RSTUM 104 (Patreon)

104: Homecoming (4)

"The wind today… it smells nice, Lestrade."

"Yes, my lady, the summer is almost over and soon it will be autumn. The weather is turning nice." Lestrade replied.

"Autumn… I love autumn. It makes me think of Emberwood. Oh, how I miss my hometown! Oh, how I do…"

Looking at the large sea from her balcony, the Duchess felt nostalgic and put back the cup of tea on the table.

"Your appetite isn't improving, my lady. Are the herbs not to your liking?" Lestrade asked.

"The herbs are bitter as it is life without my light, Lestrade." She said and brooded, "Though I don't bear looking at the sea under such gloomy skies, I wish I can be surrounded by my children."

"Lord Lance and Lady Lara have been extremely busy lately, I should write to them and see…" Lestrade said and attempted to head towards the writing table.

"No need." The duchess said, "My children are not in this bitter city. They seemed to have traveled somewhere without telling me."

"You sensed it, my lady?" Lestrade asked.

"Spirits! No, Lestrade, I am not a mystic." She replied without smiling, "I asked Galawin the other day about Lara and he couldn't give a straight answer. I wonder how the son of Erielle has nothing of his mother's cunning."

"He is your disciple, my lady, you could have shaped him into the image you wish." Lestrade said.

"Even though Erielle is the apathetic sort, a mother wouldn't appreciate seeing her son getting taken advantage of…"

The Duchess became silent for a while as she seemed to have remembered something.

"For some reason, I wish to watch the city instead of the sea, Lestrade." She said and looked at the butler.

"Of course." Lestrade moved behind the chair the duchess sits on and released its brakes. He then held the handles at its back and moved it on its wheels through the mansion.

The duchess, after all, lost her ability to walk.

"You never really watch the city this often, my lady." Lestrade spoke.

"I feel the energy flowing through the city stronger today. I wonder why."

***

As he rode the horse across the road through the shantytown, he watched as the poor were gathered outside the gate tending to their little farms and raising their animals.

It is a simple life out here, unlike the hustle and bustle inside the city but a lot of travelers were coming and going. He, on the other hand, attracted a lot of attention with the goblin heads hanging from his saddle.

A Mercenary! Not the sort anyone would dare mess with. Those with levels can muster the power and speed of several men, Mercenaries, most of all, are a rowdy and violent bunch except for a few good names.

As Leo the Mercenary passed the shanty town and crossed the most to the city gate, he was met with the rudest and most annoying guard on Earth.

"Halt right there! State your purpose of entering the city." The guards, who were armed in black and red armor, called as he came leading a score of men.

Leon simply turned his 90° and showed the goblin heads he gathered.

"Light and Darkness!" The guard saw the  heads and became disgusted, "Where did you kill those?"

"On the way from Lemston." Leon replied while pointing in the direction of a certain known town.

"They just went on the road, huh?" The guard asked.

"Goblins are nosy and annoying." Leon replied and seemed to have run out of patience, "Almost as much as this city's watchmen."

"Watch it, clever mouth. This is our chief in command. One of the most important guards in the southern part of the city." Another guard said in hostility.

The first guard seemed a bit taken but acted up and put up an air of importance around himself.

"Ah! Didn't realize I was talking to a VIP." Leon simply fetched out his ID Plate and showed it in front of the guards.

He even "Read" all those guards and none of them was anything special. They were all levels 9 and 10 too and the one that was putting some airs was 7.

Is it some sort of a bluff?

"What's going on here?" At that point, a young but clear voice was heard as a man in a military tuxedo approached the group of guards with a sword dangling from his hip.

The guards almost panicked and the one on the lead immediately pointed at Leon.

"We're inspecting a suspicious traveler, Sir Knight." The guard said.

The knight examined Leon's appearance and saw it to be catchy with all the weapons and the goblin heads he has around. Still, he had an ID Plate, something that not anyone can just get their hands on.

"May I see that?" The Knight asked for the Plate.

Leon handed it over without resistance and the Knight held it up to the sun and noticed it was translucent with the ability to view the status of whoever pours his magic into it.

"It is the real deal." The Knight confirmed the asked, "But what kind of a man who only has the name, Leo? No surname?"

"I don't come from an esteemed background, sir. All I am is Leo. It's all o need and all I'll ever be." Leon replied.

"A man who knows his place." The Knight nodded and asked again, "How did you acquire such a good-quality ID Plate made of quartz?"

"Rich people pay in weird things. I wasn't really liking this Plate at the start but since I no longer need to run to the temple every time I need a formal paper done, I am starting to like it." Leon replied.

"Shame! I wanted to buy it from you but it's okay. Welcome to the city, Mercenary." The Knight said and handed back the plate.

"Thank you, Sir Knight."

"Do be careful of some of the guards around these parts. They tend to act like thugs."

Leon bowed his head slightly and rode in the city with his horse.

The place he found himself in seemed like a large market just beyond the gate. There were many guards, vendors, and commoners coming and going, and some people were dressed like the Knight from before.

Now that he passed, he had to attend his urgent business with the Duchess of Dark, he needed to go and ask her about…

… about…

… what was it all about again?

Leon felt a little bit tight and bitter around his chest and throat. He was almost lost in his thoughts but he needed to focus.

He needs to tell her the truth…

… She must know that he is not her son.

… She must know that her son is dead because of that Prince guy.

… And he needs to ask her for help against those who intend to harm him because of her son's identity.

… He also needs to know about her… has she suffered because of the injustice that befell her son?

… Can she stop the darkness that swells from within every time he encounters something that may affect him badly?

… And how can he live in this world from now on?

He readied these questions for now and headed toward the center of the city. His first stop had to be the Mercenary Hall.

As soon he approached the Mercenary Hall, which was on the border between the market and the central part of the city according to the directions he was given in the market, he found that just like how it was in Karanberg, many employees of the hall were forming various stands where they received all the monsters that were Brought in by the Mercenaries.

"6 Goblin heads, one of which is… was a Shaman." Leon said as he dropped the rope holding the heads on the ground in front of an employee.

"Splendid work, Mercenary." The employee examined the heads, "Quite the fresh kills, huh? Were they this close to the city?"

"Not really, just caught them this morning on the road from Lemston." Leon replied.

His goblins were fresh only because he kept them in his "Storage" where time is frozen.

"That's 5 Silver Shillings per Goblin and 1 Gold Crown for the Goblin Shaman. Splendid work!" The Hall Employee gave a receipt to Leon which he could cash out from the Hall's Treasury inside the main building.

Since it wasn't done by taking a direct mission from the hall, the rate was lower than usual, and most mercenaries wouldn't hunt monsters for free. Leon's actions were aimed to avoid any suspicion in this unknown territory.

After that, Leon asked the guild for the best inn that would deal with mercenaries. He was guided to a large inn at the back of the Mercenary Hall.

Rather than going directly to the Garden Palace, Leon wanted to spend the day gathering information about the city of Stormdale.

The Mercenary Inn had a stable where he could leave the horse behind. He paid for a few days of accommodation for himself and the horse in advance and started mixing with the people.

Socializing wasn't hard, the inn called the "The Proud Mare" was a very exotic and rustic place that had a lot of warmth, bards, and companionship.

After spending an hour of conversation and buying drinks for the people, Leon managed to gather enough information to understand what goes on in Stormdale City.

House Dark rules this city and Stormdale is their ducal capital. The house is composed of two large factions which are the Duke's family and the Council of Elders. There are also the Aristocrats that live in their estates outside the city and manage the large businesses and the vast expanses of farmlands and woodlands.

The major exports of the Dark Duchy are food from their farms and fishing ports, lumber from the endless northern woods, furs from hunting, metals from the Dwarven mines, metalware, and military equipment from trading with the Dwarves, as well as quarries and minerals from the mountain tops that are managed by humans.

In other words, this land is very self-sufficient from food, to weapons, to construction materials. However, the living costs are very high because of the increased taxes imposed by the Kingdom.

Aside from the general affairs, Leon picked up some rumors about the struggle between the factions of House Dark. It was said that a very unstable period of peace was established and the great house has lost its fangs since the Duke is a puppet for the Royal family that installed him in power instead of his brother ages ago.

The Duke, being Leon's father, is the current greatest threat to him, and from the general understanding of the politics, Leon lost hope of having the protection he needed in this land.

If the Royal Family is this involved in the Duchy's affairs to the point where they managed to install the Duke by force, it won't be a problem for them to capture him as long as he stays here quietly.

Leon left the inn from the window of the room he rented and headed for the rooftops. He traveled between buildings and streets by keeping away from the patrols until he could reach the easternmost part of the city.

Unlike how it was with Karanberg, Leon could now fully see the sea of Stormdale.

No, not the sea… the Ocean!

There were some small dockyards in this direction of the city but they were neither for trade nor for fishing. Leon could tell that the ships here are for luxury since many villas and mansions were built across the shoreline.

Each mansion had a garden and a high wall surrounding it but only one manor was built like a fortress. Its walls were just high but it was built above a slope and it had many towers and exotic trees appearing from above.

It was as the others described it to him, the Garden Palace.

But there was a problem, a very major one.

The Palace wasn't just normally guarded, it was heavily guarded by patrols of knights rather than guards, and from what Leon could tell, they are not entering the Palace but only watching who walks around the street and are even checking the identities of most passers-by.

The palace itself remained dark and closed and had no guards from the inside even. This meant two things for Leon; first, the patrols outside are indeed looking for him and they have become desperate since the other five have already entered the city and they seem to be monitored by the Elders; second, those knights can't simply enter the palace where the Duchess and ask her about Leon since they seemed wary from her.

Leon couldn't ask about the Duchess more than what he heard from the people at the inn and although the story of Leon seems unknown to them, they stated that the Duchess is a very solitary person and sees no one.

But to think that the Elders wanted to keep the infamous Black Cobra from entering somewhere, the thought  amused Leon greatly and made him decide to be a pain in the ass for those Elders.

He went with the same old plan he used at Fort Marth. The Chameleon Clock at the Night appears like the wall, the Shambles Drone that is powered by an undead Will o' Wisp, and finally a 15 meters long rope and a grappling hook.

It is a shame he faced no challenge… that, of course, was the case until he snuck into the palace.

He could now finally see the large mansion that was surrounded by a large garden filled with all manner of trees, shrubs, ridiculously large pots, and even a few neatly organized stone gardens.

Leon could see that a lot of work was put into establishing this garden. He looked through it and examined the structure of the garden up and down but it didn't seem that the past Leon would awaken any emotions. With that out of the way, Leon took a drop from the wall into the garden and walked towards the main palace.

He was still covered in his Chameleon Cloak and made sure the dagger was ready in case anything went wrong… little did he know how fast it was going to get wrong.

Just as he passed a stone formation and a mound of those large potteries, he started to feel that the earth beneath his feet was moving rather funny. He looked beneath his feet to see that the earth beneath him was moving as it was being controlled by an Earth Mage and he was immediately covered by a large shadow.

As he looked back, there was this giant silhouette raising its arm and attempting to smite him down.

"Shadow Cloak!" Leon immediately moved like a bolt of shadow and skipped a few meters away from that thing.

"Read!"

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[ Boulder Golem ] < Lv.30 Large Construct >

A sentry golem made by a skilled Alchemist from mountain stones. It is resistant to all physical attacks and very resistant to magic.

- Mold Earth: The creature can mold the earth element to shape the ground around it, attack its enemies, and restore its parts.

- Shockwave: The creature can smite the ground to create a powerful attack with the full force of its weapon and physique.

- Boulder Form: The creature can take the form of a very regular boulder and hides its magical signature to seem like any other boulder.

Creator: Annabelle Dark.

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"Shit!"

Leon wasn't able to see well in the night but as soon as the clouds moved from the sky, he was able to see a 5 meters tall giant thing that looked like a human and was entirely made of stone.

He wasn't given any rest still. Another giant appeared from the side as it rolled its body towards him with a frightening momentum.

"Double Jump!"

Using the best possible move in his arsenal, Leon evaded the rolling golem and landed while looking around him nervously. The rolling golem stopped and stood on its two legs to appear even more bizarre than the first golem.

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[ Pottery Golem ] < Lv.30 Large Construct >

A sentry golem made by a skilled Alchemist by merging many large pieces of pottery together. It is resistant to all physical attacks and very resistant to magic.

- Mold Earth: The creature can mold the earth element to shape the ground around it, attack its enemies, and restore its parts.

- Barrelroller: The creature can perform a barrel roll, granting itself both speed and lethality to ram its enemies.

- Pottery Form: The creature can take the form of pottery pieces and hides its magical signature to seem like some regular pieces of pottery.

Creator: Annabelle Dark.

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"This is ridiculous!"

Leon didn't know it before but battling those knights outside and then coming from the front door would have been way easier than facing the creations of Annabelle Dark.

It is now Leon vs. Annabelle Dark's Golems, the world-famous Witch of Golems.