42. Errama

Edmund smiled as he snuck into the City Lord's premises, after the little romp with Riley. It wasn't hard, such places were never meant to be especially difficult. He found the Lord of Errama, and smirked.

He could [enthrall] two male NPCs, and found the Lord to a lazy man fond of womanizing and alcohol. Weak, and naturally, vulnerable to [Enthrall]. Stronger, more competent lords would be out of his ability, but he struck at Errama because of the weak Lord.

It was perfect to have a puppet lord he could control. One to do the shit he couldn't do with his own self. Lord Peter Errama was quite like him, when he first came to this world. He had a little too much to eat, a little too much to drink, and two cheap whores by his side.

He struck when the lord was alone in his shower, and [enthrall]ed him into his service.

The two setpieces were ready.

***

Errama. Kiara looked at the fortress city, and wondered briefly whether this was a mistake. It felt like a mistake.

"The demon lord is nearby. I can feel it." Aman said, as he walked closer to the city. "It's... probably not in the city, but it's not far at all."

"You can? How?"

"I don't know, but it's just a feeling." Aman said. "But I trust it. It has never failed me so far."

Kiara nodded. Nysta walked next to the hero and nodded. "The goddess provides a way. Bless the goddess, and the hero."

Hannah and Raven both rolled their eyes. They walked into the vast Fortress City of Errama, found an inn, and eventually, headed to the Adventurers' guild for the first time. It was a habit, by now. They'd check in on the Adventurers' Guild for what sort of tasks are available, and they'd work on it.

"Greetings! Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild of Errama, you are- Oh! You're the hero party!" Riley greeted them with a bow. "I shall inform the Guildmaster immediately. Please wait here."

The Grandmaster looked bored and said something briefly, and then went back. "Alright alright, you guys just listen to Miss Riley, she'll hand out the tasks. I leave all of you in her good hands."

Riley bowed to the Grandmaster. The hero group nodded.

"Alright! As you are the hero party, we have the following observations so far..."

The hero, Aman and the group of girls were then introduced to a list of issues facing Errama.

"There are no demon sightings so far?" Aman, as he finished the list. It was strange that there wasn't anything remotely demon-related.

"So far, no. Are you aware of any?"

Aman looked at the girls uncomfortably. "...no. Anything in the mountains so far?"

Riley paused. "We have not heard of any incidents from the Mountains. Should we investigate?"

"...never mind." Aman said. "We'll go check it out. What else is there?"

"Ah. In that case, the guildmaster finds the task of hunting the bandits along the paths to be of greatest importance. They've been harassing our traders for some time."

"I'm not too keen on this." Raven stated as she went through the list Riley prepared. All of them involved hunting monsters of some kind.

"There's also some, more... casual tasks around, if you are interested." Riley said.

Aman cut in. "Miss Riley, can we arrange a meeting with the Lord of Errama? We'd like to discuss the defense against the demons."

"I can't help you there." Miss Riley shook her head. "Dealings with the Lord of Errama requires-"

"That's not how it works in the other towns." Hannah butted in. "The door is always open to the heroes."

Miss Riley bowed. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with how other towns treat the hero party, but so far we have not received instructions from the Lord of Errama. You could speak to the aides..."

"There must be some mistake." Hannah cursed.

Aman looked at Riley and sighed. Riley nodded. "I will check on your behalf. In the meantime, please enjoy your stay, and please do help out with our open tasks."

***

"We should leave this place." Hannah protested privately.

Kiara frowned at the heroine. "Why? Because they don't open their doors to us?"

"Uh... yeah. We're the heroes! Are we not saving them from the demons?"

Aman frowned. "I think let's not get too hasty. We've met difficult nobles before. Maybe... let's see what we can find out about this city? Do some reconnaissance to the mountains, because I feel like there's something hidden there."

"Got it." They all nodded, and Aman sighed. "I'll head up to the mountains and see what's up there."

"What! Alone?" Hannah cursed. "We're going with you. If there's demons, you're not going alone."

Kiara nodded along. "She's right. If your gut feeling is so accurate, then we should attack with numbers."

Raven, Nysta and Wynn stared at each other. "We'll go wherever the hero goes."

"Fine." Aman said. "Let's do so. We all need some rest, and we'll leave tomorrow morning."

"Got it."

***

The hero went to sleep, but Raven and Kiara looked at each other. "I want to talk to that receptionist again." Raven cursed. "She's hiding something. I feel it."

Kiara shrugged. "I'll go with you."

Riley was almost off work when Raven barged into the adventurers' guild again. "A moment of your time, miss Riley."

"Oh certainly, I'm off work but what can I do for you."

"Can you confirm there's no instructions from the Lord of Errama?"

"No." Riley said.

"No special treatment for the hero party whatsoever?"

"No. Our instructions was to treat you like any other adventurer party. I believe the hero has not slain any demon lord, yet?" Riley asked, and Raven bit her lips.

Kiara looked at the receptionist, and then asked. "Has the Lord of Errama made any plans for defending the city, in the case of a demonic attack?"

Riley smiled. "This is a Fortress City. We're always ready for an attack."

Kiara had a sinking feeling that the Lord of Errama underestimated the guile and prowess of the demons. "Are you not underestimating them?"

"I believe the Lord of Errama is an experienced warlord and more than capable to stop such acts." Riley said. "He has ruled this city for a decade and we have had peace."

"Isn't he a fat-"

Riley frowned. "Such words are best not uttered. I believe there is nothing more to be discussed. Goodbye."

Raven was instantly silenced, and frustrated, decided to sneak out at night. She spied on Riley, and noticed she was just an ordinary office lady, nothing of interest, and then, she tried to spy on the Lord of Errama.

That, was her mistake. Edmund had gave Lord Peter Errama all the necessary tools to notice the hero's attempted spying. He figured, that if the Lord stonewalled their access, and the hero didn't manage to get access to the Lord, they'd try to sneak into his keep to talk to him. It was a pattern that emerged from previous towns where they always had a meeting with the Lord, for their blessings to act against the demons in their territory.

***

Raven expected the stun-trap when she opened the windows to the Lord's office, but she didn't expect the second-stun trap that was hidden in the latches of the window. It zapped her, and delivered such a strong punch and she fell onto the floor of the Lord's office.

Lord Peter Errama walked into the room, and noticed her, stunned and on the floor. "Oho. Who might you be?"