Melty: So where are we heading?

Y/n: The outskirts of the Kingdom. A town not far from the border. We shouldn't be to far from it now

We flew for a few more minutes before the town came into view. The fields looked to either be dried up or burnt down.

As we got closer we could see some of the buildings were broken down. Holes, burn marks, and slashes littered the walls of some.

The atmosphere of the town was depressing. Some of the folks seemed like the life had been drained out of them, as they mindlessly went on with their day.

Melty rushed over to a villager who was laying against a wall. His head was in his hands, and his clothes were torn up and dirty.

Melty: W-What happened here?

He started coughing as he tried to speak. Melty used her magic to create some water for him. He greedily drank, as if he hadn't had water in days.

Villager: Th-Thank you Goddess!!!

Melty: G-Goddess?

More villagers gathered around holding out their dirt cover hands, pleading for water from the person they proclaimed as a Goddess.

Melty blushed at being compared to a Goddess, but continued to provide water to the people. She tried to ask again while more people were around.

Melty: What happened here?

M. Villager: We've been getting raided by a group of Demi-Humans. They show up every month and destroy our fields and kidnap people

M. Villager: Why hasn't the Kingdom helped us? We are in dire need!

F. Villager: We sent several messengers, but no knights have ever come back. Why?

The mob grew more and more restless. Negative emotions built up and turned into anger towards the Demi-Humans and towards the Kingdom.

Melty tried her best to calm down the mob, but her voice was drowned out by their complaints. This could turn dangerous for Melty, so I decided to help her out and silence the crowd.

Y/n: Xykus!

The undead dragon came out and roared. Fear washed over the crowd as they all fell to their knees. Melty addressed the crowd once again, Xykus behind her glaring over the crowd.

Melty: As the Crowned Princess of Melromarc, I promise to assist you all!

They all began to praise her as a goddess again, basking in her radiance and afraid of what could happen if they don't listen. The villages slowly started to disperse and go back to whatever it was they were doing before. A innkeeper offered us a free room, which I accepted before Melty could turn him down.

We followed the innkeeper back to his building. The exterior wasn't badly damaged like some of the other buildings around the town. A few folks were chatting inside, most barely a whisper.

He showed us to a room and left us to attend to his business. Not long after we settle down, another commotion to start in the streets. We looked out the window to see some armored men pushing along Demi-Humans in chains.

People would throw rocks or shove them as they passed by. The guards that are taking them would push them with excessive force. Melty tried to leave, but I grabbed her told her to just watch.

They shoved a Demi-Human kid to the floor and kicked him, ordering him to get up. Another pushed the man off the kid, yelling for him to stop. He was swiftly met with a spear through his chest. People spouted racist remarks and cheered as the Demi-Human died.

Y/n: This is how they are treated all around Melromarc. Is this really what you think this shitty Kingdom should be doing?

Melty: I... It's not that easy to fix

Y/n: Maybe without force it's not

Eventually the men were out of sight, and the crowd dispersed again. The Demi-Human that was killed was left where he was stabbed. No one bothered to man, and some would spit or kick the man as they walked away.

Even for this Kingdom, the people were extra harsh with Demi-Humans because of the raiding. The rest of the day was uneventful and once Melty had fallen asleep, I decided to head out and investigate more about the raiders.

I had zombies hidden around the town and listening for anything that could give me a lead. Nothing much came up from most of them, but a few had the same group as they traveled through the town. They made sure to avoid any roads with people on them.

Armored Man: Boss said another raid is coming tomorrow. We might be able to capture a few more for money

Robed Man: Hehe. These Demi-Humans are so dumb. They don't even realize we are tricking them

The last man of the group had my attention more then the others. He had more detailed armor, and had a insignia engraved on his cape.

It reminded me of a version of my worlds Crusaders. It was too dark to fully make out what the actual design looked like.

Crusader: Will you two shit up. You never know who's listening

Armored Man: Aww come on Captain, no one is around these parts. They are afraid of being raided again

Crusader: I don't care, shut up

The man sighed and looked over at his comrade, who just shrugged in return. The Crusader was right though, they shouldn't be talking about such information out in public.

I decided to trail them and see where they were heading. They ended up traveling outside of town and into the woods. After traveling pretty deep into them, I saw campfires ahead of us.

A regiment of soldiers and mages were stationed here. They all bore the same symbol that the man had in his cape, but I could now make it out. A small patch of the Three Heroes Church was sewed into their armor and clothes.

I already had a bad taste in my mouth from my previous encounter with them in the past. The camp had metal cages were Demi-Humans were stored. I saw the ones from earlier too.

Some of the tents had subtle moans coming from them. Some women were crying as they turtles up in there cages, while others looked dead inside.

Some cages were just full the dead. Probably due to them trying to protest against there captors.

The Crusader entered a large tent at the center of the camp. I wanted to get closer, but didn't think I could continue with the amount of Guards stationed around.

Regardless I got a lot of info today. They said they were tricking the Demi-Humans so I'd assume they are supporting them in the raids against the town, and in return also capturing them.

The Demi-Humans might not know who there employer is then, but where are they getting all the people to keep raiding this place. Considering we are near the border it could be people from Siltvelt. If that's the case, it could turn into a war between the two Kingdoms.

Maybe that's what this group wants. They'd only profit from it. They be close enough to raid many towns and villages before a significant force can come and stop them.
If they are sponsored by the Church too, they be able to gain influence from it also.

I'll refrain from telling Melty this info, until I can figure out a way to stop this. Killing them would be the easiest route, but I'd also like to avoid making the Church my enemies already. I did plan on saving them for later, but depending on how this goes I might not be able too.

For now I'll just focus on what I do know, and that's the fact that more Demi-Humans are going to raid the town tomorrow. This'll be the first time the town had the raid stopped in awhile. It'll make them a useful puppet town for Melty in the future.