“I see…and I suppose you have a solution to this? Some clue you think the stone had?” I asked Grandpa Beluviar. The man was sounding more and more exaggerated. I refused to believe that there could be an entire resource filled forest and no one knew about it.

“I see that you do not believe me, your grace, do tell me what you can do to make you trust me?” Grandpa Beluviar asked.

“Nothing that I can think of. I will be frank, I do not trust a single word you are saying. It is too fantastical. If this place is as beast filled as you say, then why have the Treelings not claimed it? It seems like a fine place to level up. For the Plant levels if not for them.” I asked back.

Grandpa Beluviar now looked at me with an assessing eye and said,” I admit, I may have underestimated you, Altura.”- the man’s entire presence changed, from the super cooperative helpful elder to something far more appropriate for a Xianxia setting. It was the presence I sensed from the King, a sort of dominance and assured superiority. This wasn’t some helpful Elder, it was an expert manipulator.

“Perhaps that idiot on the throne wasn’t foolish to protect you. It's almost as if you spent a considerable amount of time observing and commenting on the behavior of other people. Tell me Altura, have you been getting training? Is it time for your little Kingdom to have a Queen?”-

“But that is no matter”- Grandpa Beluviar waved his hand at nothing in particular- “What your little King thinks has no hold over me. But my warning is true, Altura. The forest does exist, and so does the threat. But I will admit to exaggerating the resources within. There is little to truly gain there unless you have the power to slay these creatures. But since you want some proof”.

Grandpa Beluviar removed a small flower, the exact same flower that he had shown me. “ Have your proof, Archduchess Selrin. I didn’t lie, I just skipped the part where I plucked the flower. But let me also assure you, that is far from the only thing there.”

“And since your next question will assuredly be about what I have to gain by doing this, I will tell you. I want that ward. I want to know how it works. For thirteen years, I have stayed here in this low leveled mud pit of ignorance just for this. And it would be in your best interest to cooperate.”

“ I will show respect to your ancestor and not force you, but instead just wait for when you and your people die due to your foolishness and then have someone else take that stone. I did not know what causes that reaction before, but I do now. All I need is to take control of this area and I will have it. So make your decision, your grace” Grandpa Beluviar said, the last part marked with extreme derision.

I was still hesitant to believe the man, he had clearly shown an ability and willingness to lie and deceive to get his way, and I was sure that back in the original plot the man would likely have betrayed Kerrin or something. Either that…or this world had a few things different from the book.

But I did not see an option. I could feel the power held within the flower. Perhaps it was because it was a very high leveled beasts, it still retained some supernatural luster even after death. I was sure that I would die immediately if I ever came in contact with a live version of the flower.

Now Grandpa Beluviar could have easily taken it from somewhere else, but at this point I knew that I could not afford to not check this out. If this forest truly held beasts as powerful as this, then I couldn’t afford to just let them be. I would need to evacuate or at least rush my own growth and that of the rest of the guard if that was the case. It would depend on how close the ward was to failing.

I turned to Kerrin who had been watching the conversation with a fearful look on his face, “Kerrin, tell Aswelth that he may have to remain in control of the city for a little longer. And also tell him to make a tunnel under the mountains, he should have the power to do so. Tell him that if he does it,”- I took a deep breath-

“ I will free him of his oath on my return. It is about time anyway. And you, Kerrin, handle the farming villages. Level some of them up, do whatever is needed that is still lawful but increase the amount of produce. If the threat is true, we may have to start making an emergency storage. It is needed anyway.”

Then, turning towards Grandpa Beluviar, I said, “So tell me Grandpa Beluviar, how exactly should I find out more about this ward?”

Marcus

“Is it done?” Eugene asked him, always doubting everything that one.

“Yes, Eugene, you have asked me this twice already, yes it is done. The nobles and their guards should be asleep for a while. It is only light sleep however, it is best if we proceed sneakily, a loud noise may wake them all up.” Marcus replied as he slung his bag of supplies over his shoulder and began walking out the barn door and towards the city gate.

“ I still can’t believe that you found a way to sneak Storlen Powder into the main broth. Those are very well guarded.” Eugene said as she followed suit.

“It wasn’t me Eugene, it was one of the others that is coming with us. The kitchens may be hard to get into for us, but the cooks are less guarded. And sometimes, the guards can be lax in their checking. The trick is to know when.” Marcus replied, smirking.

Eugene nodded,“ I suppose that is true, especially since you somehow managed to convince over three hundred different people to follow you. How many of us are there now? I believe it was nearly a thousand people. A thousand miners Marcus. Are we sure that the valley will accept these many people? The Count will not be pleased.”

“The Count has over a hundred thousand people working in the minnes. I think you sometimes forget, Eugene, that the Kingdom, however small, still has a population of over a hundred million. A thousand will make a difference to no one. Besides, we aren’t betraying the Kingdom. If anything, we are becoming more loyal. Isn't an Archduchess higher on the hierarchy than a count.” Marcus replied.

By this time they had reached the city gate, which was populated by a large crowd of people. Far more than merely a thousand people. Several times that in fact.

“I see that the word has spread.” Eugene stated.

“So it would seem. I think we forgot that others may notice that the nobles are suddenly asleep.” Marcus replied as he looked at the crowd.

“Do we even have enough supplies?” Eugene asked as she headed towards the crowd.

“No, but if those bags are any indication, they brought their own.” Marcus said, smirking, “I think Eugene, this little rebellion of ours just got bigger.”

“Now hush that joy Marcus, the nobles can smell joy you know. And we aren’t sure it's a good thing, it just makes us a much bigger target.” Eugene said, but even that cranky woman could not hide a smile.

“Oh please, there is only one way into the valley, and we will reach it long before the nobles wake up, the plan was not made in a haphazard manner Eugene. The only problem I can foresee is whether the Archduchess takes all of us. But that is for later. For now, we have to escape.” Marcus said as he signaled leaving.

The signal had been decided long ago, and he presumed that the new people would get the message when people started moving. And they did, guess years of mining had let them be very familiar with each other.

And just like that a procession of thousands left through the gate, careful not to disturb the sleeping guards. If they had been more careful or even one of them had been a cultivator they would have realized that an old man was watching from the city gates. Muffling the sound they still caused and keeping their poor plan working.

As the procession continued, the old man took to the air and followed them. If Marcus had looked closely he would have noticed that this man had one thing very similar with one Archduchess. A remarkably bright set of green eyes that were held by only two people in the entire Kingdom.

Archduchess Altura Selrin and her ancestor, the former prince of the Kingdom, Carsen Selrin, the oldest person in the Kingdom still active.