Mage And Wolf
Chapter 127

Chapter 127: Chapter 127

’Stay hidden, a large group of armed peasants are coming’ Karl sends to me through the clergy’s mind link. It’s nice having him with me, it was hard to contact anyone when I was at the Shadowed Blade Sect due to the time fluctuations interference.

They’re obviously neither well trained nor well armed. Their gear is mostly rusty and cracked, and they’re wearing rags, making a huge amount of noise as they encircle the clearing.

Most are in the Foundation Realm, while the nobles on horseback are in the high Fortification Realm. This will be a hard fight for them.

"Release them!" The head peasant warrior shouts "Even under the laws of this despot kingdom you have no right to hold your workers hostage"

"Laws? What do you know of Noble law?" one of the men on horseback sneers "The Arch Duke Felix has declared that debtors are criminals, to be released only when their debts are paid"

"And what debt do they owe?" The warrior shouts back.

"One silver per day for the privilege of staying on my land" the leader of the Noble group declares in a sharp tone "None of these layabouts has paid in full for months"

"We only make a few silver a month in your factory" one of the captured men cries "How could we pay a silver a day?"

"Those are the laws of the land, scum. Now, for the crimes of criminal trespass, vagrancy and abandoning debts, you and your companions are sentenced to death."

The peasant warriors react instantly, throwing crude spears at the nobles while they charge. They’re overpowered, but have a great advantage in numbers, plus the nobles seem to have learned very little in the ways of combat. They’re quickly overtaken, dragged from their mounts and bludgeoned to death.

"This place looks fun" Karl whispers in my ear, doing his best to sneak up on the clearing. Like me, he must be able to see Death Energy, letting him locate me.

While the peasants clean up the scene, looting and burying the bodies, reinforcements arrive. Six men on foot, better dressed, with passable weaponry and cultivation in the high Fortification Realms.

"Good job everyone" The best dressed, a large man with long black hair and a very wizardly black beard announces. "You’ve struck a blow for the revolution, but a few younger sons of minor nobles won’t change much. We’ve got training to do"

They’re about to turn and leave when one freezes and looks in our direction. "Who is there? I can sense you, come out of the trees"

Oh, Karl is not invisible, nor hiding his aura entirely. That explains it. I retract my Shadow Meld and walk out beside Karl.

"What strange clothes, but high quality leather and silks, so you must be nobility. What are you doing here and why did you let your peers die?"

"Myself and my companion are not from this Kingdom, those were no peers of ours, and you seemed to have a legitimate grievance." Karl announces.

"Where are the others? A lady may be allowed in public with only one male escort, but what Noble lady travels without guards after the scourge?"

"Scourge?" I ask confused.

"It’s what they called the plague Miss." A scar faced older man informs me. "Only the women caught it, and it killed nine in ten women through this entire Empire. In the decade since, no woman has been permitted to leave a locked home without an escort. For her own safety and by law."

"You called this a Kingdom, but it is a Kingdom no more. After the scourge the Noble Families rose up and killed the monarchy, declaring it a free Empire, though they’re the only people who get a say or any freedom." another clarifies.

"At this point, might rules. The Nobles do whatever they want on their land, no peasant woman without a mangled face or barren body remains in this area. They’ve all been taken by the local Lord." One of the captives sighs "That boys mother was the last, living in hiding, but the lord found her and claimed her as a scullery maid just yesterday."

"What is the state of things with your group? Just a band of rebels trying to get by?" I ask, trying not to offend.

"Civil War is starting Miss." The leader of the reinforcements announces, stroking his prodigious beard.

"I was once the younger son of a family loyal to the monarchy. I was away for school during the revolution, when my family and many others died. The survivors gathered together to form a resistance and now we’re beginning to recruit more widely to gather the needed forces"

"What of the cultivation Sects, are there none in this Empire?" Karl asks him.

"There are, but they’ve all declined to get involved in secular affairs as they call them." he shakes his head "Those without the potential to reach Condensation do not interest them, and as such, we don’t have the power to require anything of them in their cloistered monasteries"

"Then such skill is rare here?" I ask, as both myself and Karl are already there.

"Yes Miss. Those with the potential are found early, and mostly given up gladly to a better life. You yourself should be careful not to get scooped up. Anyone below marriage age is a valid acolyte to them"

Karl laughs at his misjudged notion of my age. "Fear Not, the Young Miss is older than she looks, and is already a member of a sect."

I take my gloves off and lift my sleeve, showing the Divine Binding mark, the black Dragon around the Shadowed Blade insignia.

"Best you keep that one covered Miss. I know not which Sect it is, but including the Dragon of Death in their insignia does not bode well for them to be a Sect walking in the Light."

"So you do know of the Dragon Gods here?" Karl asks surprised, forgetting his cover as a secular Noble from another country.

"They are a myth. It’s been a thousand years since their churches were torn down, but some of the Cultivator Sects, like the one I learned from before being rejected for lack of potential, take their existence as fact."

It makes sense really. If everyone with power is taken by the cultivators, and anyone with enough power can declare themselves a minor God, why would the commoners follow a pantheon whose churches were destroyed? Only the powerful cultivators live long enough to see the the changes.

At Foundation, one might live an extra fifty years. At Fortification an extra hundred. It’s not until Condensation and Core Formation that lifespans really take a huge leap.

"Might we join you? I am on Sabbatical from my Sect to learn more of the world, and your cause seems just." I ask the leader.

"You might as well, safer than waiting for the nobles to take you as a slave. But most of these men hadn’t seen a pretty woman in a long time" one of the warriors agrees on his behalf.

I look over at Karl "Maybe we should find a local sect instead, let the peasants and local nobles squabble in peace?"

"The Sects should have had medicine to stop the scourge, so things might be safer" the warrior shrugs.

"Quit driving away reinforcements." the leader slaps his warrior in the back of the head "I’ll personally see to your safety. Plus, with the recruitment, you two are probably the strongest in this country, outside the Sects."

We follow along into the hills, taking note of trails and the occaisonal road that we pass, the leader, who eventually introduced himself as Devon, letting us know where each road leads.

Their base is an old mine shaft, with a small village working a stone quarry at the entrance. They’re all men, many getting quite old. Mostly human, but I see some animal ears in the mix.

"Every soul here is devoted to the cause. The local Lord too, though he’d dare not openly go against his betters. A mere country Baron is little better than a peasant to them."

He was right about the recruitment. Even among the oldest residents, cultivation at the mid Fortification Realm is rare.

"The energy is dense, but with power levels this low, our cultivation could be slow" I whisper to Karl.

"I suspect we will find better cultivators in the cities, the Sects only want so many, and nobody misses them if they take from the peasantry." he responds in a low voice.