Ok, let’s pause the story there for a moment. Firstly, that the king of the kingdom, the uno man, heard something about someone as lowly as me was concerning to say the least. Secondly, in only two situations was I referred to by my full name, during school roll call and when my parents were punishing me and none of those situations benefitted me, especially the latter. How does a person address a king, as Your Honour? But that sounded like I was addressing a judge, so I decided to call him Your Majesty which turned out to be a good choice. Suddenly an image of Harry’s Bards came to mind and how they promised to proclaim my name through the world. Sheesh, I didn’t think it would get all the way to the king though.
“Your Majesty? I really hope it wasn’t those bloody bards.”
I just said it before I could stop myself and realised it too late.
“Bwahahaha.”
The king cracked up in laughter until tears streamed down his face.
“I apologise. I apologise. It’s been a long time since I had such a good laugh. I can see now why Karato is so interested in you though.”
Ah, Commander Karato, why did I suddenly feel the chills of forced obligation down my spine, as if whatever was about to transpire wasn’t going to be in my favour. He must have seen my strained smile because he clarified a few things as he dried the tears from his face.
“Ah, don’t worry. It is nothing bad.”
Just at that moment as the king was wiping the tears from his face, head attendant Graham walked in with the tea, glimpsed the king’s teary face, and immediately gave me a stern look. I think my kudos points with the attendant submarined at that point. Luckily for me the king continued speaking.
“Oh goodness that was funny. What bards are you referring to by the way?”
“Ah, Harry’s Bards. They’re actually a good group of bards starting a new shadow puppet theatre style here in the city. They helped us lift the moral of the people when we retrea…returned from the forest dungeon battle. I would recommend them.”
I almost put my foot into it when I nearly said, retreat. I hoped he didn’t hear that. Well Harry, I didn’t think there was any better advertising than being recommended to the king. I might as well put in a good word for them.
“Harry’s Bards. I have never heard of them or of shadow puppet theatres, but they seemed interesting. On another issue, I believe you were able to fix the problem with the portico gate the other day?”
“Er, yes. It was an old fixture that progressively became worse over time. With all the recent portico gate activity the gate release mechanism finally failed. I managed to get it working so as not to become a hinderance for the guards.”
“I am glad you did. You were right by the way; it was a retreat and nothing less. Our city planning seems to be lacking lately, something I’m going to correct. Since you are new to the city you might not have heard that Shimmerstal has three other gates like that one. I am concerned that those gates probably have the same inherent weakness as the gate you repaired. You can appreciate that gate operations pose a significant risk to Shimmerstal’s fortification. Since you are going to be in the city for a while, would you accept a royal commission to inspect and repair them if needed?”
I hated it when I was right. There was no way to say no to his request, especially not while Grenfell nodded his head at the king’s request like a wizened zen master. Did they have any idea what it was like working in the gatehouse, and wasn’t there already someone who did that job? I gave up, there was no point in resisting anyway.
“No problem. How do I accept the commission, I’m not exactly sure since I’ve never accepted one before?”
“Oh, that’s a good question. Normally I just say it, and it happens.”
“Perhaps I can advise the gentleman?”
That’s when Duke Waldheim, who had quietly been standing to the side of the room suddenly interjected.
“The palace can issue the request through the adventurer guild.”
“Ah, thanks Graham. Well, there you go. I am assuming you are registered with the guild?”
I shook my head, but the idea excited me.
“Well register with them, then accept the commission. If you have any problems, let Graham know and we’ll sort it out.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Then the king suddenly became serious.
“I would like to be honest with you Mr. Karosaki. I believe that truth is key to good kingship and that I am initiating that truth indicates my good intent.”
My spider senses started tingling and I felt a trickle of cold sweat running down my back when I realised whatever he was about to say, would be vitally important to me.
“Every person living in the kingdom of Aryonne is registered from birth or registered when entering its borders for the first time. We are concerned because when we checked we could not find your name in any of our registers. That could either mean you are avoiding registration because you are looking to stay in Aryonne for nefarious reasons, or somehow you slipped through our registration system. I am wise enough to know that neither of those possibilities seem to fit you because firstly, you do not behave like someone who is trying to hide from authorities, nor do you come across as ignorant. In short, if neither of those possibilities are valid, what are we missing?”
I eyed Grenfell nervously. We discussed the possibility of me being asked a question like that. I decided not to tell the king exactly where I came from, but on the other hand, I didn’t want to lie to him either seeing he wanted truthfulness and all.
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“Your majesty, I can tell you I was not born in Aryonne and I’m not sure how I arrived in Aryonne only a few moon cycles ago. I never considered any ill will to anyone in this kingdom, well except for Obon’s mayor because he’s a pompous, deceptive ass and he is stealing from the townsfolk.”
I mentally kicked myself for saying that about the mayor, but I couldn’t help it. King Leopold sat for a while looking at me for half a minute until I started becoming a bit nervous.
“You need not worry Mr. Karosaki, if Grenfell endorsed you as an apprentice then we have no reason to be suspicious of your motives. You will find our quest when you register with the adventurer guild for our commission.”
I quietly sighed in relief, even Grenfell seemed more relaxed. I felt like I just dodged a bullet, like Neo in the Matrix. But unlike Neo, I didn’t believe it was possible to dodge bullets because kings were not in the habit of missing important details. For the moment I would be happy with events and just take things a step at a time. I felt far better after leaving the palace having completed our business with the king and returning to the inn. I shivered at the thought that there was someone hiding in that room I couldn’t identify. After I scanned the room, Ara didn’t need to point him out, he just stood out like a sore thumb. I didn’t think he was there to hurt anyone, if anything I was sure the king knew about his presence. Thoughts of kings with their hidden ninja warriors dropping like spiders onto would be assassins came to mind, giving me the chills.
“Hey Grenfell. What’s the situation with Duke Waldheim and that axe?”
He sighed.
“The axe you brought with you originally belonged to the Waldheim family. The man who died was the duke’s son and it took him a long time to recover from his son’s death. Not only did he have to suffer the loss of his son, but the loss of the family heritage item was a big blow to their family honour.”
The axe didn’t have any special characteristics and for all intents and purposes remained nothing but a piece of flat metal with sharpened ends and fastened onto a wooden pole. I wondered if honour was worth all the hype. Returning the axe seemed
“Is there a way we can return the axe to their family and restore their honour?”
“I think that’s a good idea, I know they would appreciate that. I’ll give it to him later, since I already know him. Leave the axe at our workshop, I’ll take it when I’m ready to see him.”
I nodded. It would probably be best to do it that way. Perhaps there was a compassionate reason I lugged that axe halfway around the kingdom.
After all the visitors left his office, King Leopold sat in his chair while contemplating his meeting with the young blacksmith apprentice, Shane Karosaki. He suspected Shane was not an Aryonne citizen, but he wanted to confirm his suspicions first. He spoke to the walls again.
“What are your thoughts on Shane Karosaki?”
“He’s an otherworld traveller.”
“You sound very sure.”
“At least he fulfils all my requirements for one.”
“Oh, what requirements are those?”
“Some of the restricted writings reference otherworld travellers appearing in our world before. Each time a traveller arrived they seem to be confused about how they came to be there. Their lack of knowledge regarding locally accepted customs is also consistent with this man. They also come with new concepts and ideas no one has considered before.”
King Leopold didn’t seem convinced.
“That still does not mean that he is a traveller.”
“Then perhaps that he scanned this place with a skill should convince you.”
“He what? Did he use a skill enabling device, I noticed he wore a ring?”
King Leopold didn’t realise that that the ring was a pocket dimension ring. He wasn’t often surprised, but skills were rare commodities and becoming rarer by the year.
“I sensed the skill didn’t come from his ring. Nonetheless, he may be aware of my existence.”
King Leopold digested that information in his mind while asking another question.
“What does the restricted writings say about travellers’ interactions with other kingdoms?”
“Of the situations I read about, travellers were initially happy to assist the kingdoms they interacted with, but with time, relationships were tested, and violence usually followed. Most travellers were eventually killed or captured, some even disappeared. Besides, you are aware of one other traveller in our kingdom.”
King Leopold nodded. The traveller he referred to retreated into obscurity, only his father mentioned it to him and personally King Leopold never once interacted with them, Shane Karosaki would be the first traveller he ever communicated with, and on the face of it, he seemed quite amiable. However, knowing the machinations of politics and nobles, it didn’t take a stretch of his imagination to see why the travellers would eventually behave the way they did. Once travellers found themselves thrust out into the open, perhaps even forced or coerced by aristocrats, they behaved as any unprepared person would under those circumstances. And when the inevitable rebellion ensued, the public’s view of the travellers shifted from helpful to problematic.
“Keep an eye on him and report to me regularly. Oh, and something else; the name of Obon’s mayor has come up more than once in conversation of late, find out what’s going on there.”
The voice didn’t answer back, but King Leopold knew the message was received. He rang a small attendant bell on his desk which reciprocated in the prompt arrival of Graham.
“You called, Your Majesty?”
“Please send for Commander Karato, I wish to see him immediately.”
“Very well Your Majesty.”
He bowed and left to issue the request. A few minutes later, Graham announced Commander Karato’s arrival and left while closing the doors behind him, he knew well enough to leave them alone. The king would call him if they needed something, generally he wouldn’t be able to add any value to the conversation.
As Graham left the king’s office, the cloaked figure of the palace science advisor, Count Braun, approached him from the opposite side of the corridor.
“Who was visiting the king?”
Count Braun asked to see the king, which he was fully entitled to, being the King’s personal science advisor. It wasn’t unusual to see the advisor multiple times a week since the king met regularly with the advisor.
“I apologise Count Braun. The king was entertaining a guest.”
“Who?”
Count Braun knew better than to ask, but the scientist in him couldn’t resist. The king didn’t have many guests he didn’t know of, but it was considered very rude to ask about the kings guests without the king’s approval.
“I’m sorry Count Braun, I cannot say, as you well know.”
Personally, Graham didn’t like Count Braun, but fortunately his professionalism extended further than his feelings. On the odd occasion, lack of curtesy caused his irritation to leak through, despite his best intentions.
“Ah, well. I’ll come back later.”
And Count Braun returned the way he came. About the same time as Graham contemplated his irritation to Count Braun, Commander Karato started his conversation in the king’s office.
“You called for me Your Majesty.”
Normally at that point in their meeting, the king would request a less formal conversation, but it didn’t happen and Karato expected the king to accept his resignation.
“Commander Karato, I am accepting your resignation for the Blister Oak Dungeon failure. Are you disappointed with this action?”
“No, Your Majesty, I’m actually pleased you took this long to decide. I feel it was no doubt a difficult choice for you, so I’m happy it meant that much to you.”
King Leopold smiled,
“Actually, I would have been happy to leave you in the role had something else not occurred, partly as a result of your doings.”
Karato looked perplexed.
“Huh, you’re not retiring me then?”
“Oh, your career in the military has ended. But your most important mission for me has just started, and I need someone whom I can trust to execute it without fail.”
Commander Karato wondered why he felt it whatever that was, it would be life changing.