“Yeah, baby...Smack dat ass! Kehehehe!”

Over in Nivina, the Capital of Otmar, the County’s mad ruler, sat in his manor, rewarding himself with a big bucket of melon sherbert.

One of his more favored sons, a young man by the name of Jiro, sat at the table with him. With a smaller bucket of Sherbet in front of him.

Today’s after lunch snack,  included a show, one that was making the younger man feel more than a little uncomfortable.

A comely young jotuness sat in his father’s lap, wearing a silk robe that old Count Hunfred had lent her.

Dressed in the skimpy belly dancer’s outfit that the woman came in wearing, was a portly, paunch-bellied, middle-aged man. His whiskers twitching, as he moved atop the table, clumsily swaying in place.

“Let me see those cheeks clap, dammit!” bellowed Hunfred. Laughing wildly as shouted over top the head of real dancer, who sat in his lap.

“Look at that. Terrible... Simply terrible, isn’t he Nina? Isn’t he a disgrace?” said Hunfred. Speaking to the mostly naked woman in his lap.

“Yes, my lord.” she said. Her voice breathy and hushed.

“Come on boy, get into it. It’ll be too late to learn when I’m gone, you know..:” said Hunfred Calling to his son, who seemed to be looking everywhere but at the man on the table.

This travesty taking place in the good Count’s dining room was something called the after-dinner dance.

Hunfred and his lady, Nina, had witnessed many such dances together, and for Lee this would be the fifth. The After-Dinner Dances were yet another of the Mad Count’s open secrets. Part of his rumored eccentricity and yet another reason for those who worked under him to feel fear.

A good leader would respect his men, and never humiliate them, or step on their bottom-lines. This was common sense. Leadership One-Oh-One.

 What was also common sense was the idea of reciprocity. The men were supposed to respect either the leader or the cause that they were working for, or else there was no point to keeping them.

It was one thing for folk to do a little mischief, or get into the habit of throwing their weight around. This was Otmar after all, and many of the folk who lived here had been cast down from much nicer settings.

Meaning that a lot of the officials and aids that the kingdom sent to help him run things were really just spoiled goods. Sent over to Hunfred’s County, because they were too deeply entrenched for a summary execution or forced resignation.

A little skimming off the top of the County funds, here, a little debauchery and bullying of the local populace, there...These were things that Hunfred understood sort of had to be tolerated in these parts. In governance as in all life, one had to pick and choose ones battles.  

Openly kidnapping women off the street however, openly stealing from the county larder, doing things that could possibly lead to a revolt, or bring true instability to this barely stable region...that was where a good Count had to draw the line.

Which was where the “After-Dinner Dance” came into play. It was both a punishment and warning, it was Hunfred’s way of knocking an official that was getting too out of line down a few...dozen pegs. By showing them no matter how debauched and balling they thought they were, he was still the mad count and he really would have them hacked into pieces and fed to dogs.

It was also a reminder for the official’s backers and families as well, as well as the backers behind those backers.

Hunfred McBriar was Count of Otmar, because the royal family and his own extended family, the ones who’d stayed in the capital, didn’t dare act against him. If they could kill him, they’d have done so ages ago.

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“You know boyo, that fat bastard up there, was abusing the debt slave system, we stopped the operation mid-way through, even managed to undo some of the damage and get some folk back to their families, but  the point is he was selling our people...If I wasn’t concerned about show his old man back in the kingdom some face, he’d already been puppy poop yesterday…” said Hunfred. Elbowing his son.

Lee sighed...Looking up at the fat man, who danced with beads of sweat rolling up his brow. Then he hardened his face.

“Let me see some jiggle fat-ass!” said Lee.

“That’s my boy.” said Hunfred. Clapping his son on the shoulder.

After seeing that his son had things in control Hunfred and his lady friend alighted to another portion of the manor to do unspeakable things with wood and bone carved accoutrements.

It was a few hours after that Hunfred would find himself in his office, going over paperwork that his attendant Eustice came in with yet more reports for the old man to look over.

Hunfred skimmed through the top one and then burst out laughing.

“By the red and blue gods! Bloody sweet that’s what that is...I bet that put my more thick headed children out of sorts..” said Hunfred. Wearing a wide smile.

His youngest daughter Vanessa, had been in a bit of hot water until recently. Which he would freely admit was partially his fault. His decision to give her what she was owed, came with the caveat that there were always those who’d try to take  ought, if they thought they could get away with it.

Hunfred had known it would happen, but he’d always sort of believed in his clan’s policy of letting their juniors sink or swim on their own. And besides that, he’d been curious, curious to see what the daughter he’d not been able to raise was capable of.

It seemed, that just as he was thinking of stepping in, whether purposefully, or by accident she’d manage to fish herself out.  Even if it was just luck, luck in itself was also a strength.

Somehow she’d managed to either find or arrange, a shield for herself. A shield in the form of a marriage to an Inner-Sect Disciple of the Radiant Orrichalcum Gardens. One of the four great sects, that ruled over their kingdom and its four nearest neighbors.

It was an outstanding coup. Carrying her to status that was technically higher than Hunfred’s, almost overnight.

Now even if Hunfred himself wanted to find trouble with her, he’d be hard pressed to do so. Never mind speaking of, his covetous yet cowardly children and their allies in Otmar.

“Oh ho, ho-ho, ho-ho,...Interesting, interesting…” said Hunfred. Chuckling to himself as he read through the report.

Speaking of the Oddmund clan, Hunfred couldn’t help wondering how long this was all in the works. A Move like this was something that took decades of planning.

According to report in front of him, it even seemed that, that good ol’ boy Jarek, had applied for a position in the county forces. Having miraculously recovered from the crippling injury that made him fall from his position in the royal army.

A Preposterous claim, since an injury that bad, wasn’t something could be easily recovered from.

There were even some speculation that the man was stronger than he’d been before.

With some saying that he’d shown an aura within the Heroic stage, the sixth stage of essence cultivation. While it was all but confirmed that his wife Olivia was a warrior on the Chosen Stage, the fifth stage of essence cultivation.

Strong enough to face an average horde of demonbeasts, all by herself, pre-supposing that there wasn’t a beast-king with an equivalent cultivation or higher, leading their ranks.

Jarek’s sons Egon and Wallace were showing some surprising progress as well, and there was no forgetting little Edwin who’d been strong enough for one of the three great sects to directly draw him into their inner-circle.

All together this would this would place as one of the top strengths of the secular portion of their kingdom. And make his little family into a faction all on themselves, albeit a small one.

Hunfred found himself smiling wider and wider, he’d always been the sort to like watching a good show. He smiled so hard, that he nearly cracked a tooth. It was a perverse pleasure.

When the old man was younger, Hunfred’s father had, had to tan his blue behind plenty of times for starting fights amongst his siblings, and causing small fires on the family estate. Never mind speaking of all the times that he’d been caught peeping on the maids.  

Hunfred McBriar was a man who’d watch anything so long as it was interesting enough. In fact the whole reason he’d ended up getting his war hero status was because the battlefield was something of a favorite channel for him. For him each conflict  was a smorgasbord of human drama set in a single setting.

There were former-soldiers out there, grunts, farmers and field hands, who’d been able to retire with inflated pensions. Never knowing that some of those bonuses they’d gotten were the old man’s version of accolades.

Hunfred clucked his tongue wondering if the venerable and sly Carlo Oddmund, was in on it, whatever “it” was. If not, he imagined the old man, was probably kicking himself.

Hunfred wasn’t sure which prospect would tickle him more.

On the one hand, he’d love for this to be the signs of some great Oddmund conspiracy, the old man was someone who positively loved a good conspiracy. That was part of why he was out here, in this Emerald Steppes.

On the other hand if this wasn’t a conspiracy and was something else, happening all on its own, he could just imagine the look on the Old Oddmund clan head’s face as he realized that he’d bet on the wrong side and missed the boat.

Choosing to side with Hunfred’s idiot children for short term benefits, and scaring away a golden goose. Truly lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot.

Regardless of whichever case had come to pass, one thing was clear, the vis-Oddmund family was coming up in the world.

Rising high enough, that eventually, the Oedheim clan, that had disappeared from the continent after being oppressed by multiple powers, was liable to rise with them.

Hunfred could think of more than a few personages that were likely having headaches thinking about what that might mean.

After reading and re-reading the reports, the old man tucked away the ones that tickled him the most, puttig them in a folder on his desk, before turning his attention to the rest of his work.

He made a mental note to keep a closer eye on the situation. There was a good chance that Harta might start getting interesting again.