by Seth Ring
Seeing Esme’s hopeful gaze, Thorn nearly said yes, but just before the words escaped his lips he remembered that he had agreed to have dinner with his aunt.
“Thank you, but I already have obligations. I’ve agreed to have dinner with Lady Athena.”
“Oh,” disappointment was clear in Esme’s eyes.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Feeling slightly awkward, Thorn waved goodbye and strode away quickly. Once he was out of sight he let out a relieved sigh. He still was not quite sure how to face the other nobles in the game. As a player, a different set of rules applied to him, and he was not clear on how to resolve the incongruities.
That night Thorn and Athena had a lovely meal, catching up on everything that had been happening. It had been a long time since Thorn had spent any significant one-on-one time with his aunt and he thoroughly enjoyed their conversation. Talking late into the night, Thorn was able to completely unburden himself, sharing his thoughts and feelings on the last few crazy weeks.
The next morning found Thorn up bright and early, practicing his martial arts in the training yard. Various members of the Society gathered to begin practices of their own, though mostly they just stood around watching him. Doing his best to ignore them, Thorn was running through his forms when he got a welcome surprise.
*ding*
[Journeyman Weapons Mastery] - complete
You have gained a Journeyman level of proficiency with the six basic weapons used by the Temple of the Moon.
Speak to the Deacon in charge of your Court to take the test to complete your Form Mastery.
Now that you are familiar with all of the weapons, you may choose a specific weapon to focus on. To advance further along your mastery path, you will need to achieve Master level proficiency with at least one weapon.
[Unarmed] - Journeyman
[Axes] - Journeyman
[Maces] - Journeyman
[Swords] - Journeyman
[Polearms] - Journeyman
[Staves] - Journeyman
Over the last few weeks he had been polishing his abilities with axes, polearms, and staves, incorporating his martial arts experience with the practical fighting styles he had encountered. Polearms and staves had come quickly as both weapons suited his build, but axes had proved more difficult. Thankfully, after his fights against Heuron, he had gained some insight and was able to meld those realizations into his own style.
All his work had paid off, and the notification meant he was ready to take the test to become a Dawn Walker, advancing his class. Pleased, he was smiling widely when a practice sword clattered against the ground at his feet. Looking up, he found Priss staring at him darkly, her giant axe resting on her shoulder. Beyond her, BrokenBlade and Vivi were standing next to Heidi, watching.
“May I help you?”
Thorn did his best to keep his tone light as he picked up the dropped weapon. Priss was certainly starting to wear on his nerves, but that was not a good reason for him to lash out.
“Let’s fight. One on one, me and you.”
“Excuse me?” Thorn’s eyebrows rose in surprise and annoyance. Walking over to the rack where the practice weapons were kept, he put the practice sword back in its place. “Why? What is the point?”
“What’s the matter? Afraid that you’ll get beat by a girl?”
“Haha, that’s funny. Why on earth would I be afraid of that? I’m pretty sure there are quite a few ladies here that could give me a good thrashing. No, I’m asking you why you want to fight.”
Stepping forward, Priss slammed the end of her axe into the ground, sending a small cloud of dust up in the air.
“Why does it matter? Don’t be a coward and come and fight a few rounds with me.”
“No thanks, I try not to do anything that isn’t profitable.” With a casual wave Thorn turned to go, swapping out of his disciple training clothes into a fashionable nobleman’s attire.
Furious at being dismissed, Priss growled and lifted her axe, her knuckles white from the force of her grip. Standing at the edge of the training ground, Heidi started to follow Thorn, only to be stopped by BrokenBlade and Vivi. Priss saw this from the corner of her eye and her anger blazed up. Her growl turned into a roar and she charged forward, swinging her axe at the back of Thorn’s head.
Alerted by Priss’ roar, Thorn turned in time to see her coming, his body settling into his tàijí quán stance as he rotated. Stepping forward smoothly to intercept her attack, his hands lifted and shot forward, curling around the handle of her axe and pulling her off balance. Another twist of his body and the half-Orc found herself flying through the air as the momentum of her attack was converted into force against her.
Slamming into the ground, Priss was stunned for half a second as she tried to process what had just happened. Once it clicked, she shot up from the ground and attacked again, her face burning with anger and shame. Thorn stepped back calmly, neatly dodging the axe swing before swiftly stepping back in, two palm strikes sending Priss staggering back.
Despite his size, Thorn seemed to float across the ground, moving with unhurried ease as he executed his defensive moves. Each time Priss attacked he slipped past the attack before transforming her aggression into a counterstrike. After four rounds it became obvious to everyone watching that Thorn was not taking the fight overly seriously. His counterattacks were enough to put Priss off balance but he never bothered to add force to his strikes. Growing increasingly furious, Priss stood across from him, glaring at his relaxed stance.
“Priss, stand down.”
Her shoulder’s hunching as if she had been struck, Priss froze in place as Athena walked into the training yard, Bluefire and Esmire following behind her. Her eyes were hard as she scanned the situation. Seeing BrokenBlade and Vivi blocking Heidi, a thoughtful expression bloomed in her eyes, but she carefully concealed it as she turned her gaze to Thorn.
“Morning.” Skipping over, Athena gave her nephew a tight hug. “How did you sleep? Were you able to find the kitchens? If you have not eaten breakfast I’ll tell the cooks to whip something up.”
“Morning. That sounds great. I ate a snack before I started my practice, but I am up for some more breakfast.”
After returning the hug, Thorn ignored Priss and followed Athena toward the dining hall, leaving Bluefire to deal with the half-Orc. Hearing the sounds of Bluefire yelling behind him, he lifted a hand to forestall any comments from Athena.
“Don’t worry about it. It was nothing I couldn’t handle. Plus she was not using her abilities so it is not as if it was a serious fight. Chances are it had something to do with Heidi. While I don’t get why Priss is so aggressive, there is no harm done. In fact, it has been a while since I brushed off my tàijí quán, so that was nice.”
“Yeah, I caught a couple of your moves. Ms. Chen would be happy with how well you’ve adapted to it.” Athena gave Thorn a thoughtful look. “Have you considered trying to meld it with your fighting style? I know you use a Japanese mace, a tetsubo, right? Have you considered something like a polearm? Or even a modified tetsubo with a blade? You seemed to have some interesting insights into axes as well.”
“I picked those up from a guy I fought on Rasyn. He used double axes and attacked from really tricky angles.”
“Heuron, right? According to the report I pulled he has a bit of a reputation on Rasyn but no connections worth worrying about.”
“You had a report run on him since we talked last night?” Thorn’s brow furrowed as he stopped and looked at Athena.
Facing Thorn squarely, Athena flashed her brilliant smile at him.
“Thorn, I’ve had reports run on everyone you’ve met. I wouldn’t be your loving aunt, Julia Lee, if I didn’t. Don’t think of me as overly sensitive, either. You would not believe the lengths that people have gone to in order to get close to us. In this new world it is even easier to casually arrange a coincidental meeting. It never hurts to be cautious, a practice that you should adopt, I might add.”
; “Hmm. Is that why you separated me from Heidi as soon as I got here?” Thorn knew that his aunt loved him and wanted the best for him, but her level of paranoia still bothered him a little bit.
“You picked up on that? Yeah. I wanted to see if she was legit. Plus, she is actually really talented so it is worth trying to recruit her.”
“And? Is she legit?”
“As far as I can tell, she is. But I should be getting a more detailed report soon. Now, enough of this. Let's go eat, you have a big day today.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
Contrary to Thorn’s imagination, the building where his hearing took place was not grand at all. Instead it looked like a normal clerk’s office. After waiting close to forty-five minutes in a drab waiting room, Thorn was escorted into another plain room with a long table at one end and about twenty chairs arranged on the other. A single, large wooden chair was placed in front of the table, and the clerk that was escorting Thorn brought him to it.
After casting a dubious glance at the chair and then at Thorn’s bulk, the clerk invited him to sit down. Smiling, Thorn pulled his own chair out of his inventory and let the clerk take the wooden chair away. After another twenty minutes of waiting, a variety of individuals dressed in noble’s clothing filed in and took the seats behind Thorn.
Recognizing Countess Sere and her daughter, Esme, Thorn waved and got a head nod in return. Athena also came in, accompanied by Odette, the PR officer of the Society of Roses. After saying hi, Athena and Odette sat behind Thorn, waiting for the hearing to begin.
“All rise!”
Getting to his feet, Thorn was thankful that the buildings in the capital predated the human occupants. The ceilings of all of the buildings were at least fifteen feet tall, often even higher. Combined with the massive doorways, the city felt quite comfortable to him. The doors at the back of the room opened up and a group of well-dressed men entered, flanked by guards.
Walking to the front of the room, they took the seats behind the long table, facing Thorn. Apart from the Interior Minister who sat at the end of the table, a sour look on his face, Thorn did not know any of the other men. As they sat, one of the guards fetched an extra chair as there was one more person than available seats.
*ding*
I don’t know if it is good or bad, but the third prince is here. He is the pale-faced guy in the center of the table. He wasn’t supposed to be here.
Scanning the message from Athena, Thorn glanced at the men seated at the table. The pale-faced man that Athena was referencing clearly stood out from the rest of the group. The clothes he wore and the quality of his jewelry outshined those of anyone else at the table. Wearing a purplish brown colored coat decorated with glittering black gem buttons gave him an understated elegance that was ruined by the bright blue vest that drew every eye.
The prince’s face held a friendly smile that did not quite reach his eyes, causing a prickling sensation on the back of Thorn’s neck. Just looking at him gave Thorn a strange taste in his mouth, as if he was smelling something disgusting. The taste was somewhat familiar, nearly causing Thorn’s brow to furrow as he tried to recall it. Schooling his face into as unconcerned and friendly a look as possible, Thorn wracked his brain for where he had encountered that smell before.
“You may be seated.” The judge in charge of running the meeting was sitting next to the prince, his black attire making him look quite severe next to the prince’s flashes of color. “We will be commencing the hearing to determine if the charges laid against Baron Greymane are true. The purpose of this hearing is to seek the truth, not achieve a particular agenda, and as such, the court will only deal with facts. Let it be recorded that this is to be an unbiased and fair trial. Before we get started I want to recognize and welcome Prince Wells who has decided to join us. As a representative of the royal family, he will ensure the absolute fairness of the proceedings.”
From the tone of his voice, the judge was not overly excited that Prince Wells had decided to sit in on the hearing, making Thorn wonder if anything had changed. Glancing over his shoulder, Thorn saw that Athena and Countess Sere were speaking quietly together.
“Thank you, Lord Byre. It is my pleasure to be here, and I thank you for being willing to let me sit in on this meeting.”
The prince rose smoothly to his feet, giving a slight bow to the judge. Turning to scan the audience, his eyes lingered for a moment on Athena before coming to rest on Thorn.
“The charges laid against Baron Greymane are serious and must be dealt with thoroughly, so I am pleased to see that this case is under your purview, Lord Byre. Should Baron Greymane be absolved of these accusations, as I’m sure we all believe he will be, I have no doubt that he will prove to be an excellent asset to the Empire and its citizens.”
As he finished his statement, the prince’s gaze turned toward the Interior Minister, whose face hardened. Having delivered his subtle warning, Prince Wells nodded to Lord Byre and sat down. Murmurs broke out in the crowd behind Thorn as the various interested parties tried to process what had just happened.
*ding*
So this is strange. None of the princes should have been here. This is way too small an issue for them to get involved in. In fact, the Countess even actively suppressed it. Something pretty drastic must have changed for them to be making a move. For the prince to come must mean that he thinks you’re a big enough deal to meddle with.
And why on earth would he take such an obvious position right out of the gate? He is supported by the Dirgehold Duke and the Right Minister so the Interior Minister cannot directly ignore him. Maybe he is trying to deepen the rift between you and the Interior Minister?
Regardless, the good news is that he just crushed any chance the Interior Minister has of opposing your promotion once the charges are cleared. The bad news is that we don’t know why he is getting involved or what he wants. Keep your head clear and don’t agree to anything.
With the third prince’s arrival, the atmosphere of the hearing had grown increasingly tense, making Thorn even more appreciative to have his aunt, Athena, in the seats behind him. She was a veteran of high level political intrigue and had learned her craft in the cutthroat boardrooms of the energy industry, ultimately emerging as the undisputed champion.
Having Athena as his strategist gave Thorn full confidence that he would come out of this hearing smelling of roses, so he simply sat back and relaxed, waiting to see what would come of the charges being leveled against him.
“Ehem. The hearing is now in session. Please read the accusation.” Lord Byre gestured to a clerk who unrolled a small scroll.
“The total count of the accusations being brought against Baron Greymane is three. They are as follows. First, Baron Greymane is accused of insurrection by claiming the land of the Empire as his own before his title was approved. Second, the Baron is accused of rebellion for owning more resources than his title grants. Third, and finally, the Baron is accused of treason for consorting with a greater devil.”
Rolling up the scroll, the clerk handed it to Lord Byre who read over it again quietly. Shaking his head he put it down on the table and rubbed his temples.
“The accuser has declined to be here to provide a statement, despite the request of the court, citing concerns over retaliation and intimidation. Apparently, they are so scared of the Baron here that they could not trust themselves to speak in his presence. As this is the case, the best we can do is simply review the evidence that they provided to us. Before we review the evidence, does anyone have any evidence to add? Remember, if you do not present your evidence to the court now, it will be inadmissible once the charges are either upheld or denied.”
No one came forward with new material, and after waiting for a minute Lord Byre passed out some papers to the other men sitting at the table.
“Here you will find the evidence that has been presented. We’ve all reviewed it before, so we won’t spend any additional time on it. You also have Lady Sere’s report in front of you
. I’ve asked her to be here to answer any questions that you have. Of course, the main objective of the day is to ask the Baron himself questions about this situation. Remember, we are here to assess if the accusations are accurate and nothing more. If no one has questions regarding the material in front of you, we will proceed to examining the defendant.”
Pausing again, Lord Byre waited for the others at the table to speak. After a few more minutes of silence, an older gentleman with a handlebar mustache rose to his feet and bowed toward where Esme sat with the Countess.
“Thank you for coming, Lady Esme. Countess, we appreciate your willingness to let your daughter serve the court as an investigator.”
“Our family is always happy to serve, General Potter.” Rising to her feet with her daughter, Countess Sere returned the bow with a curtsy before sitting back down.
“Lady Sere, your report says that the Baron did not fight the greater devil once, but twice. Our reports only mention a single time when the Baron single-handedly killed the greater devil in front of the valley. When was the other time that the Baron fought the greater devil?”