Chapter 190 - Orc Trouble
The task given to him by the Arcadian King was to settle conflict within the more problematic regions of the kingdom, as well as becoming a good mayor.
In terms of reducing conflict, at the very least Tristan was able to settle the town's problems with the barbarians and create a sense of order as well.
As for the sudden death of the previous mayor, although it happened immediately after the quest was assigned, he assumed that the king would still pin the issue on him and have it added to his already long list of responsibilities.
Tristan was still waiting for more information regarding the matter, hoping that at least one of his citizens would have any leads, but unfortunately there were none. He could only hope that either Chieng or his wife would bring back new information soon.
Next, there was the problem with the orc attacks that Tristan had to handle as well.
It was confirmed that many of the rumors regarding the orc attacks were apparently mere exaggerations spurred by the citizens' discrimination regarding their species, and that a large portion of the actual attacks were simply disputes between the orcs and other adventurers.
But Karra had other news to add. She reported what she found during the 3 days of wandering around the Chaotic Plains and inspecting its surrounding areas.
Many of the orc camps around the western side of the plains were mostly abandoned. They were devoid of any residents and only their supplies could be found on the sites. Later she found that these orcs who left were said to be gathering within a settlement farther south, near the Impassable Mountains.
As for the specific reason, other than the fact that it involved multiple orc warchiefs, she had no further information.
"Do you have any guesses?"
Karra was silent for a second before saying, "A gathering involving multiple war chiefs could mean the involvement of an orc warlord, but I am not sure Chief."
The title of orc warlord was the highest possible ranking in orc society. Tristan had seen how strong and stubborn Ghrall was, and to see multiple orcs like him being subordinate to a single individual seemed both amazing and concerning to him.
Karra also mentioned that she still had a few trusted orcs in her midst who followed through in searching for more information, but as their current location was quite far away it would probably take a bit of time before Tristan was able to hear of their findings.
Tristan then asked her a different matter, "Karra, have you seen the orc breeding lair at the mines?"
"Yes, my Chief."
Karra explained that it was quite unusual for a breeding lair. Normally, the orcs do not breed inside of mines. They tended to breed naturally on the bloodied grounds left by the battlefield.
It was still surprising and slightly amusing to Tristan that orcs apparently did grow like carrots and mushrooms, and sprouted out of the ground.
Karra was unable to explain in full detail, but what she knew was that the orc's lairs were normally formed naturally on former battlegrounds which were infested by remnants of orc corpses that have accumulated after dozens of years.
"Was there anything else different about the lair in the mind?" Tristan wonder
Again Karra information about the matter was limited, She added that normally, each lair would breed one or two champions, She would know better when the champion was born.
"Do you know how long that would take?"
"I reckon in a month or two, Chief."
Upon hearing this, the first thing in Tristan's mind was whether or not she would be able to take them as part of the tribe. The orcs have proven to be very useful for him, but the constant battle has reduced his orc tribe thin. He cants always rely on the orc stragglers to enlarge his tribe.
Karra then replied. "Us orcs would normally follow champions who were born from the same lair, they would normally form a tribe. It would be hard for other champions from another tribe to take over, but given time there is a possibility."
She added that the only other exemption from this custom was if a warchief were to claim his dominance on the champion after they have awakened.
The more Tristan heard about the orcs and their culture, the more interested he was in them.
Next, Tristan checked in with Astrid for information about any of the other barbarians who were currently residing in the Chaotic Plains.
She was sure that there were almost no other Barbarians on the westeren side anymore as most of them were still fighting the orcs in the east side of the Chaotic Plains. The closest horde of barbarians were about two weeks away from Caerleon.
As for the concern of raids from the sea, there was always a possibility that such things would happen. There were simply too many tribes that dreamed of riches to take from the Arcadian territory, which was the reason why placing security forces on the new port was so crucial.
With this in mind, Tristan once again returned to Gazef, reminding him to prepare the old and new recruits for training. They needed to be prepared for any sudden attacks from both the barbarians or the orcs.
Now that all of the town's matters have been discussed, Tristan sent everyone in the room away except for Herrera, Astrid, and Karra.
Realizing that the only people who the mayor had asked to stay behind in his study were women, Herrera's eyes began to glint as a lewd thought crossed her mind.
Hererra's stare then shifted towards Astrid, whose expression was as flat as ever. She raised her eyebrows before exclaiming, "Please, Tristan, don't do this to someone who is under the influence of your spell! That is just so wrong... And I didn't realize that you had a thing for orcs as well."
The magician's words made him speechless. He stared at her incredulously, scowling in confusion.
"What the hell are you talking about, Herrera?"
Tristan's eyebrow twitched as he rubbed his temples. He could never understand the crazy girl's train of thought.
He exhaled. "The reason why I need all of you here right now is to help me experiment with my skill"
Tristan check out the system in his mind and see one sentence that have been there for a while
[Upgrade blood seal to stage 2 - 5000 blood essence]
Time for an upgrade.
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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,