A hasty banquet was underway in the forbidding Old Castle.
"Those evil marauders stole my people and my land! And you're actually going to visit them..."
The Mad Dog Duke struggled to contain his temper.
"Heir to the Montablinlock Duchy, we're only visiting that lord." To the Nobles, it was nothing out of the ordinary.
The Mad Dog Duke, who had seized power in a coup, was another matter. The envoy delegation took a dislike to him.
After their visit to the Mad Dog Duke's Castle, the delegation continued on its way.
The Mad Dog Duke watched them leave with a cold stare. Without turning around, he said, "I don't think this will work."
The Gray-Robed Mage behind him murmured, "It's enough. A few words from us will drive a wedge between them and Annan..."
"Why don't we kill the delegation and frame Annan's people?"
"The Duchy of Keating is several times the size of this Duchy... We can't afford to be exposed."
The Mad Dog Duke turned around. "Why does that bastard have so many Elemental Legions?"
"Because of his gift for sorcery."
"So why does that bastard have so many Elemental Legions?"
"Even an Epic couldn't command that many Large Elementals. He must have stolen some authority that wasn't his..."
"Did you just say 'stolen'?" The Mad Dog Duke looked thoughtful. "Then... can we tell its rightful owner?"
The Gray-Robed Mage lowered his head. "I'll have the Mage Association prepare a ritual to contact the Elemental Plane."
Satisfied, the Mad Dog Duke let his viciousness show again. "And have the Butler feed the maids the delegation took a fancy to to my pets."
A vast stretch of farmland, starkly different from the wilderness, appeared ahead of the envoy delegation.
The skeletons in the fields brought the entire