157 A mad visitor

"Sir, there is ... eh ... are you okay?" A guard with the colors of Archet opened the door in a hurry, just to see the officer he was looking for completely wasted. Even from where he stood, he could easily smell the heavy alcohol that the burly man drunk. However, there was not a hint of disapproval, as nearly all of his comrades were facing the same situation and some shared the same fate.

"YESH! MHAT AYE YOU MUEFSDK" THOMP

Approaching slowly, the guard was having a hard time seeing if he had just fainted or was just knocking his head on the table. Touching a bit the shoulder of the unconscious man, he began to shake more and more, but to no avail. Looking right behind the drunkard, he could see two empty sockets standing completely still. The undead had no reaction whatsoever to either one of the two humans in the room.

"I guess it is hard on him, having that stare on your back the entire day." Shuddering when thinking more deeply, the guard felt that he was strangely fortunate on the ramparts. At least there, the skeletons were not looking at them directly by at the outside, searching for any threats. In those few weeks, they had begun to be used to that feeling, being permanently near the undead. But even then, it still brought immense pressure on their mind across the entire day.

"But now, what am I supposed to do?" Remembering the faces the four of his fellow guards had when they realized they had to enter this room, he felt they would not be pleased at all. Slightly angered already, he cursed them for having better luck than him and not picking the shortest stick. Leaving by the door, he hurried when passing in front of the additional skeleton warrior that was standing guard outside.

"Where is he? Did you explained the situation?" Joining the group, he could only shake his head, as he did not even have the time to say anything. After telling them how was the state of the one that should be in charge of that gate, one couldn't help but look at what was under the walls. A perfectly fine convoy of merchants, something they would have seen multiple times each day if it has been before.

But it was no longer the same Archet as they used to know. The attack of the undead had decimated many of their good friends, their neighbors, their families. Following this, they learned that they had to serve a red demon, a giant whose only pleasure was to feast on human bodies from the dark rumors they heard. If most guards had the idea of leaving even after so many deaths, only a few remained after learning that a Dark God resided inside Archet.

Even now, looking around them, they knew how small the actual number of guards was. Previously, they would have been at least a hundred or so, to deal with all the arrivals, the departures and protect the surroundings. After all, it was a way toward the West, either to aim for the capital of Avenio or the elves. Now, they had only seen people leaving, and none actually entering, until now.

"Mi-Mister, are you sure you want to enter this city? You did not take the wrong path?" Even if an undead was merely 10 meters away and could probably hear them, they knew they had already said so many bad things toward the Demon Emperor that they regarded the skeletons as deaf. Even now, one guard was kindly trying to make those humans escape before it was too late, and it seemed to make no difference to the immobile statue made of bones.

"This is Archet, right?" The man that was in his prime did not seem to be bothered by the fact he was not welcomed here. The only thing that was bothering three of the guards was the fact that his face seemed familiar.

"Ye-Yeah?"

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"So I am at the right place, now, can I enter or not?" Where did the merchant obtain such confidence, none of the guards knew. But if they could both see each other and discuss, it also meant the undead was in the sight of the convoy. And they still wanted to enter. Faced with someone that wouldn't be swayed by anything they could say, they had to agree with the request. Even if it seemed to be folly in their eyes.

"OPEN THE GATE!" Shouting that, the previously immobile skeletons began to activate the mechanisms to open the gate. During that, while one stayed on the ramparts, the rest regained their old habits and got in position. Of course, it was mainly because of their intense curiosity, as they couldn't understand the logic behind wanting to go to Archet. Most of the farmers had escaped, the adventurers were all gone and with them the resources they gathered.

"Please stand back and have everyone leave the wagons.As for the fee, due to a decrease of trade, Archet will be exempted of it for an indefinite period." Trying their best to remember what the Mayor Gwendoline had said, they still acted as the professionals they were. Systematically searching everything, all of them hoped to see a bomb, a dangerous weapon or anything like that. But to their surprise, while they found some swords and bows, it belonged to the mercenaries in charge of the protection.

Maybe it seemed funny for him, as he chuckled when he witnessed it, but the merchant was nearly laughing. Maybe he was the only one not bothered by the fact that an undead was barely in arms reach. As for the pale faces of the mercenaries, they were almost pleading the guards to do anything, while the latter was doing the exact same thing. If he hadn't blackmailed them out of their pay if they dared to flee, none of those warriors would have agreed to enter this city.

"Everything is in order, you can enter Archet. Have a nice ... eh ... nice day in our beautiful city." As one of the local ended the inspection with the usual sentences, his smile stiffened when he arrived at the part describing Archet. However, the travelers did not seem bothered by the sudden change in the mind of the guard, as they were all starring at the two skeletons that suddenly appeared. A few mercenaries even began to put their hands on their weapons.

"DON'T! DON'T!"

"PLEASE STOP!"

"NOOOOOO!"

The guards instantly pounced on the fellow humans, preventing them from doing anything bad. Facing their terrified eyes, the newcomers immediately stopped their movements, only having their stares switching between the immobile dead and the sweating living beings. Sighing in relief, one explained what was all of this about.

"You see, weapons are prohibited inside Archet, by decree. But we allowed you to keep yours, which technically is not something we should have done. Now, you only have one rule, no, actually two rules. Never be in presence of the Demon Emperor with a weapon. Never pull your swords. The undead won't react to the scabbard, but if they see a blade, you will all be killed. Remember that, don't let them see the blade."

After the unfair attack on the Mayor Gwendoline, they weren't able to prevent the Dark God to disarm everyone as it seemed a logical decision. However, since the human guards still could bend the law a little, many families managed to keep their weapons, just in case. Of course, everyone still living inside Archet knew precisely how long a knife needed to be to provoke a reaction from the undead guards. If the butchers hadn't all be killed or left, they would have met a huge problem.

"Many thanks for your advice. They will listen to them carefully." Starring at the unperturbed visage of the merchant, the guards couldn't help but feel that something was really off. Wasn't the fearful expressions of either the mercenaries or the others that were traveling along with being the one he should have? But they had seen enough craziness in their lives that they did not question any longer the sanity of that man.

"Should we warn the Mayor?" Murmuring between themselves as they watched the group leaving, no one really knew. But soon, three pairs of eyes began to look at the unlucky one that had picked the shortest stick. Again. "Seriously, again? Me? You better make up for me later." Half-grumbling half shouting, he still began to run.

As for the interested, she was currently resting on a very comfy armchair. Right next to her, Andre was also enjoying the same thing. Truth to be told, they recently had felt the burden on their shoulders disappearing at an alarming rate. Mainly because the number of humans that was actually in Archet had considerably decreased. And nearly all the troublemakers had been either killed during the attack of the two liches or executed right after Ymir arrived.

"Do you think we are horrible people for appreciating the fact that all the thugs and criminals are dead?" Hearing the voice of the man that was still having his eyes closed, she took her time to answer. After all, they were probably free for the next hours or so. "Yes, if you think of them as human beings. No, if you stopped treating them as such. I mean, at which point did they deserve to die? After taking a life? Stealing weeks after weeks the money gained by honest workers? Beating them constantly if they did not meet their expectations?"

Their philosophical discussion was interrupted brutally when their official secretary suddenly opened the door. "A guard is coming." As she left, the two could see the hurry in her eyes. Because she was one of the two last persons that once worked inside the City Hall, she had been promoted to that position. And she was the only one that had her image of a perfect Mayor being completely broken, as Gwendoline spent more time resting and discussing weird things than anything else.

But because most of the information passed by her hands, she knew that the position of the Mayor in the heart of the remaining inhabitants of Archet needed to remain stable. And witnessing the one they trusted discussing the matters of other humans being killed so leisurely while resting like that, would not be good.

It did not take long for Andre to quickly ordered the room, as Gwendoline stood behind her desk that had a mountain of papers. If one was to see the dates on those, they would see they all were written weeks ago, except the few on top. That small trick had managed to preserve the appearances quite efficiently. Hearing the knocks on the door, they checked one last time to see if anything was out of place. Since nothing caught her eyes, Gwendoline straightened her back.

"Enter." The doors opened on a more or less young guard. The latter was panting heavily, as it seemed he had run all the way from the ramparts. "Ma-May- HMPF. PFUIIII. Mayor, a group of merchants have arrived." Breathing again, he stopped for a few seconds. "So, another group took the wrong road. Where did they want to go?"

After Andre asked that question, they could see the guard shook his hands. "No, they wanted to come to Archet. In fact, they are inside the city as we are speaking." If the faces of the two did not move a tiny bit, they couldn't conceal the surprise in their eyes. No one had warned them of the arrival of that group. Well, not a lot of people were writing to them and even the White Hand had completely stopped sending couriers to Archet.

"Did they entered with ... peculiar goods?" Heavily pronouncing the word peculiar, it did not escape the ears of the man. Seeing him starring at the two things behind her that could be mistaken as statues, he once again shook his hands. "No, I mean, their wagons were quite empty, to be honest. If it had been before, I would have thought about pelt traders wanting the skins of the wolves in the region. But now, what do we produce?"

To that question, neither of the two could answer. Thinking about the underground farm of the trolls that seemed to be quite bountiful, it was impossible for a stranger to know about that. Only someone speaking the troll, Andre and herself could learn about this. Not even the two last employees of the City Hall could know since no humans could enter the territory where the trolls lived.

"Lead me where they are." Feeling that the entire thing was strange, the woman stood up and began to walk toward the door. If in front of her, the guard was still breathing heavily, she was followed by her two bodyguards and Andre. But to her surprise, the moment they left the building, they could see someone standing across the plaza, right in front of the castle of Ymir, with his hand ready to knock. "What madman would do that?"