Ares approached the enemy’s camp, wearing a long cloak around his body. However, he did reveal himself fairly quickly.

“May I eat some food?” Ares asked who he assumed to be the leader of the camp. Around them were a few hundred warriors. They remained silent as they stared at Ares, who sat down nearby.

“Excuse me,” Ares said as he looked around as Xan sat down beside the king. “I hope you don’t mind, I am rather hungry.”

“What are you doing here?” asked the boarman who led the group of boarfolk.

“I just so happened to smell something delicious nearby so I came,” Ares said as he motioned his head to Xan. “Isn’t that right, Storm Lord Xan?”

Xan did not reply, though the boarfolk gasped at the name.

The boarman’s eyes fell on the form of the Storm Lord, whose eyes were glued to the boarman’s own.

“B-boss…” called a warrior nearby, with fear in his voice.

“I can see you are the real Storm Lord…” the boarman said. Then his eyes fell to Ares, who merely smiled in return. “Bring some food.”

They brought some rations over, a little bit of meat and quite a bit of bread. The bread was hard and quite dark, but Ares thanked them anyhow. Xan did not accept any food, he just stared at the boarman.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Ares said. “How are you all today?”

“We are well,” the boarman said.

“King Ares, Master of Waters, Kin of all Riveans.” Ares nodded his head.

“Cori,” the boarman said.

“Cori, a pleasure to meet you.”

Cori nodded in return.

“I have come to speak with you, Cori. I do hope you aren’t too busy.”

“Not busy.”

“Good, good… I had an offer for you and your people.” Ares took another bite out of his bread and nodded. “I would like to hire you and yours to join Rivea as mercenaries.”

“Why would we do that?”

“I don’t particularly feel like killing ten thousand and some warriors again, I’m getting tired of it.”

The boarman narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Ten thousand again?”

“First it was the humans, then the oxfolk, you know the various Horns across the land? They tried too, so I had to deal with them too. Though some of them no doubt have managed to escape my grasp… for now.” Ares tore apart the bread with his teeth and chewed it slowly. “Though I will bring to them a swift death once I’ve dealt with the current issues.”

“You think you can defeat us?”

“No,” Ares said as he shook his head. He took another bite of the bread. “I know I can,” he managed to say with a mouth half empty. “I have enough ideas of how I can deal with you and your folk, but at the same time, I’m not sure if all of you really want to follow that… fine fellow. I feel that you are forced to help him for no benefit of your own.” Ares continued to eat slowly.

Cori sat down opposite the two of them and then he grabbed a piece of bread for himself.

“How much is he paying you?” Ares asked.

“Not very much.”

Ares revealed a gem between his fingers. “What do you think?”

The boarman’s shoulders tensed up. Ares tossed it over to him and Cori caught it. He looked down at the gem and then after examining the gem, he tossed it back to Ares. “It’s beautiful.”

“Name your price,” Ares said.

“What is the job?”

“When you are to attack, you turn against the others.”

“What are you able to offer?”

“A few of these gems, the offer to be our mercenaries for a short while, and then eventually you could even become Rivean.”

“Rivean?”

“My people.”

“You want us to serve under you?”

“Something like that, but you have to earn your place.”

“What’s so good about being Rivean?”

Ares smiled. So he offered the benefits of what a Rivean is, as quickly as he could, because he finished his bread not too soon after. Ares tossed three gems to the boarman. “Think about it,” Ares said as he nodded to the man.

“I will,” Cori replied.

Ares flashed a smile. “If you have any that you trust, please do bring them into the fold. I will scale the reward and will offer them the same path to becoming a Rivean.”

“You believe you are better than us,” Cori said.

Ares looked out to the field. “How can we be better than you if we are the same?”

Cori nodded to Ares and then finally Ares left the boarfolk to their dinner. Ares left with Xan, walking straight ahead before they were finally out of range from the sight of them.

“Was that well?” Xan asked.

“It worked well, I think.”

“Do you think they’ll take your offer?”

“I don’t know.” Ares shrugged.

“You don’t know?”

“That’s the way it goes, you know?”

“I can understand that.”

Ares chuckled as they returned to where he had left Emerli.

“What about you, Xan?”

“What about me?”

“Do you want to join in the fighting?”

“Must I fight?”

“I am asking you.”

“What are you offering for such aid?”

“What do you want?”

Xan did not respond for some time. His thoughts no doubt were racing within his mind. Ares continued to smile at the much older fellow.

“I have no need for gold, merely favours.”

“What kind of favour?”

“Your aid, your strength, in certain matters.”

“In certain matters I could certainly help you, as long as it doesn’t negatively affect my people.”

Xan nodded. “That will work for me.”

“Then I would love to offer my aid,” Ares said as he reached out a hand to grasp Xan’s forearm.

Xan grabbed onto Ares’ forearm. “Then I will aid you in this time of dire need.”

“I am quite blessed in having met you.” Ares’ ears twitched. “That bread was pretty shit, let’s head back.”

Xan nodded.