Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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/Fwoosh!/

Gently, Dale descended onto the ground, displaying finite control as compared to his brute descent before when he met the Caravan for the first time.

The players and Villagers observed him in awe, but he had no time for time to greet them all, so he quickly made his way across the streets.

His goal? A certain old man reading books under the faint sunlight of his room...

...

Like Dale, the Caravan got inside Resko under the curious eyes of the players and the Villagers, a knight falling from the sky wasn't new to them, but this?

What was going on today?

"An Event of some sort?" A player asked as he watched them from afar

"Finally, this place did need something to shake things up a bit." Someone else replied

/Chatter.../

The way each group saw these newcomers were different...

The villagers saw a group of strangers, people who could potentially cause trouble.

So they were wary, keeping a certain distance from them... Especially when they saw their weapons and the lizards pulling their wagons.

The players, on the other hand, saw new Quests and items to buy, a chance for growth, and much more.

'New NPCs meant new opportunities!' They thought at the same time

Since it was so hard to raise their Reputation, with only a minority now having a decent enough Rep value, most still had to do repetitive chores to get those numbers up...

And they would still do it, but... If they could do something else in the meantime...

But against their expectations, the merchants shook their heads, refusing to sell anything to them just like the other Villager NPCs!

Even interacting with them was difficult, they only selectively interacted with those with High enough Reputation scores.

Some complained in distress, screaming at the unfairness, but that only helped in reducing their Reputation points, making them recoil in anguish as everyone else laughed at them.

The news of these newcomers soon started to fly around the town, and in a few minutes, almost every player knew of their existence, with the Higher Reputable players soon gathering to learn more information about them.

Some stayed in the shadows though, observing, waiting for things to develop.

...

As they made their way deeper into the Village, many curious sets of eyes, gazed at the strange reptilian creatures that were dragging the carriages.

And a few even tried to approach and touch them...

/SSSZZZ.../

But the reptile wasn't really having it today, after being forced to walk in the scalding heat for an entire day straight, it now had to cope with the touch of these random ass people?

To show its immense displeasure, it let out a dangerous sound akin to those of snakes...

"Wow, there lady!" The wagon driver said as it pulled down the reigns

"Don't go touching them like that, they aren't that docile."

He looked at the players that tried touching it, shaking his head in disapproval.

It was a very rude action since normally, asking first is the proper thing to do...

And this man in front of him didn't look like a child, he was a grown-up adult... Where were his manners?

'Such rude people...' The man thought as he looked away

[-2 Reputation...]

As one of the players heard the notification play in his ears, he crashed to the ground in disbelief while the others took a step back, as no one wanted to be like him.

As such, under the guidance of the Villagers, the Caravan was peacefully led to a secluded area of the city where they started to settle.

And in the meantime, their leaders started to meet with the Elders…

…

/A few more minutes later.../

Inside a wide room with a large rectangular table, a group of people sat around in silence.

The atmosphere seemed a bit heavy, perhaps due to what happened before?

Or was it due to something else?

"... Is everyone here?" Edimund, the Village head asked as he tapped his fingers on the table

'Hum... Dale isn't here yet, I imagine he went to call the others, expecting this to happen.'

'But it seems all of the newcomers are here... I can't delay this for long...'

'Alright, I'll start small to give them time to arrive.'

As he thought, he looked around the room with a sharp gaze.

They were currently on the second floor of the Mercenary Guild and being frank, the best place to welcome guests they had right now, as the Village Head Manor was falling into pieces, as was most of the other buildings...

They were being actively repaired right now, with the Manor being the focus, but it would take some time nonetheless, time they didn't have right now.

Resko had a single decent carpenter, and wood was hard to acquire as the forest wasn't exactly a safe place. Much less for StoneWork.

And for the strong Elders, they couldn't waste their time gathering wood anymore like they used to do, their worries were now others as the Village wasn't struggling with those meager matters of the past anymore.

That would have to be left for the players, AKA, warriors from afar to handle.

But it would take a few more months until their collective level reached a state where they could somewhat hunt and reliably work in the fields surrounding the city.

So this task had to be left regrettably, for the big groups and Guilds who were more than happy in getting extra cash and rewards for simply collecting some extra materials in the forest.

It helped them in covering their losses...

Because... Despite their 'glory' in the eyes of the ordinary players, they would never share that right now, collecting wood and other materials was probably one of the few things they could actually do reliably.

Because even with their higher Levels, they could hardly keep up with the Monsters there...

/Cough.../

Hearing Edimund's question, Misgurd, the head of the Mercenary Branch cleared his throat and said as he got up from his chair:

"I believe so, and apart from Dale and those 2, everyone from our side is here already."

Edimund nodded, raising his hand so that he may continue.

"So um... Let's start with the ones we are least used to..."

"Here we have the Head of the Dragovir Services, a merchant organization comprised of dozens of merchants from across the 4 corners of the Continent."

He pointed towards a group sitting on the side of the large table to Edimund's right, a group consisting of one Fat man, one Skinny man, and 3 more merchants.

The Skinny Man was none other than the rude Merchant that had underestimated Dale's position and worth, being shot down immediately and without mercy.

His expression was calm and relaxed, but it was difficult to say if he was truly feeling that way as merchants were masters in keeping their feeling to themselves...

His thoughts his own, the fat man, their leader, carefully got up from his seat to say:

"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Ericvic Dragovir, current head of the Dragovir Services."

"You all may know my Grandfather as he was the one previously in charge of our association, coming here several times throughout his time operating as the head."

"Unfortunately, due to his health, he stepped down 4 years ago, temporarily leaving his position to my father who then passed it down to me 3 years ago after he stabilized the condition of our Association."

"There is much more I would like to say but..."

He bowed deeply and gently in a surprisingly smooth way despite being fat.

He seemed to be the big-boned kind of fat, as there was a lot of muscle beneath those clothes.

"I would like to once again apologize for some of my fellow merchants' bad conduct towards you all-."

"..."

The skinny merchant's eyes remained serene, but a dangerous glint seemed to have passed through them for a moment...

"Hehe..."

Misgurd smiled widely, he wanted to laugh, but he remained calm.

'I didn't understand what happened very well, but I think that man underestimated Dale... Poor sod must've been shot down in an instant.'

'Despite how he normally acts, being patient and all, Dale immediately loses his cool front when someone starts to disrespect him, he can tolerate it once or twice, or if they are younger, but for an older man...'

'That is one of his problems, if someone ever targets him for that, they could end up pulling him into a trap in his moment of carelessness.'

'But for that to work, they would need to overpower Dale first, an entirely different problem...'

The other elders thought the same, holding their laughs.

It's not like they couldn't understand where the merchant was coming from, Dale was indeed very young, and that normally equates to inexperience and bad decisions, but the last thing you could do was underestimate him.

Edimund smiled as well, he shook his head, saying, "It is fine, he may not be here, but he'll soon come, I'm sure he won't mind it much since you already apologized for it."

"Then, allow us to introduce ourselves..."

...

The other three merchants also introduced themselves with a bit of their background and reasons for being here.

One of them was a Northern Merchant who specialized in selling herbs and plants, he had come out of respect for the Association, while the other 2 came under the commission of the lady on the side, they both specialized in weapons and armor respectively...

It was safe to say they brought large quantities of both, together with many other general products of course.

As for who the young lady was to have them come with her due to a request... They would get to her, but all in due time...

Edimund looked to Misgurd, allowing him to continue.

"On your Left, we have the representatives from the Mercenary Guild main Headquarters, they come every so often, and the people that come are always the same, so I don't think I need to introduce them again."

/Crack…/

A massive hunk of a man rose from his chair slowly, standing at a proud 2.3 M tall.

He was bald and wearing a large and oppressive metallic armor with the exception of his helmet.

(Image?)

He looked down towards Edimund and bowed.

He exuded a faint pressure, and he had a small badge strapped to his desert scarf, it had an emerald tied to it showing that he was like Misgurd, an Emerald Rank Mercenary.

But Misgurd could tell, he had grown stronger, could he have become Diamond Rank?

(For those that obviously forgot: /introductory levels/Recruit/Trainee -> Novice -> Polished -> /Gemstone Ranks/ Agate -> Spinel -> Emerald -> Diamond)

He looked old, it was clear thanks to his gray beard and lack of hair, but his facial expression was solid and serene with few wrinkles in between.

It was clear that he would live for a few more decades... Unless he had a stroke or met a fate most unfortunate...

Once he got up, his mouth opened into a warm smile as he said in a deep tone:

"It's been a while Village head, how long has it been? 5-7 years since my last visit? It seems things have taken a turn for the better."

'Last time, things looked grim, everyone was down and not even all of the Elders welcomed us, those that did look tired from just being in my presence.'

'Now... They still look somewhat tired, but for another reason entirely.'

'Yes... That young man I've heard so much about despite only arriving…'

'From what he showed me in the desert, he seemed to be about the Level of an Agate Mercenary, perhaps more.'

He then let out a grunt internally...

'Humph... I hope nothing goes wrong between him and that hot-headed prideful brat, but if something does happen, at least, he'll have someone to look up to.'

'Dedicated merchants... People that rely on each other... Talented people... Business... And strong people as well.'

'If they do things well, Resko will soar without a doubt, and even if they don't reach the same height as in the past that in itself doesn't matter as their location is of extreme tactical advantage.'

'Resources are everywhere here!'

'They just need the strength to establish themselves!'

At least, that was how it seemed from the view of someone from outside.

Without knowing the truth, Resko's future seemed bright indeed.

"Hum..."

His eyes sharpened for a quick moment...

'And also. They may be acting in a carefree way, but I can feel it.'

'Your old self is nowhere to be seen, your arms aren't trembling anymore... Albeit I can still see the hesitation in your eyes, even if weak.'

'Old friend… You've surpassed your past self already, didn't you?... But you can't let go of it yet...'

'When will you get over your past regrets?'

'Those others too… It has been a long while since I saw some of them, and I know not all of them are warriors...'

'But the way they stand and move, the faint 'Smell' they have... I can tell, they must've achieved great feats recently.'

'Even Edimund, he was always talented ever since he took his position decades ago, he just lacked drive, did he finally find some?'

"... It's good to see you as spirited as you were last time I saw you, Zaw." Misgurd said with a smile as he tapped the table

Towards his words, Edimund closed his eyes, remembering the past and saying:

"5 and half years to be precise, that was the last time you all came here to check on this branch."

"Time sure flies... Sigh, the children have grown up and now we're old men…"

But Barme interrupted him, saying with one of his brows raised:

"What are you talking about? Weren't we old already?"

/Chuckles/

The mood was good, people were laughing and it seemed everyone was slowly getting on the same page.

Ericvic took this opportunity to say a few things:

"Finally then, I would like to introduce you to all the people that made all of this possible in the first place…"

'The girl that contributed with most of the expanses to get our Caravan going.'

'She even got out of her way to get the Mercenary Guild and more Merchants involved... She deserves praise for her dedication, and for seeing something in here even I didn't.'

'To this, I can safely say she is like my grandfather, regardless of how young she is, I have treated her very cordially... And it's clear she has been trying to introduce herself, so I'll take this small opportunity and put her in the spotlight.'

'Go on miss, say your line.'

The two ladies were startled, but they quickly got up, ready to introduce themselves…

"Firstly, I'm thankful for being welcomed..."

"!"

Suddenly, both fey and the people from the Mercenary Guild tensed, feeling a heavy pressure from outside the room.

A young voice echoed in the room as the door opened.

"Sorry everyone, we're a bit late." Dale replied calmly

He was still using his armor, but his sword had been left outside.

But that wasn't important, what mattered was the people behind him!

A middle-aged woman and man.

They were… Testros and Tina!

The 2 strongest in the Village!

…

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Notes

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