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I fell asleep on my desk for a few hours :O

I'm getting old I tell ya, can't even handle working all night long without sleep anymore XD.

Hope you all enjoy the Chapter and another will follow today a bit later.

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Chapter 47: The Tide

Makoto quickly noticed that he was the last person of his party to actually return.

Sharon had left him a message that the three of them would already go ahead to the dungeon and wait there for him.

It didn't surprise Makoto that they had been impatient as he had only logged back inside 2 hours after the promised time which was over 6 hours inside Azalon.

Most people would get bored waiting for such a long time.

With a few quick steps he descended down the stairs and was about to hurry out of the front door when his Uncle called for him.

Still a bit stressed but always willing to listen to the man that had adopted him, Makoto went into the living room where Narkas was waiting for him and the expression on his face alone showed that it was about something very important.

"What is wrong Uncle?"

Giving him a hard glare, Narkas motioned for him to sit down.

"Well, I would say the situation has finally escalated.

I think you are aware of the tension at the border and how even a single needle dropped on the wrong foot could start a war?

It has now begun boy.

Sarachec Soldiers are currently besieging one of our Strongholds at the border, they are said to number over 10 thousand with an incredible amount of siege weapons.

The situation is critical and time is of the essence."  

Realizing what his Uncle had said and what this could very well mean, Makoto immediately had a solemn expression too.

"Normally a House is either one of two things, politically oriented or war oriented.

There are differences but you can divide all houses into those two categories.

I am more into politics but also well aware that your prowess in battle would only be wasted here so we have a very peculiar situation right now, which path do you think we should choose?"

Both remained silent for a while and contemplated about their possible future but before anything could be decided, Baltas walked into the tension filled room.

"Pardon me Master, there is a very shady Merchant with the name of Finn at the door saying that Master Makoto has ordered him to bring something here."

Grinning from one ear to the other and thinking that this was the best possible timing, Makoto looked towards Narkas.

"I am not sure about what kind of House we should be but I know whatever path we choose, this is only going to help us."

Motioning both his confused Uncle and Baltas to follow, they went outside to see the little Merchant, still wearing his pair of clouded glasses.

Immediately the Merchant's face lit up after he saw Makoto and he quickly hurried to his side.

"I have them with me on a wagon, 567 Bars, just as you ordered."

Patting Finn's shoulder with a smile, he told him to bring the cargo behind the mansion to the back entrance.

"What exactly was he talking about boy?"

Narkas asked with a very confused expression as he watched the little Merchant jump on his wagon and delegate his horse to pull the entire thing to the back of the building.

"Watch and see."

Not wanting to spoil the surprise he followed Finn just like Narkas and Baltas that both looked at each other, searching for an explanation in the others eyes.

After they reached their destination, now surrounded by big trees that blocked any and all vision to the wagon from afar, Makoto decided to pull back the cloth that had been hiding his little surprise.

Bars stacked upon bars of Gold and Silver with a Spider Crest clearly visible on them glimmered in the morning sun, blinding both the Butler and his Uncle.

Stunned, they just stared at this display of incredible wealth until Narkas looked at him, eyes big like wheels.

"Just where did you get all of this from and with our Crest on it too?"

"Well, let's just say house Stimridge was very 'generous'."

Showing a wide grin as he clearly understood the implications, Narkas immediately helped Finn carry the Bars inside the Mansion and the head Butler even went as far as taking a stack of 40 bars at once.

The only place they could really put such an incredible amount was inside the Cellar so now two mountains glimmered in the torch light deep beneath the mansion.

Makoto finally explained the entire situation after they left their little treasury and how Finn fit into the whole equation.

His Uncle was laughing his head off just thinking about the now cleared out mansion of House Stimridge while already opening up a bottle of wine to celebrate.

Finn stayed beside his side like a shadow as they discussed their new strategy.

Narkas would send 50 Mages and 30 Apprentice Mages from the Magic Institute to help out the Stronghold in 5 days and it was decided that Makoto would accompany them.

"I will stay behind in the Capital and manage the politics while you fight for the glory of the Kingdom with the emblem of our House on your Chest, that sound like a plan?"

Nodding happily and eager for a battle of such scale and proportions, he quickly looked towards Finn that had been staring at him like a hungry wolf.

"Do you have the sold amount with you?"

Finn nodded and was about to grab into his bag but a hand from Makoto stopped him.

"Keep it."

Shocked about his words the Merchant stared at him for quite a while to make sure that he wasn't joking.

Finn was unable to resist any command and he also was not able to steal from him as that would be a break of loyalty in the contract but he had just been ordered to keep the incredible sum that one fifth of selling the gold and Silver bars had yielded.

It was an insane amount of money for sure and he was unable to comprehend how Makoto was able to just freely give away so many gold coins to someone like him that was already bound to him for life anyways.

Makoto's logic was pretty simple really, even if Finn was sworn to follow him, just how much more eager would he be if it was also lucrative and refreshing for him?

Soon enough he was able to see a certain glimmer in Finn's eyes and knew that he had taken the bait.

"Now listen to me, remember how I told you that I want you to be my eyes and ears in the underworld? Well that was not a lie.

While I am gone I want you to organize an information network with a lot of other people, you can get the Contracts from my Uncle if need be but in a time of unrest like this, it is very possible that House Forrowfell could easily rise in Power if we manage to find out more about the other houses and their little dirty secrets and that is where you come into play.

Dig up everything that could be used about the other Noble houses and give a daily report to my Uncle, do you think you can do that?"

Nodding his head eagerly while looking at Makoto with an idolizing gaze, Finn seemed to be more than willing to even jump off a cliff after being handed such an incredible amount of money and that was exactly what he had wanted to achieve, absolute loyalty by Contract as well as free will.

Fighting off the devilish smile that wanted to appear on his face as he looked at the little Merchant that had given up any and all resistance, Makoto turned to his Uncle.

"Do you think you would be ok with being handed a daily report about the other houses?"

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Narkas only showed a very sinister grin before replying.

"I would say it is something that I have been looking forward to for quite a while now, tell him to come every evening and show me this report of his."

After getting his orders, Finn spoke with a hushed voice.

"Could I also employ a few fighters for this information network?

I might very well reach a few dangerous situations so having guards could help me keep my head."

Not even having to think about the matter, Makoto gave his ok and with a deep bow and another idolizing look, Finn left the mansion.

…..

His new Master treated him well.

The contract would mean his death but surprisingly enough this Foreigner was not like the others.

He was neither beaten nor abused, all in all he was mostly left to his own devices which was surprising as nearly every Master possessed an incredible amount of paranoia, making sure to keep even the most loyal of Slaves on a short leash, Finn knew that from experience.

But now it was different.

He had closed his little shop that he had worked so hard to create with a lot of guilt and hatred towards this new Master but surprisingly enough he did not have to worry about finding a cheap place to sleep.

Finn had become rich overnight, without even knowing or caring how much money he had gotten for the bars that he sold, Makoto just gifted him the entire sum.

This, together with not getting abused at all in any way and even being treated as a normal Servant was enough for him to change his point of view.

It was obvious that his new Master trusted him and feeling this trust for the first time in his life, Finn had no intention of breaking it.

This was a good Master, a caring Master.

One that looked out for him, one that had to be kept alive no matter what.

It was a Master that deserved so much more...

Showing the same devilish grin on his face that he had seen from Makoto, Finn descended layer after layer.

He would not only create an information network for his new Master, he would assemble an entire army...

.....

After finally finishing the last few points in their plan, Makoto went out to get prepared for this Journey that would start in 5 days.

He also asked if it would be alright to bring 3 other Foreigners to help defend the Stronghold and his Uncle thankfully had no problems with it.

Something he nearly forgot on his way to the Labyrinth was to pick up his Spider pet that should now be more than ready.

After entering the building and stating his name an employee quickly guided him to a small room.

The entire inside was decorated to look just like a forest and Magic had probably been used to grow different plants and moss.

Letting his gaze wander he finally spotted his pet on a wooden log.

It was a spider with a size similar to a tarantula but instead of the usual brown hair, this one was of pitch black color with a crimson Spider depicted on its back.

"We where quite surprised when we saw the Crest of House Forrowfell on its back after it hatched as it is a rare but not impossible occurrence.

It is normally a sign of the Divines that a house is destined for greatness if I remember correctly."

The employee said with a feverish gaze that made Makoto feel highly uncomfortable.

Unsure what he should really do to get his pet and a bit scared of this big and evil looking spider, Makoto stretched out his own arm.

The spider seemed to be staring at him with its 8 eyes for some time before slowly approaching the outstretched arm.

A shiver ran down Makoto's spine when he felt the hairy legs crawl up his arm and he instinctively wanted to shake it off.

Keeping his cool he watched the thing circle around his arm until finally reaching his shoulder and coming to a stop, only inches away from his face.

A system window appeared before Makoto.

You have acquired a pet!

Choose a name for it!

Unsure he glanced towards the 8 legged creature on his shoulder and he could clearly see how it stared back at him with its many eyes.

The temptation to name it something out of a book or movie was there but he decided against it and instead decided to name it after a Latin word that seemed to fit quite well.

"Acerbus"

Right away a new system window appeared before him.

Acerbus:Pet spider of Makoto Forrowfell, blessed with the Crest of his house.

Its name alone can mean 'dark' 'bitter' and 'cruel' at the same time.Owner:Makoto ForrowfellLoyalty:50%Skills:None

Interested about this unknown 'Loyalty' option he opened the 'help' tab in the Menu and a short explanation was quickly given about it.

Loyalty:This stat is mostly given to pets and will show how much care and love their onwer treats them with, the lower Loyalty is the more chance there is for your pet to run away, the higher it is, the more chance there is for your pet to learn Skills that could help you outside and inside of battle.

Makoto had thought that pets would only be a cosmetic item but that was appearently not the case if they had a high enough Loyalty for their Master.

One or two more Skills were always welcome and if he could even use them inside battle... the possibility alone was very tempting.

With a newfound love for the little critter he caressed his new friend and left the Pet-Center.

Many eyes followed Makoto as he walked through the streets, his chest adorned with the House crest of Forrowfell while a living example towered on his right shoulder.

Unable to hide the gleeful smile, he made his way to the Labyrinth.

Change was in the air...

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As always if you got any questions put them below!

Making this into a book is quite a bit of work :o

Still far from even having an end product.

Need to draw a map of Azalon too...

*Sigh*

.....