Quinlan didn’t live in a castle or a mansion like an ordinary nobleman should be. Instead, he lived in a free trading city called Elepolis facing directly to the open sea.
Elepolis had always been a rich and crowded city. People ca there for an opportunity to start over. Elepolis was different from the usual towns and cities because people there had a hidden rule.
What you were does not decide what you are.
The city only cared about how well you could work and how good you really were. The fascinating thing about this city was that people would think it would turn into a hellhole just like Blacklungs because of its hidden rule. But no, the city was very well maintained and all the citizens, no matter who they were, obeyed the rule.
Or else, they would be taken care of by House Carlisle.
House Carlisle had a strong hold on Elepolis. They didn’t have it a few decades ago but everything changed when Quinlan Carlisle beca the master of the house. He brought his house back from the brink of death.
He also took control of Port Vantu, which was the previous na of Elepolis.
Port Vantu used to be a city filled with cris and addicts. But Quinlan cleaned it up and turned it to the trading center of Everia like it was today.
Quinlan was sitting in his office, dealing with paperwork when Bas walked inside.
"There is soone you need to et." Bas said.
"Who?"
Bas held in a smile. "You just have to find that out for yourself."
Quinlan shrugged. He put his quill down and walked outside with Bas.
Quinlan barely made it ho these days. His original territory was very small and did not hold much value in his eyes. He still let people trade and cultivate Carlisle land but he didn’t focus too much on it.
Most of the ti, Quinlan stayed in Elepolis, his true territory in fa but not in na. Elepolis was a neutral ground with no lord hanging over it.
Quinlan had a big trading guild here and several facilities.
He walked out from the main building and saw the newcors. A big cart with no window that made people question what was inside it.
A beautiful girl with a full suit of leather armor. Her armor had a distinct gray color, very different from the usual brown.
In front of all of them was a tall and large man with white hair wearing an iron mask. When Quinlan saw the white hair, he imdiately thought about Siderius. But Siderius wasn’t this tall and he definitely wasn’t this big.
Still, Quinlan had a feeling that it was Siderius. "Is that..."
Bas nodded, "You guessed right."
Siderius turned to Quinlan. He removed his Iron Mask and greeted his old friend with a smile.
"Quinlan, my friend. How have you been?"
Quinlan stepped down from the stairs and approached Siderius. The two n grabbed their forearms tightly as a sign of trust.
"Siderius! I read your letter before but didn’t think you would co this quickly."
"The road has been nice to , Quinlan."
"And they are..." Quinlan turned to Jude and Ashe.
"Let introduce you. The girl is my first apprentice, Ashe Costeau. Don’t be fooled by her small fra. She packs a great punch. That fat guy is Jude Fisher, Baron of Scalize. He ca to Everia to look for a way to cure his wife."
Quinlan grabbed arms with Ashe and nodded to Jude.
"I didn’t know you had an apprentice."
"I have four actually. She’s the brightest one."
"Please co in. I will treat you nicely."
Siderius pulled Quinlan closer and whispered to his ears. "Have your n pay extra attention to the cart and do not let anyone see what is inside. Jude’s wife is inside."
Quinlan nodded. He understood the gravity of the situation. He quickly connected the dots inside his mind. Jude ca to look for a cure. He was a Baron but he still abandoned everything to do so. If anything happened to her, Quinlan would have a new enemy.
He didn’t want more trouble.
Quinlan turned to Jude. "Baron. Please rest assured that we will guard the cart with our lives."
Jude jumped down from the driver’s seat. "Please. I am no Baron in Everia. Just call Jude."
"Very well, Jude. Please co in as well. I will have my personal bodyguard watch over the cart."
Quinlan then turned to Bas and gestured at him.
Bas sighed. "Ugh... Why does it have to be ?"
Bas went with the car involuntarily.
"He might seem a bit unserious but he is very trustworthy." Quinlan said to Jude.
"I can attest to that." Siderius nodded.
The group then walked inside the trading guild. Jude glanced at Quinlan a few tis because of his unique appearance. Quinlan looked like a mummy with all of those bandages wrapped around him.
’You don’t have any normal friends, at all, Siderius.’ Jude thought to himself. But then he realized he could also be counted as one of those abnormal friends.
They feasted and drank. They talked and sang. They spent the night like there was nothing wrong with the world. For a mont, it seed like it.
The morning after.
Quinlan woke up in his room with the most unbearable hangover to human kind. This happened every ti he, Bas, and Siderius got together. Those two man beasts drank like they couldn’t get drunk.
Quinlan was correct. Both Bas and Siderius had a cheat in so way, leaving him alone to feel the pain of alcohol.
Quinlan lazily got up and walked to the door. As he opened the wooden door, he noticed Ashe was walking in the hallway. Her eyes widened a little when she saw him.
Quinlan touched his face. He realized the bandages had co loose.
"Apology, my lady."
Quinlan gently closed the door to fix his bandages.
"So that is the ailnt Master talked about." Ashe didn’t think much about it and continued on her way.
Quinlan finished dressing himself and returned to his office. Bas and Siderius were there talking to each other.
"You got big, huh, Siderius? You are even bigger than now." Bas said.
"I am only seventeen years old, after all." Siderius shrugged. "I am still growing."
Bas spilled out the water he just drank.
Quinlan sat with the two of them. "Well. You can tell why you are here now."
"It’s nothing secret about it actually. I want to learn willpower, Will of the Spirit, Spirit Swordsman Art, or whatever nas it has. Jude’s wife, Caterina suffered from a fractured spirit, which I theorized willpower can help her."
Quinlan leaned back on his chair and wandered in deep thoughts.
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