Lapallanch Family/Hernfelk/Hernfelk's Roleplays IV

Chapter 7.3

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) After returning from his patrol, Hernfelk entered an old keep of Ar Mosul used to be used as a stronghold but now used as the marquis's manor. There were cracks on the walls of the hallway leading to the marquis's room. An old butler greeted Hernfelk before the marquis's room. Butler-"Sir Hernfelk of Lorient. It is an honour to see you, Sir. What can I do for you?" Hernfelk-"Let us skip the obvious greetings. I would like to become a knight of Ar Mosul to serve Marquis Ercc. I think I can serve our kingdom better by helping a recently occupied region." Butler-"But aren't you already serving Count Khodym?" Hernfelk-"Does Marquis Ercc need a knight or not?" Butler-"Uh-" Hernfelk-"Just go ask him, old man." Butler quietly opened the door and entered the room. After a few minutes of waiting, the butler came out from the room. Butler-"You may enter, Sir." Hernfelk-"Mary wait here. Ahem." Hernfelk stroke his neck a few times before entering the room. The room was disorganized with books and furniture. When Hernfelk looked forward, he could see a desk in front of a big window. Behind the desk, he could see an old noble busily writing something on a piece of paper. Hernfelk-"Marquis Ercc. It is an honour to see you in person." After spending some time to talk to the marquis, Hernfelk was knighted as a knight of Ar Mosul. Hernfelk kneeled in front of the marquis as Ercc tapped his shoulders with a sword. Hernfelk-"Thank you, my liege. From now on, I shall protect your honour like mine, your land like my home, and your orders like the king's. I shall shield you and your chosen with my life, strike your enemies with all my might. May gods bless you in the coming days, my marquis!"

Chapter 7.4

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) Hernfelk ordered his men to gather peasants to hold a welcome ceremony for him. Some of his men immediately opposed the idea. Mary-"Sir. You can't be serious about this. You didn't ask for a ceremony when you became a knight of Lorient. Ar Mosul is nothing close to Lorient. The region has been recently occupied! People still dislike us, hell they probably hate us." Hernfelk-"Mary. I will be a knight of Ar Mosul for years to come. Peasants need to know who they are serving. They need to be reminded they only serve four people. The king, the duke, the marquis and myself. What am I suppose to do? Sneak into my estates? I never heard of a knight sneaking into his own estates to avoid peasants." Mary-"Sir. If you make the peasants prepare your ceremony, they will have to work all day." Hernfelk-"I know. They will probably going to starve for a day. It is just one day. They are not going to die from not eating for a day." Mary-"Sir-" Hernfelk-"Damn it. Stop! I am sick of you. Nora!" Nora-Yes, Sir!" Hernfelk-"Go ahead of the party and get the ceremony ready before we arrive." Nora glanced Mary for a brief moment and saw Mary shaking his head. Hernfelk-"You, too? Tom!" Tom-"I will get the peasants ready, Sir!" Tom quickly rode ahead of the group to reach the estates. As Tom disappeared over the horizon, silence fell upon the party. Hernfelk showed his anger by forcing Mary and Nora to carry Tom's belongings.

Chapter 7.5

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) Just before he arrived in his estates, Hernfelk heard about the tournament in Westmoor. Hernfelk-"I will join the ceremony after the tournament. Let peasants work until I return." Mary-"Wouldn't it be wise to cancel the whole ceremony, Sir?" Hernfelk-"No. Mary. How many times do I have to tell you the ceremony is necessary. You will never understand why. I am not asking you to understand the reasoning behind the ceremony. I am telling you to follow my order. You do not need to understand anything about it." Mary-"Yes... I understand." Mary answered with a straight face. Hernfelk-"Nora. Make sure to remind Mary if he forgets his job. Eric, you will accompany me to the tournament. Bogus, go with Mary and Nora. Help them with the ceremony." Hernfelk left Mary, Nora and Bogus behind with Eric to join the tournament. As Henfelk disappeared from their sights, Mary let out a heavy sigh. Nora and Bogus gave him gentle patting. Mary-"I am sick of him." Nora-"Except Tom and Eric, we are all fed up with him." Bogus-"I was never mentioned before." Mary-"What?" Bogus-"Don't know why I said that. Ignore what I just said. Ahem. Yeah. Maybe we should contact his cousin?" Nora-"If you have the guts to do it, go ahead." Bogus-"Never mind." Mary-"Sigh. Let's go. We have a ceremony to prepare."

Chapter 7.6

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) Hernfelk and Eric stopped at a small lake before riding farther. Hernfelk walked around the lake to get firewood while Eric was building a tent. The lake was surrounded by tall trees and bushes making it harder for Hernfelk to find good firewood. He gathered what he could find around the lake then returned to Eric. When he came back, Eric had just finished building the tent. Hernfelk-"These are all I could find around the lake. Didn't want to go into the bush and get ambushed by some monster." Eric-"That should be enough, Sir. I will make a warm stew right away." While Eric prepared their supper, Hernfelk lay down on the grass and looked up in the sky. It was a moonless night with only stars filling the sky. The scent of life, the smell of grass more like, filled Hernfelk's lungs as he breathed deeply. The heat from the fire warmed the right side of his body while a cool breeze cooled his left. When the stew started to boil, Eric put his wooden buckler on top of the pot. Eric-"The stew will be ready soon, Sir." Hernfelk-"What stew is it?" Eric-"It is a Partoran Bacon Stew, Sir." Hernfelk-"The Partoran Bacon Stew?" Eric-"Yes, Sir. The Partoran Bacon Stew." Hernfelk-"Trying to make it sounds fancy now are you?" Eric-"No, Sir. Partorans really do have a bacon stew. They just do not eat often unless they are outside of the city. I can't guarantee the taste but it is better than just eating bacon and black grain bread." Hernfelk quietly nodded. Eric removed the buckler from the top of the pot to stir the stew. Then he scoopped the stew in a wooden bowl and gave it to Hernfelk. Hernfelk-"It isn't great but edible. No wonder Partorans don't eat this often." The two of them talked about the march from the city of Perdan to the city of Ibladesh. Travelling through the plains of Brive and Mulhouse to marching over the mountains of Eldoret and Ar Raqqah. Losing a few men to some strange starvation disease. They talked until the fire started to be die. Eric-"I wonder if Tom is doing with the ceremony." Hernfelk-"I have no doubt Tom is working hard to get the ceremony ready before I return. I am worried about that peasant sympathizer Mary and Nora. Those two have been rather rebellious." Eric-"Well some of us are just from rich merchant families or descendants of noble families no longer nobles." Hernfelk-"He hates Caligus like any other Perdanese soldiers but I wonder if he will spare Caligusi peasants if he meets them in battle." Eric-"I am sure he will show no mercy to your enemies, Sir. If he shows mercy, that will get him killed one day. I almost died once." Hernfelk-"What happened?" Eric-"I spared a little kid once and he stabbed me as I turned my back on him. I managed to dodge his spear and cut his throat but it was close." Hernfelk-"Hah! Served you right. I haven't seen Mary sparing anyone. I hope he doesn't." After sleeping for a couple hours, they continued to ride toward the tournament ground in Westmoor.

Chapter 7.7

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) When they arrived in the city of Westmoor, they could see excited peasants talking about the tournament. Hernfelk tried to pay attention to the names of skillful opponents. Most of nobles who revealed their skills were from either Sirion or Westmoor. Once the names started to repeat, Hernfelk and Eric rode off to the tournament ground. He could see over forty tents spread around outside of the tournament groud. Some nobles were busy cleaning their armors with spits while others were busy swinging their soldiers. The tent site was filled with the smells of horse dung and sweat. It was awkward to see so many people breathing in the filthy air. Hernfelk-"I really can't stand the smell of this place. It is just disgusting." Eric-"Well, Sir. Every participant of the tournament must build their camps here. Or else, you will be disqualified." Hernfelk-"Why do they have such a stupid rule?" Eric-"I have no idea, Sir. Why don't you forget about the smell by drinking some Westmoorian ale and wine? I saw a tavern just outside of here." Hernfelk-"Good idea. I think I will only stay here to sleep. It is going to be a horrible night." As Hernfelk entered the tavern, he could see a familar sight, drunkards and borken tables. Some nobles were sleeping in the corner of the tavern while some were pouring ale into their mouths like today was their last day. Hernfelk-"Dear gods, what is going on here. Are these people here to drink or to win a tournament?" Hernfelk sat in the corner of the tavern close to the bar. An old man approached him behind the bar to take his order. Tavern Master-"Hello, Sir. I am guessing you are from Perdan? I am familar with the emblem of the Lions. What can I serve you?" Hernfelk-"Do you have any good ale or wine?" Tavern Master-"We got some ale from Eldoret just yesterday." Hernfelk-"I had that a couple weeks ago. Anything else?" Tavern Master-"How about the last bottle of Sultanese Red Grape? It is a bit expensive but it is the last of its kind." Hernfelk-"I will take that. I already like the sound of the wine."

Chapter 7.8

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) The Sultanese Red Grape had a refined taste. It was enough to make Hernfelk feel generous about sharing the wine with Eric and others. One glassful of it made Hernfelk feel somewhat happy. The second glass made him feel sleepy and the third comepletely knocked him out. Eric decided to carry Hernfelk back to the tent after drinking one more glass of it. At the end, soldiers of the city carried them back to the tent and dumped them there. When Hernfelk woke up, he could not move an inch from where he was lying because he felt like throwing up. The world spun around him. Hernfelk opened his mouth to call for Eric when Eric's face appeared in front of his eyes. His eyes were still closed and his mouth was full of something, something Hernfelk did not want to know. Everything moved very slowly from that point on. Hernfelk could see Eric's mouth slowly opening with a terrible sound coming from deep inside of Eric. Hernfelk tried to close his mouth but Eric's grips were too strong. He watched helplessly as the gate of hell opened and demons flooded out of it into his mouth.

Chapter 7.9

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) Hernfelk left the tent with Eric, who had two bruised eyes, to eat real food, at least better than just being edible. There was a big market close to the tournament ground selling all kinds of food purchasable only in the city of Westmoor. Hernfelk enjoyed a well cooked salmon dish with sweet apple sauce. After the fantastic meal, they headed to the tournament ground to exercise and prepare for the tournament. Hernfelk spent last two days drinking and puking. He needed to practice and improve his swordfighting skill. The tournament ground was filled with people watching nobles busy practising. Some nobles were showing their skills in front of the crowd. Hernfelk walked to the corner of the ground to loosen up his muscles. Eric-"Why don't you show them how skillful you are, Sir?" Hernfelk-"Do I have to make another blue spot on you somewhere?" Eric-"I will just keep quiet, Sir. Sorry to disturb you."

Chapter 8.0

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) Eric-"Sir. Sir Henrik will be wearing a dress to dance with Sir Nathanial of Oberndorf." Hernfelk-"I always thought he was an awkward person but never thought he was a cross dresser. I guess he has decided to show his true nature to everyone in the tournament. From now on, if we have to see Sir Henrik you will stand between us, Eric. I don't want that man coming too close to me. Never know if he will ask me to dance with him." Eric-"But Sir. What do I do if he asks me?" Hernfelk-"Accept it and just dance with him. As long as I don't have to dance with him, I am fine." Eric got goosebumps just thinking about Sir Henrik in a dress. Hernfelk-"It would be interesting to see a knight in a dress, Hahahahahaha." After a good laugh, Hernfelk went back to cleaning his armour. The armor looked quite old. He inherited the armour from his brother Osilok, who died in Arcaea. His brother Duregal joined Arcaea to investigate on Osilok's death but he ended up in Arcachon. He hasn't heard from him since Arcaea's attack on Enlod. Eric-"Are you ready for tomorrow, Sir? There are over eighty nobles in the tournament. You are youngest among them." Hernfelk-"I am pretty confident I will do fine, Eric. Too bad I didn't have to time practice more." Eric-"I will finish cleaning the armour. Why don't you get some sleep, Sir." Hernfelkk-"Wonderful. I will see you tomorrow then."

Chapter 8.1

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) Many nobles failed to swing their swords properly in the first round. Too many people spent too much time drinking too much alcohol in the tavern and most did not recover in time to fight in the first round. Hernfelk failed to advance to the round two. He lost to Sir Ian the Dark. At least he did not lose to some clown ears from Sirion. He spent the rest of his tournament watching others fight. To his surprise, his cousin Zakilevo managed to advance to the round three. Eric-"Look, Sir. It's Sir Zakilevo." Hernfelk-"Damn it. Hope he loses. I can't believe he is in the round three. Damn Westmoorians. Why did they have to match me with another noble from Perdan. Cowards. That is what they are." The match looked pretty even until Zakilevo miss swung his sword and lost the match. Hernfelk and Eric laughed as Zakilevo shook the hand of his opponent and left the arena. Hernfelk-"That was pretty pathetic. Losing a match after missing a swing. At least I didn't lose like that." Eric-"Sir Ian the Dark probably tried not to embarrass you, Sir. No one wants to anger nobles from their realm in a tournament." Hernfelk-"I guess you are right." At the end, a Westmoorian noble won the tournament. Unfortunately, No one from Perdan went near the first prize. Hernfelk-"I hope Tom managed to finish preparing the welcome party." Eric-"Don't expect anything grand, Sir. They are peasants after all."

Chapter 8.2

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) After returning from the tournament, Hernfelk attended the welcome ceremony Tom prepared for him. Peasants lined up along the road which led to where a manor used to be standing. As Hernfelk rode along the road, peasants threw flowers - mostly local nameless flowers- at his horse's feet. Hernfelk rode slowly to see the faces of the peasants but most of them lowered their heads as soon as Hernfelk's gaze landed on them. Satisfied by the reactions of the peasants, Hernfelk gently pressed the sides of his horse with his legs, making his horse walk faster. When he arrived where the manor once stood, he found a small wooden house. Tom, Mary, and Nora welcomed him and Eric as they unmounted from their horses. Tom-"Welcome back, Sir! I heard about the tournament." Hernfelk-"You only heard about the winner probably. I didn't even make it to the second round. Met another noble from our realm in the first round and lost." Tom-"I am sure you will do much better in the next tournament. It was your first one anyway, Sir." Hernfelk-"True. By the way, you did a fantastic job organizing the welcome ceremony, Tom. You will be my butler from now on." Tom-"Really? Thank you, Sir. I will do my best to assist you." Hernfelk-"Eric. I will put you in charge of my men. Mary, you will deal with the peasants. Nora, help others if they need you." Eric/Mary/Nora:-"We will do our best." Hernfelk-"I will be leaving Ar Mosul to recruit more men. Eric, prepare to go to the capital with me." Eric-"Yes, Sir."

Chapter 8.8

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) Hernfelk and Eric visited a recruitment office to recruit more men. When Hernfelk left Partora to join with the rest of his army, he had over ten healthy men with Nick by his side. But he lost most of his men to starvation and fanatics. He could not even stop revolting peasants with only four men under his command. Just outside of the inner walls surrounding the Partoran Ducal keep, the recruitment office was located to help nobles select soldiers of their choice. Hernfelk entered the office, a two storey building with emblems of Perdanese armies on the door, to hire new soldiers. He walked to the front desk where a middle aged man was busy writing something on a paper. Hernfelk gently tapped the desk few times and waited for the person to lift his head up. But the man did not even flinch. Annoyed by the man, Hernfelk tapped the desk harder. The man stopped writing for a second or two but he continued his work. Ticked off by this, Hernfelk held the edge of the desk and shook the desk a few times, spilling an ink bottle on the desk. The man finally lifted his head to see Hernfelk. The man-"HOW-CAN-I-HELP-YOU-SIR?" Hernfelk-"I-AM-HERE-TO-RECRUIT-SOME-MEN!" The man-"FEEL-THIS-BLOODY-PAPER-OUT-AND-GO-THROUGH-THE-DOOR-BEHIND-ME!" Hernfelk-"THANK-YOU!." Hernfelk grabbed a bottle of ink and a quill then started to fill out the paper. After writing his name, he quickly walked out of the office to get Eric. Eric-"Uh-Sir. What am I suppose to do with this paper?" Hernfelk-"Fill it in. Here, a quill and a bottle of ink." Eric-"Shouldn't you be-" Hernfelk-"I said do it, Eric." Eric-"..." When Eric finished filling out the paper, Hernfelk snatched it from him and gave it to the man by the front desk. The man quickly read through the paper and told Hernfelk to go through the door behind him.

Chapter 8.9

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) Hernfelk and Eric returned to Ar Mosul with 13 new horsemen. All of them were young and inexperienced. Hernfelk only has to pay one and a half silver coins to keep them happy. Eric tried to train them on the way back from Partora but training them an hour a day was nowhere enough to turn untrained soldiers into battle hardened soldiers. The first thing they were ordered to do was arresting rebellious peasants in Ar Mosul. Most of the people were not too fond of Perdanese soldiers walking their streets grabbing their fathers and husbands. Some of the soldiers even grabbed young females for their own entertainment later. Mary tried to stop them but Eric shook his head to prevent Mary from stepping in. When Hernfelk arrived in his estates, he saw a big manor under construction. He sent 75 gold to Tom from Partora to enlarge his manor and Tom immediately increased the size of the manor. Hernfelk-"How long is it going to take, Tom?" Tom-"Not too long, Sir. I am making every peasant and serf around the estates to build the manor." Hernfelk-"Good. Very good. Their pitiful wheat fields can wait. I am not sleeping in a bloody wooden cabin after spending weeks in a small tent." Tom-"Did you manage to hire some good soldiers, Sir?" Hernfelk-"Not too many. All of them are young and inexperienced. Talk to Eric about the men. I put him in charge of them. They are patrolling the streets of Ar Mosul at the moment. When they are done, they will come to this town, Ar Qudal." Tom-"Hope they do not need your supervision to do their jobs properly."

Chapter 9.0

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) When Eric and the rest of Hernfelk's Ashen Riders returned from Ar Mosul, they brought an interesting news with them. The news was about the creation of Perdan's Panther Academy. A new academy to raise infiltrators, saboteurs, and assassins for Perdan. Hernfelk-"Sounds very interesting. We have an army of infiltrators as well? I might join that army one day. Of course after I serve as a troop leader first." Eric-"I doubt you will be a good infiltrator, Sir. You are too clumsy to be one." Hernfelk-"Eric. You are talking to the man who killed escaping fanatics in their own hideout. I think I can handle a couple of sleeping nobles. I can think of a few other places to deal with enemy nobles already. Like when they using toilets. A perfect place to kill someone." Eric-"I am sure toilets are as heavily guarded as bedrooms."

Chapter 9.1

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) Mary-"Sir, peasants of Ar Mosul revolted and forced Marquis Ercc to leave his manor." Hernfelk-"What? Are these peasants out of their minds? Get our my men ready! We will go to Ar Mosul." As Hernfelk opened the door of his room, Eric entered and stopped him. Eric-"No need, Sir. Duke Hostamir reappointed Marquis Ercc. Of course, we lied to peasants to calm them down." Hernfelk-"It is better to hang them before they find out about the marquis. I am not letting those peasants get away this easily." Mary-"Sir, killing those peasants won't improve the situation! Marquis himself requested not to hang rebellious peasants!" Hernfelk-"He is just too soft. Eric, get the men ready. I want to talk to the marquis before I hang these peasants. Mary go help Tom with the construction. I want my manor finished by the end of the next week" Hernfelk left his room to get his horse ready. Eric tried to follow him but he was stopped by Mary. Eric-"Do you have something you want to say, Mary?" Mary-"Do you think Sir Hernfelk will hang the peasants?" Eric-"If Marquis Ercc allows him, he probably will hang them." Mary-"..." Eric-"Just don't get in his way. I know you feel sympathetic toward them but they are now proud people of Perdan. They need to follow Marquis Ercc and Sir Hernfelk. They can't decide their own fate."

Chapter 9.2

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) As soon as Hernfelk arrived in Ar Mosul, the biggest town of three towns in the region of Ar Mosul, he ordered his men to arrest peasants responsible for the revolt. Eric and a couple soldiers stormed taverns and managed to capture twenty two peasants. The peasants were sent to a gallows in the center of the town. Hernfelk-"For revolting against Marquis Ercc, their rightful ruler who was appointed by Duke Hostamir, I sentence them all to hang. Eric carry out the sentence." Eric-"As you wish, Sir. Men, line them up in behind the gallows." Soldiers quickly put the peasants in a line behind the gallows. Some peasants tried to escape but they were beat back to the line. One by one, the peasants were hanged after Eric shouted their names and crimes. Hernfelk watched the crowd and noticed faces of many peasants became pale. When the last peasant was hanged, Hernfelk stood up from his chair. Hernfelk-"The next time I hear about another revolt, it will not end with hanging twenty peasants. I will behead peasants who join it and their families!"

Chapter 9.3

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) Hernfelk and his men returned to Ar Qudal after executing the peasants. A couple hours later, General Atanamir's messenger arrived in the biggest inn in the town where Hernfelk was staying. Eric went out to meet the messenger as Hernfelk watched them exchange words from his window. Eric entered Hernfelk's room with a red letter in his hand. Hernfelk-"What is the order about?" Eric-"It is about hanging peasants, Sir. General Atanamir has forbidden arresting peasants and..." Hernfelk-"And?" Eric-"He will hang the next person who hangs another peasant." Hernfelk-"Even if the person is a noble?" Eric-"Yes, Sir." Hernfelk-"So our own general chose peasants over nobles? Is he a bastard or something?" Eric-"Sir. I think you should lower your voice. If someone hears-" Hernfelk-"Let them hear! I called him a bastard! That is right! A bastard!" Eric-"Sir. At least we should follow the order." Hernfelk-"Fine. But I am going to hang those blasted peasants if they revolt again! That peasant lover!"

Chapter 9.4

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) The manor of Ar Qudal was finished in the afternoon as Hernfelk prepared his men to march toward Woolton to defeat walking horrors feeding on the peasants of the region. Tom sent a messenger to bring the news to him and he immediately rode back to see his manor. The manor was a two storey building and big enough house ten people. A small building for servants was attached to the side of the manor. A stable was built ten meters away from the back of the manor. Hernfelk-"Tom. Hire some servants to run the manor. I will return after driving out walking abominations in Woolton." Tom-"Understood, Sir. Anything else?" Hernfelk-"My horse is quite old. I'd like to get a new one soon. Preferably from the northern plains of Nivemus. Don't buy ones from Caligus. Horses there are too small." Tom-"What about Sirionite horses or Westmoorian horses?" Hernfelk-"Sirionite horses are not worth the price. Westmoorian horses are too fat." Tom-"What about Perdanese horses?" Hernfelk-"Well. They are not bad for soldiers but for nobles? I don't know. We have good horses for farming." Tom-"I heard we used to have a good recruitment center in Aix. Maybe they still have some good horses there." Hernfelk-"Send Mary there to check. He is still angry about the execution of the peasants." Tom-"Hopefully, it will cool him off."

Chapter 9.5

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) It was a cloudy night. A cold breeze gently shook Hernfelk's tent. Inside the tent, Hernfelk was reading his reports from his men. Eric split the men into four groups of four to loot rural villages of Al Aquabah. There were only a couple rural towns scattered around the region and most of those villages only had fifty people at most. Out of those fifty people, there were hardly any young people among them. Only those too young and too old to leave their villages lived in the villages. Even after looting the region for over sixteen hours, the men found nothing of value. Some of newly recruited soldiers were angered by their first looting experience and ended up beating villagers of the villages they visited. Some of the villagers picked up their farm tools to fight back, but they were mercilessly suppressed. The soldiers who beat the villagers were scold by Eric for the lack of discipline. On the way back, they visited another village close to the center of the region where a town once stood. It was when they entered the town that they realized the town was inhibited by lifeless corpses and giant monsters. There were at least a hundred walking corpses wondering the dead town mindlessly. The monsters were poking around the town to find anything edible. Eric quickly gathered his men and left the town to join Hernfelk in the campsite. Upon arrival, Eric reported Hernfelk about the town. Eric-"Sir. We have encountered a horde of zombies and a couple of monsters on our way back here. We will most likely have to fight them if we stay in the region." Hernfelk-"Prepare the men early in the morning. We will defeat those inhuman beasts before they enter Perdan. Until the morning, put a couple men on patrol to prevent any ambush. This will be a perfect chance to test our new recruits." Eric-"I agree, Sir. But I haven't even finished training them. If we do engage monsters in the morning, we will likely to lose at least half of our men." Hernfelk-"Pray more will survive, Eric. I'd like to avoid going back to the capital to recruit more men. I really dislike the people working in the recruitment office."

Chapter 9.6

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) Eric ordered the men to prepare for a battle. He walked around the men to check their armours and weapons. He scolded some of his men for not taking care of their armours properly. After all the men were ready, he gathered the men in the center of the camp site to wait for Hernfelk. Hernfelk was putting his armour on by himself. His armour was an ordinary armour made in the city of Perdan for all knights. He ordered the armour before he joined the army in the city of Ibladesh and picked it up when he returned to the city to recruit more men. Since he has not yet chosen his squire, he made Eric clean the armour for him. As he came out from the tent, he told Eric to fold his tent and looked faces of his men, one by one. Most of them had both excited and worried looks on their faces as the morning was going to be their first battle since they left the capital city. After Eric finished folding the tent, everyone got on their saddles and slowly headed toward the center of Al Aquabah. The devastated town was shrouded in a dense fog, making monsters lurking in the town hard to see from afar. Hernfelk ordered his men to enter the town in a circular formation to prevent any flank attempt. When they reached what appeared to be the center of the town, Hernfelk turned to Eric to talk to him. Hernfelk-“Eric. I thought you and your men spotted monsters and walking corpses here?” Eric-“They were here yesterday, Sir. There were at least a hundred of them and the town wasn’t this quiet either.” Hernfelk-“They might have left the town. If that is the case, we better leave as –“ Before Hernfelk could finish his words, the ground under them began to tremble and before they realized what was happening, multiple pairs of arms rose from the rubbles of the town. The arms quickly grabbed legs of horses and held them in place. Hernfelk-“Damn it! We can’t move like this. Everyone, dismount to get the arms off of the horses!” Everyone dismounted with their swords and cut the arms holding the horses. As Hernfelk got off from his horse, he heard the sound of something digging the ground. As soon as he heard the sound, he swung his sword to blindly cut whatever was he behind him. When he turned around, he realized he cut a four armed monster with a head of a spider. Hernfelk-“Watch your back! Monsters are attacking in the fog! Eric! We need to get out of here before they surround us!” Eric-“We are almost done, Sir! There! Everyone, mount!” Soldier A-“Aaaaaaaaaaack! H-Help me!” As Hernfelk mounted back on his horse, one of his soldiers was pull back into the fog by another spider monster while still on his saddle. Hernfelk grabbed one of his hand axe and threw towards where the soldier disappeared to but he could only hear a bigger scream from the direction. Hernfelk-“Eric! Make an escape route!”

Chapter 9.7

Roleplay from Hernfelk Lapallanch   (just sent) Message sent to everyone in your realm (53 recipients) Eric-“John, Ben, and Jason! Follow me! Rest, form a square around Sir Hernfelk!” Eric and three soldiers form a triangle with Eric in the front and three supporting him from the behind. As they began to charge, others followed the four of them closely. Eric pulled out his spear and pierced anything that got in his way. The walking corpses were mostly out of the ground and were trying to surround them but Eric managed to find their weak points and led the charge to those vulnerable points. A couple spider face monsters tried to fill the gap but they were instantly crushed under the hoops whenever they got in the way. After killing the last of the spider face monsters, Eric found the gate they went through to enter the town but the gate was blocked by more walking corpses. He raised his spear again and shouted. Eric-“Follow me! We are going through the gate! Do not stop! Just run through them!” As Eric began to charge toward the gate, the men behind him tightened the formation. When they approached the gate close enough to see the dead blocking the gate, they realized the corpses were holding long spears. Eric-“Keep charging! It is too late to stop now! Run through them!” Hernfelk bit his teeth as he watched the front row colliding with the dead. He saw Eric and the three soldiers falling from their horses as the spears pierced the horses. They got ran over by the second row and disappeared from Hernfelk’s sight. The second row managed to break into the lines of the undead but they also fell from their horses and ended up beneath the third row. The soldiers surrounding Hernfelk fell as they went through deeper into the pack of the corpses. By the time they managed to escape from the dead, Hernfelk only had two severely injured soldiers around them. As they retreated back to Woolton, the last of Hernfelk’s soldiers died. He buried both of them in a nearby plain and released their horses.