A new home

There were no incidents the following day, they simply packed up and made their way back. He felt good, like he was finally himself again after weeks of hallucination. 

 At the edges of his vision he could see Arlon gate, the largest one in the Altena frontier region. Built nearly a millennium ago, it marked the beginning of the unification period. It once symbolized peace and the united front formed by humans and the elven clans. Now? It was the grounds of a great tragedy, one that would undoubtedly become a lasting taint in frontier history.

 "Let me know if you've got any more work, I'm strapped for coin at the moment." Harold said as they officially declared his mercenary contract complete.

 "Sure, you're reliable enough. You should also look for work in the mercenary's guild, I'll put in a good word for you."

 "Thank you, Vannol. I truly appreciate it." He truly meant it, for the first time in a long time it felt like he saw the world clearly once more.

 "No problem, just try to avoid any uncouth work, things can get pretty brutal out here. And don't die! I'd like to share a drink with you someday. I'd ask now but I'm guessing you have a lot on your plate at the moment" the marksman says while smiling.

 "True enough, may god bless your journey." Harold slightly bows his head and begins to ride ahead, his companion waves as he goes.

 He could see the frontier walls in the distance, every single tree in a three-kilometer distance had been cut down to allow for better visibility. The walls are a fearsome thing, stretching 30 meters high with a wide moat of water running at its base. Large watch towers had erected upon it, no doubt filled with guards prepared to signal the reserve should any incursions or invasions be detected. Thousands of men could arrive in less than an hour, tens of thousands in less than a day.

 This is the final border of human civilization. Below and upon its walls millions have met their ends for the last thousand years and will likely continue to do so for a thousand more.

 Despite its size and history, there is no grandeur to be found in its design. If he had to describe the wall in a single word, it would be practical. 

 Not a tourist attraction by any means, but that is to be expected from a structure that stretched for hundreds of kilometers. The fact that the council was capable of maintaining and modernizing the walls at all was truly a testament to their strength and dedication to holding humanity's frontier against the endless ant hordes.

 It wasn't particularly difficult for Harold to get through the guards. Pioneers came through the area all the time, and Harold was clearly a well-armed traveler returning from an expedition of some sort. He supposes that the notion is technically true, any venture out beyond the frontier is considered to be an expedition, even if it was for shady dealings in the middle of the forest.

 First and foremost, he had to find a permanent place of residence. He had just arrived in the area when he took up that contract with Vannol, and he hadn't managed to find lodgings yet. He probably should've asked his companion about it before they parted ways.

 The nearest city was only a 30-minute ride away, a metropolis named Alanfer, he was confident that he could make an arrangement with a tavern or a landowner to rent out a place to stay, especially so if he used his status as a high noble, though he wanted to steer away from making use of his title whenever he could. On that note he should probably clean himself up, it wouldn't do to negotiate while looking like a robber baron.

 He asked around at the wall garrison and was able to buy some oil for cheap, it's technically illegal to sell garrison equipment but he doubted the local quartermaster was observant enough to notice it missing. An hour of scrubbing, wiping and oiling later he wouldn't be out of place in a royal parade.

 He took a moment to admire his reflection in the water. The enchanted plates of his armor hummed in power with the energy flowing through it, active now that he's run proper maintenance on it. While doing so he also planned for the near future, he didn't wish to camp in the wilderness any longer.

 He decided to avoid staying in the city, renting a stable to shelter and feed his horse would strain his already tight budget, it would be far cheaper to stay in a rural area. He could reach Alanfer easily enough should the need arise. The same guard that sold him the oil directed him to a local landowner named Thomas.

 The estate was located along a small river 30 minutes away from Alanfer. It was a quaint little thing, large fields of grain and vegetables with irrigation dug from the river, a few small cabins built along its edges with a larger house being located in the center. There were about a dozen men working the fields, some paused to stare at him while others only spared a quick glance.

 The few children who were playing nearby excitedly ran over to him, he could already tell what was about to happen…

 "Are you a knight mister?" "Where are you from?" "Are you from the garrison?" "Have you ever fought a dragon?" "Does your horse have a name?" "Your armor is really pretty" "Is that your sword mister?" "You aren't robber baron are you" "Of course he isn't, he's like a hero from a story!" All of these were said in less than 5 seconds. Harold suddenly wondered if dealing with children was something taught in advanced communication classes in the academy. If not, he decided that it was a massive oversight.

 He spent nearly a minute being bombarded by questions and struggling to answer them as the farmers watched on with amusement clearly evident. The ones who were more suspicious of an armed man approaching also seemed to relax as they watched the horseman squirm under the pressure of children. This continued until one the farmers came over to disperse them.

 "An ogre is coming for us, run!" "Hey! My dad isn't an ogre, take that back!" The children all ran away, laughing and yelling. Harold could already feel his opinion of the landlord rising. Father always did say happy children meant a prosperous domain and a capable leader.

 "Little rascals, I swear we could lynch them on an ant swarm and they'll manage to kill its queen by talking." Says the man, he was a rugged looking fellow with a straw hat and facial hair that would give a dwarf run for its money. His skin was well tanned from the sun and he had a strong build that can only be achieved through hard labor.

 "I'd believe it" He was still reeling from their relentless assault.

 "Anyhow, what would you be looking for sir, we're good hard-working folk, got no quarrels with any nobles."

 Harold supposes that his status as a noble is obvious enough with the decoration on his armor and sword "I'm looking for a place to stay, maybe for a few months. Would it be right of me to make such talks with the owner of that house?" he said while pointing at the large house he saw earlier. "Thomas, I believe he was called."

 "Aye, that would be correct. I believe Sir Thomas is currently out at the moment, he'll be back in a few hours. His daughter should be home, make yourself comfortable sir…?"

 "Harold Lyon"

 "Patt, make yourself comfortable Sir Harold. Sir Thomas never turns down a guest."

 "Thank you for your help, Patt."

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 Evelin's day was the very epitome of normal. She had cooked breakfast for herself and her father, cleaned the house, spent some time reading at the grove of trees near the river, and spent the rest of the afternoon studying. The only event of any note was father going out on his patrol. A simple and easy day, if a bit boring.

 Or at least, that would've been the case if it hadn't been for the armored man currently standing in front of her home. The first thing she noticed was how tall he was. Evelin was hardly a short individual, but she certainly felt like it as she barely reached the man's chest. The second thing she noted was that he had golden blonde hair, a trait shared by most nobles from the eastern kingdoms. 

 The third thing she noted was that she's been silently staring at the man for nearly 10 seconds, and he was starting to nervously glance around waiting for his greeting to be recuperated. She just hoped that he wasn't actually a noble and instead someone from the garrison or the reserve. It wouldn't do for her to offend a member of the aristocracy.

 "My lady?"

 With that accent he was definitely from a noble family, quite a powerful one judging from his expensive armor. She made a fourth note that she was delaying giving a response, and that the atmosphere was getting ever more awkward as the seconds ticked by. She had to gather her bearings and give a dignified response befitting someone who was (technically) also a member of the nobility. She's studied etiquette before (even if she's never had any practice), in this situation she'd say 'Greetynges, mine lord'.

 "G-Greetynges!" ah, that came out wrong, a 'lady' isn't supposed to squeak like a rabbit.

 "Greetings…is Sir Thomas home?" he said, thankfully ignoring her embarrassing situation.

"N-No, father isn't home at the moment."

"I see" There was an awkward silence once more…

"Ahem, would you like to come inside? Father will be back in an hour." She had finally put her voice under control and was at least speaking like a normal human being again.

"Thank you for your hospitality"

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 Harold wasn't sure about what to make of the girl currently serving him a cup of tea. She did her best to speak in the old tongue, normally only ever used by ancient houses from the central lands. He hated them, his snobbish former peers from the academy that is. Always talking nonsense about the importance of their bloodline, not realising that the honor of a house depends on its current members, not ones who have been dead for centuries.

 Daring to call him a descendent of the mad king.

 He didn't really speak the old language himself but he's, unfortunately, heard it enough to recognize she wasn't a proper speaker. "You don't have to force yourself, I'm not from any of the central families" he said to reassure her.

 "Huh?" She seemed confused, he guessed that she didn't know much about the nobility so he decided to explain. "The old tongue of the nobility is only spoken by a select group of families from the central lands; it went out of fashion for most eastern houses about a hundred years ago. We speak the common language now."

 She seemed both surprised and relieved at the statement, she likely didn't interact much with the nobility even if she was technically one herself.

 With the frontier council having so much influence in these lands the nobility were little more than minor land owners, some in the central lands would argue they weren't nobles at all.

 "If I may ask, for what purpose do you seek my father?" Evelin asks, taking a seat opposite of him after placing some pastries that looked positively delightful.

 "I'm looking for lodgings. I intend to stay in the region for at least a few months and a garrison guard directed me here. I'll pay, of course" He took a bite from one of the pastries, its appearance didn't lie, it was delicious.

 "That's great! We have a few empty cabins, I'm sure father wouldn't mind lending you one of them, you can talk coins once he arrives" She gave Harold a shy smile. "You said you were from the east? You must've travelled far to come here, is this the first time you've come to the frontier?"

 "Yes, I only arrived a week ago. I returned from a… venture beyond the walls today. If it's not an inconvenience, would you tell me about the region?" Harold gave a well practiced charming smile as he asked. Combined with his sharp features, golden hair and distinctive ruby eyes, most would've been enamored with his face. But the girl in front of him seemed more interested in answering his inquiry.

 "This land's been critical to the history of southern humanity! There is so much to talk about, did you know that the city of Alanfer actually predates the frontier? It was founded as a fortress city nearly 1500 years ago, but it was during the unification era that…"

 'Seems like we have a scholar here' Harold was honestly impressed. An education was difficult to acquire for someone living in the frontier region, especially in rural areas like this. Even more impressive is that her knowledge is of history, hardly a practical field of study for someone living on a farmstead. It was mostly things he knew, he had studied plenty of military history as a part of his training, but he had spent 5 years fully dedicating his time to learning at an academy with professional teachers.

 He occasionally chimed in with interesting facts or insights, Evelin seemed unexpectedly combative, in an intellectual sense, when it came to academic matters. Never willing to blindly believe something, but always willing to challenge herself and others to learn. It was quite nostalgic to discuss history like this, it almost felt like he was back at the academy.

 "Have you ever received a formal education, if I may ask." he said after a while.

 Evelin seemed quite embarrassed by the question. "N-no, I'm self-taught. But it's my dream to one day learn at an academy and to work at a king's court as a steward. Even if I would be starting late in comparison to most others."

 Harold was even more impressed, history wasn't even her intended field of study. Judging from how her eyes twinkled as she spoke, it was likely just an interest. "Lady Evelin, I can quite confidently say that you are superior to most noble academy students two years your senior. So I wouldn't worry about you being late."

 A crimson blush bloomed at his words "S-surely you jest, I'm not that impressive. Just someone who has too much time is all and please, you don't have to call me a lady, I could hardly be considered one".

 Harold decided to press his advantage "Not at all my lady. I'm truly astounded by your brilliance, I'm sure that you'll have no difficulty graduating in a year if given the chance." He was slightly exaggerating, but it was fun to tease someone like this.

 It was at that moment that someone who he assumed to be Thomas walked in.

 "I didn't know we were having a guest, hopefully this girl of mine didn't talk your ears off?" He said casually, somehow not at all worried about an armed man being alone with his daughter.

 "Not at all sir, she was a delightful conversationalist. As bright and beautiful as a polished gem." Harold watched with morbid curiosity as Evelin somehow became even redder.

 He could already tell that life here was going to be interesting.