Thasun Torreí was on his way towards Rukbrick. The capital city, from which Lord Enguràll reigned, lied in the west of Zenshin. But the country was vast and “west” did not mean that it was close to the western border. Thasun knew that a falcon flew around four to eight days to reach from one end of Zenshin to the other.

It was difficult to say how long Ollowyn would be able to resist the poison in his body. The optimistic estimate of the great master was around nine days. So the entire operation was entirely dependant on the weather. If there was sunshine, the falcon hardly had to rest, while rain or snow delayed the journey a lot.

Traveling from the Valley of Ending towards the capital city of Rukbrick took two days as well, even with “borrowed” horses that Thasun had taken from a farmer.

He nearly rode both of them to death, sleeping only two hours a night. But it still took so long. Maybe even too long? If Lord Enguràll denied his plea, it was all for naught anyway.

After exactly 43 hours, Thasun finally reached the city gates. Like all cities in Zenshin it was a large fortress that had been built on a military key point. After that they had built walls around to keep the population save the case that a attack is happening Around 15% of the entire population in Zenshin lived in cities.

Craftsmen, Servants, Soldiers and Merchants lived within the safe confines of the city walls. Meanwhile the rest of their people slaved away in mines, woods and on the fields in order to gather the resources a country needed to flourish.

Theoretically a foreign military force could just walk past a city and roam the lands freely, though the risks of getting outflanked by all surrounding cities was a giant military debacle that no one wanted to suffer through.

Zenshins population was unclear to the eye of an outsider like Thasun. There were around twenty larger cities. He knew that most cities inhabited between ten and thirty thousand men, while the capital city had around fifty thousand.

That was mainly due to the large standing army Lord Enguràll possessed though. When Thasun passed the city gates he noticed a increase though. And not a small one. Hundreds of refugees were cramped in provisorical shelters.

Apparently the situation down south had been more dire than he initially thought. Those refugees would give Zenshin a large boost to their economic development, strengthening the country for years to come. For now though, the noisy masses were nothing short of a plague. They still had not found their spot in society, did not know where to work and how to make a living. And those that never did would turn to banditry in no time.

Bandits were no rare trait, they sat in every fiefdom and viscountcy. And even larger lords had the displeasure of having to deal with them from time to time. Thasun threw that thought aside and turned his gaze towards the fortress.

The stronghold was the biggest that one could find in the surrounding areas. If one wanted to find a bigger keep, one had to venture south towards Valuan, where castles had been built to last eternity. Or north to the Valley of Ending.

But Than Dúin was in a entirely different league. Like a dragon that lived inside of a mountain. Ready to bring destruction but often quiet for decades.

Castle Rukbrick however consisted of three outer walls, that served simply to slow the enemy down and twindle their numbers. While they possessed no gates or blockades to deny entry, the way itself was a torture path for every army. Pitfalls hidden in the ground and arrow slits all along the way promised death.

Luckily Thasun was lead towards the gate of the inner walls without the displeasure of having arrows rain upon him. His coin did wonders. The over twenty meter tall building and the associated wall were creating a nigh indestructible stronghold.

The last defense of their kingdom. While it was widely regarded as a kingdom, their leader was only a lord in title. He had never crowned himself, apparently deeming it necessary or maybe to keep this event as a backhand trump once he needed the public behind him.

Still, he was to be treated like any king and it took a while until Thasun was inside and able to ask for a audience. Sadly he was in no luck. Apparently he was currently busy negotiating terms with a delegation from Valuan.

But Thasun did not care for waiting inside the castle court. He would prefer the quiet of the fortress. His coin opened new ways as a servant lead him right towards the door behind which they were busy talking.

The two guards, clad in heavy steel gear and armed with helbards, were soldiers from Valuan. Thasun felt a slight itch in his fingers. He wanted to find out how strong they were. A habit that all too often caused him trouble.

Deciding that too much was put on the line already, he sat down in the empty corridor and started meditating. The soldiers frowned at him for a bit, before they continued ignoring his presence.

The negotiations inside could only be heard as dampened voices. Which made it impossible for Thasun to tell how long they would still discuss things. But he was convinced, that sooner or later someone would step outside.

Then he would be able to ask about the current situation and for how long it would still continue. Three hours later, he finally had luck. Apparently these negotiations were so important that taking breaks was a non issue.

Quen’Arak Xun, the leader of the merchant guild in Zenshin, had stepped out. Followed by a scribe, that was sorting through his papers in a hectic manner and tried not to fall over his own legs. He seemed very thankful when Thasun gave him some time by stopping the merchant. The swordmaster bowed politely.

“Master Torreí! How exceptionally pleasant to see you. What are you doing in this great capital city of ours?”

Thasun replied to the sly smile of the merchant with his own. “Sadly this time no trading negotiations for the Valley of Ending. But we are of insignificance anyway, especially for such man like you that connects the dots of the known world with trade routes, where we are but a tiny dot ourselves. Surely there are more important things to speak about anyway.”

Xun just laughed his argument off. “Ah, no, no. Master Torreí, I usually just love our trade agreements, it is so nice to deal with civilized people for a change. No greed behind your negotiations really. However… I do have some points to talk about with you anyway.... But first: Why are you here? Surely not to see me?”

Thasun smiled sheepishly. “I waited for his lordship. However, it seems that he will be busy for longer? Do you know by chance when I could expect him?”

Xun just shrugged. “The trading negotiations are over already, so most is done. Valuans guilds are always so persistent. I am guessing… one hour? Maybe less, maybe more. Afterwards he wanted to have tea with me though, so why don’t you tag along, master Torreí?”

Thasun nodded thankfully. “That would be great. Where would we go about waiting then?”

The corpulent man folded his hands above his stomach and looked thoughtfully. “Well, if you’d like we could go and drink a tea in the officers dining hall? I know how much you love it to exert yourself physically so that would go along neatly. His lordship wanted to inspect the troops anway.”

The swordmaster followed the merchant and his really chaotic, young scribe. It was not a long way towards that dining hall, where only a older lieutenant was present. Nobody that he could fight with. Maybe later.

Sighting he sat down while Quen’Arax Xun ordered some tea. His scribe was meanwhile busy, sorting through all sorts of papers on another table.

“Now. Tell me, master Torreí. What does lead you here?”

Thasun yawned shortly, before he began to explain. Meditating had made him oddly tired. “I have to ask his lordship for a big favour. And, just between the two of us, I am uncertain that he will.”

Xun scratched his overly ample stomach. “Hmm… I see. If there is anything I can do for you… anytime.”

Thasun nodded thankfully before returning the gesture: “Of course. Just how you are able to ask any favour from me at any time in turn.”

The merchant showed a amused smile. “Now… there would be something.”

Thasun had to grin. Of course there was. A trader always looked for new ways to gain a profit from humans and territory. And Thasun was a representative for both. “Oh? So you have found a new way of turning me into profit?” Thasun said, with a teasing smile.

Immediately the merchant played to be shocked and outraged over his statement. “Of course not! Master Torreí! Nothing would be further from me than to use you unnecessarily.” A recruit brought the tea and placed them between the two.

Then Xun continued with a wry, calculating smile. “Although… The Valley of Ending could help Zenshin in a few… future happenings.”

Thasun tried his best to play the game of the merchant. He knew, that that man enjoyed it more to play around something for a bit, rather than addressing it directly immediately like Thasun would have prefered to.

“Huh… Happenings, you say?” Xun rubbed his head tiredy. “Indeed. A truly tiring matter, really. I assume you have looked around a bit in the city? When you arrived? One can hardly miss it.”

Thasun nodded. “The refugees?”

The merchant beamed. “Yes, quite right. The refugees. More and more people flock to Zenshin in the hopes of rebuilding their lives. No living space here. No work. Then they turn to banditry.... It is truly disappointing.”

Thasun continued to connect the dots. “You want to let them settle in the Valley of Ending?”

Xun nodded. “Over a hundred years have passed since Than Dúin last acted. We are going to try it again. I have talked with the lord about this.”

The swordmaster eyed him cautiously. He had seen the northern Stronghold. One should not talk lightly about it. It was impossible to take it. “So you plan on paying Than Dúin tribute?”

Xun smiled. “Very wise, master Torreí. Very wise. Indeed. We are planning to do so. If possible it will increase the relations to these unknown entities. A alliance in the distance future would be a dream, but that is the best case scenario.”

The merchant drank from his tea, before he continued. “Naturally I planned to have them build their own settlement, with the help of some craftsmen. Afterwards they would teach them to build bows, carve arrows and the like. As well as wooden training swords.”

Thasun saw where this went. Not that it did not fit the great masters plan, though. “Ah, I see. We build them up as a small army, for you to see fit? To throw them to the east, essentially increasing Zenshins…. territory?”

The merchant smiled reverently. “Or elsewhere. But for now, I would prefer that as a means to increase trading between the Valley of Ending, Than Dúin and Zenshin.”

Then he sighed. “Of course only if the inhabitants of this fortress do not retaliate and destroy the settlement. I for one think that this is just old common folktale... but lord Engruàll was really hard to persuade on this…”

Thasun nodded. “I understand.” Then he let silence follow, as he nipped on his own tea. The merchant would have to break the silence now, if he really wanted a deal.

The silence lasted for a few minutes, where the corpulent man eyed him closely.

Then he could not hold himself back any longer. “What could persuade you to grant me this wish? For us to work even closer together?”

Thasun frowned. “Well. I have to ask a very important favour from Lord Enguràll and a lot depends on it. One could say, that if someone-” He winked at the merchant. “-could help me secure this favor, I would be really deeply indebted here.”

Quen’Arak Xun nodded with a smile. He had understood.

Thasun then rose and emptied his tea with a single jug. This visit went a lot better than he had expected. Now he just needed to find someone that he could beat up and exert his muscles with. The journey had been long and hard and he had not gotten nearly enough movement. His body ached for it.

He stepped outside onto the balcony. Below him the soldiers trained.

Contrary to the heavy steel plate armor the soldiers wore down south, the Zenshin soldiers used light leather gear and a spear fighting formation. Big rectangle shields fused to a single wall and unit while protecting against projectiles.

The faces were protected with mask helmets, where every division had their own design. They looked scary and were made to put fear in the hearts of their enemies.

Aside from spears the soldiers used short swords with their shields on closer range. Katanas were out of fashion. At least on the battlefield. In a one versus one or one versus two fight, the Katana or another similar sword were the most dominating weapons. And it was there to stay.

Every soldier trained with each weapon in Zenshin. Bow, short sword, long sword or katana, shields and spears. Only a few of those soldiers could possible be dangerous to Thasun. In a fight, he would best them all.

In a flowing motion he jumped off the balcony, three meters down and unrolled himself while drawing his katana. He had found a target worth fighting against. And it would be a good one…