Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

--Delta, Refugee Camps--

A great crowd of people had assembled on the great square in Delta's southern district where the emergency accommodations. The tribulation of the past months was visible in their dirty and disheveled clothes.

From a war-torn, hopeless sigma to an only marginal better situation in Delta, these people had gone through a lot. With gaunt faces they looked to the stage that had been built at the center of the square.

Cade was observing the crowd from a window in a house at the edge of the square. She was here at the request of Princess Leana. Although Chrona was not directly involved in the project of Minas Mar, the princess worried that something might happen and bring harm to the people she helped saving.

Although the empire had done their best to offer help to the people of Sigma, only a fraction had decided to join Chrona and had left Urth behind to find their fortune among the worlds of the Pathworks.

Other than superficial help, their hands were bound in this situation, as it was objectively the business of the natives. Leana had tried to gain more support from the empire, but in the end their were a nation, not a welfare organization.

The rakshasa agreed to this wholeheartedly. After experience herself how ungrateful people could be, she could understand why they didn't offer unconditional support.

Even when Leana couldn't give the amount of support she would have wanted to, she was still worried. Cade and some others were only here in case things went South.

There was commotion on the stage. She watched Seth, the Tower Master of Minas Mar enter the stage, accompanied by two huge golems and the Lords of Minas Mar. Vladimir was also among the people who came to the stage with him.

The bard stepped to the microphone and began to speak.

"Welcome, Everyone," his voice echoed from the speaker around the plaza and across the city.

He simply greeted the audience, but Cade immediately felt a strange power trying to invade her mind. It was nothing offensive, or aggressive, but she could feel that it was a power that tried to influence her. Of course, she resisted it, but maybe someone at a lower level would be easily influenced by it.

Seth kept talking and explained the great opportunity Minas Mar was offering to the people of Sigma. Minas mar had been working on opening a physical trade route to Y-City that would allow for an easier trade and safer travel between the two districts.

Along the way they found many places of opportunity. Dungeons and resources were now abundant in the central mountain range. He spoke some drivel about their history. Something over a century ago, humanity had built the districts and pulled back from the world, so it could recover.

According to him, now was the time to reclaim their land. To deal with the changes in the world, those that happened and those that were to come, they would have to cultivate the wilderness, the no Man's Land once again.

The power in his voice kept swelling the longer he spoke, however, it still couldn't quite breach Cade's defenses. Since she was not as influenced as the audience, she could see through his pretty words.

The crux of the matter was Minas Mar's plan to found cities that would work as trade hubs to cultivate the resources along the route to Y-City. The would recruit settlers to live and work in these places under the protection of Minas Mar.

To help in this dire situation and on behalf of his friendship with Vladimir, they offered preferential treatment to the people of Sigma. Since Delta could not take on this many additional people, he offered those who were willing, a way out. However, the offer was open to everyone who felt wrong in Delta.

"If you are willing to look for a new fortune and a better future together with us, everyone one welcome to apply!"

He paused and an ear-shattering flood of cheers suddenly filled the plaza. He waited for minutes until the cheers calmed down.

"Please send your applications to our business building. You can can find the forms and address online or available at our own or our affiliate shops from..."

He ended with list of affiliate shops from businesses that partnered with them in this endeavor. Cade wasn't interested, so she didn't really listen.

"Who would have thought that everything would end without any problems?" she mumbled to herself.

The moment she spoke out, the whole venue was covered in a dark red light and mist started rising from the floor. A weird dome had formed above the square.

"Hahah! Finally! Now, your little play is over! Today, I will end you pesky flies from Minas Mar!" a man was floating in the sky above the crowd. He wore dark robes and exuded a demonic charm. Cade could feel a much more aggressive of of aura that tried to influence her.

If the bard speech was gentle guidance, these were brutal commands. He lifted his arms. On the roofs of the buildings surrounding the plaza silhouettes of all shapes and sizes appeared, filling the scenery.

"I will thank you for assembling so many pigs for me to harvest. Attack!"

Cade was about to move, when she realized that she had seen the shades that filled the rooftops before. The people surrounding the square attacked. All kinds of projectiles and magic spells were fired, but not at the crowd.

A wave of deadly attacks from all sides swept over the man floating in the sky, who blocked everything with a transparent energy barrier.

"What is this folly?!" he exclaimed indignantly before his face fell in shock.

He twitched to the side and barely managed to evade an arrow that had penetrated straight though his barrier. The tip grazed his cheek. He was about to speak, but halted again to hurriedly catch the arrow that had turned around to get him with a second attempt.

The red dome in the sky vanished, and Cade could recognize the silhouettes on the roof tops. They were mostly humanoid of all kinds of sized, shapes, number of body parts and with some beats parts.

The only common feature was a weirdly regal mustache on all of them. Some had no eyes, a nose, or a mouth, but all had a proper mustache. They were the chimera's of Minas Mar. The rakshasa had only seen them once in passing.

Looking back to the man in the sky, she could see that place where the arrow struck him darken, as if the small wound was already festering. It was in stark contrast to the smooth, almost jade-like skin of the foreigner.

"Did you think you could crash our event? These people are under the protection of Minas Mar." the bard scoffed.

Cade could feel a provoking power in those words, but it was all directed at the floating man. Just like the second arrow, on the bow he was holding. It was obvious that Minas Mar was prepared, so Cade decided not to make a move for now.

"What happened to my men?" he asked in shock.

This time, he caught the arrow. It seemed that he was too quick to be hit, if it was not a surprise attack.

"What do you think happens to a bunch of invisible assassins that were caught?" the blacksmith bellowed condescending as an arrow of light shot out without any kind of preparation.

The projectile directly penetrated the mans shoulder. Despite the incredible speed of the arrow, the foreigner had reacted. Cade had seen him move in the nick of time, otherwise it would have been his heart, not just his shoulder.

"Tsk! This is not over!"

To the shock of everyone the man suddenly turned into a red bolt of lightning and vanished. Cade was also too surprised to move. When she finally reacted, the bolt had already vanished from her field of vision.

"This was easier than expected..." the tower master mumbled in the microphone on stage.

"I mean! As you can see! Even if fiends try to harm you, you will be fine under the protection of Minas Mar!"