Alisa finally answered after a long pause:

  “Lady Tiara was captured by slavers when she was just fifteen years old. Her entire village was burnt, while her parents and siblings killed. She was then sold to different places and treated as an object of entertainment for a while....”

  Alisa teared-up but continued:

  "She escaped multiple times, but was captured again and then sold off somewhere else…” She took a pause once more.

  “No need to continue if you can not. I am sorry for putting you in such a position.” Harwin reassured.

  “It is fine.....her story is just full of sorrow. I now see that Grand-father and my uncles were right. The world is too cruel." Alisa decided to carry on:

  "Lady Tiara finally gave up when she was twenty. At that time she was captured by another slaver who took her for his personal servant. They were travelling through this route when a young dwarven man saw her. He offered to buy her for ten gold empyreans but the slaver refused....that slaver then tried to humiliate her in-front of the dwarf but the young man crushed his hand. Of course, he was attacked by the underlings of the slaver, but other dwarves acted quickly and it was a decisive victory."

  Alisa's expressions changed a little now. She was even abit cheerful as she went on:

  "The dwarves then freed all of the slaves. The young man told Tiara that he fell in love with her on the first sight, but if she wanted to leave. He would not stop, rather offer her safe passage to where-ever she wanted to go. However, if she decided to stay, then he will honour and cherish her for the rest of his life. Lady Tiara saw the kindness and the chivalry of this man, and decided to take his hand. Of-course, it was the village-chief Tolborf. All slavers have been banned ever since from entering this settlement.”

  Alisa smiled at the end knowing that justice prevailed in the end but she was too optimistic in that concept. Miracles are just miracles and many slaves got the shorter end of stick, but Harwin decided to not correct her.

  “Do they have any children? I have not seen any heirs of the village-chief. It is quite problematic for someone in his position.” Harwin asked.

  “I did not ask. Maybe they are adventuring somewhere. I will ask her before our departure.”

  “No need. Please avoid it.”

  Harwin realized what lady Tiara had been through. It might have resulted in her having a trauma for life, so it was best to avoid such a topic.

  They made the final inspection on the carriage. The horses were also well-fed and well-rested.

  As they were getting back, the two saw a crowd gathered in-front of the chief’s house. They quickly made their way towards the commotion.

  “No, no. they will be heading to the first town. They are my guests. You can take my word for it.”

  Tolborf spoke with another dwarf, who appeared to be a merchant.

  “You got me in quite a pickle. Do you even know these men? You have a habit of taking in strangers without verifying their identities or allegiance.”

  “You doubt my judgement old friend. Maybe it will be better to sell these stones to the another caravan. You have grown a bit too wary of me afterall.”

  Tolborf pointed towards a wagon full of precious stones that had been extracted from the nearby mine.

  “Alright, alright. They can accompany us, but if they slow us down. That will be it, and we will continue on without them.” the merchant said.

  The importance of going along with this caravan lied in the protection it offered. The dwarves, unlike the rest of the caravans, had experienced warriors. The same warriors who were experts in taking down wvyerns. This would basically guarantee a safe journey for Harwin's party.

  “You can not leave them behind. No matter what! The profit you make from my precious extract is enough for you to slow down and reach your destination even with a month's delay.”

  Tolborf did not let the other person negotiate. He presented his terms and made sure the intended abided by them.

  “You have grown soft Tolborf. Is it because of your human wi—”

  He was not able to complete his sentence. Tolborf’s axe was placed directly at his neck with such speed that it even caught Landel off-guard, who was the fastest elf, or at-least believed to be.

  The merchant gulped and then spoke carefully as to not provoke the man further:

  “I have crossed the line. It will never happen again chief. Do forgive me, and I also beg your pardon, my lady.”

  He bowed his head to lady Tiara as well, who placed her hand on Tolborf’s shoulder. This made the fierce dwarf lower his axe.

  “Thank you chief. I will get these men to the First town even if I die in the process. I beg you to forgive me.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  The merchant knew he had made a grave mistake and may have to face consquences later.

  “DO NOT EVER SPEAK IN THAT TONE AGAIN. EVER AGAIN! ELSE IT WILL BE YOUR HEAD THAT I WILL SEND TO GILBERT.” Tolborf ranted.

  The merchant could only bow in fear.

  Everything was set. Harwin's party bid farewell to their kind hosts.

  Lady Tiara hugged Alisa for a while before finally letting go. She had a longing expression.

  Tolborf grabbed Harwin by the arm and lowered him to whisper something in his ear:

  "You better protect that girl."

  Harwin nodded, but not out of fear. Tolborf finally let him go and even patted him on the back.

  Why was there so much affection for someone they had just met. It was only revealed later after their guests had left for their journey.

  “Our Emilia would have been the same age. She would have looked just as beautiful as that child.”

  Tiara spoke whilst a tear trickled down her cheeks. She on the steps of her house — staring at the departed caravan. Tolborf tried his best to comfort her.

  Inter-marriage between different races often resulted in problems. There was always a greater chance for infant death or abnormality. Of-course, this was not always the case but it was especially common in races that had very different statures or physical features as opposed to their spouse's.

  As for the caravan. Their journey continued without any problems. The caravan leader was scared of Tolborf and even shared the food with Hariwn's party.

  Harwin eventually revealed their tale of how they even defeated a Wvyern. That made them earn the respect of the other caravan members, who till that point had considered them a nuisence.

  It took them a month of travelling. It was mostly through uneven roads and cliff-sides which made the journey feel even more tiresome and longer than normal.

  Soon the first town came into view. It was a large town. One could even consider it a city — the town extended as far as the eyes could see. At-least from the point of view of Harwin and Alisa.

  The first town, or the first elfin town was the single largest elfin settlement in the entire continent. It had more wood-elves than the the population of all of the great-forest conbined, but that was not it. The town also had a diverse population. Even its forces consisted of different races which was a liberal approach, as opposed to the other elfin settlements.

  The caravan laid camp for the night about ten miles away from their destination. They had been moving faster than usual for the past few days as their goal was near so a rest was long awaited — especially for the rides.

  The caravan of the dwarves was truly magnificent. They had large, well-made wagons and carriages (not as large as the one designed by the wood-elfin craftsmen, but still larger than usual).

  The caravan-guards appeared to be experienced and had high morale. There were also at-least twenty mounted guards that protected the caravan from the sides and the flank.

  Dwarves did not ride on normal horses due to compatibility issues, but instead they rode on mountain-goats. These were not any ordinary ones. They were twice the size of a normal mountain goat and had abnormally large horns. Magnificent creatures that could have even smashed a large boulder if they charged at it directly.

  Now these beasts had not always been around, but were made possible due to the selective breeding and some ancient knowlegde only possessed by the Dwarves. They were sure to protect these secrets with their lives.

  At dusk, Harwin's party gathered a-little away from the rest of the caravan to discuss the final strategy.

  Farelen was the first one who laid the ground rules:

  “We have almost reached the First town. As most of you are aware that there is treachory brewing up at that place, but what is the reason for it? It is because they have grown too greedy. This place is rich in trade. Almost half of the caravans on this continent have to use this route. Smugglers are also allowed to pass from whom the town can earn even higher tariffs." The giant was infuriating by each sentence:

  "They have forgotten about their lineage and most importantly forgotten who their leader is. Now, I will tell you about the instructions and orders you must follow when we enter the town: You will not be seperating from our group until ordered otherwise. In that town, you will find many senior captains and officials, but you must not, in any case, accept their orders. If they are persistent. Agree with them in that moment and then report to me or Viyetral immediately. We will handle the rest.”

  Now it was turn for captain Viyetral to continue:

  “You must not kill or challenge anyone there. They are people of your own race though misguided, but they could still be brought to the right path. In-case that your life is threatened then you are allowed to respond in kind. Now most importantly..." Viyetral's face was dead-serious whilst delivering the last few commands:

  "We will be cooking our meals ourselves unless we are invited to meet the leaders of this town in which case you will follow my lead. If I eat and drink then and only then will you will follow, but if I stop after one bite or sip then you shall not even look at the food. As soon as we enter through the gates. You must remain vigilant of your surroundings at all times."

  Farelen stood up and then looked directly at Landel before stating:

  "Landel, you will be introduced by us. You will have to speak a few thing which I and Viyetral will tell you later. Many will challenge your claim but do not falter. We will be there to put an end to any arguments. You just need to follow our lead, but also learn. The sword-saint has chosen you as his successor so you need to have knowledge of when to speak and what to speak. Only accept a challenge or a duel if you have the permission from us. Am I clear?"

  Landel knew this was not the time to play around so he immediately nodded with a firm expression.

  “What if they try to imprison us? There is a chance of that. Even if you are here, we can not fight against the entire town.” Kraft asked.

  “No one will imprison us. They will not oppose us or try to kill us directly. Everything will be done in shadows, behind closed doors. We will play by their rules to defeat them at their own game.” Viyetral answered.

  None in their party, except for Farelen, were aware of Viyetral's origin. Even most of the other captains did not know it.

  He was the former leader of the mage-king's personal guard in the Royal army. It was a rank that even got him a seat at the council of the mage-king. His advise was heard and sometimes implemented as well.

  Being at such a position. He learned politics from the best. He did not only sharpen his sword but also his mind — learning many languages and understanding many cultures, as he was often sent on political mission by mage-king himself. Even a few years at court could make one a competent politician and this man had spent decades there without ever being replaced. There was no chance that such a person could be defeated by some council-men of a town.

  “Very well then. We should rest up for tomorrow. Oh, I forgot. Lady Alisa and also you, Gor. Do avoid using any large-scale spells once we are in the town. If we hurt any civilians, then that could be end of our entire mission in faliure.” Viyetral warned.

  The two nodded in sync.

  Of-course there is no harm in coming up with plans, but they hardly ever incorporate everything. Mistakes could be made by anyone, even a genius could be wrong, but the cost of making that mistake is what matters the most.