Dream Life

Tria Calendar October 2, 2017.

As the aftermath of the harvest festival lingered, we headed with Rathmore Village Distillation Manager Scott Wishkey and Jack Harper, an Alliance employee, to the planned distillery construction site we found south of King's Capital Ars.

This time, Scott and guild staff will also be accompanied, which means that ten elite members of the distilled liquor escort, the Scotch Guardians, are accompanied. Because of that, there were no demonic raids at all, and we were able to make sure that all the planned locations were safe.

Even Scott's view was that the water volume of the river using waterfalls as a source was sufficient and that it would be fine to proceed with the construction of the distillery. As for the construction of the distillery, it was the policy of the Lockhart family to fully back it up, and not only the distillers, but also the blacksmiths involved in the manufacture of the distillers, were to be trained in the village of Rasmore.

(Now all the work I had planned for Ars (here) is done. It was as short as it had been long...... weapons and protective equipment got far better than what I had planned, no, the best I could possibly hope for. Enough achievements... They say it's a farewell party today, so after all, it was just a banquet...)

With that in mind, I creep through the castle gate of Ars around 4: 00 p.m.

Exactly at this time, the festival's aftertaste disappeared, and I thought it was back to normal, but things are not right. A large number of merchants are leaving, and the commercial district should be idle, but few people are down. And the expression of the merchants can be seen in a variety of ways, such as the appearance of anxiety, the likeness of haste, and even the likeness of glitter and greed.

I smell trouble somehow, but I don't know why. Instead, I'll ask Jack, but he doesn't seem to know why, either, and he's leaning his neck.

"That's crazy. Usually about half the merchants leave the day after the harvest festival...... maybe something happened. I'm just gonna check."

With that said, I spoke to a merchant nearby and started listening.

I came back in about a minute or two, but the look on my face didn't flatter me and told me stories I heard in a heavy voice.

"It looks like a massive herd of oaks has appeared on Toa Street. Looks like Pioneering Village has been wiped out."

"Orc herd? Wouldn't it be a problem if the Knights went out?

"That's true, but the first village was attacked, like half a month ago. The second village was four days ago, which is also close to Als Street..."

Here's what Jack heard.

Around half a month ago, on or about September 15th, the village of Clarae was attacked by a herd of oaks, about midway between the streets of Toa - a street that connects Barbezi on Ars Street with Fort Toa, the main impulse to the east. For some reason, that information was not passed on to the Wang Capital, but rumors were circulating among the merchants that the pioneering village had been wiped out on Toa Street. Still, the merchants of Ars said they were optimistic because there was no difference in the main street, Ars Street - the street connecting Ars, the king's capital of the Kaum kingdom, to Periclitle, the city of adventurers.

Relatively accurate information was communicated only after information came in from pedestrians travelling to and from Toa Street. In the original story, the village of Clarae was thought to be a small settlement of about fifty people rather than a village, but it was actually a village of about two hundred people, wooden but also equipped with a fence. The men of the village also had many working people, and if they were a herd of about a dozen regular oaks, they should have been able to repel enough.

The village was wiped out without a single survivor.

If that was all, many merchants would have left Ars, but what stopped them was information that another village, the village of Alice, had been raided and wiped out.

The village of Eilis was close to Barbezy, the main city in the northern part of the Kingdom of Kaum, and only five km to the street of Ars and the form in which the safety of the street itself was questioned, but for no reason.

The information that the number of orcs was over two hundred made the merchants stop.

It is rare for a flock of orcs to exceed a hundred, indicating that the Demons are likely to be involved. It also coincided with the Demonic invasion route, due to its movement from the east, and many recalled the great invasion a decade ago.

If it were an invasion by the Demons, prices would soar, especially for armaments. Upon obtaining that information, the merchants in Ars postponed their departure and began to check their arsenal inventories. It's because it's too late to be judged an invasion of the Demons, but this is the major reason that made them give up the departure of the merchant army.

That's about what I found out for now, and I don't have enough information.

"In the meantime, let's go to Alliance headquarters and hear more about it"

Everyone nodded at my suggestion. But my expression is hard, including mine.

The villages of Alice and along the streets have been attacked from the village of Clarae. In the direction, it is in the form of moving west, i.e. in a highly populated direction, which would pass near the village of Rasmore if travelling along the streets of Ars. The strength of the village vigilante will not defeat a flock of about two hundred orcs, but the situation will change if the Demons are involved.

A great ghost tribe with far more fighting power than an oak.

Dark Attribute A wing demon tribe that manipulates magic and has the ability to fly.

There is little information about the Demons, and there may be other powerful races. If accompanied by them, no matter how powerful vigilante led by his grandfather, there is no denying the fear of great damage.

(Too little information. If the enemy's power is only oak, the vigilante can handle it alone, but if there is a Winged Demon clan... if they use their hands with dark attribute magic...)

Almost no one spoke and arrived at the General Headquarters of the Blacksmith Guild.

Alliance headquarters was also showing confusion like poking a hive. The hall where the reception was located was overflowing with people, including requests for cooperation from the Knights of the Kingdom, enquiries about the availability of weapons and materials, and further enquiries about delivery dates from merchants of trading partners.

I left Jack to report to Ulrich and we decided to wait in the corner of the hall. Soon, however, Jack returns and says, "The master craftsman is here for you," and is led to the master craftsman's office.

Entering the master craftsman's office, Ulrich greets him with a look that changed from yesterday when he was in a good mood and bit down the bitter bug.

"What a big deal..."

Ulrich began to share the information gathered.

"Apparently, a ghost tribe is biting one. According to the information the Knights get, they're too dominant for wild oaks."

I said, "What do you mean?," he said.

"Two villages were wiped out. That's not all, there's not a single survivor. It's like killing everyone on top of completely blocking the escape route. No, I don't have the right number of bodies, so maybe they took me..."

When asked in detail, he counted the number of corpses of villagers in the village of Clarae, resulting in ten to twenty people, which doesn't match the number. He may have been out of the village by chance and escaped the difficulties, but while that many people were missing, after ten days he was not heard of the appearance of a person from the village of Clarae.

"It is rumored that ghosts have the art of capturing people and turning them into demons. Well, nobody's watching, and the prisoners will never crack their mouths, so it's just a rumor, in fact, people disappear several times a year near Toa's fort..."

Professor Lionel Raspade, a mentor, had conducted investigations when it came to the Demonic Nation, but even the professor had little information. Once every few decades, I get prisoners because they invade Fort Toa, but I don't break a single mouth in any interrogation, and torture, and when I'm about to break my mouth, I die suddenly as if I've been cursed. The professor's standpoint is that dark attribute magic is applied, but even the academic city of Doctus could not confirm the existence of such magic at all.

"We don't know anything yet, but at least we're out of weapons. This is the only story in a wild oak..."

Orcs are six-degree equivalent demons, usually to the point of using crude sticks. But orcs led by ghosts sometimes use weapons. However, it seems to be about wielding a sword instead of a stick because it is not a demon as clever as it was originally.

"They say the Black Steel Knights are here, but what about their thoughts?

Ulrich shakes his head small and sideways, "I don't know what to say."

"Fort Toa hasn't been attacked at all. On the contrary, they haven't seen the demons near the fort in over a year. Well, there have been rumors of a way out for a long time. Maybe I used it there..."

Fort Toa is a sturdy fortress at the foot of the Aquila Mountains, serving as a breakwater to stop the invasion from Kwaedam Tenebre, the land of the eastern demons. In fact, it was made in a valley consisting of the Aquila Mountains to the north and the Kelsas Mountains to the south, and it was necessary to go through Fort Toa to enter the Kingdom of Caum without crossing the rugged mountains.

Conversely, if you can cross a rugged mountain without a trail, you don't have to go through the Toa. A ghost tribe that is superior to physical abilities if it is simply rugged, or a wing demon tribe that has the ability to fly, seems to have no problem, but in fact powerful demons such as Fei Long "Wyburn", the winged lion "Griffon" and the giant were trekking and were told that it was impossible to get through anything but Toa. In fact, the leading adventurers hired by the Kaum kingdom carried out the investigation, but finding a route across Aquila was the only way to escape with their lives.

In any case, further information needs to be gathered. Information held by each guild, especially mercenaries, adventurers and commerce, sometimes outweighs the country. Because they often analyze the information they collect on their own networks.

We decided that we had finished listening to Ulrich and decided to gather information.

"Me and Liddy are going to the Adventurers Guild. Will and Dan ask for a mercenary guild. I want Johnny to gather information in a commercial guild... Beatrice and Mel go to Gaelnotebook's to pick up his clam" ChainMail ". There may be a sudden departure... Sharon will be joining Scott and Jack in the distillery report. I want you to make a note to report to your father if you can..."

Once you assign everyone a job, you start acting immediately.

Together with Liddy, he headed for the Adventurer Guild, near the commercial district.

The Adventurer Guild was relatively calm. The fact that the orc flock appeared far away and the crusade would be because the Knights, but the mercenary escort would dominate, so there wouldn't be much of a turnout. Many people combine adventurers with mercenaries, so they may be looking for a good job in a mercenary guild.

Looking sideways at the relatively idle lobby, we head to the reception.

Sometimes the Ars branch here heads up adventurers in the Kaum kingdom, a fairly large building, but since it also receives regular requests, the location of the reception was immediately known.

As we enter the lobby, the gaze of the adventurers concentrates on us.

I forgot, but my gear is pretty noticeable because it's already at the hands of top gear maker Georg Stoke, and Liddy has also replaced it with Wood Ravengart gear. Before that, the combination of a young man dressed in black monochromatic black dragon leather armor and a beautiful woman looking in her mid-twenties would catch the attention of the rough adventurers.

Without any particular entanglement, as soon as we reach the reception counter, we give our orb - the magic prop that serves as ID - to the receptionist,

"It's Lydiane Dupree in the third and Zacharias Lockhart in the fourth. I need information on the orcs that attacked the villages of Clarae and Alice."

I dared speak my name out, to avoid trouble.

I thought it would be troublesome if my fifteen-year-old showed up with expensive gear, and I showed him to be a famous Lockhart family member in the blacksmith's guild.

From the surroundings, I heard such whispers from the surroundings, such as "That's Lockhart's..." and "The Guild Chief struck his own sword..." but I didn't feel particularly tangled up.

The receptionist finds out I'm the famous Lockhart and gives me a bewildered look for a moment, but soon switches to sales smile.

"Excuse me. Oak info, right? So far, we don't have much information…"

The information obtained was small. Urgent requests were made at the Adventurer's Guild in Barbezie, a city near the village of Alice, and only as much as they started tracking the herd of oaks, giving instructions to each branch to raise the alert level.

The only thing that seems to be informative is

"... For the past year or so, there have been several sets of missing parties working near Toa Street. That neighborhood is close to Aquila, so it's not that uncommon, but there seemed to be more of them that hadn't returned to the crack where there were fewer demons near the street. Of course, I don't know if it has anything to do with this..."

Toa Street is a barn zone in the Kingdom of Kaum, and many villages are dotted away from the streets as well. There are no big enough towns to be considered cities, and many adventurers settle in each village. Because they are settled, they have access to information in the vicinity, and until then there has been very little to wipe them out, but because their adventurers are missing, they were beginning to see it as a problem in the Adventurer Alliance.

(Sure, Oak has a good nose, but he's not wise enough to scratch the back of a veteran adventurer. Assuming you find it first, it should be easy to get away with it if you have the benefit of the land, because you're just going to come in without thinking about it as a dota. Again, the Demons are manipulating...)

I hear from a few adventurers, but they didn't achieve much fragrance. Already the adventurers above the third level had left for the mercenary guild or for the north, and here they were only in the middle of the fifth level or so. As a result, he had no intention of receiving a dangerous request and only had information to the extent of rumours.

After the Adventurer Guild and back to the Blacksmith Guild, the other members will also return one after the other to perform a mix of information.

After all, it was the commercial guild that had the most information. He seemed to give me some pretty detailed information because he let Johnny Water, an employee of the Blacksmith Guild, go ask him.

"… until the arrival of mercenary reinforcements, the movement from Barbezy to the north seems solemn. Unless the Knights crusade before that... rumor has it, I've heard strange stories..."

I said, "Strange story?" Tilt his neck, nodding small.

"Yeah, I hear a street guard order arrived early about ten days ago."

"I mean, the royal palace should have known,"

Johnny nodded at my words,

"Yes, he didn't see where he headed to the Royal Palace, just saying there was a fast horse going south down Ars Avenue to be exact... but still, that's a rumor. If the Knights had moved, they would have been able to crusade before they approached Ars Street."

(I'm pretty sure the Knights' Mischief has made things bigger, but I wonder how they're going to cover it...)

With that in mind, Will, who has gathered information in the mercenary guild, supplements.

"I also heard that story in the mercenary guild. Because of this, they say the Knights intend to settle for themselves alone..."

Rumor has it that the kingdom will dispatch considerably larger numbers to mercenary and adventurer guilds due to the lack of urgent requests and the hasty movement of the Knights headquarters.

"You're a pain in the ass when you get caught up in a knighthood move."

"Heavy forces are also going to accompany them, so of course the inn says they may not be able to move properly"

I was thinking about the future.

Originally scheduled to return to the village tomorrow, October 3rd, along with a regular distilled liquor flight (Scotch liner). But if the Demons might attack the village, we'd better just go back ahead. Defense would also be possible with the force of the village vigilante, but if there were a wing demon tribe, it would be quite a hassle. Neither my grandfather, a master of swords, nor Walt Vassel, a master of spears, can shoot down a flying demon clan. Even bow masters like Mel's father Hector Marron and Dan and Sharon's father Guy Jakes have bad minutes against enemies who indulge in magic from the sky. My biggest concern is against dark attribute magic. Dark attribute magic is magic that acts on the spirit, but the lack of much research leaves me worried about what will happen.

I made up my mind.

"We leave early tomorrow morning with dawn. Me, Liddy, Beatrice, Mel, Dan, Sharon and I will break through to the village at once. Will, Scott and Johnny will be back in the village with the Scotch liner."

Will, an obedient to the word, speaks up.

"Let me come with you!

Being a squire, he bows his head and begs whether he can stay or stand in a village crisis.

"Ask for Scott's escort. Of course, I think a distilled liquor escort, the Scotch Guardians, would be enough fighting power, but sometimes the position of a Rockhart family squire helps. This is especially likely in this situation."

In fact, I don't know when the distilled liquor regular flights (Scotch liners) will depart, but I probably won't if I don't have a situation where I can confirm safety. Especially if Scott will accompany you. So there's less need for Will to provide escorts. But given the importance of Scott, you'd better be accompanied by a Lockhart family minister.

"I'm fine. My uncle, my father and Walt are here. Besides, I have a brother now. It's the Giant Slayer, the giant killer of the Lion Heart. I won't be late like an oak."

I tried to say so brightly and decided to change the subject somewhat forcefully.

To Will and Scott,

"So we'll cut the farewell party early today. I'll take care of the rest."

Scott grins and nods, but Will's face blues at once.

"Without Master Zach..."

Everyone's face breaks on Will's depressed face.

I made sure they caught me on that, and there was a smile back on Will's face, too.

The banquet that night couldn't always be the same, but it was a heartfelt farewell party. It's just that Will was crushed early.

The next morning, still in the dark, I was getting ready to leave.

When we leave the inn, the late Scott and Johnny, and the hangover Will drop us off.

Scott bows his head, "Take care," and the other two bow their heads the same way. I responded with one hand up and left the inn.

Outside the inn, the dwarves, starting in Ulrich, waited in the dim streets. He wasn't surprised, perhaps because he thought he was coming to drop him off, but he was surprised by the early open-air merchants and small-time users as more than a hundred dwarves twitched around the dim city.

"You're always welcome."

A voice of consent is raised by the Dwarves in Ulrich's words.

"I'll be back. There's also the distillery. And three or four years from now, new flavors will be added. I'll bring that."

Proceed between the dwarves, pulling the horse. In response to the voice that could be hung, he nodded under the white sky towards the castle gate.