The World Dragon's Heir - Chapter 617: At The Arena Grounds

Chapter 617: At The Arena Grounds

Once they saw that the Duke was not in a hurry to leave the area, as many were after a formal announcement like this, more of the Knights came over to say hello.

“Your arena grounds are amazing. Whoever thought of setting up a portable privy every fifty paces is an absolute genius.” One of the Knights joked.

Dominic chuckled, “You know that started out as a joke that we would need it for the crowds when we held festivals at the new arena, but I see that someone made it a reality. There are even factory names on them.”

The Knight nodded. “Indeed, a testament to the magical engineering of the Duchy.

Many of us will be taking the opportunity to explore the city later this evening. We have been informed by the locals that most businesses are open late, and that there are street lights to keep evening travel safe.

That would be quite the change from many of the cities we have visited.”

Dominic laughed. “Well, I can’t guarantee complete safety. But we do have guards on patrol all night, and there isn’t an entrenched criminal population here.

Being a new city, we might have unsavoury sorts, but they haven’t had time to settle in or to make an area their own.

With so much population churn after the Barons moved into their new estates, it made their lives rather difficult, and most are not afraid to report troublemakers to the Sheriff.

I will admit, at some points in my past, that would have been an issue for me personally. Dragonkin aren’t always welcome. However, the population here is pretty tolerant, as long as you’re not causing issues.”

He added the last bit after noticing a few of the Knights had slightly inhuman features, most likely the reason that they were not successors to any title, and had chosen to be roaming Knights living on tournament revenue and mercenary contracts from the Adventurer’s Guild.

It wasn’t a requirement that they were members, but most of the Knights would be members of the Adventurer’s Guild.

It simply made sense for them to build their reputation taking side jobs. With a strong reputation and a higher ranked membership in the Guild, they would find that prices for everything dropped when they entered a new city, and they would be much less likely to be chased off by the locals.

Foreign Noblemen were always suspicious. Foreign mercenaries with the Adventurer’s Guild were less so.

“You will enjoy the city, I am certain.

We can repair anything that you need, as we have masters for everything from magitech engineering to carriage making, tools and furniture.”

“You have a master toolmaker?” Sir Charles asked.

“Pops, formerly of the Commoner Gate Forge in Cygnia City, is operating a toolmaker’s forge here in Wistover now. The shop in the Capital has been passed on to one of his younger relatives.”

The Cygnian Knight smiled. “Well, I know where I’m stopping first. He keeps everything you could need for camping and daily supplies in stock, and I could use a few new enamelled metal plates.

The last ones he sold me lasted over a decade, but now the enamel is beginning to wear thin and chip.”

Dominic laughed. “You know you’re supposed to maintain those, right? The enamel doesn’t last forever if you’re beating it up daily.”

Sir Charles shrugged. “I could have had them patched, but I just never got around to it. Besides, I could use a few spares.”

Sir Morton nodded. “He’s a bit famous for only owning two plates and two bowls. It’s been the same pair since I was a small child watching my father from the arming tent.”

The older knight simply shrugged. “They are good ones, what can I say?”

The Knights began to break off into groups, making plans to explore the city, and then to set watch with their squires for the overnight.

You could never be too cautious before a tournament.

Whether it was curious civilians messing with gear, deliberate sabotage, or even just an accident, you needed someone awake to ensure that everything was ready to go first thing in the morning.

“I will assign a few of the Trolls from the Manor Guard to patrol the Knights’ rest area tonight.

They’re excellent security, even in the darkest night.” Dominic offered.

“Don’t trolls have horrible night sight?” Sir Nallon asked.

“They do. But they don’t need it. They have excellent hearing, and an even better sense of smell. But most importantly, these are Mountain Trolls, and you’re camped on a thin layer of soil over solid rock.

They can detect the movement of everyone within the camp area, and if anyone is acting suspiciously, they will most likely notice.

They might question your squires if they’ve forgotten where they belong, but the overall safety will be much better than just having a few City Guards patrol the area.”

Any thief who couldn’t escape a basic town guard patrol was never going to make it far in their trade, so while the guards would help keep people honest, they didn’t have any real effect on the sorts of threats that the Knights were actually concerned about.

“We would appreciate it. The Trolls look plenty capable, and if it comes to a fight, I reckon that they will be able to break it up much more easily than any common guardsman.” One of the men joked.

“Indeed. Dave excels at breaking up fights.”

Dave’s eager nod assured the knights that there would be no way for those caught by the trolls to get away with causing trouble. The only question that they had left was who thought that it was a brilliant idea to put Mountain Trolls in full plate armour and give them shields?

Wasn’t that just overkill?

A brilliant level of overkill, but still, entirely unnecessary. You could give them a fire resistance amulet and get very nearly the same outcome. The armour was mostly decorative when the Trolls regenerated so fast.

But Dominic saw it another way. It was better that Dave didn’t get injured at all.

They might heal quickly, but the cuts still hurt.