Chapter 27: Reunion

The Next Day

Landar

My bedroom was sparse and spartan. A bed just large enough to fit me, a desk I knew I'd soon grow out of having my knees already scrape against the wooden legs, and a wardrobe that held a few changes of basic but hardy clothes.

Compared to what I had been living in for the last few years, it was luxury incarnate.

And of course on the wall hanging over my desk was a small trophy rack. I could move the pegs around from left to right, and up or down the three sliders. I had my war ax resting there for now. A gift, in a rightful place of honor.

A knock came at the door. It was early morning, and I had already finished my breakfast and stretching and was dressed for the day in the plane cloths that had been left for me. They were brown, and beige. But the cloth didn’t itch, and I could feel the slight hum of mana infused in the threads.

I opened the door, and found a young woman roughly my age in a uniform staring back at me. “Hello Student Landar. I am Sena. One of the Arch Dukes pages. He has sent me to show you the way.” her eyes moved to the ax on my wall. “Please leave your weapons, bring only yourself.”

I did as I was told, putting on my boots and traveling cloak, I followed the girl down the several flights of stairs. Huh, I didn’t think this thing went this deep, I thought as we passed the sixth spiral downwards.

“So how far are we going?” my voice echoed strangely in the stone walls.

“Down to the basement of the tower. Some call it the dungeon.”

“Dungeon huh?” my imagination was filled with images of deep dark forgotten ruins filled with ghosts and cobwebs. Where tombs of the dead were grander than the homes of the living, and beings of shadow and flame slept deeply. Only to be disturbed by those greedy enough to dig down into their lairs.

“Yes. Though it is in a tower configuration, the tower is indeed a proper dungeon.” Sena sounded almost proud. “The duke holds court near the entrance node on the basement floor. Your professors will call it floor zero.”

“How many floors does the tower have?” I asked as we reached the twenty fifth and final floor down.

“Unknown. But Duke Mortimer has currently reached floor ninety nine. He hopes to break through to the one hundredth soon.”

“Woh, that’s . . . a lot of floors.”

Sena smiled and opened one of the double doors in front of us. “Yes it is. Please enter, i’ll wait out here to escort you back to your room when your audience is over.”

***

I walked into the hall, and found half a dozen people standing in front of a large throne. The room was poorly lit by two fire sconces to either side of the stark throne, while the rest of the walls and alcoves were bare of tapestries or paintings of any kind.

“Landar!” A very familiar voice said and before I could respond powerful arms wrapped me in a hug and lifted me off the ground. The air was squeezed out of my lounges as my father choked back sobs. I felt tears burning my own eyes.

“Hello father,” he put me down and my moment of freedom and uninhibited breathing was short-lived as another set of arms, not half as strong but equally as insistent wrapped around me.

“My boy,” Elsbeth’s voice was soft, and it cracked with emotion. “You’re alive!”

“Hello mother,” a hand reached up and messed up my hair in a familiar way. “Hello Tabitha,” I found my very pregnant sister, eyes burning with the same emotion I felt standing just behind Elsbeth. A mix of anger, and joy was plastered on her face.

“You’re an idiot.” She said, her words punctuated by the cracking in her voice. “We thought . . . we thought you were dead.” Tabitha’s other arm was being held by a man who matched my father for height, and looked like who would eventually match him in muscle. Eventually.

“Roland, I thought you were dead.”

“Not going to lie,” he said, his voice soft and raspy, as if it were being dragged across sandpaper and broken glass. “I did too. My throat got crushed by a golem. As you can tell, I'm still healing from that beating I took.”

“I don’t know, it sounds kinda cool. You could be batman.” I got a blank confused look back from the man. “Super cool detective with a thing for bats for some reason. Women find it sexy.”

“Oh. Maybe I'll keep it then.” He smiled down at my sister and she beamed up at him. They kissed and my chest felt like it was about to explode. They had earned their happy ending after all.

Someone hit me, and I looked down to find my mother quietly bawling into my shoulder. She spoke through the sobs in a halting cadence. “You. Can’t talk. About girls yet. Too young.”

Tomas smiled sadly and pulled her away from me into a gentle hug. “He’s eighteen now, wife. He’s going to start looking at girls. And he’s going to be a lady killer, just like his old man.” He winked at me, and I couldn't’ help it. I felt a blush cross my face.

Another figure caught my attention then. A tall, familiar man with weathered features. He smiled sadly at me and I waved him over. “Farmer! Mother, father, this is the man who found me on the road after . . . well, after everything happened. He and his family took me in and gave me a safe place to live for a while.”

“Is that so?” Tomas glared at the man, looking Farmer up and down as if examining a street walker for any sign of threat. He let go of Elsbeth, and walked over to him. After a heartbeat or two of tension, I was worried I'd have to step in when Tomas extended a hand, and Farmer took it. “Thank you for keeping our boy safe.”

“You’re welcome a course. But I got ta say. I’m not sure we did much but feed the lad. He helped us far more than we did him.”

“Still, you gave him a roof over his head and a warm bed right?” Elsbeth asked, and I nodded. “And ArchDuke Mortimer already told us about what happened that night. You saved him.”

“More than that, they made me kin in all but blood.” I said, repeating the farmer's own words to me.

“Then we owe you, Farmer. We owe you a debt I don’t think we can ever repay.” Elsbeth pulled Farmer into a hug, and the man's eyes went wide. Then Tomas pulled both of them into an embrace and Farmer looked extremely uncomfortable.

Good, it's what he deserves. I thought smugly. While my parents both biological and unofficial talked, it gave Tabitha, Roland and I a chance to catch up. As it turned out, Roland was on the verge of gaining his fifth level and was in the academy on the Grey Priesthoods scholarship program. My sister had also been attending the academy, but had taken the last two years off since she got pregnant the first time.

“We have three children. Raylin, our eldest little girl, Lonie, our eldest boy and the middle child, and then this one.” She rubbed her belly. “We haven’t picked out boy names yet. But if it's a girl, we were thinking of Mary.”

“Mary is an excellent name,” a voice from behind us said and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Duke Mortimer appeared out of a shadowed alcove, reading a book as if what he was doing was not extremely weird. “You know, some say that is the Mothers name. From when she was mortal. I don’t much care for Gods, but that little tidbit always interested me.”

Roland and Tabitha both bowed at the waist. Tabitha admittedly with Rolands help.

“Please none of that. I’m sorry I interrupted, I just like that name. Are you going to have the sex of your baby divined?”

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“No, your Grace. We prefer the surprise.” Tabitha said, smiling as brightly as the sun.

“Well that's too bad. When the little brat is born, send me a message would you? I’d love to know.”

“We will your grace,” Roland said.

“Alright enough of that your grace nonsense. I get too much of that as it is. It might be good for the ego, but it makes a guy's head swell. Now, I have a little proposal for your family here, and then I'll be out of your way.”

Tomas, Elsbeth, and Farmer all joined the little collection of people and bowed to the Duke. “I already said enough. No more bowing either. That’s an order.”

Elsbeth's eyes were red rimmed, and I could tell she was not going to bite her tongue much longer. “And you can stop glaring at me Elsbeth. I get enough of that from you at city council meetings.”

“If you weren’t so rude to everyone all the time, maybe I'd glare at you less.”

“If this is about me giving tenements to high nobles to manage instead of land, that proposal was approved by the drudges of all people. Trust me when I say-”

“No Duke Mortimer,” Eslbeth said his title as if he were her child. “It's about the way you speak to people. The tenement idea . . . problematic in some ways. But also understandable given circumstances. . . It's not what you say Duke, it's how you say it that disappoints me so.”

I froze, fear trickled down my spine. This man had threatened to murder half the city's nobles if they caused a ruckus again, what would Duke Mortimer do to my mother. I was prepared to step between them, but my legs froze. My joints felt like they were as stiff as ice, I couldn’t move as Mortimer glared back at my mother.

Mortimer leaned down, and met my mothers unwavering gaze. Then, as if the sun had just risen to chase away the mist of darkness he laughed. “I like you Elsbeth. I really do!”

“I’m glad you find me amusing.”

“I do. You have a spine. A real spine. Like your boy there. Though you have more sense then he does by a country mile.”

“He's A boy, it is to be expected.” she gave me a worried glance, but it was gone as soon as it had appeared.

“Yeah I know. But that mix of steel and common sense is hard to find. That's why I want to adopt you.”

***

“What?!” nearly everyone shouted at the same time.

“What?” Elsbeth demanded.

“What? I . . . I thought you were going to adopt me.” I whispered, and the Duke guffawed at that.

“Why would I adopt you? You’re a bullheaded, half crazed, half feral wild child with a spirit possessing you every time you get angry. You’re WAY too much work. No, your mother on the other hand? For the last three years she’s done nothing but stare me and every other noble from the northern district down at every city council meeting. She’s punctual, smart, have an amazing spiritual foundation, a decent intellectual one, and we can always figure out the physical stuff. I hear our easterner friends have pills for that.”

“You . . you want me to take pills? Drugs?” Elsbeth asked. “So you can adopt me?”

“Yeah. It's not as crazy as it sounds. It’d only be a legal adoption. And you’d hardly be the only family I have. Hell, three out of every ten noble families in this city have some direct tie to me through my brothers and sisters.”

“Not to mention all your bastards,” Tomas said. He quickly covered his mouth with both hands, as both Mortimer and Elsbeth glared at him.

“Yeah, that too.” He sounded more annoyed then offended. “On top of everything, I need someone who can come in and help me get the political issues this Duchy faces addressed. You’ve spent three years in public service, representing the commoners of this city. Before that, you were known all across the lower districts for your service to the lower casts. The drudges practically worshiped the ground you walked on with all of your little projects to keep them fed and warm and safe during the winter. And the dwarves, when they visit, don’t get me started on them. They practically make it a point to say more nice things about you then me, every time they show up at our gates. So you have some international clout as well as local experience. You’re the perfect candidate to help me get my duchy up to snuff. The only problem is . . .”

“I’m a commoner.”

“Exactly.”

“And my husband is on the verge of earning a knighthood on his own. Or so the rumor mill says.”

“Too true. Though . . . we have to do something about that tongue of yours kid.” For a moment I thought the Duke was talking to me. But then I realized he was looking directly at my father.

“My husband has learned how to keep his mouth shut. Usually. And he is getting better about such things.”

“If you say so.” Mortimer reached into a satchel he was carrying and produced a parchment that seemed to glow. “You sign this contract, and I'll have legally adopted you. Which means, your family becomes my family.” Tomas took the parchment and held it up to the light so Elsbeth could read it clearly.

“One more problem.” Elsbeth said as she read. “If I become a noble, even a low level one, I'll have to give up my seat on the council.”

“Yeah, but you were going to have to do that anyway when Mr. Talks Too Much became a knight at the Yuel court. Don’t think I don’t know about you grooming your replacement among the commoners.”

“I have been training Lexy. She's coming along well. But . . . She’s still too green.”

“Just because you’re a noble doesn’t mean you’ll disappear. She can still ask for your advice and help you know.”

“True.”

“And as a noble, my heir apparent technically, you’ll have a lot of resources you can bring to bear. Including tutors that you never had, that you can hire for her.”

“Also true.” She finished reading, and began again. This time going slower as she read through the document. Then she pointed to a particular paragraph. “What's this about me being responsible to care for any kids you wish to acknowledge?”

“Oh that. Just you know,” He moved his hand in a circle. “Standard stuff.” She glared at him and after a few moments Mortimer sighed. “Alright, fine. You caught me. I . . . well, I actually don't have as many . . . Bastards,” he glared at Tomas as he said the word. “As people tend to think. What can I say, I'm not the romantic type. But lately that’s kind of changed.”

“Did Duke Mortimer meet someone?” Elsbeth asked, her voice a mix of teasing and pleased. “You’ve been a bachelor for too long. The Duchy would be thrilled.”

“Well yeah. But . . . it was a like a decade ago. She . . . she died when we went to take on the seventy seventh floor. Its guardian . . . well. She died saving me.” He pointed twoards the scar over his eye. The other injuries, the burns and lost hair had all healed. But that scar from when I first saw him was still there. Ever present. Never healing. “Pushed me out of the way and took the attack right through her heart. Damn near like poetry.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry.”

“Bah. It was a while ago, and it was only a short trist. But I didn’t know that she had a kid. Her grandfather has been raising her in the capital. And he’s getting old. And I'm not . . . I’m really not the ‘parent’ type. If you know what I mean.”

“I understand. So, you adopt me. And we,” She took Tomas’s hand. “Help raise your child.”

“Where would that put her in the line of succession?” Farmer asked, and the whole group turned their attention to him. “You know. Just to prevent any confusion. I have three grown daughters, and a slew of other children. If I didn’t tell them all who got what when me and their ma passed, it’d lead to all kinds of heartache and bruised feelings. Best have that out the way now. . . sir.”

“That . . . is surprisingly wise. Thank you uh . . . what was your name again?” Mortimer asked.

“Farmer, yer grace. That’s all. Just farmer.”

“Weird name. But okay, just farmer. Thank you. You’re right. Hmmm . . . Lets meet tomorrow after council meeting, and we’ll talk about it. Sound fair?”

The document magically shifted, and though I couldn’t read all of it, I could tell that language about further negotiations was added to the bottom.

“I . . . I don’t know. What do you all think?” Elsbeth asked, looking to father, Tabitha, and Roland.

“While you lot mull it over, I need to have a little chat with the feral child.” Mortimer grabbed my shoulder and directed me away from everyone. Almost as if I had been forgotten, the group came together huddled around the contract and began whispering in tones I couldn’t quite make out.

“We need to have a little chat.”

“Yes, your grace. About what exactly?”

“A few things. First, not your grace. You can call me grandpa. Wait, no. That’s weird. Uh . . . uncle? No even weirder. Just . . . just call me mortimer. For now.”

“Yeah, that’s probably best.”

“This business about you being from another world. We need to chat about it. There’s . . .” His eyes grew distant with memory. “I . . . there’s a lot more to it then Sigvold explained. When someone is brought from another world by the gods it usually means something terrible is about to happen.” The ground shook and dust rained from the ceiling as if to emphasis his words. It had been doing so off and on pretty much the last day and a half. “And that,” He pointed upwards. “Doesn’t exactly feel like it. At least not to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you get to a certain level, you start feeling the gods intentions for things. Start seeing their authority as it warps the world. And occasionally, when one of them thinks it wise, you can hear them whispering to you. That,” motioned upwards again towards the dual high in the heavens. “Is confusing. There is more than one authority wrapped up in it, more than one gods fingers in that pie. But when I look at you and that girl, I see only one.”

“Oh? And what god is that exactly?”

“I’ll . . . i’ll keep that to myself. For now. But I will say this. It's not the mother or the father. It's a god with a global portfolio. Not a regional one.”

“That . . . did not make me feel better.”

“Wasn’t meant to. Look. When you get powerful enough, people stop looking at you like a person and they start seeing only the power. Whether its raw strength, or political power it really doesn’t matter. And most people, those with any sense in this world, fear power at its peak. That makes it difficult for me to . . . see in certain directions. Hells I have difficulty talking to my pages, and most of them come from high ranking noble houses.”

“Hence why my mother is so important to you. You need someone who can see how change up top will affect those at the bottom.” I nodded, it made sense. He was trying to implement certain reforms, whatever those were. And in that process he needed to have eyes and ears running up and down his kingdom. “So you can adjust your changes as needed.”

“Yeah. Exactly. But more than that. Most nobles, when they reach the heights of power rely on their children, their cousins, nephews and nieces to keep them apprised of the goings on in the middle ranks of society. And i . . .” he looked embarrassed for a moment.

“You don’t have that.”

“More or less. I have a few people I can rely on, but most of those have grown in power themselves over time. You are going to be in a unique position. My cousin, you met the mistress of novices, I take it?” I nodded and mOrtimer grinned from ear to ear. “She’s one of those.”

“But even she is in a place of power and authority.”

“Bingo kid. You’re getting it.”

Bingo? That was english. What? I shook myself mentally and refocused. It was a question left for another time. “So she’s going to need help at the school?”

“You’ll understand more when you start classes, form your party, and start going on practice runs and missions. But . . . well, I need someone who will tell her about issues and report rumors of strange things to her honestly. Whatever is happening in the world right now,” Again he motioned up towards the sky. “Is probably going to have some pretty big consequences. ON top of whatever problem you and that girl were brought here to help resolve. The first people who usually encounter those types of issues are the common folk. And the common folk deal with threats by asking the adventurers guild, local nobility, and,” He motioned to me. “Students at the Silver Tower Academy who are deemed knowledgeable enough and strong enough to take on training missions.”

“So . . . you want me to act as a kind of field intelligence gatherer?”

“Yeah, kinda. Not a spy mind you. But whenever you see, or hear a rumor about something weird from your fellow students? Just send me a note about it. Can you do that?”

It was my turn to smile. “Yeah. If my mother becomes your daughter, legally. I wouldn't keep my . . . grandpa, in the dark.” Mortimer shivered slightly. The man struck me as someone who was the consummate bachelor. He loved being single, and he thought of himself as still young and carefree. Despite everything around him screaming that that self image was totally bullshit.

“You're a cruel kid. Cruel.” he turned me around and gently pushed me back towards my family. “Go enjoy the rest of the day with them, talk about it, and see if you can talk some sense into your mother.”

“You got it.” I turned and met his eyes. “Old man.” I ran to my family, leaving the Arch Duke to shiver in the dark.