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/Chatter…/
Within the Guild, the chattering of voices echoed throughout as the sounds of a heated exchange between many reached Dale's ears as they threw words at each other furiously.
And they didn't seem well intended.
"... That's ridiculous, do you think that's proper in any way?!" Bar said as he slamd his hand on the counter
/Nod…/
Two groups of people stood on opposite sides, one close to the center of the hall where the counter stood, consisting of all of Resko's ordinary Elders.
On the other side, a group of various people, so he had never seen before but could sowhat infer who they were.
Likely the representatives of the Survivors, or better put, refugees.
Because now, they were strangers in a land they did not belong to, fleeing from a place they did not wish to stay.
And by the looks of it, they were trying their hardest to change that.
Mayhaps a bit too much…
Still, sothing felt off… Where was their leader, Sarferato?
From what he knew of him, their thoughts were pretty similar and their discussion would've gone smoothly.
Above all why did their expressions look so… Superior?
Just looking at them made Dale's mood sour, but it wasn't like they were all like that.
About half of their group had mixed expressions, and those he recognized, they were so of the Raiders he saw back at the Bunker, including Retero, one of the last surviving Master Raiders, the people that went deep into the forest and ruins to hunt for supplies.
Different from their companions, he and the people next to him seed on the defensive about whatever was being discussed.
What could they be talking about exactly?
"Have I said anything wrong? Given our circumstances, we must establish a strong…"
"It seems we have a newcor." An old man replied as he turned to Dale
The mont his eyes fell on Dale, his expression turned into one of displeasure, but within the sa mont, his eyes changed as he seed to recognize who he was.
But Dale himself did not miss that change in his expression.
For a mont, he looked down on him, and who was he to have that kind of expression in soone else's ho?
It pissed him off, severely.
"If it's not the talk of the Village, it's great that you're here." He replied as he crossed his arms
"I heard you were from a cultured background, maybe you can put so sense into their heads."
"Kid… Sigh, I can't say if it's good or not for you to be here, you would've been better off forgetting about this and sparring yourself the headache." Bar replied as he shook his head
"Bar… Everyone, are you all okay? I haven't lost much, have I?" Dale asked as he approached them
'I don't think there is aggression between them, but there seed to be a lack of understanding between both parties.'
'While the Raiders seem to be acting as a neutral group.'
/Nod…/
He gave Retero and the others a nod, at least in them, he could see the gratitude, respect, and even a bit of embarrassnt in their gazes.
Why would they feel that? Sothing was wrong with this discussion.
"Have you rested well?" Edimund asked on the side as he tapped Bar's shoulder
"My body still aches sowhat, but give it a few days and I'll be back on track." He replied with a warm smile as Ophelia approached him, touching his hand in concern
He smiled back at her, telling her that he was okay.
anwhile, he gave Tina and Testros and silent nod and they replied in unison.
There was much for them to discuss but now wasn't the ti...
/Clears throat!/
"..."
Before he had the ti to greet the others, however, the old man from before cleared his throat in a loud manner, interrupting them in a rather rude way.
"I know that after the intense exchange you had with the… Demon, deep in the forest, you must be filled with the desire to commorate your victory." The man said as he waved his right hand around
"You are not alone, we all wish to sit down and enjoy this mont of respite we haven't had in years..."
"Devil, not Demon." Tina interjected in a snarky tone
"Demons are unintelligent and animalistic in nature…"
But before Tina could complete her phrase, the old man cut her again.
"Does it matter? It's dead, Devils, Demons, they're all in the sa, abhorrent creatures that should be slain at sight."
"Those that dwell on such Dark forms of Magic have no place amidst people." He said as he shook his head
""...""
This comnt had a double aning, one Dale didn't know if the man himself was aware of the implications of what he had just said.
As he turned to Tina, he realized her expression was extrely tense, and likely by now, she had thrown this human being to the top of her list of people she hated.
It would be best to avoid leaving the two together from now on.
This included the Raiders who understood the importance of a Witch like Tina, and also due to the fact his words not only offended her and the people that were welcoming them but even so of their own companions, including their leader, Sarferato.
If this old man knew what he was talking about, then he definitely had balls of steel to say it so bluntly in the face of all these people.
"What I was trying to say is… We can commorate all we want later, but for now, we must unravel ourselves from our current predicant."
"..."
Despite everything he was feeling right now, Dale chose to first understand the situation, the man in front of him, and everything else before making hasty decisions.
He could easily solve this through violence, punch the man in the face and knock him out before talking with the people that really cared for him, but this wouldn't work every ti.
There were tis when it was for the best to use violence, and he was weighing this possibility right now.
"... And that would be?" Dale asked as he crossed his arms
'From the silence of the others, they must be trying to leave this to .'
'They must've been talking for quite a long ti, maybe this isn't even their first discussion... I have to put an end to this so we can move on.'
"The matter of allocation of space, future developnt, and community relations."
As he said that, he realized that he had yet to introduce himself, so he quickly added:
"Also, pardon my lack of formalities, you speak with Winthrope Campbell Kahler." The old man said as he bowed slightly
"?...!"
As he heard his na, Dale's expression went from confusion to one of understanding.
'I think I'm starting to understand why this conversation is so awkward.' Dale thought silently as he looked at the old man
Out of everyone he expected to et out of the Survivors, he didn't expect this relic of a man to appear in front of him, and he wasn't pleased for that to be the case.
His na may not trigger any bells in any of the current residents of Resko, but for the Elders and the people who studied the old texts related to Resko's creation, the na Kahler is one ntioned more than once, together with Campbell and a few others.
Those are the nas of so of the Families that financed Resko's initial construction before the Church took over its construction with their big pockets.
Those were so of the nas that ruled the South, albeit not for long, and that still technically do, as, despite the Church's takeover, a Religious organization cannot rule a territory apart from what they deem "A Sacred Land" under Imperial Law, as such, they chose one the families to act as the ruling house and the other ones to beco sothing akin to Parliant.
The Kahler family used to be a re Chelovier household, the lowest form of Nobility, or in other words, a family that was knighted due to the outstanding/ritorious deeds of one of their ancestors.
One thing was for the individual to be knighted and for his following generations to receive the sa Title, whoever Kahler the First was, he should've been a rather outstanding person.
However, the flourishing of Resko's economy and power caused them and all others who invested in their initial prospects to collect big ti, leading their position in the Social circles to reach an all-ti high, with the Kahler family being elevated to the position of a Count.
In short, the man in front of him was the ruler of these lands by right of Imperial Law, or at the very least, the one who should be given the title of Mayor following the Kahler Bloodline as things have been for hundreds of years.
Whoever was the Mayor 90 years ago before the fall of the Wall had unsurprisingly died, and given how inconclusive that was, Dale could imagine there was likely so botherso procedure to choose the next to rule this city.
As for those next to him... They were either mbers of his family, servants, or the descendants of the other families.
What was curious, however, was the fact their line sowhat survived the brutal wilds and they were now here in front of his face causing trouble.
Or that was how it looked under his eyes.
How did they have the ti to think about all of this when their people were starving? They certainly don't look sickly.
Dale was starting to find this all very odd.
"... I see, my parents call Dale and our family na is Houston." Dale replied with a smirk
'Well... I can already sowhat imagine where this conversation will lead, but being hasty will only deprive of information, although it might deprive of a future headache...'
'At least these people don't seem extrely bad intentioned, this attitude of theirs and the expressions of the Elders have greatly increased their likelihood of leaving this place with their noses intact.'
'Now I listen.'
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