We slowed down to go around the farms. It sounded like some sort of dick move to raise a trail of ice five meters wide. It gave me time to see how the farmers raised crops during this Age of Eclipse. I doubted one hour of sunlight every day was enough to raise plants. I appraised a farmer as we moved past them.
> [Deep Farmer]
>
> Level 27 human male
They were with their hands held up and beaming some purple light from them onto the crops. Their MP was quickly depleting while that purple light nourished the crops. When I commented on it with the refugees, one old woman told me that that was a Class for farmers of the underground races that were now available for the surface dwellers too. It was a mix of [Shadow Mage] and [Farmer].
Given that this Age of Eclipse was going on for almost a century, there were no more normal [Farmers] in the world. Everyone was a [Deep Farmer]. The vegetation mutated to live off of ambient mana, just like my trees.
Once we reached the wilderness, we had to deal with the trees. The first time around, we had time to clear a path before transporting our passengers. This time we had to make do as we went. I moved to the front of the trains and created a cow-catcher made of two razors of Force magic. It took us some coordination but we were able to create the rails just as the first car needed them. That allowed the ultra-sharp Force blades to shear the trees. Combined with my {Instant Storage} Perk, the trees and debris shaved went instantly into my item box. It was fun seeing the huge trees vanishing as we moved.
I also tried to steer away from settlements, hunters, and large clusters of monsters. With my detection range of twelve hundred meters, we caught the curiosity of said groups but once they reached us we were away. Some gave chase but after a few spells were thrown their way they were dissuaded from pursuing. Our train was fast. Faster than before, I think we were making close to one hundred kilometers per hour with all the detours had to take.
I knew we were close and the train ran parallel to the road. The walls of Windemere appeared ahead and we ground the train to a halt a couple dozen meters from the gate. I was split between going as me or taking the disguise of King Robin. I decided to shed any deceptions.
A group of guards rode from the gate to meet us. They were wearing chain mail and the Windemere guard tabard. Each of them had a glowing ball of light hovering above and a bit behind them, casting shadows on their faces.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
I fought to not roll my eyes. We were already not moving. And that irritated me. I had to get to the castle, like yesterday.
"I'm Lakerta, princess of the lamia," I introduced myself No doubt someone had stealthily {Appraised} me already. "I and these refugees seek asylum in Windemere."
One of the guards looked strange to me. After spending some time studying him, I noticed his skin had an odd texture. He was made of cloth! One of the silk-folk! My heart jumped with joy. But that was not the time for that. I needed to see to Lorna.
"Where did you find these carriages? They look awfully familiar," The lead guard said. "Ah. They are replicas of the train King Locksley used to transport people to Lonid! You even have the fairy..."
"Hi!" Nenandil waved a hand.
"Indeed they are exactly like the ones the King used," I agreed. Saying that something looks like itself is a tautology. Therefore it is a truthful statement. Move along!
"We have orders to not let any lamias cross the gate, Your Highness," the guard said.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. My patience for small talk and big denials ran out. The anger was so big I'd changed into King Locksley on the spot and donned the gothic plate armor. I also adjusted my Status. Just title and level. No Class, race, or gender info.
> {King}
>
> Level 147
"You'll open these gates for my vehicle to go through. That's a {Royal Order}!"
He snapped a salute. "As you command, Your Majesty! We're sorry we weren't informed of your disguise."
Someone was trying to keep me from seeing my Queen. The other guards also saluted. they rode and opened the gate. I started to move the train toward the gap but had to stop. The gatehouse was too low.
"What happened to the gatehouse?" I asked not bothering to hide my irritation. "I don't remember making it this low. The train should be able to pass through."
"We apologize, Your Majesty," the lead guardsmen begged from his horse. "The original gatehouse was destroyed in a war forty years ago. The engineers decided it was unnecessarily tall and made a smaller one."
"Well," I started with a low growl. "They get a second chance at doing it right. The gates of Windemere should be tall enough to let the King's train pass underneath unhindered."
I wove an Earth spell to solidify the gate's stone structure. Then a Force spell to cut the stone, separating the gate from the walls and ground. By then, all guards had vacated the gatehouse. Then I put it in my item box.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Nenandil created ice to cover the hole and the tracks ahead. I pushed the train forward with my Force magic. Minutes later, the gate village was already behind us.
Windemere was a small country. And now it looked like a crowded country. Even crossing the wilderness, I could pinpoint several sentients - almost no humans - around us in the fields. We moved slowly, keeping half the road clear of ice. But slow for us was ten times as fast as a horse-drawn carriage. Two hours after the gate, the capital city of Windemere was already in sight. We stopped at the right of the city gates.
I jumped down from the front of the train and tossed a light spell above us. The same I used at the pirate village. It would hover hundreds of meters above us and start to shed light gradually to allow people to adjust their vision.
"Everyone out. Our trip has ended," I told the refugees as I unlocked the train doors. As a security measure, they couldn't be opened from the inside. It wasn't too hard to undo the latch by reaching out of the window though. In case of a crash, people would be able to escape through the windows or undo the latch and open the door. Once everyone got off the train, I stored it.
A crowd had formed on the other side of the gate and the guards assembled between us and the gate. Archers on the wall, good. Windemere seemed well-protected. The amount of fur, tails, and animal ears managed to put a smile on my face. There were some humans but they were few.
While we crossed the country, I thought about who could've issued the order. It could've been Lorna herself but I doubted it. She knew it was stupid to try to keep me away. Therefore, someone intercepted the letter or she shared the information with a third party and they decided to put up that stupid blockade.
I shrugged. Only one way to find out. I walked toward the guards and declared out loud, "I am King Robin of Locksley. Escort me to my castle."
"The King is dead!" Someone shouted from the walls.
I imbued a {Royal Order} on my voice. "Kneel before your true King!"
If someone told me it was choreographed I wouldn't call them a liar. All the citizens, guards, refugees bent the knee. A few that resisted the Skill did the same after they saw everyone doing it. Crowd pressure and all that.
"Nenandil, stay by me. Who still doubts my identity, speak freely. I shall not punish you."
Something called my attention. Pulling the minor notifications log window, I saw dozens of tithe Exp messages floating up. One or two base Exp each.
A man with a captain insignia stood and walked toward me. His face was made of tan silk. A casual observer would think he was made of flesh.
> [Captain]
>
> Level 55 silk-folk male
"King Locksley is the creator of our species," the silk-folk captain said. "I once saw a piece of silk made by him. I beg forgiveness for this insolence, but would you weave something?"
I removed my gauntlets. Then I started to pour silk from all then fingertips. The threads moved on their own and started to weave a length of cloth. They changed colors before the stupefied crowd. Once the basic tabard was done, I released the threads from one hand and started to embroider the edges and the heraldry. On the free hand, I summoned some gem shards which the threads picked up and wove into the symbols, wrapping and gluing them in a tight-knit weave. it would be easier to ruin the piece if someone wanted the gems.
Ten minutes later, the piece was done. A dark green tabard with the Windemere emblem, a copse of trees on top of a hill surrounded by a wall. Once it was done, I enchanted it. The tabard gained a few levels in the meanwhile, acquiring four perks.
> The Tabard of Windemere - Level 12 ( 6,405 / 9,600 Exp to next level)
>
> MP: 120
>
> * Protective Field (rare): Reduce all damage received by the wearer by 20%.
> * Windemere Loyalty (rare): This tabard can only be worn by those loyal to Windemere. Anyone else will lose all benefits of this item and take damage each minute equal to 5% of their maximum HP.
> * Return to my Owner (very rare): An unworthy recipient can make a pact with the tabard. Do their utmost to bring it back to Windemere and avoid suffering the damage. The tabard is aware of any betrayal of this pledge.
> * Regenerating Cloth (rare): The tabard can repair itself by using the wearer's MP or by passively draining ambient MP. It has a small MP pool to conduct its own repairs.
>
> Enchantments:
>
> * +3 Endurance
> * +3 Willpower
> * +3 Ego
> * +3 HP
> * +3 MP
> * The wearer cannot whisper but gains +3 to Charisma. <----- Wild Enchant rearing its ugly head!
Due to the nature of the multipliers, every time I got one point of tithed Exp (meaning someone from my created species did something worth a hundred base Exp) the tabard would gain 305 Exp.
Once finished, I extended the tabard to the captain. "Is this good enough?"
He took the piece from my hands and rubbed the fabric. "This is... true {Living Silk}! None of our weavers can make this. It is the same material as our bodies." He dropped on a knee, staring at the ground. "Forgive me, Your Majesty!" He rose his hand and offered me the tabard back.
I thought about gifting it to him but in the end, decided against it. I had someone else in mind to earn this "boon".
"Captain, these refugees here are new citizens I brought with me. See that they have proper lodging and food."
"As you command, Your Majesty."
"Captain, let me introduce you to the leader of the group. Devan!" I called.
"Your commands?" The were-rat [Assassin] approached from the side.
I handed him a pouch, "Take this money and use it as you see fit. Clothes, food, anything they need. Captain, Devan will pay for anything they need. You are forbidden from requisitioning or accepting anything for free. Understood?"
"Yes, sire," The captain nodded.
"Stand. I'm going to the castle. Nenandil, with me."
A King should act dignified. Running down the main street would be shameful. I knew all that but I also knew one thing. The King with absolute power could do as he damn fucking wished. I ran through the crowded street, using {Crowd Surfer} or even becoming incorporeal to weave through the mob.
A line of knights with breastplates over their mail hauberks stood before the castle gates. I shrugged, turned incorporeal, and crossed through, guard, gate, ward, whatever they put in place. I could sense everyone in the castle now, and I could pinpoint a person sitting upon the throne.
I came up from the ground in the middle of the room. It was empty and dark. No light sources but starlight coming in from the windows. No guards, no nobles, nobody else but one person. Queen Lorna of Windemere, my apprentice, lover, former [Prostitute], slave, and everything to me.
I removed everything but the disguise kit from me, armor, clothes, and assumed Rosewise's form. Her face was obscured but I could discern enough to know it was her. The Queen stood up.
"Please don't use Rosewise's form. She's dead. Show me your true self," She demanded, imperious.
I shifted back into Lakerta, the disguise kit molding to become a wig of black hair. I brought my silk brassiere from storage and used {Summon Arms & Armor} to get dressed. That was enough.
"Lorna, I..." The words came out like molasses. I extended a hand to reach her but she was a dozen meters away, slowly climbing down the stairs to the throne dais. "I'm sorry."
She approached and came into one of the windows' beams of light. The gravity of my crimes came fully into sight. Lorna was old. Her gait was hunched, her skin, wrinkled. Her fur was matted, dull. She held a stack of letters in her hand, the letters I wrote to her.
My queen fell down on a knee a few meters before me. Without meeting my eyes, she begged, "Please don't kill my husband. Do with me what you want but spare him."
That moment, I knew the price of my hubris. Of thinking I could face a God. I could even hear Bundeus' laughter echoing from beyond.