Chapter 141 - Pains of Politics (Patreon)

I'm back from holiday. There will be many more chapters this week! Really sorry for the delays but I'll catch you up before the end of the month.

A line of blood formed on Edmund’s cheek, pooling at the end until it started to trickle. He wiped it with his fingers, scowling down at the blood before turning his gaze on Bud. The knight still stood with his sword out at his side, awaiting Edmund’s response. Edmund’s brow twitched. There was a tense moment as the entire room watched for his reaction. Then, in a swift motion, he slashed the air with his blade and extended it to the side, returning a deep nod.

Only then did Bud sheath his sword. Blood stains expanded on his clothes, but he paid them no mind.

“You did well to score a mark against me, Knight of Kelisia.” Edmund sheathed his rapier.

Bud smiled softly, the glint of frostfire still in his eyes, a pale shimmer of essence beneath his skin. “Your skill is far beyond mine. It was a cheap trick, and I got lucky.” The smile left him. “So, what did my actions tell you?” There was a quiet anger to his voice.

Edmund held his gaze and then let out a long sigh. “At the very least, I do not take you for an honourless coward.”

“Surely you are satisfied then,” Emilia said angrily, approaching the duelling box.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Edmund said through gritted teeth. “He is still the fiancé that abandoned you.”

“For good reason,” Emilia said. “I hold no grudge, and nor should you.”

“You are still young,” Edmund said, growing impatient. “You are not yet wise to the ways of the world, little sister. I only want what’s best for you.”

“If you had it your way I’d be wrapped up in pillows and kept out of sight. I did not come to Sheercliff City to be your assistant instructor. I came to fight against the monster threat. I want to go with them.”

Edmund paused. “I have not yet spoken to the rest of the party. We should discuss this privately—”

“There is nothing to discuss. Robert is, after all, my fiancé. Speak with father if you oppose so strongly.”

Edmund clenched his jaw. “Very well.” He glared at Bud. “Do not let her down.”

“I won’t,” Bud said. “None of us will.”

In the end, it wasn’t an ideal meeting, but they had their fifth party member. They had morning tea after that—a little posh for Hump’s taste, but he was growing used to the finer things in life. Dylan stabilised Bud’s wounds using his new ability, Nature’s Blessing, and they helped to bandage them. Emilia apologised to them once again, and they agreed to meet for training the next day. For today, they had a meeting with Chosen, Inquisitors, and of course, Countess Daston.

The fun was just beginning.

***

It was hard to escape his anxiety as Hump stepped into the council chamber, following Vivienne’s lead. They were a part of Countess Daston’s entourage. It was a large room with an arched ceiling of white stone. A circle of leather lined wooden seats filled most of the room, broken into six sections that were separated by walkways. At the centre was a large oak table.

“Stand at the back and don’t speak unless spoken to,” Vivienne whispered. She then went to join Marcela and Graham behind Countess Daston, along with her other representatives. Marcela was there, as well as Natalie—Ricard’s assistant. It seemed their expedition leader was still out of the city though.

People continued to shuffle in for a few minutes, a dull murmur filling the room. It didn’t take long for those seats to fill, leaving the less important members to stand at the back. The six faction leaders took their seats at the front of their respective sections.

“Good afternoon to you all,” Sir Roderick began. “The purpose of today’s meeting is to share information regarding our growing pest problem.”

The warrior priest was positioned across the table from them. Behind him, Hump spotted Randall, and an older man beside him that he took to be his father, Lord Ferrand. Skander and madeleine stood at the back, the rogue giving him a discrete wave as their eyes met.

Roderick gave a long update on the situation in the city. It seemed Hump’s party was not the only one to have encountered warlocks so far. As many as a dozen had been slain, along with a number of their other thugs. Enough to be a cult of its own, but it seemed that only lesser members had been dealt with so far. The topic slowly moved on to other related matters. There were deaths amongst the refugees that had been made to look like warlock attacks, though with little success before the expert eye of the Pantheon’s Chosen. Copy-cat murders with gouged out and burnt eyes but lacking the touch of magic.

“What about the treatment toward the Nileshi?” a speaker at the back asked. “So many have been unjustly removed from their homes and businesses without reason. This cannot stand! They are a most important ally.”

The room quietened as people turned to face the speaker.

“Who am I addressing?” Sir Roderick asked.

A man stepped out of the crowd, tall and broad, with the pale skin of a northman. “I am Kistev of the Merchants’ Guild.”

“We cannot prioritise the servants of foreign gods over our own people,” Roderick said. “The god pillars have not slowed—there are more Chosen appearing in Sheercliff than there have been for half a millennium. We are on the right path. The Nileshi are being treated under the same laws as everyone else. If contraband is found, they will be punished. Exceptions cannot be made with warlocks in our city. We cannot allow them access to ingredients and magics to fuel their dark rituals.”

“What if the merchant lords decide to act?” the same martial asked.

“The day the merchant lords give a shit about their worker bees, pigs will fly,” Lord Ferrand said. “That is quite enough of that nonsense Kistev of the Merchants’ Guild. We have far more pressing matters to attend to. Sir Roderick, I believe that is quite enough beating around the bush, don’t you?”

The bald man let out a sigh. “Very well. Lord Ferrand, the floor is yours.”

Lord Ferrand stood and came to the front of their section. “Countess Daston, it has come to light that you have been keeping secrets.”

There was a shuffle as the room turned to look at her. She watched him silently, waiting for him to continue.

“I’m sure you are aware of the criminal apprehended in the lower city,” he continued. “Our interrogations revealed that they targeted an adventuring party in search of a black stone.” His eyes turned to Hump, and his companions and he smiled. “A party with us here today in fact.”

“Indeed, that is the case,” Countess Daston said. “Wizard Humphrey and his party acquired the stone after an encounter with a warlock leading a party of bandits to the south. It was returned to me earlier this week and my researchers have since begun work on it. I suspect it to be of similar sort to the one possessed by the Wizards’ Society.”

A twisted smile graced Lord Ferrand’s lips, and Hump was reminded of Randall in his more spiteful moments. “Forgive me, Countess Daston, but have you not been pushing for us to work more closely together. For us to be more open and honest. You must see the hypocrisy here.”

Countess Daston returned the smile. “It has been two days Kennard. Would you like me to start submitting a daily report?”

There were some chuckles around the room, and Lord Ferrand’s face reddened.

“If I may,” another voice called, and all eyes turned to Inquisitor Abraxus. “Perhaps the Countess has come to the same conclusion as I. A priestess of Lady Light was found dead in the temple district, which can only mean one thing. I believe that these warlocks must have connections in the Upper City, and powerful ones at that.” He looked around the room. “Perhaps even members of this council.”

Suddenly everyone was talking at once.

“Preposterous.”

“Outrageous!”

Sir Roderick hammered his metal staff against the ground, and it resonated like a bell, silencing the room. “Surely you have evidence to support such a claim.”

Abraxus shook his head. “Not yet, I’m afraid. But if it’s there, I will find it.” His gaze returned to Countess Daston. “Unless you believe me mistaken, Countess.”

There was a long silence.

“Three dungeons are open within our borders,” she said finally. “Monsters plague our lands and ravage our people, all the while warlocks seek to destroy us. Now is a time where we must work together, but if there were traitors amongst this council, I can only advise one thing.” Her eyes roamed the room, shimmering with the white light of Imira, the moon goddess, and prophet of the gods. “The gods guide our path, and you cannot hide from their sight.”

In the end, Lord Ferrand’s aggressive question lost its impact. There were many angry rich people in the room after that, but money only held so much power in a room full of Chosen. Discussions soon moved to actions going forward, including the expedition to bring down Stonebark Forest Dungeon, and to further close in on the leaders of the warlocks in Sheercliff. Hump was relieved that their part in this was gone. By the end of the meeting, his legs were aching, and he was bored of standing around listening to politics.

***

They met with Emilia first thing the next day and started their training. They only had a few days left to get to know each other before their quest begun, both as people and as fighters. The academy grounds were the perfect place.

Hump found the magical constructs incredibly useful in training, especially as a party. While the limited space of the grounds made many of Hump’s spells impractical, they could work on their coordination and timing against foes that were enough of a challenge that they couldn’t make mistakes.

Hump quickly decided he liked Emilia. She was a practitioner like him and had worked hard for the strength she had today. Where there was an air of nobility about her, she was down to earth, treating each of them like equals. Combat wasn’t just a duty to her, but an art. She held pride in her skills, not her status, and he could see her pride in it with every swing of her blade. That made her easy to get along with. To top it off, she was nearly as fast and deadly as her brother. She would be an asset.

“I’ve never met a Chosen that also uses internal essence techniques,” Emilia said. They’d finished their group training for the day and were working on their individual abilities. “How are you finding it?”

“Difficult,” Celaine said.

“She’s doing well,” Hump said. “It’s still early days. It takes years for martials and wizards to even game basic control over their essence. You’ve done it in two months, Celaine.”

She smiled. “It’s still difficult. I’m not really at the stage where I can use it during a fight yet, but I’m getting there.”

“Two months is quick,” Emilia said. “Hump’s not exaggerating when he says it takes years. I’ve been doing these exercises since I was five. If you’d like, I’d be happy to try to give you some advice.” She grinned at Hump. “There’s only so much a wizard can teach you about internal essence techniques after all.”

Hump laughed. “Celaine’s a terrible student so I’d be more than happy for you to take over.”

Celaine narrowed her eyes. “Thanks.”

As they left the academy grounds, a familiar voice called out to them. Arthur and the others of the Blackthorne knights were leave the academy, preparing for their own quest it seemed.

“Robert! I’m glad I caught you before you left.” Arthur was grinning. “I didn’t expect to see you and Emilia together after last time.”

“Robert and his companions were kind enough to invite me to join their party,” Emilia said. “I’ll be questing with them.”

“That’s brilliant news! Really, I’m so pleased you both worked things out.”

Bud sighed. “No doubt you will pass on a report to my father.”

“Of course! You’ve done well here, Robert. He’ll be pleased. Very pleased, I assure you. I know you’re not getting along right now, but trust me, this is a good thing.”

Bud’s only answer was a long, thin frown. They exchanged small talk briefly, discussing each other’s quests and where they would be, before parting ways. Hump had to admit, he was pleased Arthur wouldn’t be anywhere near Stonebark Forest. Something about the knight rubbed him the wrong way, and it wasn’t just the overeager arse kissing.

When the eve of their quest was finally upon them, Hump found himself feeling eager. He was sick of the city already. Sick of watching over his shoulder for both warlocks and inquisitors, and eager for a change of pace.

He was halfway through his ale when Celaine returned to the inn with Emilia, her new cloak about her shoulders. It was a black veil of shadows that seemed to contort and move with her form, distorting her figure in a way that made it uncomfortable to stare too long, like a strange haze had formed over Hump’s eyes.

“It’s a beautiful cloak,” Emilia said, running her fingers along the furs.

“We killed a shadow cat on our previous quest chain,” Bud explained. “It had claimed the forest of a small village as its territory and had killed a couple of the foresters there.”

“That explains it,” Emilia said. “I’ve heard stories of the beauty and ferocity of shadowcats, though this is my first time seeing one of their pelts up close.”

“It didn’t look so pretty from my angle,” Hump said. “The ferocity I can get behind.”

Celaine smiled. “Hump’s still upset that we used him as bait.”

“Next time, you can be the bait and we’ll see how much you like it.”

They laughed. The five of them ate a meal together and made their final preparations for the morning. Hump was feeling good about the upcoming quest. Bud’s wounds were completely healed, they’d stocked up on the necessary antidotes, along with some general provisions, and Emilia’s brother had contributed a potion with the healing strength to bring a person that had not yet achieved Soul Manifestation back from the brink of death. They were in a better state than ever.

They’d had a meeting with Marcela and the two other parties that would be going to Stonebark Forest Dungeon that afternoon and had arranged to meet on the west road the following morning. They were ready, or at least, as ready as they could be.