Chapter - 49 A war out of nowhere (1)

For a while, Border Town had held its breath.

The Mercenaries of Mayhem were home. Jim was gone. Derek trained quietly. Bam's fire magic no longer caused property damage—just mild singeing. Life, against all odds, had settled into a semi-functional kind of chaos.

Until the banners of Athenea appeared on the horizon.

They came without warning—white and gold, stitched with divine script, trailing behind a slow-moving wall of armored knights, clerics, and mage-guards. Citizens gathered at the walls, whispering. The tension was instant, like the town had stepped on a divine landmine.

At the front rode a lone figure in resplendent armor, sunlight flashing off his sword and pauldrons.

Holy Knight Captain Volgas.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, and terrifyingly calm. His face was lined with age and discipline. A man who didn't smile unless someone was being judged.

Mayor Joff met him at the gate—flanked, of course, by the Mercenaries of Mayhem.

"This better not be about something we did," Bob whispered.

"It always is," Derek muttered.

Bam flexed his fingers, flame flickering harmlessly between them. "I haven't burned anything in weeks."

Volgas stopped just outside the gate and raised a scroll high above his head.

"In the name of the Holy Empire of Athenea," he said, voice loud and without emotion, "we come for the artifact known as the Arcane Eye—forged by our sainted ancestor, Archmage Humbleball, and stolen from the sacred lineage of Athenea."

The crowd murmured. Marcus blinked. "This sounds familiar."

"Shhh!" Bam hissed.

Volgas continued, "We have tracked the Eye's magical signature to this city. It is not a request. You will surrender it. Immediately."

Mayor Joff paled. "Immediately?"

"Yes," Volgas said. "Now."

There was a long, awkward silence.

Then Bob raised a hand. "Okay, minor issue. We don't have it."

Volgas didn't blink. "Unacceptable."

Marcus cleared his throat. "We did have it, briefly. Then our mage friend drugged us and stole it. Really rude. You'd hate him."

"That artifact is the sacred creation of Humbleball," Volgas said coldly. "It does not belong to thieves or fools."

"Thieves, maybe," Bam muttered. "But we're professional fools."

Joff stepped in, trying to mediate. "Captain Volgas, I assure you, the city itself does not possess the artifact. We've seen no trace of it since the mercenaries reported the theft."

Volgas stared straight at Derek. "And you?"

Derek met his gaze without flinching. "I don't lie. We don't have it."

Volgas took one long breath.

"Then you will bring it. Or face divine consequence."

Bob tilted his head. "What kind of consequence—?"

Volgas turned, raising a gauntleted hand. From the rear lines, clerics stepped forward, staves glowing with holy light. War mages raised hands etched with searing runes.

Siege wards flared to life along the outer camps.

Border Town watched in breathless fear.

Volgas looked back once more. "Do not test the will of Athenea. We are not here to bargain. You have until sunset."

Then he mounted his horse, turned without a word, and rode back to the waiting army.

Mayor Joff slowly turned to the Mercenaries, face blank.

"I'm going to scream," he whispered. "Very loudly."

Back at the mansion, the group reassembled around their cluttered war table.

"So," Marcus said, tapping his crossbow. " Out of nowhere, we're officially at war with a hyper-religious magic empire."

Bob nodded. "Sounds about right."

Bam paced. "We don't even know where Kain is. And now they think we're artifact thieves."

"They don't think it," Derek said. "They believe it. Doesn't matter what we say."

"So what do we do?" Bob asked.

No one answered for a long moment.

Then from upstairs came a voice—calm, dry, and annoyed.

Anna.

"Either find the Eye… or get ready to burn some paladins."

They all looked up.

Derek sighed. "Let's prepare for both."

And outside, the holy army of Athenea prepared to strike.