With the garrison fort baptized and the Baron, hired, they were about to leave the Knights behind to return to town.
"Wait, your Royal Highness," Captain Krolm insisted. "Take four knights as a honor guard!"
It cemented their suspicions that Krolm had fallen out of favor with someone high up in the Kingdom. Having his knights escorting the Crown Princess would be a big boost to their reputation and morale. Aidan was about to discreetly suggest Pearl took on his offer but the Princess had other plans.
"It would defeat the purpose of having a Champion with me, Captain," Pearl rebutted. " And Lord Aidan is strong enough to be worth two garrisons. I'll have to decline."
He had absolute certainty that he could live without the enmity of the Knights but now the damage was done. Every single armored person in the courtyard was staring at him.
"Forgive my impudence, Princess Pearl," Krolm glowered. Aidan noticed the utter break of protocol and that the man couldn't contain his anger. "But I can hardly believe this young men, dragon taming mage notwithstanding, is adequate protection to yourself."
The only thing betraying Pearl's irritation was a slight twitch of her left eyebrow.
"Captain Krolm, have I not laid accolades at the feet of my chosen Champion?" Pearl asked like someone commented the weather.
The fact that the Steam Princess was cold should be a huge giveaway of her mood but the Captain was oblivious to that, so absorbed in his outrage he was.
"Why don't we settle that in a friendly way?" Aidan suggested in a conciliatory tone. "Captain?" He then put the ball on the knight's court, blatantly telling Pearl to stay out of that and avoid widening the chasm.
"Your Royal Highness?" Krolm stubbornly deferred to the Princess instead of being a man and taking the responsibility to himself.
At that point Dawn was thinking the captain was quite childish. She glanced at her wives next to her and found they were of one mind. Pearl, however, was lowering herself to his level.
"Arm wrestle him, Lord Aidan. I'll allow any technique that doesn't cause harm to the other party."
He couldn't believe. "Do you expect me to..." But as he spoke, he used his other head to think. No, not that one. Dawn's. The female half was very good in getting these subtle cues that his male half ignored as random noise.
"I expect you to win, my Champion," She replied with pride. "And as for you, Captain, I expect you to do your best to avoid that."
"Goes without saying, your Royal Highness. I apologize in advance that I have to make your champion disappoint you."
She smiled and adjusted her bearing slightly so she was paying attention to the knight, "That is my wish, Captain. I'm not perfect, maybe I chose a bad champion. Please show me."
"If I may intrude in the conversation," Baron Elmhill intruded, "The God-Slayer is visiting the town. You could make him your champion."
Having ties to the fabled God-Slayer was clearly almost as good as having otherworlders, every Royal knew that. What puzzled Aidan was that he was right there. It could only mean one thing. A grin spread on his lips. He glanced over his shoulder and Sora was also grinning. He nodded at the same time as the squirrel-kin.
"Wait a second, who is that..." Cythrel started to protest but Dawn grabbed her and put pressure on the little elf's shoulders to silence her.
"Not now," She wispered to the other girl. "I'll explain later. Just play along and feign ignorance."
Pearl turned around and made eye contact with Dawn. She could tell that the other Princess was asking what to do and dawn squinted her nose, gave her head a small shake and a little shrug with her shoulders. 'It is not worth of concern' she conveyed. Pearl nodded and turned around to oversee the arm wrestling contest. Dawn released Cythrel and moved to the luggage, to fetch one of Hecate's holy spell boards. There was no way Aidan could win that contest against the muscular knight-captain without some help. With her own magic, she quickly lit her fingertip on fire and burned the runes she needed on the board.
> [Inexorable Wrestler] - 2nd level spell.
>
> Element: Law.
>
> Type: Eulogy
>
> Classification: Harmless, sustained, self-only.
>
> Target: Self.
>
> Upon casting, this spell sets a Law upon the caster's arm. While the spell lasts, the casters' arm can only move forward along one path predetermined during the casting. The spell ends when the arm reaches the end of the path or if the caster takes damage. All forces exerted against the arm that would move it backward on the path are neutralized.
She did it in record time. Hecate's divine tool helped wonders with the spell design process by pointing out flaws but the help was only as good as the user's spellcraft skill. But with double the brainpower than other mages coupled with his natural talents, Aidan was more than able to pull it off.
The burn marks from Dawn's enchanted finger turned golden, a sign that Hecate approved the new spell. Despite its silly purpose, it belonged to a Transcendental Element, one composed of five basic elements. All the silly spells Aidan crafted on these boards had one lofty purpose. They were very efficient training tools for a caster's magical affinities. One of the biggest problems with training an affinity from the ground up was the inexistence of tools to exercise these 'magical muscles'. This one and Cosmos Awareness filled that gap nicely.
But time was up and it was Aidan's turn to sit across the table with Krolm and have his arm-wrestling match. Pearl held the men's hands up and Aidan silently cast the spell, drawing the diagram with mana under his magical sight. he drew a quarter-circle from his hand to the table on the side that was his win and pumped mana into the diagram.
"Start!"
Pearl released the hands and Aidan pushed in the direction he wanted. Krolm resisted but Law spells were nigh-absolute. Aidan was certain only Divine Magic could go against one. Or if they were dispelled. There was no risk of any in that situation, however. He put in the effort to push Krolm's hand though. His magic only avoided going back, with zero help going forward. But Aidan only had to push, not fight back. He could very well relax his arm and rest his muscles for a concentrated push later. Krolm caught what was happening as he could measure the tension in the young man's arms.
"Do you expect me to... Cheat. Cheat was what you would say, right?" The knight asked the mage with a hushed voice.
"Not a cheat," Aidan whispered back. "I'm using my talents and skills to win as her Highness asked. In fact, the spell I'm using didn't exist until five minutes ago."
"Braggart!" Krolm grinned. "That's a single spell? Color me impressed. I'm not giving you an easy win. Let's see if I can defeat you at your own game."
Aidan didn't reply. He kept focusing on reading Krolm's movements, waiting for him to tire his arm so he could push a little more. When he forced, it felt as if Krolm had duplicated his spell.
He didn't though. Aidan was still using magic sight and would've noticed any use of magic.
"Wha..." He gasped in surprise.
"Sometimes, brat, you'll face an enemy you can't defeat. It doesn't mean you have to give them an easy win though. Sometimes a draw against a proud enemy is as good as winning. And you are too easy to read once I knew what you were doing."
"My turn to be awestruck, Captain Krolm." Aidan replied. "How did you end up in Gohar's butthole? Some political fall of grace?"
His remark hit Krolm spot-on. The Captain's mind wavered and Aidan pushed his arm further and beyond the other man's confortable zone. It was a matter of minutes before Krolm's hand touched the table.
"That was a low blow," Krolm groaned, massaging his hand. "But you are correct," He grasped Aidan's hand. "Take good care of our crown jewel. I leave her in your capable hands. My loss!"
Aidan stood up and felt his arm sore. Krolm hadn't sold his defeat cheap and taught the young mage a good lesson. If you can't win...
"What a splendid display of masculinity," Baron Elmhill cheered.
"Less barbaric than other ways to solve a dispute, I must admit," Cythrel added.
The two were blatantly ignored. Pearl met Krolm's eyes and asked, "So, Captain. Is my champion approved?"
"Yes, your Royal Highness. I'm sorry for doubting your judgment."
"You are forgiven, Captain. I know your heart had the best of intentions. Now, gentlemen, we need some refreshments and a half-built garrison fort hardly have the facilities required. Shall we?"
She asked Aidan. He nodded and addressed the Captain. "Captain Krolm, could you assign someone to carry our luggage? I will go ahead, preparing the terrain. A wagon or large cart would be the best."
He waved his hand and used an Earth magic spell, the same he practiced in the tunnel to smooth the ground and make a road. Dawn joined him and they moved ahead, finally making a road connecting Gurf's Vigil to the town.
Princess Pearl's entourage came after the two mages.
"So, the God-Slayer has graced us with his presence, Baron." The Princess started the conversation as they walked down the new road. "When did he arrive?"
"Less than a week ago," Elmhill replied, at the same time elated and concerned about being on the Princess' good side.
"Great. Once we are settled, I'm paying the Adventurer's Guild a visit. You will come along, won't you, Lady Sora?"
The squirrel-kin grinned. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
----------------------------------------
And so they did. Baron Elmhill gave them free reign on a wing of his mansion and assigned more than half of his staff to serve the Crown Princess. Aidan, Pearl, and the party freshened up, ate lunch and went to the Guild Branch.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
To meet the world-famous God-Slayer.
By the time they went out of the mansion, the whole city knew the Crown Princess of Gohar was finally back. There was a big number of merchants and other local officials wishing to have an audience with Pearl but Aidan snuck them out through the back gate. Once on the road, nobody would dare to stop the Princess for some petty reason. It didn't stop the people in the streets from kneeling or bowing as they went.
Aidan noticed it was a different reaction from the last time they met here, a year ago. But Pearl was different too. Ever since they emerged from the tunnel, no, ever since they got on the road she was changing. Returning to a better version of her old self. He could only guess at what was going on in her mind. The nobility of her country, split in factions. The trump card of Otherworlders, spent. Maybe Pearl was behaving like a cornered animal.
Skippy wans't with them. The dragon decided to avoid the crowds and hunt in the mountains. Aidan told him to scout for slaver camps or anything unusual while he was there.
it was undeniable that he was learning a lot about how to behave like a Princess. The way Pearl walked, her body language, the way she looked at the world around her. It was as if the peitte Princess had grown to the height of an ogre with the grace of a nymph and the majesty of a griffin. It was breathtaking.
He would do almost anything to help her. Short of evil, of course. But now it was time to meet the God-Slayer. They'd reached the Guild. A receptionist with glasses was at the door, looking demure and waiting for the Royalty. She curtsied before Pearl.
"Your Royal Highness, welcome to the Guild."
"Thank you," Pearl replied. "I am here to meet the God-Slayer, is he here?"
She gave a business smile back. "Yes, they are with the Guildmaster now. Please, this way."
Aidan gave the receptionist no gap to cut him off as he trailed behind Pearl like her shadow, Dawn, Sora and Cythrel even closer behind him. They moved in a single line through the guild, some adventurers kneeling but all of them watching the procession. They took a flight of stairs up and went to a fancy double door. The receptionist that somehow moved past them knocked on the door.
"Guildmaster, the Crown Princess is here!" She announced.
"Enter!" The voice of an old man shouted from inside.
She opened the door and Pearl walked inside. Then the receptionist tried to close it, shutting Aidan outside. He glared at the woman and used an improvised variant from the spell used at the arm wrestling contest. That door could only open now. He filed past her but couldn't let the opportunity to give a warning go to waste.
"You try to steer her Highness away from us again," He whispered to her as he took a handkerchief from his pocket and waved it in front of her, showing the national coat-of-arms embroidered with Pearl's personal sigil side-by-side, "And you will find no employment in this continent. Tell whoever ordered you to do so to keep away from us. You don't want me looking into your business. Was I clear?"
it was funny to watch the woman trying to close the door, stare at the handkerchief, keep the appearances, and shed cold sweat. Aidan went past her, deftly stowing the cloth so nobody else could see it and Dawn came right behind him.
"I heard what he said. You weren't going to shut the door on a guest Royal from Yutis, were you?" She added with a evil grin. The receptionist let go of the door handle and curtsied.
"Of course not, your Highness Lumina."
Dawn didn't reply. Cythrel nudged her with an elbow after Sora went inside. "It is her twin sister, for crying out loud. You blew it, girl."
Leaving the receptionist with full marks on the cardiac health report behind, they entered the room and across the guildmaster they met... what could only be called a harem party. One handsome, hunky and muscular men wearing a fancy gilded plate armor, arms open embracing two women on each side.
Hugging him back there were a blonde human with the fanciest hair Aidan had ever seen, golden ringlets making wide and lazy spirals on the sides of her face. On the other side an elven woman with an archery bracer and leather armor, a gnome girl with mage robes next to the blonde and on the other side a squirrel-kin girl with scout clothing.
The latter was looking at Sora as if she was being visited by her great-grandmother's ghost.
"Guildmaster, I am sorry for intruding in your meeting, but I was dying to meet your guest," Pearl broke the silence. "I'm Crown Princess Pearl of House Juvela, heir to the throne of Gohar," She just nodded with her head at the group and met the blonde girl. "Princess Marisol of Argyris, welcome to Gohar."
Dawn held her breath. She was unused to all this yet and forgot what Pearl told her. When meeting people that could be Royalty, use the Regalia Sight on them briefly. It was one of the special abilities Royalty had. They could shift their gaze to see the Regalia of other Royals, allowing them to know each other's presence and country. It was just like Aidan's magic sight but specialized for the divine enchantment placed on their bodies rather than magic. She did and saw two Regalias in the room. One, floating over Pearl's head with Gohar's coat-of-arms and the other on the ringlet blonde. Argyris' coat of arms was just a blazing sun held by two lions.
There was some rivalry between Argyris and Yutis by a matter of Elements. Yutis' Royal Element was Light, only Light, while Argyris split their boon between Light and Fire, the Sun Element. Both nations wanted the title of Land of Light for themselves and arguments flew every so often as to which nation should have it. It was totally stupid but it was a matter of pride.
The blonde woman was glaring at Dawn. She remembered that there was bad blood between Argyris and Yutis ever since it was rumored Lumina had charmed Prince Orian into shaming himself and the Royal Family of Calanthe during his engagement party to Princess Melissa. There was no proof it was Lumina but rumors demanded none. Poor Prince Orian was executed for soiling the Queen, throwing a wrench into the alliance between his Sun country and her Flower one. It was the cornerstone of Lumina's world-class bad reputation.
And right now Orian's sister was in the same room as Lumina's clone.
"Pearl, my dear!" Marisol beamed a fake smile. "It is so good to see you back after you were kidnapped by those thugs from Yutis! I was so concerned for your safety but it seems you didn't get rid of them yet. Would you mind if we went somewhere with friendlier company so we can have a good talk? Lumina, I am amazed you managed to get out of Yutis in one piece. I heard not even your fiancée wanted you alive and hired a teacher to murder you!"
Oh, the hidden stings. Dawn was so not missing them. Let's not talk about the not-hidden ones.
"Different from your late brother, my elder sister is not one to crawl through holes, Marisol. Maybe that's why she is still alive. Pearl is too astonished by your rudeness to introduce us, I'm Dawn of Yutis, third Princess. Lumina's twin, kidnapped as an infant and raised as a commoner. I was only recently returned to my real family."
Two could play that game. And the face Marisol did as she realized she'd misplaced the Royal before her was priceless. Nobody liked to make a fool of themselves, and it counted double for the Princesses. The blonde Royal was without words during a pregnant and silent pause.
"I see the apple really didn't fall far from the tree," Marisol replied too late to be of impact. "Anyway, pleased to meet you, Dawn of Yutis."
"Likewise, Marisol of Argyris. They should really start planting the apple trees on hilltops, I see," Dawn replied shifting her gaze between Marisol and the man hugging four women at the same time, with a hint of disgust in her face, hinting that Marisol was as promiscuous as her dead brother.
Pearl turned her head gracefully and gave Dawn a glance. Dawn moved slightly behind, signaling that she was done.
"I had to come here to meet your guest, guildmaster. Baron Elmhill told me but I could not believe. Is it true that the legendary God-Slayer is here, in this room?"
Pearl's double entendre was not lost on some people in the room. Cythrel made a faint snort, Sora tapped her feet, Aidan let his posture slide slightly making his presence dimmer, and the two squirrel-kin girls were having a silent eye-to-eye. Nobody else noticed it as the hunk let go of the women's shoulders and grinned, flashing pearly white teeth at Pearl.
"Why, my dear Princess, look no further than yours truly. I'm Dolion, the current God-Slayer. Me and the girls are traveling the world, seeking evil wherever it lies and vanquishing it. We are investigating the slaver raids here in this corner of Gohar, you're welcome. You can show me your gratitude later, and even bring in your short-haired friend there."
One could play several games of seven errors with what he said and his body language while he said it. He'd rather be the real God-Slayer, because he had just offended Princesses from three major countries in the continent.
In the pause before Pearl could formulate a proper answer to Dolion's harassment, Sora spoke.
"Yama, how are you? It's been almost a decade since we last saw each other. You've grown so much, sister," She beamed yet another fake smile at the other squirrel-kin. Yama wan't Sora's sibling, it was an endearing treatment. "I see you are in the God-Slayer's entourage! How fortunate of you! Oh, how rude of me. I should introduce you to my husband. Aidan here. Can you believe I had to wait ten years for him to get my tail?"
Yama might as well be the latest victim of a vampire because all blood left her skin as she went deathly pale. She looked at Sora, then at an embarrased Aidan and made her best fish impression.
If there was someone on Dorion's party that knew exactly how screwed they were, it was Yama. After all, she was one of the candidates for the selection for the next partner for this generation's God-Slayer and she lost to Sora. Even if she wasn't, there was no squirrel-kin in the continent or even the world that didn't knew who Sora was. And who was the man next to her.
Millenia ago, the squirrel-kin were saved from extinction and slavery, maybe not in this order, by the original God-Slayer. Ever since then, as a way to repay the favor, one of their tribe was selected for each generation to be a lifelong companion to the God-Slayer. It was one of the greatest honors for the chosen one as being on friendly terms with God-Slayers was always a boon and the ambassador usually became figures of legend themselves during their travels.
It was rare but not unheard of that this lifelong companionship ended up in marriage. It was the very reason the selection usually was done among tribesfolk of the opposite gender.
"Hello, Yama," Aidan waved and greeted her sincerely. Whatever charade she was playing, he wouldn't hold it against her. "I hope we can be friends."
He tried to withdraw but Dorion whistled. "Lucky bastard. How did you manage to nail the furry? I've been trying with Yama for months but she told me if I grab her tail she will either kill me or die trying," He clicked his tongue in annoyance, "So stupid. I mean, why stay attached to these old customs eh? Much better to just enjoy life!"
And his arms went back right to hold Marisol and the stoic elf archer. He didn't reach to grab Yama or the gnome wizard, meaning he had 'captured' only half of his harem party so far. Another otherworlder loanword.
"She is probably waiting for you to visit the squirrel-kin village, Dorion the God-Slayer," Aidan gave his reply with a deadpan face. "I heard every God-Slayer has to visit there at least once in their lifetime, as a matter of protocol," He began to let some emotion seep into his words. "To renew old covenants and keep the deep trust between your family and their tribe."
That was a obscure nugget of lore, but not one that was secret. Aidan watched as Yama's tail almost froze in place, a clear sign of fear.
"Yeah, I mean, I intend to do so. Yes, I know the old customs," he gave a nervous giggle. "But I am amazed you know so much about my family, Lord Aidan."
Maybe Dorion wasn't the idiot he sold himself as.
"Oh, it is just a hobby of mine. I spent a lot of time in Yutis' Magic Academy's library studying, and I've read a lot of books regarding the history of the God-Slayer. It is funny how they never record the name of the current generation, I wonder if you could shed some light into this doubt I had since forever."
"Pfft, that one is easy," Dorion answered with a spluttering scoff, blowing a strawberry. "It is to protect the scion. The God-Slayer has a ton of enemies around. One of them could attempt to end the line by killing the scion before he can have children. That's what I tell the girls all the time."
'That they have to have children with him', Dawn couldn't help but roll her eyes as she connected the dots.
"That was my theory," Aidan said. "Thanks for telling me."
"No problem, dude. We have to look after each other. And if you need a hero," He poked his own chest with a thumb, "I'm your slayer, be it a monster, a dragon, or a god."
"Oh, what travesty. Why are you putting.--"
Cythrel had enough and tried to protest but Dawn hugged her and got her to shut up before she ruined everything. "I'll explain later," the Princess whispered to the Elf.
"Well, I came here just to say hello and meet you. Dorion, have a good hunting, I pray that you are able to rid Gohar of this slaver plague. Marisol, have fun, and I'm here for you if you run into any problems. Guildmaster, ladies, I'll take my leave."
They went outside, Pearl closing the line this time. After they were outside, Aidan released the spell on the door and it slammed shut. They returned to the Baron's mansion and after he set some privacy wards, Aidan, Sora and Dawn held each other and jumped in joy in front of Pearl and Cythrel.
"An impostor! Sora, we have an impostor!" Aidan exulted.
"Yes, I couldn't believe Yama was so dumb as to go with that farce but it is her problem now!" Sora added.
"Impostor, impostor!" Dawn repeated.
"Gaaaaa!" Cythrel shouted in despair. "Can the idiot trio explain to me using language I can understand why are you so happy? There's an idiot out there, stealing and soiling the good name of the God-Slayer, lying and banging a Princess he had no business fooling, with that Yama chick as an accessory, and you are jumping with joy? I don't understand!"
Sora giggled. "Well, that's easy to explain. Aidan?"
"Why, thank you, wife," He held her by the waist and kissed her cheek. "There's no such thing as pride or a good name attached to my lineage, wife," AIdan told Cythrel. "It is not like we are the God-Slayers because we want to, it is something that came in the package with our birth. Any of us would quit the job with a snap of our fingers if we could. Which we don't. It is not like the power we hold can be extracted or lost. And what we said there is true. Our family has a huge slew of enemies, from followers of slain gods to people wanting to murder us just to prove they're stronger than us.
"And if there's an idiot willing to distract all that murder intent away from us, who am I to say no?"
"That's callous," it was all Cythrel could comment.
"Yes, but we didn't force him. The real reason the name of the current generation God-Slayer is not openly disclosed is to allow these impostors and copycats to exist. Let them enjoy the attention and the glamour, it's usually a brief dream."
"Before it is utterly crushed by something really evil and really powerful bent on vengeance," Sora added like a campfire horror story.