Congratulations! You have learned the skill Intimidation. Masters of this skill can impose their will upon others through threat, brute force, or in your case, shock and awe. +2% effectiveness per skill level.

Note: You have gained levels 1, 2,… and 8 in the skill Intimidation!

Glade pushed the notification away with a sigh before turning his attention back to the man in front of him.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked, giving Holo a concerned look as the man emptied the contents of his stomach for the third time.

“I’m… fine,” the Aldorn patriarch gasped after using his sleeve to wipe his mouth. “Just getting used to the idea that my house is now tied to a…” he paused, glancing down at Glade’s covered arms. “Well, someone of your caliber.”

“At least he gets it,” Bragden snorted loudly.

Honestly, Glade was a bit surprised at their reaction. Sure, both Riya and Bragden had explained how significant the number of brands were, but it really hadn’t hammered home for him until now. Of the two who had just learned that he was a fully-fledged Branded, Crixus had taken the news the best.

Of course, trying to leap off the balcony while screaming a prayer to the Overseer wasn’t Glade’s idea of taking the news well.

Good thing Bragden was there to stop him. Fortunately, Crixus had calmed down considerably shortly after.

While Holo’s response had been a bit more subdued, it was even more concerning in Glade’s opinion. The man had gone as white as a ghost and started babbling nonsense. That was his initial reaction. After that, he quietly stood, walked over to the railing, and tossed his cookies onto the cobblestones below.

That had been an hour ago. Cirea had come in at one point, only to draw her great sword when she saw her patriarch doubled over in the corner clutching his stomach. That had been a fiasco to explain. She had yelled something about poison and treachery, which, in hindsight, he could understand.

Of course, it had necessitated that he share with her his status as a Branded. She had already known that Kedryn was a royal and Riya a banished elf, so he figured one more secret couldn’t hurt.

A knock came at the door, interrupting Glade’s thoughts.

“Come,” Cirea yelled.

“Ma’am,” a guard said, snapping a salute to the Bailiff once he entered the room. “All guards are on high alert with pairs stationed at entry and exit points throughout the manor. We’ve enlisted the town militia to keep watch within Aldorna itself, seeing as all guards are on duty here. We’ve spread the word to be wary of another bandit attack at the manor and that all townsmen should stay away for now. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, thank you,” Cirea said in a perfectly calm voice, her gaze locked onto Glade as she gripped the handle of her sword so tightly he could hear it. “You can go. Make sure a guard rotation is set so the men can at least get some shut eye. We don’t want any surprises tonight.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the guard said with obvious concern. He then turned and closed the door behind him.

“You’re scaring them,” Glade sighed, heading back to his seat. “Do they even know why they’re on high alert?”

“No,” Cirea sighed, running her hand through her hair in exasperation. “If they knew about you there would be a bloody riot. Half of the idiots in the guard would flock to you begging to be your squire with delusions of fame and glory. The more sensible half would be gathering their families and setting off to Asylum tonight.”

“Well, we won’t darken your doorstep any further,” he sighed, moving to stand up.

“No,” Holo said in hoarse voice. “While the fact that you are a Branded, is a bit… daunting, you likely are my greatest chance to actually achieve my long term goals.”

With every word, Holo’s voice got stronger, until by the end, he was speaking normally.

“And what might those be?” Bragden growled.

“Like I said before, to see all of the Free Cities’ existing power structures burn,” Holo replied.

“Ye can blame the elves for that,” Bragden retorted. “They keep the entire human lands playing off one another like a bunch of hopped up gnomes.”

“I disagree,” Holo said, more of his color returning. “The elves simply take advantage of our inherent weakness.”

“Which is?” Kedryn piped up with a genuine look of curiosity.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“To put it simply, greed,” Holo replied with a shrug. “When we are divided, humankind typically looks at the world through the lens of what’s in it for them? Our entire culture revolves around this basic human flaw. Money, education, the drive for material goods… everything is hoarded or traded so that an individual or solitary group can maintain power over others.”

“That’s not always the case,” Kedryn interrupted. “I’ve seen humans show great compassion for one another.”

“Exactly!” Holo cried, his energy returning in full force as he paced back and forth in front of them. “But the question is why don’t we do it all the time? I’ll tell you why,” he said without waiting for an answer. “Because, only when humans are united under one purpose, will they work together. And when they do, they will move through heaven or hell to achieve it!”

“And you want to be the one to provide the people with that ideal?” Glade asked.

“Truthfully?” Holo laughed, throwing up his arms. “I’ve never gotten that far in my plans! I’ve been stuck on how to pull my house and town out of the jaws of bankruptcy. But, now that you’re here, I believe we can take advantage of a few possibilities.”

“I’m not going to take any part of starting a revolution for you,” Glade growled. He could plainly see where Holo was going with this. The man was looking for ways to exploit him being branded to further his own personal ambition. Brands or nor brands, he refused to be part of it.

“Of course, of course,” Holo replied a little too quickly, his eyes darting between those gathered around the room. Glade could practically see the gears in the man’s mind churning. “We have already agreed to a long standing business partnership and I wouldn’t want to jeopardize that in the least. No, what I was wondering about is what, exactly, is your relationship with our good captain Crixus? I’m assuming he will remain the captain of the Dragonling?”

Crixus shot up straight in his chair, adopting a look of surprise at being brought up as a topic of conversation. From Glade’s perspective, he bet the former slave had been hoping to have gone unnoticed the rest of the evening.

“Per our original agreement, he keeps the Dragonling and will provide us priority transport when asked,” Glade said, giving Crixus a gentle smile. “Unless, of course, he wants to renegotiate terms?”

All eyes turned to the bald sailor, who swallowed.

“I’m a man of my word,” he said, making an effort to look Glade in the eye. “We’ll honor our agreement.”

“As if there was any doubt,” Holo said, rubbing his hands together. “But I can’t imagine our good friend here will have need of you all the time, true?”

Crixus shook his head, refusing to answer. He and Glade had previously discussed that very topic but hadn’t come up with a real answer. Their primary goal was to keep every one of their crew out of the slave collar. Beyond that, Crixus had confided in him the desire to free other slaves that had been caught in the never ending cycle of increased debt to the slaver’s guild. But there wasn’t a clear way to do so safely. They were already going to be a target once the Fellu’s knew their ship had been stolen right out from under their noses.

“What if I were to offer you a house commission to protect our waters from pirates?” Holo said, leaning forward with an intensity Glade hadn’t seen before now.

“A house commission?” Crixus asked, obviously surprised at the proposal. But as seconds passed, a wicked smile began to grow. “Oh, that’s bloody brilliant! We’d need a full crew, along with a handful of mercenaries to make it work.”

“We’ll train a few of our guards to handle maritime raids,” Holo said with a wave of the hand. “I’m a little light on funds for proper mercenaries.”

“But wouldn’t that pin Crixus in one place for the Fellu’s to find?” Kedryn asked.

“Not if we play it right,” Crixus replied with a smug grin. “We’ll refit here as planned, then sail out under Fellu colors. Before we leave, we’ll lodge a complaint through house Aldorn that we don’t have enough crew to man the Dragonling. It won’t be out of character since we’ve done it every time we’ve docked here. We’ve been denied every time. Then we’ll take the Dragonling out and have a tragic accident at sea…” he trailed off leadingly.

“And my ship that was commissioned years ago from the northern reaches, an order that was made before my pending bankruptcy, naturally, happens to arrive a few days later,” Holo said with a grin. “That it resembles the Dragonling is just a mere coincidence.”

“We’ll need to make some cosmetic changes, which means we’ll need to borrow some of your more trustworthy carpenters…” Crixus began but was interrupted by Glade.

“Wait just a moment,” he said in disbelief. The conversation was getting way out of control. “The Dragonling isn’t prepared to fight off pirates, let alone hunt them. It doesn’t even have any weapons and was used to transport slaves! Is it even good for sea battles?”

“The Dragonling is the fastest warship ever made,” Crixus said with a grin. “And the Fellu’s turned it into a glorified merchant class. It can sail circles around any ship out there, be they pirate or free city owned. Once I get a full crew on board, and some decent weapons, we’ll be a right terror, I can tell you that.”

“Those are a lot of ifs,” Glade said, folding his arms. “That still doesn’t explain half the issues. Where are you going to get the men or weapons? What about training?”

“Good thing I’m about to come into some money then,” Holo laughed. “We’ll stretch what we can to make the Fellu’s pay for most of the mundane items like you had originally planned, but I’ll kick in the rest. We’ll still need to negotiate terms on salvage rights, but I’m sure we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement.”

“Naturally,” Crixus agreed, looking for all the world like he had just won the lottery.

“I’m not sure I want any part of this,” Glade groaned.

“Why not? Crixus is his own man and can make decisions for what happens to his ship, can he not? Besides, he will be solely responsible for defending the local waters against pirate activity. He will be a great support in stabilizing the region.” Holo said with his all to knowing smile. “It’s not like he will be attacking any Free City or house owned ship.”

“Not directly anyway,” Crixus laughed.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Bragden grumbled, looking even more sour than usual.

“With that settled, I suggest we adjorn for the evening! I’ve been expecting a Helmund representative any day now. With any luck, they’ll be here tomorrow,” Holo said happily.

Glade sighed as he stood to leave. For once, he agreed with Bragden. This was trouble. He would try to talk Crixus out of it tomorrow, after they both had time to sleep on it. He was tired and needed rest, though he was going to need to check on Riya before he returned to his room.

“Any reason why the Helmund auction house is sending a representative here?’ Kedryn asked as he too stood to leave.

“Ah, funny you should ask,” Holo replied with slightly less enthusiasm. “You see, I sold them the Gen’Sheld. They’re coming to pick it up and transport it back to Asylum to auction it off.”