by Elian Tars
I thought that Rugus would be able to convince his Disciple not to be greedy and to focus on the mission. Besides…
“There’s always a way to come to an agreement,” I said aloud. “If you agree, you’ll conquer the Free Beldera County on the way to the capital in one way or another. Your lands will expand, and you’ll be able to give away part of your old lands in the Olte County to your mighty ally — Duke Cleuney.” Caer was about to say everything he thought about my ideas and me, so I was quick to continue. “I understand very well that you don’t like what I’m offering, but please, don’t rush. Think about the possibilities. The Decay is spreading much faster than you could imagine even in your worst nightmares. Mister De Bleit, I was in Ekheim when the city was dying. I saw with my own eyes what the Decayed are capable of. The attack happened after it had become clear that the speed of Decay’s spreading is insanely high. I think that nobody, not even Rugus, can say with a hundred percent accuracy how fast and in what direction it’ll spread. Maybe it sounds implausible, but believe me, there’s a possibility that the Decayed will get to Urhon in a couple of months.”
“That’s very implausible,” Caer said through gritted teeth.
“If somebody told you a week ago that Ekheim would be no more, you would’ve had the same reaction,” I retorted.
“What are trying to say?” he asked, getting irritated. “That I should expand my territory to the south while I still can?”
“Exactly,” I nodded in all seriousness. “You still have people that you can gather under your banner. The king has done the same, sending his troops to the Great Steppe.”
“And you offer to stab him in the back?” Caer screwed up his face.
“There are no Followers of Einar among us.” I spread my arms.
“There aren’t, but don’t think that Longera is so easy to take. It’s true that the duke of Algert’s troops have set out to the Steppe and won’t be able to quickly come the king’s aid. And it’s also true that the duke of Mirier won’t come unless his patron makes him. He has it even worse because of the Decay than I do… But don’t think that we can easily go through the whole of Beldera and take Longera just like that. You’re right, I could expand my territory to mobilize my troops, but it’s better to expand them on the Duchy of Oruel’s expense. Yes, we’re having difficulties at the moment, but I hope you understand that they are temporary. Rugus has a lot of enemies. Oruel will soon be surrounded and torn apart. Why would I need such an ally?”
“Because the Followers of Rugus are ready to do everything to get their hands on Zurtarn.” I remembered Shelton’s words that Berg had told me.
The duke frowned, filled his mug with wine, and drank it all in one big gulp.
“And do you know why they need the Zurtarn?”
The question was an unpleasant one, so I tried to be vague about it.
“It’s a very powerful artifact. Anyone would be glad to possess it, but many don’t dare to.”
“What do they need it for?” he interrupted, pressing me for more information. “What can it do?”
I risked voicing my guess.
“If we gather all the Parts, we’ll be able to fight the Decay and stop its spreading. Maybe even defeat it in time.”
Caer leaned in his seat, pressing the back of his head against the backrest. Stunned, he stared at me wide-eyed and with open mouth, not ashamed by his inappropriate-for-a-duke appearance. Tiara was no less stunned.
“Is… Is it true?” Shaking his head, he got a grip of himself and emptied another mug.
“Yes,” Tiara said. “The Great One has just confirmed my husband’s words, father.” She pondered, fluttered her eyelashes, and shifted her gaze from me to Caer. “This means that the king, following Rheingeit’s order, doesn’t strive to fight the Decay... It’s the other way round, he’s preventing Rugus from completing the Zurtarn... But why? Why, oh, Great One?” She looked up at the sky, waiting for an answer. Caer closed his eyes, apparently trying to connect to his patron.
Won’t you explain it to me already? If he wanted to, he would’ve spent my Faith Points and told me everything.
But he didn’t.
Chapter 17
Happiness
Looking at my wife and father-in-law, I couldn’t help but think what strange creatures we, humans, were. We did what our patrons told us, without seeing the whole picture and without fully understanding the consequences. Why? Because we were afraid to lose power. Without magic and skills that the Gods had given us, we’d be nothing more than pawns — expendable. But with them, we were at least rooks, bishops and queens, which were still just pieces of wood, unable to move even to the nearest square without the guiding hand of the player.
“They don’t answer?” I asked a few seconds later.
“No,” Tiara admitted. Her father gave a slight nod and frowned thoughtfully.
“The Great One confirmed Mavia’s words, but didn’t say anything else. It turns out that the other Gods are preventing Rugus from fighting the Decay... That’s… Good?”
“Not really,” I chuckled. “But you’re right, we can use this.”
“I do recall hearing such rumors,” Caer nodded. “The Followers of Rugus that spread them were quickly silenced. But now that there’s more of us, it’ll be more difficult to shut us up. We’ll discredit the king, but we’ll try to not mention the Gods. Commoners shouldn’t think of such things. Let them see their enemy in His Majesty, Leor IV.”
Taking a thoughtful sip of wine, I put the mug on the low table that was standing between Tiara and me. I couldn’t say that I was an expert in politics and warfare, but I knew the basics. If you could make people believe that the king was an enemy, you could coax them into rebelling. In the “real world,” one or two villagers were able to defeat a common foot soldier, but here, where levels, stats, and skills existed, they’d be of little use in war. Yes, they could crush the enemy by outnumbering them, but would we really have enough people to do that? How many people would it take to kill, for example, Caer? Yes, people of his level were rare, but there would be those like him on the battlefield.
On the other hand, loyal peasants were “batteries” for the Gods and a source of additional provision for our soldiers. In my case, they were potential recruits, because the Old Man’s Followers could upgrade themselves quickly thanks to the Potion of Simple Tranquility of Darkness.
The last part I said aloud, which made Caer smirk.
“Once again you see just a half of the picture, my son-in-law. You’re a clever and capable guy, but you clearly lack experience. The rumors will reach the castles and the aristocrats. Of course, many will refuse to believe in them or will pretend not to believe in them, but most will think about it, and even the servants and soldiers will start having their doubts. And even if the owner of the castle decides not to betray their ruler, the king could still be betrayed by the tired-of-waiting-for-the-throne heir. Do you get it? The same thing can happen if a father-aristocrat, who’s following his God’s will, supports the king — as a rule, an heir’s level is lower than their parent’s, which means it’s easier for them to change their patron. Of course, this this doesn’t work with dukes, but barons and young counts are also worth a lot.”
His words made me recall the system message I got when I reached level sixty, which said that my bond with my patron had reached level two. I wondered how many levels were there. After which level would you be unable to change your God? Not that I wanted to reject mine, it was just necessary to know such things.
I decided not to ask Caer about it. I didn’t want to seem like I was lacking information.
“All right, you’ll arrange me a meeting with one of Rugus’s Disciples in the morning,” the duke said, stretching his neck. “By that time I’ll have talked to my vassals and possible allies. I hope they haven’t driven poor Corry crazy yet,” he chuckled. “I’ll go help my son now, but there’s one thing we haven’t made clear yet.” Caer looked at me and squinted susp
iciously. “You’ve told us about the location of only one Part and Shard. Where are the rest?”
I expected this question. I had thought about what I’d say. I supposed that the Old Man was watching me now, and if he kept silent, it meant that I was doing everything right.
“The Part is somewhere in a desert city,” I answered calmly. “I’ve no idea what city it is. I saw a coat of arms on one of the buildings showing a hissing snake rising over two crossed swords.”
Caer glanced at his daughter, then turned to me again.
“I don’t know of such a coat of arms,” he admitted.
“Me neither,” Tiara began, but stopped mid-sentence. “Wait, it’s probably Al-Harum in Ishiria.”
“Thank you, Tiara, Miss Mavia.” I smiled to both my wife and her patron. Tiara smiled back.
“And where is the Shard?” Caer inquired.
“On a tropical island. There’s a giant Sea Serpent on its shore.”
He made a wry face.
“Tiara?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, the Great One won’t tell me anything more.”
“Mister De Bleit?” I turned to my father-in-law. Propping his head against his fist, he fell into a deep thought. Not wishing to disturb him, I refilled Tiara’s and my wine. We clanked our mugs and drank.
“We can’t go to Ishiria,” Caer suddenly said. “It’s a different country with different people. I doubt that we can convince them to give us their Part voluntarily. I also doubt that you’ll be able to steal it…”
“But you have an idea, don’t you?” He fell silent, so I urged him to continue.
“Yes,” he nodded. “I could take the city by force and turn it upside down, but I think about the future. If we do manage to stop the Decay, I don’t want the whole of Ishiria to be my enemy. I won’t give my troops. Maybe Cleuney will, but we could use his people to attack Longera. So, the only option that’s left is that you ask the mercenaries for help. They live with their patron on Sautz Island, not far from Glozeysk. You can get information about the Sea Serpent from them and find out in what waters the beast swims.”
Caer fell silent again. Nodding to himself, he stood up and asked me if I saw anything else during the ritual.
“No.”
“So, you have the rest of the Parts and Shards?”
Damn it, I hate such questions. He’s pretty straightforward and he doesn’t seem to have a hidden agenda, but what if nothing comes out of our alliance?
“Let’s just say that I know where the rest of the Parts are and that I can quickly put them together.” There was no point in lying now. “As for the Shards, I have two of them. However, I have no idea how many of them there are,” I said and stood up as well.
“All right.” The duke walked to the door. “Let’s leave the Shards for now and concentrate on the Zurtarn. I’ll go help my son. I ask you to meet up with Rugus’s spies. There are some in my city, aren’t there?” he asked with a sly smile. “I’ll give you bodyguards. With all due respect, you’re not a very high level. Who knows what could happen to you... We do need you alive.”
“Father, I’ll go with him!” Tiara suddenly declared, standing beside me.
Caer chuckled again and shrugged.
“You’re a married woman now; it’s not me you need ask for permission.”
***
Tiara and the two monks tagged along. The two made themselves comfortable on the coachbox beside the coachman, who was a thin, level seventy man with curly hair. Following us on horseback were six elite guardsmen, levels seventy to eighty. I felt like a true noble with such an escort. It was funny to watch the night guards that were patrolling the streets wrinkle their noses at my Gloominess while simultaneously bowing to the carriage.
“My dearest husband,” Tiara said sweetly, grasping my hand and pressing her shoulder against mine. Despite the fact that her patron’s initial plan had failed, she looked happy. “I hope you don’t think that you’ll spend the night in the tavern with your friend?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, turning my head and inhaling the lilac scent of her hair.
“In case you haven’t realized it,” she murmured, “we’re actually married. This means that while in Urhon, unless you buy a mansion here for us, you’ll live in my father’s home. Though…” She pondered something for a few seconds, observing the red velvet of the carriage’s ceiling, “Yes… It so happened that nobody planned to provide my dowry, but I think that I can talk to my father about it. Hmm, I’ll do that later. We don’t have our own place, so…”
“I get it...” I sighed. “You want us to return to the castle after I’ve talked to Berg?”
“It’s non-negotiable!” she said firmly. With a kind smile, she pecked me on the cheek.
Tiara knew when to keep silent, and I was sure that she understood that I needed to gather my thoughts and sort things out. She remained quiet until the end of our ride. Having leaned her head on my shoulder, she rested with her eyes half-closed.
Damn, I was really married; not that I was scared of commitment, it was just unexpected. What was I supposed to do now? Should I take everything possible out of this fictitious marriage? At least I got a beautiful wife and not a crone with ten kids behind her back.
In my current situation, the marriage itself was no big deal. There were much more important problems to deal with.
I wanted to do something on my own, and I hoped that I had managed to do so. That was how I interpreted the duke’s willingness to form an alliance with Rugus’s Followers. Of course, there was a chance that Rugus had predicted this outcome, and that together with Glozeysk — and/or even the Old Man — he controlled me like a puppet, pulling invisible strings… I didn’t care if that was the case. I decided to believe that the alliance, even if it doesn’t work out, was my call; otherwise, I’d lose faith in myself.
The next thing was my relationship with Tiara and Mavia. Many people would’ve probably done it differently, and I supposed that it must’ve looked rather foolish to others that I was lolling in the carriage with someone who had attempted to murder me. How could one trust such a person?
One couldn’t. I didn’t trust her fully. Even now, there was a small chance that our escort would attack Berg and me, or that Rugus’s Followers would be captured the moment they arrive to negotiate with Caer.
However, I wanted to believe that I had planned everything right, and that unpleasant outcomes were possible and even logical from the duke’s point of view. I doubted that my father-in-law was that good of an actor; his conversation with Guer-Shui must’ve been genuine, which meant that there was no point for him to go against Rugus. We’ve had some disputes with Lade, but every herd had its black sheep…
I made a wry face, remembering the night when Tsunter got the Quarter of Zurtarn. The night of betrayal. The night a good girl Dina died. Damn it, if you looked at the bigger picture, Caer was to be blamed for everything. He could even be blamed for what had happened in Ilyenta. Yes, Tsunter was following his God, not his human master then, but it was Caer who pushed him in the first place.
Rira’s death, the deaths of many soldiers, the pain Una suffered while she was in the Ekheim’s dungeons — all of that was on Caer.
But I wasn’t about to point fingers.
I knew that the duke wasn’t a harmless old man, but a shark that had fought for its place, fin and tooth, and survived. He would’ve eaten the old me, the newbie me, but I hoped that I had good chances of surviving now. If you rationally looked at the past, there was nothing to blame Caer for. He had played according to the rules of this world, trying to reach his goal. Yes, it was rough, but there was no other way to survive.
Listening to my heart, I could say that I wasn’t angry at him for what happened to Rira. Maybe it was because he hadn’t done anything bad to me personally; all he did was give Tsunter a task some time ago, or maybe it was because he was just doing his patron’s bidding.
If I follow Glozeysk’s advice not to worry my
self with every little thing, Caer and I could have a good relationship. I just needed to stay on guard.
Things were even simpler with Tiara. I didn’t know why, but I was sure that she posed no danger to me. Why was I so calm? Where did this calmness come from? I didn’t know. Was it because I managed to escape the ritual? From time to time, I’d replay that moment in my head. I did manage to use Wanderer, which cost mana to activate. I knew that there were runic shackles that could block mana, so why haven’t they used something similar to stop me? Either I worried about it too much, or Mavia and Tiara purposefully gave me a hell of a lot of wiggle room.
Or was I just charmed by my wife?
“Honey,” I drawled as tenderly as I could.
“I’m listening,” she murmured without opening her eyes, still smiling like a satisfied cat.
“Why are you happy?”
“Silly,” she chuckled amiably. “Because I married the man I chose myself, of course.”
Chapter 18
The Appearance
The worst didn’t happen — Tiara and the company didn’t betray me. Our delegation entered the tavern, shocking the owners, and went up to the second floor. Berg met us on the windowsill. He froze and hunkered down, ready to jump the open window if something went wrong. He was waiting.
“Everything’s fine,” I said straight away. “The plans have changed.”
The archer looked suspiciously at Tiara and the monks that were looming behind my back. He nodded slowly and got down.
“I’m glad to see you in good health,” he said and greeted the others with a nod.
“As you see, there’s not much space here,” I said, turning to the monks, “and my friend isn’t dangerous. Could you give us a minute?”