"Well, that settles that," Jon said.

"Nothing settles anything," Agata said, annoyed. "Are you telling me that just because Aaron's evil twin--"

"Cousin," I corrected.

"Brother cousin," Jon corrected further. "Which goes along with him being an auntfor--"

I threw a blast of Arcane Fire right below him, sending him flying into the air. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Okay, that was deserved!" Jon said.

I really needed to get back to figuring out how to cure him of being a raven, well, falcon. If I was going to ever see the end of his whining, I needed to prove that I was a powerful enough wizard to pull it off. Which didn't feel like something I normally thought but was another feeling I liked. No matter how out of character it was.

Maybe I was Peter Parker on Venom. I could do the cool strut down the street too. Okay, I needed to get the Spider-Man 3 out of my head.

"Yes, we're going to the Great Forest," Ania replied, showing that Agata didn't have any chance of persuading the others. "I owe the elves, and we can't let them fall under the sway of the Mad Queen."

"Polly really hates that name," Ivan said, referring to the Mad Queen Apollonia von Piast-Jagiellon. "Almost as much as being called Polly. Believe me, going South to Kalizov is the better plan."

"So you can murder the two princes in the tower and become king?" Jon asked.

"That's ridiculous," Ivan said. "I only want to murder one prince and he is out among the army, learning valuable lessons in rapine and torture. Probably teaching them now. Admittedly, once he's dead, I'm sure his mother will recover from her curse and will quietly retire to a nunnery or country estate under heavy guard."

Ivan said the word nunnery as if he was making a private joke.

"Where you become king," I said.

Ivan puffed up his chest, adjusting his monocle. "I admit, it would be best for me to take the role of king. I have many plans for the modernization of the Ledzianian army with Turqish canon and Mongol cavalry equipped with my design for a rapid-reloading rifle. Throw in a recruitment of Grand Duchy mages and hedge wizards to complement our situation? Well, we can repulse not just the Empire but Veles forces."

The Grand Duchy of Vilnius was the equivalent of Lithuania that was presently a part of Ledziania. I mentioned the Southern Kingdoms were a lot larger than present-day Poland and had been a conquest-minded kingdom on its own before the Empire's invasion. Because, well, that's what feudal nations did to one another. It was kind of baked into their DNA. It was the same reason pseudo-Wallachia here was subordinate to the Mad Queen.

"We have your niece as a candidate," Agata said. "She doesn't come with as much...baggage."

Ivan grimaced.

Honestly, I and a lot of other readers had no idea why so many Ledzianians seemed to think Ivan was an utterly unfit candidate for monarch. It seemed an in-universe mystery where the only living son was overshadowed by his sisters in every way. I wasn't a fan of primogeniture, nor monarchy in general, so I had no skin in the game. Still, the book version of Ivan had been traumatized by the complete lack of support he had for rulership no matter how intelligent or accomplished he was. He might not look it but the guy had quite a few victories on the battlefield, even if not quite as many as the Bastard Knight. After all, princes weren't expected to lead from the front, just be on the battlefield. Maybe it was just ableism or maybe there was something about the guy that rubbed the aristocracy the wrong way.

"I'm sure she'd love to anoint me in the name of her god," Ivan said.

"Do you even believe in Mythras?" Joan asked, dryly.

"I'll believe in any god that wants to crown me," Ivan said, pausing. "Except Veles. I'm not a fan of the whole 'kill the world' plan. I'm quite fond of living and he seems to want me dead for some reason. Perhaps the fact he was fucking my sister when she was teenager."

"The Great Forest is on the other side of the country in the North," I said. "We can use the fast travel system to go back to Crossroad, journey to the Great Forest, then use it again to head back to the Eldritch Tree that will take us most of the journey to Kalizov."

Ania stared at me. "That would cut away a good ninety percent of our travel time. The entire trip would take less time than it would take on horseback from here back to the Great Tree."

"If we still had horses," I muttered. Well, they had demon steeds.

I didn't.

"Fast travel?" Ivan asked, curiously. He briefly glanced at his bracelet. "Interesting."

"It's a form of teleportation," I replied. "We can move anywhere when we're not surrounded by enemies."

"Then help us save the elves," Thistle said. "All living things are together against the cause of Veles."

"Sure," I said, not happy about already having a new mission to distract us but not willing to ignore any news of Alek.

That was when all our bracelet's pinged.

MAIN QUEST UPDATE:

ASSEMBLE ARMIES TO FIGHT VELES’ HORDE 0/3

* Prevent Elves from joining the Mad Queen's Kingdom or Recruit Queen Rhoeas to your cause.

* (Optional) Recruit the Dark Moon Assassins against Veles.

* (Optional) Discover Thistle's secret.

* Expose the Fake Dragon Queen or make an alliance with her.

* (Optional) Use Prince Ivan to solidify their claim.

* (Optional) Convince Pope Joan to solidify their claim.

Recommended Level: 12+

Rewards: Army of Great Forest, Army of Ledziania, 100,000 EXP Each

"Interesting," Ivan said, a sour expression on his face. "Notably, there doesn't seem to be an option to make me King of Ledziania."

"I can't imagine why," Ania said.

"Neither can I," Ivan said, frowning. "I'm such a charming fellow. Do you have a secret that I don't know, Thistle?"

"Fuck off," Thistle said, glaring.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

The pinging didn't stop.

3 TEMPORARY PARTY MEMBERS HAVE JOINED YOUR GROUP

* Ivan von Piast-Jagiellon, Grey, Male, Human, Aristocrat Bard [Orator] 9

* Thistle, Black, Female, Elf [???], Dark Moon Warrior [Ranger] 9

* Pontifex Maximus Joan the First, White, Female, Human, Priestess [Mythras] 9

"It appears we are temporarily allied," Ivan said, looking at me. "In the most literal sense possible."

The original quest given to me by the Mark of the Champion had said I was to assemble six companions to fight Veles. So far, I'd assembled four with Ania, Agata, Bloodstorm, and Sparky. Jon didn't count because he was listed as a familiar. It was possible that any two of these individuals would become a permanent companion while another would leave after events. I wasn't anxious for that to be the case because, well, a variety of reasons. Not the least being that one was Ania's ex and clearly affecting her negatively while another was a child even younger than Sparky. It was also possible the six party member limit wasn't a hard and fast rule. After all, we could be dealing with DLC.

Okay, no, that was stupid.

"It'll be nice to see Dragon Keep again," I said, thinking about the castle I'd accidentally become the lord of. The magical transformations that had been taking place every time we upgraded it had been fascinating to watch. Also, it was my home even if I'd only spent a few days there. Maybe I was a little too eager to cast aside my two-room apartment but there was something to be said for the big life even if you got killed pursuing it.

"I'll take us there," Ania said, reluctantly putting down her bow at last and lifting her bracelet.

"We should talk, Ania," Thistle said, looking at her.

"No," Ania replied, coldly.

"So, where did you get that bracelet?" I asked, looking at Ivan.

"A friend," Ivan replied.

"Ah," I said, not sure how to pursue the conversation at that point.

Agata looked defeated. "The Great Mother is expecting us."

"Face it, it's a losing cause," Bloodstorm said. "Aaron doesn't trust her."

Agata did a double take then looked back at me. "You don't."

"Distrust is a harsh word," I said, uncomfortably. "It's more that I just think we should be making our own decisions on what to do because I don't believe she necessarily has our best interests at heart."

"That's the very definition of distrust," Agata said, sarcastically.

"Kind of?" I admitted.

"At least there's something we agree on," Ania said, looking quizzically at her bracelet. "Why is this not working."

"We should discuss strategy, Ser Aaron," Joan said, looking up at me.

"You also are supposed to teach me magic!" Sparky said.

"I can do both," I said, raising my hands defensively.

That was when there was a thump. A Jurassic Park-level, just below an earthquake thump.

Then another.

And another.

I noticed the blood pools on the floor were rippling.

"Ah crap," I muttered. "I think we have enemies nearby."

"You think?" Ania asked, looking upward.

Bloodstorm lifted his maul up. "We probably should have departed the moment we looted the area. Whoever wants to be the new Lord of Castle Bloodmoon probably needs to kill the person who took out Radu. Dungeon logic, you know."

"Is that prison rules?" Jon asked, looking at Bloodstorm.

"Isn't that what I said?" Bloodstorm asked, confused.

"You didn't clear out the castle before you took down Radu?" Ivan asked, looking up.

I balled my fists. "No, because I was trying to rescue the Pope!"

The sheer venom in my voice caused Ivan to take a step back and I swear there was literal wind backing my words up as if my simmering anger had manifested as the beginnings of a PUSH spell.

"Alright, sorry," Ivan said, intimidated.

"So, do we dump some cold water on him or perform an exorcism?" Jon asked, looking at Agata and Ania then me.

"Yes," Agata said. "I admit, it will require multiple sex acts."

"That's fine," Ania said, her tone suggesting she was unconcerned with anything but the way I was acting.

I growled then saw the fear my friends were displaying of me and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. This isn't me."

Joan put her hand around my mind, the other arm still holding Sparky, and I immediately felt better. Calmer. Safer. Less like I was surrounded by a bunch of idiots I was carrying because I was the face of this (adventuring) band.

"You need a Snickers bar," Jon said. "You're not yourself when you're hangry."

I could use a Snickers bar.

That was when there was an enormous rocking of the tower. The ceiling above started to crumble with bricks falling between us before the rooftop was ripped off completely. A thunderbolt illuminated the squid-faced frame of a thirty-foot-tall humanoid abomination with four red eyes, dragon wings, as well as a squamous, bulbous frame.

My eyes widened. "Cthulhu? What the hell is Cthulhu doing in a fantasy game!?"

Jon stared up at it and spread its wings out. "Aaron, this thing has got two health bars and stats that are off the chain! This is not good!"

"Belobog the Fisher King!" Agata said, as if this was not something I had a pair of fuzzy slippers resembling. "He has fully succumbed to the corruption of the Twisted Ones!"

Belobog was Chernabog's brother and the god of good luck, fishing, sailing, rivers, and fresh water. Basically, a discount Poseidon if you were a nation that was landlocked until recent conquests. He had very little correlation with the equivalent god of Slavic mythology, mostly because there was still an open question if Belobog even existed. Weis claimed otherwise and it seemed that he was fully onboard with ripping off Lovecraft as well.

Sending one of the four Old Ones after us seemed clearly a violation of my agreement with Veles to "play fair" but I suppose he was the kind of guy who'd reply that it was Belobog coming after me instead of him. Either way, there was no way in hell that we could take him on right now. Veles had released the Kraken, and we didn't have a medusa head to screw with it. Oh yeah, I'd just quoted Pirates of the Caribbean and Clash of the Titans. I didn't even like those movies.

"Mythras' miraculous might, protect us from this evil!" Joana shouted, spinning around her staff and shooting a massive beam of solar light from its end as a glowing aura of brilliance almost blinded everyone in the room. She'd had to drop Sparky on the ground, the little dog standing protectively at her feet.

Cthulhu, I mean Belobog, roared as it reared back from the light before vanishing. It didn't seem like it was particularly hurt but the effect but more like it was taking a time out.

"Okay, that was a cutscene," Jon replied, looking on approvingly. "Cosmic Moon Power at its finest."

"Sun, not moon," Thistle corrected.

Joan, by contrast, looked exhausted. "We need to leave this very second! I only managed to banish him from this plane and he's a god! The staff is also exhausted!"

I appreciated her taking the time to do that but didn't know whether we should bolt for the door or try to summon demon steeds while doubling up. Thankfully, Ania took advantage of the moment of distraction to initiate a fast travel.

This time it worked.

The experience of being transported by the Mark of the Champion's fast travel system was different from being transported by portal. It felt more like reality around us dissolved before reshaping into our current position. It was a deeply weird experience that reminded me of Star Trek's transporters. Thankfully, I don't think this involved disintegrating us then resurrecting us. Yes, I'd gotten into that argument with my fellow fans.

Dragon Keep surrounded us and it was a far different looking place than it had been when we'd first arrived. All the burned furniture had been replaced, all the scorches cleaned away, and all of the cracked masonry repaired. It was no longer empty, either, but full of bustling workers that had turned the ruin into a functioning center for Crossroad village.

The walls were covered in tapestries depicting the Dark Undermaster's triumphs and I even saw several individuals I didn't recognize wearing the traditional black cloaks of the order. Somehow, someway, someone had started training new members of the group despite the organization having been effectively destroyed.

It was unsettling.

"Huh," Ivan said, looking around. "When I was sentenced here, I was expecting a place in a much greater state of disrepair."

Sparky glared at the new Dark Undermasters. "I want a cloak."

Agata looked as confused as I did. "It wasn't this busy when our family ruled here."

Ania turned to me. "We should find the castellan and tell them we've arrived."

"Do we have a castellan?" I asked, panting from our close encounter with Not-Cthulhu.

"That's me!" one of the peasants nearby said, walking up with his hand raised. He was a middle-aged man with a beefy body-builder's body and gray mullet that contrasted with his relaxed, slightly stoned expression. I knew him well. "Hi Aragorn! Look at you now!"

Walking up to him was a woman with long graying brown hair who could have passed for a much, much older version of Joan or my sister. She was wearing a home spun dress and carrying a set of flowers. "We're so proud."

Both were in their sixties but looked quite a bit younger, having kept themselves healthy with a naturalistic lifestyle as well as almost supernaturally good genes.

"Hi dad, mom," I said, recognizing him. A second passed as my brain caught up with my adrenaline. "What the f—"