Nero Walker, Book 3 Ch.55 (170) (Patreon)

Vera looked at her reflection, unhappy with the accusation she could see in the mirror-woman’s eyes.

Looking past her shoulder, she could see Nick easing himself into their bed with a sigh. ‘Poor man really isn’t cut out for life outside of the lab,’ she thought with a smile.

Her mind went over the hectic day she’d had. The stress of having to rush to the keep, trying and failing to come to terms with the fact that Nero had been put up for unique citizenship, and that the evaluation team was already here. It was all adding up to more than she could handle. She’d known he was special… but a unique? ‘I’m not sure if I can play at this level,’ she thought, her emotions tinged with the feeling of not being good enough.

Looking through the mirrors reflection, she stared at her husband and closest confidant. “Nicholas, how could you let this happen?” she asked, her voice devoid of judgment, but full of remorse.

Nick locked eyes with her through the mirror, his wry smile full of understanding. “There wasn’t much of a choice, dear. He closed a planar rift, on his own, in full view of a war-mage. Not to mention the fact that he copied and used soul magic in a way that even I don’t understand. It was either expose the secret, or try and explain the impossible.”

Her shoulders dropped, accepting that it was out of their hands. Now, she had to focus on how to handle the nuances and changes to the plots she had so carefully set up. So much that she had planned was now irrelevant.

“I know you intended on keeping him close while helping him build his house, and learn what it means to be a noble, but I don’t think that’s a possibility anymore. He’s meant for a bigger stage than Dorchester,” he said, his voice laden with concern for his caring wife.

He knew that she struggled with herself on how to deal with Nero. On one hand, she thought of him like a son, but on the other, she was using him to progress her plans for their own house. While he wasn’t overly concerned with politics, he knew it was what she lived for. She was a complicated woman, his Vera.

As Nick looked on, he watched her rub lotia-cream on her face as she went about her nightly ritual. He listened as she started speaking, voicing her concerns and relying on his unwavering support.

“It’s just that there is so much he doesn’t understand. He’s clueless about the games going on around him. He thinks he sees through everyone, but he is still too naive. Being a unique won’t help him at all, if anything, it will make the situation even worse. You haven’t been here. You haven’t seen what they’ve been doing,” she said, her voice sounding tired.

Nick asked curiously, “What do you mean?”

Vera scoffed, as if the plot was so obvious it was insulting. “They’re spreading rumors and manipulating the commoners. Someone is propping Nero up as some kind of budding legend. I don’t know who it is, but I can guess their plan. They intend to pin the hopes of Dorchester onto his shoulders. After all the grief they’ve put him through, they have the gall to trick him into fighting for them. And if the city falls, they’ll say it’s because he failed. And then, during the rebuild, while House Walker has no income, they will petition for his removal.”

Nick asked, “Won’t him being a unique interfere with their plans?”

Vera shook her head, replying, “I would have thought so, but now, I don’t know. The arch-mage himself asked me to influence Nero to stay here in Dorchester. I’m sure they’re planning something, but I just don’t know what.”

Nick’s eyebrow’s rose in surprise. “Really? That’s surprising. I would have thought he’d want someone like Nero out of danger, and hidden somewhere he’d be able to keep an eye on him.”

Nodding, Vera said, “Yes, that’s what worries me. I can understand the general and the city-lord playing their games, maneuvering Nero into the forefront of the battle, and I already had plans to deal with that. In fact, I’ve been in contact with the new court-mage who’d helped me get your team assigned one of the survey missions.”

Nick frowned, unhappy with the idea that she was doing the same kind of back-room political dealings that he usually spent his time ranting about.

“But, I think I was played. I was under the impression that you were being sent somewhere safe, out of the way of any potential danger. Now, it turns out that you and Nero were assigned to watch over the kobald’s exit tunnel. I can’t imagine that being a coincidence,” she said.

Nick thought about it, and replied, “Don’t be so sure, it very well could have been. We don’t really know what the kobalds were planning. And from what I can tell, the only one in Dorchester who can breach their illusions is Nero. It would be very difficult for the general and the city-lord to have deliberately arranged for this to happen.”

Vera turned around and stared at Nick, her face utterly serious. “That’s what worries me. Who could have known about the kobalds? Perhaps an arch-mage? One who wants to push Nero to his limits? One who has come in person from the capital to watch over his personal project?”

Nick’s jaw dropped open in shock. It was one thing to consider that the arch-mage had miscalculated and allowed an assassination attempt to go through without interference. It was quite another to consider that the man had actively put Nero in danger in order to inspire faster growth, and to possibly see what Nero was capable of. It would be both highly illegal and morally reprehensible.

Nick’s eyes firmed, and his entire being took on the aspect of a protective father. “What do you think we should do? I’m not sure I like the idea of letting Nero go if he’s going to have to face plots at that kind of level.”

Vera sighed, simultaneously glad that Nick felt the same as her, while also unhappy that he didn’t seem to have any ideas. Turning back to her mirror, she matched stares with her reflection.

“I’ve been trying to keep my desire for influence and power in check when it comes to my position as proxy and my plans for our own house. I wanted to raise Nero into a powerful noble, completely reliant on only himself. Something about him, maybe the sense of friendship and trust he exudes whenever he’s around, makes me want to keep him close. But I’m starting to feel like I won’t be able to protect him from the kind of people who are interested in him,” she said, staring into her frustrated reflection.

Getting out of bed, Nick walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders so he could stare into her reflection. Locking his eyes onto hers, he said, “We’ll just have to do our best. We may not be his parents, but we are his friends. He needs to know how this world works. Being a unique isn’t going to stop them plotting. Tomorrow, focus on teaching him how the world really is, and what he needs to know to survive. We’ll let him make his own decisions, and then we can plan around them.”

Nodding, Vera looked lovingly up at her husband and said, “Yes, that’s really all we can do. Teach him the right way to look at the world, then hope he makes the correct decision.”

Nick smiled at her and asked, “And what decision is that, dear?”

Vera leaned back into her husband’s chest and replied wistfully, “To stay where he has support, and where he can make a difference. But to do it on his own terms, and not at the behest of anyone here in Dorchester. He’ll have to blaze his own trail, and make a decision without anyone influencing him. He needs to embrace the idea that he can do whatever he wants, while still choosing to remain with those few people he can trust… Us.”

Nick’s smile was all teeth as he replied, “If we intend to help him, then we’ll have to do our part. He’s already put you in charge of his house. I’ll apply for the completion of my noble trial on account of the battle I just survived. That will only leave the trial of legacy left, and that’s an easy fix. Why don’t you come to bed, and we can see about getting me a title.”

Vera smirked, while offering her husband a mock-glare. “Sure. Let’s see if you’re up to earning it, my lord,” she replied with some mirth.

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Arch-mage Jennings started off the conversation by stating, “Before we begin, I’d like to formally state that I am in no way advocating for Lord Walker to take any particular path, and I have not interest in his life aside from that as of observer.”

Nero recognized legalese, otherwise known as ass-covering bullshit when he heard it. However, in the interest of seeing where the old man was going with this, he kept his mouth shut.

“That being said, there are a lot of considerations that should be taken into account when Lord Walker decides how he intends to move forward in the coming days,” said the arch-mage, who was obviously trying to talk around whatever subject seemed to be at the center of this confusing conflict.

Nick replied with a calm smile, “We also do not wish to overtly influence Lord Walker’s path. As allies of House Walker, we only wish to help him achieve whatever goals he chooses to work toward. My wife is Lord Walker’s proxy, and as such, has a responsibility to inform him of the proper protocols and social systems that make up Oglivarch. It is her duty to provide advice and guidance, while not leading him down any particular path. There was never any intention to or plot to influence his decisions, or affect his path in any way outside of an educational supportive manner.”

Nero listened to Nick’s response, trying to understand what they weren’t saying. He’d been around long enough to know when people were saying one thing, while meaning another. However, as good as he was at understanding people’s motivations, he was always crap at reading between the lines. In fact, he usually went out of his way to play dumb until whoever was playing word games snapped and finally stated outright what they were annoyingly trying to say without saying.

Figuring he’d save everyone a lot of time, and himself from a headache, he said, “Look, I don’t really know what’s going on, but obviously there is a lot of subtext and crap that I’m missing. How about we just cut the bullshit, and put it all out there. First, let’s start with Jennings… what is your beef with Vera?”

Surprisingly, it was Vera who answered him. “Nero, remember the lesson we just had on what people certain stations are allowed to do, and what limitations they are required to operate under?”

Turning to look at her, he said, “Yeah. Stupid ass policies that result in limited freedoms and end up getting people killed. What about them?”

Everyone in the room stared at Nero, each one silently urging him to think harder.

After a few seconds of silence, where Nero looked around the circle and wondered why everyone was staring at him, Nick asked, “Vera, dear. Did you happen to cover the ways around said rules?”

Like a flash of lightning, Nero’s mind exploded into understanding. ‘All that crap she was spouting about how the nobles lived their lives was supposed to be teaching me something that I was supposed to learn through inference. She couldn’t say what she wanted me to learn, because… well, why the hell not?’ he wondered, feeling like he was so close to an epic realization but just falling short.

Vera replied, “Of course we covered how social monitoring works, and the automatic regulation of interaction. I just don’t think he was listening.”

Nero, now offended, replied quickly, “I heard everything you said. Is this about those assholes that are always scrying me? Can’t we just put up a ward or something to block them out? That way you can tell me whatever illegal crap you want, and they’ll never know about it.”

At that, Cathleen started chuckling, while Vera and Nick both dropped their heads in defeat. Arch-mage Jennings could only shake his head at the young man’s audacity.

Seeing their reactions, Nero asked, “What? Just freaking say what you want to say!”

Arch-mage Jennings finally broke, Nero’s straight-forward demeanor leaving him with little choice.

Looking up into the sky, he said, “As the Director of the Hennings Tower of Magic, and the first mage of Oglivarch, I hereby invoke this discussion to secrecy and list this entire meeting under the accords governing military intelligence.”

After he spoke, Nero felt the entire room’s essence flow come to a startling stop. It was like the hidden world all around him froze in place. Like a series of rubber-bands, he felt countless ‘snaps’ rebound against his mind as if multiple tethers had all been severed.

Reeling back into the couch, Nero rubbed his temples and shouted, “What the fuck was that?”

Nick reached over and patted his shoulder, saying, “That, Nero, is what it feel like when an arch-mage takes control of all of the essence in an area. What you just felt was the multiple scrying links attached to your identity being forcibly broken. We are now in an isolation sphere, and completely at Arch-mage Jennings’ mercy.”

Looking up in confusion, he saw everyone in the room completely frozen in fear. Vera looked like she was three shades whiter than she had been, and even Cathleen was clenching her jaw and trembling.

Turning to look at the arch-mage, Nero asked, “OK… but why?”

The arch-mage gave Nero a look he hadn’t seen in a while. It was that look that reminded Nero that he knew nothing, and he should really take the time to think before he opened his mouth and burdened everyone around him with his idiocy.

Nero watched the arch-mage lean forward to pour himself something to drink from the tray on the coffee table. To Nero, the man looked calmer and more peace than Nero had ever seen him.

After seeming to relish the silence for a few moments, Arch-mage Jennings took a sip of coffee and smiled. “It’s been ages since I’ve been completely separated from any connections. I really should schedule a few hours every year to just bask in this feeling.”

Nero, reaching out with his senses, tried to figure out what the man was talking about. To him, everything still looked mostly the same. Although he couldn’t touch or take control of any of the essence flows, they were all still there. His sight and senses were not affected in the slightest. But before he could ask what the big deal was, Jennings spoke up.

“OK, Nero. Straight talk,” he said, then set down his cup and leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and meeting Nero’s eyes with a glare.

Nero, leaned forward to match the man’s posture, and replied, “Alright, old man. Hit me with it.”