Paladin 4: Chapter 21 (Patreon)

Under Sasha’s father’s direction, they were headed for Whiteguard City, the place from which the kingdom got its name. Now that it was in sight, he understood why so many other sprawling settlements were considered only towns.

Even Limedeep looked small compared to the city of Whiteguard. The walls were cut from brilliant white granite, polished, smoothed, and standing proud. Such cuts would be impossible for traditional stone masons. Only a paladin with an enchanted blade could hope to make such a cut, and thousands must have done so to build the city’s impregnable fortifications.

Seven rows of such walls circled the city, each taller and greater than the last. Not even the presence of the seaside on the city’s northern shore stopped the neat and even spacing of the perfectly circular rings. The artisans of this city sought to emulate the heavens themselves with their home, and no mortal force would get in their way. Great walls towered out of the water, shrugging off the waves as easily as natural cliff faces might.

Each guard tower lining the walls was large enough to be considered a castle anywhere else. The streets were covered on cobblestones worn smooth over the centuries.

In contrast to the stout and sturdy fortifications, the buildings around the city stretched toward the sky like they sought to pierce the heavens, towering higher than should have been possible for any mortal material. The city had a lofty and ambitious air that made every other city in the Sacred Seas seem primitive by comparison. It was no wonder Whiteguard was considered the wealthiest kingdom of the Sacred Seas.

Morgana let out a low whistle. “Why did I never think to come here before?”

“I’ve never seen these streets empty. Tragic...” Priestess Blossom sighed.

This was the home of Darren’s ancestors. His mother’s family had lived and ruled over this city for generations. He reached into the deepest corners of his mind, hoping to find some memory of the place.

But try as he might, he found nothing. It was like those days before his mother took him to that cave had happened to someone else. When he was young, he often wondered what it would have been like had he and his mother not been attacked that fateful day.

He’d shoved the thoughts aside when he met Cassandra, Callum, and Morgana. He made new friends and built a life for himself worth living, so there was no point in wasting time on what could have been.

But looking at this city, he could imagine himself walking its streets as some spoiled and pampered princeling. What would he be like, if he had such a fate? Would he still be the person he was today? Or would he be unrecognizable to the current him?

“Wait, the streets are empty.” Morgana scrunched her nose in confusion. “Shouldn’t they be covered in bodies like all the others we’ve been to?”

“It’s midmorning, so if they were still alive they’d be up and about by now...” Blossom said.

“Which means someone moved them,” Darren answered. Perhaps his forces would get a proper fight after all.

“Look there,” Sasha’s father pointed his sword at the palace’s walls. “The royal guard’s watchtower still burns brightly. They value their duty more than even the call of the heavens, and they must always be prepared for a fight. They never drink and never abandon their posts while on duty, even during festivals.”

“That probably saved their lives,” Priestess Blossom said. “We should speak to them.”

Sasha’s father let out a short breath. “If they wanted to talk, they would have sent a runner out to us. I’d wager they spotted our approach hours ago.”

They waved to catch their attention, but their hailing brought no answer. Darren could make out figures scurrying about the city, keeping watch. It looked like there would be a fight after all.

“Stay sharp,” Sasha’s father warned. “I suspect they will be hitting us with arrows soon.”

He reached behind him for his helmet tied to his saddlebag and put it on, covering him in sturdy steel from head to toe. He turned to Darren and his companions. “I have a spare helmet and shield here, but only one.”

“Give them to Blossom,” Darren nodded toward their priestess. He suspected she was the most vulnerable to arrow fire. The arrows would bounce off his skin, and getting a few arrows stuck in her would only make Morgana’s attacks hit harder, considering her new Masochistic Ferver skill.

Darren took up a position in front. He pulled Melancholy from his Inventory and propped it up on his shoulder. The long shaft of metal was big enough to be a shield for normal-sized people, and sticking it in the air would make it that much harder to hit those behind him.

Over his other shoulder, he propped up his Hell-Sundering Sword of Annihilation. It was a bit smaller than Melancholy, and he felt a bit silly carrying two enormous swords. Still, he certainly had the strength for it, and they would block twice as many arrows.

As soon as he equipped the second sword, arrows started flying. One or two at first, followed by dozens more as the others caught on that it was time to attack. Darren didn’t move to block or stop them in any way since doing so could expose his comrades following close behind him.

“Bodkin points!” Sasha’s father cursed as he held his shield over his head. “Behind me, fair ladies! I will shield you!”

Bodkin points or not, the arrows bounced off Darren’s skin, bent and broken no matter where they struck. Bare chest and shoulders, neck, face, even his eyes were immune to projectiles of this humble caliber, and not one of them slowed his pace in the least as he approached the palace.

As they drew closer, the volleys grew increasingly desperate, solidifying Sasha’s father’s claim that they were fighting the city’s royal guard. Deeper in the city, Darren started seeing a few bodies piled into carts and awaiting burial. Some of them had arrows in their skulls that matched the ones bouncing off him now. With its dense population, this city could have given rise to a new demon lord from nothing more than the dense quantity of Demonic Aura, so much human death could generate.

For preventing that, these royal guards had earned a little mercy from him.

Once they realized their arrows would not do anything to Darren, they stopped wasting ammunition. Instead, stronger projectiles hurtled toward him, some in the form of enchanted arrows and others purely magical. Some of these were strong enough that Darren swatted them out of the air with the back of his hand. He even caught one when he saw a powerful arrow flying toward him.

He soon discovered he could weave a web of Divine Aura over himself and his companions. The web itself did nothing other than extend his sense of touch, but that was all it took to activate his Inventory. After that, all the arrows flung at their group went straight into his pocket, undamaged by blunting themselves on his skin.

“I’m jealous!” Morgana grinned. “You’re stealing their arrows right out of the air!”

“It’s not stealing. I’m just keeping them safe,” Darren replied.

Sasha’s father lowered his shield, looking a little chagrined as he realized he was simply trailing behind Darren like the others. But he laughed it off with a chuckle. “That is some defensive ability you have, your majesty! I have seen paladins shield themselves from arrow fire, but rarely others!”

Eventually, they made it to the next sixth layer of walls leading deeper into the city.

“The door to the next ring is locked,” Blossom frowned. “Those of us who can’t fly will have a tough time heading deeper.”

“Morgana, carry Blossom,” Darren said.

“I’m a decent climber. I could probably make it up the wall...” Sasha’s father muttered. “Let me just find a good place to tie off my horse and--“

He was interrupted by Darren reaching under his horse’s belly and taking flight with both Sasha’s father and the horse over his shoulder.

“--And I suppose that works...” Sahsa’s father had a white-knuckle grip on his reigns, and his horse wasn’t in much better shape. The steed would have bucked and kicked if Darren hadn’t wrapped it up in Divine Energy Constructs to hold it tight and prevent it from moving.

Breaking through to the fifth ring went much the same, and the sixth ring after that. Simply flying straight to the palace probably would have been quicker, but he wanted to keep all the attention on him. His allies were only now roaming the city’s outer ring, and the royal guard could truly cause some casualties if they clashed with his army. The best way to keep bloodshed to a minimum was to have them completely focused on him.

So he kept up his slow and steady walk to the fourth ring and third and second. The royal guard from everything he passed followed him, correctly sitting his party as the greatest threat, despite the army pouring into the city. His slow and steady march gave them time to retreat and gather at the palace.

“They’ve activated the shield over the inner ring,” Sasha’s father said. “It’s an ancient family artifact of the Heavengrace Family. I didn’t think it was possible to activate it without someone of the Heavengrace bloodline! It doesn’t quite look like it’s at full power. They must have gone into the catacombs and got a little tricky with healing magic to coax it into activating.”

“An artifact of the Heavegrace family, you say?” Morgana turned to Darren. “You know, that means it’s technically your artifact. Do you think we could swipe it?”

Darren shook his head. They already had a magic city-protecting shield in Limedeep. There was no need for a second one. “It belongs to this city, so here it will stay.”

But just because he wasn’t going to take the magic shield didn’t mean he wouldn’t seize control of it. He brushed his fingers across the glowing bubble. Then, with one finger pointed like a needle, he popped it.

He expected it to put up more of a struggle and that he’d need to use his mastery of Divine Aura to weave a hole in the bubble large enough to walk through. But this Divine Aura leaped to obey when he made his will known. It was like a loyal puppy finally sighting its master after a long absence.

The bubble collapsed, and all that stood before Darren and the palace were the locked iron gates. One kick shattered the metal gates, and Darren and his companions walked straight through.

He was met by an array of drawn weapons pointed at him. He held up his hand so his companions would stay behind him and stood casually on Melancholy’s hilt with his hand resting.

[I could blow them all up?] Ashe suggested. [They are packed rather closely.]

Darren shook his head. [Not yet.]

“Halt, intruder!” A silver-haired woman shouted. Her wings extended behind her, glimmering the shiny silver hue of a newly minted coin. She was a fourth order paladin, and by her armor and position among the crowd, likely the captain of the Royal Guard. “You have entered the royal palace of Whiteguard! The ancestral home of the Heavengrace Royal Family and current residents of our royal Stewards. I do not know how you and yours marched so far and so deep into our lands or how you knew to strike at such a terrible time, but you will go no further!”

“Sheath your weapons. They are no use to you,” Darren said.

The men and women around the silver-haired women tightened their grips on their weapons. Darren saw hands straining to hold their bows at full draw, and the men and women with swords and shields were dripping with sweat.

From the look of them, this group had seen plenty of fighting since Whiteguard’s collapse. Patches of their armor carried the gilded shine of ceremonial equipment, but now it was pockmarked with holes and dents the size of fists. Many wore bandages over their hands or across their faces beneath their helmets.

“The Royal Guard will never allow a barbarian warlord to seize the palace! Not so long as a single one of us draws breath!” The silver-haired woman raised her sword.

Darren sighed. Perhaps he’d have to cut a few of them down after all. On the other hand, his resurrection should be available again. If he killed the silver-haired woman and got the rest to surrender, he could resurrect her afterward.

But then Sasha’s father spoke, urging his horse ahead of Darren.

“Put away your sword, Captain Emelia! This is no barbarian warlord who stands before you!”

“Lord Roseguard!” The silver-haired woman, Captain Emilia, reeled back as though struck. “Never would I have thought I would see you siding with invaders! How could you betray our nation?”

“It is you who stands against Whiteguard, not I! This man is no barbarian invader. He is Darren, son of Ariel, and last of the line of Heavengrace!” Sasha’s father shouted in reply.

There were a few hushed in draws of breath, and a couple of the archers eased their hands on their bows. Sasha’s father seemed to command quite a bit of respect here.

“The Heavengrace family is dead! Killed by our enemies! It was the Royal Guard’s greatest failing and a stain that shall besmirch us for all time.”

“You can’t be that naive, Captain Emilia. You know as well as I that no foreign force slew our king. The same order that has doomed our nation today was preparing our doom even then! The Order of the Rod! But when they said every royal family member was dead, they lied. One lived, and he stands before you now, Darren Heavengrace, son of Ariel Heavengrace!”

More mutters ran through the royal guards. They looked between their captain and Sasha’s father, wondering who to believe. But if these guardsmen were worth their armor, he knew they’d follow their captain’s lead. If she continued to be uncertain, then a fight was inevitable. He had to do something.

“Show me this shield,” Darren said. “You say only a Heavengrace can activate it?”

“That is so,” Captain Emilia replied.

“Then I will activate it. Lead the way.”

Darren pushed his way through the royal guards. The move wasn’t aggressive, but it showcased his strength all the same. No ordinary man could shove aside three brawny paladins and their commander at once.

He resolved to treat these people just like he did Callum’s guards in Limedeep or Thalia’s guards in the Blackwind Empire. So where he led, they followed.

And after a moment of confusion, these guards fell into step behind him. Commander Emelia had to squeeze her way past to catch up.

“The Heavengrace artifacts are this way,” she said. Her eyes were still full of skepticism, and she looked like she was a moment away from drawing her sword all the while. However, tension was bleeding out of her subordinates now that they were treading familiar ground.

While they walked, Darren offered advice to the captain and her men.

“Withdraw your men from the outer rings. Have them all return to the palace.”

“There are undead prowling the city and more than a few imps. We need to bless and burn the bodies, or they will just keep coming,” Captain Emilia replied.

Darren shook his head. “I know. My warriors will take care of it. We did so for every city on our way here. This entire kingdom would be overrun if we had not.”

Captain Emilia was silent for a moment. “To be honest, we assumed that was exactly what happened. We expected to be one of the few bastions of civilization left. I’m glad that is not the case. How many cities were you able to purify?”

“All of them.”

“All? Whiteguard is a big place.”

“I have twelve more armies scouring the countryside.”

With Cassandra, Sasha, and Asuriel’s forces working in groups of four, they were making quick progress across the entire kingdom.

Captain Emilia’s eyes darted to the walls. She no doubt knew the size and disposition of Darren’s forces now. Darren guessed from her guerilla tactics that she knew she was hopelessly outnumbered with just the army he’d brought to the capital. But, now that she knew the forces he’d brought were merely a fraction of his total assets, he sensed hopelessness creep over her expression.

“The shield artifact is up ahead,” Captain Emilia pointed to a set of heavy bronze doors bolted shut. Darren was about to kick the door open just like he had the gates, but Emilia produced a key and opened them.

Behind the door was a set of stairs that led down beneath the palace. The concentration of Demonic Aura should have increased as they descended, but the opposite happened, which signaled the presence of multiple powerful divine artifacts just ahead.

The first thing Darren was greeted with were rows of books. A few lay open, and he noted the same blocky text skill books were written with. These were no skill books though. Instead, they were ordinary books on a variety of subjects.

“Every member of the Heavengrace family was a scholar of their chosen field,” Captain Emilia explained. “The ancients had theories for everything. Physics, engineering, economics, and medicine are all written here in these books. By learning what they could, the Heavengrace family elevated our nation above all others. Those walls in the sea? They would not have been possible if King Gerund the fourth had not discovered a way to hold back the seas and pour liquid stone into forms that would harden into shape. Our steel is the best in the Sacred Seas because Queen Isabell the fourth rebuilt our smithies with ancient knowledge. Our fields are so green because Archduchess Marthine the Holy rediscovered a way to enrich the earth by transforming the dung of bats and animals into fertilizer.”

Her eyes bore into Darren’s, leaving the unasked question in the air. If every member of the Heavengrace family was a master of something, what was he a master of?

Darren didn’t have an answer for her, but when she pointed to the sphere on a nearby stand, he proved his mother’s blood flowed through his veins.

“There is the shield artifact. Only a Heavengrace can activate it. If you can--“

Darren had finished activating it before she had even finished speaking.

“You have your proof,” Darren said as he waved at the glowing sphere. Captain Emilia was gaping at it with her mouth open wide, and behind them, Sasha’s father stood with a smug look on his face.

“Could it have been a trick? We got it to activate with a bit of ancient dried-up blood. Could this be the same?” one of the royal guards whispered from behind Darren.

“When we did it, it took the captain and three priestesses just to get it to twinkle. Now it shines as brightly as the sun in the sky!” Another answered.

Captain Emilia grit her teeth, brows furrowed. “I... I will take this into consideration. But there’s still the matter of the steward to consider.”

“Where is he?” Darren asked.

Captain Emilia kept her lips shut tight, but Sasha’s father snorted. “Cowering in his quarters, no doubt.”

“Lord Roseguard! The royal steward is your king!” Captain Emilia glared.

Sasha’s father scoffed. “No. I bent the knee to the Heavengrace family, whose heir stands before us now.”

“I have proved myself,” Darren said, turning to the exit again. “I go now to purge the undead from the city. Tell your steward to join me, and no harm shall befall him.”

“Wait! You can’t leave!” Captain Emilia said.

Darren turned, and something about him had changed. Melancholy was in his Inventory, and he was surrounded by Captain Emilia’s royal guards, but for that one instant, the captain felt her blood run cold, like the very Divine Aura flowing through her veins had turned against her. She knew then and there that she could not stop this man from doing anything he wished. Nearby, two of the royal guards, both strong warriors, had dark stains running across their pants between their thighs.

And then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the feeling was gone, and an easy, gentle smile returned to Darren’s face.

“Look after the palace, Captain. I will look after the city. I will return at sunset.”

Darren walked out of the palace as casually as he arrived, rejoining his forces on the city’s outskirts. They were already making quick work of the undead gathered there, and it wouldn’t be long before the city was completely cleansed. The dead were burned or buried, the undead were put down, and the demons were rooted out wherever they tried to hide.

While he fought, Captain Emelia and the royal guards whispered to one another, uncertain of what to make of him. The story of him activating the Heavengrace family artifact had spread through the ranks from those who witnessed it, and all now knew him to be a genuine heir to the Heavengrace family.

Before, they had all been prepared to die in a glorious last stand defending the palace from an invading conqueror. But Darren hadn’t attacked them, and his armies were actually liberating the city from demons. One of the most respected lords of the land had vouched for him, and now he had proven he had the blood of the old royal family running through his veins. They were no longer sure if they should be opposing him at all.

And now they saw him at work once again. He sensed their eyes on him from afar as he led his men and women into battle. They looked upon him with eyes of adoration, and their hearts burned with unyielding loyalty.

In contrast, the steward they fought so hard to protect cowered in the palace, unwilling to even show his face to defend his own city.

And just as promised, when the sun began to set Darren returned. Morgana, Priestess Blossom, and Sasha’s father all followed him, but this time three dozen of his greatest warriors followed him as well.

Darren strode through the palace doors, and behind him trailed a dozen warriors of the fourth order, and twice that at the third. Though the royal guard outnumbered them, only Captain Emelia was at the fourth order.

A few of the royal guards reached for their weapons for security, but a harsh glare from one of Darren’s archpaladins stopped even Captain Emelia in her tracks.

“If you draw weapons with ill intent, be prepared to use them.”

The royal guards kept their weapons sheathed.

“Your steward never showed himself,” Darren said. “Take me to him.”

“I... I...” Captain Emilia’s training failed her. If the palace was breached, she was supposed to stand and fight, giving her life in its defense. But what was she supposed to do if the invader claimed to be their true king?

Darren didn’t wait for her. He reached out with his senses and found the man hiding in the royal chambers. He would greet this steward himself.

“Follow,” Darren said, and his warriors stepped into line. And after a moment of hesitation, so too did many of the royal guards.

They went up the stairs to the royal bed chambers, where Darren sensed the steward was.

Darren threw open the door to the steward’s room. The man who ruled over it looked relatively ordinary for such an impressive kingdom. He was tall for a human who wasn’t a paladin. His weight was normal, but nearly all of it was in a big pot belly, while his arms and legs were as scrawny as twigs. His pinched face was locked in a scowl, and bare veins pulsed in his temple as though he were moments away from erupting with anger.

“Captain Emilia! What is the meaning of this?” The steward demanded. “Who is this man? Didn’t I order you to secure the palace?”

He pointed his finger at Darren with a glare and raised an eyebrow at Captain Emilia.

“We must speak,” Darren said.

“My court is closed!” The steward reached for the door to slam it in Darren’s face, but Darren placed one hand on it. The steward struggled until his face turned redder, but he looked like a child as he struggled against Darren’s strength.

“But mine is open.”

King and steward stared one another down, eyes locked in a fierce glare. But Darren’s eyes had steel behind them, and the steward’s glare crumpled like wet sand. He shivered, turning to Captain Emilia. “Captain, get rid of this man at once! Or hells bellow, I swear I’ll toss your captain’s badge in the fire and melt it into a fishing weight!”

Captain Emilia’s frown deepened. “I... can’t...”

The steward glared at Darren, eyes bloodshot with hate. He eyed the sword at Captain Emilia’s hip and reached for it. Captain Emilia nearly stopped him out of instinct but hesitated when she remembered who he was.

That moment of hesitation was all the steward needed to draw the captain’s shield and lunge forward to stab Darren in the stomach. The steel point struck his skin, and a thud echoed like a dull rock striking wood. His eyes darted up to meet Darren’s.

And then Darren returned the attack with one of his own. Unlike the stewards, Darren’s strike was fast and silent. His Hell Sundering Blade of Annihilation appeared in his hand. He brought it down, and then it was gone. A moment later, the steward slid into a dozen pieces. He swept his hand over the mess to move it into his Inventory, then turned to Captain Emilia.

“Clean out the barracks, so my warriors have a place to sleep. Tell everyone I’m in the palace. I will address all concerns tomorrow.”

Darren strode into the royal bedroom, frowning as he took in the bed. It was far too small. Fortunately had had something a few sizes larger in his Inventory. Cassandra, Sasha, and Asuriel were all on their way, so he might as well get this new palace ready for them to move in.

Outside his door, Captain Emilia had a word with the two guards who’d been on duty when they arrived. When she left, the guards stood at their posts like nothing ever happened.

<Note>

I might rewrite this chapter from Captain Emilia's point of view. I'm not dissatisfied with the chapter, but it could be a way to make it more awesome. It's lower on my list of priorities, but it's an option.