Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 37 The Main Character Arrives (Bonus Chapter as a Thank You to Readers)
The Flame Fist soldiers, who were getting impatient, finally noticed something unusual.

A fully armed convoy hurriedly approached from the northeastern wilderness. From a distance, the convoy's flag appeared to be embroidered with a black hand's claw. A sharp-eyed scout estimated that the convoy consisted of about forty people, a rather large force.

Several people from the mining area also stepped forward, made contact with the team, and seemed to discuss something before leading the convoy to the exit of the mining area.

Watching helplessly as the miners of Xikai loaded and unloaded iron ore boxes onto transport vehicles under the supervision of the overseers, the Flame Fist soldiers grew anxious, but with Am's soldiers guarding the area around the mine, they couldn't very well step forward to question them.

Ska and the others were still wondering when this mercenary group they had never seen before had appeared: "Has any of you seen this mercenary group's flag before?"

Everyone shook their heads. Zhang Yuan, who knew the truth, was already certain that the Black Claw Mercenary Group's mastermind, Iron Throne, was behind this incident. However, he could only keep quiet. How could he, an outsider who had only been in Baldur's Gate for a month, know so much secret information?

Besides, what good would it do to say it? Putting aside whether it would gain the trust of my teammates, could I possibly force a sale in front of the Amn army and the Nassica people?
If this gets us into trouble, the Iron Throne will be laughing their heads off even if they lose this batch of ore.

Frustrated, Zhang Yuan had no choice but to pack his bags with everyone else and set off.

Of course, they weren't really going to slink back to Baldur's Gate in disgrace. The Flame Fist members were determined to find out who these guys who had intercepted them were and whether they were really connected to the previous robberies.

They trailed far behind the Black Talon mercenary convoy. Fortunately, the other side's vehicles were loaded with ore; one couldn't really expect fully loaded transport vehicles to have anything to do with speed.

Slowly driving out of the territory of Naxikai, bidding farewell to the winding rivers and the smoke from the fields, the surrounding scenery gradually changed. Whether it was the dust and sand that were being raised, or the desolate cliffs and Gobi Desert, they all clearly told everyone about their situation.

Ska, after taking out a map and estimating the distance, looked somewhat grave: "If I'm not mistaken, we're now southwest of Firewine Bridge. Not only are there ogre tribes here, but the kobold squads from Firewine Bridge also come here from time to time to plunder."

Steve, standing nearby, thought of something else: "This is all uninhabited wilderness and desert. Why did that mercenary group bypass the western coastal road and take this detour instead? The only civilized town on this road is Valley Town, which is inhabited by halflings. Are they planning to spend a month in this desolate wilderness?"

It wasn't just Flame Fist and his group who were puzzled; the person in charge of the transport convoy from Naxikai was also full of questions.

Just two weeks ago, this mercenary group called Black Claw came to our door to discuss business, claiming to be from the Iron Throne.

The repeated robberies of trading caravans had already deeply saddened the powerful figures in Nassai. Unable to find a way to recover their losses, they chose to contact Black Claw, even though it was indeed strange that they came at this time.

However, the Iron Throne holds considerable weight and influence in the mining and blacksmithing industries, though not as much as the Seven Suns Merchant Alliance under Grand Duke Belt, but not far behind.

In addition, the regimental commander named Tao Gesikousang, who carried the authorization documents, did a lot of persuasive work, or perhaps the generous advance payment was too convincing.

In conclusion, Mayor Bai Lang of Nashka ultimately decided to end their cooperation with the Seven Suns Merchant Alliance, which had caused them significant losses, and instead began dealing with the subordinates of the Iron Throne.

Everything was going smoothly until the convoy left the area of ​​Naxikai, when things started to go wrong. First, the Black Claw mercenaries drove the entire convoy to this desolate area under the pretext of avoiding highway robbers. Then they adopted a lazy attitude, stopping and starting as if they were on a picnic rather than transporting goods. The mercenary captain also kept looking in a certain direction, as if he was waiting for something.

Just as the people of Naxikai were filled with fear and unease, their worst fears came true. A large group of goblin bandits emerged from behind the distant hills and charged straight at the caravan without hesitation. The previous tragedy had already terrified the ore merchants of Naxikai, but they never expected that they would not be able to escape this time either.

They screamed in terror, desperately urging the Black Claw mercenaries to form a defensive formation; some, terrified, had even fled.

What chilled the hearts of the Sikes was about to happen. Instead of engaging the enemy, the Black Claw mercenaries pulled out their bows and arrows and shot the fleeing men dead. Then, abandoning their previous politeness, they grinned maliciously at the trembling quails.

There was no doubt now that the so-called robbers and the mercenaries in front of them were in cahoots, and that the previous bloodshed was also the work of these people.

I only regret that I trusted the Iron Throne. No one expected their ambition to be so great. I thought the Iron Throne just wanted to abandon the Seven Suns and go it alone to seize more market share. Now it seems that the Iron Throne has no intention of competing in the conventional way at all, but instead wants to completely eliminate them.

The Nassica people, who were lying on the ground, had already given up hope; the enemy had never intended to leave any survivors from the beginning.

No miracle occurred. The Black Claw mercenaries, who had suddenly turned against them, colluded with the goblin bandits from the inside and left no one alive. They skillfully disposed of the corpses and drove their transport convoy back on the road.

Meanwhile, Flame Fist and his group watched in disbelief. The turn of events had happened far too fast; before they could even react, the battle, or rather the massacre, was already over.

Once the crowd calmed down, a single glance at the enemy's numbers dispelled their urge to rush in and die. The forty-odd Black Claw mercenaries plus nearly a hundred Goblin Warriors made them comparable to a small army in the Sword Coast region.

Even Ska gritted his teeth and signaled his team to remain hidden. The only option now was to abandon a direct assault and try to track the bandits to their stronghold. If all else failed, they would capture a few prisoners to extract information.

However, the enemy did not give Flamefist that opportunity. The cunning and experienced Blackclaw commander had assigned several teams to patrol and scout during the retreat. In addition, the goblins, armed with bows and arrows, were watching closely, making it impossible for Flamefist soldiers to even get close.

Watching the other party leave safely, Skar angrily slammed his fist on the ground in front of him, then stood up: "Notify the scouts to abandon the pursuit. We're returning to Baldur's Gate."

Zhang Yuan knew that his first important mission was likely to end in failure.

The group was somber throughout the journey. The Flame Fist team of over thirty people barely uttered a single word. Even Zhang Yuan, who had a premonition of this, was somewhat disoriented after witnessing the massacre.

Even if you've personally slit the throats of several monsters, it's still hard to accept seeing your own kind being slaughtered like animals.

Ska was the first to speak, forcing a smile: "We haven't completely failed. Although the ore was stolen, it was Nassai's choice, not something taken from us. Besides, we already know something about those cunning bandits, and our intelligence is of great importance to Baldur's Gate."

That's what they say, but a mission not completed is a mission not completed. Do they expect to be commended if they return to Baldur's Gate empty-handed? And the so-called intelligence is just empty talk to comfort themselves. All they saw was a chess piece and a bunch of goblins. What kind of important intelligence is that?
Almost none of the team members who had thought of this had changed, except for Bard, the old drunkard, who was still gulping down his drink. The whole team was in a terrifying silence.

(End of this chapter)