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It was a strange sight for Eldrian to see Sofiera and Solvi dressed for combat. Sofiera had a particularly flashy akro, perhaps as one should expect from a highmage. Wonderful embroidery flowed seemingly endlessly as it formed some of the most condensed rune formations Eldrian had ever seen.

Solvi, on the other hand, appeared like a walking piece of silver-blue metal. Covered head to toe in thick plates of Mithril. On her back she had a massive warhammer, and at her sides she had two one-handed mauls.

The agreed upon location was about a kilometer from their target. One of the lost forts bordering the Vrikolas Drylands—the land of vampires.

The modern maps didn\'t even have a name for it anymore. Most of the region west of Kyno lake had been lost a few hundred years ago. The region was simply too close to the vampires.

After some time and enough problems, the kingdom had abandoned it. Forming a no-man\'s-land between the drylands and Taurus to lessen the influence from the undead.

In the past -before they had abandoned the area- reports of kidnappings had been extremely common. There had even been an underground slave market in the towns—according to some records Two had gone through.

Eldrian also knew that these lands weren\'t abandoned by all. The vampires had settled them. Along with what he assumed were the descendants of who had refused to move, or were from a long line of slaves of the vampires.

Their lives were that of slaves, but at least their situation seemed better than those who landed under the tyranny of the orcs. Though, that was only if Eldrian went with the overall numbers alive. And an argument could be made that a long life was not always a better one.

Regardless, he did not know what their daily lives as the slaves of vampires entailed. Part of the mission today was to figure this out. But only if the situation allowed.

"I\'ll give a brief overview of those in the fort. I know it is strange, but I would like to try and talk with the vampires before we attack."

Surprisingly, no one was against the idea. Sure, it would mean they lost their element of surprise, but their group was far stronger than what was actually required to the take the fort.

They might only be six, technically seven—but the seventh was Jade. Outside of her, everyone was over Tier 5, and those at Tier 5 were Eldrian and Vivian. They couldn\'t really be treated as normal Tier 5\'s—especially not against the undead.

"Are you hoping they will leave willingly?" Vivian asked. She understood Eldrian did not consider all the races of chaos as inherently evil. While she could not share in his position, she could accept that he needed to determine this for himself.

Her rampage had helped her calm her rage and the news that her dad had made it to the afterlife had cooled the hatred that remained—to a degree. She would never stay her sword if she were to meet a lich, but for vampires, she could give Eldrian some time to sort out his own ideals.

"I\'m not really bothered if they do or not. We\'re at war, so we will take the fort regardless of negotiations." Eldrian\'s reply surprised those who knew him well. Especially that he left no room for doubt.

"Then what\'s the point?" Theas asked, "Talking with them first is only going to make things more difficult." As the one who knew Eldrian the least, Theas could not understand what the elf Chosen before him wanted. He couldn\'t follow Eldrian\'s line of thinking.

"I have a few things I want to see with my own eyes and a few things I need to confirm. But mostly, I want to see what their reaction is to negotiations." Basically, if it was possible to hold negotiations.

Other than that, Eldrian wanted to see what the condition of the slaves was. According to his map, the fort had around a thousand thralls and a hundred existential vampires, and eleven true vampires. Then there was over ten thousand slaves. Humans, demi-humans, centaurs, and even some orcs, kobolds, and goblins.

Only the true vampires were considered a threat to their group. There was one Tier 7, six Tier 6\'s, and four Tier 5\'s. For this reason, Eldrian would be holding negotiations outside.

If they refused, he would give up. Walking into their den was not an option, at least not alone. And he didn\'t want to place anyone else in unnecessary danger. He doubted the vampires would accept their entire group entering the fort. Especially considering how the thralls had reacted to Vivian.

Thus, a basis for the negotiations would be having the entire party enter; or holding it at the gate. Though, the latter would prevent him from learning about the state of living of those in the fort. But again, that was a second priority.

"Are you going alone?" Sofiera asked, already knowing the answer but wishing for him to explain his plans better for the group.

"Yeah, I think I seem the least frightening in our group." On the way here, Eldrian had come with Vivian—and Jade, of course. They had run into a few groups of thralls during their travels.

Somehow, the thralls were affected by Jade\'s power, while they ran from Vivian in fear instead. They only turned to Eldrian with their fangs. Jade might be useful for the negotiations, but if it turned into a fight, she would only be dead weight.

And if she didn\'t charm the vampires right away, it would likely only sour relations. Not that relations would start in the positive, anyway.

"Right, so the current layout..." Eldrian went to explain how the vampires had positioned themselves and where most of the slaves were being kept. While not the primary mission, they would save who they could if it came down to it.

"Myropsis, you\'ll stay behind to form a safe zone, as usual. We\'re going to send the rescued slaves your way. Jade...just stay out of the way."

"Hey!" Jade wanted to argue, but shrunk back as everyone glared at her because she had moved too close. Causing her aura to do its thing, which was a massive pain. Especially when their guard was down.

Thinking about the fact that they were getting this fort so Eldrian could train out of danger, and it would also become her training ground, too. She meekly accepted the order and moved back before their fury erupted.

Vivian, in particular, was giving her a deadly look.

"I don\'t want to come out and find the slaves charmed." Eldrian reminded her before leaving.

As for how he would call for help, Eldrian had spent a week with Sofiera and Solvi working on the forts, towers, and walls. During that time, he had further analyzed telepathic messaging after mastering handing over his mana to another.

Slowly, he came to understand the foundation to a degree that he could explain it to others. Attempting to put to words the feeling he had simply, instinctually, copied while mind linking with Ceph.

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