Harwin and Viyetral arrived in front of a great estate which belonged to the next possible pawn in the captain's scheme.

  Before meeting the intended, the pair was led to an in-built bath-house. It was the same size as the chieftain's house in the Great-forest. Harwin was astonished, but Viyetral was hardly intrigued. The latter had been a resident of the Royal castle while serving in the royal army, an the grandeur of that place could hardly have been topped by any other architecture in the whole continent.

  The two freshened themselves up, even their clothes were washed and dried for them. Magika was certainly convenient in such situation.

  Soon after, the two were then led to a room. It was furnished lavishly with masterfully crafted long table in the center of it all. The seats were occupied ten gentlemen and ladies, who all appeared to be wealthy. Dozens of servants were serving dishes to the table.

  After the pair entered, a single man, who sat at the center chair, rose up. The others followed this courtsey.

  The man was old and frail. He was bald and had whiskers instead of a full beard. As for the attire, the old man was dressed in a formal and expensive suit, like all of the other fellows in the room. Most notably, he had pointy ears, but none of the other features of a proper elf.

  “I welcome you, Captain Viyetral. It is my honour to host the representative of the sword-saint himself. Please join us for dinner.” The old man said with a warm smile.

  “I see that you already know my identity." Viyetral did not lose his cool.

  “Of course, captain. You made quite the entrance. We, like many others in our positions, are quite aware of who you are and what you are here for.” the man wore a sly smile.

  "Nothing less expected from the owner of the main trading hub of First Town. I presume that you Jarel." Viyetral said.

  "You honour me, captain. These here are my fellow merchants, but more importantly, my blood."

  All of the people sitting at that table were relatives of Jarel. In fact, almost all of the powerful and rich merchants of the town shared blood with him. Many of the old council-men were also distant relatives, but they had their own families and did not see Jarel as an equal. This information was already known by the captain via the help of Torvin, leader of the conservatives.

  "If you do not mind, would you be so kind to introduce this companion of yours." Jarel inquired whilst eye-balling Harwin.

  "How forgetful of me. This is Gor, he is my advisor. As you can tell, he is a human" Viyetral replied, his last statement held importance in this room.

  Soon, all of them sat down. Dishes upon dishes began to be served, each exotic in its on right. Viyetral did not want to disrespect the hospitality, so before discussing anything of importance, he ate and engaged in small-talk.

  “You do not appear to be, do forgive me for hypothesizing, an elf.” Viyetral inquired, yet he already knew the answer.

  “I do not mind, it has been said to me several times. You see, my ancestors took partners from different races, specifically the human race. After several generations, you can see that we have lost our elfin features.” Jarel answered.

  “I see, and you were originally not from this town, right? Where did your ancestors come from?” Viyetral asked whilst taking a sip of the served wine.

  “They are from the eastern-most forest near the beast-men city of “Rothfust”. Like many elves, my folks migrated to this region during the war.”

  “Any of them still alive?”

  “Unfortunately like the features of an elf, we have lost our longevity of life as well. Infact, I might be younger than yourself yet look like an old man.” Jarel joked which made everyone at the table chuckle.

  “I see. I would have had liked to meet them. Your choice, rather the choice of spouses by your ancestors, did not create problems for you in this town?”

  “Oh yes, but mostly by the council-men. Most of the bunch are full-blooded and few half-blood as well. They consider us as muddled, ill-born be—,” Jarel was furious, but immediately controlled his emotions, "Do forgive my outrage, but I am sure you can understand my sentiment. The council-men have been rude, to the say the least"

  “The new council-men or the old ones?” Viyetral had confirmed his suspicions.

  “I see that you have already made yourself aware of the situation. Yes, the treatment was similar. Even though, we have contributed a lot to this town and its infrastructure yet my family, my direct blood, have not been given a seat on that council. In fact, even our visits there are frowned upon.”

  “I see, thank you for indulging my questions. Aside from all that, the food here is quite delicious.” Viyetral changed the subject.

  “I will let the chef know, please eat to your fill.” Jarel signalled for the servant to serve more food to the guests.

  “Yes, but I would not like to delay the topic any longer, as I see that you are people of incredibly valuable time.” Viyetral replied.

  “Very well, all of you may leave us for the now,” Jarel commanded all of the servants while seperately pointing towards one “Asul, make sure no one enters this room until I say otherwise.”

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  Asul was one of the bodyguards, he appeared to be their leader. His appearance was humane, but he had extremely pale skin and looked incredibly strong. Viyetral deduced that this person might be an undead. (Undead are a sub-race of the demons found in the northern continent. These include vampires, ghouls, banshees and several other beings)

  “Now then, Captain Viyetral, please speak freely.” Jarel asked.

  “Indeed, I intend to speak quite freely, so do not get offended by anything I am about to say." The captain warned.

  Everyone nodded at his statment.

  "I want to change the governance of this town.” He claimed.

  Everyone, except the Jarel gasped at this. One could say it was a treacherous statement, if and only if, it was stated by someone else.

  “I see then why have you not done so already, Captain? With the Giant of the elves, Farelen, and the new successor, Landel, you could have swiped through the entire council-building without any problem. Now, I even hear that Lyrital, the loyal chief-guard of the council-men, was murdered while the allegedly traitor captains have managed to escape. With so many powerful figures at your side, I do not know why you have, I am sorry to say this as I am honored to have you, come to meet me.” Jarel smirked, but Viyetral did not mind. He replied:

  “I must insist that I was not the one who freed the prisoners, and I hope we do not pursue that matter any further.” Viyetral half-lied.

  “Of course, please continue with your proposition.” Jarel sat attentively.

  “I do not want to shed blood. Each elfin life, even if they share no features with the elves, is very important for our survival.” Viyetral replied

  “Very noble of you, captain. I suppose, there are also other reasons for it, but as those hardly hold my interest, so I would not be wasting time in inquiring regarding them.” Jarel made sure to flaunt his intelligence.

  “I am grateful. My proposition is simple: I want to replace the old council-men with newer ones and I want your family to occupy few seats as well. In return, I expect you to cooperate with me in raising a revolution of a kind against the ‘evil and corrupt’ rulers of this town. At the end of it all, you would be regarded as saviour. Also, after becoming council-men, I expect you to hold loyalty to the one and only true leader of the elves, Graftel. The other demands from either side can be decided once the plan has been successfully executed. Although, the main terms are non-negotiable.” Viyetral put forward his proposal.

  Jarel did not speak for a while as he pondered in deep thoughts. One of his children tried to speak:

  “Why would—” He was interrupted sternly by his father:

  “Aethur, do not speak unless you are spoken to! Your age is in which you are expected to listen not speak!”

  “Yes, I beg your forgiveness, father.” Aethur, though embarrassed, did not look angry at all.

  'Similar to the village chief, maybe all parents are similar in this world' Harwin thought.

  After a few moments, Jarel finally spoke:

  “Do I have time to consider your offer, Captain? Perhaps a day or two.”

  “Unfortunately, whatever is to be decided, needs to be decided by today, as time is of the essence. I do not know what shrewd schemes are the council-men webbing even at this moment.”

  'Hard to do so while being locked away in a room' Jarel thought but did not dare to speak. He had his share of informants in the ranks of the guards as well.

  “I see. Well, what sort of support will you give us in all of this? And what guarantees can be given?” Jarel asked, his voice became a bit shaky.

  “I am not in a position to have anything in written, so you will have to take my word as the only guarantee. As for the support, all you have to do is show up at the town center at the decided time and lead the people to the council hall. All the other things, whether militarily or strategically, will be handled by myself.” The captain replied confidently.

  “I see and who else do you intend to give these seats to?” the old man asked.

  “Other interested parties who want to remain unnamed. Similarly, your name will remain hidden, until and unless everything has unfolded, so you have nothing to lose here.” Viyetral reassured.

  "Discriminations against us, by the pure blooded elf, is the reason I have even considered listening to the proposal. Does the sword-saint share the same behaviour towards the other races?" Jarel asked with a rather pitiful expression.

  "This human, Gor, is not only my advisor, in fact, he is the advisor to the sword-saint himself. Do you understand now? The chief-commander, Graftel, respects all those who are loyal to him, so you can rest assure." Viyetral reassured.

  “What if I decline your proposition?” Jarel asked while looking down.

  “Nothing, I will find another interested party. Someone will replace the council-men, and they can even be your competitors. Also, in-case you decline, you will be placed under house-arrest, for I can not afford for you to spread whatever has been discussed here.” Viyetral threatened with a warm-smile.

  Everyone including Jarel were flustered. They were powerful men, and it hurt their ego to be talked that way, yet no one spoke out, as the one threatening had the power to do whatever he claimed.

  “I see. What if, in the near future, you decide that we are not worthy anymore, will we be replaced as well?”

  “Corruption often roots from too much power in the hands of a single person or party for too long. As the new council will have rather diverse members, we can at-least hope that such an undesirable event do not occur again. The sword-saint hardly ever cared of how much the town spend on luxuries and selfish desires. What he needs, is loyalty and answer to his calls when required. If you satisfy the conditions, I hardly believe you will have any problem from our side. You already know, we have kept our distance from ruling this town for centuries now, and we plan to do the same once everything is settled.” Viyetral stated.

  Jarel pondered for some more time, before finally nodding whilst replying:

  “You have me convinced captain, let us make this deal.”

  Viyetral and Jarel stood up and walked to the middle of the room to shake hands. Everyone else stood up as well — in respect.

  “You will hear from me when the time is right. Until then, I expect you to prepare yourself however you deem necessary. I must now be excused.” Viyetral commanded.

  “Do stay the night, we would be honored to have you as our guest for as long as possible.” Jarel offered.

  “Great many matters need my attention. Once our plan has succeeded, I will treat you to dinner as well.”

  Everyone in the room smiled at this remark.

  “I look forward to it.” Jarel assented.

  The pair made their way out of the estate. Viyetral turned towards Harwin and asked:

  "You have been very useful in this entire venture. Now, what did you think of the meeting today?

  "Dividing power amongst these greedy men can certainly work out in our favour. Although, I am not sure about the revolution just yet. The town is flourishing, why would the citizens entertain a revolt?" Harwin inquired.

  "That involves my next move. It was good of you to notice that." Viyetral patted Harwin on the back who chuckled in response.

  In the town-hall, where the council-men were arrested, a rather sinister scheme was being played.

  The floor, where the rooms of Farelen and Landel were present, was emptied of any and all guards brought in by the captain. Soon, a group of men began to make their way towards the rooms. The reasoning behind this was unknown, yet it was certainly not something pleasent.