A Tyrant, Sort Of

Sable headed for the road, stepping through the unruly terrain of the wild plains with some annoyance. Her thick robes and traveling boots helped, but trekking through wilderness was still an unwieldy task.

She checked herself over as she went. She looked more or less like an adventurer, so while she might draw attention, she shouldn’t draw suspicion. Word of her would almost certainly never leave the town besides idle chatter. Roman had seemed sure of that. Still, her milky white skin, bone-white hair, horns, tail, and height would make her an odder adventurer than most. Wastehaven had far more beastkin than the northern part of Auldstone, so she would certainly draw eyes. While there were many races across the world, the various peoples tended to congregate in their own cities, with only major metropolitan areas bucking that trend.

She also went over her backstory, concocted with Roman’s help. It wasn’t much, and the one she planned to use for Wastehaven was more complex. But for now, she was simply the daughter of a minor beastkin house to the far south, traveling for her own whimsy. Minor nobility, but not someone of real importance. Roman had said she would need an explanation for how she behaved; apparently, Sable had affected some passively regal behaviors, though leaning more on the ‘arrogant’ side than the simply refined.

There ought not to be a reason to detail any of that to anyone, though. They’d take interest, but Sable would be under no obligations to explain herself, not even to the town guardsmen or the guild outpost. But it was good to have a story on hand.

She hit the road shortly, setting an expeditious pace. With so many tasks on her plate, she didn’t want to waste much time traveling. It was unfortunate she couldn’t drop into town from the sky—but minimizing suspicion was her ultimate goal. Even for an unimportant place like this. Being thorough when it came to her identity was simply smart.

The initial road Sable followed was more of a trail, though looked well used. The hard-packed dirt pathway ambled along the plains heading southward, and for the first half-hour, Sable didn’t see a single person. Initially she walked, but she turned that into a brisk jog—somewhat awkward with her pouches, bags, and staff, the typical gear of a solo adventurer. Her eyes far surpassed a normal person’s, and she could see far, far down the twisting pathway, having significant warning of any other incoming parties.

At a crossroads, the dirt pathway joined to a larger road. Wider and better cared for, Sable assumed it was a more frequented pathway, perhaps heading toward a city of some import in the region. It still wasn’t paved, though. The technology level of this world was much lower than hers, Sable knew, though from what Roman had told her, major cities could be surprisingly high-tech in the sense of magical advancements. They did

host millions, which could only be done with proper planning and infrastructural technology.

Ten minutes down the larger road, Sable spotted her first other travelers. It was two men and a boy, all three laden down with all sorts of bags and pouches. A donkey trailed behind them, likewise carrying a heavy burden. Maybe they were heading or coming back from the market.

The flat, winding geography of the plains and road meant she saw them far before they her. Sable slowed her jog—which had really been more of a dead-sprint by the standards of regular humans—and returned to a casual walking pace.

She studied the three figures as they got closer. They were wearing more or less what Sable expected, which was to say, primitive clothing. Much the same—though slightly finer—than what the goblins to the north wore. All three had wide brimmed hats to keep the sun out of their eyes. Joining that was a white linen shirt, breeches, and sturdy boots. Their clothing was dirty and well-worn. The three didn’t seem poor, or at least especially poor; Sable just assumed clean clothing wasn’t the standard for this region, and the technology level, of the world.

Sable saw when they finally got in range to take note of her; a discussion started between the older two men, with the boy listening in excitedly, perking up from his previous posture of studiously trekking along, weighed down by his bags. The oldest—the father, Sable assumed—discussed with his elder son Sable’s approach.

Roads were dangerous in this time period. Sable didn’t know much about the medieval ages—and whether this could even be called such; maybe a bit further along—but she knew bandits, thieves, and all other sorts of threats were commonplace, or at a minimum frequent enough to worry over. To these people, travel was almost entirely for business thanks to the dangers and difficulty of moving between towns and cities.

Sable didn’t know what shape their conversation took. Undoubtedly seeing a pale woman in white robes with equally white long hair was a sight that gave them pause.

Whatever conclusion they came to, they passed each other without incident, beyond their eyes widening at seeing Sable’s horns and tail. Still, they nodded at her and gave a typical polite greeting; Sable returned a single nod in response, and the interaction was thusly over. Just travelers passing by. They continued on.

The character she intended to play—and it wasn’t much of a character, to be honest—was aloof and regal. It gave her an easy reason not to be too friendly, and thus possibly poke holes in her own cover story, should she explain any of it through casual conversation. Today wasn’t for socialization. Not to any major degree at least. She wanted to check out a town, pick up some supplies, and otherwise familiarize herself with human lands. A brief introduction before heading for Wastehaven.

She continued that way for some time, jogging in between passing-by of travelers. With her rapid pace except when walking past others, it didn’t take long for the town of Sunstone to come into sight—a name she’d picked up from the signage at the crossroads.

Like most towns and cities across this world, the civilization was enclosed with a wall. Sunstone was no major capital, nor even a city the size of Skatikk—which was the capital of a prominent goblin tribe—and so the walls were short and thin, though made of sturdy stone. Considering that these northern parts of Auldstone were a green zone, a place of little strength, it was enough to hold back potential monster incursions, and thus plenty to suit their needs.

The logistics behind needing to enclose any gathering of people behind walls must be a nightmare, though Sable knew the ingenuity of humans would hardly falter at such a thing. They had classes to help them. Sable hadn’t interacted much, or at all, with craftsmen such as [Builders], [Miners], and [Laborers], but the increased difficulty of living in a world filled with monsters was offset in all ways by the magical powers afforded to people—not just combat, but the ability to mine, refine, and construct with supernatural capability.

Reaching the town’s gate, she was stopped by guards. Unsurprisingly, they straightened out seeing her tall, white form. It was unusual enough to draw their attention—and their wariness.

“Good morning, miss,” the taller greeted her. His eyes flicked from her horns to her tail and back to her face, interest and caution warring in his eyes. “Don’t often see beastkin in these parts, though I mean that politely. What’s your business in Sunstone? An adventurer?”

Sable supposed even with adventurers being a common sight, this far north a beastkin, especially one as strange looking at Sable, was still worth a comment and a few probing questions.

“Yes. Simply stopping by,” Sable replied coolly, meeting cautious gray eyes with her own. She was taller than the guard by several inches, looking down on him, despite the silver-haired man being well built himself. He seemed intimidated by her, and not only because Sable had an imposing height. She carried herself regally—not even by intention, but passively these days—and these men weren’t used to such a thing. “Supplies and food. I’ll be stopping by the guild outpost. I likely won’t spend the night, though I’m undecided. Is that fine?”

Neither seemed surprised by what she had to say. It would’ve been a bigger shock if she hadn’t been an adventurer—it was about the only explanation that made sense.

“Well, carry on, then,” the man said. “But remember Sunstone is a peaceful place. We won’t tolerate any mischief.” His voice was stern and authoritative—though there was also a hint of hesitation. Neither of these two men knew what to make of her.

“As I said, just passing through. I have no intentions of breaking the peace.”

“Fair enough, miss.” He stepped aside and waved her through. Security wasn’t strict in a place like this; these superfluous inspections were mostly to check for known criminals and such. Travelers and regulars could come and go without problem, especially with adventurers being so common in this world. “Welcome to Sunstone.”

With one last nod to the two men, she passed by them and entered the walled town proper.