After a four day long trek that was as boring as adventuring usually was, Archibald and Wolf finally reached the Honest Man’s Place.

When they arrived Wolf’s mind was boggled yet again.

His father had called this place a settlement. The town of Iceowl had become Wolf’s standard for the word settlement, but this congregation of buildings had nothing to do with that word.

There was no wall, nor even a palisade of any kind. There were no stone buildings. There were hardly any buildings at all, and most of them were only slightly better than shacks!

The layout of the place was completely chaotic. It was as if anyone could build whatever they wanted, wherever they wanted. The obvious renovations and expansions of older structures made it look like two buildings were devouring each other or maybe indulging in some other, naughtier activities.

Fortunately there weren’t too many of these shacks. If Honest Man’s Place were to grow to the size of a real town, navigating through it would be like wandering a labyrinth.

Taking in the sight, Archibald and Wolf entered the Honest Man’s Place half an hour before sundown. Well, assuming that entering a random scattering of buildings was even possible…

Despite the fact that it was still daytime, the majority of people Wolf could see hovered between tipsy and outright drunk. A number of scantily dressed women were walking in front of half a dozen large buildings.

From time to time they would stop and probe prospective customers while laughing in a seductive way. Wolf found the whole scene extremely unnatural and disturbing.

“Dad, why are those women wearing so little clothing? Aren’t they cold here? Are they poor?” It was mid spring, but it wasn’t all that warm this late in the afternoon. However, their clothes, or lack thereof, weren’t the only thing Wolf had noticed.

“They look really miserable under all that makeup, but they are trying so hard to laugh whenever they talk to someone.” Wolf said innocently, catching his father off guard.

“Um, they are fine the way they are. Just leave them alone. As for this crowd, that’s not what a normal settlement looks like. There’s a military outpost a couple of kilometers away from here, and soldiers come by when they have some time off.” Archibald decided not to explain prostitution to an eight-year-old.

The boy was bound to figure out the concept on his own once he was older. Preferably after he entered the Mage Academy and lived alone for a bit.

“Look over there.” Archibald changed the subject, pointing towards the biggest building in the settlement. “That building over there belongs to the Adventurers’ Guild. There should be a great number of resource gathering and escort quests available. Thanks to those missions, you can always find a number of low and mid rank adventurers around these parts.”

Archibald turned around and pointed at another building. Unlike the well maintained Adventurers’ Guild outpost, this building looked like it was about to fall apart.

“That’s The Shitty Place,” he said. “The worst and cheapest inn in town. Even though it’s dirty and cramped, it's always full, and that makes it the best place to hear rumors. If we need more detailed information we can probably find a reliable information broker somewhere around here as well.”

Wolf wanted to point out that his father had said that this wasn’t a town, then called it a town half a minute later, but didn’t. Grownups were strange and said weird things. He had figured that out a long time ago…

Instead, he followed Archibald towards The Shitty Place. As they approached Wolf could see three sloppily written words on an ancient sign-board.

“I heard stories that this inn wasn’t always called The Shitty Place. It was just an inn that nobody wanted to invest in, and people started calling it shitty until even the owner changed the name.” Archibald explained, as if Wolf was interested in knowing why an inn would have such an unappealing name.

As soon as they stepped foot inside the building, Wolf found himself in a huge common room. It was dirty, and jam-packed full of people. The place looked more like an animal pen than a place where manlings were supposed to eat, drink and socialize.

Yet, for some reason, everyone went with the flow. People sat there eating, drinking and talking. At a glance Wolf could tell that all of the men inside wore similar cheap clothes, most likely army issued uniforms of some sorts. Women on the other hand wore next to nothing or nothing indeed.

Wolf was about to say something when Archibald pulled him away from the obscene sight, and led him through another door.

Beyond it was a large open space with a tall wooden fence surrounding it. In this yard things were quieter and somewhat neater. There were several dozen large, roughly hewn wooden tables, but the people sitting at them weren’t nearly as loud, nor did they have the twisted, drunken air of those inside.

Just like in the common room, every table had people sitting at it. But, it wasn't nearly as packed as it was in the messy hall, and there were no women lacking in clothing wriggling in people’s laps.

Archibald scanned the place and picked a table with five people. The group appeared to be an adventuring party down on their luck. Which meant that they were probably willing to talk and answer a few questions for some small benefits, like a meal and some wine.

When the big man and his son sat down, the fellowship of five frowned. However, in the end, they didn’t say anything. Everyone could sit wherever they wanted, and most of the other tables had more than ten people, so they couldn’t really complain.

*Ahem*

Archibald cleared his throat, catching their attention.

“Friends, this old man spent some twenty years in seclusion. To celebrate our chance encounter, what do you say I buy you a couple of drinks and maybe treat you to a meal?” As Archibald said this the five perked up and gave him a second glance.

However the big man wasn’t done talking.

“Now, I know such fine people as yourselves wouldn’t agree to something like that.” At this point he made a face as if he was thinking hard.

“How about you tell this old man about the great events which transpired while I was in seclusion? That way you wouldn’t owe me anything. What do you say?” Archibald finished his sloppy narrative.

As he did, he placed a small stack of five silver coins on the table.

Why can’t you just say you want to hear what’s going on and be done with it? There’s really no need to pull a fancy story of being a secluded sage… The oldest man in the group grumbled inwardly, but still started talking. After all, five silver pieces’ worth of food and drink was five silver pieces’ worth of food and drink…

“Well Friend, if I were to name one significant event in the last quarter of a century, it would definitely be the meteoric rise of our esteemed Emperor, may the gods grant him a long reign.” a man in his sixties answered Archibald’s question.

His hair was mostly gray, but still had a brown patch here and there. Just like Wolf and his father, the man also wore a Mage’s robe. However, unlike their well kept clothes, his were in a rather sloppy state of disrepair.

“I’ve heard of him. But crowning a new Emperor shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Even if it had happened in such an unusual way.” Archibald said with a chuckle.

This new Emperor, Darius Tiger something, had become famous even before Archibald had fully secluded himself from the world. Even in the backwater Muddy River he had heard about the barbarian that took the throne through martial might, how he was proclaimed to be the second World Power of this era. Taking over one of the ten empires of man without an army definitely qualified him for the title.

Seeing Archibald’s lack of respect, the old man shook his head and his back straightened in a dignified manner.

“Our Emperor is a World Power. And not just that. Some ten years ago, he slew the Lustful Dragon of the Empire of Elf!” the man exclaimed with such pride that a listener would think that he was the one that defeated Lonely Eagle.

“He killed Lonely Eagle?! How?” Archibald raised his voice in shock, only to cover his mouth in the next moment. Excitedly screaming about a decade old piece of news was embarrassing.

“Hehe, Friend it looks like you really were in some wilderness for years.” The old Mage pocked a bit of fun, before continuing seriously. “Yes, our Emperor really did behead that villain! They fought bitterly for over a month! Our Holy Emperor risked his life for all our sake! The ballads say that their battle leveled several mountains in the Empire of Elf. It is said that the reason for the fight was a fair duel. That elven bastard had stolen a large number of virtuous women from our lands. The Emperor couldn’t stand the injustice and attacked the elves in order to rescue them,” the old man smiled condescendingly at Archibald. Giving him the look one might give an awed peasant seeing his first city.

“Is this verified news?” Archibald's voice was filled with excitement, but there was some caution mixed in as well. He didn’t dare hope this news was true. Besides, what this fellow just said sounded like a load of bull…

“What do I look like to you, Friend? Of course it’s verified! We signed a treaty with the Empire of Elf years ago. We even have their hostages somewhere in the imperial capital. The same thing happened with the orcs on our western border and dwarfs at the east.”

“The Human Empire now has a nonaggression pact with all of its neighbors. For the first time in ages we have peace at all our borders,” the old man said as if all of those races were attacking humans out of boredom and not retaliation.

Where do the refugees from the Iceowl come from then? Archibald wondered, but the elderly Mage kept talking.

“Having settled the outside affairs, the Emperor made a radical proclamation. He allowed civil wars for redistribution of power among the twelve provincial Dukes.”

“As Friend must already know, up until now the Emperor was chosen by election. The ducal council would elect one of their members to take up the mantle of the Emperor once the previous Emperor expressed the desire to step down. The title of the Emperor usually went to the best candidate among the Dukes.”

“However our current Emperor didn’t recognize this process. He came from the barbarian plains, near the orcish border and he had won his position through force. He was so strong that he cowed the thirteen Dukes into submission despite his common origins.” At this point the waitress brought the wine and a platter of roasted meat.

“I hear he’s from a barbarian tribe.” She couldn’t help but butt into the conversation before quickly scuttling away.

The old Mage rolled his eyes as he took a sip of wine. He had just said that the man came from the barbarian plains, what else was he supposed to be if not a barbarian? A cobbler? But he didn’t want to argue, and just continued his telling.

“What the wench said is true. The man was born a barbarian from the western plains. A member of the Tiger Claw tribe, I think. The bards say that he had first joined the skirmishes with the orcs when he was merely ten years old. Personally, I think that’s the reason why he allowed the internal fighting. He grew up fighting and thinks it’s good for character.”

“That’s nonsense!” the waitress who was still lingering nearby raised her voice indignantly. She seemed to worship the Emperor.

“Everyone knows that when the fighting in Swordcrane duchy consumed all citizens of a town, the Emperor sent a punitive force and had both commanders executed! Ever since then warfare is conducted either on battlefields or sieges with prior notice so that people can evacuate. That is not barbaric behavior! He cares about all of the citizens of our empire!” The young woman spoke with unexpected zeal.

“What are you talking about?” the Mage asked, irked a bit. ”Didn’t the Emperor declare that men and women that don’t fight now have a lower social status than warriors? Even scholars can be treated as lower class by any punk that knows how to swing a sword.” The old man clearly had problems with this edict, but didn’t dare say anything against the Emperor.

This news of a caste system caught Archibald by surprise. Technically there were social layers in the Empire of Human, but they weren’t official.

“What about Mages?” He asked.

“We count as warriors, thank Earthmother.” the old man grumbled. “In a battle I can lob a couple of Fireballs and make as much contribution as the best of soldiers. So you can’t claim that I’m weak just because I don’t go around swinging a dumb lump of steel. But I know a lot of people who focus on research instead of practical application of magic...”

The waitress still itched to argue, but she lost her chance to butt into the conversation as the topic steered from gossip towards things she knew nothing about.

Meanwhile the old man continued talking about the large internal battles that had happened, as well as the rise of new forces. The most interesting information was that two well established mercenary companies were trying to conquer two duchies, with their leaders aiming to become new Dukes.

While this was a shocking piece of news it made sense. Now anyone with a strong enough fist could aim for the position of a Duke.

Archibald listened as the shabby Mage, who didn’t even introduce himself, spoke about the new competition for power that was happening with billions of people as chess pieces.

The big man couldn’t help but remember how he had suffered during the assassination attempt on his friend’s son all those years ago. To him this new above board manner seemed preferable to plotting, poisons and assassinations.

“But there’s a huge problem with this.” the Mage ended his long winded speech about politics, which Wolf ignored for the most part. “The empire had become just like the barbarian plains. Everything outside of established settlements is no longer safe. Soldiers no longer patrol the roads, and banditry is flourishing. The only ones that dare to move around are people in large, well armed caravans.”

Archibald listened and nodded. “Where there is danger there must be opportunity. Let me guess, the number of escort missions increased drastically, and the pay got better.”

The old man nodded, and took a bite of meat. “Fwient if fhise.”

*Gulp*

“Aaah!” the Mage made an ugly face after downing a cup of cheap wine. “Yes, escort jobs are now all over the place. So much so that they heavily outnumber the resource gathering missions. However, escort missions are really dangerous nowadays. There are rumors going around that Dukes send their soldiers to act as bandits into the border regions. Well armed, well trained men pillage anyone who doesn’t belong to their side. Official merchants of their neighbors especially. So, both the number and the strength of marauding groups have significantly increased in the last couple of years.”

“Well, that explains that incompetent lot.” Archibald muttered for himself, thinking about would-be bandits from Iceowl.

The old man nodded in understanding. Nowadays you couldn’t move around without tripping on a group of bandits.

“There are plenty of people looking for gold pieces to land in their lap, thinking that banditry is an easy line of work. The empire is littered with bones and ashes of hungry peasants that decided to try their luck at being robbers.”

“Some of those bastards were lucky enough to learn their trade before meeting anyone dangerous, but that made other folk very unlucky, if you get what I’m saying. Thankfully, most of them die either to wild beasts or people they try to plunder. There are plenty of bounties for known bandit groups going around. Bounties for soldiers of neighboring duchies are even higher than those for bandits. However, those aren’t paid by the Guild, they are a neutral faction. To get that reward you need to go to the nobles with solid evidence. But, I’m guessing things are like that everywhere...”

The soliloquy went on and on. The old man was apparently trying to buy as much time as possible for his mates to pig themselves out. He mentioned any rumor he’d heard all the while heavily drinking and taking big bites out of the roasted mutton.

Over the course of the telling the waitress brought a total of five servings. Seeing Archibald pay for each one as soon as she brought the platter, the young woman didn’t ask any questions. She did her job, and kept the food and drink flowing.

Archibald even gave her a tip whenever he paid, and the woman started winking and trying to get his attention. With Archibald not doing anything about the girl, the old Mage wondered whether this Friend of his was blind, as dumb as a log or completely uninterested in women.

Wolf on the other hand noticed what was happening, and was very much interested in the way the curvy freckled woman acted. He recognized those looks and that suspicious winking. They were awfully similar to those of the scantily dressed women outside. Just more honest, and not as desperate.

“Excuse me,” Wolf finally gave in to his curiosity, and asked the big breasted waitress. “What does that winking mean? Do you have something in your eye?”

The waitress first wanted to slap the person asking the question. But then she turned around, and saw an innocent child staring at her without blinking, waiting for an answer. The woman blushed, and mumbled about having something in her eye before running off to another table. As she fled the group of ravenous adventurers at Wolf’s table roared in laughter behind her.

Archibald’s lessons:

In theory, a true believer, a manling absolutely and blindly devoted to their deity, is immortal and powerful beyond imagination. While this zealot is free to think for themselves, they should have no freedom of choice as they have to willingly follow their god.

I’ve personally never heard of such a person ever appearing. However there were some debates on the subject of whether or not there is a limit to the power gods bestow to their Priests and holy knights.