Nolea

[Snowfrost]

The season of winter was Nolea's period of trade and prosperity, the rest was in it's status of 'Sleepy Town'. As traders and travelers from Mortega, the city of trade, stopped here before crossing the Frozen Passage to make trade with the Drageroks in the Gortek Empire.

Rudolph walked down the lively merchant quarter, as merchants, traders, and citizens bargained for their wares or sales. It was certainly more lively than he imagined, but who was he to judge a town's prosperity due to their place in the continent.

Nolea was certainly well protected, considering the walls surrounding it, and well-armed guards standing guard. Now what perplexed him was the following question: How did the bandits sneak in and elude capture from the guards?

A commotion up ahead, brought him back to the world from his thoughts. Rudolph saw that a child was being smacked by a severely, obese merchant with rich silk, robes of purple.

Narrowing his eyes, Rudolph approached the scene and grabbed the obese merchant's left hand from striking the child again. "Why are you stopping me?!" yelled the merchant, with his other hand he pointed at the child who was cradling his smacked face.

"Why did you smack this child?" Rudolph asked, the merchant threw a glare at the child before turning his angry gaze at the paladin.

"He stole from me!" the merchant yelled, while pointing at the tattered-clothed boy. "So, that gives you immediate right to deal punishment?" said Rudolph as the merchant yelled yes.

Gripping the merchants hand tighter, Rudolph glared at him. "Listen here, your majesty. If I ever hear that you smacked or hit a child in the future, I will personally come and deliver your judgement" hissed Rudolph, making the merchant shiver in fear.

"My name is Rudolph Korinus, Ex-General and Paladin of the Raoroan Church. Remember my name." and with that he let the quivering merchant's hand go and kneeled in front of the boy.

"Are you alright?"

The child shivered from the cold and looked at Rudolph, especially his warm gray eyes. Rudolph smiled as the boy slowly nodded, and offered his hand. The boy looked at the hand with wide eyes and slowly grabbed it.

[Lan]

((Nice))

[Snowfrost]

Months had passed, and with it spring had come. The child, Rudolph, had saved from the merchant was named, Aesur. An orphan who lived in the streets after the orphanage he lived in closed down on an annual slump of the town. He had lived with the child as he worked with Nolean authorities and guards to track down the group of bandits who were now in hiding. Except for one Rudolph was able to capture, a native to Nolea, whose family were on the brink of starvation.

This did not surprise him at all, as most bandit groups started out of desperation, but he had to stop it regardless of the consequences to the families for that was his duty. The captive bandit, Arlo, had confessed to several high-profile robberies in Nolea, including that of a noble Merchant. Rudolph remembered that case, for the noble man was annoying and commanding, and had done the same thing he had done to the obese merchant a few months ago. He was the only paladin who took orders from the Archbishop, and disregarded every command and order someone else gave him. He only trusted the Archbishop, with his orders and life.

The Archbishop likewise trusted him with his true name, for he had a family who depended on him, to provide to. He changed his name when he took the role of Archbishop, as a precaution to protect his family.

The captive bandit had also confessed of their hideout within Nolea, deep underground the leader's house, which he gave directions to. Rudolph smirked at the bandit leader's cleverness and cunning, hiding in plain sight.

He smirked once more before he stopped and eyed the bandit leader's house.

[Snowfrost]

After he stormed the underground bandit hide-out, he had captured only about half of the bandit group before the rest scattered into the underground tunnels they had built under the town with secret entrances. Ten days passed before the bandit leader took the mayor of Nolea hostage, a clear declaration of war against the Raoro Empire. He had apparently built and dug a tunnel under the mayor's office in case he had to do something drastic.

A short skirmish later, and a headless bandit leader and his also headless bandit minions were wheeled out of Nolea into a mass grave. No headstone designated their grave, only a warning to bandits. After that short skirmish, he only had to deal with the orphan boy, Aesur. Rudolph had used his influence as a Paladin and savior of the mayor to find Aesur's family.

It had proved and given him results, just not the ones he wanted to know. Apparently, Aesur was of nobility, whose family was killed by the same group of bandits who tried to 'takeover' of the town. Aesur knew he was of nobility but he didn't want a family of nobility to take him in, with what he had gone through as a orphan boy considered, it did make sense to Rudolph. It didn't make his decision that much easy to make when the boy wanted to join him in his travels.

The boy didn't want to stay, and he couldn't let any noble family have him now that they boy knew how people lived under nobility. It took him two days to sign the adoption papers for Aesur Boreanz, now to be Aesur Korinus. He also made sure to feed the boy the diet that he missed thanks to the bandits. A few days later he was deemed healthy by a highly skilled physician and doctor.

They spent twelve days in Nolea, as Rudolph made sure that it's security force were up to par to his high standards. Which were pretty high, as most guards cursed at him at his back due to his...Training seminars he forced them to go through, along with the threat of coming back and making their training a daily routine and even more worse than what they currently had. They took the seminars more seriously and saluted at him and Aesur when they left the barracks and Nolea towards the vast plains of the Raoroan Empire.

[Snowfrost]

*Rudolph and his adopted son, Aesur, leave Nolea to the Raoro Wilderness*