Chapter 373 An Unwelcome Invitation (2/2)

The Rangers' envious looks at their armor were hard to ladly take the mercenaries' equipment — if she could do so without retribution froht now, only the Lady's doubts about their relation to Rannoc protected them And if those doubts disappeared, their protection would disappear, as well

Yet there was no chance to discuss the matter with Kaleesh — not with the Darians nearby And so, the only thing Arran could do was trust that the captain had soh the afternoon, and when evening was beginning to fall, they reached a large toith a massive fortress at its center — Lady Raina's home

As Arran looked at it, he could not help but furrow his broonder at the sight

Even from a distance, he could see that the fortress was at least as large as the town around it, with thick, towering walls and a heavy ate that seemed like it could withstand entire ar, clearly built for the brutality of war, the town around it was lively with co past the huantuan fortress at its center not been there, Arran would have thought the town utterly unremarkable — no different from the many towns he'd visited in his travels

Yet here, a vast stronghold loo as a constant reminder of the wars it had been built to weather

The contrast was a strange one, but Arran soon realized that it h to the Desolation that the stronghold ht — a bulwark ht be

Yet so large a fortress would require a constant stream of supplies, as well as the services of nuuessed, had caused a town to eiant fortress

While Arran looked at the town in wonder as they made their way to the fortress at its center, it appeared that the townsfolk were no less puzzled by the group of ar before a sizable crowd had gathered on either side of the streets where they passed, the co as they stared at the outsiders

Arran's giant sword in particular drew no small amount of attention Some of the onlookers looked at it with barely veiled ahile others gave Arran envious glares And a few hed and jeered

”Tryin' to , outsider?” a wohter to run through the crowd

Arran paid the insults little hts were focused on what they would face within the fortress — ould happen when Lady Raina decided whether or not to risk offending Rannoc

It wasn't long before they left the busy streets behind and passed through the fortress's h to almost be called a town itself

The area held nus, but there were several large open areas as well, where Arran could see hundreds of soldiers training

And at the center of the area, there stood a massive keep, even more heavily fortified than the fortress itself

Its walls were tall and thick, and the land around it was empty — doubtless left open for archers atop the keep's walls Moreover, it was encircled by a widea path to its gate

As Arran looked at it, he could not help but wonder just how terrifying the Blight was, for the Darians to have erected such elaborate defenses

His thoughts were cut short, however, when Lady Raina's group came to a halt And a moment later, the Lady herself approached

”Leave your troops here,” she said to Kaleesh ”My servants will see to it that they're given food and sleeping quarters”

There was a glint of cunning in her eyes as she spoke, and for a e of worry as he was certain that she was trying to separate the captain from his troops

But barely a moment later, he realized she had no need to do so

Even by herself, she was strong enough to defeat all the mercenaries effortlessly Whether the captain and his troops were together made no difference whatsoever

Which could onlyto see how Kaleesh would respond — to see how confident he was in Rannoc's protection

”Certainly,” the captain replied in an unconcerned voice Apparently, he had recognized the trap as well He gestured at Arran, and continued, ”But I would request that you allow my second-in-command to join us”

”Of course,” Lady Raina said ”Co I will have my stewards prepare baths and clothes for the two of you”

Though she sht he saw a trace of disappointan to head for the keep, with the Knight and several Rangers following behind her

It seemed they had passed the first test, but he had no doubt that more would follow And if they failed even one, the consequences would be dire