Chapter 101 – Times of Home

13th year of the New Cycle of the Kingdom of Lin’s Matriarch, Elizabeth the War Maiden. Spring Season, City of Tal, the cycle of the new age has begun.

It has been two months since the City of Tal received word of the fall of the walled cities of Lugenstan and Tinople. Captured by the barbarian’s that calls themselves as the Goraz People, the nation of Trapolstan during the first month tried to take the cities back only to be met with hit and run ambushes. Giant sand whales mounted riders, and ambushers laying traps.

The Barbarians were fully able in such tactics. Making the army sent by the nation’s ruler destroyed and distraught when a sand whale leaps over the army and crushes most of the shoulders with its scales.

Help was unable to come for the nation of Trapolstan. The Kingdom of Deus has its hand full at the Prime Barbarians getting rowdy at their borders, the East has been in a terrible state with the troubles with the middle center, and the West has been trying to control their borders. While the Kingdom of Lin is unable to contact their strongest warrior who has gone and disappeared along with the Dark Elven Kingdom, the Kingdom of the Dark Elvens has been sealed with an unknown power.

Its borders have been blocked with an unspeakable barrier far too strong for any mortal to pass through it. Even the magic attacks of a living bomb weren’t able to strike a slice off the barrier, making the little girl adopted by the Reaper frustrated.

With its Reaper gone the Kingdom of Lin has now eyes looking at it. They do not dare to attack the Kingdom of Lin with the Reaper still there. The War Maiden of The Kingdom and its ruler is strong but is not up to par with the Reaper.

Right now this ruler is anxious and gloomy at the thought of the Reaper gone. Was it because of her selfishness? Was it because she needs the Reaper as the Pawn? No, surprisingly the only reason she doesn’t have wedded and bedded the Reaper is that of responsibilities. There are too many things happening that do not allow her to rest.

Enemies on every corner are there planning to usurp the Kingdom of Lin. This makes the Matriarch uneasy, and unable to be with someone she relies on most in the world. And now with the Reaper gone, in her solar, the lonely war maiden that shines brightly was less bright.

Her pages, attendants, loyal servants, has gone worried over the Matriarch’s mood. The servants and the army that she personally sees over was the most affected with all of her troubles. Loyal and patriotic, the personal army of the War Maiden has its morale lowered the most.

The New 13th Cycle for the Matriarch of the Kingdom of Lin is here. But with how things are going, and how chaos is just lurking around the corner, it can be said that this new cycle will make the continent of Hillines confused.

...

The streets of the City of Tal were refined. With how prosperous the town is, it can be said that the stone paved roads, the well-maintained houses that have trowel carrying workers put plaster all over it, busy. People, carriages, mounts, merchants, and armed men. They walk along the streets.

Cloak wearing, blonde haired, armored with plated steel, a well-maintained sword with golden lines on it. This woman walking the streets was named as Catherine.

Every new cycle she has a habit of waltzing into the City of Tal to shop. Normally she lives in the capital but with how rare the goods are in this city. She cannot help but come back and buy some things for her own leisure.

While walking along the streets of the now city of Tal. She can’t help but look at a certain corner where she met that odd man who was rather emotional.

She gave him her cloak and a little bread. That man was thankful to her and he looked at her as if she has given him hope.

She didn’t know where that man is. It was a peculiar memory three years ago right at the end of the ninth cycle of the Kingdom of Lin’s Matriarch Reign.

That day made a mark on her mind for such an odd meeting. She also thought that meeting gave her a bit of good karma. Within three years, she became a captain of her own squad. A brilliant one too, that made her well-liked by the Matriarch.

Things change so fast. The Town of Tal that she usually visits is now a city. Walled with the finest stones, and supplemented with the greatest barrier formation that the magus guild could form.

Once she could feel the bright lights of the city. Sometimes it would even tire her how bright the city was. But now, the city’s towering walls shadows the town, and the bright lights became a welcomed blessing. There is also a fresh new scent due to the rivers being allowed to enter the city through a newly built canal system.

Back at some point, the defense minister of the town didn’t want to build such walls because of the river getting in the way. The builders tried to reason about how they would just build a metal grate to allow the water in. But with how dire wolves can just rip out a metal grate or a dire water creature swimming through, ripping it anyway when they tested it. The Minster disallowed it. Only until the formation was allowed that the walls were built.

It was still weird for Catherine to see the walls of the city. In just two months the earth Magus of the Magus Guild managed such grand project. They said that it was due to the help of the Alchemist and Scholars but it still jaw hanging how grand it is.

Things change.

Two words repeated inside Catherine’s head as she passed through the gates of the City of Tal. Finding her mount, she jumps on her mount’s back and sat tightly on the saddle. Holding the reins, she went to the direction of the Capital.

...

Now in a faraway village located just outside the borders of Trapolstan lies a small state named Gann. This nation is a free nation that has mixed cultures from the west and east. The buildings in Gann are either made of cobblestone or wood.

The stone houses are much preferred in the Northern Parts of the Nation. While the extremely cheap but well-designed buildings made of wood in the southern parts of the nation are well-liked by the folks there.

In the farthest part of the south of Gann lies a fishing village. The houses are built with hip-and-gable roofs and the walls are wooden. Some of the houses are stone building with flat roofs, but that place is where the barracks are located, the defenders of the village usually rest there.

The roads are mostly covered in sand. In the beach area, there lies a port where the fishing vessels are tied. On the bay, there are nets and gutted fishes being dried. There is a chapel on the top hill of the village. Composed of stone and wood, the chapel had a gable roof.

There is a wall surrounding the village. Near the gates of the wall, there is a well, a stable, and then just to the right, there are three shops lined up. This street leads to the barracks and chapel. On the left branching path after one would enter the gates, there is an Inn. Past the Inn, if one would head to the left, a path that leads to an elevated slope filled with houses build with both wood and stone in mind. The roofs of these houses are styled either hipped shape or flat.

The highest house located on the top is where the Elder of the village lives. There are about a hundred or so living in the village and at the moment the men of the village are working on the beach preparing their nets and sails for their next trip out to the sea.

In the gates of the city where two guards are looking after the gates, a long-eared woman with charming blue eyes, blonde long tied hair, wearing a robe and tunic entered the gates. This woman has the features of the elven but lacks their particular arrogance or magical dominance. This woman is a half-elven who just returned from the dungeon continent.

This woman has finally returned to her village after a long adventurer. She was rather excited about returning home she immediately carried her big rucksack towards the Inn. She slammed the doors of the Inn, the long haired dwarven that is taking care of the Inn was about to complain when suddenly he smiled and said.

“COUSIN YOU ARE BACK?”

“How are you doing Pablo?”

“Fine, fine, what about you cousin Peronell?”

“Doing great, I take that my room is still intact?”

“About that...” The Dwarven named Pablo scratched the side of his cheeks.

“What?”

“You see during the last week of fall a wanderer arrived in the village. This man was by the looks of it a member of the Fighter’s guild. He was riding a Hawkhorse so I thought he might be a good fighter, so when he asks if there is any available house in the village, I thought that I might offer your room...considering you haven’t returned to the village for five years, and it is not really getting used and the man wanted to trade his priced Hawkhorse for the house just the back of my Inn and with how I was on loose on the pockets that day...”

“So you sold my house?”

“Basically Yes...”

“You’re an asshole, Pablo.”

“I am sorry but I already sold the house. I cannot just make him go away after letting him have it.”

“I will talk to him then!”

Peronell didn’t want anyone to have her house so she immediately dashed out of the Inn and turn to where her former house was. Her house was a simple stone house with a hip-and-gable roof. The insides are made of finely carved wood, and when she entered the house the smell of alcohol and tobacco entered her nostrils.

She said, “Is anyone out there?”

“Who is it?”

A fragile weak voice sounded out in the room. Peronell followed the voice and went to one of the rooms of her former house. There was no door to block her way, so she just flipped the partition curtain on the door, entered and spoke her mind.

“I am sorry but my cousin Pablo sold this house as a mistake. I would like you to leave this place and do not worry, I will pay you.”

The man sitting in the fireplace was deathly pale. His hair had traces of gray, but judging by the white strands, Peronell could deduce that the man seems to have overcast the energy within his body and now was suffering from it. She could also smell the lingering curse that the man had.

“An accursed?” she thought.

“Pay me?”

“Yes, I would like you to get out of my house and I will pay you.”

“I have nothing to go...and besides this house was something I traded a Hawkhorse with...so please leave.” the man said, drinking the gourd of ale on his right hand. He seems to be watching the fireplace, there is a pot hanged near the fire.

“I would like to say it again...this house is legally mine. I have the rights to it, and the only reason Pablo sold it to you because he thought I was dead. Now I am back, I would like to regain it.”

“No way.” said the man.

“You are stubborn. I can call the guards if you still refuse to do so.”

“And tell them that you are kicking out a dying man, who sold his priced Hawkhorse? I could tell the guards or that captain who seems to be righteous how I just got scammed?”

“Scammed? No, no, I would pay yo-“

“Enough...please just leave.”

“But this house is!”

“Mine...I bought it. So please leave me alone.”

Peronell stared at the dead-eyed man. She seems like she wanted to make her case. But with how tired she was for trekking miles of roads. She decided to leave it for today.

“Very well, I shall leave for today. But we will discuss this again Ser.”

“Whatever...”

Peronell shrugged her shoulders and left her former house. It looks like she was going to have a trouble the moment she returned.