Chapter 35 - The Failed General: Roland Du Sacar

"Please allow me first to tell you my story. My name is Ailan. I am an orphan and I am 12 years old. I am not from Corona, but I am from the Border. My older sister and I were born in Karpathia. We were nobody important, just the children of one of the blacksmiths of the city. But my father was an excellent blacksmith, he was highly esteemed by all the residents and soldiers of the city and he was able to forge weapons and armour of levels 5 and 6. Although my mother died when we were children, we lived a good life and were quite content. But it all ended when 8 years ago Rhodnius' forces invaded Karpathia. I know this had happened several times in the past, but it had been a long time since the last invasion. And this one was especially brutal and cruel, Rhodnius' soldiers and beastmen did not take prisoners but killed all those who rose up against them. Almost a third of the population of Karpathia died at the hands of the Rhodnius Beastmen.

My father was well known, and the leaders of the Rhodnian army wanted to take my father away from the border to work for them in one of the great tribes, but my father refused. We had always lived on the border and my father did not want to go to Rhodnius, especially when all my family were from Ansem. The head of the invading army became angry at my father's constant refusals and had my father tortured and then left in an open-air cage for 14 days without food or water. I watched as my father wore himself to death. My sister and I were sold into slavery, but we were fortunate that the army of then-General Armand liberated the city soon after. The Beastmen had to flee after losing almost half of their men".

Ailan told with tears in his eyes, as he recalled his past life with his father. The boys were listening to him and could not help but feel some compassion and empathy for him. Their stories were similar, and being orphans, they understood perfectly the pain Ailan had gone through. Ultimately they were lucky to be found by Maikal. Nerun in particular, when he heard Armand's name, felt his emotions tingle, but remembering Maikal's words, he calmed down and said nothing about it. He did not know if this Armand was the same as his father, but his instincts told him that he was. If his father's name could not be mentioned it was likely that he was famous and easily recognisable.

"I remember that battle. It was one of the worst defeats suffered by Rhodnius in the last 200 years, and General Armand not only liberated Karpathia, but Samoa and Corona as well, and managed to conquer the fortress of Mount David. Armand's combat tactics on the battlefield were considered legendary. It was after that that the border towns, except for Pellam, became Ansem's property until the present day," Elijah commented.

"That's right," Ailan continued. "My sister and I were able to escape thanks to the army that freed all the slaves. However, my sister and I had nowhere to live. We finally decided to move to Corona, because staying in Karpathia was very painful for us due to the memory of what happened to our father. We have been living here for several years now and although we don't have much money, we have been able to survive because my sister was offered a job as a maid for the mansion of one of the Five Great Families of Ansem, the Renata family. It is true that sometimes I have acted like a thief to make ends meet, but my sister hated it when I did that kind of thing, so I stopped doing it, and since she had a fairly stable job, things got better little by little, and I didn't have to act like a thief anymore.

However, I couldn't hold back when the explosion in the Rando Woods happened. Several teams of adventurers set out to seek their fortune in the Forest, investigating what was inside the craters. It so happened that one of the Igneous Rocks fell outside the Forest, near where Sagat and the rest of the Violent Tigers were returning from an expedition. I don't know what they got from that crater, but I heard that the three people who investigated it along with Sagat, two died and the other suddenly disappeared. Sagat later said that they were careless and died after the rock fell, and the other suffered great injuries trying to retrieve what was inside the crater, but as to what actually happened, all there is, is speculation. Subsequently, Sagat went into the forest and only returned after two days".

"So you decided to follow them and then rob them? It's only natural then that they would chase you without a second thought," said Sylvester, still a little angry about what had happened earlier.

"Of course not, Brother Fatty. I'm not that kind of person," said Ailan as he lowered his head a little embarrassed. "I heard the rumours, but personally I had nothing against the Violent Tigers, I had never interacted with them previously, but I do know that their previous base of operations was not Corona, but Karpathia, only that they left the city before it was attacked by Rhodnius, so they kept a large part of their strength even after all that. What happened is that when the Rando Woods affair happened, I went to the edge of the woods to see if I could get lucky and find something. At the very least I could look for work with some of the adventuring groups, even if it was just manual labour. After all, although I am still young, I have a very high natural agility, I am even faster than many Qi masters and I know the forest very well in these parts. Except for this little brother here, I haven't heard of anyone of my age who is as fast as I am.

While I was in the Woods, I had no luck and couldn't get anyone to hire me. But I went deeper into the forest to see if I had any luck. To my surprise, I saw him. I saw the man who had my father tortured and left to die, one of the leaders of The Rhodnius' Army. He was with two other men waiting in a clearing, disguised as regular mercenaries. When they saw me they shooed me away and I pretended to be frightened and went around in circles until I carefully and silently rode back into the trees to spy on them. They did not recognise me, but how could I not recognise the man who took everything from me? I truly wanted to try attacking him, but I knew I would only be committing suicide".

Ailan said with red eyes and tears welling up in his eyes. Nerun and the others let him unburden himself, and after a while he continued his story.

"I didn't have to wait long. Soon after, to my surprise, Sagat met them along with two of his subordinates, Jackal and Ocelot. Sagat was rumoured to have contacts with Rhodnius, and it's not like no one in Ansem has business with some trades in the other Territory, but making deals with members of the enemy army can be considered treason in Ansem. I couldn't quite hear what they were saying but they seemed to be coming to an agreement when Sagat showed a box of jade to the Rhodnius people. I saw the leader of the Rhodnius group look happy when he saw what was inside the box, but Sagat quickly put it away. Things got tense for a few moments, but the Rhodnius Leader smiled and they seemed to finally agree on how they were going to work. Then they split up, with Ocelot and Sagat leaving with the Rhodnius people, while Jackal returned to Corona with the box.

I decided to follow Jackal. If I could somehow get the box, I could show it to my sister, and since she works for the Renata family, perhaps she could get it to Commander Sebastian. Eventually, Jackal returned to the base of the Violent Tigers, but it was thankfully understaffed because Sagat had sent them elsewhere. I was able to infiltrate the base and steal the Jade Box. Unfortunately, they saw me on my way out and started chasing me. The rest, as they say, is history and you know what happened. I'm really sorry I got you involved. I got caught up in the moment, I really wanted to get back at the Rhodnius people. I know I put you on the spot with my actions, but you guys are fine now. Nothing happened to you, I knew they would not hurt you with no evidence" Ailan finished.

"Nothing happened to us because we are skilled and we were very lucky that Big Brother Elijah was nearby. Otherwise, we would have died and had no one to cry over our unjust death. In the end, it seems you are just like those against whom you want revenge, capable of hurting others, in order to achieve your own goals," Nerun told him without a qualm. He then told Ailan all about what they had to go through with Jackal and his henchmen, and finally how they were able to escape from the mess. Ailan was surprised at what happened next and gaped at Nerun, Silvester and Elijah in astonishment.

"Besides, if what's in that Jade Box is what I think it is, believe me when I tell you that you wouldn't be doing your sister any favours. If the wrong people find out what's in that box, you two will be the first to be eliminated to ensure that no one knows the secret," Maikal said seriously.

Ailan hung his head in shame. He knew Nerun was right and if his sister found out, she would surely be very disappointed in him.

"I am sorry. I am really sorry," said Ailan.

Silvester, Nerun and Elijah looked at each other and could only sigh. They understood Ailan's reasons, and if they put themselves in his shoes, perhaps they themselves would have acted in the same way. Besides, there was no way to reverse what had happened, and it was true that the Violent Tigers behaved in a haughty manner and did not listen to any explanation. Moreover, if what Ailan told is true, Sagat and his band of mercenaries were playing with fire by doing business with the army of the Rhodnius Territory, and it is possible that they were running into a case of treason against Ansem. Nerun and company's next steps had to be very careful, or they could get into a lot of trouble.

Maikal told Ailan that they needed to see the Jade Box and its contents. They promised Ailan that they would not harm him and that it was not even completely impossible for them to help him out of this trouble and act against his enemy from Rhodnius.

Untying Ailan, the latter decided to give them the Box, because he believed in the words of Maikal and the rest. He also knew that if they had really wanted to harm him, this was not difficult for them, since he was in their hands and they would have eventually found the Box. But they had not even seized it when they tied him up, and this earned them his trust. So he rummaged through his clothes and picked up a small Jade Box and opened it in front of Maikal and the others.

When Maikal and Elijah saw the contents of the Box, their faces were greatly affected and, looking at each other, they thought much the same thing. The worst of what they had feared seemed to have happened. Inside the box was a small piece of dark golden-coloured stone, not even half the size of what Nerun had obtained. It was precisely a small chunk of the Fruit of the Mountain God.

Maikal took a deep breath but did not fret. He held up his hand so Elijah and the others wouldn't say anything. They knew Maikal was thinking about the different possibilities of what could happen, and making plans to move forward. Eventually, Maikal's frown disappeared and he said quietly,

"It is possible that the worst has not yet happened. If Sagat really knew what he was dealing with, he would not have told the Rhodnius people, but would have kept it all for himself. It is impossible that a man as greedy as Sagat would have shared this if he had known. The only plausible explanation is that he doesn't know what it is, but he knows it's important, and so, using his contacts in Rhodnius, he decided to sell it to the other Territory, thinking to make more profit. I'm not sure if the Rhodnian Army Leader knows what it is, but we must assume he does. Other than that, I know his identity if he is the same person who attacked the border 8 years ago, his name is Roland Du Sacar. He is a Qi Monarch, a veteran of many battles, and a cruel and skilful combatant, but after the defeat at Karpathia and the other cities, he was vilified and now commands only a small contingent of soldiers on the frontier, a mere 5000 men. Rhodnians hate defeat and are markedly proud in general. If anyone else had lost as Roland did, he would be ten feet under by now, but Roland is a member of the Great Tribe of the Sacar, one of the 10 Great Tribes of Rhodnius, so he was able to save his own skin," Maikal commented mockingly.

"If Roland is the person in contact with Sagat, it is possible that they have known each other for a long time. The invasion 8 years ago was peculiar, and there was always a suspicion that the Rhodnians had some spies among the cities of Ansem. At that time, Ansem only controlled three of the cities, Teres, Karpathia and Corona. Roland managed to conquer Karpathia and Corona, after two bloody battles, but was eventually repulsed by Armand's troops. Moreover, he himself suffered quite serious wounds and almost lost his life. If Sagat was his undercover spy, many things could be explained, and Sagat surely lived with nightmares for a long time, fearing that the truth would be discovered.

This is where our opportunity lies. Sagat, more than likely, does not know the value of the Fruit of the Mountain God. Roland may know it, given that he is a member of the Sacar Tribe, but he certainly won't tell Sagat, and his current objective must be to try to get all the information about the location of the fruit out of Sagat. Besides, I don't think Roland will warn Rhodnius about the Fruit. He must be very frustrated by the loss of his former position and power, and it is possible that he wants to get it all for himself and his Tribe to regain everything he has lost in one step. That's why we still have a chance to stop it all before it gets out of control." Maikal said, looking at the others seriously.