Baron of Borin (2/2)

Knowing that nobody has paid any taxes in Borin in nearly 3 decades, this raises a concerning question in Haalfrin's mind. 'Why would the baron send me to collect taxes the first thing after I arrive? He told me to teach the peasants who don't pay their due "a lesson"?'

The conclusion Haalfrin comes to makes his heart burn with anger. 'The baron doesn't need any tax money… So I was sent out to thrash some people around in order to make a statement. "Look at me? I have a 2nd gate mage working for me now!" Completely ridiculous!'

'I've certainly done deplorable things before, like robbing and killing people… but me and the clan did it for money – it was our way of life… But kicking people around for no reason at all? Really?'

Indeed… Villainy can be cured. Ignorance can be cured. Stupidity cannot.

As Haalfrin approaches the baron's mansion, he looks at it and concludes his thoughts. 'I was thinking I'd be sent to fight off bandits or suppress foreign spies or something… not act like a common thug terrorizing people for no reason.'

He looks up at the cloudy sky and thinks, 'I like to feel like I'm doing a good job whenever I do something… but this is just stupid. What's the point of doing a good job, when the job isn't worth doing?'

As he's thinking this, he's feeling another stirring in his soul, and another Name flickers as he borders on Comprehending something.

…Unfortunately, learning Names gets harder the more of them you have, so Haalfrin fails to quite grasp the truth he was about to learn for himself. After a few moments of trying to hold onto that Epiphany, he feels it slip away and be lost.

His second failure to advance into a 3rd Gate mage makes Haalfrin's mood sour even more as he trots his horse into the baron's stable.

Just thinking about it makes him more furious… and the more furious he gets, the fewer inhibitions he has.

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After half an hour spent stewing over what to do, the guest mage finally can't take it anymore, and he marches over to the baron and walks in stiffly… without an invitation, of course.

Obviously, the baron is upset at being interrupted, until Haalfrin looks him in the eye, subtly releases his Death Aura, and calmly addresses the man. "You're misunderstanding something here."

Baron Borin drops his book and subconsciously leans towards the window in fright. "What… What am I misunderstanding?"

"Since you never asked for my name," Haalfrin calmly spits out, "I'll introduce myself. My name is Haalfrin. I've slain an Alsa'ree general, destroyed a cult of necromancers and a 3rd gate black mage, and I'm Archmage Kalastros's only apprentice – not your thug."

He continues, "I'm also here directly under the king's orders. I'm here to keep the peace in the land - not obey you. From my perspective, you're just a baron, and a baron is barely higher than a peasant. Don't you DARE tell me what to do ever again."

'Ooo,' Haalfrin giggles in his heart, 'Using my authority to talk down to people feels really good. I see why the nobles do it now!'

With that said, Haalfrin pivots on his left heel, and he walks himself out – not giving time for the baron to protest, nor caring what the man might have to say back to him.

Once Haalfrin is gone, the baron is finally free from the mage's menacing aura, and he's left with only a white-hot fury in his heart… and a sense of dread.

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That very night, the baron uses some of his connections with the Crown Prince and even some of his foreign friends across the border. By the end of that night, the baron learns all about Haalfrin's achievements, the truth of the man's status… as well as the fact that he's currently being celebrated as a national hero in many corners of the land.

'Well,' the baron sighs heavily, 'I messed up.' Realizing he'd offended someone who has more connections and political power than himself, the baron is left to squirm in fear.

'Since Sir Haalfrin has no connection with Prince Kanus,' Borin fears in his heart, 'does that mean he was sent to dig into the criminal activity on the border?'

Naturally, Baron Borin would be anxious about this, since most of the border crime here has to do with him. Where do you think half his wealth came from?

The more the corrupt nobleman thinks about it, the more he feels this must be the truth.

Unable to sit back in fear without doing something to save himself, the baron pulls out one of his secret far-speak medallions from under his floorboard, and he calls up some old, shady friends…

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Obviously, once Haalfrin leaves the baron behind, he knows full well he can't stay in the baron's mansion anymore - not after their little disagreement.

And so, Haalfrin packs his things back up and marches out the front door with a foul mood in the air.

By now, the grey clouds he saw on the way up have started raining…

So as he's walkings back to town through the rain, he thinks dejectedly, "I'm really not going to find any battles out here? Well… even if I did find some bandits, they'd be able to do nothing to me anyway; I'm a second gate mage, and I killed a 3rd gate mage; most bandits don't have any magic at all... AND finding someone brave enough to withstand my Aura is pretty hard."

In a brief fit of teenage frustration, Haalfrin kicks a rock as he's walking. 'What's the point of spending another day in this dump, much less 50 years?' Despite his assignment having no time limit, he's already decided to leave as soon as Kalastros dies.

He'd made several friends back in Brandsdale by now, so the idea of staying here for the foreseeable future just grates on Haalfrin's nerves.

What makes Haalfrin feel even worse is that once he goes to the stable to pick up his horse, he finds that his horse is gone; probably moved somewhere else by the baron.

'Well…,' Haalfrin thinks angrily, 'I felt like walking anyway.'

…He DID think about setting all the baron's horses loose as revenge, but it's only the servants who would suffer for that stunt. What's the point in lashing out in revenge when everyone but the target is affected?

Haalfrin feels a strong urge at that moment to attack the baron and hang him upside down by his ankles… but he resists the urge. Venting his anger won't bring his horse back.

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And so, Haalfrin walks down the road to one of the towns. After knocking on doors in Goodland, he'd feel awkward going back there to settle down, so he goes to another village in the baron's territory called Briarwood.

As Haalfrin is traipsing down the single street in the village, he looks around at the villagers, who are all avoiding eye contact with him – likely wary of strangers.

For good reason, Haalfrin feels it would be a bit embarrassing and inappropriate to ask anyone for a roof over his head – especially since he'll be stationed in these lands for many years to come.

Plus, despite having money, there aren't any inns or taverns at all; villagers like this don't see enough traffic to warrant that kind of business.

Well, Haalfrin does see a single inn… though it was only a slightly larger house where an extra room was available for rent.

…Unfortunately, the inn sign is hanging off its hinges, and most of the building has been burnt down. After asking the first passerby on the street, Haalfrin learns that the inn got smashed up 3 years ago for not paying their "property tax" to the local gang.

Hearing this, Haalfrin rolls his eyes and mutters, "Can't that rich baron at least spare some expenses to hire guards to keep the peace in his territory? That's his job, right?"

In the baron's mind, peasants who don't have money or spend money don't need to be paid attention to. Why waste time ruling over them when they have no value - no impact on his land?

In fact, it's a very striking pattern that in all nations or principalities, where the wealth of the government comes almost entirely from the ground and not from the people, the governments utterly ignore them.

Borellia far to the south has many gold and silver mines; the people there are also completely left to the mercy of bandits. On the other hand, Brancotte is a nation with many craftsmen and complex industries. The people there are cared for by the emperor; their streets are well paved, and the roads are guarded.

Haalfrin understands this truth very well after studying under his master. He just doesn't like it.