by Wade Adrian
She stepped aside, bowing to a soldier who took her place at the podium. He spoke of his brother who had fought with them through all four battles, only to fall at the Rock.
People listened, many cheered. A few cried.
Brynjar stared at the mountains.
A young woman spoke of her father. Another man that had fallen at the Rock. Really, all of their losses had occurred there.
No one blamed them, though. Each of the fallen was placed on a pedestal of words, paragons of bravery and might all.
More cheers. More stories.
Bryjnar stared at the mountains.
The ninth speaker was a tough looking woman with long gray hair tied back in a braid. Tovi had let each of the previous speakers have the podium to themselves, but she stood close now.
The woman cleared her throat. "Eira was my eldest daughter. By the graciousness of our lord and lady," she bowed her head to Tovi.
Tovi smiled with sad eyes.
"She was allowed to live and work in the castle. A servant and protector to the lady herself."
"Not a servant." Tovi bowed her head. "My closest friend and confidant."
"More than a child of the country could ever dream, my lady. She was very proud."
Max took a step toward the podium. He'd wait nearby, speak to the woman after she was done. She deserved to know... that it was his fault.
His arm caught on his second step.
He looked down to see Tom's hand holding tight. "Don't do anything stupid."
"She deserves to know-"
"Sit. Down."
Max pulled his arm free... but he stayed standing by the table.
Maybe Tom was right. What would knowing change? It would only tarnish the story of Eira that had been told.
And hell, the other three scouts too.
It wasn't like he wanted any glory for what he did. He'd rather forget it, not that he would ever forget her eyes...
Well at least Tom was sobering up.
The woman smiled as she held her hand high, locked with Tovi's. "Glory to the brave!"
"Glory to the brave!" The chant echoed her, every voice taking it up... aside from Max and Tom, who hadn't known it was coming... and Brynjar.
He stared at the distant mountains.
As the chant died down Brynjar held up a hand.
"Bravery. It has long been a guiding principle of our people. To be brave in the face of adversity. To be brave in the face of certain defeat. The face of death itself."
His voice was quiet, but everyone else grew silent.
"A king is but a man. In time he feels the weight of the world to be greater than any joy derived from ruling. Sacrifices must be made. It is the way of things.
"Our kingdom has not been complete in an age. My grandfather, and his father before him, dreamed of this day. I think they would be proud of us. Proud of our fallen, and our standing defenders. Proud of Einar.
"For I have heard the tale. Prince Einar, charging away from his friendly line to put an end to a losing battle. Embracing the bravery we all hold so dear. Letting it carry him to glory in battle."
Tovi frowned. She took a step closer to Brynjar, who was only a few steps from the edge overlooking the lake.
Max moved closer, too. He wove his way around tables, trying to remain inconspicuous.
Everyone seemed to be lost in Brynjar's words.
"He had only a handful of soldiers with him, charging into the lions den. Is that brave, I wonder?" He scoffed at the distant mountains. "It sounds foolish to me. But perhaps I am not brave."
Max stood beside the closest table... moving into the open would make him visible. Something was wrong, but he didn't know what to do. If he approached the king he might well be tackled... or shot.
Brynjar took a step closer to the edge, looking down at the water below. "I had but one son. Now I have none. My father's line is undone. Undone by bravery." He bit off a bitter laugh. "All the glory in the world doesn't make up for that."
Max made a break for it, moving out into the open as casually as he could, like he had left a pen on the podium or something...
"It's all a joke. A cruel joke. Everything you wish, and it only costs you everything that mattered." Brynjar stood at the edge. "This world holds no glory." He shook his head as he stared down at the dark waters below. "I think... perhaps I'll see if the next one does."
Max bolted across the distance, as fast as his feet would carry him.
Brynjar leaned forward, his arms wide.
A hundred cries of protest filled the air, people standing at every table, moving closer.
They were too late to act.
Max yelled as he stretched out a hand for Brynjar.
A fancy dark blue silk cape swirled around Max's hand... and slipped through his fingers.
He stood at the edge, staring at his empty hand.
A high pitched cry at his side woke him from his stupor.
Tovi stood beside him, her own hand outstretched. She burst into tears and collapsed.
Max knelt, arms around her, holding her away from the edge.
She held him in turn, her voice cracking as she wailed against his chest.
Feet pounded against the stone roof as people crowded the edge.
There were gasps and cries of disbelief from all sides.
Max didn't know what to do. Everything was falling apart...
"My lady?" Kari appeared, shoving aside the crowd. "Make way, fools!"
The crowd parted around her, Tovi, and Max.
Men in dark blue finery approached at a dead run. They knelt, all but shoving Max aside.
Tovi wasn't having it. She kept a tight hold on him.
"My lady, please. We must get you to safety."
"Safety?" Her voice creaked. "What?"
The man bowed his head as the rest waved hands and called for the crowd to disperse.
"Please, come downstairs. We'll speak there. We have preparations to make."
She scowled at the man. "My father just died, you fool!"
"Yes... which makes you the queen regent. We need you, Queen Tovi. I'm afraid mourning will have to wait."
She let go of Max, her head nodding a few times. "I... I understand. I have... obligations."
Max helped her to stand, even though the fancy pants were making faces at him.
She laid a gentle hand on his cheek. "Thank you, dear."
The men in fancy clothes closed in around here as she was lead to the stairs and out of sight.
It didn't take a great detective to see that most of those men wore crow skulls.
Tom appeared at Max's side, the last two anywhere near the edge. He leaned out a bit, looking down at the water. "So... does that mean we get a bonus?"
34
Tom sat at a table in the main hall, his feet up.
Max was pacing.
"Relax." Tom stretched a bit. "This stuff doesn't concern us."
"It doesn't?" Max scoffed. "It's our fault."
"No, it's not. Things were shifting before we even got here. All we did was the impossible, for which we have yet to be paid."
Max eyed a pair of guards at the exit. It wasn't' the first time he'd looked. If it kept up he'd have steam coming out of his ears when his brain overheated trying to figure out an escape plan for a place they didn't need to escape.
They'd been escorted back down by liveried folks and told, not asked but told, to wait. The guards at all ends of the main hall had been given rather pointed orders to keep them here for now.
Max didn't like being locked up. Then again, his opinion of these people wasn't very high anymore.
Tom was more content to wait. It was a lot of money on the line. Besides, he wanted to walk out as a war hero, not sneak out as a fugitive. One was much more likely to find soft beds and free meals on the road than the other.
It had only been an hour or so. If they made it out before noon they'd have time to find a nice place to stop for the night.
Guards at the end of the hall behind the thrones parted.
Iona appeared in the doorway, walking by without so much as nodding to the guards.
Tom sat up straight as she approached.
The girl bowed. "Her ladyship, Tovi, Queen Regent, requests an audience."
Tom nodded. "About time."
"...with master Talren."
Tom scoffed. "I'm getting kind of tired of being sidelined."
Max tilted his head. "You used to prefer it."
"I did, didn't I? Fair enough." Tom propped his feet back up on the table. "Be sure to mention we took down that invasion plan. I expect a bonus."
"We'll see if it comes up." He gave Iona a nod. "Ready when you are."
She started back the way she had come, waving for him to follow.
Tom rolled his eyes.
As if he wasn't the military commander who had made all of this possible.
Oh well, Tovi just wanted to talk to her boy toy. He could understand that. She was going to need to figure out how to separate that from official functions if she wanted to make it in this racket, though.
The guards eyed Max in a less than friendly manner as he followed Iona past them.
She didn't say a word as they went.
He wasn't familiar with the path. They weren't going anywhere near Tovi's chambers.
Well, she probably had some new ones now.
"Queen regent, huh?"
Iona shrugged. "A technicality. With no male heirs to the line, the throne falls to her regardless of what the law might prefer. The regent bit only holds for a year and a day. If no one else is found in that time, it's just Queen Tovi."
"Well, good for her. From what I've seen, she'll do well."
Iona scoffed, but she kept her voice low. "Be sure to tell her. She's freaking out and certain she's doomed."
She stopped outside a large pair of doors, her hands clasped behind her back.
Max glanced about. "Am I supposed to..."
"Shh. Patience."
He rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall.
It was only a few moments later when the door opened.
Older bespectacled men with gray and white hair piled out, dressed in fine uniforms trimmed in gold.
They muttered amongst themselves as they wandered past. A few glanced over at him, but they didn't speak to him. Most ignored him entirely.
Once they were gone Iona leaned into the door and waved. "Got him."
"Please."
He recognized Tovi's voice.
The room wasn't terribly different from her chambers, but it was about twice the size. It dwarfed Tovi and Kari, the only two people still there.
Iona shut the door behind them.
Tovi sat behind a considerable wooden desk. "There are a few matters we need to discuss, sir."
It... barely sounded like her. The voice was right, but her mannerisms were all wrong. Like a robot pretending to be her.
Max's eyebrow crept up. "As you wish."
She waved her hand at a bag sitting on the edge of the desk nearest the door. "Your payment for completing father's mission, as well as... that other matter."
Einar.
Kari dragged a pair of bags across the floor.
Tovi nodded to it. "I also took the liberty of requisitioning some items for you, and your friend, before your return and the recent... unpleasantness. Please, take them with our utmost gratitude."
Kari dropped the sacks in front of Max. He opened one enough to see new armor in a similar style to his...
But it didn't bear the royal colors. It looked to be black trimmed with silver, and the other bag had stuff that was no doubt Tom's. Shining steel trimmed with gold.
In the real world both gold and silver were pretty terrible for making practical things. Games had a tendency to use them purely for appearances, though.
Lots of paladin gear used them.
He bowed his head. "I appreciate it." His still had some holes. He touched the gap in his chest plate, his fingers on the fine chain shirt underneath. "Your generosity before is why I stand before you today."
She smiled. It seemed genuine, a crack in the facade. "I'm glad I played some small part in keeping you safe."
Of course, this move was more about them not affecting the royal name or the country's greater reputation once they were gone. Still, it would have been easy enough to just take the stuff back and let them leave in the same lowbie junk they had come here in.
Unless that quartermaster really had burned their stuff...
She looked down at her desk and took a deep breath. When she looked up again the facade was back in force. "Is it still your intention to leave us as soon as possible?"
He shrugged. "Unfortunately, yes. We have some prior engagements."
She nodded. "Of course. It would be best to depart soon, then. The road is long and we've little else to bother such accomplished warriors with." She glanced over at a map. "If you depart before noon you should make Westbrook by sundown."
He stared for a moment.
Just like that, huh?
"I... yeah. Sounds good."
She glanced up from the table. "Was there something else?"
"I guess not."
Iona helped him with the bags, grabbing his, which was obviously much lighter. He lugged Tom's stuff and the reward.
Kari followed them to the door. She gave Max a small shrug and a friendly wave before shutting them out.
Max scoffed. "Wow."
Iona frowned. "She's queen now."
"I get that. I do. But she's still... we... were closer than that. Even last night." He shook his head.
Iona nodded. "I know. But she can't be distracted right now. Maybe next time you come through she'll be more accustomed to all this."
He sighed. "Maybe."
Next time he came here none of them would remember him.
It was for the best.
He glanced aside at her. "And you? Are you going planning to come with? Caddrach would like that."
She laughed. "No, Tom wouldn't. It was fun, but that's all it was."
Yeesh. The women were harsh around here.
Tom was waiting right where they had left him, dozing with his feet up on the table.
Max set the bag of money down quite a bit harder than was necessary.
Tom's eyes shot open as he sat up. "What? Oh." He blinked at the bag a few times. "Awesome."
Max set the bag of armor on the table too. "And your bonus."
The familiar swirl of bright light played over both of them, followed by the leveling fanfare.
And level twenty four. It occurred to Max he hadn't ever gotten around to spending his points for level twenty three. It had been a busy, confusing, emotional, dangerous, painful, and distracting couple of days.
Iona didn't seem to notice. Neither did the guards. Of course, they had seen some crazy shit of late. Just more magic.
Tom opened the bag and rifled through the contents. "Huh. Neat. Mine was starting to smell."
Iona set Max's new gear down. "Starting?"
Tom tilted his head at her. "Oh, hey. Uhh, so, I've been meaning to say... it's been fun, but we've got to get out of here. I can't imagine taking you away from the only world you've ever known, and-"
She shrugged. "Don't worry. I wasn't going to go anyway."
"Wait, what?"
"I got a new job here." She frowned as she looked at the floor. "There was... an opening."
Max hung his head a bit.
She was replacing Eira, then.
It fit. She was a scout too. Wore the crow skull with pride.
He was sure she'd do well.
"Huh." Tom glanced back and forth between them. "Okay." He pointed at the bag. "Got somewhere we can change, or am I doing that here? Nothing you haven't seen, but I'm thinking about the poor guards who are honor bound to watch."
Iona rolled her eyes. "I'm sure we can find you a room."
New outfits weren't enough to
throw off the locals. Everyone Tom and Max rode past waved, many calling out to them.
Tom waved back. His new shining gear was hard to miss. It lacked any sort of real religious affiliation, of course. If a smith had added a symbol for Yar they probably would have cut off his hands and put out his eyes.
Under the shining armor was a set of white clothes, and a new priestly cloth thing that hung over the top, also in white and trimmed with gold. It had a sort of sun symbol worked in, but more as a pattern than something important. Probably about as generic as they could get.
Max looked rather fancy in his getup. The armor wasn't that different, but the silver trim probably wouldn't help with sneaking around. The clothes that had come with were a tad on the lordly side, also black with their own silver details and buttons.
He'd kept the chain shirt Tovi had given him, too.
The picture of glory and success... and the church. And no doubt a huge target on their backs for any and every bandit still wandering the countryside.
Max tugged at his tall collar. "Stupid getup."
Tom chuckled. "Yeah, was just getting those boots broken in."
"I look ridiculous."
"True, but how is that different than any other day?"
"I don't need lip from the pope."
Tom shook his head. "Such anger will devour you in the end, my son. Repent, that thou shalt be saved."
Max glared at Tom. "That is not going to be a thing."
"I guess that depends on how god feels about it. Hold on, let me ask." He bowed his head for a moment. "Yep, god is cool with it."
"I hate you."
The sun was starting to set when the inevitable happened.
"You can't just leave, boy."
Max had been waiting. He grabbed hold of the crow skull that had found its way back around his neck. "And why not? I have no reason to stay."
Tom glanced at him, but noticed what he was doing and nodded a few times before looking away.
Corvi laughed. "You're quite the little fool. My dear daughter wishes for you to stay."
"That's not what she said."
"Perhaps not out loud. The lovely, caring young woman you know is part of Tovi, but right now she needs to be something more. Something regal. I talked to her, and made her realize she needed to be strong. You were a weakness."