39 Fellow city

After the triumphal entry of the Olmaria army to Fellow, capital of Luberistan, King Colton IV decided to set a tight program for the reconstruction of the chain of command. The first step was the choice of a viceroy. This individual chosen directly by the king will take his place in every decision. The second son of the king's brother, Duke of Olmaria, was proposed for this office.

The viceroy will be advised by a small enclave of three local nobles. These characters were chosen during an important dinner by all the most influential nobles of Luberistan. Most of the votes were taken by the three oldest families in the kingdom.

After these main events, the king decided to stay for another three months with the aim of making the passage of power as painless as possible.

Simon then took advantage of this time to explore the city and its surroundings. With the help of his men he sought every possible information about the mercenary beastmen.

The Force of Fate mercenaries scoured every corner of the capital in search of information as Simon and Desmond searched through the palace documents.

One day the turning point. Drew returns to the palace after discovering a farm just outside the walls that hosted the temporary camp of the beastmen.

Simon, Desmond, and Drew himself walk toward the edge of the city. George in a sparkling suit of clothes appears behind them. "Where are you going guys? Do not tell me you're still going to work. We need to relax our nerves. Why do not you come with me to a nice place? Some of my acquaintances have spoken to me very well about the 'Love's mermaid'. Alcohol, women and fun!"

Desmond responds with the usual quiet tone "You're really bad."

George indignantly turns his back on the group of friends and starts walking boldly towards the port "You do not know what you're missing out on! You will have to settle for my stories when we see each other tomorrow morning." And whistling he walks away.

Simon with a firm voice orders "Come on! I want to go back before dark."

The farm is located on a small hill outside the city walls. Simon meets the owner while he is dealing with his animals.

The farmer is gathering cows-like animals but with a much longer coat. The thick fur touches the ground making the animals even more impressive.

Simon approaches slowly waving a hand in greeting "Hello, I'm Simon and I need to talk to the owner of this place. Can I ask you?"

The amazed farmer replies "I am the owner, do you need milk or cheese? I do not usually sell directly, I have an agreement with a Fellow merchant."

"Forgive me, I'm not here for your products, I'm here to get some information." Simon prepares some coins in his hand and then resumes "I need to know something about the beastmen that were hosted by you."

The farmer ends up pushing the cattle inside a fence, then turning to the small group of foreigners he begins to tell "I think I can talk about it, so I do not think I'll see them again. They paid me well to give them one of my land to set up their camp. I have only provided them with water, wheat, meat and milk. They took care of everything else." Pointing to a small field near a stream "There's where they slept during this year."

Simon surprised exclaims "Year! Have they been here for a whole year? "

"Sure! They arrived fourteen months ago. Even before the king increased shipping taxes. They came to me with a great offer and then they stayed here to train all the time. Every now and then their boss went to the city but I never asked where he was going. Since they did not work I thought they would give me problems instead they were perfect guests. Some of their members also helped me fix the farm."

Desmond whispers ironically to Drew "They're really good people."

The farmer continues "I had never seen men with the blood of a beast in their veins. They are strange, from a distance they seem human but when you get closer you see fur, cat ears, feline eyes and fangs. The first few days I had nightmares. By the time I got used to it."

Simon thoughtfully observing the signs of the camp "How are they called?"

The farmer overturns the feed in a manger then responds "I tell you the truth, I did not understand anything of their language, it seemed only animal verses mixed together. I did not think to ask the name of their group. "

Simon watches his interlocutor with a sad look but the farmer continues. "But one day, guards from the castle came here. They had to bring talk with the mercenaries. Their officer asked me to take him to the 'Seven Life' camp. The two stayed here only an hour. "

Satisfied Drew winks at Simon "I would say that we have not gone all this way for nothing. Finally after weeks some useful information. No one in the city had ever seen them, yet they stayed here more than a year. Unbelievable."

Simon thanks the kind man and together with the two friends silently returns to Fellow.

Arrived at the palace the young commander heads for the treasury archive. In previous research he has never sought information prior to a few months since the beginning of the war. Now instead, thanks to the farmer, he has some certain dates to look for.

After a few hours to browse through the various papers, Simon finds a response ... but not what he thought. In the balance sheet of the previous year there is an item relating to Seven Life but it is not a payment. It's a big entry. "Are the mercenaries who paid Luberistan to fight? But all this happened before there were rumors of war. I do not understand. Cursed! What did you have in mind when you came here? Why did you have all those infiltrators among our ranks? I can not understand. I have to find other clues and consult with Jason. He is an experienced tactic, maybe he can understand this strange pattern of events."

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John is busy shopping at Fellow's port market to buy his parents' souvenirs when he sees George dressed for a party heading to one of the back alleys. Intrigued follows him.

After a few more turns in the small streets of the port. George enters boldly inside a picturesque place. Above the door the sign is a busty mermaid.

Angry John thinks "Ugly lousy! He did not tell me anything. That's how he wants to solve our challenge to those who will stay with a girl first. This is cheating! "

The boy stays outside the brothel for a few hours to wait. The intention is to confront the brother about the matter. The bet is to be canceled.

The surprise is quickly replaced by pure enjoyment when John sees George come out of the 'Love's mermaid'. The boy is completely naked.

"George, what happened to you? Did you lower your trousers and have not found them? "

The naked boy grumbling responds "I have not even had time to see a girl. I lost all my money to card games. I know they cheated me but I can't prove it."

John almost suffocated with laughter mocks his brother "George, the armored soldier, the legend says that under the armor he does not bring anything!"

George "Fuck you damn!"

"Given how lucky you are at the game I would say you still have some hope of becoming a man before me." And with this last sentence John laughs again while he lends his jacket to his brother.

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Simon is exposing his theories to Jonas, Drew and Desmond when, from one of the secondary entrances of the royal palace, George circumspect gets in covered only by John's jacket.

John winking at the others only moves his lips to say "I'll tell you later."