A day after the battle, Barnon finds himself inside a large hut with his best friend, Khrus, where all the offenders were tied up. All of them had woken up and partially healed, including the just now confirmed leader of the group, Harle. Sera was tied up and put in the corner, looking at the soldiers in their state. She was mostly looking at Khrus though, giving the kobold the hibbie jibbies. It’s not like she harbored malicious intent though.
“So, let’s start.”
Barnon sat in front of the humans, crossing his legs and arms. His face was stern, unmoving from the eyes of loathing of the leader.
“What do you want? You are not getting anything from me, you bastard.”
“Look who’s talking. Khrus, let them in.”
Khrus nodded and went out for a while, before coming back with the princess and her still recovering guard, who had woken up just recently.
The quite large Jarun, standing in around 5’11 feet with broad shoulders and well built and defined body. He is currently wearing dark blue trousers and a plain brown shirt. He was barefooted and unarmored. He had given his equipment to Khasa, the healer kobold from before, to be kept and taken care of before he comes back to take them back.
The princess on the other hand, looked less of a noble than before. She still had her fair beauty, but her clothes are more of a peasant now. She was around 5’7 and had a slender figure. She wore a white shirt, tied around her waist with another strip of cloth since it was too large for her showing her figure more, and navy blue pants. Just like her guard, she was barefooted.
It’s obvious whose shirts they were wearing, since both Khrus and Barnon were half-naked and only had their pants on. Being half-naked was not uncomfortable in their part anyway, they were former slaves that were like this for most of their lives. In fact, these two kobolds look even proud of their body.
Barnon’s was that of an athletic build, lean and much sleeker than his best friend’s, with the height of 5’10. His orange fur covers most of his skin, but his muscles is still clearly defined from the outside. His eyes were yellow with a tint of green. The body contradicts with the kobold’s adorable dog face. However, that face can turn more twisted if Barnon is put in a battle.
Khrus’ was much bulkier and broader, and standing in the staggering height of 6’2. He had large muscles that made his dark grey fur unable to hide the shapes and forms of his muscles. His head and tail was that of a wolf, but with a set of teeth that of an omnivore just like the other kobolds. His eyes were a bright yellow. Other than his respectable muscles and wolf like features, he had no other defining features.
“May I ask why are we here?”
The princess does not know why she was called, but made a little guess on what will happen. Jarun on the other hand knew from the looks of it.
“Miss Helena, would you kindly state what these people are?”
Helena turned to face the humans, and her face showed a scowl. She still haven't forgotten what these people did to her and her… father.
“They are murderous! Traitorous lowlifes that want me for their own gains!”
Instead of growling in hatred, the group instead showed gasps of disbelief.
“What are you talking about, princess?” inquired the obviously confused Harle
“What do you think?! How am I supposed to not say that after what you have done to my family!”
Helena was shaking in anger. She still remembers after all, vividly, the reason why she’s here right now in the first place.
Helena was born on the Saireha family, an influential noble family in the kingdom of Gaimain. Along with her 3 brothers and a little sister, she was taught politics and was given proper education and was also raised to be a proper noble of kindness and goodwill. Not that the other nobles were pricks, most are actually more or less as respectable as the Saireha family. As a result, the kingdom favored the nobles greatly, except for the royalty, since king wasn't really that great. The king didn’t particularly like having his subordinates cling to the nobles more than him, and so his pride and greed took his mind.
With his judgement clouded and morals shattered, he fed his loyal soldiers lies.
“These nobles have done enough! They have been trying to round up my people and plotting for a revolution!”
Lies spewed from his malicious mouth, seeding hate and distrust to his royal soldiers' mind. Their loyalty made them even more susceptible to his deceit.
“And what’s worse, they have even brainwashed their own children to make them overthrow me! It is your job to eliminate these nobles, and bring their children to me for safety!”
Of course, there is an ulterior motive behind the taking of the children. He wanted to have a heir for a long time, yet his queen cannot provide him, so has been the last 27 queens before they were executed for being useless.
This was the work of the gods, specifically Namia, the goddess of love and marriage. They have made it so that this awful and despicable king would never have an offspring in his entire life.
But he didn’t know that nor would that stop him from finding his heir. The taken children would then be under his care, choosing the right boy to be the next ruler for his throne, and a girl to be his wife. He had sick tastes, but his loyal soldiers don't question it.
And so the soldiers were dispatched. They were also given the task to be discreet in their mission, but the secrecy was doomed from the start for they had a mole in them the entire time. The spy quickly went to the various noble families to warn them for the impending threat, especially the Saihera family.
The king had his eyes on Helena to become his wife, and no one in her family wants that, nor do they want their lives to be forfeit by the king. With such a short notice, they were eventually caught trying to escape and the royal soldiers gave chase. The escaping Saiheras split into three groups, one with Helena, and Jarun in it, one with her siblings and her mother, while the other had his father in it.
His father lured the majority of the chasing group away, but somewhere, he failed to keep his life. Helena’s group was then downed next, but she and Jarun were saved and now they’re here. They had no idea what happened to her mother and her siblings, but she could only hope for the best.
“But they brainwashed you, have they not? The king told us so!”
“That’s absurd! Why would my own family brainwash me?! And for what purpose?!”
“T-the king said you are being brainwashed to walk on your father’s shoes, and to try burn Gaimain down with a revolution!”
“What in the blazing hell are you talking about? Revolution? Why would my family, who had loved Gaimain more than the king, try to burn what we call home?!”
Harle went silent. He didn’t think about that, he didn’t think about it at all. Nor the soldiers he had at hand. Why did they try to destroy a noble family that loved their kingdom so much?
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“B-but the king-”
“Enough of your king this king that! You are all blinded by loyalty and you all know that! Your king is a pig that only wants everything for himself!”
“That’s not true!”
Harle argued back to Helena. Even though he had doubts, his loyalty still haven’t shattered. He still had faith on his king, his saviour.
“The king might have made a mistake! I am sure he-”
He was once again cut off with a slap to the face delivered by Helena. Harle turned to face her, and what he saw was a woman who looked at him with hatred and disgust.
“Mistake? Are our lives unimportant to you that you would consider this as a mistake on the king’s behalf?”
Harle realized what he has said. Making the order of his king as just a ’mistake’ made it all the worse.
“Father was right. All of you are just a bunch of dogs on leash.”
Helena then stormed off the hut, leaving Jarun behind. He sighed, and looked at the soldiers, who are all now gloomy.
“I do not blame you for being loyal, but it would’ve been better if all of you would think before you act.”
Jarun then promptly left the hut. There was total silence in the hut. Barnon then shrugged.
“Well there’s that. Looks like the bastard was actually you.”
Harle couldn’t say anything against that. The truth that statement held made it all the more painful to him. He can’t believe how blind he was to the king’s deceit, even after serving him for almost 30 years.
“Uhh… are we done?”
Khrus was getting uncomfortable from the event that happened earlier. He raised his hand to ask so that he could get out of here. Though, probably the biggest reason is because the woman kept staring at him.
“Hm? Not yet Khrus, we still need you to guard these people.”
Khrus could only sigh and droop his shoulders. He needs to follow his orders, because he is his friend and he respects him. He set himself straight, but it’s hard to do so when that woman has her eyes on him. He would give the woman a glance every now and then, and she would respond with a smile every time.
“Now then, It’s my turn to talk to all of you.”
Barnon then cleared his throat. Looks like he is going to say something important, so the captives reflexively divert their attention to Barnon.
"Have you ever heard of our god, Nemer?"
That’s odd. Who the hell is Nemer? The soldiers gave each other confused looks, before the woman in the corner yelled, or asked loudly rather.
“Nemer?! THE Nemer?! The Legendary Slayer from hundreds of years ago?”
Now Nemer, who was actively observing the happenings in the hut, got his interests on that statement. Sure, he knew what a slayer was and that he was a slayer, but he never knew his history. Sera then continued to talk while the others looked at her.
“Is he really that guy? Tell me! I want to know!”
Barnon was silent. He actually doesn’t know if his lord is that legendary guy from the past, or it was just a coincidence. Barnon didn’t really know, until Nemer himself spoke, which everyone on the hut heard.
“Yeah. I believe that is indeed me.”
Nemer suddenly felt powerful again. This time, he knew what it was. He was also surprised in the fact that another group instantly believed in him. He was sure that these people would at least be skeptical about a god they have never heard before. Then again, maybe his mark on the world allowed him easy gains on followers.
“OOOHHH!! It really is you! I can’t believe it!”
But this surge of power felt… lackluster. Unlike the kobolds, the faith from these people aren’t as big. That’s to be expected, you wouldn’t try to immediately give yourself to an unknown voice, would you?
“Is he really what you say he is?” asked Khrus.
“He is! The books say that he was a god amongst slayers! So of course he would become an actual god!” answered Sera.
That kinda made sense in a way, but he’s pretty sure just being godly won’t be enough to be recognized by the gods to become a god. He doesn’t remember much from the deal with Wize, but he vaguely remembers that there was another requirement for being a lesser god. Judging from him being the first ever lesser god, the others who were like him probably didn’t meet that requirement.
“That’s plausible reason, but it doesn’t really matter, does it?”
“Of course it matters! Just wait till the people who knew of him knows of his reincarnation!”
Nemer suppose that his popularity from the past would play a big role on him being a god. Afterall, a god’s power depends on his popularity.
“Well, I guess that’s true.”
Harle and the soldiers were all silent. They had other things to think of than some legendary slayer claiming to be a god of unimaginable power. Nemer noticed this, and asked them.
“Is it okay to keep on trusting in someone after realizing what they have done to you?”
Harle was quiet for a while, before answering.
“I myself have believed the king in his every word, yet I fail to realize how much I have been used and regarded as a tool by him. I can’t believe I… I…”
Tears started pouring out from the grown man’s eyes. He had done everything for the king with great diligence, believing in him for all of his life. He trusted him so much that when that trust broke, it hurt. It hurt a lot. He sacrificed his friends, family, everything, just to serve him, yet all was for naught. He despises himself for being foolish. He could do nothing now, but let his stress flow as clear tears of regret.
The other men, who had probably gone through the same, started to follow his example. The hut was filled with silent weeping, the soldiers contemplating on their actions. The others who did not weep, felt their hearts shrink with pity. They did not weep with just regret, but anger and sadness. For someone like them, loyalty was their life, now it was taken away from them by reality.
After an hour, Harle requested that they be taken to the kobold’s god, which Barnon complied per Nemer’s permission. He led them to the altar, where the three markings pulsate a bright sky blue color. Harle and the rest of his men kneeled in front of the altar, and prostrated themselves.
“O Nemer, lord of the kobolds, I ask for your wisdom. What should we do, now that we serve no one anymore?”
Well that’s easy to answer. ‘Ya’ll worship me.’ is what he was about to say, but he’s not that greedy and insensitive. These people are like his kobolds, existing for the purpose of serving their master. However, unlike the kobolds, these people have the choice to be free. Nemer just recently discovered the curse of the kobolds during their training. He did not like it, but he could not do anything about it. No point in worrying about it if he can satisfy the curse by just being the master of the kobolds, but these people are different.
They are not cursed, nor are they bound by their master, their king. They have the right to be free and do whatever they want. He wanted to let them enjoy freedom, the same feeling he wants the kobolds to exercise. So he doesn’t want to force these people to follow him, he wants them to choose the path they would take.
“It’s your choice. You are people, and freedom is in your hands. Take it, and choose to do whatever you may want.”
Nemer felt wise saying those words. After all, no advice is better than the words of wisdom from a god. Harle then sat up, the rest following him. In unison, the soldiers bump their fists towards their chest, where their heart would be. Their faces are determined, and full of hope.
“Then, we choose to serve you.”
That’s surprising. Nemer didn’t think that these people would just serve another master after knowing their previous master made their lives full of lies.
“You are a god, yet you do not treat others as below you. We were your enemies, but you spared us. You are powerful, yet you did not abuse your power.”
Nemer is getting a little bit uncomfortable from this speech. Sure, it’s a heartfelt one, but every person has a certain threshold on how much they can handle emotions.
“I admire how you lead your kobolds. They are strong, but their humility floats above all. You are truly what a master, a ruler should be.”
Then all of them stood, with their fists still on their chests, and in unison, they shouted.
“So we choose to serve you, O Nemer, our lord!”
And so they concluded their speech, with Nemer responding with a cringe. Nevertheless, Nemer was happy about their conversion because not only did he get much powerful because of their newfound faith, but also because of him that these people now have a new king to serve.
“Then I expect great things from all of you.”
“Yes, my lord!”
And so Nemer's worshippers expanded evermore. The future is bright ahead of them, and surely, Nemer would give that future to his followers.
Ahh… bathing in faith truly is the best.
...................................
"By the way, Barnon, I don't think I ever overestimated these people. Why did you say that?" Asked the god to his most loyal follower
"Oh, that? I just said that to make myself look cool." The orange kobold replied with a snicker.
Nemer would've laughed, if he wasn't wary of Barnon's potential for lying.