“No, I am king here, I write the laws. You’re nothing but a commoner.”
Runner saw no way around it then. Calling on Ernsta here and now would damage her ability to be their patron later, but there was no choice.
“Runner, known as Breaker,” Queen Helen said. Her voice had the same quality as her daughter’s. It boomed in the room, and all were quiet. Including the king. “I would ask you a question. Why was my daughter in your room?” Queen Helen’s eyes flicked behind him and back to him. Taking a chance, he glanced over his shoulder to find Katarina beside him, decked out in all her equipment.
Sighing, Runner turned back to the queen with a smile.
“Because I love her and care for her well-being. She was brave enough to tell me first, while I was a coward who needed her to take the first step. She feared your husband would trade her off like a horse. To that end, she was trying to force the situation so that it could never happen.”
Queen Helen’s eyes leapt from him back to Katarina. Long seconds passed as she watched her daughter.
“Katarina, your blade.”
“An artifact.”
“How?”
“Runner made it.”
“Named?”
“Yes.”
“You named it?”
“Yes.”
The rapid-fire exchange between mother and daughter left Runner feeling like he was missing an entire conversation even though they were talking right in front of him.
“Now see here, this is my court and I’ll—” King Markus fell silent as Queen Helen’s great axe slammed into his neck and the throne behind him. The wood splintered and the back half of the royal chair cracked.
From full health to zero in one strike, the king’s head sat atop the blade that separated it from his neck.
He died before he knew what happened.
Quest Updated
“°úÆ▀█╪╓”
Experience Reward: ,-./╨ of current level
Reputation: ▼▄╚
Fame: ╩╦═
Money: ░¡↕
Standing from her throne, the queen made an indelicate grunt and faced those present.
“I tire of this. This is my court. I shall rule hereafter. Anyone who would challenge my rule may step up now.”
Immediately the nobility started to eye each other and their queen. They might not fight her but Runner had the opinion that they wouldn’t follow her either. Now would be the time to invoke Ernsta.
“Queen Helen, I offer you greetings on the behalf of Lady Ernsta, she who is Death. She has taken a personal interest in your country and its people’s plight. She has bestowed much upon my troops, and I, in our fight at your doorstep.”
Lights dimmed in every corner of the room as Ernsta appeared in a flash of dark blue mist.
She came into existence beside the dead king. She reached into the dead man’s chest, ripped out his squirming soul, and tossed it to the floor. Humanoid like with discernable features it looked very much like the king.
Writhing on the stones, it flailed as the mouth howled without noise.
Stepping down from the dais, Ernsta eyed Queen Helen and moved to stand beside Runner.
The soul flopped around for a few seconds, then grew still and burst apart into nothing. All eyes were on Ernsta in her casual banishment of King Markus to nonexistence. There would be no afterlife for him. There would be absolutely nothing.
Queen Helen dropped to her knees before Ernsta. Runner had to respect her. Either she was insanely quick on the uptake or truly did worship Ernsta.
“Lady Ernsta, I welcome you to my country and my home,” intoned the queen.
“Rise, Helen. I find your dispatch of your husband pleasing. He has caused Runner many casualties. Avoidable casualties. I may be the incarnation of death, but even I have more respect for life than he did. I will send whatever deity he prayed to amends in exchange, but I refuse to allow him a pleasant afterlife.”
Queen Helen stood alone on her dais. The entirety of the court could now be found plastered to the walls, trying in vain to blend into the very stones.
“My queen, I attribute my victories and the morale of my army to Ernsta. Without her guidance and presence, I truly believe we would not be having this conversation and Kastell would have fallen. My troops know Ernsta awaits them and give themselves wholly to the cause. Your cause.”
Not even a second later, Helen nodded her head to Ernsta.
“I thank you, Lady Ernsta. I believe with such a deity as our patron that we could build our nation to great heights. I would ask you to become our prime.”
“Are you certain? I am allied with my sister Brunhild, who is the prime of the Sunless nation. We find ourselves at odds with Rike and Rannulf,” Ernsta warned.
Runner noticed Helen’s eyes flick to him for a moment before returning to Ernsta.
Smart. Very smart. Dangerous. Need to be on my toes with her.
In Runner’s mind, Queen Helen had put the connection between him, the Sunless army, Brunhild, and Ernsta together in seconds.
“All the better, Lady Ernsta.”
“It is done then. The enemy will attack on the morrow. My champion shall be there. He is Stefan. He will report to only you if I do not have a task for him. He shall join your people as a citizen and act in my stead for the betterment of our nation and my name. Rule well, Queen Helen, you have my blessing,” Ernsta said with an outstretched hand. The queen was enveloped in a dark blue mist as Ernsta sanctified her.
Then Ernsta was gone. Queen Helen’s eyes returned to Runner, who smiled at her.
“Queen Helen, King Vasilios sends his regards and wishes you well. I act in his stead and his desires. As his ranking general, I recognize you as the only ruler of the Barbarian nation and second Ernsta’s approval of your leadership.”
Once more silence settled over the room after his little speech. Everyone there could read between the lines. Ernsta, the new goddess of the nation, and the general of King Vasilios both regarded Helen as the rightful ruler and supported her.
Politics in Kastell had irrevocably changed in the span of a day.
Chapter 14 - Cut off the Head -
10:23 am Sovereign Earth time
11/17/43
Queen Helen had been quick to provide him with everything he’d asked her for. He had discovered, much to his chagrin, that she had included far more than he’d requested when checking the inventory list that had been delivered to him.
Promptly after that, he snuck to the warehouse that she’d stated the supplies would be sent to. He didn’t really want to be in the eye of the nobility if he could avoid it. Didn’t fit in there.
There was so much to build. So very little time.
“I hate this,” Katarina complained.
Runner looked up from his inventory sheet and gave her a lopsided grin.
“I know you do. And I’m sorry for it.”
“Doing it because you asked.”
“I know. And thank you, Kitten. I promise I’m not getting rid of you—I truly believe Lady Death will need your help. Many look to you for strength, including her,” Runner quietly said to her.
She stood a few feet from him and looked more than a little annoyed. After a moment of hesitation, she closed the distance between them and put her hands on his shoulders.
Smiling up at her, he rested his hands on her hips.
“Don’t like it,” Katarina muttered, watching him for his response.
“I know you don’t, but that’s life. I promise I’ll be good. I’ll spend time with your mom, build toys, and get everything ready here.”
Katarina grunted at that. Clearly she didn’t care for that answer either. Or she didn’t like the idea of him spending time with her mother.
“Come on, Kitten. Get moving. I promise I’m not going anywhere and I’ll be fine.”
A faint blush came over her cheeks before she ducked her head down to kiss him firmly. Too soon for his own desires she
pulled back and gave a tiny bob of her head in agreement.
She slipped out of his grasp and left him there in the warehouse.
He blew out a breath and tried to focus on something other than the lovely Barbarian. Runner leaned back and then stretched his arms out above his head.
What a lovely tiny break. Now back to work. Tanks, and cannons, and potions, oh my.
Settling in for work, he grinned and started sorting out wooden planks and beams for tank hulls.
Hours into the build, Runner finished molding another set of pistons for the fifth tank. It had taken a serious amount of time, and he had started to consider cutting down on the number required to power the tanks. Time was a commodity he hated to spend right now.
“Quality over quantity, right?” Runner muttered to no one. He went to the next crate of materials.
“Depends on the quality,” said a soft feminine voice.
Looking up from the crate, Runner found a human woman by the name of Amelia sitting on a nearby chest. While not exactly beautiful she could easily be called pretty. Runner deliberately gave her the once-over from head to toe and immediately felt she was a little off.
Finally he pinned it to her face itself. She had clean straight features that looked like she’d been carved from a stone. As if someone had labored over her during creation.
Everything else seemed ordinary by comparison. Straight tawny hair cut short in a pixie style with dark emerald eyes.
Level ?? and clearly out of place here in Kastell as a Human. Her way of dress—leather armor with belted short swords—screamed her profession that of a thief or an assassin.
Judging the situation to be out of his hands, he returned to his work. Scooping up a large number of iron ingots in his hands, he sat on the ground.
“You have me at a disadvantage, pretty lady. Name’s Runner, Runner Norwood. Let me finish up this set and you’ll have my undivided attention. This is literally the last set I need for six,” Runner managed to say as he began shaping the iron.
“Amelia. No last name. Never needed one. Watcha workin’ on?” She had crossed the space between them in a single instant. Her breath tickled his ear as she leaned over his shoulder.
“Weapon. I’m fairly good at making things to kill other people. It’s regrettable, but better them than me, or my own.”
“Ah, right that. You have no idea who I am, do you?”
“Sorry, I don’t,” Runner said honestly. Setting down a finished piston, he picked up another ingot. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re quite pretty. Kinda sexy in leathers. If I didn’t already have a serious harem issue, I’d make a hard pass at you. Well, even with the harem I might make a pass. You’ve really got that tomboy charm about you that I don’t have yet in my collection. Care to tell me who you are? Other than sexy Amelia.”
Runner targeted the woman and hit the Persuade and Seduce functions in tandem.
You use Persuade on Amelia
Amelia is Persuaded
You use Seduce on Amelia
Amelia is Seduced
As if contemplating his request, she poked at the back of his head.
“Does that work? The whole smarmy flirty thing?”
“You tell me, it worked on you.”
Finishing another piston, he glanced over his shoulder at Amelia. Raising his eyebrows, he grinned at her before starting in on another piston.
Amelia looked shocked at the directness of his response. A handful of seconds passed in silence before she started laughing.
“Right you are! You have the truth of it. Consider me smitten and ready. Care to take me now or later?”
“Later, Minxy. Don’t even have a bed here. Do you have any idea what this floor would do to your back? So, who are you?”
“Minxy? Like a minx? I like that. I’m the goddess of thieves and assassins. A truly horrible and wicked woman.”
Runner blinked and thought about that. Terribly convenient and well timed. Made him nervous. Paranoid even.
He reminded himself yet again that fate happened to have a soft spot for him. As well as a real need for his blood and ultimately his death. Sometimes she helped, sometimes she tried to murder him.
Amelia wasn’t a part of the major pantheon, which meant she could only be a minor goddess.
“Oh? Lovely. I’m all about dangerous and dark ladies. You’re just in time, too. Right now I’m starting a harem of goddesses. Beautiful and fantastically powerful women who I’d never have a chance with. Could kill me on accident with a solid hug. You can join them. You’d be third but I promise to share myself equally. The tomboy charm and all is a definite win.”
With a sniff he dropped another piston down and sighed. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he tried to clear his thoughts. Brunhild and Ernsta could ferret this one out for him. Why worry over it himself?
“How much do you know, Minxy?”
“Everything. Hanners prayed to me, ya know. Back in the woods when you tied her up like a hog for slaughter. Or kinky good times. Maybe both? Been following you around ever since. You’ve got a great ass by the way. Really got a good look last night.”
That took care of needing to Awaken her. Explained her timing a bit more. Also threatened to turn him the color of a cherry.
“Well aren’t you brazen. Saw a chance with the timing and took it, eh? I love it. So, care to take me up on the deal? Same setup except Humans. Considering the guild house of thieves is there, that’ll work out well. Need to replace the current guild master with someone else though. Still after Hanners last I knew.”
“Done and struck. Though I gotta tell you up front. I plan on making you mine. There’s a certain temptation to stealing you out from under the noses of so many. Like a lovely jewel on display.”
“Work hard, Minxy. I’ve already promised myself out to four mortal women and they do not seem like the type to invite more. There’s also two goddesses you’ll need to deal with who have a claim to me of their own. Not sure how far they’ll take those claims, but they have them.” Runner paused and looked up at the ceiling.
“Angel? Brighteyes? I have your third. Come start her education so I can get to work here.”
Brunhild and Ernsta joined them in the warehouse before he had even finished calling out their names.
“So I see,” Brunhild said cautiously. “I approve of the choice, though I wonder about her long-term goal.”
Ernsta growled in response. Runner could feel her presence at his side and it wasn’t entirely friendly towards Amelia.
Runner patted at Ernsta’s booted calf as he let the piston take shape.
“Couldn’t agree more. Be nice to her though. I like her spunky attitude. We’ll need it,” Runner said. Looking up, he caught Amelia’s eyes with his own. “You let me know if they get too rough on you. They forget how powerful they are at times. Glad to have you on board, Minxy.”
Brunhild snorted but her tone softened. “You’re right, Runner. Amelia, I name you sister and welcome you. Come, we should speak.”
Amelia looked from Runner to Brunhild with a small smile.
“Of course, Sister.”
“I’ll catch up. I have a request of Runner,” Ernsta said, dropping a hand on Runner’s shoulder.
Then he found himself alone with the goddess of death.
“What can I do you for, my Dark Angel?” Runner dropped the last piston onto the pile, completing that set.
“I need a weapon made for my champion. As the resident blacksmith, I call upon you for a favor.”
“Ptff, no favor needs to be called, Angel. I’ll do this one for a smile. Maybe ask you to throw in saying my name at the same time. Not right now mind you, down the road. A hefty fee, I know. I don’t come cheap. I’m assuming you need it today? Drop the mats in one of the empty crates and I’ll build it out. Anything specific?” Runner leaned back and set his eyes on the goddess.
Ernsta considered him as she thought on that.
“Nothing but strength. No spells,
no skills, nothing. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Runner shrugged his shoulders. “Done, then. One artifact for the smile of a goddess who happens to say my name at the same time. I’m robbing you blind. Alright, run along, Angel. Oh, and please be nice to your new little sister? She had a lot of guts to present herself in the way she did. She’s only a minor deity, and it’s obvious even to a mortal like me she’s nervous. Please? For me, maybe?”
Ernsta frowned as if eating something she didn’t care for and then nodded her head.
“Alright. For you, little lamb,” she said before disappearing.
Finding a third god to fill out his triumvirate was crossed off his to-do list.
One problem down, a bazillion to go. Though, a very good problem to no longer have.
“Now, back to work. Need to get this done. More work to do. Always more. Work, work, work.”
Like clockwork, a ding alerted him to a scheduled reminder he’d made going off. Growling, he opened the alert to find it wasn’t something he could put off.
The medical server.
Up and running for a while now, it awaited instructions from him.
Forcing himself to do the work, he called up the ship’s console and opened up the medical server program.
Username:
“Let’s see. User name…NorRun001.”
Password:
“Password. Ah…uh…hm. Default password should be the same for every system. Sooo… NorRun0019683504714. Bingo, now we—”
Runner stopped dead in his tracks, his fingers hovering over the virtual keyboard that he’d called into existence.
Could it be that simple? What if I never set anything up? If I didn’t have time or it slipped my mind because, I dunno, the ship was exploding.
Runner dismissed the ship’s console and called up the game console.
/Permissions
Please enter Password: *******************
Otherlife Nightmares: The Selfless Hero Trilogy Page 25