Fallenic war horses were unable to make the journey across the sea, only because bringing an equal amount of steeds for every knight, while tending to them for the entire duration of the journey, was a decision decided against to by Erik. In their days since taking Capricene, they remained in the city, securing, preparing, and all around, waiting under the orders of their lord. It was not without its reasons, as by the last day, hundreds of horses would find their way on the front steps of Capricene's gates. What brought them were farmers, dozens and their dogs that kept the horses in line. The Fallenic Knights gathered at the gates of the city that morning and took their pick of the majestic animals.
Through the crowd of knights, a man whose clothes were nice, yet wrinkled and dirtied from traevl, made his way to the front gate. "Mister Brendolf!" He called out, seeing Chester speaking to a knight. Though, unlike the rest, down this one's back fell a cloak that seemed to writhe, bringing about an uncomfortableness to the man.
"Ah, here he is. Robert. You have done well."
"Well, as promised, I gathered and brought every adult steed that I could, each one is strong and healthy."
"Yes. Here is the payment for the men." Chester handed out a pouch full of coin, heavy and full of silver, while holding out another, smaller pouch. "This one, is yours."
"Thank you! Thank you very much, Mister Brendolf." He eagerly took the bags, lowering his head while yet, his eyes glanced up to the knight whose helmet faced him, unable to see the face of the man underneath. "Do take care." Robert left with a shiver down his back.
"You as well, Robert... ...My lord. Might I ask why we are not sending our men through the shfi'nyl gateways we have connected through our shops. Is it too troublesome to fit our men through them?"
"No. The reason is far simpler. To be seen."
"To be seen..." Chester muttered in comprehending.
"The Fallenic Faith, its might, and the status of Innah'vadah must be engraved into the land itself. Consider why I refrained from bringing Fallenic steeds, yet brought the armor for war horses; so as they stampede across the land of Highland, and they are seen by the commoners, they will be spoken of in rumor. Economy, diplomacy, religion, they as equals to reputation and legend. A thousand years from now, the Seratholic Paladins will be forgotten, but my Fallenic Knights will be remember and spoken of as though they were legend. That is why we bring the banners, that is why we armor even these animals in Innah'vadahn colors, so that the commonfolk will praise our name, and our enemies will fear the mere sight and mention of Fallenism."
Chester's eyeballs quivered as he widened his eyes. His breath stunted, a grin arcing upon the corner of his lips. "I see... Of course, I was foolish to ever even ask!"
"To ask is not to be foolish, to be ignorant is."
The might of The Fallenic Empire would quickly become known across Highland. It was purposeful that rumors that spoke of the ebony knights from the unknown spread to towns and cities, beyond the front lines. At first, they were told as a tall tale, where guards would laugh at the mere mention. They took them as nothing more than a story, but as the stoic army of The Fallenic Empire approached from over the horizon of towns and cities, their laughter fell silent. Hundreds of Fallenic Knights atop horseback marched slowly yet steadily across the plains. Their banners of raised, swords sheathed. The towns, cities, and villages panicked at the sight of them. It was the cities and castle holdings for the most part, that took up arms in defending themselves against the oncoming enemy, as they had more manpower and possessed the delusion that they ever had a chance in hell of winning.
It was the smaller settlements that gave up without a fight. Some towns chose to instead surrender with minimal death.
"We, are Fallenic Knights of The Fallenic Empire." The commander atop his steed and at the forefront of his men, spoke in raised voice so that the people beyond the guards could hear. "This settlement is hereby under the control of The Fallenic Empire from henceforth." It was a challenge of intimidation, where the guards would back down willingly without so much as a whimper. For the most part, the people were left to do as they pleased, it was the priests and servants of The Holy Empire, those who were Seratholic templars that were given a choice to convert, or die a sinner. The executions were done thusly and by the knights themselves who would behead even women who refused.
His army marched across the whole of Highland to major cities. The largest scale of battles brought about the death of hundreds. His knights bathed castles in blood, yet they were not the only ones to see to the war. Highland's own people rose up in rebellion, siding with him and his cause. Cities would find themselves up in fire, and smoke would cloud the sky. The banners of Fall would be raised in place of all others, and his territory would only grow in size.
Twenty-two days after their crusade began, five provinces had already been taken. Mayors gave up cities, barons forked over land, and counts gave up their titles. During this time as his commanders and armies conquered land in his name, Erik himself journeyed south via carriage, accompanied only by Chester.
He had been sick all this time, remaining in his armor to harbor any contagions, but finally, he could feel the pain of sickness dim with each passing day. In their travels, they would camp out, with Chester preparing everything necessary for their night's rest with the upmost of attention. The sky was painted orange by the setting sun, with the sound of crickets playing more and more along with the encroaching darkness.
"My vision has cleared and my fatigue has past."
"Truly, my lord? It is good to see that the medicine has done its job."
"My constitution kept me alive. Had my body been weaker, I surely would have succumb as any other and been forced to take measures."
"Measures, my lord? Might I ask as to what?"
"If my body were to perish, it would be possible to stay conscious. However, I dislike undeath. Be it rotting flesh or the lack of a physical body."
"Truly?
"There are things possible that you couldn't fathom with the mortal mind. Things that exist because of the twisting of nature. There is no guarantee that I would be able to survive the process either."
"Why would that be?"
"Have you ever heard of a physician operate on their own brain?"
"I see..."
"Indeed. Prepare a meal while I bathe."
Erik would drag a metal tub into a large tent for privacy. The tub would fill with water gathered from the air due to the rune at the bottom of the tub, while Erik would cleanse his body and armor from the inside out. Azure flames would engulf him, covering his face and head entirely as he took off his helmet. The flames did him no harm and were hardly even hot, no hotter than a warm summer's day.
He would bathe himself with soap and find comfort from resting in the water. Meanwhile, Chester, who was cooking outside the tent, noticed an approaching figure on the road next to where their encampment was.
"My lord!" He called out with a raised voice.
"Yes, Chester."
"We seem to have company approaching."
"Is that so? What do they look like?"
Chester looked through a telescope out at what looked like a small caravan. "Perhaps traders, my lord. There seems to be a few wagons in tow. However... I can not see into their wagons. They have covered them with cloth." Without even having to any further words, Chester reached for a gun, hiding it behind his back.
Erik was not amused as he begrudgingly got out of the tub and began to dress.
By the time Erik had come out of his tent, he was dry, yet only partially clothed, flickers of fire, snuffing out the last bits of moisture in his hair. The approaching strangers had crossed their path and continued on their way without halting. A man second to the horse handler mocked them as they continued on their way. He cackled. "Camping on the side of the road like this! That's how ya get attacked by bandits!"
With raised eyebrows and widened eyes, Chester was left speechless by the man's mocking.
"Fools." Erik said from right behind him.
"Well, the locals are rather amusing, no? My lord?"
They would arrive in Cezarch the next day's afternoon, having set off early that morning. There were no guards or gates stopping people from entering the city, thus they were able to walk right through the gate unhindered. The streets of stone were sprawling with people going about their daily lives, getting about by foot. The buildings were towers of brick, with evenly numbered windows and chimneys that spewed out smoke, adding to the smell of the city that could only be described as food and kindle wood.
Already, Erik had property in his name that had been acquired by Chester in his time away from Innah'vadah. "It should be a bit farther ahead, my lord." Chester explained through the open window of the carriage.
They rode through the city at a slow pace. People just moved about, whether it was on the sidewalk or in the middle of the streets, maneuvering out of the way of their carriage as though it were a normal, everyday action.
The residence that he had owned was a well taken care of manor near the city's center. It was a large home surrounded by grass and trees, with stone and iron fencing surrounding its entirety. As they reached the front gate, Chester himself had to yank open the gates that creaked and stubbornly resisted against his pull. The sound of the iron twisted and scraping against itself was loud enough to draw attention from passers. Suddenly, the gate would become easier to open, allowing Chester to remove himself from his embarrassing position. He climbed back up to the carriage driver's seat and cleared his throat before continuing on. "Thank you, my lord. It would seem the help that I had placed to watch over your property has become unfit for the pay they are compensated. Worry not, my lord. I will deal with it."
The path was a straight line to the front of the residence that circled back and around a large fountain. The fountain's water still ran, yet its white stone was overgrown with moss. Chester, in a fit, hopped off to run up the stairs to the entrance in storming through the door, leaving Erik to open the door to his own carriage and slowly make his way inside.
Inside, Chester would find the hired help all smoking and enjoying a pie in the kitchen. The group consisted of three guards, three maids, two groundskeepers, and a cook, all of whom were young and unmarried, no older than twenty-five. Of the guards, a maid clung to his bare chest. Another hung upon the arm of the smoking cook, while the third woman's tit was being fondled underneath her tunic by a guard.
"Whoa! Who the hell are you?!" One of the guards shouted.
"How dare you! You lot are paid to take care of the estate! How dare you neglect your duties and act so frivolously, just as the estate's owner has arrived!"
As Chester dealt with the help, Erik made his way inside to the background noise of shouting coming from the kitchen. He scraped his finger on the finely crafted frame of a grandfather clock. The dust on its flesh stuck to his finger like a thick layer of wool. They had not dusted in months.
During the commotion of Chester scolding the help, Erik had entered into the kitchen. The sound of the door's hinges creaking ever so slightly and the gust of wind blowing over Chester from behind, alerted him to his lord's arrival, prompting him to turn and fall silent. "My lord."
"Chester, bring in the luggage."
"Yes, my lord. Right away."
Erik's presence was different to that of Chester's. It was more domineering, as though he brought with him a chill in the air.
"Uhm... Lord...?" One of the guards began, only to be stopped before he could utter any further.
"Be silent." Erik commanded, taking a seat on a chair against the wall. "So... You were the servants hired to maintain this estate. Did you spend all of the coin?"
"N, no!" One of the maids yelped.
"Indeed, we did not. We will be able to pay you back, at least... At least some of it!"
"Calm yourselves. I am not a vindictive man. I can understand the temptation you failed to withstand. However, there are wrongs to be made right. I will give you each a chance to be forgiven, and allowed to keep the coin you pocketed, if, you do what I want."
The group agreed all together.
"Of course! Anything we can do."
"Good. Of course, if you fail to meet my request, you will be punished severely. Take it as an incentive to give me a satisfactory answer. I want information on specific individuals. You will tell me all that you know about them or anything of use pertaining to these individuals. Let us begin."
By nightfall, the lashings of a whip would crack, accompanied by the sound of agonizing cries. Most of the help would be forgiven and allowed to continue work, but a guard and the cook would fail to offer any satisfactory answers to him. Chester would be the one to offer them punishment in the open field outside the manor.
The first room to be cleaned would be the master bedroom and its washroom. A tub of warm water would be drawn from faucet and towels would be left inside. Erik would bathe, while the maids, hectically, cleaned the bedroom before he would finish.
In their act of dusting and prepping, they would stumble upon his belongings, placed on the table, finding a sigil in plain sight as though it was left there on purpose; the crest of the Chamber household. Alongside it, they found a hefty amount of silver and gold coins and books. They suspected that no one would be so careless as to leave such wealth in the open like this if not to test for thieves, so none of them dared even touch them. As Erik finished his bath and stepped out into the bedroom with nothing more than a towel, the women stared in awe at his chiseled and muscular frame. "Leave." He ordered, prompting the women to rush out of the room, flustered and whispering to each other.
"He is so young and dashing, is he not?"
"He is! With the arms of a warrior."
From the table, Erik took his family's crest, placing it into his inner coat pocket.
Within the day, a flyer seeking for help to look after the manor was posted on the bulletin board outside the estate gate. News of the estate owner's return would travel quickly, as it was considered big news that someone wealthy enough that had purchased the estate had only moved in, months after acquiring the deed. With their identity being unknown, the mystery of the owner's identity would only make the gossip all the more enticing to the locals.
The gates drew open and out rode the carriage pulled by horses. This time, it was not Chester who steered the animals, but a guard who was rather competent at riding. They rode through the city, attracting the attention of passersby who commented at the sight of the polished black carriage.
"Uhm, where are we heading to, milord?" The guard asked through the window.
"Gostel Hotel."