It’s not as loud as it was earlier. I’m not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. The screams were getting closer but that seems to have stopped completely. Are the barbarians trying to keep quiet now that they have entered Lord Weston’s estate?

Although he said we would discuss my traveling to stay with my mother this evening there is still no word from Lord Weston. Council proceedings never last this long and considering there are barbarians currently running through the city if he had gone to the wall then most likely this is...

Well it’s pointless to speculate on what may or may not have happened. But one thing is certain and that is something has gone terribly wrong. This giant pit they were making does not appear to have worked, the walls have not even held for a single day, and the possibility of escaping with my mother is gone.

It looks like every one of the plans they have made has failed, and seemingly all within one day. Every fall there is an attack by Elkia on Freeport. Mother says they do this to slowly weaken us until they can conquer us. It looks like they have finally reached their goal.

In all of Freeport’s history, no foreign army has breached its walls until tonight. I have never before tonight wished that I could have been born in a different time. People say that there are struggles to be found in every generation. Only the strongest of societies are able to face those struggles and prosper.

I wonder if the same people who say things like that are sitting on a window sill looking out thinking the same things as I am now. Or do they really still believe that nonsense even as the barbarians bear down on them intent on making the remaining moments of their lives worse than any nightmare they can dream up.

There was always the possibility, but am I really going to have to do this? Am I even able to take my own life? It seems so easy, but can I really do it when the time comes? When a barbarian comes through that door will I be able to stab this dagger into my chest? I don’t want to die. But I also refuse to become the plaything monsters.

This weakness, why are some of us so weak while others are so strong?

“Lady Grace my apologies but there is a guard here that says he has a message for you and it is important that you hear it.”

“Is it news of the barbarians? Have they arrived?”

“I’m sorry he didn’t say, but I do not believe it is the barbarians.”

“Is that so…, let him in.”

If it’s not the barbarians then perhaps Lord Weston has somehow made it back.

“Lady Grace forgive my intrusion, but there are Elkian soldiers at the gate.”

Why does the guard seem overly excited? And is that it? Is there nothing else? Shouldn’t guards just give the details as quickly as possible? Why is he being so polite at a time like this?

“Have they stated why they are here?”

“My apologies, they wish to speak with the master of the house.”

They wish to speak with Lord Weston? Why would they want to talk with him? Aren’t they here to conquer us? He is a member of the council so do they maybe intend on subjugating him and the rest of the members? Or does that mean…

“Did you tell them Lord Weston is currently not present?

“We did Lady Grace, we informed them you are presently the master of the house then they asked to speak with you.”

Me? Why would they want to speak with me? Mother said Elkia kills the leaders of conquered cities. Perhaps they believe I’ll try to escape and do not want to chase after me. But how would I escape now? It would have been for the best if they said I was not here either, but now they know I am!

“Why would you give them my name!? Now that they know I am here it will be impossible for me to escape!”

“Forgive me but I do not believe they are here to capture anyone. They pushed the barbarians back and with their forces they could easily take control of the estate if they wanted.”

They’re able to force the barbarians back? Why would they request a meeting with me then? Can’t they just enter and do as they wish?

“What do you think I should do?”

“I believe you should meet with their leader Lady Grace and see what they want. Of course, we will be right here beside you and make sure no harm comes to you.”

He looks sincere but would he really risk his life for a girl who just started living here and has had no interaction with him? But at this point what choice do I have. There is no place I can escape to and If Elkian soldiers are here that means we have lost. At the very least I would like to come out of this alive and preferably not as a comfort woman.

It’s possible they wish to capture me to be publicly tried. We’ve only been married for a little less than a month, but they’ll still view me as a member of a ruling family. Maybe they plan on staging an execution of the council members and their families after they complete their take over. But what choice do I have at this point? They’ve already informed them I’m here.

“Then bring their leader to the receiving room. I will meet with him there.”

Forced to marry, forced to produce an heir, forced to entertain guests, and now forced to speak with enemy soldiers. Since becoming engaged to Lord Weston my life has not been at all like anything I had dreamed of.

If I was born heir to my house would things be different? Marriage would still most likely be arranged, but I would not be at the mercy of my husband, and most certainly I would not be in this position.

“Lady Grace, this is Lieutenant Reed, he is the commanding officer of the Elkian soldiers standing outside of our gates.”

I almost imagined he would look like some animal. Lord Weston described them as savages who are only good for raping and pillaging the people of the lands they conquer. But seeing him he does not look much different than any of the guards here at Lord Weston’s estate.

“Hello, I am Grace Weston, my husband Lord Weston is currently not present, in his stead is there anything I can help you with Lieutenant Reed?”

Ugh, I am no good at dealing with these situations. What should I do if he demands we open the gates and tend to his soldiers?

“Lady Grace, thank you for granting me an audience. The guards did inform us of Lord Weston’s absence which is unfortunate but that does not change our orders. By order of Major General Mason, we are to protect this estate from the attacks and raids of the Northsmen who have breached the city walls and are terrorizing the people of Freeport.”

Protect us from the barbarians? Why would they do that? Lord Weston said the Elkian army was working with the barbarians to conquer Freeport. Was he wrong? Lord Weston does not seem like the type of person that would make such a big mistake.

“Forgive me Lieutenant Reed but I am a little confused. Is Elkia not here to conquer Freeport?”

“I’m sorry Lady Grace, I am only a lieutenant and am not involved in high-level decisions. I just receive orders and carry them out, so I am unable to give an answer to your question. I have only been told to protect this estate from the Northsmen at all costs.”

So he has most likely been ordered not to speak about it. Something seems off about this. Perhaps they wish to take this estate for themselves and are worried the barbarians will destroy it before they can claim it.

Lord Weston’s guards look much better trained than the guards of my home, but I don’t think they can repel the barbarians who were able to breach the walls of the city. I do not like the idea of receiving help from our enemies.

Should I instead ask if he is able to spare some soldiers to help guard my mother’s estate? If Jayce has failed his mission I think it will be very difficult for them to escape. But then again if they go there and they are able to stop my mother from leaving I will be the reason their plan failed. No, it’s probably better to not ask for them to guard my mother. I’ll just have to hope they were able to escape safely.

Our guard does not appear to want to fight with the Elkian soldiers so it appears he is pushing for me to accept. But what if Lord Weston arrives? What if he arrives and it turns out his estate was captured because of my orders…

No, this is Lord Weston’s fault to begin with. He should not have left for an entire day without leaving a message or instructions of any kind. I don’t know if it is the right thing or not but I do not want to die today, and there is still a chance at survival if I accept their assistance.

“Forgive me I was lost in thought.”

“Not at all, please take your time.”

“Very well Lieutenant Reed, we will be relying on your strength to keep us safe against the barbarians. I thank you on behalf of everyone here at the Weston estate for your bravery.”

Sorry mother, but it doesn’t look like I will be escaping with you after all.

********

Thankfully it doesn’t look like any warriors or soldiers have made it here, but for how long will that last? The screams coming from the north are terrible and it’s probably taking everything the guards have just to stand here. Sneaking past them was remarkably easy. Most of them are shaking so hard I wouldn’t be surprised if they ran from the sounds.

Should I try to assist them? The men who are attacking don’t pose much of a threat to me in an open area like this. No what am I thinking, why does my mind keep wandering like this? That would be foolish. The two men I saw were carrying an axe and what looked like a halberd.

Defeating them from a distance is no problem, but there may be some armed with bows or other ranged weapons. And who knows what directions they may be coming from. I’d rather not test my luck or my armor in this dark.

Besides I’m only here because I agreed to protect Lady Eleanor, I do not know these people. If a group of warriors found their way into our tunnel while I was out here then all of this would have been for nothing and I would have been better off escaping to Asmuth or Penrith or anywhere else on my own.

It’s unfortunate, but I will not be able to help Lady Eleanor’s guards. Up against the warriors I saw, without help this might as well be a death sentence, but I have no choice. It’s sad but there’s no way I can save everyone.

I haven’t been able to spend much time getting to know many servants here, but those that I’ve interacted with are good people. I’m actually surprised Lady Eleanor didn’t suggest bringing a few. She has Gerard but what about the rest of her family? I wonder how they are going to manage.

Lady Grace doesn’t look like someone who can take care of herself very well. I can probably assume the same of her sister. Will Gerard be forced to take care of all three of them? Does Lady Eleanor expect their husbands will take care of them? Lord Weston doesn’t strike me as the type.

This will be a long trip though. I’m sure it will be tough for them at first, but after a while they will adjust. They won’t be alone either so I don’t think they’ll need to worry about going mad in these grass plains. It’s strange how this all turned out.

After escaping I wanted to travel the Northern Territories, see the different city-states, maybe even come to know the different races I’ve heard of, but I didn’t want it to happen like this. It’s true that I signed up to be a mercenary, but I thought I would be protecting caravans traveling from city to city. Instead, I’m protecting a group of refugees from an invading army while trying to escape myself.

Will we even be safe in Asmuth? How long before Elkia attacks there as well? It almost feels like the entire world is at war and there is nowhere to escape it. Should I bother avoiding it then? It doesn’t seem like I’ll be able to unless I’m able to escape to a place where no one lives.

“Mr. Jayce! Mr. Jayce! You’re here. Do you know what is going on outside!? We haven’t seen Lady Eleanor all day and all Gerard has told us is that we are under attack. What should we do!?”

I believe she’s the head maid. I haven’t really spoken with her, only seeing her in passing, but why is she running around so frantically making so much noise?

“It’s the northern warriors. They’re raiding the city right now, you should find someplace safe to hide.”

“The barbarians? How did they, no they can’t be here, we’re surrounded by walls, there’s no way they can be here, you must be wrong Mr. Jayce, please tell me…, where should I, where do you think I should go? Mr. Jayce where should I go? Please help me!”

“Calm down! You need to hide in a place you don’t think will be found very easily. Maybe someplace only you know about. Hide there and do not come out until the guards say it is safe. They are protecting the estate so it should be fine.”

“Will the guards really be able to stop them?”

Sadly they won’t. Not that I can tell her that though.

“Yes, hiding is just a precaution, now go, find a good place and stay put.”

“Thank you, Thank you Mr. Jayce. May the gods watch over us and keep us safe.”

The gods huh? I’m beginning to question the existence of the gods more and more. At the very least if they do exist they are not worthy of our praise. Everything good and everything bad is somehow attributed to the kindness or anger of the gods. If that were true we would be better off if they just left us alone.

What was it that my father used to say? I think it was something like “People die. Innocent people, good people, young people, rich and poor, it’s the one thing that is absolute. Everyone who is born will one day die and that day is determined by the gods. Men have no power over it so there is no need to worry about it.”

I wonder where the idea of such powerful beings that determine the life and death of every living thing came from? Doesn’t that make everything we do pointless? If our death is determined by some all-powerful beings then why do any of us struggle to survive?

Actually, why am I thinking about this? My father was a fool. He only spoke of the gods when he was using them to condone his actions. I suppose it was the gods who destroyed our family and not the emperor. I shouldn’t worry about these things. Right now I should worry about what is going on in here.

It appears as if there are people missing and 2 guards we hadn’t spoken about previously. Looks like Lady Grace and Lord Weston are not around. Did they change who would be going? Maybe I should say something.

“Lady Eleanor you’re here, does that mean everyone is ready to go?”

“Ah, Mr. Jayce you startled us. We were beginning to wonder if you would make it in time.”

“I apologize, things did not work out the way we had planned them.”

“Yes it would appear so, we’ve been left in the dark all day only knowing that the barbarians have attacked. Can you please inform us on what you know so far?”

“Ah where to begin, a lot has happened, well first It looks like the information that Lord Weston was given was incorrect. Elkia traveled by boat down the river. They also have powerful mages, one may even be more powerful than me. I ended up battling his younger brother and had it not been for lucky circumstances I may have lost. I had to walk back here and tunnel my way into the city.”

Perhaps I should have washed myself off quickly before entering. It doesn’t look like Gerard is very happy with my appearance. I probably smell awful as well.

“For Lord Weston to have wrong information… Is it possible he has betrayed us? He should have been receiving his information from that shadow walker, there is no way he would have made a mistake such as that.”

If Lord Weston betrayed us then that would be a problem. Thankfully we never told him about this tunnel, but if he kept a close eye on Lady Eleanor then he would have seen she was buying a lot of supplies and gathering funds.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t spoken with him directly since I left a few weeks ago, only by message. Is he the type to do such a thing though? He seemed very optimistic about the pit and potentially eliminating the Elkian army.”

In fact, he seemed quite excited about it.

“I don’t believe he is the type, but the only explanation is either Lord Weston or the shadow walker. There is no way the information would be that off. What do you think Gerard?”

“It is as you say Lady Eleanor, someone had to have spread false information.”

If it’s Randall then that will really cause a nightmare situation for us. I still have no idea how he travels between shadows, and with his ability he could be in this room right now and none of us would even know it.

“And what of the Elkian troops and the barbarians Mr. Jayce? Have you seen any within the city?”

“I haven’t seen any Elkian forces, but I do know they are here, I’m just not sure where. And unfortunately I met two northern warriors shortly after entering the city. They appeared to be looting but before I could get any information from them they attacked me.”

“If the Elkian army is here within the city that would explain how the barbarians were able to enter. So it really does look like Elkia has sided with the barbarians after all. But why would they allow them to loot and pillage so freely? Surely Elkia plans to rule this city. Unless…, is Elkia making use of them to lower our numbers? Or could it be something else?”

I don’t know what Elkia is thinking. That’s not really my problem though. Right now it would be best if we figured out what we were going to do.

“Lady Eleanor, I do not see Lady Grace, Lord Weston, or your husband here, is there a reason for that?”

“Unfortunately we do not know where my husband is Mr. Jayce, I assume if we searched hard enough we would find him in the brothel district. Lord Weston was last seen entering the council hall this morning, but he was not seen leaving. And we received a message from my daughter earlier in the day informing us that Lord Weston had ordered her to stay inside of the house until he returns. He even had his staff make sure she could not leave. But it is unknown how long that will last.”

What a headache. I know Lady Eleanor wanted to save her husband but of everyone here he has always been the lowest priority. But Lady Grace and Lord Weston, why would Lord Weston order Lady Grace to remain in their home? Could he have really betrayed the city? But why?

“Mr. Jayce what are you thinking?”

“Gerard, Lady Eleanor, the city is completely overrun by warriors. It’s not even safe for me to travel on the streets right now. Unless Lady Grace has an army capable of dealing with them there is no way she could possibly travel here right now.”

“Then are you able to tunnel to Lord Weston’s estate from here and guide them back?”

“I’m really not sure. The ground under the city is very moist so it takes a very long time and a lot of mana to tunnel through. It would be very dangerous if I create a tunnel that can be followed back here, especially if there is a mage who can sense mana usage.”

I could probably do it now, but there is no way I’m willing to leave myself vulnerable to attack from that other mage. Lord Weston, Lady Grace, I’m sorry but you should have made it here.

“Is that, is that so… then my Grace will-“

“Mr. Jayce is most likely very tired, why don’t we discuss this more after he has had a chance to collect himself.”

“Yes Gerard, you’re right, let us do that. For now, should we remain here until you have rested?”

“Yes, I’m going to seal the entrances for now. As long as I vent the room we should be safe in here tonight.”

“Then Mr. Jayce let us continue this tomorrow.”

“Yes Lady Eleanor it is late, I have prepared your bed for you over here, let us continue this when we are better rested.”

Ah, the first real bed I have seen in nearly a month. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I saw it. It’s a welcome sight, one that I plan to take advantage of after I clean myself off. In all of Freeport, I may be the only one able to sleep tonight.

********

“Colonel Dyer sir, it is a message from the General.”

A message from the General means they have successfully taken the council house. From here they should be securing the southern gates as well as the western and eastern barracks then moving north.

“Read the letter major.”

“Yes sir, Council Hall captured. Protective forces sent to council member estates. Recalled 1000 from east. Purge begins upon meeting north.”

So the General has decided. There’s no point in having so many soldiers guard such a small port. Especially now that the water has stopped flowing. It seems like all the prayers to my ancestors have not been in vain.

“Major tomorrow morning at dawn if the river is still not flowing I want you to ride to our men stationed at the boon. I will leave you with instructions that you are to follow exactly, do you understand?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good, I will call for you after I have finished, you are dismissed.”

It’s a shame about tonight. It’s disgusting but there’s nothing we can do but grit our teeth. I sure do hope they’re enjoying themselves.

********

I’m not sure how she is doing it but Lady Eleanor has found a way to manipulate me. If it wasn’t for the fact that I don’t detect any movement of mana when near her I would suspect her of some type of mystic spells. Well I only agreed to look after what we saw this morning. I have no real intentions of risking capture to save Lady Grace.

Lady Eleanor’s estate hadn’t been attacked at all last night. Her guards had not even seen a single warrior. It makes no sense. The only thing I can think of is maybe they were told to avoid this area. But why would they? Unless maybe Elkia wants it to remain intact for some reason.

I agreed to look but tunneling under the city became too much work. Just like the area near Lady Eleanor’s much of the soil underground has turned into pressurized mud that is extremely difficult to burrow through. Thankfully I stuck my head out to figure out which way I was going or else I would not have noticed.

The roads are absolutely empty. There are no people, no soldiers, and no warriors in sight. It’s almost like no one lives here at all. There doesn’t seem to be any damage in this area either. It’s almost like everyone floated into the air and disappeared. Something is very strange.

Lady Eleanor believes Lord Weston may have betrayed Freeport and fed us false information to prevent me from interfering with the Elkian army. If that is true then they may have a mage in their ranks that can control people. Mystic magic was not very common in the Empire and it’s almost impossible to tell what its limits are.

There are stories of mystic mages being able to control entire armies of animals and use magic to increase crop yields or cause them to wither. There are even stories of mages that control the dead, though the thought of that is just creepy.

There is the possibility that Lord Weston was lied to as well. But that would mean Randall was the one who gave us false information. The question is what does he have to gain from that? Could Elkia have offered Randall something so valuable he was willing to betray Lord Weston for it? Or has he always worked for Elkia? Someone with his talents will certainly be made use of by any military.

It’s also possible that they were just wrong. I had the impression that maybe Lord Weston and Randall were competent people surrounded by incompetent leaders, but I could have been wrong. I’m glad we never shared anything with him about our escape tunnel, it was just too risky. There was no way to know who we could trust so we left everyone in the dark.

Of course because of that none of them knew it was safer at Lady Eleanor’s than anywhere else. I can’t deny that Lord Weston’s estate is like a small fortress itself, so maybe Lord Weston believed there was no safer place in Freeport. With the number of guards he has at his disposal I don’t believe a small group of warriors would pose much of a problem.

However…, this is a whole different problem completely. What in the world are those things!? Gray skin with no hair, they must be 8 or 9 feet tall. Are they ogres? That’s exactly what Lady Eleanor said ogres look like. Why would ogres, no wait, if there are ogres here that means, Elkian soldiers. There are Elkian soldiers here as well.

And his guards are mixed within their ranks. Damnit! If Lord Weston’s personal guards and Elkian soldiers are guarding his estate together then what else could this mean? Lord Weston has to be working together with Elkia.

I need to get out of here. Sorry Lady Eleanor but there is no way to get Lady Grace right now. We have an even bigger problem. If she hasn’t told Lord Weston of our plan to escape yet then she will surely tell them soon. Damnit! Is everything going to go wrong for us? If they are not ready to leave immediately after I arrive I will be leaving by myself.

********

The sun is high now and it looks like almost all of our people have been pushed out of the city. We were able to fill all of the carriages with food and other supplies, but I am not happy about the number of slaves they have captured.

Almost 3 thousand women and children have been bound and are being pulled behind the carriages. Most of them will not make it back to our homelands. This may leave the longest trail of bodies any man has ever seen.

My tribe will need to prepare after this. The look on the faces of the Elkian soldiers makes it clear that they will not allow our peoples savage ways to continue. But how can we fight against such beasts and weapons capable of taking down powerful walls of stone?

The Elkian’s refuse to trade for these weapons and none of the men I have brought with me can figure out how they work. With enough of them, an entire village would be reduced to nothing in a few hours. These are weapons that no man can stand against.

With the cold winds almost upon us, there is not much we will be able to do for now. But with a large amount of food from this raid the number of attacks between tribes should be low. We will need to take advantage of that time to create a plan for survival.

It would be best if I was able to separate my tribe from the other tribes. We may suffer at first, but I think it will be the best course for us. We must learn to plan ahead like the peoples of the plains, but we will never be able to do that if we rely on the fall raids forever.

“Chief, the one named Colonel wishes to speak with you, should I let him come over?”

The leader of this group, he avoids me most of the time, why does he come now?

“Send him here.”

It must be to make sure we leave like we said we would. I have no intentions of breaking our agreements. It is hard to say the same for the others though. I may be leading this year’s raids but each man is most loyal to their own tribe.

“Chief Kharel it appears as if your men have been able to completely fill the carriages we have agreed upon.”

“It is as you say Colonel, I see the rest of your men have arrived at the city gates. We will leave once the men we sent to guard the river arrive.”

“Oh is that so? But I’m not sure those men are going to be able to make it Chief.”

“What do you mean by that Colonel? I have not heard of any battles near the river.”

Of all the men who came with me, the ones I sent to the river were probably the only ones who had any value. Most of them were archers and were useful during hunts.

“Your men have taken a large number of women and children as slaves as well. It looks like they had quite a bit of fun didn’t they.”

So it is because of the slaves then is it? It displeases me as well, but this was something their leader agreed to and it is the only way to keep these men under control.

“Is there something you want to say colonel?”

“Yes, there is a lot that I want to say, but instead I will read to you a message from General Mason.”

“We thank you for your role in subjugating the people of Freeport. Without your acts of brutality, it would have been very difficult to march through the city as peacefully as we did. However, our agreement has now come to an end. By order of his royal majesty King Ramah Witner first king of Elkia, the Northsmen of the Expanse no longer have a place in our world. You have ravaged the land and destroyed all that live on it, for this we hereby sentence you and all of your men to death.”

“Goodbye chief.”