Chapter 3 - Lord Longshot

Deathwalker arrived in the city of Lorinda. The city was bustling with traffic from traders and travelers. The city served as a good way point for foreign trade.

Once again, Deathwalker snuck into the city and headed straight for the warehouse that was to be the city’s portal station. He had zero interest in the fanfare his arrival would stir. With that said, the duke had every intention of meeting his new vassal.

‘All in good time. Ah these must be the guards they hired.’ Deathwalker thought as he repeated his classic move of walking out of the nearest alley to the warehouse.

“Halt!”

“Who goes there?!”

‘Do these guys know any other lines? Well, let’s get this resolved as quickly as possible.’

“Kneel!” Deathwalker commanded.

The guards immediately kneeled.

“What is happening?!”

“I couldn’t control my body!”

Deathwalker stopped in front of the two guards. “That is because I am your duke. My apologies for using such a crude method but I am on a bit of a time crunch to get all these portal stations completed before the Timberfall festival.”

The mixed look of shock and realization flashed on the guards’ faces. “Our apologies your grace!”

“We were not expecting you so soon.”

Deathwalker waved away their concerns. “Please rise and escort me to the portal room. Also send word to Lord Longshot I have arrived in the city and will meet with him after I have finished what I must do here.”

Both guards bowed their heads and saluted by bringing their fist to their heart. They led Deathwalker to the portal room before bowing and returning to their post. One of the guards headed for the lord’s manor to inform Lord Longshot that their duke had arrived.

Realizing he did not want to wait too long before meeting with Lord Longshot, Deathwalker tapped into his Infinite Well of Time Magic. Creating a sphere of Time magic around the room, Deathwalker turned his focus to rune-carving and infusing his magic into the structure. As this was the fourth portal station he worked on, the process was beginning to feel like muscle memory. This allowed him to finish the process faster than any of the others so far.

“Hmmm. That was rather easy. I feel like I’m finally getting a handle on the knowledge that is in my head.” Deathwalker said before he dropped the bubble of Time Magic and activated the Lorinda portal station.

———————

A guard burst into a clearing in the back of Lord Longshot’s manor. When the lord moved into the manor, he had this space cleared for archery targets. Lord Longshot was often found here with his men practicing and constantly honing the skills of his men while remaining sharp himself.

All the archers turned to the uninvited guest. “What is the meaning of this? You know better than to disturb our lord when he is practicing!”

The guard dropped to his knees, both to catch his breath from running the whole way here and in the hope, he would not be shot by multiple arrows. “H-he is... here. D-duke Dragonvein is... in the city!”

“Why did the gate guards not notify me of his arrival?” Lord Longshot asked.

The guard on his knees was still trying to catch his breath. “I-I do... not... know, my lord. H-he arrived... at the portal station... unguarded. Told us... to let you know... he would see you... after he was done at the station.”

“That seems suspicious. You just let someone you don’t know alone in the portal station! How do you know it was Duke Dragonvein?” Lord Longshot asked incredulously.

Finally catching his breath, the guard replied. “He commanded us to bow, and our bodies moved without our control. It had to be our oaths in effect.”

“Not necessarily. Some possess such mind magic. It is exceptionally rare but still a possibility.” Lord Longshot stated before turning to his men. “Come let us investigate. We must ensure no one is trying to ruin our duke’s plans.”

The guard now regretted running here. ‘The duke did not seem to want to be interrupted. Am I going to catch his ire when the city lord barges in while he is working. If he felt what we did, he would not doubt the veracity of the claim that the man we met was the duke.’

Lord Longshot led 200 archers to the Lorinda portal station. These weren’t ordinary archers. Every one of them could use body enhancement magic to boost their eyesight or shoot farther. Lord Longshot had special bows made that could handle the extra strain.

They flooded into the building sealing off any avenue of escape. After every exit was covered, Lord Longshot led his men into the portal room. As he and his men entered the room, they saw the arch glowing and found it filled with soldiers.

Deathwalker noticed a tall, slender, and tone man in leather armor. He exuded an aura of killing intent. Insight told him everything he needed to know.

“You must be Lord Longshot.” Deathwalker said as his men immediately took defensive positions as they drew their weapons.

“Stand down men!” Lord Longshot called as he lowered his bow.

‘This man must be Duke Dragonvein. How else would there be so many here.’ Lord Longshot thought before kneeling and bowing his head.

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All his men followed their lord, kneeling and bowing their heads.

“Forgive me your grace. I did not mean to draw arms against you. I thought it suspicious that a lone traveler would show up and not announce themselves at the gate accompanied by an honor guard. Please forgive my impudence. In fact, I would gladly give you my oaths of fealty here and now!” Lord Longshot explained.

The royal court magician turned lord saw a hand extended in his vision causing him to look up.

“I have no need for people who keep their heads down. Please rise.” Deathwalker said.

Lord Longshot took the offered hand and clasped wrists with Deathwalker as he rose to his feet. His men once again followed suit and rose to their feet as well.

“Impressive. You have a well-trained force. I probably should’ve used the gate, but this was much faster.” Deathwalker commented.

“Thank you, your grace.” Lord Longshot replied.

“Eh, enough of this ‘your grace stuff’, let’s drop the formalities, call me Deathwalker.”

Lord Longshot was unsure how to proceed. What information he could gather about his new duke was that he was unconventional to say the least. “Umm. I am not sure addressing you in such a manner would be appropriate.”

“Nonsense! Besides, I was told you were a straight shooter.” Deathwalker said.

Lord Longshot looked even more puzzled. “I am not sure what my skill with a bow has to do with how I address you...”

Deathwalker shook his head and waved is hands in frustration. “No, no, no. That’s not what I meant. Damn idioms! It’s an expression that refers to how the person conducts themselves. They are direct, honest, and to the point, like someone who can shoot straight. Catch my meaning now?”

Lord Longshot smiled upon hearing his duke’s explanation. “Ah! I like that expression! I must use it going forward, your grace. Yes, I do endeavor to comport myself in such a manner. But what does that have to do with how I address you, your grace?”

Sighing, Deathwalker replied, “I appreciate those that can be direct and speak honestly. I would rather hear and uncomfortable truth than a rose-covered lie.”

“Then you be in the minority, your grace.” Lord Longshot commented.

“Yes, so I have been told. Come let me introduce you to LT. Tom Daniels.” Deathwalker said.

As if that was the soldier’s cue a tall slender but well-built man in armor stepped forward and bowed his head. “My lord, it is an honor to meet you.”

“LT. Daniels will be the one in charge of training the men. He will coordinate with your people until another officer can be appointed. A clerk under my Trader Malcom will also be arriving to help maintain the documentation and help with logistics.” Deathwalker explained.

Lord Longshot extended his hand and clasped wrists with LT Daniels. “Well met Lieutenant.”

Deathwalker nodded in approval. “Good. Now with introductions out of the way...”

Lord Longshot realized what his duke was stating. “Of course!” Once again, the man knelt. “I give my oath of fealty to Duke Deathwalker Dragonvein. I shall endeavor to serve in as honorable and noble a way as possible so as to never bring shame upon my liege. I will faithfully stand in battle and serve in whatever manner he requires. His enemies are my enemies. His allies are my allies. My lands are his.”

Deathwalker was informed by Sebastian that oaths between nobles were a bit more complex and therefore much longer. “I accept your oath of fealty in the same gravity it was given. I shall provide protection and sanctuary should you or your subjects require it. Should you break faith or comport yourself in an unhonorable way, I shall do my sacred duty to protect our people. Rise and let us now be friends.”

The two men clasped wrists once again. As Lord Longshot rose to his feet Deathwalker commented. “I appreciate the oath, but what I was going to say before you interrupted me was if you wanted to go somewhere to sit and get to know each other.”

Lord Longshot’s eyebrows shot up before he saw a smile appear on his liege’s face. Both men started laughing. “Ha, ha, ha! Good one your grace. Come, I am being a poor host, you must be tired after your long journey. If you would follow me to my estate, I can have my people draw you a hot bath. Afterwards, we can enjoy a fine meal of some boar I killed just this morning.”

“Oooo, forest boar. Let me talk to your cooks about something I call bacon!” Deathwalker said as Lord Longshot led him towards the city lord’s manor.

———-

The two men laughed and joked as they finished their meal in the morning. The two found they had much in common, from hunting to concern for their people. They had talked through the day and night, now finishing their breakfast meal.

“I must say Deathwalker, here I am supposed to be host but this bacon you have taught my cooks to make, absolutely sensational!” Lord Longshot boasted.

“Of course! It is good to find a fellow meat eater!” Deathwalker replied.

“Yes! I agree! My mind is far sharper, and I require less sleep since I switched to an animal diet only! It is nice that someone understands and appreciates that!” Lord Longshot answered.

“Thank you, Anthony, for the tour of Lorinda. It was good to have a better understanding of the cities and people within our duchy.” Deathwalker commented.

Lord Anthony Longshot nodded. “I agree. It is good to know I serve a man who cares about his people and makes a point to learn more about them. So, tell me more about these hunts and tournaments you have planned.”

Deathwalker began to explain. “Ah yes. I thought you might be interested in those. I plan to start the festival with various cooking contests. Then I plan to move to tournaments for one to test their skills. The tournaments will include melee combat, archery, throwing blades, races, and feats of strength.”

Lord Anthony Longshot perked up when he heard about an archery tournament. “Are there any restrictions on who can participate?”

“None. Though I will not be participating in any of the tournaments. However, I do plan to lead the hunt.” Deathwalker answered.

“What are you willing to tell me about the hunt?” Lord Anthony Longshot asked.

“Monsters and beasts seem to be out of balance lately.” Deathwalker began. He knew exactly what the cause was, the primary predator of the forest, his pumas, had relocated to his realm.

“The intent of the hunt is to thin some of the more aggressive monsters and animals. Then putting that meat to good use by holding a massive feast to celebrate. The winner of the cooking contest will be asked to lead the making of various dishes with the meats we collect. The rest of the materials will be sold to the local businesses and Adventurers’ guild.” Deathwalker explained.

“It sounds well thought out, your grace. Do you require any events be conducted at the other cities in your duchy?” Lord Longshot asked.

Deathwalker decided to not press Anthony on his use of ‘your grace’ as he figured it was habit and it was something to eventually get used to. “I would encourage such things. I want us to do this festival each year. Something else I would like to be shared with our people. I will allow two uses of the portal network for free for our people during the festival celebrations. Anything beyond that will require them to pay the transportation fees. Also, additional taxes if they are attempting to bring goods to sell beyond what they can carry.”

“That will be a great boon to our people. It is also quite wise. They will surely spread the word of the magical wonder of the portal network. This will bring traders knocking at our doors to begin using the network as quickly as they can to capitalize on the reduction in operating costs.” Lord Longshot commented.

‘This new duke must have exceptionally high Intelligence and Wisdom stats.’ Lord Longshot thought.

“I have enjoyed our time together Anthony.” Deathwalker stated.

“And I you Deathwalker.” Lord Longshot replied.

The two men clasped wrists. “Your men seem to be very loyal. That is a good sign that you care about your people. I am glad to call you an ally.” Deathwalker commented.

“It has been an honor getting to know one who is so focused on the betterment of the kingdom for all, not just the nobles. I am proud to call you, my liege.” Lord Longshot stated as he bowed his head.

As they finished clasping their wrists, Deathwalker spoke up. “Come, escort me back to the portal station so I can instruct you on its workings.”