As Shiza and Orion chatted away I was left to wonder about the rights that the beastfolk had in this world. If physically assaulting one was perfectly acceptable then what else was on the table? Most humans I’d met had come off as a bit racist sure, but I’d never had someone treat me like that before. Perhaps it’d been the man’s status that had triggered such a violent response. The Ferrin had referred to the man as “Lord” and he certainly had acted like a spoiled brat. Part of me wondered what the political structures in this world were like, having come from a world where democracy was common, it hadn’t occurred to me that this world would be much less democratic.

I spoke up when I noticed a pause in the conversation across the table, “Do you two know who that man was earlier?” Their attention turned to me as they gave me questioning looks.

“You must mean Lord Satian. He is the local count and maintains control over the province.” Shiza responded questioningly. She turned to Orion, “How does he not know this? You know who our lord is, don't you!?”

Orion nodded, “I do. He’s not from around here so he isn’t familiar with a lot of things.”

I continued on with my line of thought, asking about the political atmosphere and trying to map my way through the political landscape of the realm. Shiza, was up to date on all the political happenings within the region due to her membership in the Merchant's guild and as such, was incredibly helpful when it came to gathering that knowledge.

Apparently the province was rather ordinary. Named after it’s largest city, the Province of Velenta was not too prosperous as to garner attention from the other regional nobility while also not so poor that it risked rebellions nor invasions. It’s levies were big enough to protect its people yet small enough to not be threatening. The province was administered by a skilled counsel of men appointed by the lord to govern. The decision to pass governing on to more skilled people was a good one due to the fact that lord Satian was an abnormally cruel man. With an ancestor that tied him directly to the Great Hero Aaron his ego completely eradicated his humility at a young age. Now in his early 30’s the man had grown increasingly hateful towards his province's beastfolk population.

Moving on from the conversation about this province, I found out that the structure of royal politics was similar to that of middle age Europe. The weakest or least influential people were merely couriers, meant to handle menial tasks for the lord they served. Next were those knighted by their lords, they served as commanders in times of war. People who retained the title of count held the weakest position after the knights. These were individuals that inherited provinces from their predecessors when they passed. They had the power to set laws and taxes within their lands and had the ability to train troops. Many counts served under the next individuals from the next group, the dukes. A duke held all the same powers as the weaker counts but owned much more land. Often, count titles were given to people under a duke as payment for services or for administrative purposes. In this way, couriers and knights could become landed and advance up the social ladder. At the top of the ladder was the king. The king had direct power over the duke’s and independent counts within the kingdom, he set tariffs on trade goods, collected taxes from his subjects, and administered the royal families holdings. The king was the absolute power in the land and his word was backed by the army he was able to raise.

Lord Satian reported directly to the king as one of his subjects. The province of Valenta was an independent country not ruled over by a duke and lord Satian, or rather his counsel, had managed to keep the territory from falling under the rule of ambitious neighboring dukes for generations. The count however was not helping them, his insistence on new unpopular laws riling up the populus and drawing attention to their carefully crafted obscurity. Alongside his terrible political motivations, he had also fervently supported a law that would increase the taxes imposed on all of his subjects. This would apparently go towards financing his already opulent lifestyle.

Satian was, to say it bluntly, a shopaholic. Never one to be out done in the lastest expensive decor and crafts, he had decorated his simple keep beside the city with ludicrously expensive art from around the continent. He had cited the need to be respected within the kingdom to be the reasoning behind his expenditures. He had driven his territory into so much debt that he had actually had to take out a loan from the king of Herrath, his own liege, to prevent his county from falling into ruin.

His policies had taken a toll on the city and its people. I watched the Ferrin who’d been assaulted slowly make his way up the staircase, another victim of the counts insatiable appetite for the finer things in life. This had apparently happened on more than one occasion and the task of meeting the counts needs was always pushed to bronze ranking members. They had the connections that coppers did not while maintaining a level of distance from the guild if they drew the ire of Satian.

After the quick lesson in Herrathian politics Orion motioned towards the door. The sun was already setting and we’d yet to turn in our completed quest with the guild. Shiza bid us ado after making us promise that she could hire us for an escort mission in the future. I’d reluctantly accepted, not knowing what kind of trouble she was going to get us in when she took us up on the promise. After passing the two guards standing by the door we made our way out onto the street.

The streets were flooded with people of all different shapes and sizes, rushing to get home before the sun completely set and bathed the cobblestones in darkness. There were few street lamps lining the roads throughout the city, a good indication that crime was prevalent after dark. With more places shrouded in darkness criminals could move through town easier and faster, it was a lesson learned by nations and cities on earth long ago. It wasn’t surprising that they hadn’t learned those lessons here, in this undeveloped world.

Making our way to the Warriors hall from this direction was a bit different as well. As this was a much busier street, we were able to see some of the more unpleasant aspects of the city. Beggars lined the sides and alleyways, pleading for spare copper from passers-by. Heavily armored partols marched up and down the busy thoroughfare occasionally shoving people out of their way. Merchant’s peddling their miracle goods pestered people as they passed their stalls, their charismatic voices soothing the worries of the few desperate enough to seek their aid. The occasional group of children would dash out of side alleys and race across the street in an attempt to catch each other.

I’d have to be on the lookout. If history had taught me anything, it was that orphaned children were often used as pickpockets. As if to prove my point, a small cat-like child, his face pointed and thin, tumbled into the back of a taller heavier-set man, knocking himself to the ground in the process. I watched as the clawed hand lifted a small leather strung pouch from the man’s back pocket. The child used the fall to discreetly shove the coin purse in his back pocket. With his quarry hidden from view and his victim none-the-wiser, the kitten took a few cuffs to the head and expressed an apology before running off. The man would put two and two together when he realized his money was missing, but by that time the child would already be across town. A small part of me admired the tenacity of the orphan, he’d been dealt an unfair hand in life and instead of wallowing in self pity, the boy was taking his destiny into his own hands.

I couldn’t imagine that the punishment for being caught stealing was very lenient in this world. On earth, breaking laws like that carried pretty minor consequences in the modern day, but in a time where thieves were a security risk to cities such as the middle ages, penalties were much worse. In a time when food was not abundant and wars could take years, the ability to feed your people was a top priority. If during a war your city came under siege, thieves would get rich very quickly if left unchecked. They would steal the food meant to be rationed for the soldiers and population then sell the stolen food to anyone who could afford their inflated prices. In a siege, thieves weakened the garrison, increased the risk that the starving people would revolt, and benefited from everyone's suffering. In this world one of the only ways to de-incentivize thievery was to make the punishments for getting caught outway the benefits.

My mind wandered again as the child slipped into a dark nearby alley. The people on the street were thinning out as we moved away from the Merchant’s guild. As the Warrior’s guildhall came into view there was barely anyone left outside. Shadows cast their elongated forms on the sides of the buildings as the sun started to descend below the horizon.

We entered the hall and started to approach the front desk. Inside was warmer than the chilly outdoor air, a fire crackled in the fireplace situated against one of the far walls. A few warriors were gathered around a table drinking alcoholic beverages brought to them by a very annoyed Tether.

“I swear I will put the next person who spills their drink under a tombstone!” They all nodded fervently as she slammed the drink on the table, splattering the patrons sitting there with the liquid. One of the men had started to comment that she’d just done the same when one of his much bigger friends punched him in the arm, nearly knocking him off his seat.

Tether stormed back to the front desk and quietly put the empty glasses she was carrying into a cupboard below the counter. She sighed before addressing us, “I’m kind of surprised to see you guys alive. Eh, I suppose that armor helped you out quite a bit against those feral dogs.”

“Actually, there were no feral dogs.” Orion spoke up as he set a Namori ear on the counter. He must’ve cut it off as proof we killed it after I’d stormed away, smart.

Tether’s jaw opened so fast I thought it was going to hit the counter, “THAT BASTARD!” She yelled so loud that the group at the table physically winced and turned toward us, trying to figure out how they’d angered her this time. “He wanted you to kill a Namori!? That’s a level eight monster, a SILVER ranked contract!”

By this point the group from the table had wandered over to see what all the fuss was about. When they saw the ear they all started to get agitated. One of them spoke up, “He made a bronze contract for a Namori!? What a scumbag.”

Tether ripped my medallion out of my hand and slammed it on the counter, “Try a copper ranked contract.” At this point the entire group let out a roar, their anger flowing through the air like waves through the open ocean. Tether returned my medallion and took the ear off the counter, “Firstly, you two are getting more than 75 copper for completing this contract.” She slid us each two silver coins, “Second I’m sending a team of silver members out to that farm to collect that extra fee. Lastly, I am reporting that farmer to the higher-ups, he will not do business with us ever again. You’ve earned your rest, go up and go to bed we can talk about sending you out on a safer quest tomorrow.”

Until she’d said that I hadn’t realized how tired I was. It had been almost two days since I had slept and I was more than happy to head her advice. I didn’t even remember climbing the stairs, all I could think about as my head hit the pillow was the idea of tomorrow being an easier day.

Orion

Ferrin (Level 3)

182/300 Experience

30/30 Health ----

70/70 Stamina ------

30/30 Mana --

20/20 Spirit ---

‘0’ Stat Points Available

Racial Ability - (Impossible Evade)

Skills: (Fishing G) (Spear G) (Botany G) (Barter G) (Stamina Regen G) (Execute G)