Humanity's Hero Of Despair

"Please Halt! In the name of Vexa!"

The captain of the Vexa Gate Guards shouts at all of us.

We obey his orders and halt our advances, as we did not want any violence. The Vexa guards have their magical spears ready to be used and we can see on top of the walls protecting the city, archers with their bows aimed at the entire Tarondar Diplomatic Party.

We all put our hands up as the captain approaches us.

He notices the envelope in my hand which he can see is from Veltharia, which spikes his curiosity. I gesture for him to take it, which he does quite quickly. He opens the envelope carefully and inspects it. After a few minutes, he folds it back to us and waves us on through.

Phew. I am glad we didn't have to fight. It wouldn't of been good for diplomatic relations as we all know. We enter the grand capital.

Woah!

There are so many people chatting and having fun all on almost each street. The houses and buildings are so much cleaner and bigger than the ones in Goturon. We notice people buying food at the markets, people walking out of government buildings in suits, and genuinely having fun.

If you only saw the outside of Vexa, you would think it was a depressing military fortress. The inside couldn't of been more different. I thought to myself as we are guided to the President's Estate.

The house is quite large and nice looking. Not as grand as our Palace back at home, but still had ten times the grandeur of the city hall of Goturon. This time, since we are meeting with the big man of Veltharia, we needed to bring a bigger party into the meeting.

Zephyr, Quillen, and a few magical knights follow us into the house once we got permission to enter.

A glass of champagne is thrusted into my hands by a butler. I almost drop it in surprise. My entire party around me also was given champagne or wine. We look at each other in confusion.

We hear a loud clap and all the butlers and maid leave the center area of the house where we are all located.

"Welcome to Vexa! The heart of the Veltharian Republic and the place where all the magic happens. Thank you for taking the time to gather your party and make your way all the way here. You may refer to me as President Hector. Please. Follow me."

President Hector turns around in his three-piece suit as he is followed by an entourage of staff. Our Tarondar Party follows him into the official meeting room. Once in the room, we all sit around the very large circular table in the fancy chairs.

President Hector and I sit across from each other.

A staff member hands the President a glass of wine and he makes a toast with all of us to celebrate the meeting. Which is a little odd. Then, as soon as that was done, it was straight back to business. The vibe of the room took on a darker tone as the President starts to speak in a lower tone.

"How did such a young man as yourself become a Viscount so fast? I understand if Quillen Martin here is leading the diplomatic mission, but I was told you were the party leader. Tell me. Why should I trust you and your King?"

"Most importantly, how can I trust if this treaty is signed that there will be excellent results because of it?"

Quillen speaks again for me as he knows how to set up the situation and defuse the situation to make the President less guarded.

"You probably heard President Hector said that there is a famous mage in Glozaria who can wield both light and dark magic. I know through my intelligence channels that you are interested heavily in magical research and origin magic. Which is precisely what Viscount Lotus here can manifest."

"Viscount Lotus was one of the key people responsible for the defeat of the Eradicator Emperor and saving Tarondar. That is why our King trusts him so much. We know words only carry so much weight. So, is there anything we can prove to you our strength?"

"You also know that our intelligence is solid because the Kingdom of Tarondar is fully backed by the House of Martin."

President Hector takes a sip from his wineglass. He pulls out a handkerchief and wipes his lips. He raises an eyebrow at Quillen and sighs. The President then speaks and looks at every one of us at the table.

"Yes, there is something you can all do. If you do this task successfully, then I will sign the treaty. I would like you all to go around to various towns around Vexa and search the forests. We have been getting many reports of goblin camps and we do not know their true power."

"If you can clean out one of the surrounding goblin camps by the village of Rustbreach, help rebuild the damaged town that was attacked, and provide an analysis on why they are stronger now, I swear on my Presidency that I will sign this treaty."

"My staff are here to witness this verbal contract."

Everybody looks at each other awkwardly. Quillen is the only one to stand up from the table and offer his hand to the President.

"That's a deal."

They shake hands, and we all stand up.

I take the moment to speak to the President and shake hands with him myself.

"Thank you for this opportunity, President Hector. We will show you the strength of the Kingdom of Tarondar and how serious we are about this alliance. We look forward to signing that treaty soon."

With that, the butlers and maids come back to clear out the glasses. We head back outside of the President's Estate. Quillen hands me a map of Veltharia and an X is shown for where the goblin camp is spotted closest to us.

Our entire party was given horses, weapons, and armour like a cavalry unit, since the goblin camp closest to us wasn't too far away. We do not know how powerful they are.

I briefly touch the area of my cloak where my wand is hidden. My hands tighten as I hold the reins of my horse.

I guess it's time to slay some goblins.