"It’s so blasted hot,” an important man by the name of Morwin complained, wiping a drop of sweat from his forehead. The typical Agnian sun shone high in the sky with its rays concentrated right over a caravan traveling through the countryside. Morwin rode on top of a shining white stallion, surrounded by eight people who walked on feet through the desert-ridden land of Agnius. They wore clothes not meant to be worn during extreme heat, and walked on ground which somehow did not burn their shoes. One of the men led the horse by the reigns, sweat all over his face but not a single word of complaint.

  The others remained silent as Morwin voiced his disdain. “I don’t understand why we can’t just have cool water at the ready while we traveled.” Morwin wore a shawl covering his neck and most of his face, but it wasn’t enough to keep away the sun’s scorching heat. He didn’t dress fancy like the others, as he knew it would be too hot. Wrapped around his neck was an ornate blue sapphire, given to him by his mother that he always keeps close to him, but other than that, he dons plain attire.

  “Young Master Morwin,” one of his servants said. “It seems we are approaching another town. We can stop by here and restock on supplies before heading on,” the head of the De’Shai servants, Mr. Axwel, spoke. He constantly wore formal clothing, tuxedo wrapping his limbs from head to toe, and a neat bowtie to top it all off. Even though his face was sweaty and hot, he didn’t bear any signs of discomfort. Mr. Axwel’s skin tone bore a much lighter color, as opposed to the normal olive tan of an Agnian.

  The other servants appeared distraught, but not once did they complain. That was the standard set by Lord De’Shai, one of the Ministers of Agnius, in the personal hand-picking of the servants that would accompany his son on his trek.

  Morwin nodded. “Yeah, I agree,” he said.

  “We should go to a greener one,” another servant commented under his breath. The one who spoke, Galvin, had a sword strapped by his belt, hidden by a layer of fine clothing. He acted more as of an armed guard than a servant. This was also the same man that’s taught Morwin how to handle a sword in such a case where he’d have to defend himself. Morwin was always surrounded by guards, however, so that wasn’t needed.

  In this little caravan, there was another who took up the role of being his protection. If Galvin acted as his sword, then the other, a beautiful woman by the name of Guenevir, was his shield. Galvin and Guenevir being ten and seven years his senior.

  Twenty years old and Morwin’s barely even seen much of the world. On the rare times he’d been outside his home city of Rathalin, they were diplomatic trips at the discretion of his father, who he knew was trying to groom him to one day take his place as the Minister of Military.

  Morwin didn’t like going on these diplomatic trips; they were often long and boring. He wanted to be able to travel freely without a goal, and no servants or guards there to stop or baby him. But he knew that would never happen. If bandits on the outskirts of Agnius were to get wind of one of the important nobles going out, then they would surely take advantage.

  All eight servants and Morwin practically ignored Galvin’s request of searching for another town. After all, the sun was reaching the pinnacle in the sky, the heat reaching its summit for the day. They needed to find shade, both for them and the exhausted steed, and get water for the horse so it wouldn’t die of dehydration. Morwin cowered at the thought of having to walk the rest of the way to Jovin City on foot.

  As the nine of them strode through town, Morwin could not help but notice the townsfolk in this desert town were… a little ecstatic. Strangely so. In the diplomatic missions he’d been deployed on before, every time they stopped by one of these desert towns, the people were always impoverished.

  Galvin noticed the crazed look in these people’s eyes as well. He placed a hand on his sword and gave a slight nod to one of the other servants.

  “What’s everyone so energetic about?” Morwin asked.

  “They’re acting crazy. Best to just ignore them,” Galvin replied before taking reigns of Morwin’s horse and leading it to the town square.

  In the square, people were dancing, laughing, and singing. Mr. Axwel stopped at one of the folks and asked for directions. After a brief exchange, the older man nodded and led the caravan to the other side of town, where a single inn lay. This particular inn had a stable on the other side for the many travelers’ weary horses.

  As the crew approached the front door of the inn, it busted open and a teenage girl was forcefully shoved out.

  “And don’t come back here again!” the man spat. This particular young woman had many scars that ran from her palm all the way up her shoulder and to her neck. Her face was bruised and dirty from soot and her hair a disheveled mess. The frame itself of the girl appeared as if she had not eaten in days. Around her wrists were shackles with the chains cut off.

  Morwin shot her a sympathetic look then moved on with the crew. With shackles like those, it was obvious she was a runaway slave. Lord Demarian and his men would come after them all, and they would eventually have to return to where they came. She made eye contact with one of the crew before shrinking away into obscurity.

  “Lots of thieves come through here?” Mr. Axwel said. Whenever they went on trips such as this, Mr. Axwel was always the unofficial spokesperson for them. Morwin hardly spoke to strangers, as the moment he did, they would know he’s someone important. Best to leave it to the old and wise man who had experience beyond his years to do the talking. That way, they would more easily get what they came for and get out of there quicker.

  The old and balding man, whom Morwin assumed was the owner of the inn, just sighed and wiped a towel across his forehead.

  “Not usually,” he answered. “But something happened that caused them to come crawling out today. She was the third one!”

  “What might that be?” Mr. Axwel asked.

  At that, the owner motioned for them to come inside. He whistled for one of the attendants to care for the horse, and the crew of nine stepped into the shade of the inn.

  “You see, an infamous group of rebels attacked a gem mine several miles north of here last night,” the owner said. He walked around the counter and offered drinks. Some of the servants took the offer while some declined. Morwin asked for plain old water.

  “Which is great, since the people here aren’t exactly fond of the king. You know, the rebel group Justicar from a decade ago has come back seeking vengeance or whatever. Except… some of the slaves that escaped made their way here to try and find refuge.”

  At hearing the name Justicar, Morwin had memories flash behind his eyes. He could remember an ungodly sight in the distance, smoke and fire rising, and him hiding in his room, his body shaking from fear and uncertainty.

  Ten years. He could still remember that day with as much clarity as the next person. The damn dissenters.

  “North?” Mr. Axwel said. “That’s where we came from. And we haven’t heard any stories of that on the way here.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “It happened just last night. I’m not sure how, news seem to spread rapidly around these areas.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been getting robbed,” Mr. Axwel said. “I can assure you, we are here to pay for the services you may be able to provide. And we’ll be happy to do so.”

  The owner let out a hearty laugh. “No need to be so formal, my friend!” he said as he patted Mr. Axwel on the shoulder. “Now, what can I do for you all?”

  “We’re tired,” Mr. Axwel said. “We’ve been traveling non-stop for the better part of a week and have been mostly sleeping in makeshift tents. It’d be great if we could rest in a nice room in this inn for tonight.”

  “Well,” the innkeeper said, smiling, revealing a mouth full of crooked teeth. “You’ve come to the right place.”

  And business proceeded as usual. Through bartering, Mr. Axwel was able to procure a discounted price. It was pointless for the bartering to even happen, however, as Morwin had more than enough money to rent out all the rooms in this inn many times over.

  After the bargaining, the crew retired to their shared rooms. The inn itself was rather small, with a total of twenty rooms. Two servants to a room and that left Morwin with a room all to himself. Of course, he couldn’t complain about that.

  Finally, a soft and silky bed for him to relax onto! Even though they only traveled a couple hours that day, it felt like it dragged on and on.

  Morwin sat up and peered out the window. In the streets outside, he could see armed guards in iron clad armor on horses trodding through the town. He always wondered how did the soldiers in those army not completely melt, especially in this kind of weather.

  At the head of the caravan, a man without armor dressed from head to toe in a light purple stood. It didn’t take a genius to know he was the man that led them, and a man that Morwin recognized indeed.

  This man had been to Morwin’s palace on multiple occasions, each about business with his father. This man’s name is Lord Demarian, one of the three Ministers. More specifically, the Minister of Labor.

  Seemed to be for the retribution of the escaped slaves. Morwin wondered if there was some other agenda for them besides recapturing their lost property.

  It didn’t matter to Morwin. They were probably on a journey to arrest all the dissenters of Agnius and punish them for going against the king. For that cause, he was grateful for them. Justicar can go burn in hell.

  Morwin gripped the necklace which hung around his neck, a final memento from his mother who’d passed on. At his side, he equipped a short dagger, meant as a final resort for his protection. He unclipped the sheath and lay it on his nightstand along with the sapphire necklace.

  Some commotion happened outside which Morwin did not pay attention to. His mind was much too tired for him to be nosy. Even through the walls, the sound of cries from the citizens of this town could be heard. Maybe they found some of the slaves already. Morwin laid in his bed and closed his eyes, drowning out the sounds of the commotions. Just let me sleep.

  Morwin didn’t remember falling asleep. He woke with a slight knock at his door. He quickly grabbed his dagger and necklace.

  “Young Master Morwin,” the aged man spoke. “We must be on our way now. I would love to let you get more sleep, but Lord Seldam is expecting us by tomorrow at the very latest.”

  Morwin opened the door and saw his entire entourage there, all prepared to go. Some of the faces there was familiar as they’d been on other trips with Morwin. He recognized Phalmor and Vince from a previous expedition, but the others were newly hired to the group.

  Morwin rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” Morwin said. “I seem to be more tired than I let on.”

  Mr. Axwel smiled. “No matter. Let us take our leave before it is too late.” With Mr. Axwel’s direction, they filed out of the inn and retrieved their horse. Morwin stood in the shade while the others worked, attaching packs to the steed.

  Once they were all done, their adventure continued. Mostly in silence. They would need to cross the Jovin Rivers to get to Jovin City. Well, it was more like one massive moat, but people called it rivers. In reality, there were five separate streams which all converged on the south most side of Agnius, leading to an island several miles off the southern shore.

  As they were heading out of town, Morwin caught some whispers of what happened the previous night. Apparently Lord Demarian and his solders executed some slaves which tried to escape. No sightings of Justicar however. Morwin thought about the young girl he saw last night and wondered what happened to her.

  The rest of the trip took half a day, and they finally came to a boat house by the beach. There they rented boats out to travelers so they could cross the rivers. It was owned by a rather greedy plump man, and through some bartering, Mr. Axwel was able to reduce the incredibly high price.

  “Be careful in Jovin City,” the man spoke before they departed. “I hear Justicar has made their way around here and are on the way to that city right now.”

  At this, Galvin raised an eyebrow. “So you allowed them to rent your boats knowing they were a part of the rebel group? That would make you treasonous, would it not?”

  The man grew frantic. “N-n-no, it’s not like that, you see! How was I supposed to know they were in Justicar? And business is business, you know!” All the while he spoke, he rubbed his hands together, his eyes hiding a hunger beneath them.

  Galvin did not press the matter further.

  “Please watch our steed for us until we return,” Mr. Axwel said. “Make sure you feed him twice daily and his water is constantly full. I’m paying for the boats and the service, don’t you forget that.” Mr. Axwel bore a disgruntled look of having to pay more than he should for the boats.

  The servants all boarded, three to one with Morwin and Mr. Axwel sitting together. The rowing started, with Morwin suggesting he help, but Mr. Axwel quickly shutting it down. It was silly of Morwin to even consider that his servant would let him do any sort of labor. Once they sailed and maintained some distance among each other, Mr. Axwel started conversing with Morwin. “How do you feel about the trip so far?”

  “It’s one of the trips of all time,” Morwin said. “Nothing new. Get in, convince Lord Seldam to open his city, then get out.”

  “Do you have an idea how you will do it?” he asked.

  Morwin subconsciously reached for his sapphire necklace. No matter what happened, he could always grasp it and feel the spirit of his deceased mother next to him, taking him in her embrace. It always made him calmer. Especially when he had to think about his important tasks as Lord De’Shai’s son. “I think I do,” he answered.

  “Getting there is the easy part,” Mr. Axwel continued. “The real difficulty lies in helping that ass of a man see reason.”

  “Yeah yeah, I know,” Morwin said. They discussed on this multiple times throughout the trip. He needed to lay out the facts, and let Lord Seldam naturally reach the conclusion. That he needed the protection of the Agnian military. Morwin let out a calming breath, feeling the anxiety reach him again. I can do this.