The mercenary leader bowed his head after arriving in front of the throne.

" King Sam."

" Only Sam is enough. How should I address you and what can I do for you? "

" My name is Marlow and as you already know, I am the leader of the Brightstar mercenaries. I came to inform you about the decision our group made.

We would like to stay here in your Blackstone city. A few of us are former carpenters or farmers and they would return to do their former jobs while the rest of us would join your army. You should have seen us doing our work during the fight against the undead.

What do you say?"

Sam had a big smile on his face but not because of the request from Marlow, but because he had seen his actual reward points.

2.455 points!

He was happy about his earnings, however first of all he welcomed Marlow and his group.

" You are welcome to join us and I would be more than happy to have people like you with us!

I will immediately organize houses for you to live in."

" No need for that, actually Linda is already in the process of finding places for all of us. She sent me here to ask for permission but at the same time mentioned that you wouldn't send us off."

Marlow scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile. Sam laughed loudly before walking towards the former mercenary leader. He clapped his shoulder with one hand while the other clasped Marlow's hand.

" Now that this is settled, how about we sit down and you tell me about your story?"

Marlow nodded and both of them sat down at a small table on the side of the hall. The servants served tea and left the two men alone. Marlow started his narration afterwards.

" Me and my group have been wandering for more than two months. We lived in different small villages and were mostly farmers or guards. I was a mage apprentice of the holy church and learnt different types of light magic until my hometown got invaded by monsters. Orcs and smaller goblins entered our town and massacred the majority of the citizens. A group of 20 people gathered and fought their way outside of the chaotic town. I was part of that group. We heard and saw our families and friends getting killed in cruel ways but we were too weak to fight the enemy army.

Like this we left our town and started our journey to the west. We accepted more and more people on our way, most of them had lost their homes due to monsters but a few of them told us about humans who were enslaving other humans and bringing them away.

In some villages only one or two people got away while the remaining villagers were taken by the human invaders."

Sam stopped Marlow and asked him about the settlements to the east.

" We saw a lot of cities, however we entered none because we were afraid of them enslaving us too. We only joined you because you helped us first and all of your citizens and comrades are speaking highly of you!

Well, the nearest towns are only a few hours away from here. We saw humans working outside the doors."

Sam knew the two cities and told Marlow what he knew about them before signaling him to continue.

" Two days from here are three cities in a triangular formation. The reigning factions seem to be at war with each other. We camped on a hill nearby and witnessed multiple skirmishes between the three cities. Unfortunately we were too far away to identify them as humans or something else.

Five days from these cities is a massive dungeon in the shape of a massive dome made of steel. We approached it but didn't want to enter it.

Finally, two days away from the dungeon is a fortress build in stone, which seems to be inhabited by dwarves.

Apart from these places were only small villages which were already deserted and a few monster settlements we didn't dare to approach."

Sam listened closely and drew a map in his mind while thinking to himself.

' Who would have thought that there are also other races like dwarves.

That means there should be races like elves or intelligent beastmen as well right?'

He decided to ask Marlow.

" Do you know if there are other intelligent races which could be potential allies in the future?"

" I have seen a beautiful elf woman some time ago but my elders told me elves are mostly living deep inside of forests, away from humans, or the mountain and cave loving dwarves.

There are not many people who have actually seen an elf.

My elders told me about other races like half-humans, who had parts of animals and even animals who were able to speak, but it has been many years since one of them has been seen. I was never fortunate enough to meet a half-human."

Sam was still listening closely, especially when Marlow continued.

" There are also multiple evil races we know about. Undead, like skeletons and zombies, or orcs are just the simplest type of evil creatures. Ogers and trolls do exist too, as well as the Anvii, a race of brutal and corrupted elves.

The stories of the Anvii were used to scare us when we were children but they are actually true. These dark elves use bones and skin of other creatures to build weapons or buildings.

In the past, they attacked human settlements and left after pinning the villagers at their houses, still alive! They cut off their tongues and stabbed them multiple times, so that they would slowly and painfully bleed out and die.

The Anvii are ruthless to the maximum and hate, torture and kill every living being that is not of their race.

There are also demons, who like us humans as slaves or meat. They are cruel and evil but not to the point of the Anvii. This race consists of different kinds of beings. Some look human like, others are covered in scales or have different amounts of limbs.

I have never seen Anvii or demons but the stories we were told are numerous and every single one of them speaks about the evil races doing cruel things to humans.

There may also be a lot more races we have never heard of. "

Marlow stopped and Sam sat there quietly for quite a while.

" There seem to be many different factions and races who might want to kill us in the future. I have to think about my plans again."

Sam had quietly murmured to himself, however Marlow heard him and laughed before saying " It has always been like this right? A disease, criminal, war, even a simple misstep can cause our deaths!

The most important thing for us is to look out for trouble and ensure our people's lives as best as we can.

I saw you fighting for you people, even an idiot would see how much you care about your people, therefore I'm sure you will make the right decisions.

I won't disturb you anymore."

Marlow stood up, slowly bowed and took his leave, letting Sam alone with thoughts in turmoil.