In the span of 3 months after having managed to push back Domitor, the armies of the Three Thrones suddenly started to break apart, leading to massive losses on their sides. The reason for this was, at first, chalked up to mistakes made by commanders and unreliable supply chains, but it was soon discovered that it had been indeed part of Domitor's new strategy. Fake letters with falsified information, nearly indistinguishable from the real ones, suddenly made their way into command-tents, food started to spoil much quicker than it should, countless barrels of water were suddenly found to have been contaminated, and dirt roads had turned into muddy swamps despite there not having been any rain for weeks.
Only after Domitor had regained the ground their recent setbacks had cost them, their enemy would find out the reason for this, as they managed to apprehend some of the perpetrators.
“They call themselves the Death-Row-Knights, a unit of the most dangerous criminals of Domitor, each serving at least a sentence of 25 years for crimes ranging from mass-murder to the research and use of Black Magic, turned into obedient pawns with the help of the Slave-Crest.”, Alexander Cheldric Calros announced during his yearly speech in front of Rouclier's cadets.
However, unlike before, he was only speaking to 4th-Years, as due to the still ongoing war, the teachers of Rouclier would not be able to continue to teach others, especially not after recent developments.
“Though we managed to get our hands on some Black Magi, who had already been known to our intelligence division due to their infamy long before the war had started, that was all the information we were able to extract from them before they died a violent death due to the curse of the Crest. Currently, we are assuming that there should be about 10.000 of these Death-Row-Knights, though we neither know who controls them with the Crest, nor who exactly we are dealing with, with the only exception being guesses made about the most infamous among them.
As you are now in your 4th and final year at Rouclier, each of your Teams will be assigned to a different city via a draw to serve as guards. Usually, this would not be the case, as Rouclier's cadets would be able to freely choose where they would be stationed, but due to the draft of guardsmen in major cities, and some of these cities being rather close to the northern front-lines, there was a need to ensure that some of you are sent there without there being any room for fights breaking out about who gets sent where.
Now then, any questions?”, he concluded.
Silence among the cadets followed.
“Very well, let us start.”, Calros continued, and Rebecca Duterte stepped forward, holding a glass jar with multiple small pieces of folded paper, which she shook a few times with her hand over the lid to mix them up before Calros drew the first lot.
“Team 1 will be sent to...Tose!”, he read out loud, and Team 1 silently cheered, as it was a city near the centre of Merdelum.
Of the next 4 teams, all but Team 4, Martin Crevier's team, which would be sent to Puer, got sent to cities far away from the northern border of the empire. As there were only a few pieces of paper left, but only one of the 3 northern-most cities were drawn, the remaining teams started to grow anxious. As Corvo's team would be called next, Sean started to silently pray that they would be sent somewhere safe.
“Next, Team 6 will go to...Pont.”
The deafening silence upon the second city near the northern border being called out was only broken by the silent curses of Sean. With the last of the 3 going to Team 9, and the others being sent elsewhere, Calros once more addressed all cadets.
“Those of you who are sent north, do not worry too much. The fact alone that these three cities are in the northern-most parts of Merdelum means that the guards stationed there are among the best of the best, with each of their captains being a high-ranking member of the Imperial Guard. As long as you follow their orders and learn from them, there should be no problem during your time there.
Your transport will arrive tomorrow at 0700 in the morning, so be sure to prepare accordingly and be there on time. I am looking forward to greet you here in one year's time not as cadets of Rouclier, but fellow soldiers of Merdelum.
May the Light of Order guide you on the Ardent Path!”
After Calros left and the different teams started to disperse while agitatedly discussing their destinations, Martin Crevier decided to approach Sean.
“Well, looks like both our teams got the black card this time.”, he mentioned.
“We sure did, didn't we. I just hoped we could get some rest before joining the army for real, though I guess working with a guard-captain of the Imperial Guard won't be such a bad thing either, right?”
“Indeed. Keep safe out there, okay?”, Crevier answered, and stretched out his hand.
“You guys too. Let's meet on the first day and grab a drink together to celebrate.”, Sean said with a nod and shook his rival's hand, before the two groups parted ways.
The city of Pont had been built near the Saphireau River, which served as the natural border between Eurosa and Merdelum. On the day Edenia vanished in a massive explosion, the city had suffered heavy casualties and was almost completely destroyed, leading to a division of the Radiant Knight-Order being sent to aid the citizens of Pont as their homes were being reconstructed. Leader of the Radiant Knights in Pont was Guard Captain Raymond Berengar, whose quick decision making was considered essential for the success of “Operation Salvation”, in which Merdelum managed to free Eurosa from Domitor's tyranny.
Berengar, a middle-aged man with black hair and a cleanly shaven face wearing the famous pristinely white armour of the Imperial Guard, was currently sitting in his modestly decorated office in the guard-quarters of Pont, and looked over the information delivered to him via the Eclipse Order. His office contained only things he considered essential for his work, with few exceptions. A desk to write on, a bookcase for temporary storage of yet to be archived documents and reports as well as some supplies, a table with two comfortable chairs, and a couch, which was currently occupied by his second in command, Lieutenant Ernest Rowe, was all he needed in his mind. He had always shown a distaste for excess luxury due to his humble upbringing, though after becoming the captain of the 12th-Division of the Radiant Knights, he would often receive rather gaudy gifts made of absurdly expensive looking materials, and despite his persistent refusal of them, he saw himself forced to keep a knick-knack or two every now and then, which he had to display somewhat visibly as to not offend the one who offered it to him. One such thing was a wyrm-figurine made out of some kind of bluish metal, which he suspected to be mythril, holding a red, spherical gem in one of its claws, gifted to him for by a rich dwarf after saving his life, which he currently used as a paperweight.
With a deep sigh he removed the rather heavy figurine from the stack of papers next to him and placed it on top of the reports of the Eclipse Order on the opposite site of the desk.
“What a mess. We got nothing but their names, and they could already be walking among us without us having noticed anything. At least we are going to get some help dealing with those annoying goblins.”, Berengar exclaimed, and Rowe gestured his affirmation. Ernest Rowe was visibly younger than his captain, though only by about a decade, and he had short blonde hair.
“Oh yeah, the recruits from Rouclier, right? Think they can handle them while we go hunting for these rats in the city?”
“According to the report, they managed to get through the Town of Regrets with only minor problems caused by their inexperience. Their instructor was not once forced to intervene, though.”
“Hm, never been there, though I heard the boss is a minotaur, right? Not bad. Got an idea who you are going to assign them to?”
Berengar looked at him with a rather unsettling grin, which Rowe understood immediately.
“Oh, come on? Why do I have to be on handler duty? Can't Levy do it?”
“We are going to need Levy in town, he knows the dark alleys better than any of us. That makes you the only one with the right qualifications to teach recruits who is not needed elsewhere at the moment. Now quit complaining. You know they only need supervision during their first month before they can start to move solo, so you won't miss much...other than the bounty of those criminals if we manage to get our hands on them, that is.”, Berengar answered, his amused expression never leaving his face.
“Tch, alright. It's not like I have much of a choice anyway, right?”
“Not at all, Lieutenant. They'll be here in 3 days, so plan accordingly.”
“Aye, captain.”, Rowe exclaimed with a sitting salute, before slowly rising from the couch and leaving the office.
As Corvo and his friends arrive in Pont, they are greeted by Lieutenant Rowe. As each of them exits their carriage, they stand at attention and call out their names and rank followed by a military salute, ending with Sean, who mentions his position as their leader.
“Sir, Sean Riddar, Cadet, Leader of Team 6, Sir!”
“At ease! Welcome to Pont, rookies! My name is Lieutenant Ernest Rowe, I am the second-highest ranking member of the Imperial Guard currently stationed in this city, and it will be my duty to show you the ropes for the next month. Since you are in the 4th year of your training, you probably already now how things are run in the military, but if there is anything you are not sure about, you are to ask before you act. Understood?”
“Sir, yes, Sir!”, the 5 answered in unison.
“Very good. First, we are going to take a short tour around the city and you get a map of the city. You are to memorise the key buildings and streets by the end of the week. Makes it easier to respond to trouble, you see?”, Rowe explained, before motioning for them to follow him.
Though Pont was not quite the size of Caelum, its close proximity to Eurosa's border caused the city to grow significantly since its conception, as both merchants and aspiring artists started to flood the city. Due to its peculiar residents, its buildings too could only be described as being quite out of the ordinary. As Corvo and his friends were being led through the streets of Pont, they noticed that after some time, the architecture seemed to shift completely, with some houses looking as if they had been taken from other cities, some even from other continents. A comment made by Brom, who mentioned that he recognised the style of some shops to be similar to those which could be found in Saibrheas, only reinforced that thought as they made their way deeper and deeper into the city. Despite these obvious stylistic differences, however, the different houses did not clash, but complimented each other, making them feel as if they belonged here as part of a bigger picture. Rowe could not help but notice their curious expressions.
“Impressive, huh? They really outdid themselves while planning this city. However, every change one wants to make has to be authorized by a council, and getting even some potted plants for your window approved is a bureaucratic nightmare.”
As they reached the centre, they were met with a large, heavily populated square, in the middle of which a large marble statue had been placed. The statue depicted a winged woman with a sad expression looking towards the ground, her hands joined together in a gesture of prayer.
Brom immediately pointed out that the statue was that of an Angel, a messenger of Order.
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“Exactly. There used to be a statue of Freya raising her sword into the sky in that place over there, which was made in her honour after she helped defending this place against monsters emerging from the Roads of Moros.”, Rowe explained as they approached the stone figure.
“It got smashed to bits when Edenia fell, and was replaced by this one, which is supposed to commemorate those lost in the event. A shame I couldn't get to see it before it was destroyed, I've been a fan of her stories since I was a kid, even led to me becoming a knight.”
Their tour ended with a visit to the barracks, where they would live for the rest of the year. After a detour through the mess hall, where they grabbed something to eat, they were led to their sleeping quarters.
“Alright, that will be all for today. Women are in the left building, men in the right one. Tomorrow, you will be picked up from here, at 0700 sharp, and we'll get you your uniforms. Your team's squire will only get the city's colours from us, though, seeing as the Ardent Path doesn't mess around when it comes to outfitting their paladins. After we have that sorted out, you will receive your schedule for the rest of the week. By the way, weekends are free for trainees, though once you finished your training at the academy, that will most likely change, so try not to get used to it. Any questions?”
“Sir, no, Sir!”, they answered in unison.
“Very well, until tomorrow. Dismissed.”
The next two weeks were spent learning the daily routine of the guards of Pont under the watchful eyes of Ernest Rowe. They would wake up early in the morning, train for an hour, then walk the streets equipped with the armour of Pont's guards, a wand imbued with the
After Rowe decided that they had acclimated to their new positions as guards, he decided that it was time to give them their first mission.
“Now listen up. As guards of a city, patrolling the streets and keeping up order is only one part of the job. You will also have to deal with threats outside the city walls, and therefore will receive missions from your superiors every now and then. One such threat has made itself known shortly before your arrival in Pont: There have been goblin-sightings near the southern road which leads to Flekling. You five are tasked to find their hide-out and, if possible, immediately deal with them, as a goblin infestation is known to spread like a wildfire if kept unchecked for too long. Normally, you would be sent on such a mission on your own, but since you are still in training, I will be accompanying you, though I won't intervene unless the situation calls for it. Since the area we will investigate is only about a 2 hour's march away from here, you will receive rations and water for a day. Ready to go?”
“Sir, yes, Sir!”
“Then grab your stuff and meet me in 20 at the southern gate. Dismissed.”
After leaving through the southern gate, Lieutenant Rowe decided to start a conversation to pass the time.
“And, what do you think so far? About working as guardsmen, I mean?”
Sean decided to answer him first.
“Well, it's not quite what I thought it would be. I mean, don't get me wrong, Sir, I thought we would have quite the rough time out here on day one, seeing as we are not too far away from the front-lines of the war.”
“Eh, I can see why you'd think that, but Pont is usually not too chaotic, if one disregards the day of Edenia's disappearance and the aftermath of that event. Sure, there is no shortage of crime like in any major city, but other than that, I have yet to see anything too crazy happen here. However, I can't deny that we are currently on edge because of those Death-Row Knights, which is why we have increased the patrols, especially during the night. Starting next week, you guys too will have to take on a night-shift or two every now and then, as well a some extra hours during the day, by the way.”
“Fair enough, I guess.”, Sean responded, as they continued onwards.
After a while, they arrived at their destination, a forest near the road towards Flekling, which was likely to be the place where their targets were hidden.
“Alright, we are here. Have any of you ever dealt with goblins?”
Corvo and his friends shook their heads.
“I see. Let me give you a quick rundown, then. Goblins are small humanoid creatures which usually band together in smaller groups. I've heard that there are supposedly 4 different species which differ in colour, with the green skinned one's even being considered a demihuman-species, though the only one's that are of concern for us are the red ones, as they are brutal savages who love nothing more than capturing and torturing sentient beings for their entertainment. Their weapons are usually crudely crafted tools, though they sometimes manage to get their hands on forged steel. Because of their rather weak bodies, they are considered an F-Rank threat as individuals, though they are known to employ traps and plan ambushes, causing their threat-rank to rise to D if their numbers reach that of a village, and in rare cases even C-Rank if they are led by an intelligent leader, like a chieftain or shaman. In that case we would immediately evacuate and make a run for Pont, were we would call for reinforcements, by the way.
Now then, with that out of the way, let's see what you can find.”
Lieutenant Rowe motioned for them to step forward, as he stepped aside. As leader of the team, Sean immediately started to give out orders.
“Alright, let's do this like we did it in the dungeon. Nora, you stay in the trees and look for any signs that would indicate the presence of Goblins, while we slowly start to move into the forest and look for traps and other signs on the ground. Get over here so I can help you with hiding your presence.”
Eleonora did as she was told.
“[Eleonora Boreas, swift and silent as the northern wind.]”, he said as he touched her shoulder, causing her body to glow briefly. Though she herself hardly noticed a difference, the rest of the group could feel that her presence was harder to acknowledge, a feeling they could not quite describe ever since Sean had first tried out this skill.
“If you found something, tell Corvo to mimic a bird call to let me know, like we practiced. I'll do the same and come back if I happen to find them first”, Eleonora said before vanishing in the woods without a trace.
Sean did not like to admit it, but when it came to anything that had to do with music, even just whistling a tune, he was completely inept, which was why they delegated the task of signalling anything they found to Corvo, who, despite not being much of a musician himself, still managed to become better at mimicking bird calls and giving secret commands through whistling after months of practice than any other member of the team, with only Eleonora managing to surpass him in this regard.
After walking through the forest for a while, they managed to come across some footprints which they believed could have been those of goblins, though Rowe explained that those belonged to a family of boars.
“No hunters in your group, eh? Don't worry about it, after a while, figuring stuff like this out becomes second nature.”
As soon as Rowe finished his explanation, an unnatural bird call echoed through the forest, causing them to draw their weapons and go into hiding. Moments later, they were joined by Eleonora, who told them what she saw.
“There is a group of 7 goblins in a clearing ahead, two of which seem to be on the lookout for unwanted guests. The other five were dancing mockingly around some human prisoners.”
“Prisoners? How many?”, Lieutenant Rowe asked.
“7 adults between 20 and 35 and a teenager around the age of 14.”
“Huh. Did the goblins have any special weapons?”
“Half of them are armed with large bones which they likely use as clubs.”
“Any injuries on the adults? Like, say, a broken leg or something?”
“Other than a few bruises, I could not see anything out of order.”
“Okay, one last thing, have you found any traces of other goblins hiding somewhere? Footsteps, signs of a fight, corpses, anything?”
“I looked around the immediate area and found nothing.”
This caused Rowe to pause for a minute, before he addressed the trainees.
“Alright, listen up. Forget what I said about letting you finish the mission on your own, there is something going on here. 7 healthy adults should be more than capable of fighting off 7 goblins, and even if they weren't able to do so, they would have more than a few bruises before being taken prisoner. Something doesn't add up. However, we can't wait for reinforcements, seeing as they might start killing some of their prisoners because they got bored waiting for something to happen. Our priority will be to secure the prisoners and move them to Pont. Adelaide and Boreas, you will take out the two goblins standing guard, the others will grab the hostages and move out of the forest. Once Adelaide and Boreas have eliminated their targets, they are to join up with the rest of the team. I will deal with any unforeseen circumstances and ensure you get out without problem. Everything clear?”
The others nodded.
“Good. Boreas, lead the way!”
A few yards further into the forest, they reached the clearing Eleonora mentioned. Within the clearing, they could see small red-skinned creatures on two legs, which vaguely resembled bald humans with long, pointy noses and ears, large, yellow eyes, and shark-like teeth. They were wearing loin-clothes made out of animal pelts, but other than that, were completely exposed. Their hands and feet had disgusting long, yellowed nails, and despite being quite some distance away, one was able to see that they probably had never seen a shower in their lives.
Just like Eleonora had told them, 5 of them were dancing and jumping around their prisoners, which were clothed in the attire of villagers. They were cackling and yelling as they did so, and their voices sounded warbly and unnatural, as if they were talking with their head under water. Two goblins were standing guard a few yards away from their dancing comrades, their gaze aimed forward, unmoving, as if fixating something in the distance.
As the two goblins standing guard could not possibly cover all of their surroundings, Lieutenant Rowe told the cadets with hand signals to follow him an advantageous position, before counting down for their ambush with the fingers of his left hand, while the other reached for his sword.
As soon as the count reached zero, he, Eleonora, and Mira charged forward, with Eleonora and Mira each aiming for one of the guards, while Rowe aimed at the group of dancing goblins surrounding the hostages. They were followed by Corvo, Sean, and Brom, who tried to catch up with Rowe, who immediately decapitated three of the goblins with one swing.
As Eleonora and Mira felled down their targets, their friends helped the hostages to stand up and move, which was easier as they expected, as only their hands had been bound by ropes. Rowe managed to kill the other two goblins without effort.
“MOVE!”, he yelled at the others, as he retrieved the flare-wand from his belt.
Spurned on by the words of Lieutenant Rowe, the group soon reached the edge of the forest without trouble. However, this only deepened the suspicions of Rowe. Thus he waited for the hostages to catch their breath, before starting to interrogate them.
“My name is Lieutenant Ernest Rowe of the Imperial Guard. I have a few questions for you, concerning your confinement just now.
He expected one of the older men to answer him, but the youngest, a 14 year old boy with black hair and tired looking green eyes took the word instead.
“Oh, thank you Lieutenant! I do not know what we would have done if you did not come to our aid! Those ghastly goblins ambushed us on our way to the city and took us by surprise! Now that the moment has passed, could you please remove our bindings?”, he responded, much more calmly than what one would expect of someone in his situation. Though Corvo and his friends did not quite get what Rowe meant when he called the situation weird, they themselves could not deny that something was definitely not how it should be, leading to each of them gripping their weapons more tightly in anticipation.
“Hrm. No, I think you will keep them until we figured out who you are.”
“Well, that is quite the pickle. Seeing as this would have made things faster for us. Lue?”, he called out to one of the adults, a short man with greasy hair, who, on command, lifted his right foot a few inches above ground before stomping down.
Immediately, the ropes around their hands vanished, and the 14 year old boy reached for a knife he had hidden in his belt as his comrades got ready to attack themselves.
“Fuck! Keep em busy!”, Rowe called out to them as the teen instantly closed the distance between him and the rest of the bandits. The knife made its way to his thigh, though he managed to stop it by grabbing the hand of his assailant. This was immediately followed by the teen using the hand grabbing his arm as leverage to jump and deliver a kick to Rowe's head. However, he was quick to react and punched the teen in the face, causing him to drop to the floor, where he struggled to recover from the blow. Rowe immediately diverted his attention to the Cadets he was supposed to watch over to see if they needed help.
Mira had just finished breaking one of the legs of her second opponent after knocking her first attacker to the ground with the back of her spear. Eleonora had tied up and gagged the spellcaster the teen had referred to as Lue and was currently helping Sean do the same with the one who tried to attack him. Brom had punched one of them in the stomach before kicking him in the head as he dropped to the floor to empty his stomach. As Corvo was not able to cast a spell in time, he simply used his staff to give his assailant a concussion.
Seeing that they had managed to deal with their opponents better than expected, he looked back down to deal with his own. However, the teen had used his moment of inattentiveness to sneak away.
“Looking for me, Lieutenant?” a voice behind him called out and a sharp pain made itself known in his calf causing him to jump forward and turn around. Standing there, licking his bloody knife was the teen, completely recovered from the heavy blow to his head he had suffered earlier. However, before he could start another attack, a rope attached to metal bearings hurtled towards him and entangled him, causing him to drop to the floor.
Rowe looked towards where the rope had come from and saw 4 of his comrades of the Imperial Guard approaching.
“Damn it, couldn't have come a minute earlier so I wouldn't embarrass myself in front of the rookies, eh?”, he called out to them before helping them to secure the bandits to make them ready for transport.
After they were finished and his cut was healed by Brom, he addressed the Cadets of Rouclier.
“You did pretty well out there, not bad at all. However, me getting stabbed because I lost focus for a second there is gonna stay between us, ya hear me?”
“Sir, yes, Sir!”, came the reply, which only added to his embarrassment, as he could tell the Cadets tried and failed to suppress the grins forming on their faces.
Thus Corvo and his friends returned to Pont after having made their first successful arrests.
Demihumans
Demihumans, also known as Minor Tribes or Sentient Monsters are several species of humanoid beings who are considered close enough to the Divine Tribes to be treated the same as them, even by divinity.
Humanoid Elementals (such as Ifrits)
Homunculi
Arachnes
Eurynomos
Gegenees
J?tnar
Gorgons
Arouraíos
Alder Goblins
Kobolds
Oni (Red and Blue Ogres)
Goblins
In the beginning, goblins consisted of only a single species, but prolonged exposure to Aether caused their genes to split:
Alder Goblins, which are the closest to the original goblin species, and are considered fairly intelligent. Their appearance cause many to confuse them as the offspring of orcs and gnomes. Alder Goblins prefer not to be referred to as goblins and just be called Alders instead, as to not become associated with the barbaric monsters their brethren had become.
Pilferers are known to steal and rob other creatures, and generally live in small groups.
Savage Goblins are true monsters to their very core.
Corrupted Goblins are beings touched by the Void. They take orders from the deities they worship, as well as from others of the same faith, and seldom act alone.
Roads of Moros, known as Beor Amun. It is there where one can find the Wizard Bank, an organisation which both serves as a magic guild and a trading union.
Sentinels
Messengers (Lawful Angels, Chaotic Principalities)
Executioners (Lawful Dominions, Chaotic Authorities)
Elite (13 Valkyries, 8 Archangels, 7 Thrones)