13 Chapter 13

Emmi showed them around the market square, telling them about village history. The village was founded a little over a century ago it was created to be the new frontier into the wilderness although the population numbered in the hundreds a large percentage of the inhabitants were adventurers or hunters. The village was lucky enough to be exempted from tax due to the sheer distance the tax-collectors would have to travel to reach the small village.The nearest city or village was more than two weeks travel away, so the king had created a new law that exempted frontier villages from tax with the reason that the coin was spent on exploration.The king encouraged the village to be self-sufficient and rewarded new finds in the frontier with good gold, new dungeons or mines were important discoveries. As they were resources for the empire and could be game changers if they were utilized correctly.

The king had sent word that if enough had been discovered to make it worth the effort he would turn the small town into a true city. The kingdom was slowly but surely building a road from the nearest city to Grathem, populating a few villages along the way as rest-stops. Their kingdom, Reagum, was neither large nor small. There were larger kingdoms surrounding the country and a kingdom of similar size to the west. The presence of larger kingdoms that were always vying for resources had forced experience onto the now hardened Reagum army. The kingdom was in a near constant state of war as one larger kingdom after the other would test their borders. They had a defensive alliance with the kingdom to the west. The two kingdoms had joined forces in many a battle over the centuries and the royal families has married into each other on more than a few occasions. Some saw the two kingdoms as one kingdom ruled by two different branches of the same family, the statement was not far from the truth.

The kingdom to the west was called Yalisia, they had few warriors compared to other countries but were unparalleled in their ferocity. Each of their citizens was taught how to wield a weapon from a young age, they had spent enough time with a weapon in hand that even an average farmer could fight toe to toe with a soldier originating from the larger kingdoms. They took pride in their martial ability, Reagum, on the other hand, had companies of dedicated soldiers that trained day and night, they were sent to battlefields from a young age, hardening their youth through war. Their soldiers were disciplined and experienced, working together with a fluidity that had halted the enemy armies in their tracks.

The current king of Reagum was Jorhan, a proud young man at the age of twenty-eight. He was a just and strong ruler, as his ancestors had been before him. He had a younger brother who was a genius in the art of battle, a strategist that made the experienced generals of the larger kingdoms seem incompetent. They had an older sister, who had not wanted the throne but instead focused on her swordsmanship, it was rumored that she was a true master with a rapier and was frequently seen on the battlefields. Yalisia had an Empress, the previous Emperor had died last year leaving his young daughter on the throne at the age of sixteen. She had an older brother that advised her but had refused the right to rule. He focused on his swordsmanship same as the oldest sister of the Reagum family, it was rumored that the two had a relationship.

Then she told them about the multitude of races that were spread out through the various kingdoms. The elves, an elegant people, known for their love of nature and all it encompasses. Strong in the magic of the earth and gifted in archery. The elves had no singular kingdom but lived in various tribes throughout the continent. Two tribes lived in the kingdom of Reagum, The tribe of the Falling Leaf and The Silver Wing tribe. The tribes were interconnected, the elders of each tribe would meet once every fifty years in a location that was ever changing. They remained neutral during wars, although a few elves were known to join armies, mercenary groups or adventurer parties. The tribes did not involve themselves in war. There was a legend about a kingdom who once attacked an elven tribe and razed it to the ground, the elven people had gathered their might and destroyed the kingdom in an unprecedentedly fierce assault. No one had dared to attack the elves since then.

The dwarven people, proud and fierce warriors, lived in close contact to the earth and stone, masters at the manipulation of metal and brilliant inventors, architects and engineers. Their iron legions shook the battlefield of any kingdom that raised their ire, their kingdom had its own infrastructure webbed deep into the earth, connecting all their various magnificent cities. They mostly kept to themselves but were open for trade and had a strong economical foundation. They were ruled by the Lord of the Stone, a Warrior of incredible power well over five centuries old. Few kingdoms and people could count themselves among the dwarven allies, but those that could were bonded and could count on the support of the dwarven iron legions in battle. Most of the countries that were allied with the dwarves were peaceful, focusing on the advance of both metal and magic. Their alliance with the dwarves giving them the power needed to live in peace.

The giants of the red sand, a people with bronze coloured hide. With an average height of three meters, these towering giants were a fearsome presence on any battlefield, they had no one ruler the strongest of their warriors could claim the seat of Warlord. Any tribesman could challenge the warlord for the right to rule should they manage to defeat him in combat, they could lead their people. This was no easy task. The current warlord had ruled for over twenty years, he was a four-meter tall giant that had waded through many a battlefield yet still remained at the peak of power. The giants of the red sand had a love of battle, their kind were not uncommon in adventurers parties or mercenary guilds. Their nomadic horde remained in a permanent state of war with one country or another. A select few kingdoms and empires who had gained the respect of the giants through a show of strength were exempt from their eternal search for battle.

The beastmen inhabited the steppe's, they had a mainly tribal kingdom. They were ruled by a council of chieftains pulled from the largest or most powerful tribes, they lived all over place and moved consistently but would unite to protect their country should the need arise. Because of the many different sub-races of beast men they were a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, most of their warriors specializing in an aspect of combat from a young age. One of their chieftains was said to have impressed the Warlord of the red sand to such a degree that he exempted their people from war, although red giants and beastmen could often be found testing their strength against each other. In war it was not uncommon to see the two groups as allies, both of their species thriving in battle. The nomadic centaurs, although not beast men, did count themselves among their number, known as fearsome archers and magnificent calvary, they joined armies and mercenary groups but were rare to be found among adventurers.

The Merman had a kingdom deep under the sea, protected by their warriors and by the very fact that most other races simply could not reach their kingdom without an enormous amount of magic or the invitation of a merman. Due to their geographical location they had not participated in any of the wars nor allied themselves with any kingdoms, they prided themselves on their neutrality. Their warriors never seen in any adventurer parties, mercenary groups or army other than their own.

"Are those all the races?" Sumi asked.

"Not even close." Emmi said, "There are the true giants, that are over ten meters tall, the hobbits, the aerids, the dark ones and many more but most of those either hail from very far away or from a different continent entirely so it is extremely rare to meet them."

"Talking about hobbits," Emmi said grinning, "You should meet the smith! He is quite an interesting character and you'll need to use his services at some point. So we might as well go meet him! Before we do that we need to drop by the adventurers guild, there is something we forgot to do!"

Now that they walked through the village and were more knowledgeable about its culture they could look at the people and see their rough and rumbustious nature. As they walked through the market there was always shouting or people arguing somewhere, most people had a sizable scar here and there from a monster encounter. Nearly everyone had a weapon on their person but Emmi had told them that crime was rare in the village. Most squabbles and arguments were settled in a good old fist fight and there wasn't much to steal, the people here were practical and had few luxurious items.

They stood in front of the now familiar adventurers guild and entered the building, a few other adventurers were talking with receptionists or standing near the job board looking for something worth their time, they spotted Maia and walked up to her. Emmi waved at her, "I think it's about time to make my team official!" She said with a proud smile to Maia. "Sumi, Three, would you do me the pleasure of joining my adventurers' party, The Irregulars!"

"I like the name! I'm in!" Sumi said with a grin.

Three nodded his agreement. Thus the adventurer team, The Irregulars, finally formed.

Three, Emmi and Sumi were headed back to Emmi's house. Emmi told them it would be better to meet the blacksmith tomorrow as he had probably closed his shop for the day. They met Davis and Talin along the way, they were coming over for dinner. They paid a small sum to Emmi's mother and they all ate dinner together like this every night. The three of them had grown up together, they were closer than some blood-related siblings.

"So what are you guys going to spend your stat points on? We should spend them tonight so we can feel the effect tomorrow." Davis asked.

"We should specialize how we use our stat points, we are planning to continue being a party for a long amount of time right? It would make us stronger in the long run." Emmi pointed out.

Sumi glanced over at Three, "Fine with us, me and Three both have fifteen points to spend."

"We have twelve." Talin told them.

"Personally I want to focus my points between Strength, Agility and Endurance. I think Davis should focus on Agility, Dexterity and a small amount in both Endurance and Strength, Talin should go for Agility, Dexterity and Strength. Three, if he is going to keep being our heavy should focus on, Vitality, Endurance and Strength, With Sumi focusing everything on Intelligence and Wisdom." Emmi explained.

"I would focus on heavy strikes, with enough mobility to keep out of harms way, Davis would specialize in hit and run tactics aiming for points to disable, maim or kill depending on the opponent. Talin would be our punching power, just like in the dungeon he would prioritize targets. Three already has a great skill set for tanking, which means we could risk what other teams can't. We can leave all the aggro to him so we can increase our offensive capabilities, Sumi could then recklessly increase her firepower, especially with her… flexible… use of body but if you could learn a heal spell or two in case of an emergency that would be fantastic."

The others listened to her explanation and nodded, Three looked over at Sumi. [Wouldn't it be dangerous for me to do all the tanking? If there are too many it could get us killed.]

Sumi smiled, [They already trust you to take care of anything dangerous, if there are a lot of them then we can use our superior firepower to devastate the enemy ranks. Emmi and Talin are good at handling larger, stronger enemies. While me and Davis have a skill set suited for targeting larger groups of enemies. I think she is right, focusing all of our tanking on you would make us stronger.]

Three scratched his chin, the others had paid attention to their conversation even if they could not understand it. Three nodded in agreement, they let out a sigh of relief. Emmi started muttering enthusiastically about named adventurers and even moving all the way up to S-rank.