Second World

Some of the NPCs following the Duke into the town also went away to do their own things. Only Duke Alfredo, Prince Alonzo, Lieutenant Bailey, Commander Quintus, and High Priest Laurent stayed together as they headed to the largest building at the center of the town. Jack assumed it to be the town hall.

Jack just trailed behind all these NPC big shots.

Not bad, he thought. They could be said as the equivalent of high-ranking government officials in his real world. He would not have this kind of experience if it was the real world. Now it was as if he was also one of these important people.

"There is a smug smile on your face," Peniel commented.

'Don't disturb me. Let me enjoy the moment," Jack replied.

---------------

Not far away from the border town of Thesewal, two hulking figures were laying low as they observed the army that had arrived in front of the town. The two wore straw coats that covered their entire bodies, with a large straw hat that provided cover to their head. People would have to come closer in order to have a clear look at their faces.

If someone did, they would be frightened into a run, because the faces under these straw hats were not human ones. Their skins were dark greenish and rough. Their noses were large and their mouths were wider than human's, with two small tusks jutting out from their bottom jaws.

One of these figures was looking through a long round tool like a spyglass. He uttered some words to his partner, who then took out a paper from his pockets and started writing. The partner then activated a device that created a small wormhole. He rolled the paper and threw it into the wormhole before it closed and disappeared.

He then returned his attention to the resting army not far away, continuing his watch.

At a sand dune far away from border town Thesewal, a large humanoid creature with the same features as the two watchers outside of the border town, stood and gazed at a sea of combatants below. Everyone was lined up neatly as they wait for his order. All of them had the same dark greenish skin and tusked mouth like him.

A dark wormhole suddenly materialized not far from him, a small roll of paper fell from the wormhole onto the sandy ground. He walked over and picked up the paper. As he read the content, his aide came over to his side.

"Warlord, is that a message from the scouts we sent to that border town?" The aide asked.

The warlord who was reading the paper crumpled it after he finished reading. He said, "it is. And that intelligence that was given by the human envoy was true. There was indeed a large force coming to that town. And from the direction, they should be heading into this region, as what that human envoy had informed."

"Can this be a trap? Why would they let us know about their own movement? They must have set this up hoping that we deliver ourselves into their hands."

The warlord chuckled, his voice was deep and reverberating, "You overestimated their race too much. Although they claimed to be under one kingdom, they had many clans within as well, especially amongst the princes who hoped to succeed the current ruler. The one that delivered the intelligence was from the second prince camp. The army that came to the border town is from the third prince one."

"How do you know which clans that envoy and this army are from?"

"Because I pried the information from the envoy himself, right until he could not bear to suffer anymore and begged for his death. As for the army, it was easier. The third prince himself was amongst them. Our scout had confirmed it."

"So the second prince wants to use us to annihilate his opposition? Does he think us his mercenary?"

The warlord chuckled again. "He does," he said. "Nevertheless, if we can cut down a force of Themisphere, it will be a huge glory. A force of a prince some more, our tribe will gain a great deal of honor if we can bring the prince's head with us. Our Lord Chief might have the chance to become the Grand Chief in the election this year. We cannot pass this opportunity."

"My warlord is wise. Then we shall prepare for war."

"Wait until they entered this region. It will serve as a better reason for conflict. They will not be able to accuse us of invading. This will also confirm if the intelligence that their army is heading into this region is true."

"I understand. I will make sure that our troops are prepared."

---------------

The guards of the Town Hall took the Duke's team directly into the main hall of the building. Inside there, several armed guards were having a discussion. When the Duke's entourage entered, the lead man in armor stood up and approached them.

The guy was a rough-looking man with a broad shoulder and a mustache. Jack felt the man looked oddly familiar.

"I have been expecting you. It's an honor to have you here, Duke Alfredo. I am Guss, the base commander and acting mayor of this town," the guy introduced himself.

Guss? It took a moment for the name to register. He then opened up his quest list.

Yep, this Guss was the one in his League of Champion faction quest, which was given by Gruff. Now he knew why he thought this Guss guy looked familiar. He and Gruff were very much alike, Jack figured they must be related.

"Is this…" Guss was hesitant when he looked at Prince Alonzo.

"This is Prince Alonzo," the Duke informed him.

"My apologies! I failed to recognize your highness. I deserve a punishment!" Guss said with a bow.

Very unlike Gruff, Jack said in his mind. This guy was way too formal, unlike that ruffian.

Prince Alonzo laughed at Guss' response. "There was no need for an apology, commander Guss. I rarely went out to socialize with officials, it is normal for you to not recognize me. Please don't treat me any differently. I am here to learn."

Guss nodded. He dismissed the other officers and invited the Duke's team to take their seats. Duke Alfredo then introduced the others to Guss. Guss' gaze lingered a while at Jack when the Duke informed him that Jack was an outworlder. The Duke and Commander Quintus exchanged pleasantries with him for a while. Jack just sat there boringly.

This was tedious, he thought.

Jack almost fell asleep when these politicians finally finished their chit-chats and started talking about important matters. Guss activated a device that generated a holographic map above them.

"I have sent scouts along the route to this ruins you mentioned," Guss informed them. "Mostly there is no problem. The monsters are pretty docile this time of the year. Sandstorms are also less frequent. All you need to make sure is to have enough supplies for the army. As you can see from the map, most of Fulgur region is dominated by desert. It will be difficult to find food and water once you enter this region."

Food and water. Jack wondered if the players would die from hunger or thirst. They still experienced them. They still ate food and drank water from time to time, but no one ever experimented about what would happen if a player stopped taking nourishment.

The Duke nodded. "That is why we stopped here. I hope you have prepared enough supply for us to bring for one round trip to the ruins."

"There is no need to worry, they have been prepared," Guss said. "However, there is another thing that I might need to bring up."

"What is it?" The Duke asked.

"It might not be something to worry about, but my scouts had informed me of an increased activity of Verremor's forces around the Fulgur region."

"What are they doing there? That region is mostly desert, there are no resources for them to acquire there," Commander Quintus commented.

"Exactly, that's why I have my patrols doubled up at the border. It was unlike them to waste their activities in that region. Perhaps they were just performing some sort of training exercises. Just be careful if you bump into them on your way to the ruins."

"Is our relationship with that country bad?" Jack finally joined in the conversation.

"Well, it's not exactly sunshine," Guss replied, not at all bothered by Jack's interruption. "We have had some bad skirmishes with them. But as long as we don't trespass into their territory, they mostly leave us alone. But then again, you never know how those Orcs think."

"Orcs?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Guss answered, as if he was simply stating a fact.

Noticing Jack's surprise, Commander Quintus said, "Verremor is a nation governed by the Orc race. Did I not mention this before?"

"No, you did not," Jack replied.