Sitting in the grey area of the main demon realm Lescatie and the main anti-demon force Order, there was a thriving merchant town called Kedai with its symbol of two hands trading money for items. True to its neutral standing it is a monster-friendly town that welcomes all travelers, with the exception of monsters who wish to convert the town into the demon realm or fanatical zealots who demand the town to be handed to the forces of Order. The town also allows any type of relationship, whether it be a humans with humans, humans with Mamonoes or even those of the same sex.
The city is rather large in size, it even put some of the more wealthier settlements of Order to shame, owning a few farms that held mamonoes like Holstarausi and Weresheeps to regulars farms with regular cattle, as well as having an abundance of shops of every kind, ranging from weapons, armour, potions and even trinkets from the Demon realm, there were churches available for the more religious citizens and magic shops for any aspiring mages. The town protects itself from the natural elements with a stone wall that covers its perimeter, it has four main gates the east, north, south and west gates which are connected to the main roads of Kedai, they’re used for carriages to pass by, besides the aforementioned gates there are also smaller gates used by the citizens which usually bring them right into the residential area, so they can avoid being trampled by a rich man’s horse.
Due to its position in the middle of the land, it allows for easier trading to be conducted between humans and monsters, so it’s not uncommon to see humans and monsters bargain with each other, this represents one of the main reasons for its popularity. In Kedai you can easily pick up a few tricks from the local merchants to the successful businesses, which can help you fill up your purse with coin. Some say that the veterans of trade in Kedai can rival the extensive knowledge of monsters, particularly the Gyoubu Danuki a monster well known for scamming others, in which there have been cases, that they were tricked by the human merchants. Nonetheless Kedai is an easy place to earn a living.
Now you must be wondering how Kedai can protect itself for any outside threats? Sure there are some mercenaries or the local hunters would be pleased to take down a few monsters or humans that have been trouble for a price, but what If something happens directly at the city? Unfortunately due to its monster-friendly status Order will refuse to send any help unless they allow them to purge the city of the mamonoes and because of its strict exclusion of any monsters that wish to convert the city, the monsters are also reluctant to help. In the end though the city will happily rely on their town guards. To others the word ‘town guard’ usually means sloppy protectors who push around those weaker than them and only help when it would benefit them. Fortunately this isn’t the case with Kedai.
Another reason for the popularity of Kedai are the tales of their town guards, proving to be as efficient at battling monster as one would expect from heroes, some people even say that the guards are heroes in their own right. Under the leadership of Hans Markus, nicknamed the Captain by the citizens, he’s said to be a descendent of a past hero, whether this is true or not Hans wouldn’t say, but that doesn’t deter the fact that he doesn’t fail in shaping guards into responsible, yet slightly condescending, warriors intended to protect the citizens of Kedai from harm. In return the citizens of said city hold them in high regards and have the utmost respect for them, even the lord of city has stated that while he had control of the land, Hans had control of the people, showing just much the people of Kedai loves their guards.
The guards are recognizable with their armour, chainmail which allows for both protection and mobility, steel helmets that left the face uncovered and armoured greaves providing protection from the ground. They are three groups of Kedai’s town guards, The Scouts who take commands from Holand Tier, The Watchers are under the command of Rizal and the Guardsmen have Fan Halen as their commander, all of which are following orders from Hans.
The scouts are the group that are the first to encounter danger and also the first to escape, the main function of a Scout is to scour the area outside of the city in order to examine the local wildlife and the monsters, this is so that the other groups can be prepared when say the Scouts return with news of some Amazonesses declare their periodical man-hunt. Afterwards the scouts are permitted to return after performing their duties and are excused from fighting any stray monsters or animals. Scouts are usually trained to be experts at traversing jungles and can identify animal tracks and are well-informed of monster habits and how to avoid them, (Wouldn’t want a scout to bring back a Wurm now would we?) besides that the members of the Scouts are also said to be extremely quick on their feet, a good reason why they are usual the ones who evacuate the civilians, those who want adventure with a slight chance of being dragged away, will join this group to satisfy their adventurous urges. In term of weaponry scouts are given two daggers, an assortment of poisons, throwing knives and wears a green cloak to camouflage themselves in the forest, on the back of their cloaks is the Kedai town symbol. Squad leaders are also given a special communication crystal, allowing them to relay important imformation to their squad members in the event the are captured.
The next and the arguably most important are the watchers, these guards are placed either at the wall to look out for any incoming monster attacks, or in a more populated are at an elevated position to stand watch for any surprise attacks from monsters. Watchers are trained to recognized monsters from every angle and from any distance and are known for their excellent eye-sight, they act as a warning alarm in case anything happens like a monster swarm, bandit attacks or a random harpy raid. Armed with bows along with their sharp eye sight, watchers are excellent archers capable of shooting fast moving objects with precision, there are also given muskets in case of a particularly large groups of invaders. When the enemy gets too close the Watchers' muskets also hold bayonets which acts as a substitute spear, until they can use to distance themselves to give themselves enough space to continue shooting. They are also trained with swords, making them effective in both long-range and close quarter combat. Besides that, Watchers are given special goggles, which are enchanted to dispel illusions and give a very much needed protection of for the eyes. You going to need to wake up real early to fool these guys, as such the other groups are very dependent on the Watchers and will have very high respect to those who perform their jobs correctly.
The last and most popular are the Guardsmen, the most basic yet courageous group, on a regular days Guardsmen patrol the city and deal with regular crime, they help control the peace of Kedai through friendly means (Nice words yay) or they solve it the hard way. Guardsmen are also the go to guards when the citizens need help, ranging from little kids asking them to tie their shoe-laces or men asking them to save their friends from monsters, and with how much the citizens rely on the Guardsmen they are trained to be friendly yet strict to allow the people to approach them but still remind them that they’re supposed to protect the city and not be their butlers, so don’t be surprised when they tell you off. Of course this is only on regular days where nothing happens, however when a threat to Kedai presents itself, that is when the sarcastically friendly guards turn into monster fighters. Equipped with their steel broadswords and their trusty shields, which held the town’s symbol, these brave souls will fend off any threat man or monster. The Guardsmen’s main strategy is to stall the monsters while the scouts evacuate the civilians into a safer place, meaning that they should focus more on holding them back rather than receive glory, any nearby Watchmen also need to help in case of any flying monsters. When the evacuation is complete that’s when the action begins, being trained to directly counter any threats the Guardsmen are the most capable in facing attacks, a Guardsmen is to be trained until he can take down a man twice as big as him and to be able to take just as much punishment.
Despite the clashing battle style the each group possesses, the guards are able to flawlessly cooperate with each other. Befitting of their goal, which is to protect the citizens of Kedai at all cost.
One similarity that each group possesses is that specially made charm from the city mages, which they had dubbed ‘Amulets of Uncharm’. These amulets are able to stop Demonic Energy from corrupting a human guard, or causing an Incubus guard to fall prey to their urges. While at the same time, these amulets subtly alter ones Spiritual Energy, making the wearer undesirable to any monsters they encounter. A guard is given one as soon as they join, and wearing it is compulsory as to avoid losing themselves to monsters. Unoficially these amulets have also become a badge of uniform for the guards.
With the great opportunity for people to earn living, the stable conditions of the city and the easy source of material make Kedai a very popular place, especially to those who wish to use it in the current war, fortunately Alexander the Lord of the city refuses to pick sides and is dead set to keep his city as the way it is, much to the displeasure of the demons and the forces of Order.
So come to Kedai today for a peaceful life, just make sure you know how to handle your money or you might find yourself broke in a couple of hours.