Chapter 14:

Ressia, a desert tribesman turned merchant, turned city lord, had always overcome any challenge that came his way.

Which perhaps why he didn’t think much when his first runner barged in his office.

He had come in huffing and puffing, “My Lord! The Stansa church... It’s been reborn overnight! Earth mages have renovated the entire building, even adding several wings! Several priests and priestesses have been appointed there!”

After giving the runner time to control his breath, Ressia raised a terse brow, “Appointed? On whose authority?”

The runner seemed to wilt at that, though he wasn’t fearing for his life, the city lord had never been one to shoot the messenger.

Gathering his will, the runner spit it out. “The clergy have stated that one Baron Northsand had appointed them there. Furthermore, they were all wearing a white armband with a stylised compass rose printed on it. The rose had the northern thorne over four times longer than the others.”

Hearing that, Ressia surprised his runner by actually laughing, “Ohoho, I certainly have seen worse vies for power among the lesser nobility. I suppose I’ll have to send the guards to rid my city of the interlopers…”

The runner fidgeted at that, and Ressia stared the poor lad down. “...Sir, about that…:

The young man hesitated. “The congregation was seven, nay, eight times larger than usual.”

Ressia contemplated that for a moment, doing the mental math. Before realizing that eight times larger than the original largest congregation put them at nearly 1/20 of the entire city.

Ressia made a passing comment, “Worse vies for power, indeed. If the clergy are worth a damn and if this so-called Baron dared to place his men among the worshipers, then the watch will have trouble doing much of anything at the church…”

Though Ressia said that, he still wasn’t feeling any pressure. He would never have been a successful merchant or a city lord if he couldn’t solve a problem without violence, after all.

Ressia was about to dismiss his runner, as the lad could not legally leave with his lord doing so, but before he could do so, another rushed into his office.

This one was a rather young girl, somewhere between 12 and 18. One could never tell with the inconsistent diets of peasants.

She bowed respectfully, “My Lord, I come bearing a message from the Deep Sand trading house.”

Ressia’s mood worsened. Deep Sand, his old trading company, only contacted him by letter in emergencies. Ressia could hazard a guess over who caused it.

Ressia swore that his triumph over this Baron would be swift as he opened the message.

+++

Brother Ressia,

We have trouble.

The Dogkin, Red Sand, and Central Stansa trading houses have broken off their contracts with us.

Our rival trading houses Sandrat and Iron Blood have been seen meeting with said trading houses.

The clerks and managing staff of said houses have all donned armbands with an odd compass rose on them. They seem to signify allegiance with a personage labeled ‘Baron Northsand’.

Even more troubling, the local alchemist guild has also acquired such articles of clothing.

Rumors of several Earth mages sporting such armbands seem ludicrous, but buildings have been appearing overnight, and that seems to be the most obvious explanation.

On a more militaristic note, the Adventurer’s Guild has thankfully not sided with the Baron, but has put out a notice saying that it will not accept quests involving ‘Stansa Nobility’, which includes both apparent sides. Opportunistic cowards.

Our assets still overwhelm our new mercantile rivals, but it is a sign of troubling times to move from ‘only trading power in the city’ to ‘best trading power in the city’.

We seek consul.

+++

A vein throbbed in Ressia’s forehead, “Audacious fucker… Fine, the good baron will see that it takes more than throwing money around to uproot a (City Lord) in their own city.”

Ressia leaned back in his chair, completely uncaring about the predicament of the runners.

Ressia mentally tallied what forces would be on his side and what would be his opposition.

‘The mercenaries will be dogs. The only reason they will or won’t be wearing a white collar will be for money. Besides, noble or no, border city or no, the nobility will not ignore an unprovoked attack. They will only be used for cowardly tactics and opportunistic money-making.’

‘Smuggling earth mages into the city is troubling, but not too troubling. Key buildings are magically warded. And the gods see fit that successful mages are honorable. Best ignore them, then. The crime of modifying buildings without informing the city console will not stick to nobles or mages.’

‘The Stansa Church can sway public opinion, but that will at most decrease sales and start the odd riot. The system and the kingdom has given us the real power.’

‘Winning out on the merchant front will not gain Northsand much. The administration is not funded by our trading houses.’

‘The alchemists and adventurers are cowards.’

Ressia relaxed after he calculated the Baron’s moves. The Baron was an unknown, but his own list of assets was much longer than his opponent’s.

The City Lord smiled, “Ha. You gave me a fright, Baron, but your coordinated assault will have to be much more potent than that to shake my grip on Lando.”

If Jay Northsand had been there just then, even if he was hiding, he would have shared his wisdom on the matters of ‘speaking of the devil’ and ‘raising flags’. It was just too appealing to pass up.

Of course, that was the exact moment a third runner showed himself.

The third runner, a middle aged guard, kneeled to the floor with his fist to the ground. “My Lord, we have been betrayed! Vice-captain Arol has defected to a noble called Baron Northsand!”

The news almost shocked Ressia out of his chair, but the guard continued, “He had royal authorisation to form a new watch. It was a document signed by an advisor to the king! Almost all of the Stansa nationals went with the traitor.”

The new of royal authorization almost shook Ressia to his core, but he quickly figured out what happened. Stansa was rather infamous for allowing advisors royal authority at their own digression. This allowed nobles and the upper crust to buy royal decrees for minor things no one cares about. Ressia was incensed that uprooting his watch was a ‘minor thing that no one cared about’ in the capital. But border cities are border cities.

Ressia gave the runner a scowl, “Well man, are you daft? Tell me the actions and state of the traitors!”

The runner jumped to action, “Sir! They have just under half of our numbers, and the levels of the nationals were on average eight levels lower than our men. However, new recruits have been seen out and about, and the traitors equipment seems pristine. As for their actions, they are claiming guard posts and patrol routes. They also seem to have a new headquarters.”

Just as Ressia was about to belt out orders for the runners, three things happened.

A fourth runner crashed through the door, another young man, “Sir! Big news, big news! Over 15,000 raiders have been captured by a Baron Northsand! They have been advertising that they planned to attack Lando, and that their leader is at A-rank!”

Almost immediately afterwards, there was a system notification that poured out of the obelisk in his office.

+++

Lando City Crystal has experienced pressure from Northsand Barony Crystal!

Functions are now limited to Lando City grounds.

Functions Defense: Arrow Barrier, Defense: Mana Dampher, Message Box, Stansa Kingdom Market deactivated!

+++

Ressia’s eyes widened, that was a problem. If Northsand had led with those two, Ressia wouldn’t have underestimated him. But Ressia, upon further consideration, realised that whether or not he underestimated his opponent since the twenty minutes he had learned of him didn’t matter.

City lord Ressia’s office was flooded with messages, runners, and notifs.

The northern merchant stood from his chair, “WHO IN THE BLAZES IS BARON NORTHSAND!”

After calming down, Ressia realised that, while he could get out of this if the Baron had shown their whole hand, the Baron would have to have the luck of a god to have a hand this good if he was so simple minded.

Reshia realised he was defeated, and could only wait for a miracle or the Baron’s next move.

The city lord didn’t have long to wait, as the third thing, and the fifth runner showed up.

He had clearly heard Ressia’s outburst, but didn’t show any signs of caring as he performed a small bow and delivered his news. “Sir. A contraption of Baron Northsand’s has arrived. It will apparently allow you to converse with the Baron at extreme distance.”