Chapter 289: Morvain Velmourn
“It is like I am in a different world.”
Kael muttered as he looked around. Soon, however, he realized something.
“Oh wait, I am.”
He shook his head as he continued to look around.
Right now, he and Lavinia were walking through the Ashen Heights, and they weren’t alone. Six soldiers—two in front, one on each side, and two behind—were walking with them, taking them to this place called the Elder’s Hall.
As for the man who found them?
He dipped the moment he reported them to the guards, calling them not his problem anymore.
‘That bastard.’
Kael snorted in annoyance.
It was more annoying for him because he would have done the same thing if he was in that man’s stead.
‘Tsk.’
In the end, he just snorted and started looking around.
The reason he was so calm was because he was confident in escaping with Lavinia in case something happened. The people here weren’t particularly strong, even the soldiers walking with them were only Advance Stage Tamers.
What did bother him a bit was the path they were walking on.
It twisted between sharp stone ridges and narrow trails. The wind howled constantly, carrying a biting cold that slipped through their cloaks. Here and there, Kael noticed small homes built directly into the sides of the cliffs, their walls made of dark stone and their roofs flat and rough. Smoke curled from simple chimneys, but even the fires inside seemed weak against the cold.
Eventually, they reached a larger structure carved directly into the mountainside. It had no decorations, no banners or carvings—just a heavy stone door and thick walls, built to keep the cold out and trouble in.
This was the Elder Hall.
Inside, the building was just as bare. The stone walls were rough and unpolished, the floor solid and uneven in places. There were no rugs, no paintings, nothing that suggested luxury or wealth.
Everything inside existed for one reason: survival.
Kael’s face turned solemn as well. The living conditions of these people really were lacking, and to think they have been living like this for centuries.
For now, however, he didn’t say anything and followed the soldiers.
The room they were led into was wide but dimly lit, warmed by only a single brazier at the center. Around it stood a large stone table, roughly shaped and cracked in a few places. It was surrounded by people—men and women of varying ages, some older, some still in their prime—but all dressed the same.
Yes, every person in the room, regardless of how old or important they looked, wore the same style of thick clothing. Heavy cloaks, stitched leathers, and simple boots built for walking on stone. Even the people outside were the same.
There were no jewels, no badges of rank, no difference between the powerful and the common.
‘That’s impressive.’
He muttered inwardly, a little surprised.
“These are the ones?”
While Kael was thinking all this, he suddenly heard a strong, authoritative voice.
His eyes then fell on a tall, regal woman who seemed to be in her early 30s. She had long black hair streaked with silver, braided tightly and coiled around her head like a crown. She had steel-gray, sharp and piercing eyes, a pale, weathered but noble face.
Just like the people around her, she wore a heavy storm-gray cloak lined with ash lynx fur. Beneath the cloak was a dark leather tunic reinforced with subtle scale-like patterns and wool underlayers.
Only a few words came to Kael’s mind when he saw her,
Strength, Honor, and Unshakable Leadership.
She was Morvain Velmourn, the Matriarch of the Velmourn Family.
“Yes, Matriarch. They came here seeking shelter.”
The guard leading them nodded.
The woman looked Kael and Lavinia up and down. Her expression gave nothing away but—
“You seek shelter, yet you hide beneath your cloaks. It is not making a strong case.”
Serenya commented.
At those words, Kael looked around, and indeed, most people were looking at them with an unwelcomed gaze.
Honestly, he wanted to say something. For now, however, he stayed silent and let Lavinia do the talking. She was supposed to be better at this stuff any—
Before Kael could even convince himself,
Lavinia removed her robes, revealing her face.
“!!!”
Kael widened in horror.
Whoosh
His body moved as he grabbed the incoming spear that was aimed at Lavinia’s head, and in that movement, he ended up revealing his face as well. Not that he cared—he had a much bigger problem to worry about.
He glanced at the Matriarch to see her reaction, and just as he thought—
“Purple Eyes, Purple Hair, there is no doubt about it.
You are a Dragonborn.”
The Matriarch spoke, her previously expressionless face now openly hostile. She didn’t even glance at Kael; all her hostility was directed at the descendant of the people who were responsible for her and her people’s current state.
“I am Lavinia Dragonborn, the former Princess of the Drakthar Kingdom.”
Lavinia introduced herself, probably because she was with Kael, but she didn’t seem very intimidated.
“To think a Dragonborn is visiting us.”
The Matriarch laughed dryly. Soon, however, her steel-gray eyes turned cold and—
“Are you here to mock us, Dragonborn?
Were you perhaps born with two lives, or…”
The Matriarch finally glanced at Kael and,
“Or did you think your guard here will be able to protect you?”
She completely ignored the former princess part. Honestly, she didn’t care—princess or former princess, it did not matter. Their hatred for the Dragonborn was just that deep.
Of course, Lavinia was already prepared for it,
“I am not here to mock you or your people, Matriarch.”
She spoke calmly.
“As I said, I am the former princess of Drakthar. I abandoned that title the day I was betrayed and sold as a slave by the people I once considered mine.”
“What about it? Was that supposed to make me sympathize with your situation and take you in?”
The Matriarch snorted, showing no sign of empathy.
“How were they even able to justify selling off a Princess, anyway?”
She asked, not particularly interested in the topic.
But—
“They declared that I became corrupted.”
“What…?”
The instant she heard those words, the Matriarch’s expression changed.
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