The man in front of us looks so tired, I almost find myself pitying him, but then I remember all of the disrespects we have encountered in this city to this point. How can the lord of a land let the attitude of his people reach such a low point? I wonder if there is even any point to helping him considering the state of things here. Even if he owed a favor to my uncle, what does he have to offer?

“Judging by your looks, it seems the three of you haven't had a very pleasant welcome in my town. I humbly apologize for any undue rudeness that my people may have inflicted upon any of you. I know that it's no excuse, but we have been facing a certain delicate situation of which I'd prefer not to talk about. Now, may I know who the three of you are and what might be the reason for your visit? Pardon my surprise, as you probably have realized, this town is not exactly... worthy of being visited.”

While he was in no way rude, there was still something in the way he talked that rubbed me the wrong way. Is it the almost nonchalant way in which he belittles his own land? Still, antagonizing the man we came here for was of no use.

“I am Alexius Magnar, this is my fiance, Helena Gracie and this is a good friend I have met while traveling Kardenon Therynia. We am here because I was told by my uncle that you had a problem that perhaps we could help with.”

The surprise was visible on his face. Perhaps he didn't expect us to be his help or maybe my uncle hadn't contacted him since deciding to send us here.

“Oh, so you're Magnar's nephew. I was expecting for a group of two people, but it seems you have befriended a dwarf noble from Tharaz Eron on your way here, hmm. This is actually good news. Oh, right, I suppose I will have to tell you about the delicate situation that I am dealing with right now.”

Helena showed her angry smile.

“It better provide a very good explanation for why the people here can be so rude.”

Unfazed, Lord Ravenscall chuckled.

“That it does. Now, where to start? I guess that, like so many other problems that still plague us today, it started with that bastard, Teldarion. You probably know about the destruction he wrought upon the north, but what many seem to have forgotten is what he did in the south, after the King's army, with most of the country's remaining nobility, retreated entirely from Meridia.”

I knew. I read about it.

“The Purge of the South...”

Ravenscall continued.

“Exactly. To drive home the supposed superiority of the elves, Teldarion started massacring the people left behind by the retreating armies. Sometimes people were corralled in camps where they would be forced in often pointless labor until they died, sometimes cities were put to the torch. All manner of horror stories exist from that time, but to make explanation a bit shorter, let's just say that upwards of seven tenths of the population in many parts of the south were killed or fled the country during Teldarion's occupation.”

I saw Helena shudder next to me.

“That's horrifying...”

Ravenscall raised his eyebrows.

“That it is. My ancestor, who fought for the king against Teldarion came back to a mostly empty land when the war was over. So, what was he to do? This is by no means a prosperous place. Many other, richer places were just as depopulated. So how could he attract people? He had to, after all, what is a lord without subjects? So, he bargained with the only thing he could: He made an exceedingly good deal for any one that settled in his lands. Very little to be taken from the serfs' own farmed land, very little time obligated to be spent working at the lord's residence and not much time to be spent farming the lord's own fields and no obligations to work at the iron ore mine, of which a majority profit goes directly to the lord. With these very generous terms, he was able to attract enough people to get this place moving again.

Kardenon was getting impatient.

“So, how does this link to or explain the present situation?”

Ravenscall sighed.

“I am getting there. You see, peasants are people who really dislike change, but the world changes nonetheless. While this arrangement was good enough for a while, the fact is that in recent decades my family has been unable to sustain itself. Thus, I have been trying various ways to persuade the people to accept a deal that is slightly more favorable to my family, but unfortunately, it has all been rejected. I need not comment on how that has deteriorated my relationship with my people. Perhaps emboldened by my failures to convince them and my inability to use coercive force, lest I be punished by the King, who considers himself something of a champion of the people, the people of this town have grown increasingly contemptuous of me and, by proxy I suppose, nobles in general.”

It is difficult for me to explain all that I felt as I understood all of that. Some part of me wanted to blame him and his ancestor. How could they not have seen the results of their actions. But on the other hand, I am sure that it must not have been a decision taken lightly. It is hard to make the best decision in a situation of desperation. Is it the people's fault? But they just accepted terms, and after all, those who are alive today inherited them... On the other hand, one cannot expect things to not change throughout the decades. But the most important was the panic that started gripping me.

“You don't expect us to mediate between you and your serfs, do you?”

Ravenscall let out a laugh when I said that, the notion was clearly ridiculous to him. I thought that Helena would draw blood from her lips with how strongly she bit them.

“What could a whelp like you do to help with this situation? Please, don't make me laugh. No, better yet, I have very few reasons to laugh these days, perhaps you could tell me another joke. Go ahead.” An awkward silence followed. “No? Fine, then, let's get to the important part. The situation is further worsened by the fact that lately people have been disappearing. Two a month, to be exact. It might not seem like much, but considering our small population, it is a pretty big deal.”

Oh, so that was it. A part of me was relieved at finally knowing the problem.

“Is it a monster? Are we here to end this string of disappearances then?”

Ravenscall shook his head.

“Not exactly, I want you to discover why they are happening. Regardless of whether it is caused by men or monsters, then, I want you to inform me about it. Is that understood?”

That seemed like a pretty straightforward request. So why did I feel like things might get way more complicated than necessary before it ended?