James lifted the collar of his coat against the chilling breeze, luckily it was not snowing. The job of one of House Lewale’s Guards had many upsides, but it also had a few downsides. The benefits were great, especially if he was injured in the line of duty. The pay was decent. They lodged him in the barracks and fed him, free of charge.

However, the hours were practically ironclad. If you were scheduled for a shift, there was no negotiating. He had to spend long hours walking and standing. He had to participate in the mandatory training sessions. And then, of course, there was the whole, ‘possible loss of life and limb’ thing.

And that was just during the pleasant months. He had the misfortune of being stationed on patrol of the grounds. Patrol was certainly one of the worst shifts to have as one of the Guards. During the summer, you were walking around in heavy armor under the direct sun, away from the shade the Perimeter Guards had.

At least during the winter, you were moving with that heavy armor, so your muscle would warm up. But it still sucked as you were exposed to the winds and away from the blazing braziers of the Perimeter or warm interior of the Mansion Guards.

Luckily, the heavy chainmail and plate he wore was over a layer of thick cloth gambeson that insulated fairly well. That did nothing for his hands and feet though.

Many of the servants had been granted paid leave while the new Lord celebrated his marriage to the Commoner girl, Astrid. James had not had the chance to speak to her, but from what he saw and heard from her as he went about his duties, he liked. She seemed like a smart and kind lady who he would enjoy serving under and protecting.

The paid leave did not apply to the Guards.

With so many servants gone, the grounds were much emptier, which James did not mind.

As he walked through the gardens, grumbling to himself, he froze mid step. In front of him, hovering chest height in the middle of the crossroads in the middle of the garden, was a small black ball, no larger than a fist.

Despite his annoyances, he was a proud Guard and Soldier of the Lewale House.

“Possible Hostile!” James shouted, the call being heard and echoed by the other Guards.

James raised his shield to the unknown object and lowered his sword, resting it on the top edge of his shield. He lowered his center of gravity and ducked his head slightly, so it was mostly behind the shield. He flicked his head forward, slamming the visor of his Armet Helmet closed.

Within moments, the entire Guard’s barracks was emptied of the Reserve Shift, some went to reinforce the perimeter, but most joined James in the garden, surrounding the object in positions copying James, just as their training had drilled into them.

Despite rarely ever needing to fight in the line of duty, they were all veterans of countless hunts. They were well versed in their duties.

One of the Ranger Classed Guards ran to fetch the Lewale’s resident Mage while Archers set up raised platforms and aimed their bows over the Guards at the object.

Four silent tension filled minutes passed before the Ranger returned with the Mage. The Guards shuffled to the side to let him through, all without taking their eyes off the black object.

The mage, clad in cloth robes with a light chainmail vest hastily thrown over top, walked up to the floating ball, closely examining it. Several more minutes passed as he studied it, gradually becoming more relaxed, but the Guards only grew more tense as the minutes dragged on.

Eventually, the Mage stepped back with a nod to himself, “Alright then. That should do it.”

Hesitantly, the Guard Commander on shift asked, “What is it?”

The Mage looked over at him as if he was still trying to wake up, “Mmmhhh? Oh, It’s a type of Portal. I don’t know of what variety, I would need to do many more tests to be sure.”

The Guardsmen took a step forward at the mention of a Portal.

“Any way of telling what’s on the other side?” The Commander asked.

“With a lengthy spell that I do not have access to. I know that the Geography Professor at the Academy knows the spell, but it would take at least an hour to fetch him, likely two as I have no idea where he would be on campus.”

The Commander sighed, trying not to show his annoyance, “Then is there any indication about if or when something will come through?”

The Mage shrugged. Just as he did so, the black orb began to slowly grow in size. It was silent, but it was immediately noticed. Two Guards quickly put themselves in front of the Mage, ushering him back behind the ring of Guards while keeping their shields in front of him.

The formation tightened, locking their shields together as the archers raised their bows.

In moments, the Portal was the size of a man, yet the figure that emerged was larger still. Having to crouch to get through, a large man clad in a black suit straightened.

The man looked around at the three dozen heavily armed Guards around him with curiosity.

“My apologies, but may I trouble one of you for the day? How long has it been since the wedding?”

* * * * *

‘Please don’t say months, please don’t say months.’

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A guard with a plume in the Lewale colors spoke up through his faceplate.

“Identify yourself!”

Alaster looked down at himself, at the suit he wore, “Really? How many people do you know that are as large as me, would come from a magic portal, and wear a suit like this?”

The man did not appreciate the sarcasm. He stepped forward sternly, raising his shield higher, “Identify yourself! I will not ask again!”

Alaster rolled his eyes, “Listen pal, even the City Lord himself could not stop me. You and your men won’t be able to either. So how about this? I go say goodbye to Lady Astrid and her new husband, and I get out of your hair.”

The entire formation took a firm step forward, “You will not be going anywhere!” The commander shouted.

“By the gods, this is why I don’t like people. So arrogant. So stiff. Luckily, I don’t have to listen. Bye.”

As Alaster spoke the last word, he had already located his target with a Shadow Assassin and cast [Swap] on them.

Alaster disappeared from the garden, causing the Guards to shout in alarm and immediately set out to locate him.

Alaster appear before a door within the Mansion, accidently startling a servant girl, who dropped her bundle of blankets.

“Apologies for the surprise. I just need to talk with the Lord and Lady for a moment.” Alaster apologized, putting on his best charming smile that Azemar had drilled into him, and picking up the blankets.

He handed them back to the girl and knocked on the door.

“Just leave them there Natasha!” Arthur called from behind the door.

Alaster turned back to the girl, “I’m guessing you are Natasha?”

Still shocked from the sudden appearance of such a large handsome man she numbly nodded.

“That’s a beautiful name.” Alaster said before turning back to the door.

“Arthur, I swear to the Gods that if you don’t put pants on in the next two minutes, I am going to drag you outside without them!”

A loud crash came from inside the room, followed by the sound of rushed rummaging. Before the two minutes were up, the door swung open to reveal a shirtless Arthur at the door and Astrid in a bathrobe with a blanket around her.

“Alaster you jackass, couldn’t you have shown up like a normal person?” Arthur cursed, his face red, though Alaster doubted it was from anger.

Alaster turned back to Natasha, “What about me gives the impression of being a normal person?”

Arthur stuck his head out of the room to see the young girl.

“Natasha, go help your mother in the kitchen please.”

The girl came out of her trance and nodded without a word before she ran off, leaving the blankets on the floorboards.

Arthur turned back to Alaster, “Can this wait until we are dressed? Maybe five minutes?”

Astrid spoke up from within the room, “Twenty,” She mumbled the next part to herself, but Alaster still heard it, “I think I need a bath.”

Arthur didn’t look at his wife and seamlessly amended his earlier statement, “Twenty minutes.”

Alaster rolled his eyes, “Fine, I’ll see you two in the dining room.”

Alaster began to walk away and Arthur called out to him, “Do you know where it is?”

“Oh please, I knew the layout of your entire Mansion before I knew your name.”

Arthur sighed and closed the door.

Alaster walked casually through the halls towards the small dining room reserved for the Noble Family. He ran into a few Guards, but he always appeared just behind them if they reached for him, continuing on his journey without a care in the world.

By the time he reached his destination, he had half the Lewale Guards following him, their weapons raised and ready. They already knew that he was extremely powerful and were hesitant to engage him when he clearly did not care to engage them.

Alaster sat down in the chair to the left of the head of the table and leaned back, closing his eyes as the Guards took up positions around the table. He decided to check in with his Death Knights who had rejoined the mass army of the Undead outside the city shortly after their Formation within the Soul Domain.

‘How are things going over there?’ He asked.

Samantha was the one to respond, ‘Everything is quiet here. I think we might have killed everything within a ten-mile radius of Onigas, that, or we scared them off.’

‘Any significant losses?’

John spoke up, ‘Nah, nothing you couldn’t recreate in a few minutes.’

‘What has Lezrem been doing?’

‘Meditating mostly. He summoned his own Undead, then sat down and began to meditate. Its actually kinda cool. Every few seconds a pulse of Necrotic Mana surges out of him. But his Mana different than yours, its more chaotic, less controlled, and has none of that black stuff.’ John answered.

Alaster was not surprised. The Lich was determined to become a Black Lich as quickly as possible. Though Alaster doubted he would come even close to his goal within the next century. There was a reason there was only one other recorded instance of a Black Lich.

Alaster mentally checked his Undead Army, replenishing the few losses within his Soul so they would be ready to be summoned at a moment’s notice. He then spent the next few minutes working on a third body. He did not have any real purpose for a third body.

Fenrir was already doing plenty. However, a third body was bound to be useful, so Alaster spent his sparse moments of free time merely playing around with the design. That way, if he did have a reason for a third body, he could quickly make one. Though ‘quickly’ would still take nearly a month of careful construction, even if he had the Mana Designs perfect.

Eventually, the doors to the dining room swung open to allow the Lord and Lady to walk in, properly dressed this time.

The Guard Commander immediately stepped up to them, “My Lord, I am afraid that there is an intruder. It may not be safe for you or your Lady to be here.”

“Commander Fendrix, do you not recognize the man who walked me down the isle to my husband?”

The Commander stiffened in realization, “I apologize my Lady, with the other guests, I did not have the time to see him for myself before he vanished.”

Arthur waved it away, “Its fine. He isn’t one to care about that. And don’t bother apologizing to him either, he also doesn’t care about that. Could you send a runner down to the Kitchen and have them prepare a small meal, perhaps just a few bowls of soup and some bread?”

The man bowed deeply, his armor making it a noisy action, “It shall be done, my Lord.”

The Commander quickly ordered his men out of the room, sending one of the faster ones to the Kitchen as he did so. In just a few moments, the doors to the dining room were closed, leaving only Alaster and the couple.

Arthur took his place at the head of the table with Astrid sitting to his right.

“What did you want to talk about so urgently?” Arthur asked.

“Well, I promised Astrid that I would say goodbye before I left. After this, I plan on stopping by the Siphas Estate and the Phoenix Order Barracks.

My plans were delayed but have not changed. Is the man still in the location you gave me?”

“What man?” Astrid asked, dressed in a graceful blue dress.

Arthur sighed, “I am sorry, I meant to tell you. My agents found a man that directly took part in the death of Alaster’s parents.”

“Oh, are you ok?” Astrid asked Alaster.

“I’ll be better when he isn’t. But in truth, I am actually quite excited. All these years, I have been preparing to find my sister, and now, I am finally going to find her. A little anxious, mind you, but excited.”

“With you, excited can hold many meanings.” Arthur sighed.

“True. A lot of people are going to die. People responsible for the death of my parents and kidnapping of my sister.

So, I am actually in quite a rush. I just wanted to properly say goodbye.” Alaster finished, standing up as he did.

They stood up with him and Arthur shook his hand while Astrid hugged him.

Alaster prepared to swap places with a Shadow, but before he did, he said one last thing.

“By the time I get back, I expect to be an Uncle-to-be.”

Astrid’s immediately turned red but before she could yell at him, he vanished.