16 Black Lion Village (1/2)
Valerian and I began our trek toward the human settlement. It isn't particularly large, about half the size of the G'eth Village. The settlement has a simple structure since the majority of humans haven't been in Agartha very long. Also a lot of the technologies that humanity had on earth were either incompatible with Agartha, could not be replicated here, or could not be brought through the portals. For instance, electronics will be fried going through the portal and even if they made it safe to Agartha the magnetic field works differently here causing them to malfunction. On top of that humans could not find sufficient replacements for many of the raw materials used to create advanced technology on earth. This essentially sent humanity back to the era of cold weapons and rudimentary technology.
This is why human settlements have simple structures reminiscent of buildings from centuries ago. This particular settlement is surrounded by a wooden fence with archer towers in the corner. There are only two entrances, one in the north and one in the south and it is located near Lake Lyenas in an open plain. The settlement is called Black Lion Village after the mercenary group that established it.
Many different groups and factions began to vie for power when humanity moved to Agartha. It is a land of opportunity and many people view it as a chance to gain power and prestige. There were no shortage of average people becoming dazzling figures in my past life. The leader of the Black Lion mercenary group is one such person.
His name is Alexander Morrow, he was a government officials son on earth. He was also a national level boxer, top athlete, and an influential society elite. This gave him both the physical skills to rise above others and the ability to lead others with charisma. He formed the Black Lion mercenary group shortly after arriving in Agartha and quickly established a settlement. It was clear he had high aspirations and the drive to achieve them.
In my past I admired him as did many people in Black Lion Village. He seemed like a lofty lord valiantly defending the people of Black Lion Village. However, Alexander Morrow was much more devious than anyone realized. He secretly supports a bandit group that has a hideout in a nearby mountain in the forest. He uses the bandits to both appear as a hero to the people of Black Lion Village and take out anyone who may threaten his authority. It was not uncommon for powerful merchants who tried to establish themselves in the area to suddenly disappear one night. He wants to build an empire and he wants to be the single authority in it.
He was also one of those humans who despised the native races of Agartha. He wouldn't go so far as to kill them in the streets, but his prejudice was obvious and any native races in the village would be relegated to menial, sometimes demeaning jobs. His prejudice spread to the other humans in the village creating an oppressive atmosphere.
Black Lion Village is not a place that holds many pleasant memories for me. However, it is a necessary step on our journey and most importantly I have to be there two weeks from now as an opportunity I cannot let pass will appear.
For the most part our journey towards Black Lion Village has been a mundane one. There were a few wild beast that tried to attack however, between Valerian's vines and my daggers they posed no threat to us. I had studied a few dagger techniques in my past life, but that was at a higher fitness than I'm currently at so I couldn't use them. However, I could simplify some of the techniques allowing me to still perform at a high level compared to other humans. The wild beast were an excellent opportunity to sharpen these techniques and I even gained 43 essence.
The road out of the village had long ago turned to wilderness however, we still had it relatively easy because Valerian could move the plants out of the way reducing the time spent going around them and the risk of tripping over them. He would always use his arms to make a grand gesture like he was parting a sea even though we both know he doesn't need to.
He would look over at me grinning or saying, ”I know I know I'm the best.”
Sometimes he really gives me a headache.
Nevertheless it was very convenient. After traveling for about half an hour we heard a rushing sound and the trampling of leaves and twigs from our front-right. Valerian who was in the middle of another one of his grand gestures stopped, his face hardened and he got into a battle stance his right arm forming into a spear. I pulled out my daggers and crouched down ready to take immediate action.