Hey guys. Here's a chapter for you. Thanks to those who sent me some tips and ideas.

for those of you who didn't, Get on it guys.

anyway enjoy

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Wesley continued his exploration of the backroads with great excitement and anticipation at what he might find. However, he felt great appreciation towards Orion for the map he gave him because these back roads were a giant web of interconnected path's that went one way at first then immediately went another way, meaning that if you didn't know these roads well or didn’t have a map like Wesley, then you were certain to get lost.

Most people stayed away from these backroads for many reasons, first, all the major cities of the kingdom were located along the main road making it pointless to go into the backroads, second, the backroads were known as hotbeds for all sorts of bandits and cutthroats making most people reluctant to go there.

This made Wesley even happier to be here since the lack of constant human contact caused the forests to prosper and the animals to roam freely. Wesley, who never really left the confines of the palace, was even more amazed at how beautiful nature truly is. So Wesley continued his exploration of the treasures of this hidden world he discovered for a whole week.

However, regardless of his fascination with the beauties and wonders hidden in this forgotten place, Wesley was not aimlessly walking around with no regard to his destination. In fact he was, slowly but steadily inching forward in the direction of Blackreach City. But Blackreach City was simply his ultimate destination and Wesley was in ro rush getting there, so he marked a few spots on his map that he would visit on his way to Blackreach City.

These places were naturally villages and towns that are located within the backroads, this was only natural since not everyone can live in the major cities that are along the main road. Also most of these towns and villages were farmers, hunters or miners.

Naturally, Wesley was not going to miss the chance to visit some such places. Having lived all his life in Holt Castle which is a metropolitan city, he longed to see how life in a small village was compared to such big cities, he also wanted to eat some more roasted rabbit. He was also rather interested in learning more about these back roads, he recognized that even though his map was quite nifty, there are still something it can't show everything so it only makes sense to ask the people who actually live in the area.

His most immediate destination was a town named Dustine. He noticed on the map that it has two rivers that ran along it, meaning that it is most likely either a fishing a farming village. Aside from being the closest town to his location, Wesley also wanted to taste some fish dishes.

The town was not too far away, around ten miles or so, so Wesley reached it at around noon. The whole town was surrounded in a ten feet tall wooden barricade, and had a few guard towers facing the road. The main gate was also made out of wood, only it had iron bracings and spikes protruding from its top. To the sides of the main gate stood two men, each of them holding a long spear.

As Wesley got closer to the gate, he noticed that the two guards were both dozing off. This made him almost burst out laughing because from the distance one would think that they were both dutifully doing their jobs, and the fact that they were able to sleep while masterfully managing to look like they were standing in attention meant that they were used to doing this.

Seeing this spectacle made Wesley snicker. The snicker immediately doused one of the guards from his nap. The guard looking around in a daze, but then his gaze fell on Wesley who was standing not five feet away from him holding his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. The guard was in his early twenties, so seeing some child laugh at him made him rather embarrassed, then the embarrassment instantly turned to anger. He pointed his spear at Wesley, and shouted as loud as possible:

"Stop right there. Who are you?"

"Haha, Mister Guard. I am just a traveler who's passing through"

The guard's shout woke the other guard. This guard was a little older than the young man. He appeared to be around thirty or forty. He looked around in a daze at first, and then seeing the laughing Wesley and the embarrassed young guard, he seemed to have understood the situation. He started Laughing and then spoke in deep amused voice:

"Haha, traveler, it seems you caught us in an embarrassing position" this caused him and Wesley to laugh at the same time

The younger guard hearing their laughter felt even more embarrassed and even more angry, then he roared:

"Captain, he must be a bandit trying to sneak into out town"

The captain was still laughing with Wesley, then he spoke:

"Does he really look like a bandit, also If he was a bandit he would have already killed us while we were dozing. Tell me young traveler, why have you come to our village"

"Haha captain, I needed a place to rest, I also wanted to taste some fish dishes" Wesley laughed heartily as he spoke.

"Well you're in luck young traveler, our town is famous for its fish dishes. My name is Kader and this hotheaded fellow is my junior, Sern"

"Nice to meet you Kader and Sern, My name is Wesley" Wesley's grin seemed to have gotten bigger when he mentioned Sern's name which made him even more angry.

"Well don’t just stand there little Wesley, Let me take you to the Inn so you can try our dishes"

"Ah, yes. Let's go."

"Stand guard here Sern, I will send someone to keep you company so try not to fall asleep until then" This made Kader laugh even louder while making Sern's face bright red.

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As Wesley and Kader walked on the main road, Wesley could see the stores and shops lining the road were all mostly closed and there were a lot of people seated along the roads, most of them children and women, with depressed looks on their faces. He knew that since these towns were far from the main road, they would be isolated and poor, but he didn’t expect it to be to this extent.

Seeing the agony and pain on the faces of these people that littered the street, Wesley felt his stomach turn, he has lived his entire life without worrying about anything and now seeing these people sit there with dejected faces, he felt a tremendous guilt. He knew that the world was not fair, and that regardless of what is done there will always be someone, somewhere suffering. But nothing was being done for these people, so while nobles and Royals like him lived in their lavish castles and cities, these people are starving right under their feet.

The scene in front of Wesley made him rather sad, and his smile on his face instantly turned to a deep frown as he looked at the children and women sitting there with their heads either looking down, or between their knees. Seeing the look on Wesley's face, Kader also immediately frowned, then he patted Wesley's shoulder and said:

"Don't be like that little Wesley, this is practically the state of all minor towns in the Kingdom."

"Why?" Wesley spoke without even looking at Kader, his voice coarse as if he could barely force it out.

"It is because we are far away from the main road so there are no merchants who come here. We manage to sustain ourselves with farming and fishing, but that is only enough to keep us alive." Kader's voice was solemn as he spoke.

"What about the lord of this town, why isn't he doing anything" Wesley's voice was starting to show his anger.

"The Lord, he...." Kader restrained himself from saying something rash in front of this traveler, then he spoke again.

"The Lord is currently residing in Sater Castle. This town has nothing to offer him" The frustration and anger were evident in Kader's voice, but he still spoke in a restrained manner.

Wesley couldn't even speak. The lord of the town was enjoying himself in some other place while his people starved and rotted away. This was simply too incomprehensible. Wesley felt an immense killing intent in his heart, and his eyes flashed with a cold light as he imagined what treatment such a person truly deserved.

Seeing Wesley's reaction, Kader felt some rage as well, he knew what the true situation in their town was like but what made him feel even more angry was the fact that this young child, who seemed barely ten years old, understood their pain, while their own lord ignored them. However, there is nothing that can be done, so he just shook his head and spoke to Wesley saying:

"Come little Wesley. You are yet to taste our fish delicacies." Kader's voice was filled with pity and sadness, and his face had a fake half-smile plastered on it, then he just pulled Wesley towards the Inn.

When they walked into the Inn, it was almost empty except for a few people who seemed like guards. Wesley was dragged by Kader towards one of that was currently occupied by two guards. Seeing Kader approach the two guards immediately stood at attention, Kader just smiled at them and said:

"Mel, Set, go relieve Sern at the main gate. He seems to be almost asleep"

The two guards saluted and immediately left the Inn. Kader than sat on their table and pointed for Wesley to do the same.

"Mark, two of you best fish dishes please."

The man named mark who was standing behind the counter simply nodded and went to the back. Kader then looked towards Wesley and started speaking:

"Tell me little Wesley, where are you headed."

Wesley who seemed to be in some sort of a thoughtful daze looked up at Kader.

"Uhm......Blackreach City"

"Oh, Blackreach City, now that is a place to go. I hear they have every kind of delicacy sold there. Why are you going there?"

"I am planning on attending school there, although it is bothersome."

Kader had a thoughtful look on his face. Going to school was in itself amazing enough, but going all the way to Blackreach City to do it was even more so amazing, considering how expensive everything there is. This made him think that maybe Wesley was some sort of a noble's son, but then he discarded that idea since no noble's son would be traveling alone, let alone in ragged and dirty cloth.

Kader kept talking and laughing with Wesley making sure to keep his mind away from his thoughts. He spoke about his time in the army, his little son, how he met his wife, even the time he was chased by a bear. Kader spoke so much that Wesley almost felt like he knew him forever, he continued listening, even telling Kader about his little brother, of course without mentioning that he was the second prince.

After a few hours of eating and talking with Kader, Wesley decided to continue his journey. He still had a few more hours before the sun sets. Most people would rather reamin in the town until next morning before resuming their travels, but Wesley still needed to refine during the night, and he would rather be very far from people when he does. However, Kader didn’t understand why Wesley was leaving when the sun was about to set so he spoke trying to urge him to stay:

"Little Wesley, are you sure you need to leave?"

"Haha, Old man Kader, Blackreach City is still far, I can't remain in one place for too long, lest I miss my examination."

"But you might meet bandits. They often roam these parts" He was hoping that Wesley would be too scared to leave.

"Old man Kader, I arrived here on my own didn’t I. If I couldn’t avoid bandits I would have died days ago"

"I see. Well I won't keep you then. Just remember to be careful" Kader felt powerless as he spoke.

"I will. Thank you old man Kader, I will make sure to come and visit again, then you'll definitely treat me to some fish again. Hahaha"

"Haha, of course. Now go."

"Goodbye then"

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Wesley continued his journey for two more weeks. In this period of time he has visited around four towns after Dustine, and at every village he saw the same scenes he saw in Dustine. A multitude of people sitting aimlessly all over the streets while the lords of these towns absent enjoying the comfort of their wealth.

This made his heart clench, and his opinion on the Ject kingdom and it's nobles dropped to an all time low. In fact he felt tremendous disgust at the thought of being in any way related to these lowly beings called nobles.

While Wesley was caught up in his extreme rage and anger, few bandit groups attempted to rob him, only to find themselves minus a head. Of course, killing a few bandits was not going to settle the raging emotions in Wesley's heart so he would keep one bandit alive and then torture the position of their lair from him. Then he would proceed to wipe out any bandits he found in the layer.

Fortunately, Wesley reached Blackreach City.

Its giant thirty feet tall walls that seemed to shine under the sun and it's bustling streets filled with all sorts of counters and shops was not enough to distract him.

In fact Wesley felt that his entire outlook on life was altered forever. He believed that he couldn’t do anything for everyone, but that only made him more and more depressed. The fact that he who had enough power to kill a hundred men, lacked the power to help all those children, was almost like a cruel joke.