Legends: The Emerald World

The nearest town was the heavily fortified city of Roterberg. This massive city once specialized in wheat and flour but is now almost a military base because it is beside the border. The voices of the knights and guards grunting in the training filled the air, giving the place an intimidating vibe.

As the carriage approached the gate, hundreds of fully armed soldiers were already doing their drills outside the wall, dodging heavy bombards from the mages as they pushed forward, simulating a real war.

Not a single bandit or a monster would dare attack this city, not with the army literally three feet beside the main road with its full power, thousands of heavily trained soldiers ready to pounce at their enemies in a heartbeat.

The guards of the gate stopped the carriage that was accompanied by several tens of exhausted people, but the moment they saw Mary's face they rushed toward her. "Merchant Mary of the Leonora family!" They seemed to know her well, the herbs she brought from the dangerous border and sold in the city had been a critical key to saving hundreds of soldiers' lives.

The four soldiers that approached the carriage were all healed thanks to her herbs, one of them even sneaked one potion for his sick wife, and she got better. "What did happen?! This isn't your usual carriage." One asked with a worried face.

"The village I was in got plundered, we were kidnapped and they almost sold us as slaves in the black market." She growled, looking at the villagers behind her. "They need attention, call for the lord's care system to get them patched up."

One of the guards rushed back into the city while the other three remained. One went to check on the villagers while two kept asking Mary about the situation. "Who did it? Bandits? I'm sure there isn't much of them around here, and I'm certain they weren't this bold."

"It was the imperials." Shin said as he was sitting in the driver's seat, "A small group, well armed. They snuck in to plunder a village for profit."

"And who are you?" The asked with a tense yet calm face. "We're watching the border, there have been no reports of imperials sneaking in."

"They were imperials." Mary said, giving the guard a sharp glare. From her pocket, she pulled several medals, the mark given to the imperial soldiers so their corpses could be identified in a war. That was the prof that they were attacked by the imperial and not just some bandits. "The report either didn't arrive yet, or such a small group had managed to sneak past your surveillance."

"The blackwood forest is thick, those oak trees are no joke." Shin leaned back, "Change clothes, crawl on the ground for a few hours, and no amount of surveillance can catch them." He looked at the guard, "It's not that you aren't doing your job; it's impossible to get it right."

"Lady Mary, who are they?" The guard looked at Mary, glancing back at Shin. "He and the woman beside him are the two who killed the imperials. It's a long story, we should talk about inside."

"I see." He nodded, "Gather your stuff or have some guards carry it for them. We'll talk inside." He waved his hand to the wall and soon four armed guards rushed in. Mary pointed them toward her stuff, "Get them inside for me and don't open any of them. Especially the small red bag."

The four guards giggled, "Sorry Lady Mary, but inspections are mandatory." One of them looked at her with a smile on his face and she shrugged, "Do what you want."

The guards carried Mary's stuff inside and walked right past the inspection point. On their way, they could hear a muffled cry inside the large bag, but they ignored it. Mary's luggage was stamped as approved and inspected, and the guards took the red bag.

Inside the private guard inspection room, Mary, Ase, and Shin sat on their chairs awaiting the captain of the guards to arrive. He soon arrived with a smile on his face, "Isn't it Lady Mary, I've heard of what happened from my guards."

"It was a terrifying experience, I might need a silent and private place to rest for a while." She leaned back with an exhausted face, "Have any recommendations?"

"The Blue Manor east-north of the city. It's available for cheap rent and has a large multilayered celler. It was used for storing wine, but I'm sure you know that." He sat down and put one leg on another, "We have some special massage tools if you want to borrow some. But make sure to give them back."

"I'll take you up on that." She smiled and he nodded to the guard behind him, "Get them wrapped up and sent to Blue Manor, rent the place, and send her the bill, it shouldn't be much."

The guard rushed out and closed the door, and the captain of the guards sighed. "So, what is this talk about imperials?"

"Forget the imperials we have a bigger problem." Mary glared at him, "A black dragon headed toward the midlands."

The captain's face paled, "A black dragon? You…"

"It burned Blackwood fort, we were imprisoned there by the imperials." Shin spoke from the back, "We managed to get away, but it headed toward the inners of the kingdom as Mary said. That thing was far too powerful, the fort didn't stand a chance."

"I suspect it'll rest for a few months before going out again. Send a messenger to the royal capital and we'll head there to confirm it." Mary leaned forward and the captain started thinking. "I'll ask them to start preparing to defend against a dragon and promise that you'll prove to them that a dragon is indeed in the midlands?"

He looked a bit worried, "If they mobilized such a massive amount of funds and no dragon was there, my head would roll." His eyes looked at her, filled with fear and will to fight, "Are you sure? You don't want the city lord to know about this, right?"

"Yeah, he'll take all the credit for it and leave me bone dry." She put one leg on another, "Don't worry. I have everything under control."

"I hope this stunt won't be your last." He stood, "But, our deal remains." He walked out and so did Mary and the rest. A fresh carriage awaited them outside and was filled with their stuff, everything except the red bag.

Shin looked a bit surprised, "I can't believe it worked."

"I smuggled far worse things than this." She opened the large bag and two people were inside, a man and a woman, soldiers of the empire that she brought to squeeze for information. She closed the bag on them.

"Look, they even provided me with some fun tools." Inside the bag where the massage tools the guards gave her, Shin found a whole bunch of torture devices.

"What kind of bribe did you give them?" Shin sighed.

"It wasn't a bribe, it was medical herbs. The lord keeps a tight lock on them so the low-paid guards almost have no access to them. Some need them for their injuries, some for their families, and some are going on skirmishes and wish to survive." She looked at Shin, "It's something that even money can't buy for them."

"So the guards are happy to turn a blind eye to you smuggling two live people to torture and even provide you with the instrument you need for some healing herbs?" He giggled, "What else did you smuggle and they allowed it?"

"Far worse things." She replied with a terrifying smile.