Chapter 9: Dorhem

The town of Dorhem was one of the many positioned in the front lines. Together they formed a line separating the north and the south of the continent which formed the demon and human kingdom respectively.
Past the line, to the north, were the human cities and forts taken by the demon army’s advance.
During the last 12 years, the loss of human territory and life had been incalculable.
However, despite the decaying state of the human kingdom, the smaller distribution of territory aided humans in protecting their lands.

In charge of protecting Dorhem was Earl Ribbon Province. His family had been granted the fief of Dorhem and the surrounding lands, which meant they were also tasked with their protection. This duty has never been as relevant as this last year, when the town of Dorhem became part of the front line.
Sadly, the villages north of the town who were also under the protection of the Earl had long been evacuated and taken by the demon army, he lamented the loss of farmland, but was thankful for the lives he was able to save.
The only thing that stopped the demon’s advance now were the tall walls and the people protecting them.

“Sir, are you listening?”, the Earl looked at the old soldier kneeling in front of him.
He was a disheveled man with short silver hair and beard, his left eye was one made of glass that paired with the color of his remaining eye. Over it, was the vertical scar that had taken his eye.
“Ah, I’m sorry Silver. If you think these crows were sent here by the demons then feel free to get rid of them, you are authorized to hunt them.”.
Silver, the captain of the guard of Dorhem was reporting to him, in his report he mentioned the increased number of crows that were plaguing the city, he suspected they were familiars who were scouting for a future invasion.
“Thank you sir.”, Silver stood up and made his way towards the door.
“By the way, my daughter Tuna is visiting next week, let Endo know, will you?”.
The Earl quickly changed his speech from formal to one Silver was more familiar with. It was his the unbearable dad mode, the one the Earl would take to talk non stop about his daughter in a mellow tone. It was so bad that Silver knew more about Tuna’s daily life than he did his own men.

“Endo? Sir, from all the people you could pick, do you really want your daughter to meet that lazy bag of bones?”, Silver rolled his eye. He only knew Tuna when she was little, his father sent her to the capital where she would be safe and hadn’t seen her in many years, she probably would not even remember him, however, he had heard so much from the girl from his father that he somehow was attached to her and wanted the best for the girl, but marrying Endo was the one thing he could not allow.
“Hahaha, come on Silver, you are too tough on the boy, he may be a little unmotivated, but his talent more than makes up for it”.
“Nothing can make up for that guy’s character”, Silver sighed and left the room.
Endo was his second in command, a young man of only 21 years of age who had shot through the ranks thanks to his talent. However, his lazy attitude got on Silver’s nerves.
Of course, it wasn’t a big deal, but he saw through the Earl. He wished his daughter to marry a powerful man that could protect her. No matter how much he liked Tuna, he couldn’t allow Endo to leave with her, first came his duty as the guard captain, protecting Dorhem, and to defend the town he needed every strong man he could afford.

…

Silver left the Earl’s office and walked over the walls. He stopped and looked north, at the distance a fortress stood tall over the horizon. It was once part of the human kingdom, but was now occupied by the demon army.

Like mages, warriors had control of their magical reserves, however, unlike them who used theirs to mold the world, warriors used their to reinforce their bodies.
They could strengthen their legs to jump great distances, their skin to receive powerful blows and even their minds to react faster.

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Right now, he was reinforcing his eye to see at the distance, with it, he could spy a yoma of blue skin with a small pair of wings sprouting from his head in the window of the fortress.
The yoma was also looking at him, waving with a smile on his face as if taunting Silver.

“Sir!”, a soldier came running, climbing the stairs inside the walls. He stopped in front of Silver and placed his right hand over the left side of his chest, a military salute of the human kingdom that represented soldiers giving their life for their realm.
“What is it?”, the crow infestation had Silver tense, however, the soldier calm attitude made him guess he wasn’t bringing bad news.

“Sir!, it’s Edeus the jailer, he has come to Dorhem and wishes to speak with the Earl”.
“Edeus?”, Silver was shocked, Edeus was a powerful mage who would often grace the front lines with his presence. ‘Edeus the jailer’ was one of the most renowned titles in the whole kingdom. He gained the nickname after using his magic to capture and bind the harpy queen Athena as his familiar, an unprecedented achievement that shook the entire kingdom.
Was Edeus sent to Dorhem because they suspect an invasion?
“Take me to him”, Silver started worrying and commanded the soldier to take him to the mage.
“Sir!”, the soldier once again saluted and turned around. Walking back down the stairs, he guided Silver to the guard’s barracks.

Inside was a long wooden table, at its side was Edeus, a young woman and a child sitting on chairs. Cups of tea were on the table, provided by the soldiers who received them.
“Sir Edeus, we are honored to receive you as a guest”, Silver saluted and looked at Edeus’ companions.
The young woman was taking dirt out of her bag and adding it to her cup.
The child was focusing on a mud ball in his hands, staring so hard at it that he could make a hole in it.
Not the company he expected a great wizard like Edeus to keep.

“My name is Silver, I will guide you to the Earl if you can prove your identity”, Silver continued.
There were many ways demons could impersonate famous people in the kingdom, doppelganger and illusion magic, for example. Because of this, Whilmcaster’s magic department developed a process where people of renown or those tasked with important duties were granted an enchanted permit which paired with an identification spell could prove their identity.
Edeus who knew of this reached inside his gray robes and took out a small wooden tablet, throwing it on the table.
Silver nodded to one of his men, who took the tablet and left the room.

“What brings you here, sir Edeus?”, Silver questioned.
“We are looking for someone.”, Edeus gave a short answer and looked at the soldiers around him, he didn’t trust them enough to have the conversation, if possible he wished only the Earl heard about the prince coming to Dorhem.

Silver understood, people like Edeus were often given confidential information only nobles could heard. The question was, if this was the case, or this was a demon who was talking out of his ass.
The soldier who took the tablet came back to the room and nodded at Silver, placing the tablet on the wooden table.

Silver sighed in relief. “Sir Edeus, welcome to Dorhem”.

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