Sergeant Wesker was not a happy man. This situation was totally unacceptable. His team had been systematically destroyed, and he had been completely outmatched. Never, in all his years, had he been so thoroughly humiliated. The enemies' plan had been perfect, and if it weren’t for Walker, of all people, his entire team would be dead. Yes, this entire situation was completely unacceptable.
Arms crossed in repressed anger, he watched as the little lord emotionally broke the assassin. With a grimace on his face, he forced himself to keep silent. Torture was grim work, but sometimes it was necessary. And it seemed the little lord had no issues getting his hands dirty. Glancing at the sword nailing the assassin to the tree, he thought, ‘That crazy little bastard stabbed the man into a tree, destroyed his legs, and left him to bleed out. Am I really just going to stand here and watch what he does next?’
Surprisingly, the assassin answered the little lord’s questions without him having to do anything.
As the team’s leader, he had been given the most detailed information the army had on everyone he would be leading. So, he knew all about Nero’s mind imprint from a previous life. The report didn’t have much detail, but Wesker could read between the lines; the general had been scrying on the young man. Although it was technically illegal, the safety of Dorchester was paramount. Wesker assumed the general justified the spying as an investigation into a potential threat. It hadn’t felt right at the time, but now the sergeant couldn’t help but think the old man had been on to something.
The sergeant couldn’t help but wonder if the little lord had been trained in interrogation during his past life. What else could explain the young man’s flawless performance. Wesker observed the little lord threaten, and comfort the man in equal measure. The longer they talked, the more the man seemed to give up. Sergeant Wesker couldn’t help but ponder the implications as the little lord bent the assassin to his will.
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Nero hadn’t removed his sword from Mike, and the man was still pinned to the tree. But Nero had given the man a canteen filled with water, along with a ration bar. He had taken a seat on the ground right in front of him, and sat cross legged as if he were completely at ease.
Mike was cooperating. Nero’s actions made him feel like he didn’t even have a choice. It was as if Nero knew Mike was out of options.
Nero’s face was calm and carried some sympathy as he said, “So it was really all Heather’s idea? I understand what you’re saying Mike, and I can see that you didn’t have much choice. But, you know that I need to find out who her contact was. Without that, I’m not sure how much I can help you.”
Mike stared at the young lord, his face filled with hope. Quietly he asked, “You’ll really try to intercede on my behalf? Why would you do that?”
Nero smiled gently, and said, “Look Mike, it’s not like any of this was personal. You didn’t WANT to kill me. You were just doing a job. The nail shouldn’t be blamed for the actions of the hammer. But without knowing who hired you, there isn’t anything I can do to protect you from them. They won’t want loose ends. The moment we get to Dorchester, you’ll be quietly eliminated. I can’t protect you if I don’t know who to protect you from.”
Mike nodded, and absently took a sip from the canteen with his good arm. He matched stares with Nero and said, “If I tell you what I know, I want your word that you will protect me.”
Nero wasn’t sure if there was some kind of law or something that dealt with a noble’s word, so he wasn’t about to promise anything. His eyes lost their kindness, and he replied, “Let me be clear Mike. You’ll tell me what I want to know, or I’ll remove your feet and leave you to the tender mercies of the wilds. Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness.”
Mike shivered at Nero’s threat, and said, “Alright! There’s no need for that. I’ll tell you everything I know about Heather’s contact. Just…. Please help me.”
Nero’s sympathetic smile returned. “Of course, Mike. You help me, and I’ll see what I can do. Now, tell me about the contact,” he said.
Cathleen was still watching the forest, but Nero knew she was close enough to hear everything they were saying. Meanwhile, Nero could feel Nick and Wesker standing next to each other of to the side, intently watching him interrogate the assassin.
Mike dropped his head in defeat, and said, “Heather met the man years ago. Since then, we’ve done work for him occasionally. Normally, it was finding out information, or spreading the rumors he needed people talking about. He always paid well, and he was a great connection to have. He has contacts in the army, the guard, the hunters, and even business connections. Through him, she got us discounts on gear, and we always found out what was happening before anyone else.”
Nero's voice was soft. He made sure not to push too hard as he said, “I need a name Mike. You know this has gone too far. He won’t stick his neck out for you. You’re a liability now. All of those contacts that he has… they’re now going to be coming for you. Tell me who he is.”
Slumped in defeat, and stapled to a tree, Mike whispered, “I’m guessing his son won’t let me slip away. You’re right. It would just be easier to kill me. I’m a dead man.”
Nero was getting frustrated, but he forced himself to keep calm. “I’m a new noble, Mike. That means I have royal backing. If you are under my protection, no one can touch you. But I need to know who it is I’m up against.”
Mike whispered, “Blackwood. It’s Lord Blackwood. He’s the one who hired us. I don’t know the details, but Heather said he needed you killed in a way that couldn’t be traced back to him. He provided the plan, and the support. We were supposed to report to his son at your main camp if we ran into any issues. We’re hunters, so us being out here shouldn’t have been suspicious. But, if there were no problems, we’d just quietly return to Dorchester. We were going to dump your bodies into a proto-dungeon a few units from here. There wouldn’t be anything to find. Ideally, no one would even know we were out here at all.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Sergeant Wesker broke the quiet atmosphere. “Gods dammit! This is not good. Lord Blackwood is a consort to the city-lord. Everyone knows that. This is going to be a shit-storm,” he angrily hissed.
Nero leaned back onto his hands, but kept his eyes on his prisoner. Questions were racing through his mind. Was the city-lord behind this? Why? Could this be someone else framing the city-lord? Maybe he did it on his own, like that idiot son of hers.
Then Nero remembered the sergeant who had once given him a tour of the army compound in Gate 7. The man had been avoiding Nero during training, and now Nero knew why. He was surprised at how betrayed he felt. Even though he didn’t know the man well, he had gotten along with him. Nero remembered the man’s laugh, and he could picture the man’s easy-going smile. ‘This is some real medieval betrayal. Princes and consorts plotting the demise of their political enemies. Friends turned into enemies based on their familial ties. If this were happening to someone else, I’d totally watch this show,’ he thought grimly.
Nick spoke up, “The Blackwoods are a large family. They have several branch houses, and are practically an institution in Dorchester. It doesn’t make sense for Lord Blackwood to be personally involved. If he wanted you dead, he’d have someone from the lower families arrange it. This is probably the work of an impostor.”
Mike looked up and said, “I don’t know what else to tell you. As far as I knew, Heather was talking to him directly. But I only have her word on that. She could have been lying, or she was deceived. All I know for sure is that whoever her contact was, he was powerful. Once, Heather had been arrested by the guards for a bar-fight where she killed someone. It had only taken a ping for her to have a representative from the Tower of Law petitioning for her immediate release. After that, none of us questioned what she told us.”
Sergeant Wesker said, “There isn’t a noble in Dorchester who could manipulate the law like that.”
Nero snorted, then looked over his shoulder at the sergeant, and said, “I doubt they did anything illegal. All it would take is an expedited trial, and some careful presentation of the evidence. She probably was let off on the grounds of self-defense or something. Lawyers don’t have to break the law to manipulate it.”
Nero returned his attention to Mike, who looked like he had given up all hope. Even though Nero felt bad for the guy, there probably wasn’t much he could do to help him. Their only chance was to get the man into protective custody, or whatever the Dorchester equivalent was.
After a few seconds of silence, Nero stood up and took a few steps away from the prisoner. He made sure to keep an eye on the assassin, and said, “The way I see it, our options are limited. We know for a fact that someone gave our position away. They could be watching us right now. It is entirely possible that Mike is right, and this conspiracy goes all the way up to this Lord Blackwood guy. Taking that into account, we can’t go to the camp with Captain Angelton.”
Sergeant Wesker gritted his teeth, holding back his anger. Trying to keep calm, he asked, “Why not? The captain wouldn’t be involved in this.”
Nero just returned a blank stare and said, “His sergeant, and close friend, is named Blackwood. I’ve met the man, and he was part of the command party. Don’t pretend you haven’t considered the possibility that Captain Angelton was bought off.”
Nero watched the sergeant struggling to contain his rage at the possible betrayal. Continuing on, he said, “We need to find Rose. She is probably heading toward the camp. If she gets there before us, we have no idea how the captain and Sergeant Blackwood will react. Worst case scenario, they interrogate her and find out that I might still be alive. If they are complicit, they’ll start hunting us. Who knows how many people from the recruits are with them. So, first order of business is getting to Rose before she makes it to them.”
Nick said, “It’s worse than that Nero. If we’re really being tracked by mages, then they could have already told their agents that you are alive. The camp could be coming for us as we speak. I think we should head directly for Dorchester. Rose will have to take care of herself.”
Nero gave his friend a complicated look, then replied, “You’re right. But I don’t want to let her walk into what could possibly be a trap. Not to mention that these woods are full of monsters and beasts that will have no problem ripping apart an archer who is not even level 10. Besides, we can’t assume that everyone is involved. Paranoia isn’t going to help us get through this. The best thing we can do is just deal with what we know. Our immediate issue is Rose, and we’re going after her.”
Sergeant Wesker’s voice was hard as he said, “I’m the team leader, and I’ll be making the decisions. We ne-”
Nero interrupted harshly, “Like hell you will!” He was much shorter than the sergeant, but he stared up at the man with no hesitation in his eyes.
Nero’s voice was like steel as he said, “I may not be a full lord or whatever until I complete the trials, but I’ll be in charge of my survival. Until I know better, the only people I trust are Cathleen and Nick. You could be involved, and only killed as a contingency. You might be feeling betrayed by your employer, or by the army, or just thinking about yourself.” Taking a step forward, he stared the man down, and continued, “I don’t trust you. I will not be taking any orders from you. You will follow my lead, or the woman behind you will remove you from the equation.”
Sergeant Wesker froze as he remembered the terrifying woman who was currently watching his back. He suddenly realized that any semblance of control he had over the group was only there because the little lord in front of him had allowed it.
Looking down at the insane young man, he said, “Very well. What are your orders?”
Nero said decisively, “Everyone, pack up our gear. We’re heading after Rose. Nick, you said you can track her, so find us a heading.” Turning, Nero looked down at Mike, who was still attached to the tree.
Striding forward, Nero grabbed hold of his sword, then yanked it out of the tree. Mike screamed in pain, then collapsed. Nero cast a simple healing spell, and let it do its work.
As Mike felt his shoulder heal, he heard the young man who had dismantled his entire team say, “Mike, you’re coming with us. You now work for me. You will do as you're told, defend us with your life, and cause no trouble. I’ll personally deliver you to the Tower of Law so you can make a statement. Right now, I’m your only chance of getting out of this alive. Do you have any objections?”
Holding his shoulder, Mike looked up at the stern faced young noble and said, “No, m’lord. I’ll do whatever you say.”
Nero ran his center along his blade, cleaning off the blood. Giving it a quick look, confirming it was now clean, he then returned it to his scabbard. Turning around, he saw his companions bundling up their supplies. But he couldn’t help but notice Cathleen was still keeping an eye on the forest.
Nero stood in contemplation, watching Mike go and collect his weapons while doing his best to avoid looking at his dead friends.
Deciding that he better get it over with, Nero looked up into the sky and said, “I don’t know how many of you are watching. You might be from the mage tower with Jennings, or some asshole who was paid to track us. But you better pray to whatever gods you believe in, because if you think you’re going to live through this, you’re delusional. I’m coming for you, so you better start running.” Nero huffed in anger, then went to collect his things.
After taking two steps, he paused then looked back at the sky, “And Jennings, if you’re watching, I know you must have known about this. You’re the kind of asshole who would watch this happen like it was some kind of experiment. If you don’t have the mage who’s been tracking us in custody before I get back to Dorchester, I’m going to start a weekly broadcast on Dorchester’s hub. It will cover topics including ‘how to annoy your bosses’, ‘why mages aren’t that special’, and ‘why essence shields are only described as a ‘film’ by idiots’. Don’t test me old man.”
Nero nodded to himself, as if his threat was enough to ensure Jennings cooperation. He then went to get his gear together.
‘Well, I wanted an adventure. Now I have to rescue a runaway girl, while making my way through a monster infested forest with a man who tried to kill me, a possible traitor, and my magic teacher. And all I have to rely on is a warrior woman who has spent the last week teaching me how to die well. What could go wrong?’ he thought wryly.