In a place that would be classified as the middle of nowhere by anyone living in the major kingdoms and forces in the Central Continent, there was a small village which was inhabited by less than a thousand people.
Unlike normal settlements of these kinds, though, they had a very sturdy wall set up all around them with two guards even standing in front of the gate and checking everyone who was entering and leaving.
Such small settlements had to take great pains to maintain security, as they were always prime targets for bandits who did not want to tussle with the advanced security personnel who were trained rigorously to do their job. Granted, even if they were weaklings in almost all the major forces, as would be the case with any force which passed a certain number, it would mostly be that they would have to be really careful about messing up and having to face tons of backup who would decimate them if they even tried their antics in a proper town or village inside a Kingdom.
Inside the village, something else that was out of the norm was that the roads were not just bare earth that had been tread on so many times that they had flattened out. Instead, stones had been laid down and then their tops had been sliced off, before mud was inserted between them in order to make a stone pathway.
All in all, anyone visiting would definitely be shocked, and this was also the case with an emissary from the Kingdom of Arafell who had just arrived on the orders of the Queen.
As soon as he had made his identity known to the guards, one of them had rushed inside to summon the one with the most authority in the village.
A middle-aged man who was neither too short nor too tall and neither too skinny nor too muscular walked through the path on the other side of the gate while greeting all those on his way with a smile on his face.
From the respect he was given, the emissary guessed that this was the Chief, and he felt surprised as this was definitely the most unique leader of a settlement that he had seen yet.
Most leaders were those who enjoyed wealth as well as respect, but it was not so with this man.
He looked like a simple man. He wasn't even wearing any shoes, and he looked like he was a farmer, which was evident from the strong smell of wet earth that emanated from him. Used to the luxuries of the Palace, the emissary frowned at this, but he tried to control himself as he was here with an important job.
After he finally approached, he said, "Our humble village weles the honorable emissary of the great Kingdom of Arafell. Please e in. After you have rested, we can speak regarding what you have e for."
Simply nodding, the emissary walked inside without showing any proper respect, as he had also been manded to not show any weaknesses even though he was here to ask something of them. Rather than 'ask', he had been told that he was giving them an opportunity to bee so much greater than they were, which meant that it had to be given from a position of greatness, as otherwise, the value of what he was offering might not be conveyed as much as it should be.
He had already noticed the walls and the road, and as he looked at the houses which were also not thatched cottages like in the many settlements that he had been to till now, he wondered just what was so different about this village that it had developed in this way.
Still, he did not care much and just decided to do what he was here to do, as, in the grand scheme of things, nothing else mattered except him finishing his job here and moving on to another settlement.
Ushered into a small room where there were fruits of all kinds and a bottle of wine placed, the emissary raised his eyebrows, while the village chief said, "This is a brew by one of our villagers. Please try it. It'll definitely be to your liking. When you're leaving, you can also take a few bottles with you, as this is the specialty of our village. Even the bandits who e to raid us often just leave when we give them a crate of these."
Laughing at the last sentence, the chief walked to the door and said, "Please rest for a bit, and we can meet in our meeting room in a few minutes. I shall wait for you."
Very respectful.
Saying inwardly that it was well-deserved, the emissary sat on the couch which was also quite fortable and munched on a few fruits which were all very sweet, as if they had just been plucked from the tree. He then sampled the wine, and had no option but to raise his eyebrows again as the sweet liquid dripped down his throat, instantly making him want to drink more.
Even after he was finished with the bottle, he felt himself wanting more, but he suddenly remembered who he was and tried to control his urges.
What would his mander say if he found out that he was acting like a mon drunkard?
Yet, the wine had just been a bit too addicting. He felt himself salivating even as he saw the bottle, so he hid the bottle below the couch, but even this did not stop the temptation.
Taking a few deep breaths, he finally calmed himself down and walked out of the room to find a little girl waiting to show him the way.
Checking his pocket and making sure that the all-important trinket that he had placed there was still present, the emissary adjusted his clothes which were grand robes that had been embroidered with images of fairy-like beings descending to the earth while being worshipped by ferocious giants.
This was a pretty strange image to be stitched onto clothes, but it was the standard garb of emissaries from the Kingdom of Arafell, and he wore it proudly.
Yet, the moment he stepped outside, darkness suddenly overtook him as he collapsed to the floor, and the last thing he remembered was the little girl giggling, as if this wasn't the first time that she was seeing something like this.
Meanwhile, the village chief had been watching everything from a tower that was present in the center of the village, from where he could see each and every nook and cranny of the village below him if he wished.
Right after the emissary fainted, he was carried to the tower by a few men who then checked his pockets thoroughly before finding the hidden pocket in which the trinket that he had caressed before was present.
It was in the shape of a ring, and the most remarkable thing about it was that in its crown was set a blood red gem that glowed faintly.
"Bring over a pitcher of water.
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