Ephemeral Affairs [MXM]

To the City of Thempolis

The next morning we return to port where Master Donita is at. She greets us and sends us on our way.

We are traveling up North in merchant wagons but still on the Western side to the city of Thempolis where the Leire family reside for centuries.

To this, I come to realize that Aarth is an enormous country. Its lands cover from the Western Mountains and now pass the elfin city in the East. I think it's about a thousand five hundred miles wide and six hundred kilometers from North to South.

I think its population is around ten millions now, and King Nir has a million soldiers under his order, so one in ten persons is a soldier to the military.

It is sad that they-is it 'we' now that I'm married to Nillin?

Again, it is sad that we massacred the elves to gain their land. Maybe my family was next.

"How did Aarth conquered the Northwestern High Elves?" I ask Griflet who sits in the same wagon as me.

His right hand never leaves the handle of the sword on his side. Although his eyes are closed, he is always listening.

"Lord Maeve," Griflet sighs like he doesn't know where to start. "I guess you do need to know. It was Crown Prince Niltiocles's ten years plan. He sent in a single trusted soldier as a spy who 'accidentally' lost his memories to the elves. Only after four years, Prince Niltiocles died. Prince Nillin's maiden war was six years later as a five year old after the ten years was up."

This precise part of the Aarthian history has never reached my ears in the mountains. I knew Nillin had a rough childhood, but he had a 'rough' childhood. Who else went to war at the age of five?

"Of course Prince Nillin won. He even conquered a little of the land beyond the Northwestern High Elves' civilization."

Griflet slightly opens his dull brown eyes, "As for how Prince Niltiocles knew where the elves were. That, I also don't know."

"What was the name of the spy?" I'm sincerely curious. I wonder how he was able to fool the elves for ten years! Or how his loyalty didn't weaver in that time?

His eyes close again and a small smile draws on his sun kissed face. "Master Lexin is taking us to him after meeting with the new Master Leire."

I can't help but smile a little to myself. I really want to meet him. He seems like a cool guy to hang out with.

"You're smiling. Are you tired?" Griflet must has something confused.

I shake my head and continue to entertain myself through thinking.

Kalor has a pretty similar landscape to Aarth, so what resources could Cassiopeya referred to?

Although a marriage can somehow solve this problem, what could Nillin has that the Aarthian King doesn't?

Does this relate back to the elves? Why was it so important that only one man is sent and a five years old to finish what his father started?

I couldn't wrap myself around the path I take to wonder, so I ask Griflet who is much more knowledgeable than I am.

"What does Prince Nillin have that the Kalorians want?" Griflet's eyes shot open like he just wake up.

He couldn't look at me in the eye like before. Am I onto something important and or dangerous?

The wagon abruptly stops. This is a sign that we can't make any noise until Lexin himself gives us the go ahead by looking for us.

I really hope nothings goes wrong. I really want to see that spy before I die.

My eyes close and I listen harder to what's going on outside the wagon. I hear gentle footsteps and muddy whispers. The conversations are all over the place and I can't catch any full conversation.

However, I do catch a few key phrases.

One of my eyes pops open to see what Griflet is doing. He looks like he's about to step out any moment now and this sword is already barely drawn.

Griflet put a finger to his lips for me to not make a sound before tippy toeing to the end of the wagon that is covered by slightly white sheets that similarly also disclose the entire wagon.

He gets out and walks his way toward Lexin up in the front. It is as long as 30 minutes that the wagons begin moving again.

After a few moments, I can see the silhouettes of tree branches on one side of the wagon including above. The ground is also less bumpy like a smooth stone pathway.

The trio, Borscht, Caria, and Kay, and Carcyne come to get me. Although Lexin never said to go with them, he also didn't say to not go with them.

Caria and Borscht helps me off the wagon that is three feet above ground due to toe board blocking the goods from falling out of the wagon bed.

The first thing I notice is how big the place is, and it surrounds by a small but flourishing town, like a kingdom out of a fairytale.

Aarth is rich as fuck to be able to give this kind of rewards to its war veterans-a legacy beholds by generations to come.

The trio walks slowly beside me and I would pretend to have trip, and their reaction to jump and help me is priceless; but I am digging my own grave as a helpless pregnant man.

There is bad to every good thing, I guess. On the other hand, I still have seven months to go, so I'm probably digging my own grave.

Once we get closer to the entrance of the place, there's a long five minutes walk from the midgate along a straight path of gravel to the actual front door.

The workers give me weird looks whereas they bow and welcome their young master, Borscht.