Chapter 57: The Rumors

The town of Garclasse is bustling with activity. The streets and buildings are well-maintained. There are folks roaming around, and the markets are bustling with wagons and stalls. The people’s grumbles are occasionally heard. They walk the streets while feeling comfortable at the walls of the town.

In some part of the city, there are taverns and Inns. Most people roaming the street are either travelers or sellswords that found their way to the town of Garclasse. There are uniformed men carrying banners too. They mostly are from the families that guard the town.

One Inn is filled with men and women that follow a banner. This banner had the sigil of a sword shining under the moon. In this banner, most of the people from Saclea warband gathers. The men and women are inside sitting happily while drinking or eating. They are mostly tired from the journey so having to sit under a roof of a warm Inn made them happy.

Bruno sits in a table with the Lady of the Warband, Sena and the now known as combat healer, Susan Cher. They have arrived in the town of Garclasse just a while ago. It was already a month since they left Mesh City. The warband has encountered many troubles but luckily with the war leader and Lady Sena’s leadership that the warband didn’t suffer any major casualties.

The lady carefully ate her food. Susan Cher however, mulls over her wine as she listens to the gossip around town. She heard many rumors but the one thing that irked her most was the news of the warband of the Asmara lady being decimated by a Pyromancer.

Ever since hearing the news Susan has become quiet. She was usually talkative but now she was silent. It made him a bit bothered since during the journey he got close to her. Among the people in the warband, she was the most competent and fierce. The lady was strong enough to take on many abominations but Susan is able to fight fiercely enough for the Lady of Saclea to admire her skills.

He also has looked up to her and sometimes he would try to learn some of her moves which she teaches with care. She is a healer but when it comes to fighting she won’t lose. So seeing the usually optimistic Susan mulling over his wine made even the lady curious.

“What’s the matter, Susan?”

The lady asks while holding her mug of wine. Susan stopped her mulling and looked at the lady.

“My foster brother was on the Asmara war band. And they say that it has been decimated.”

“I see.”

It was obvious enough what Susan was worried about. Sena didn’t continue the conversation any longer and chugged her mug of wine. The lady didn’t want to pursue the topic and Bruno himself could understand this so he didn’t speak up and continued minding his business.

Susan seems to appreciate the two and continued her mulling over her wine. This continued for a while until they were done with their meal.

...

He went out of the inn to see the town. It was a rare chance for him so he didn’t waste it. The town of Garclasse is placed just a few miles away from the Capital of the Kingdom of Altria. The town is considered as flourishing town despite being in the middle of the overworld mainly because of its walls and its location.

He’d heard of the town but this was his first time here. The town has landmarks so he went there and studied them. After studying the landmarks he finds himself in walls where there are soldiers pointing their weapons outside. Being a minor noble he was allowed to see the walls for ‘study’. Most travelers or commoners would be turned away from the wall or outright imprisoned.

He looked outside and saw the plains. There are caravans traveling in rows. There are bands in their horses galloping through the fields. He could see the mountain ranges over the horizon and thought how far he traveled already. He was glad that he was alive so far.

After watching the walls he went to the market. Although he had a noble upbringing, he was fine with browsing the stalls for anything useful. His house was servants and warriors after all so he was fine with this. There are potions that are put in corked bottles. There are pelt coats that are made from different kind of beasts. There are foods that are either dried or cooked.

He found the place comforting and he’d started buying some things for himself. First, he needed some repair for his armor. He was taught how to do it by his father so he bought the goods himself. His armor was scratched all over and there are chips in his sword so he intends to maintain it himself. He was frugal despite being a noble. After buying the goods he went back to the Inn. His room was rather tiny but the bed was good enough to sleep at. There are also no fleas on it or there are bugs so he could not complain.

He put the thing he brought. Opening them he started his repair. He did his armor first and then sharpened his sword with a whetstone after. He finished by evening and since he’d gotten rather hungry. He went down the Inn and had himself a plate of cooked venison. He didn’t see the lady or Susan around so he ate silently while recognizing the other people from the warband drinking their hearts out.

This might be their last drink and in the overworld, lives are easily taken. The warband didn’t suffer much but there were still lives lost in each battle. He’d noticed that most of the casualties are due to accidents. The warband had quite the scouts at first but they are easily the one that dies first when things get bad. The warband encountered many things in the road but he was glad that they didn’t face anything like a Pyromancer.

...

She stared at the moon outside. Her heart ached with worry as she thinks of the demise of his foster brother. She saw Arden as a tough one but the thing about him was that he was a selfless man. He’d stay if asked for help and if they did encounter a Pyromancer then the chance of him fighting that Pyromancer, in order to help the others, isn’t far off.

She heard that only the lady of Asmara survived. Everyone except her died under the wrath of the Pyromancer-led war band. After defeating the Pyromancer she was led by a ranger that she managed to meet by chance and then arrived at a place called Gesoga. The Lady of Asmara has called for her family while at the same time heading to the Capital in order to get her revenge. The encounter with the Pyromancer seems to have changed the lady into an Orc-hating slayer that wanted nothing but blood.

There are also rumors that the Lady’s war band was quite a failure. Many ‘people’ that came from her war band said that they have deserted her after kicking the war leader out and making the journey with her a rather terrible one. But even with those rumors floating around. The Lady Asmara killing a Pyromancer and having the scars to prove it washed out her failures. If it was a normal Pyromancer then she wouldn’t get so much glory. But killing a gray-skinned Pyromancer made her quite famous.

To Susan, she didn’t think much of the lady. She only cared about her foster brother and so far there is no news or she could confirm anything that her foster brother is still alive. People die quickly in the overworld and traveling it made her understand that. She saw people she talked to die just like that or those she shared food with getting disemboweled by a sword.

She prepared herself for these kinds of things but the possibility of a closed loved one dying makes her heart ache. It was different when it concerns her family. She can do nothing about it and even if he lives or dies. She has to move on and continued her life. But still, she prayed for Arden to stay alive. She prayed that her reckless foster brother with a heart of brittle glass would survive the cruelties of the world.

She knew what Arden can do with his abilities. She learned most of her combat skills from him. So she can only pray that he’d still be out there alive. She prayed that her brother deserted or survived the Pyromancer’s attack somehow. She believed that her brother won’t die to some Pyromancer. She wanted to believe that.

She doesn’t trust him at all when it comes to his own safety. She knew how reckless he is and how bold he could be. But even so, she tearfully prayed. That is the only thing she can do. Hope that her foster brother is alive and kicking.