by Kit Falbo
“We all wanted to talk to each of you without the others listening in. I know you like games, and, well, the council is one big game where one day your ally is your enemy and the next your enemy is your ally. I find myself in a bit of a hard place because it would look bad if after the city council voted for Jasper to be considered to be crowned, I reject him. Yet, I also really, really hate Alerin King.”
“We’re not doing this for King. We’re doing this because…”
“No need for the bullshit!” Tray says waving his hands in an overly exaggerated manner, in fact, his whole pleasant and ordinary vibe is starting to slip. “He’s using you. I’m sure you think you are using him, but not as much as he is using you. I’m sure you can’t even see what he has taken from people. He actually wanted this job before I put a stop to that.” Trey lets out a quick short laugh. “So, you can see the situation I find myself stuck in.”
I don’t like the wild look in Trey’s eyes. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected this to be as easy as showing up and having the vote. “What if I could promise to have nothing to do with him again?”
This only causes the High Councilor to laugh more. “You Touched are always good at doing what we want. What do you call them, quests? I could ask you for my greatest want, the end of Alerin King.” As if in response, an optional quest notification pops into my face, I dismiss it automatically. “I would give the world for that, but I fear not even those Touched by the gods have such power. “
I’m tempted to back away as I can see more madness in his eyes. But it is not like he can really hurt me, so I stand my ground. “What do you want from me?”
He leans in until his nose is nearly touching mine, a grin splitting his face from cheek to cheek. “For now, nothing! You can tell Mr. King that he has won this round. You’ll still need at least three more votes to truly win. I will no longer consider you an idle piece Chess, be assured of that.”
Then he breaks away, and I watch as his mannerisms meld back into a dull, average, pleasant persona. Straightening his clothes wherever his movements had left them out of place. Then he is gone, and I’m left alone waiting for the next visitation.
It is a slow clap that announces the next council member who again comes into the meeting place from outside my field of vision. “I’m lord Dark.” He introduces himself with a short bow. “I must say, this play of yours is quite amazing.”
“Does this mean we’ve got your vote to crown Jasper?”
Lord Dark shakes his head, “I’m sorry I can’t. I was just admiring the audacity of this attempt, and it’s maneuver.”
“Anything I can do to convince you? Maybe you can at least tell me why not?”
There is no change in lord Dark’s mannerisms. He still has the relaxed look of the man who lounged about the High Council chambers. But his voice holds conviction. “Kill the Man of Masks and bring us the star gem that lies near his heart as proof.” A notification tells me I already have this quest. It is just a repeat of the main quest to start the game. “I know about the gods-given prize to the Touched who wins Kingmaker, and I can’t allow anything to make the Touched less interested in winning.”
With players doing the war thing, most NPC don’t seem to care much. “There will still be plenty of motivation for Touched to fight the war. Why does this matter to you?”
“I’m lord Dark, don’t you recognize that name?”
Is this something I should know? “I’m not much into the story, er, history of the fight against the Man of Masks.”
This clearly annoys the lord. A vein in his temple throbs and he no longer is as relaxed. “The Man of Masks first appeared in my family’s lands before taking over a third of the country. My father and siblings died in that rise, causing me to become the lord of a terrorized and occupied land. That’s why the Lords put me on the council. I have no lands to manage, and I’m no threat to trying to claim myself as king.”
I’m not going to convince him, and I can’t help myself. “Because you’re a Dark… lord?”
Lord Dark lets out a long groan. “Yes, I get some pushback from my peers about that. Though not as much as the strange stuff you Touched pull. Asking about rings, and journals of riddles, and other such things. It’s my name. It’s my family. I didn’t choose them, but I plan on doing them proud. So as much as I admire your unique approach, I can’t do anything that might put taking back my homelands at risk.”
I nod at that sentiment. “My skills could be valuable there. I could outfit the top players and push hard to defeat the Man of Masks. I get your support, and I will do that.” I use the tools to send him a quest like I did with Jasper earlier.
He stares at me briefly. “I just can’t take the risk.” Quest declined, and he’s gone.
The girl with the gold coin appears next, twirling it in in her hand. “Michelle-Sony Eirling.” she introduces herself.
“Will you.”
“No.” she interrupts me. “There is no profit in this. You can’t expect us to support something that has no profit. “
I wrack my brain. “Stability of the kingdom. Sell little flags to wave at the coronation, commemorative plates?”
“You’re amusing. I’ll give you that. But amusing won’t pay my bills. Win or lose, this doesn’t matter much to me either way. Best of luck.” With that, she is gone. I need four of them to agree. I figure a tie won’t do with no seventh member to break it.
The priest with the tall hair simply appears and starts to mumble a prayer without giving her name. I wait calmly as to not interrupt and then she leaves before I get a word in. I’ll take that as a maybe. Still, I’m uneasy knowing I may have just lost it here and don’t know yet.
Loro, head of the rangers comes from the void, a serious look on the man’s smooth headed, wide chinned face. The large ebony bow I made is in his hands.
“How’s that weapon working out for you?” I ask.
“I don’t get to use it as much as I would like. I let my brother borrow it when he needs a demonstration. I like what it’s got, when I have been able to use it.”
I might as well cut to the chase, “So you going to support this push to have Jasper crowned?”
“I’ve met a lot of good companions and even decent Touched. They tend to go hand in hand. If it was up to me, I would take the five best and have them show me what they got and slowly eliminate them until it’s down to the one I feel is most skilled, most worthy. But that is not the situation we have here. I’ve respect for the hard work both you and Jasper have done.”
I see an opening. “If we go with the defeat of the Man of Masks and his star gem, we don’t know if we’ll get a king who has what it takes to be king. I hope you can see the advantage of having Jasper crowned king.”
Loro lets out a sigh. “Jasper isn’t eager for this, but perhaps that is the type of person we need. Perhaps you are right. I can tell you I will give it a few more moments of thought and won’t disregard this decision out of hand.” With that, he is gone.
I would like to think he is a yes. Arnus winks into existence in the purple void, materializing a chair for himself to sit on. “Would you like one, too? I can teach you the spell and get that favor done with?”
None of these meetings have been that long, and I can picture myself falling, still in a sitting position when I’m brought back to the High Council chamber. “I would rather stand. I think.”
Arnus takes out a pipe and starts smoking. “To get to the point. I don’t like any of you Touched by the gods. Training you has just shown me how childish and immature most of you are, with unrealistic expectations of greatness. To do anything that benefits any one of you individually fills me with nausea.”
I feel my dreams fold in a little, “Does that mean it’s a no from you?”
Arnus blows a ring of smoke that travels across maintaining its shape until it hits me in the face. I start coughing because I wasn’t expecting it to be as strong as it is. “I didn’t say that. This world is all about w
ho you know, and more importantly who owes you and who you owe. Jasper is amenable. You, my friend, have friends, if you can call them that, with more power than you know.”
“Alerin King,” I whisper just loud enough to be heard.
“What! Not that fool. He could go clean my stables for all I care and then I might be slightly grateful to him. That is with the bestiary I keep; my stables are quite impressive.” Arnus reaches into his robe and pulls out a gilded envelope. He hands it to me. “You really should be careful who you deal with.”
With that, he is gone, and I’m still alone in the room, probably will be until they finish up with Jasper. I carefully open the envelope. The card is gold as well and inside is a note in clear and crisp cursive and deep red ink. This more than covers what I owe you, in fact, I think now you owe me. I can’t wait to collect. -Azamatiel. Next to the signature is a lip imprint in bright pink lipstick. A few moments after I read it, the letter turns into motes of light.
I don’t even have time to ponder it. Space shudders and suddenly I’m back in the High Council room. Jasper is next to me looking equally shaken. The six members of the council stare at us calmly. Looking relaxed, as though they had never left their seated positions. “We are ready to vote on the proposal as to whether we will grant the city council’s request to have Jasper crowned king,” Trey Bags announces. “As a representative of the city council, I find myself having to support their request. A yes from me.”
Lord Dark looks around the room. “I cannot support this distraction. I vote no.”
Loro speaks next. “It is better to have someone I know has what it takes for the position and that I can work with. I vote yes.”
Michelle flips her coin, “Pointless. No from me.” she calls out while the coin is still in the air.
The clergy representative who’s name I had not been told speaks up. “I prayed and had a vision. Yes from me.”
Arnus stands up. “You all know how I feel about Touched and their quests.” Bags’ eyes glint with delight, Lord Dark looks confident, and Loro looks resigned. It’s clear to me what they think will happen. “In this case, I vote yes.”
At that, the room explodes in action, with everyone on the council moving and talking at once. Lord dark shoots out of his seat to protest this. Trey Bags has somehow taken off his shoe and proceeds to throw it at Arnus, only to have it turn to ash before it hits him. The cleric is praying loudly and praising the gods. Michelle has a stack of paper out and is furiously writing from sheet to sheet. Loro looks a little shocked, but whenever he looks like he wants to speak, he gets drowned out by the actions of another. The council now is acting like a squabbling group of kids rather than the calm and collected council they had presented.
Giving up, Loro just shoos us away with his hand. The door unlocks for me and Jasper, and we step out. Allynance is laughing off to the side. A notice pops up in front of me.
World notice: Chess has won the Kingmaker quest. Through political action and good deeds, he has convinced the High Council that the kingdom needs a King in these troubled times. While the threat of the Man of Masks still awaits with great rewards for those who succeed, the Kingmaker prize has been awarded.
I jump up and yell “Yes!” I can’t help it.
Allynance finally catches her breath and takes Jasper’s arm. “Come with me. I’ll help you get this sorted out. We have a lot of work to do.” I watch as she leads him away, partially dragging him at times.
I did it. I log out.
My heart is beating as I strip off the goggles and suit. I dig out my phone, not even fully dressed, and hit Gramps’ number. I get an automated message “We’re sorry the number…” I hang up. It’s better to tell him in person anyway. He never liked phones much.
I get dressed feeling good. By the front desk on the way out there is a man, a woman, and an officer. I ignore them, barely giving them a glance until I hear one call out “Nate? Nate Shoefield?”
I turn and look at them, a little confused. Why is an officer here? Did something happen to Gramps? “Something wrong?” I ask. Looking at their faces, I don’t recognize them. Though the woman is bringing up something in the back of my mind.
Before I can get a hold of the thought, she rushes to me grabbing me in an awkward hug. “I thought you were gone. I thought I would never see you again,” She cries out.
There, her holding me, something clicks. “Mom?”
-the end-
About the Author
Kit Falbo has loved science fiction and fantasy since he learned to read. He spends his time in the Pacific North West with his wife and two children. And now wishes to including writing as a new chapter in his life.
While not a great consumer of social media you can keep up-to-date with him on several places.
Twitter https://twitter.com/WritesKit
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Kit-Falbo-Author-209471976579540/
He would love your support on Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=16859076