Windmere and Silverbrook.

The first was the village closest to Goldenveil, roughly forty kilometers away. The second lay farther out, at about sixty.

Ethan and Doran walked side by side through the dense forest, carving a path through miles of thick undergrowth as they pushed toward Windmere.

Both had considered using their Aura to leap from tree to tree, crossing the canopy from above. In the end, the risks made them abandon the idea.

It was a fast method, no doubt. But it burned through Aura far too quickly, since they would need to propel themselves again and again just to keep pace.

"Did you hand over temporary control of the guard to Cain?" Ethan asked.

They could be on the road for up to two days, and even if the odds were slim, something might still go wrong in their absence.

Crime in Goldenveil was practically nonexistent, since every citizen had work and food in abundance. Unfortunately, crime wasn’t only a matter of necessity.

There was greed. And of course, there was anger and drunkenness too.

If something happened while neither he nor Doran was there, the guard would have to handle it alone.

A simple crime would be easy enough. Arrest the culprit, lock him up and wait for their return. But what if it was something worse?

"Yes, My Lord." Doran replied, pausing briefly to slice through a thick branch in his path. "Honestly, he isn’t ready for something like that yet... He’s talented, but very young."

"I know." Ethan nodded. "But it’s fine. Evelyn is there, and Elena too. There’s nothing we can handle that those two can’t."

Doran nodded in agreement. "My Lord is blessed with incredible wives, but I believe it’s time for you to produce an heir. Many people have grown anxious about the lack of a young Lord to secure your lineage."

"Ah... don’t worry, I’m not going to die, hahaha." Ethan gave a small smile.

In truth, he also took the matter of his lineage very seriously, but there was a real problem in the way.

Alice had already been chosen as the woman to bear his heir. Both Elena and Evelyn had agreed on it.

The trouble was, she still couldn’t get pregnant. And once winter ended, war would come, Goldenveil’s first and most important war.

Alice would be needed to defend the city, especially since the enemy was likely to have at least one mage under its command.

How could she fight with a child in her womb?

"After the war." He finally answered. "I won’t die that easily, so stop worrying."

Doran simply nodded, keeping pace at his Lord’s side.

It wasn’t long before the two broke through a dense curtain of foliage, their target finally coming into view.

Windmere was so much poorer than Goldenveil that comparing the two felt almost embarrassing. Even so, that was no reason to underestimate the place.

The wooden walls rose high, built from old but still sturdy logs that encircled the entire settlement.

Ethan and Doran let their eyes settle on the main gate, guarded by four sentries.

It stood wide open, and just inside, right next to the entrance, sat a tavern, welcoming adventurers returning from their missions for a midday meal.

Windmere had been founded nearly seventy years ago by a third-stage warrior who fled to the region after being accused of corruption.

That same warrior was eventually defeated in a duel, and under the new leader the village opened up and kept growing without pause.

Over the past ten years alone, the population had doubled, and prosperity held steady.

Ethan and Doran exchanged a quick glance before stepping out from cover, slipping into natural, carefree expressions, as if they were nothing more than ordinary adventurers.

The guards eyed them a little longer than usual, but in the end said nothing and waved them through.

Ethan, his handsome face concealed beneath his hood and a layer of grime, took the lead and pushed through the tavern door.

More than a dozen adventurers packed the place, split into three loose groups.

"I’m telling the truth, I saw it with my own eyes! Right where that old Darkwall settlement used to be!" one of them declared, his speech slightly slurred from drink.

"What’s standing there now is an absurd city! High stone walls, granite streets, and, damn it, a gigantic mansion! I’ve never seen it up close, but they say even the Lord there is extremely handsome, and so are his wives!"

"Ah... Of course, Adam. A city that big just popped up out of nowhere in the middle of this cursed forest!" one of his companions shot back, taking a mocking sip of beer.

"It’s true!" Adam shouted, his face flushing red. "If you don’t believe me, let’s go together! They let adventurers in. If you see it with your own eyes, you’ll believe me!"

Adam’s outburst drew another round of hearty laughter, but in the end, two adventurers who had nothing better to do reached out their hands.

They would go with Adam. If he was lying, he’d owe them ten silver coins.

Adam didn’t hesitate to seal the deal, and not long after, he set off with the pair.

Already knowing how that bet would end, Ethan and Doran took their seats at the bar and ordered a mug of beer each. The taste wasn’t much better than urine.

They introduced themselves as ordinary adventurers from the Kingdom of Burning Ice, in search of wealth and power, and struck up a conversation with the innkeeper, a tall, fat, friendly man.

Winning his trust didn’t take long, and soon enough they had pieced together a fair picture of Windmere.

The local Lord, fifty years old, sat somewhere in the middle levels of the third stage. With decent power and a noble temperament. A man devoted to his family and his people.

The guard consisted of about a hundred men, backed by a small squad of adventurers who helped patrol the region.

If every able-bodied man of fighting age were called up, the village could field between four hundred and five hundred soldiers, drawn from a population of just over one thousand two hundred.

They also asked about the other settlement, Silverbrook, only twenty kilometers further out, and came away with several important details about both places.