“I see you two have made your acquaintances.” I said to them, seeing Odelia standing next to Goblex—in his original Ghost body—outside the castle entrance.
“We have.” Odelia smiled, “Though I am unsure about your choice of making a Goblin as the Keeper of the Castle, let alone the ghost of one; but as long as he continues to stay loyal, I do not have much of a problem.”
“Y-You picked the right person to guard you, Master Eyes. H-Her strength is truly on another level...” Goblex sounded terrified as he pointed to the Warrior Chieftain’s body on the ground—now split into two clean vertically sliced pieces.
“Hmph, looks like you guys are getting along.” I said, noticing that they’ve already established a hierarchy amongst themselves.
“Indeed, but are you well, Lord Eyes? Were they able to cure the Zombie Infection?” Odelia asked in concern.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” I assured her, “And thank you for bringing them here so fast.”
Odelia let out a sigh of relief, “Of course, I am at your service, Lord Eyes. No matter the distance, and no matter the dangers; I will be at your side.” She declared, kneeling to me.
“I may not be as strong as her, but I will happily serve you the best I can too, Master Eyes!” Goblex declared as well, also kneeling to me.
“Eww, stop that.” I said in disgust, “I don’t wanna be treated like I'm some sort of King.” Odelia was about to say something but I cut her off, “Yes I know, but just get up already, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“You wish to talk to me about something, Lord Eyes? What of?” Odelia questioned, raising an eyebrow out of interest.
“Yes, but before that…” Turning my attention to Goblex, “Break time's over Goblex, go jump into another Chieftain’s body and bury the rest of the corpses, and then come find us when you're done, alright?”
“You got it, and right away, Master Eyes!” Goblex strangely accepted eagerly and without whining.
And as he walked away, I asked Odelia “Did you do something to him, he wasn’t that eager to work earlier?”
“I simply demonstrated the consequences of any attempt of betrayal towards you, and it seems to have motivated him to work earnestly and honestly for you, Lord Eyes.” Odelia smiled wickedly. “Now what is it you wish to talk to me about, if I may ask?”
“Nothing much...just a little thing about your marriage.” I mentioned, walking inside the castle, leaving Odelia taken back by the subject.
While I walked along the walls and took in the steep mountainous landscape surrounding the lake and the castle, Odelia followed close behind rambling out loud. “My marriage!? What of it!? There is nothing wrong with it! I assure you it is completely fine, Lord Eyes!”
“Really? Cause I never said something was wrong with it, now did I?” And that was enough to completely silence her. “Hmmm...can you tell me why you two don’t live together? You are married after all, right?” I asked for confirmation.
“Ummm, Lord Eyes...that is personal...” But I gave her a stern look, and she sighed. “As you wish, my Lord.” Sharing with me, “The reason why Drune and I do not live together is because the Elven and Dwarven Kingdoms have never really gotten along—as I am sure you already know—and the animosity between all the Kingdoms has only increased through the centuries without the Five Great Heroes guiding them and their peoples.” Adding, “Though we have been extremely lucky to only have two major wars since that time.”
“The war part doesn’t sound great, but the Kingdoms not liking each other doesn’t sound like that big of a problem either; it just sounds like politics to me.” Odelia laughingly agreed, “And besides, you and Drune don’t seem like the type to care about what other people think, or do you?”
“We do not, Lord Eyes...” Smiling before looking sad again, “...but the few Dwarves that do choose to live in Ven'Thyl are still openly detested and harassed daily by the other Elves, and I cannot bear to hear those things about someone I very much love.”
“Does everyone treat them that way?” I asked, feeling sympathetic.
“Not all of them, but a majority do, and it is worse when I see the younger generation learning to act the same way.” Also mentioning, “It is the same for an Elf who chooses to live in the Dwarven Kingdom.”
“That's so disappointing.” I said, agreeing with her sentiment; then thinking “Looks like racism will always be an issue, regardless of the World I’m in.” While I let the mood pass as we walked, I brought up “What about the Human Kingdom then? I saw all the Races in Asheton basically being fine with each other, and I don’t remember ever encountering any racial problems there.”
Thinking about how to answer, Odelia finally said “The Human Kingdom is somehow better, but also worse at the same time.” elaborating, “As in being better the farther you are from the major cities, and being worse the closer you are to Leon and Sya.” adding, “Well that is with the exception of how wealthy one is, for a great amount of coin can truly blind many eyes there.”
Understanding the money part but not the other, I asked “Wait, what do you mean better the farther you are? What’s wrong with Leon and Sya?”
“What is wrong my Lord is that three of the last four Human Kings were tyrannical in their rule; they have made it extremely difficult to live peacefully in either Leon or Sya if you are of lower class or a non-human—especially in Leon.”
“Tyrannical you say? I think you mentioned something to Dayla about a Tyrant, didn’t you? Who is that, and what have they done?” I questioned, being too curious not to know.
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“I was referring to the Tyrant King Maglios Leon IV, Lord Eyes. But all their recent lineage have almost completely dirtied the great name of Leon through the years.” Odelia then explained to me that Maglios Leon III was the exception, being the one King who ended public slavery in the Human Kingdom 50 years ago. Though she informed me that he was sadly and suspiciously assassinated 30 years ago, all before he could really begin to change the Kingdom for the better; leaving his only child the young 10 year-old Maglios Leon IV next in line for the throne. “And because he is choosing to follow his grandfather and great-grandfather’s footsteps—instead of his father’s—slavery has begun to make a resurgence throughout the Human Kingdom again. Causing many non-humans and people of low status to fear being captured and trafficked into the black markets of the major cities.” Odelia concluded.
“That seems like a huge problem, why hasn't anyone stopped him?" I asked, feeling a little riled up.
"He is the King.” She stated so matter of fact, “Any acts of treason will be met with immediate execution, and the other Kingdoms have agreed not to interfere within the others as long as the peace is kept."
"Woah, I'm getting way too invested and distracted by this.” Shaking my head of the thought, “Kingdom politics isn't my problem right now, and I'm sure the other Players will deal with the slavery problem when they learn about it too." I thought to myself, refocusing my attention back to the original conversation. "Is that why Drune lives in Asheton, 'cause it’s far away from Leon and Sya? If so, why don’t you just live there with him then?”
“Well as you know, I am also a part of the House of Ven’Thyl, and I cannot simply leave my family that I owe everything to." Odelia replied, sounding torn.
“What about Drune’s then? You can’t be the only one concerned about leaving their family? And isn't Drune your family too?” I pointed out.
“Drune was an only child, his parents died over 150 years ago now, and the only other person he cared about just died a few days ago, remember?" Her voice had a real sadness to it, "And I am his family, the only family he has now...”
Breaking the silence before it got too depressing, I said “Don’t worry Odelia, I think I have a solution for all your problems.”
“You do!?" She exclaimed enthusiastically, quickly turning her mood around. "Are you going to become the King of the Elves and help Drune and the other dwarves live peacefully in Ven’Thyl? All the while ridding the hate that has built up over the centuries between the Races and the Kingdoms?”
“Ummm, no?” Laughing a little at her ridiculous fantasy, “I already told you I don’t want to be King, but I can still help Drune and you out.”
Her enthusiasm quickly faded, “Mmmm...how?”
“I don’t really wanna explain it twice, so let’s just wait until tomorrow when I can tell Drune and Mako too, for now let’s just head back to Asheton.” I suggested, and Odelia nodded in agreement.
Then with perfect timing, Goblex came floating towards us in his ghostly body, saying “Master Eyes, I finished. There are no more corpses or body parts left within the castle walls.”
“That’s great, and I was about to go looking for you to tell you that we’re leaving now.” I informed him.
“You’re leaving, Master?” Goblex asked, showing me a helpless look on his ghostly face.
“I am, and I’m not sure when I’ll be coming back.” Ignoring his act.
“Oh, I see...you're leaving me behind…” He acted sadder.
“Oh, don’t give me that. Didn’t you like being the Castle Keeper? Why would the Castle Keeper leave the castle?” I asked him.
“I do like it, and I do understand that as the Castle’s Keeper I should stay, but what am I supposed to do while you’re gone, Master?” He asked me back.
Thinking for a moment while I looked around at the still messy and overgrown castle grounds, I told him “Well you can start by doing your job.” Instructing him to: trim all the overgrown foliage on the castle and in the back courtyard, move all the castle debris and destroyed furniture outside, wash out all the stains and blood from the place, and to clean up all rooms inside. “And clean up whatever else you think needs cleaning.” I added.
Goblex had a permanent frown on his face, “Master, that sounds like a horrible time. Is there a way to not be the Castle Keeper anymore?” But his attitude quickly changed when he saw Odelia glaring daggers at him, “Hahaha, I almost got you, Master. I love being the Castle Keeper, and I’ll definitely make sure to do everything you asked me to by the time you return again.” Goblex laughed nervously.
“I don’t know, are you sure you don’t want to come with us? You might even meet people or monsters who would love to try killing a ghost.” I teased, “I mean this castle might be too safe and too boring, and definitely too perfectly isolated from any dangers at all.”
Hearing that seemed to help Goblex come to a realization, “Master, it’s alright. I will happily carry the burden of being the Castle Keeper. However boring it may be, I will endure for as long as I have to, waiting for your joyous return."
Smiling and rolling my eyes, I remembered and said “Oh, and just to warn before you go snooping around the place.” Grabbing Goblex’s attention again, “Don’t go anywhere near the inside of the Stronghold, the guy living there warned me he’ll kill anyone who’s unworthy to be in there, and I’d bet a snooping Goblin would definitely be unworthy.”
“Huh!?!? What does that mean!?” Goblex exclaimed, in complete confusion and worry.
“A Stronghold? Is there a Stronghold here, Lord Eyes?” Odelia asked curiously, looking around to see if she could find one sticking out of the mountains.
“Yeah, but don’t worry about it. It’s not important right now.” Laughing at the thought of that, “Now, let’s go!” Activating Sprint and speeding out of the castle—with Odelia easily following behind.
***
Limping through the forest, a pack of odd looking wolves slowly collapsed one after the other onto the soft ground, whimpering from the intense pain they were feeling. As if they were completely starved of food for weeks, the wolves' bodies were extremely thin and skinny—exposing a clear outline of their ribs—and all having multiple patches of missing fur from them, with some fur partially falling out. Then as they collectively struggled to breathe much longer, their leader let out one last weak howl—barely being audible—but it was still enough to cause the others to howl along with him. And when their quiet howls finally faded away, so did all their energy; laying their weak bodies on the soft forest ground, and completely becoming still and lifeless.
After a few moments passed, their lifeless pupils had completely changed into a milky white colour, while their bodies also had more fur fall out from them. Another few moments passed and suddenly each of their bodies began to twitch randomly, causing all the tiny cuts and wounds on them to strangely enlarge and tear wide open. Then shortly after they all rose from the ground, their now large wounds openly festering in the air, and their mouths slobbering a large amount of rotted viscous liquid. Recognizing they were all back alive, the wolves howled once more, but this time being loud enough to echo throughout the forest. Though they quickly stopped and growled instead when they spotted a herd of deer being spooked by them, and then immediately ran off to chase after the deer.
Having an immense deep hunger driving them, each wolf easily took down a deer of their own, and had already begun to devour the deers alive. Stopping when their bellies were satiated, the wolves howled once again and regrouped with each other to go off searching for more prey, leaving the half eaten deer carcasses to rot. Though as the wolves disappeared into the forest, the deer carcasses found themselves slowly rising from the ground. Seemingly unbothered by any of their gaping wounds, torn flesh, and exposed bones, the deers simply walked off into the forest as if nothing ever happened.