While Dias and Peijin-Octad were at the village storehouses, the village square was just a touch quieter now that the performers had relaxed a little. It was here that Eldan and Lady Darrell led preparations for a banquet—no, preparations for a party. Eldan had told Lady Darrell of his plan to get Dias and Alna some alone time, but Lady Darrell had suggested that it would in fact be better to create a romantic atmosphere in front of the domain’s residents.
As such, preparations were underway for not just a party but a dance party.
While they lacked some of the decorations and provisions for such an event, Eldan had brought quite a lot with him, and Ellie had a surplus of supplies just in case an event like this one ever took place. As for instruments, Tilo An’s people had that covered. All the parts were ready, and the villagers rushed to put them all together in time for the evening.
✦ ✦ ✦
The forest border station stood tall under the clear autumn skies. Thanks to the assistance of the cavekin, the border station facilities were quickly coming to resemble more of a stronghold, and it was at one of the guard towers that Klaus now stood, complete with a suit of earth dragon armor and a spear made from the same material.
From the guard tower Klaus could see out into the surrounding forest area. As his eyes scanned the forest that stretched into Mahati, he noticed a shadowy figure darting among the trees to avoid his gaze. Klaus had a feeling the shadow belonged to one of the same intruders they’d been seeing quite often of late—more than likely bandits. Klaus had not taken action yet, because they remained within Mahati and just outside of his jurisdiction. They were causing him a great deal of worry.
As Klaus once more thought on the problem, he heard somebody climbing the guard tower ladder. He knew it wasn’t one of the dogkin guards, as they always took the staircases made especially for them, and any of the other guards would have announced their arrival before ascending. Klaus thus assumed it was his wife, Canis.
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” he said when he heard her arrive at the top of the ladder. “They’re still just watching over the area...and us.”
“I see...” replied Canis, worried. “So they really are bandits?”
Klaus turned to his wife and offered her a smile.
“Probably. I’ve been keeping an eye on them and trying to keep track of faces. It looks to me like there are about ten of them. At a guess I’d say they probably fell out of work and banded together when looting was the only option they had left. But they’ll need a far bigger group if they want to have any chance at breaking through our defenses. Still, I guess with Baarbadal doing so well of late, the temptation was just far too great.”
“Only ten...? But what if they gather more allies?” asked Canis. “What if they come at us with a hundred people?”
“Well...then we’d be looking at a fight. But in the end they’re just bandits, and I don’t rate their chances very high. Bandits can only get to about thirty strong before they tear themselves apart. Any bigger and you need someone with experience managing groups and organizations to maintain any kind of order.”
Klaus explained that things got exponentially more difficult the larger a group of bandits got. There was just so much to consider: people, equipment, supplies, stock management, work distribution, finances—not to mention how to split loot. The more of this you had to wade through, the more likely you were to see fights break out within the group.
“More bandits means a higher chance of success,” said Klaus, “but it also makes for a smaller pot when the raid is done. That’s why bandit gangs stay relatively small. And even when you’ve got a good leader keeping everybody together, thirty is still usually as big as a gang gets. Any larger than that and the group either aligns themselves with a small nation or a noble, or otherwise sets their sights on bigger targets. But even a hundred bandits don’t stand a real chance against us. Heck, even an army would have a rough time of it.”
“Oh, so that’s how it works? But it seems a pity for someone with leadership potential to fall into banditry...”
“Yeah, and usually someone with those kinds of smarts turns to mercenary work or the military. It’s not common for them to turn to crime. More often than not, bandits are ordinary people with homes and families. They just have no other way to put food on the table. Fail and die, win and live on—that’s how it works. And most folks, when they get one big score they go back to their former lives. That’s another reason that it’s uncommon to see large gangs.”
“Just ordinary people, huh...? When you think about it that way, it’s a bit scary to think that bandits could live right next door. We haven’t seen that kind of thing in Iluk, but still...”
“There’s not much of a future in it,” stated Klaus. “You have to buy food, you have to know how to keep weapons and armor in good shape yourself, and most of all you need to know how to sell your spoils. That requires connections. Most people, they only ever do it once if they do it at all. Sure, it’s ordinary folk in towns and villages that are most likely to succumb to banditry, but you get mercenaries and soldiers at times as well.”
“Oh, I see...”
“That’s what makes it all the harder for us here—those bandits out there might be ordinary people, and they’re not doing anything just yet. It would be far easier if they were decked out and ready to raid...”
As Klaus and Canis talked, they heard the arrival of flapping wings. It was a familiar sound, and the two looked up to see Sahhi approaching. Sahhi was the messenger between Iluk and the border station, and he visited daily with updates. Still, it was unusual for the falconkin to arrive in the late afternoon like this, and Klaus wondered if it was something urgent. However, when Sahhi came to land on the guard tower’s dedicated perch, he spoke with joyous excitement.
“A merchant is visiting from the Beastkin Nation, and he’s come with a group of traveling performers who are putting on a grand show to celebrate the construction of our new temple! It’s all sorts of lively and fun! And to add to all the revelry, Iluk is throwing a dance party this evening! It’s for Dias and Alna, and I’m here to let you know that anybody who’s free is invited! But I should also mention that Dias asked the traveling performers to stop by each border station too. I think the plan is for them to visit here, let’s see...the day after tomorrow.”
Klaus looked at Canis. His gaze spoke for him.
I’m staying, but feel free to go if you like.
Canis, however, shook her head.
If they’re coming here, her gaze replied, then I’ll enjoy the show when it arrives.
Klaus looked Canis in the eyes, put his spear to the side, and took her hand in his own. Theirs was a love that was as deep as the ocean, but before their feelings could get any deeper, Sahhi cleared his throat.
“Look, I, uh... I can pretty much guess what your plans are, but I’m going to need something official and...verbal, if that’s okay? And, uh, you know, maybe some of the dogkin, onikin, and cavekin that work here might want to head to Iluk. The festivities are set to continue until evening, but even on horseback you’d want to leave now to catch the better half of it. So let everyone know, okay? Also, are you sure you want to leave those strangers out there to their own devices? I could scare them away if you’d like...”
Klaus smiled and shook his head.
“We’ll keep on doing our work here and wait for the performers to arrive,” he said.
Canis then went down the ladder to inform the rest of the station staff about the party. Soon enough, the place erupted with cries of joy the likes of which even startled the forest’s critters.