second heroes.”
