Part 1.
By the time we had finished everything in the guild, the sun was at its zenith. Stepping out in the light Giazel said, “We sure made great time today. Sightseeing, excursion into a mysterious curio store, even witnessing Alex tear up the guilds entrance exam.” She was positively glowing in the sunlight.
“Less of a curious store, more of a thrift shop honestly. Also, that exam was rather simplistic, the worst part was the paper work in the beginning, even that though was simplistic.” I retorted.
“Adventurers value privacy, so asking things beyond name, age and birthplace turns off most people.” She replied. “Also, putting down, Flo-ri-da, caused a lot of confusion.” she added, trying her best to not mess up the name.
“It is my home province. Should I have put down the United States of America?” I asked rhetorically.
“Now, I think that would have been even weird.” she admitted.
“Considering that I am not from Faustus, so the locals would have known right away I was lying, and I don’t know the names of any villages around here. If I put down that I was from anywhere in the Empire, I would have likely had a fight on my hands. Just being honest seemed to be the best plan. It all worked out, didn’t it?”
“I guess… Well anyway, we should go get something to eat, it is after midday, and I know Lili is hungry.” As she was finishing, her stomach let out a growl of its own.
“Yeah… Lili is hungry.” I replied, then looking down at Lili for confirmation that food was a good idea. Her response was to nod her head, then give a big toothy smile. “Food it is. Any recommendations from the local?” I asked, looking back at Giazel, who was red faced and holding her stomach.
“There is a nice café off of Central. They sell light meals and sweets.” She answered with a pouting face.
“Sounds good, let’s go.” As I said this, I put my hand on her head and gave her a gentle pat. It seemed to relax her. She turned and led the way down the road.
“Oh. Why did you send that shard flying into the guy earlier?” Giazel asked while walking.
“He was working for Platz. I noticed him when we first entered the arena, and when we were going into the store, and when we were window shopping, and when we left…”
“I get it. You knew he was following us for a while. Why didn’t you do anything before hand?”
“He hadn’t done anything worth worrying about. If he wanted to just watch, I was more than willing to let him watch me take two pretty girls out for a good time.” I paused and looked down, noticing Giazel’s blushing face. “Except that time, he wanted to do more than just watch. Hordin’s rule was that we could not fight in his territory, so if he managed to kidnap her and get back to Platz, I would have no way to get her back, lest I want to fight against Hordin too. So, I stopped him from doing so, in the guise that a shard went flying accidentally hitting an innocent bystander. Truly a shame.” It was particularly difficult to keep from laughing at the end.
We eventually came to a small quaint café, not too far off the main road. Opting to take out seats outside under the parasol. The menu consisted of different kinds of drinks that reminded me of tea or coffee, there were some light sandwiches, cakes and other small snacks. After ordering a mixture of things from the menu, we returned to discussing things regarding the city and the surrounding area. That is until we were interrupted by an unlikely guest.
“My…My... It looks like you all are enjoying your time.” Said a haughty voice behind me.
“The stuck-up attitude doesn’t really suit you, princess.” I said not bothering to look behind me, but pushing out a chair with my left foot, in an act of offering her a seat.
“You know a real gentleman would rise and…”
“Are you going to take the seat or not?” I cut her off. Taking the hint, she stomped over to the seat and sat down. “What are you doing out here?” I quickly questioned her.
“Is a princess not allowed to go out among her people?” she shot back.
“Tensions are high with a superior foreign country. You don’t think they would have spies out and about. You, going out and about, are a perfect target for anyone wanting a political tool.” I retorted aggressively.
“Even I know that!” she pouted. “I was jus…”
“Ha!? I can’t hear you.” I yelled at her.
“I was just jealous! Okay. After what you said… you are going out on a date with another woman. The three of you look like some kind of young family.” She shot back, crossing her arms and scowling.
“Ayyayai. Kids…” I thought.
“The date-thing was just a joke. Look… I am sorry about yelling at you. It is just dangerous for you to be out and about like this.” I said in a calm voice. “How did you even sneak out!?” I thought aloud.
“I just walked out the front door. It is not like anyone would be willing to get in my way.” she said proudly. Scanning the area around, a particular name showed up when using my skill, which made me relax. “I concluded that you would probably be here at this café. It is Giazel’s favorite shoppe, and this should be a good time to sit and have a snack.” She was still gloating about her perceived successes.
“Well, since you showed up, I guess this is as good a time as any.” I interrupted while reaching into a pouch I had on my waist. I laid on the table four pieces of jewelry, two rings, a necklace and comb. “These were the items I found in the shop we stopped by earlier.” I said looking up at Giazel. “I also thought about the old man’s warning and came to the conclusion on what I would do with them.” I lifted the comb and handed it towards Giazel. “This is for you. It has some slight enchantments and could make your job slightly easier.”
“Thank you, I shall treasure it.” she said, grasping it with both hands and bringing it close to her heart.
“…And this is for you.” I turned toward Lili, putting a necklace over her head and letting it drop. She took the pendant in the middle, a small silver oval with floral designs. She took the pendant in both hands, and looked up to me with sweet surprise.
“Last, but not least.” I looked over to the princess. “This should protect you from being poisoned, something that seems useful, given the times.” I said, handing her a ring in my open palm. She looked first at the ring, wide-eyed, then up at me, and gave a silly smile. “No, this isn’t some sort of proposal. I just found some things and I thought that they would be useful to you.” She took it, still smiling, and placed it on the ring finger of her left hand, and it magically adjusted to fit it perfectly.
“Well, so even in this world, they had the same ideas regarding proposals.” I groaned internally.
“One other thing about the items,” I added while putting on a ring on my right index finger, “All of these items have a location spell attached to it. So as long as you are wearing it, we will always be able to know where each other are.” I looked over at Giazel and said, “Considering that you are your ladies personal attendant, I figured it would be useful to always know where she is in case of emergency. Plus, you both will always know where we are when we leave on our journey. And you…” I said looking at Lili, taking a bite of a strawberry flavored cake, “While I doubt, I’ll ever let you out of my sight, and my out of yours, I will always know where you are, so no matter what, I will always come for you.” She returned the statement with a icing covered smile.
Afterwards we finished eating while the girls discussed amongst themselves, doing their best to include a very standoffish Lili into their conversation, and while I wasn’t entirely focused on what they were discussing, I could have sworn I heard something about a first and second…
We then headed back towards the palace. After passing the gate, I sent the girls on ahead.
“I should have known that Hordin wouldn’t let his daughter go out alone.” I said just loud enough to not be heard by anyone but the intended target.
“Most observant, sir.” Said a polite elderly voice. Out of the shadows came a thin gentleman in a butler’s attire.
“Made for an easy day, being able to watch two targets at once.”
“I assure you. I was only watching over the lady.”
“You can tell your agents that they can watch all they want. Just don’t get in my way.” I warned as I walked away. He dropped into a 90-degree bow and held it till I was a good distance away.
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Part 2.
The rest of that day was mostly spent in the room. Lili reading new books, Giazel watching over us, while I began thinking about what the next days were possibly going to be like. So far life has been fairly comfortable. I was living in a palace, being waited on hand and foot; However, that was about to change tomorrow. Lili and I would be heading out into the wild, where the elements, possible bandits, monsters, and a very angry balloon-shaped-noble were waiting for any possible slip to pounce. On the other hand, gauging myself against the people of this world who were deemed to be strong, I was leagues ahead of any competition, physically. If it came to a fight involving magic though, I could probably weather it, maybe, but Lili would be the weak point. If we got into a fight, and she was targeted with magic, or one of us was hit with some kind of affliction, we would be in a bad situation.
As I was fumbling with these thoughts in my head, I remembered a book I had received earlier. ‘Beginner’s Magic: A guide for young potential mages’ read the title. “Maybe with this…” I whispered to myself. I looked around at the other two, Giazel was now sitting at the table and reading along with Lili. “The maid is taking it easy eh…” I breathed.
“Hey, Giazel. Does this place have a bath?” I asked her.
She perked up from behind the book, “Ah… yes. There is one on the first floor. Would you like to take a bath?” It would have been an innocent question, except she gave an alluring look and put a hand over her mouth.
“Nope.” I quickly rebutted with a tired look. “Could you take Lili down there, this may be the last time for a while we can get a decent bath.” I looked over at Lili, who had also joined in at the sound of her name, and gave her a wink. “Go with Giazel, enjoy a good bath.”
She gave a strong nod and the two of them went, though I could have sworn that Giazel shot me a sad look as she left. “Look… I just can’t… if the princess found out… I don’t want to think about it.” I groaned.
I then took out the book, which was stored inside a pouch, which had probably been the best present I had ever received, in this world or the last. It was a sack that could carry what seemed to be anything, I had already put all of the supplies we purchased today inside of it, and since the spatial magic that was used on it wasn’t affected by time, anything put inside was in a state of suspended animation. Things that were hot, stayed hot, things that were cold, stayed cold, and while the idea of trying to put something living inside, I had yet to attempt it, being that any accident that may occur from such an act would be entirely my fault, and I didn’t want to any more stress put on Hordin.
Diving into the book, It was separated into sections of basic magic spells. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth and Light. “Pretty basic.” I said to myself. “Fire being first though is overdone, let’s do some water magic instead.” Reading through it, it described water magic as supportive and slightly defensive, consisting of a beginner healing spell and a water shield spell. The idea was to visualize and collect mana, which again seemed simple enough. In my head I visualized a dome of water around me and then began to focus attempting to collect mana in my hand and then… nothing.
“Okay… how do you collect mana?” I asked myself. I went back to the book, skimming through the early pages, looking for some kind of indication of how to collect mana, or a description of what it was like to do so… nothing. I let out a long painful sigh, “Much good this does me if I can’t even collect mana.”
I flopped down on the couch, annoyed at how anti-climactic my first attempt at magic was. “It isn’t like with my other abilities. Even my Mana Manipulation abilities, with those I only have to think about it what I want to happen, and it just does.” I was annoyed… really annoyed.
“Look, if you are going to be in here, be useful. It is why I sent the other two out.” I said aloud, seemingly to myself. Shortly after, though, a man stepped out of what seemed to be dark portal on the far wall. He was very tall and lean; he wore dark clothes that covered any other sort of distinct features that he may possess.
“Forgive me, I was simply following the request of not getting in the way.” He had a cool collected voice, and the words flowed smoothly when he spoke.
“Providing assistance isn’t really getting in the way, is it?” I shot back at him. While I wasn’t necessarily worried about the whole being watched thing, it was frustrating to be seen utter failing at something I thought should be a simple task, it was beginner level magic after all. “Any insight on why I am struggling?” I asked him.
“Sir, may I ask? Do you possess the ability of Mana Manipulation?” he responded, not of hint of acknowledgement of my aggressive tone.
“I don’t.” I answered.
“Then I apologize. You will not be able to use magic.” He lowered his head a bit lower at this response. “While non-Humes, such as Elves and Beastmen, can use magic without. Humes who were originally born without the ability to use magic, need the ability of Mana Manipulation, to be able to channel mana, in their bodies or the world around them, to be able to cast magic.” He had lowered himself even further with the explanation.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“How does someone acquire Mana Manipulation?” I asked him, grabbing my nasal bone and rubbing it.
“You must be born with it.” He quickly answered, still in a dogeza on the floor. “According to myth, a Hume, once jealous of the non-Humes that could use magic, stole into the Elven Kingdom and took a magic tome. He escaped with it and hid himself deep in the mountains, there he delved into the tome and learned how to manipulate mana, and eventually to cast magic. He then went about helping people and gaining a name for himself as a powerful, yet kind magic caster. He was then invited to the Imperial Place, was given a high position and allowed to marry into the Imperial family. This became a trait that was inherited by his descendants. Anyone who is able to manipulate mana, can trace themselves back to him.” He recanted the entire thing while still kneeling on the floor.
“A Zhang Jue success story?” I thought to myself. This also explained why, even though I had inspected nearly everyone in the palace who seemed to matter, only four people seemed to have the ability of Mana Manipulation. Two of them were Hordin and Eline, which figured that this royalty would somehow be a branch from Imperial Royalty, the other was the Priest Vardi, and surprisingly there was Giazel, though I wondered if she even knew about it.
“So, there would be no way for me to acquire it then.” I said, which in my case was only partly true. Since I had the ability to take usable abilities from anyone or anything I killed, I could potentially steal it from someone, though my current list of victims was a no-go. While Vardi didn’t matter much to me, Hordin was my benefactor, as far as the girl go, I had grown rather found, even if their behavior sometimes irked me, plus the feeling of betrayal that they would feel from me killing them just for an ability, hurt my heart. Back to Vardi, he was important to the church here, and supported Hordin, so as far as I was concerned, he was also untouchable.
“Patience, I am sure that the opportunity will eventually present itself.”
“Thank you for the lesson, Maxim. You can return to your duty.” I said, rising up from the couch.
“Yes sir, I shall return to my duty then.” He vanished in an instant, back into the shadows. Leaving my scratching my non-existent beard.
“This is upsetting.” I said, feeling the skin on my chin.
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Part 3.
Then next morning we rose, and gave ourselves a good wipe down with a warm rag, then added some perfume, in an attempt to smell as fresh as possible. I changed into some inconspicuous traveling attire, a light shirt, brown pants and some simple shoes. I packed Lili’s clothes inside the hand pouch and had new travel clothes also prepared for her. She was wearing a brown and white short dress, leather boots that climb to just below her knee caps, and a dark cloak. “Look at the cute little adventurer!” Giazel exclaimed. In response, Lili puffed out her chest, proud of her new get up.
“At least she likes it.” I thought to myself. I had struggled last night to come up with something that was functional yet still reasonably fashionable for the current era. While doing so, the idea of creating a new line of modern-Earth attire and starting a fashion empire did come up, but I quickly set that idea to the side for now.
We ate a quick breakfast in our room, before taking out. As we came to the front door, we were greeted by a small number of people there to see us off.
“We were trying to remain inconspicuous.”
“Then this is a good time to do so, most of the town is still asleep, light is just on the horizon.” Came a sarcastic response from a gentleman who seemed to still look regal, even in a night robe.
“It would be improper to not see my future husband off.” Snapped a younger voice. The princess was in a more relaxed outfit than usual, but it was obvious that she had put in some effort into her appearance.
“I don’t remember ever proposing to you.” I shot back at her, only to be shown a ring sitting on her left ring finger.
“I already received a ring from you. Isn’t that proof enough.” She smiled coyly. “Regardless of the intent, it will do well to drive off any other suitors. Who could compare to a hero.” She smirked.
“…I don’t have time for this. Take it how you want… and I am not a Hero.” Everyone around laughed at our back and forth. “Eline, be sure to listen to Giazel.” I said seriously.
“What do you mean?” asked Hordin.
“You ever get a really bad feeling about something? It is one of those. Eline is a smart girl, but she is a girl from the palace, Giazel seems to have more practical sense.” I said unsurely. “It could be… I hope, it is nothing, but just to be safe.” I looked at Hordin squarely. I wasn’t going to doubt the man’s ability to keep his own daughter safe, but the truth is something felt really wrong inside. Even with Willian and his subordinates constant gaze, Holdebark’s ridiculous strength and Hordin’s leadership; I felt that there was something coming they weren’t prepared for. “I don’t mean to bring any bad luck on anyone, but just be weary. If you really want my answer Princess, you will have to be here to hear it.”
She acknowledged with a strong nod, and then crashed into me, wrapping her arms around me and squeezing tightly. “You have to come back and give me your answer too.” She said, her voice was low, obviously upset at my leaving.
“Is this what it is like to see of your loved ones before going to war? It is a bit depressing.” I thought.
“Yes, you have to come back, otherwise we will all be upset.“ said Giazel. I gave a look around the room, and gave a solid nod to them, then took Lili’s hand and we walked out the door towards the city.
The city at this time was still very quiet, not even the smell of fresh break filled the air. The only people still about were a few guards, walking their patrols, and a few merchants toiling away in their shops, attempting to prepare for the first customers of the day.
As we walked through central gates, into the New Town, the sound of a fast carriage was coming from behind us. I grabbed Lili and quickly moved out of the way, as it appeared to have no intention of slowing down. The carriage was pristine white, with golden molding, diamonds, rubies, and sapphires were encrusted all throughout. It had no horses pulling it, in the driver seat sat a man with a black suit, top hat and monocle grasping onto a steering wheel. It was instead pushed along by a mana engine. Simply by supplying a bit of mana, one could cause pistons in the engine to then turn, thus providing sufficient force to move an object; However, the engine was far from truly functional, and required significant amounts of mana to make any object large enough to transport someone move. Thus, the fact that a single person was doing so was rather amazing.
Getting a quick look inside the cabin proved futile, as the windows were blocked with heavy drapes, though I had certain suspicions, given the fact that it was a truly gaudy piece of machinery. “What a baroque reject.” Slipped out of my mouth.
“What is a baroque reject?” asked Lili.
My eyes grew wide, and I blushed at the realization that I had not only said that out loud, but also that someone had heard that. “Never mind that. That is what we call a dad joke.” I said with an embarrassed laugh.
“What is a dad joke?” she continued.
“A dad joke is… umm… it is like a bad joke, that only dad really ever find funny.” I continued, feeling the hole building up around me.
“Oh… it is okay.” Was all she said, leaving me to wallow in my own shame.
We continued through the town, a far dingier version of the Middle City, with most structures made of wood instead of stone and plaster of the wealthier districts. There were also far fewer decorations, and the lamp posts were far more spread out. “They push people who can’t afford to live in the richer zones into a place like this, but don’t bother making as livable as the nice districts, then wonder why the crime collects in the area like it does. Different world, same thought process.”
We continued towards the Northern Gate and showed my ID to the guard. Since Lili looked and frankly behaved like a small child, she didn’t need to show one as long as she was with someone that did. With that, we took our first steps into the world outside the city.
As we walked on, it took a look to the east. There they were the sky scrapping mountains, the Aderost, the tallest mountains in the world. Down below them was the Anderian Forest. Memories of Royden came back. It hasn’t even been a week since what happened in the forest, and the reality of what this world was like. A week since I had been the most powerless I had been, since the incident when I was a child. Though what may have caused some to be full of regret and pain invigorated me, it renewed my resolve to never be in that position again. Especially since… I looked down at Lili, “You ready for this? It is going to be a long walk.” I asked her.
“READY!” she shouted. More energetic than I had ever seen her.
“What has you all chipper?” I questioned.
“It is just us now. I don’t have to share you anymore.” She replied.
“Kids and their possessive faze.” I thought.
We then walked off down the road, on a path towards adventure and hopefully ended with saving the world from some really big bad guy.
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Part 4.
The carriage shook, even with the improved magical suspension system installed. Every time it rattled, he grew more and more aggravated. “Can’t you drive more smoothly.” Came a nasty angry voice.
“Apologies sir, the road isn’t made for this speed.” Came a fearful reply. Angering his master came with severe consequences, not limited to dismemberment of the victim, but extending to the person’s family. His master truly was a horrid man, a rotten spoiled prick, would be a fitting description. How exactly he came to be so is a question that is asked only in quiet gossip among the household, because if it was spoken aloud, surely that person would be summoned to the room.
His master had grown up the youngest son of a prominent household within the Principality, his father held a Baron in the northern reaches, but thanks to great service rendered in consecutive battles against a incursion of bandits and mercenaries, who were bankrolled by the Empire. His father rose to the status of Margrave, effectively the second most powerful person in the Principality, but at a great cost. His oldest, and heir to his domain was killed in the third battle, and it took two more to finally see the enemy off. He moved his family into his new home at his new seat of power, Dortmin.
Left with two other sons and a daughter, he ruled wisely. He was known as a good ruler, just and progressive. He listened to his council and acted with all the information available. In this way, he turned Dortmin into a small frontier town, and into a rather bustling city, regardless of the fact that is was positioned away from any sort of trade routes, and its only true export being grain from its massive fields spread all across the countryside. For a good while, things were peaceful and prosperous.
One day that all changed though. One day there was an accident and the eldest of the two sons fell from the top of the stairs and died on impact, snapping his neck. No one could explain what exactly had happened, and chalked it up to an accident. The following year, the man’s only daughter was married off to her betrothed, a young prince down south who seemed to show great promise. This left the man with a single child in the house, but he had an odd earie feeling about him.
Sometime later, during a dinner party, while the man was giving a toast, he felt an uneasy queasy feeling in his gut. He gave a great heave and out of his mouth came a pool of blood. Fear and panic spread through the room, aids rushing to assist their master, carrying his great body to his chambers, and calling for medical professionals. All the while, his son watched from the back of the room, a sinister sick smile across his face.
The doctor who came to aid the Margrave was a new recruit, who had apparently shown incredible ability, outshining many of the veterans, so no one questioned him being the one assigned to the task. For hours they toiled, using magic and known medical practices, cleaning his blood, emptying his stomach, everything that they could think to work the obvious poison out of his system. When all was said and done, it appeared that he would pull through. The doctor then pulled out a syringe and gave him a shot, explaining it was to keep the lord in a relaxed state, as he had expended much of his energies during the treatment. Again no one questioned.
The next few days the Margrave stayed bedridden, the doctor making a daily visit, giving him medicine to help increase the speed of his recovery. All appeared to be going well. Four days after the treatment though, the doctor didn’t show. A man was sent to fetch him, only for him to return from the medical office having been told that a doctor of the name mentioned never existed in their records, and that there had not been any word of the Margrave being poisoned.
The staff were shocked, quickly rushing up the stairs to their lord’s chamber, only to find him deceased, his body already rotting from the inside.
With his father’s body still warm, he immediately called for a funeral for the once hero of the people and claimed the title of Margrave for himself. He began enacting new policies in his domain that benefited him, without any care for the people. The changes included enacting policies that allowed him to choose any woman he wanted from the town, married or otherwise to be sent to his chambers at any moment he desired, some of them where never seen again. Doing expensive redecorating of his property to suit his peculiar tastes all on tax money, having large statues embellished certain aspects of his appearance commissioned and placed throughout the city. Throwing lavish parties for all local lords and ladies, who were forced to attend, lest they find themselves reduced to a commoner status, or made to disappear completely, as one lord found out. The old staff was also completely replaced, as many of them seemed to have gone missing over the years.
Once his son, born from one of his more favorite ‘concubines’, was born, he spoiled the boy rotten, even calling on the aid of certain friends, to make him grow healthy and strong. Healthy, strong, and twisted, he grew. The boy, by the age of eight, had grown past the size of his father, and was the height of most men, and even wider than his warrior of a grandfather. One day, on a whim, he introduced the boy’s mother to him, he had always kept her separate, a manipulative tactic he found worked well. They boy, far larger than her and stronger picked her up by the waist, excited to finally meet the woman who had given birth. There were smiles all around, that is until the boy squeezed too hard, shattering the thing woman, malnourished, and tormented by her ‘lover’. The boy, shocked by the fact that he had broken the woman, screamed, but it wasn’t fear, it was in excitement. Amazed at what could happen with a tight squeeze. There standing in the door way was a short, fat, ugly, disgusting, old-dressed man by the name of Platz, and on his horridly grotesque face was a sickeningly wicked smile.
There, in the carriage, rattling just a bit too much for his liking, was Margrave Platz. He was annoyed, frustrated, angry and over all simply put out by the fact that his one-of-a-kind carriage proved to be incredibly uncomfortable on the road leading to Dortmin, to his city. How could they not maintain the road to ‘his’ city better than this. Moreso than the cart though, he was angry about a particular person who dared to stand up to him, to talk back to him, to injure him. He was so angry, he already had some wickedly disgusting ideas on how exactly he would vent his anger, first on his list was a particular driver who failed to provide him with a comfortably fast ride back to ‘his’ city.
Setting that aside though, the Margrave had a more important matter to handle. If what Hordin had said was true, a Hero Summoning had taken place, and succeeded in producing a Hero. The other question being, how did Hordin know to summon a Hero, word had yet to get out about a new Demon Lord, at least to the Margraves knowledge. His thought now was that he had to inform his real master, letting him know that the counter to his master’s rise had come shown up in the Principality.
With a quick and quiet chant, a mirror appeared from an unknown space. The mirror was cloudy and ugly, the opposite of everything the Margrave loved, but it was a gift from his master, and the only connection he had to him, a connection that as established many years ago, before his brothers apparent trip from atop the stairs.
A voice came from the murky mirror, “Platz, why are you contacting me.” The voice was sharp and impatient.
“Forgive me lord.” He said, dropping to one knee, even in the wobbly state of the carriage. “There is new that I felt was important enough to break etiquette for.” He continued. “A hero has been summoned in the court of Prince Hordin.”
“Are you sure.” The voice was calmer this time, it was cold, and sounded as if he had hissed at the beginning of the word ‘sure’.
“I could not completely verify his status sir. The tome was locked up within the church, but according to Hordin, he was summoned to save the world.” Platz was speaking in a low and humble tone.
“Interesting.” Said the voice. “You did well, I forgive you for breaking proper decorum and sharing this information. It changes certain plans, but not much. As far as the tome, I’ll have Lust look into it. I will also inform Pride and Greed. Do nothing for now, I will get back to you with a new plan. Patience is key Gluttony, avoid the unnecessary, remember how you outlasted your family, don’t rush it now.” Warned the voice.
“Yes, my lord.” Said Platz, still kneeling, with his face to the floor.
The mirror then vanished into nothingness, leaving Platz alone in the carriage, rocking back and forth, his temper seething. He was Platz, he was ‘The Margrave’, he had been insulted and attacked. Vengeance was his and his alone. How dare some lowlife touch him. The first thing he would do was to hire a band of particular mercenaries to hunt him down, and bring him the man’s head, and the prize that was rightfully his. He has sick twisted fantasies building in his head. With a shake of the carriage he realized that that would now be the second thing he would do. He gave a great stomp of his foot on the carriage floor, which made a thudding sound, and a low whimper that accompanied it. “It told you to drive more carefully you idiot!” He screamed at the driver. “Be more careful, or I’ll take you to see Peter!” he threatened. Truth being, the driver was already going to be Peter’s new toy, until Peter broke him too.
The thought made the Margrave happy. Twistedly, sickeningly, disgustingly happy.
So north the carriage drove one, a two day, nonstop drive on the main road to ‘his’ city.