Chapter 30 - The Frontier

Teres, Samoa, Carpathia, Corona and Pellam are the five main border cities, which are located between Ansem and Rhodnius. All five cities have been destroyed and rebuilt many times due to constant fighting, however, there has been a relative period of peace for the last 7 years, in which 4 of the 5 cities, Teres, Samoa, Carpathia and Corona have belonged to Ansem. This has been due to the influence of the three current Dragon Generals, considered the most powerful in the last 100 years.

However, the events of 6 years ago, when Armand Dai Mikaeli died, brought an avalanche of pressure on Ansem from several of the other Territories, especially Rhodnius and Lutzomya, which is why Ansem has not been able to expand its borders into Rhodnius. This has also been one of the reasons why many in Ansem also hate the name of Armand, as Ansem has not been able to use the advantages of its military might to grow further. The silver lining, however, is that the power of the Dragon Generals has proven too high to be overlooked by the other territories, and Ansem has managed to expand into the Barbarian lands. They have also strengthened their merchant and maritime fleet.

In the Frontier, in addition to the 4 cities belonging to Ansem, there is a permanent army regiment, where no less than four hundred thousand soldiers reside, situated at the extremities of Mount David, equidistant from the 5 cities. The capture of this fortress by one of the Dragon Generals seven years ago was one of Ansem's great victories, which has enabled it to maintain control of the Frontier in recent times.

More and more people from Rhodnius and Ansem were approaching the cities of Pellam and Corona respectively, which were the closest to the edge of the Rando Woods. The great explosion inside the Forest spread to the border area, and several of the Igneous Rocks fell outside the forest, near the cities. Many people went to investigate these craters, but whether or not anything was obtained from them is still a mystery. However, due to rumours of treasure and changes in the Woods, many groups of adventurers, warriors, as well as clans and families from the area have gone into the Woods to try and seek their own fortune. The army detachment from Eonia had not yet arrived, but was already on its way, with one of the Dragon Generals in command, so there was sincere excitement from many of the Ansem citizens on the Frontier since the Dragon Generals were the idols of the whole population.

It took Nerun and company 5 days to travel to the city of Corona, with a caravan of adventurers and traders. Elijah took the opportunity to make short work as an escort for the caravan, and being a Qi Praetorian, he was well received, gaining some coin and information for his work.

"Little Brother Elijah, these days travelling with you have been fantastic. Are you sure you're not interested in working with us full-time? I offer you to be one of my sub-captains, you will receive a basic salary of 50 gold coins a year, plus bonuses from the merchants and for each successful caravan we escort. Making 100-120 gold coins a year is more than possible. Apart from the fact that if you come we will be much stronger, hehehehehehe" laughed a rather portly, middle-aged man with a full beard.

"Thank you very much, Reyes, but right now my goal is different. I want to join the army" Elijah said to the captain of the mercenaries who had escorted the caravan. This was the excuse they were using for the journey, a young master who longed to join Ansem's army and wanted to take advantage of the situation on the Frontier to get noticed and get in with some contacts. Maikal and Sylvester acted as servants and Nerun as his younger brother.

Reyes could only sigh at Elijah's words, and said, "It's only natural to want to join the Army. I knew that a young man as talented as you would have great aspirations. Great heroes after all are born into the great army of Ansem. Who knows? Perhaps in the future, you might become one of the Royal Guards or even one of the elite soldiers under one of the Dragon Generals. At that time, please make sure to remember this older brother, hehehe. So in addition to your payment for your help these days, take this as well as a token of our friendship."

Reyes passed him a wooden token with a symbol of a raven perched on a pole. This was the symbol of the mercenary gang, the Night Ravens, of which Reyes was a member, one of the 3 main mercenary gangs operating on the border. "If you have any problems here on the Frontier, don't hesitate to look me up. I don't presume to say I can solve everything, but I certainly have some clout around these parts, and a lot of people need to give me face."

Having achieved the first objectives they had set for themselves, Nerun's party separated from the caravan and entered the city of Corona. It was the first walled city Nerun and Sylvester had seen, with walls 10m high and 3m thick. There was a long line to enter the city, and it was obvious that there were many adventurers coming for the events in the Forest, based on the whispers they heard around them. Nerun and Sylvester took advantage of their age to approach different people and ask about the latest rumours on the border and other notable things they should know.

It took several minutes before it was finally their turn. They had to pay a fee of 20 silver coins per person, just to enter the city. Paying the 80 coins, they entered a short tunnel. On the other side, Nerun and Sylvester were stunned. There were hundreds of houses and large stone buildings, shops, warehouses, pharmacies, smithies and many other businesses surrounding a large main thoroughfare that could easily accommodate two chariots like the one from the Corena Family they had seen at Radem. The road stretched for hundreds of miles into the distance. There was a sea of people going from one side to the other, and Nerun was amazed at the number of Warriors he saw. Everywhere there were Qi Masters and Grandmasters, and even the occasional Praetorian could be seen among the passers-by.

Corona was not the largest city in Ansem, it was not even in the top ten, but it was certainly one of the busiest, given its importance due to its location on the Frontier. Apart from the fact that it was one of the main trading stations between the Major Territories of Ansem and Rhodnius. Don't think that because they were constantly at war and fighting there was no trade between the two, on the contrary, the movement of materials from one Territory to the other was one of the most lucrative businesses, and there was no shortage of smuggling groups, which could be counted in the hundreds.

Maikal led the group to a dingy inn in one of Corona's back alleys. As there is light, so there is darkness in every city, even more so in a city where there is such a high traffic of people, and where there is constant fighting between Territories. More than two-thirds of the population of the border cities are poor people, living in squalor. There were many beggars and paupers in the alleys, though there were also humble working people. The best and the worst of humanity are mixed together in this piece of the continent.

Elijah paid a week's rent for 2 rooms. Maikal stayed in the bar of the inn, drinking alcohol and mingling with the rest of the drunks in the area, checking out the latest buzz. Elijah went to the main town square to try to find out how to join a group of adventurers to go to the Forest to investigate the craters.

Nerun and Sylvester didn't have much to do, so they decided to check out the city. Elijah had repeatedly warned them of some of the things they had to be careful of on the border, and above all, try not to get into trouble that could put them in danger.

The two boys quickly made their way back to the main road, where they stared with stars in their eyes at the various shops, warriors and all that the city had to offer. It was the first time they had seen anything so exciting. Some of the passersby were clearly nobility from the nearby villages, as well as warriors from some of the sects on the outskirts of Ansem. Several of them saw Nerun and Silvester, and couldn't help but look at them with disdain, but for the most part, they were ignored.

While there was some chaos in the city, there was a clear order to some things, and it was forbidden to fight and kill anyone within the city. The laws in Ansem were quite strict in this regard, and few offenders could go free if they had broken either of these two rules. However, there were still some corrupt ties between some people in the government of the four border cities at the hands of Ansem, so there was no shortage of those who could bend the rules in their favour to some extent, though they would not dare to do so in the open, lest they be discovered by someone in the central government and sent to the dungeon or worse.

Nerun and Silvester tried to ask various questions among the shops and passers-by but were generally disregarded by most of them. It looked like it was going to be much harder than they thought to get the information they were looking for. Suddenly, they heard a loud voice calling out:

"THIEF. STOP THAT THIEF!"

A commotion could be seen in the distance. Soon they could see that there was a young man running quickly and nimbly down the main avenue, dodging people. He was a boy of about 9 to 10 years old, with curly hair and freckles on his face, somewhat dirty and unkempt. He had rags similar to those of Nerun and Sylvester and looked like he was carrying a package inside his clothes. There was a group of guards in pursuit of the boy, and it looked as if they would soon catch up with him.

When the boy who was running with all his might saw Nerun and Sylvester, there was a glint in his eye, and throwing a piece of rag into Sylvester's hands, he kept running while saying "There's the package. See you at the usual place."

Silvester caught the package instinctively but knew at once that it had been a mistake. Some of the guards who had been chasing the boy now surrounded Sylvester and Nerun as they glared at them with angry, reddened eyes. Clearly, the boy had used them as scapegoats.

Sylvester tried to explain himself, but he couldn't help but stammer as he was so nervous: "This, This, This, This, it's a misunderstanding, I swear I have nothing to do with that brat".

Sylvester raised his hands and dropped the supposed package the boy had thrown at him. One of the guards came over and took it in his hands, it was something wrapped in a piece of old cloth. It turned out to be a blackened and mouldy piece of stale bread, possibly the boy's rations. When the guards saw the parcel their faces darkened greatly. Clearly, they had been outwitted and it is possible that their masters would take it out on them.

Before long, the guards who had chased the thief returned, clearly angry and empty-handed. The boy had managed to escape into the crowd, after the distraction he had caused with Nerun and Sylvester.

One of the leading guards, square-faced and stern, with a scar on his face, looking at Nerun and Silvester, said mercilessly, "Take them away. I want you to get all the information they know about that wretched thief. Then get rid of them."

Some bystanders who saw the scene wanted to stop the guards because they had seen that Nerun and Sylvester were not from the area and had been walking along the avenue previously minding their own business. But they quickly stopped when they saw the emblem on the guards' armour, a mighty tiger on the hunt. They were part of one of the 3 big mercenary gangs of the frontier, the Violent Tigers. Not only were they the local tyrants, but they had a reputation for cruelty and ruthlessness, and nothing was beneath them, as long as they got paid. It was rumoured that they had shady dealings with members of the city government, and even had contacts in Rhodnius. Apparently, they were also supported by an important Ansem noble family, but no one knew whether this was true or not. The leader of the mercenaries, the so-called Prairie Tiger, was a powerful Qi General of level 54 and in his past, he had been a member of the army but was expelled for his brutality, apparently for burning down a village of civilians in Rhodnius.

"Hey, we have nothing to do with that guy. We just arrived in the city today," said Nerun hurriedly, but the two guards who approached them, not even paying attention to his words and with impassive faces, were about to catch up with them. The rest of the guards had positioned themselves so that they had nowhere to run.