《So, I Became a Blackguard.》 Chapter 1: Birth of a Protector. Birth of a Protector ¡®Come to the concert!¡¯ They said. ¡®It¡¯ll be fun!,¡¯ they said. ¡®We''ll all take your mind off things,¡¯ they said¡­ Well, look where we are now¡­ That was all I could think as I heard the first sound; a loud pop somewhere off in the distance as someone toppled to the ground. Another, and then another, I knew them well; these were the sounds I had trained with for so long. After the third shot, it wasn¡¯t hard to make out that the shots are coming from the parking lot and getting MUCH louder. A man walks in with two guns, thinking he¡¯s Rambo. Ya know, it¡¯s funny the thoughts that pop into your mind in a crisis, because instinctively, in the fraction of a second my body was already in motion. I pushed, toppled, and slammed people into the walls and floor as I bolted toward him. At least he hasn¡¯t noticed the rush¡­ Yet. My cursed body, I can¡¯t think of a day since the diagnosis I do not swear at it and beg the fates for a change¡­ For once I can completely agree with what it¡¯s doing without my consent. Egh! Slow, so unbelievably slow! In reality, it had only been three seconds since my body had begun moving; all of my training taking over. 4 seconds: He¡¯s lifting the gun! NO! NO! NO! I need to get there faster. I will every bit of force I have into my legs; but I still had 8 feet between me and the shooter. 5 seconds: He¡¯s dropping the other gun, grasping the first one and bracing himself. You have got to be kidding me! I thought he was an idiot carrying two guns, this is bad, this is bad, he just doesn¡¯t want to reload! I kick off hard with my leg, lunging towards him. 6 seconds: My gut feels warm¡­ now my chest¡­ it¡¯s like sinking into warm bath. 6.1 seconds: Hey, wasn¡¯t I doing something? I squeeze my arms together, the shooter is between them. I made the jump; knocking him backwards and onto the ground. 6.11 seconds: You know what¡­ this isn¡¯t a bad way to go for someone like me. I was actually able to save someone. 6.12 seconds. At least I won¡¯t be in pain anymore. Slowly, everything faded away. **************************************************************************************************** ¡°You, who would sacrifice life itself to defend those who you will never meet, I welcome you,¡± said a voice. Just a voice, in infinite blackness¡­ I always imagined the grand hereafter as more like the cover of a metal album. ¡°You honor the creators, Protector.¡± The voice continued. My being flooded with warmth again, a feeling of ease¡­ truthfully the voice reminds me of my mom. ¡°I have chosen a construct to communicate with you from memories. I have determined you would find this comforting, as I have no way to do so otherwise.¡± So they do sound like my mom, and they were in my head? It¡¯s just good to hear her voice again. ¡°I am what you would refer to as ¡°Deity.¡± I created your world originally and still watch over the souls within it.¡± If I had a head I would nod along, I mean, I remember dying.¡°You have shown the willingness to give your life to save others; you have shown the qualifications of a hero.¡± ¡°Okay, I think I get it, so, because I went out trying to save people I¡¯m here now?¡± I had to ask something, ¡°did anyone else die? I¡¯d been hoping I stopped em fast enough.¡± The Deity spoke slowly, picking their words carefully. ¡°Yes, you saved all of those you aimed to. Those who were hurt should make full recoveries. I wish I could have protected them, I do, but I may only interact with spirits. You have done what I feel should rightfully be my own charge.¡± Another long pause as the Deity lets me digest what they have just said. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great; does that mean I can go back or something?¡± An eerie silence fills the¡­ air? It¡¯s just kind of a void. ¡°I apologize, Protector, I cannot do that, everything you were, and currently are, has already been reincarnated.¡± A picture appears in the void, a baby girl in a medical ward. She has a small hat on and a stuffy to her left; somehow, it fills me with a sense of peace. ¡°Everything you were is now in that child. Your spirit writes onto your soul, changing it as you grow, however your spirit also keeps everything that makes you, you. Do not mistake my words, you are not a copy, everything you are is in both your spirit and your soul. All of that has been passed on¡­ there is no body for me to return you to, once your soul has found a new one. Okay, that last speech made my head spin a bit¡­ ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m me¡­ but that baby is also me now¡­ but me as a person doesn¡¯t exist anymore?¡± Another long pause before they continue, their voice having changed, sounding a lot like my mom the time I was able to guess my birthday present right. ¡°Well, I thought it would take a bit longer but yes, that is the explanation, you are both you, the person you were, and now that little baby. Now then, because I cannot reincarnate a spirit into our world, and you¡¯ve done your Deity such a boon by protecting my creations. You do get my blessing.¡± I wait for a while, I guess when you don¡¯t get many visitors, you want to make the most of them. ¡°Okay, I give, what is your blessing, great Deity?¡± ¡°I shall ask you two questions, the moment you finish answering I will send your spirit into a body of roughly the prime age, in another world. However; I warn you; I will not be the Deity of this other world. You will be akin to an immigrant, these blessings are to help you in the world you find yourself. Free will can make sentient species quite distrustful of outsiders.¡± ... ¡°What is the one thing that made you the strongest?¡± I think deeply, time doesn¡¯t seem to matter wherever we are, but after a quick look over my whole life I come to one conclusion. ¡°Pain.¡± There is a touch of sadness in Deity¡¯s voice in the second question¡­ I get the impression they were looking for something much more benign, ¡°Where would you like to go.¡± Without hesitation, even without thinking, every instinct tells me to say one thing, ¡°Where I am needed most.¡± **************************************************************************************************** A room materialized around me, bright lights shining down on me as multiple hooded figures lined the wall to my right. The wall is round, completely cornerless, like half of a circle and long giving the room an oblong feel akin to a massive zero. I look to my left and see, what I assume is the head priest, wearing a hat way too big for his head as well as an olive skinned man with a shaved head. The low chant from the hooded monks comes to a stop within a second of my appearing. ¡°Oh, Great Paladin Summoned from another land, help us in our hour of need!?¡± The pope-looking man bowed, as did all of the other hooded figures, the only one who didn¡¯t was the olive-skinned man wearing an ornate set of armor. One massive sword could be seen slung over his back in some makeshift scabbard. The armored man bore a flag on his back, like a banner carrier. ¡°You must be military,¡± more statement than question, my voice louder than I remember. Then, returning my focus to the ornate robed individual, ¡°I take it I have been summoned for a reason?¡± The ill-dressed priest with the massive hat raised his head. ¡°We¡¯ve read the scriptures but had no idea if they were true, great Paladin. Of your coming with knowledge, but that is truly impressive. He is General Oberon, he gives his apologies for not speaking, we have been informed that it is not customary for the military to take a vow of silence where you come from. I am the great priest of the Church of Tomes, Vansen.¡± The priest rose, holding his hands in front of him and his back arched in a way not too dissimilar from a weasel curling up. His clothes were jade green, ornate, dripping with stones; all of them green.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I think for a second, not sure what to make of this man, but quickly decided that since they mentioned Scriptures there¡¯s a chance they know more. ¡°Upon my death, I was apparently visited by the Deity of my world who told me that for saving others I will be blessed.¡± A chatter fills the room. Multiple hooded figures who had been chanting some deep ancient language of some sort were now whispering amongst each other. The Pope-Weasel raised both of his hands and the room fell silent. ¡°We have been told as such before, the other Paladins we raised from your world told us similar as well. First I must tell you, please don¡¯t try to use your abilities right now, wait for a safer climate. Secondly, you are now in the land of the Federation of the Three Cities, welcome.¡± I give my best fake-impressed smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t understand most of it, I was asked two questions and right after I answered them, I found myself in this room.¡± I silently thought to myself, what kind of abilities. This time it was the General who perked up, looking straight at me as the head priest clarifies. ¡°We have not a name for these, but from what we can gather, those two questions are meant to give you your gifts.¡± As he pauses and I take Inventory of my aches... Hands, unshaking, unfaltering, the familiar sting in them was gone, that¡¯s a bonus. As I look back up, the General¡¯s once stone face looked more akin to a puppy waiting for its master¡¯s treats. Vansen continues, ¡°The questions are always the same ¡°With what one power would you begin anew¡± followed by ¡°And what would you do with it? We don¡¯t REALLY know what the last question does, but, we assume it is meant for selecting which world you will be born into.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m assuming you want to know what I responded with?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, if you inform us of your words and what your power turns out to be, maybe we can figure out how the Deity thinks.¡± He bows respectfully, holding a hand in front of the general, signaling for him to curb his enthusiasm a bit. With a deep breath; I begin with a sigh, ¡°For the first question, I responded with one word, ¡®pain¡¯ for reasons most of you can not begin to understand, or so I hope. As for the second question, ¡®What needs to be done¡¯...¡± I trail off which causes a smile to cross the General¡¯s face stretching from ear to ear as the bald man erupted in applause. It seems the second question need not be answered, as the smiling military man gave me a round of applause that would make even the hammiest actor blush. These questions weren¡¯t exactly right¡­ but I¡¯d like to gain my bearings before I correct such an important-looking sleazeball. The General helped me down from the platform I was apparently on. Embarrassingly enough I just thought they were gnomes or dwarfs or something, but I was just higher up. Two of the robed monks hand me a pack, as I notice my hands I see armor. ¡°Oh, for this reason; we brought a mirror we have been informed this is a normal response.¡± Vansen laughs gleefully. The head priest bowed, stepping to my left, I notice yes, indeed there¡¯s a full-body mirror behind him. I hadn¡¯t noticed earlier due to it blending in with the white room and it reflecting the back of his robe. I was decked out in white armor with gold trim, sure enough; I do indeed look like the Paladin they referred to me as. Half-plate armor with a chain skirt for easier movement, what¡¯s more is that my body doesn¡¯t feel how heavy all of this must be. I spin around and sure, it was still there. ¡°Oh wow, I didn¡¯t know this was part of the arrangement.¡± ¡°Yes, that is Celestial Steel, I am sad to say it is stronger than anything we have available to us. It will grow with you, get stronger with you¡­ and when you do eventually pass, it will turn to sand.¡± The Head Priest again bowed his head, as a sign of respect for me? Or does this play into whatever belief system invented that idiotic hat? The priest wasn¡¯t unable to explain much more. The wall in the right of the room exploded inward. Rubble dazing the general as it piled in the center of the room while weasel priest got knocked clear to the other wall, a cough escaping his mouth with some blood when he slammed into it. ¡°H-Heeeelp! The Demon Lord is here!¡± The priests in the room started screaming. A large, 8-foot wolf-man stood in the center of the room. Matted hair all over its body and visible ribs, I¡¯m surprised this beast can even move. It saw Vansen, pinned to the wall and started to rush after him. I had undone my pack where a silver sword lay inside; as soon as I touch the hilt words boom in my mind. Evil must be slain. Then, the sword zapped in my hand, and I was not where I was before, In front of me, the priest, behind me, an 8-foot werewolf, covered in matted hair and shackles. I turn around, brandishing my sword, unsure how to use it, yet my hands find the grip more comfortable than I care to admit. ¡°Listen, I just got here, and he was saying something.¡± I slammed the sword against the beast''s claws as they try to come down on the priest, blocking them. But they do cause the tile floor under me to break and buckle before I force the beast back. His breath was rancid like bile, an aura of desperation was nearly visible around him as he pushed down on me. What an emaciated mess! This werewolf looks less like the enemy of Dracula and more like a pet-shelter commercial asking for donations. For a canine looking like that to shatter walls and crack the floor with me blocking a strike¡­ I¡¯m afraid of seeing one at full strength. The beast jumps back to the hole it had made in the wall. Picking up large rocks it starts tossing them at me as I feel something warm and trembling wrap around my leg. ¡°SAVE ME SAVE ME SAVE ME!!!!!!!!!!¡± with eyes so full of tears i doubt he can see, the 2-foot tall pentagonal hat drooping over his face as he begs. As the first piece of rubble arcs overhead I pick up the priest, tossing him into the hooded figures. WOW, I didn¡¯t know I¡¯d be that strong! It¡¯s less dodging and more running around the other side of the room to try and avoid being hit by the flying debris. I swiftly dodge to the left, but I¡¯ve been tricked! The wolf lunges at weasel-man grabbing his arm in its maw. ¡°Dammit!, Tch¡± I Grit my teeth, pushing off the ground, the tile breaks beneath the pointed toe of my armor. Even with the heavy load on my body I still get close before much else happens; with my free hand, I try to catch the wolf by the throat, hoping to choke him until he drops the priest¡­ I made a mistake that day. As I reach forward, trying to catch the throat of the beast, its maw snaps shut. Teeth digging in, shredding the priest¡¯s flesh as the wolf pulls, taking the arm with him. Dropping the body; he bolts for the gash he opened in the wall earlier, arm still in his mouth. I toss my sword to the side, touching the priest with my gloved hand something happened, something I could just feel. Conditions met. Introduction into neuro-cellular response: Fail. Conditions met, Introduction into Manual mode: Success. Do you wish to initiate skill, ¡°Pain Vampire¡±? It was the voice of Deity¡­ but also not. The notes of my mother were gone, the voice had no gender, talking entirely like a computer except for its experiment readouts. Getting upset at the failure and nearly cheering during the success, yet, immediately afterward it returns to its monotone. Honestly it¡¯s hard for me to pin down if it¡¯s sentient or sapient or whatever, I always got those words confused. ¡°Uhm, whoever you are¡­ yes, I guess.¡± The monks all look at me like I¡¯m crazy, nothing out loud had prompted this response, meanwhile, General Oberon was already gone. Not too long after I agreed, the head priest stopped convulsing, eventually going near limp, without me checking his pulse I would have thought he had died. And then the pain hit, searing through my mind, fire erupting from my shoulder. ¡°GAH! What¡¯s happening to me?!¡± Explanation: Pain Vampire. Ability to remove the pain from others while inflicting it upon yourself. Conversely, the ability to instill the pain gained from others into new hosts. Status: Active. Extra Ability: Pain Nullification. Enhances your spirit memory, pulling from your experience in your past life and giving you the ability to endure great pain. Further advanced by the durability of your new body, the pain will be reflected as if inflicted upon it. Status: Initializing¡­ Initializing¡­ Initializing¡­ Fail. Initializing¡­ Initializing¡­ Initializing¡­ SUCCESS! The enthusiasm shown during the initialization made me wonder what exactly ¡°manual¡± mode even is¡­ That is a quandary for another day, hilariously enough once the ability had been ¡°initialized¡± this wasn¡¯t even a 4 on my old pain scale. However, I make a quick mental note about the differences in pain levels before and after the activation. A couple of the priests have begun chants, hands glowing, what I have to assume is healing magic. I mean, I know I said I liked fantasy but this¡­ this is the deep end, not just reincarnation but MAGIC! The head priest¡¯s arm didn¡¯t regrow, but the healing magic stopped the bleeding and restored blood pressure. Interestingly enough, their efforts made the stolen pain ease off. **************************************************************************************************** General Oberon returned, empty-handed. Apparently, the wolf had bolted past most of the guards, not expecting a demi-human inside a building¡­ okay¡­ They weren¡¯t prepared to stop him once he got into the halls where him bouncing off of the close walls and ceiling made him harder to catch. Whatever he came to the summoning room for, he either got it or dealt a blow to the spiritual leader of the people¡­ then a scary thought entered my mind. What if he wanted both? Several of the priests had informed me by now that what just occurred was a jailbreak by one of the Demon Lord¡¯s most trusted generals. One of the priests who seemed more friendly sat beside me as other guards rush into the room. ¡°The Demon Lord is coming¡­ We summoned you to combat monsters like that. Soon they will have an army of non-humans, and we will be wiped out.¡± If only I knew how complicated it would all become. Chapter 2: Roast Beast Roast Beast The following few hours were a chaotic mess. They¡¯d planned some giant event for my arrival, yet the escaped werewolf put the kibosh on it. I was quarantined to the summoning room long enough to check me for bites. Turns out while you can¡¯t be turned into one of them, their bites were just notoriously nasty. Soon, I was led out through the main door. The walls had velvet curtains lining the windows, the hallway was magically lit for all I know. With candelabras using a green flame that somehow made the entire room a little brighter, to my dismay, without tinting the room in their color. A monk from the summoning had very graciously given me permission to call them ¡®Charles¡± due to the five times I tried and failed, to say ¡®Charlemagne¡¯. We walked to the barracks library before the re-launch of the event. ¡°You know, Charles, seeing hooded chanting monks as soon as I show up, I wouldn¡¯t expect them to also belt out laughing so often, it seemed like a party at a Tavern.¡± I piped up as they walked me through a pair of large, ornate wooden doors, into a study filled with bookshelves on every wall and a large globe in the middle. Sadly the globe had no continent I could recognize, but it seemed like the continent I was on in this world was quite large, a body of land near the size of Europe and Asia. ¡°Yes, well, two things, our deity teaches us that we must embrace what brings us joy. That and, you had just successfully fought off the father of the Demon Lord,¡± They give an embarrassed chuckle. ¡°Truthfully we thought we were all dead after the explosion. many of them soiled themselves, the only thing that saved me was I was smart enough to go before the summoning. after all, our scripture did warn us that it could have taken up to five hours.¡± They¡¯ve talked with me since the incident, turning part fanboy, part yes-man. However, they are the first person I feel comfortable around since I got here. ¡°Alright, I can agree with that teaching, on my world religions had edicts from their different gods that we¡¯re way less benign.¡± Still, the thought that I had just fought off a RELATIVE of the Demon Lord? I thought they were like, a Demon Lord, summoned from the depths of darkness or whatever. As I stared up and down the dark-green robbed body of what I can safely call my first friend in this new world, ¡°So, I have to know, what was it like in your world, like, what were you going to do before you became a Paladin?¡± The big green eyes and round face under that hood begging me like a pup for another piece of bacon. ¡°Huh? well, I suppose I wasn¡¯t told to keep it a secret or anything. I was going to be in the military of my world, I wanted to be a medic on the front line¡­ But that wasn¡¯t an option as I found out.¡± Laughing, I still feel a bit of pain in my heart. After all, it had been my dream, while I didn¡¯t like the idea of shooting anyone myself, I knew that would be where doctors were the most needed. They look down, the full hood covering his face; two jewels inlaid at the back of the hood and no other discernible outward markings make them look a little like a plush lizard. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry to hear it, what happened? Were you injured?¡± Now, this is a toughie. After a loud sigh, ¡°No, I always knew I was limber, but something was wrong with my joints, in fact, something had been for a long time. You see when it ramps slowly, and it does not falter, you get used to even great amounts of pain¡­¡± I break, catching myself, not a fan of explaining it due to reactions just like Charles¡¯, ¡°My joints are, I mean were¡­ incomplete. A certain liquid you, and other people have, wasn¡¯t in mine, making me more flexible. But the pain was ramping, and from what I was told, would only get worse¡­ I guess you could say my body was cursed.¡± This made Charles lookup, starry-eyed. ¡°Cursed!?¡± Well, this wasn¡¯t the response I was expecting. Their head shot up so quick his hood flew off, revealing shoulder length long red hair. ¡°We¡¯ve done some research into that!¡± I just nod as they jump up and down. ¡°From what we¡¯ve learned from previous heroes we can surmise hope is kind of like fuel for your soul.¡± I nod along, I didn¡¯t really get that from what I was told, but these guys have been at this longer than me. ¡°Whatever you did to become a Paladin¡­¡± They pause, ¡°Uhm, you don¡¯t need to tell me by the way, from earlier encounters we¡¯ve learned not everyone wishes to share the deeds that allowed them to be reborn.¡± I wait¡­ And wait for a little longer¡­ Okay it¡¯s been a minute, they clearly want me to tell them, but I think quickly¡­ do I really want to even plant the idea of a firearm in their minds? ¡°I uhm, well I threw myself onto an attacker¡¯s knife at a festival, he was lunging and about to kill at least two people if I hadn¡¯t moved and in my haste, well I seem to have impaled myself.¡± I blush, thinking up the lie as quick as I can. I don¡¯t know why I felt the urge to lie really, something in me just screamed at the mere thought of having to explain a gun to these people. It seems they¡¯ve bought it, they nod, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve heard similar events from two of our other Paladins before, it would seem that even the Deities find such actions commendable.¡± Every time this monk nods, their hood flops in front of their face forcing me to cover my own face to keep from laughing as it looks, very much, like a lizard made out of rags is trying to gobble them up and they just aren¡¯t having it. Another man rushes into the room, bowing to me and then stammering, ¡°S-Sir Paladin, your presence has been requested by the honorable Lord-Governor at his Barkwood Mansion!!¡± He¡¯s feline, around 5¡¯8 with a wildcat appearance. After he speaks he slowly sits down, then bows his head to the ground, Charles quickly fills me in. ¡°It is customary for messengers of nobility to wait for an answer so they can guide you back, Sir.¡± They wave, motioning toward the man on the floor, wearing some sort of armor, in places leather with plates of metal over it and what appears to be a spotted pelt around his waist. ¡°Please stand.¡± I lower my hand to help him up as Charles quickly grabs it. ¡°Careful, beastmen are bound by these conventions, if they break them, you will only cause him pain.¡± They point to the short stumpy tail and I notice that that the armor on the man¡¯s waist isn¡¯t a pelt, but a midriff-like opening in his armor. I lower my arm and rise, ¡°I would like you to take me to the Lord-Governor, how may I address you, messenger?¡± ¡°Grimalkin, Sir Paladin.¡± He looks up at me, there¡¯s none of that reverence that I¡¯ve seen so far, I can¡¯t tell the emotion on his feline face, but his eyes look like they are screaming at me with¡­ Rage? Contempt? Determination? I truly couldn¡¯t say much other than whatever emotion it was. The way this beastman carried himself told me one thing; that he did not approve of bowing. And so, I left for the Lord-Governor''s house, Charles stammering as I left. ¡°W-We¡¯ll continue our talk later Sir Paladin! I have much to tell you and much to ask!¡± I look forward to it. *** Grimalkin, as it turned out, was not much of a talker. ¡°So, care to tell me more about your city?¡± He walked a couple of paces in front of me, his pants cut off like shorts allowing his digitigrade legs more freedom, the armor on his body was in specific places, less vital areas were covered in leather, but the weird part was the opening on his waist. We walked, silently for around ten minutes before I tried to break the ice again. ¡°So, uhm, why do you have the exposed middle? I mean, your waist is armored, and you have a leather armor top¡­ why have such a large open spot?¡± This got a reaction, but not the one I wanted, he snapped around with a low growl in his tone. ¡°So my Masters may let me serve them as a body-guard while also ensuring they have a quick way to dispatch me if I turn on them.¡± The hair on his back arches and his pupils shrink in, forming thin diamonds. ¡°You see, we beastmen are wild animals, we have to be kept under control! I mean, after all, that¡¯s why they summoned you.¡± With a reaction like that, right after the werewolf attack, that¡¯s a lot of power to just walk around with. Still, this required some prodding; I don¡¯t think the messenger of the Lord-Governor would attack me over speaking. ¡°What do you mean? Because no one has told me why I was summoned except that the Demon Lord is rising again.¡± ¡°No, Paladin, the new Demon Lord has risen,¡± Somehow, the words coming out of his mouth sound like a threat, yet not one made implicitly at me. His face is still hard to read considering it looks more feline than human, but I got a sense of smug satisfaction from his tone... As we walked through the markets, I could get a rough idea of the kind of civilization this is. We walked inward toward the walled city, large spires with rounded tops lined a walled central city. The more I walked the more I realized where the barracks I had been summoned in were located. It seems the smaller, squarer clay houses lined the outside of the jade walls, with wooden additions to them, sometimes as a shopfront, sometimes as an actual addition to the home. By the time I had passed them, I¡¯d noticed some of the broken down buildings were still functioning stores of some kind, meanwhile, the towering walls grew closer. From the outside, the inner city looked like if you put the city of Agrabah in the middle of the Scottish Highlands and then tinted it green. Overall the design was more than tacky. But on the inside, it looked more akin to a decadent, colonial age mansion. Truly, no expense was spared in this oasis in a sea of green. As we passed through the gate into the inner city I notice high-end looking stores with gold inlaid in signs and doors. The guard''s armor on the inside was blinding, more ornate, the weapons they wore on their sides and back varied more. Gone were the short swords, in were the jeweled halberds, gold-handled cutlasses, and ruby daggers. A burden was lifted and a breath released that I didn¡¯t know I was holding when I saw that the most advanced projectile weapon I saw was a non-repeating crossbow. Seeing me, the guard and nobles give us a wide breadth as we walked. Grimalkin¡¯s hair raises the more eyes fall upon us, he gets more and more agitated.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. My armor feels heavy. That doesn¡¯t sound right. But yes, my armor feels heavy, the more eyes fall upon me and Grimalkin the heavier this armor feels. My pace slows, however strong my new body is, the armor slows my rather speedy pace to keep up with Grimalkin, and soon I fall behind. The lynx¡¯s gait slows to match my own, looking back; almost concerned he slows enough so that I catch up to him side by side. ¡°Paladin, what are you doing? If I look like I¡¯m disrespecting you it could be my head!¡± he whispers as loudly as he can. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, the second I stepped through the door the armor started to gain weight¡­ I¡¯m moving as fast as I can but it must be magic or something.¡± Grimalkin sighs, speeding ahead a little bit, apparently taking me at my word. For someone who acts so distrustful of me, he¡¯s certainly quick to accept what I say. The walk to the castle doesn¡¯t take long; soon we walk into the main hall. The east wall is lined with paintings in multiple styles. The rugs look to be made from the finest cloths; jade statues line the walls, increasing in size as we get closer to the throne. On the west side of the room, the statues were separated by paneled windows with velvet curtains. For a Lord-Governor he certainly lives like a king, he truly has a throne, flanked on both sides by two large, jade armor statues, one with a halberd, and the other with a hammer. ¡°Greetings oh great Paladin, filled with hope and celebrated by the Deities!¡± An old man with a snow-white beard said, his hair straight and falling down the back of his shoulders. A crown placed squarely on the top of his head, maybe a size or two too small for him. He wears a yellow vest and red cloak around him. Truthfully this feels more like an act, who really uses a throne room like this? I respectfully give a small bow, ¡°Greetings Lord-Governor, may I ask why I have been called to such a resplendent manor?¡± Time to pull out all of those big words I learned in English class, vocab quiz is coming in handy, whoever said you don¡¯t use what you learn in middle school? ¡°I was told I was summoned to deal with a Demon Lord.¡± He lets out a hearty laugh. ¡°Yes, oh great Paladin, as foretold in our prophecies a Demon Lord has risen again, and we are forced to summon the help of the Paladin.¡± He throws his arms out to the side in some grand gesture and servants come in from side rooms, the doors hidden by the pictures on the wall, some sort of illusion magic if I had to guess. Soon a large table is set up in the middle of the room, oh, yes, this makes sense, this must be the dining room! And he¡¯s flexing by having the over the top decorations and throne! Wow, he¡¯s kind of pathetic when you think of it that way. Still, the spread of food is decadent! A large beast with six limbs is roasted in the middle of the freshly made table, topped with a white silk covering. As well as various fruits and vegetables in side dishes, the only thing I can make heads or tails of is some stuffed squash, reasonably close to me. ¡°I Lord-Governor Leere of the Green City humbly ask you, will you save my people from genocide?¡± The silly little man lifts his crown, presenting it like how an old black-and-white movies dance routine would end; he even has a little scepter he¡¯s using as a cane. If his words weren¡¯t so dire I would have burst out laughing, he really had to get better at matching his tone to what he was saying. ¡°I, Paladin¡­.¡± Just as I was about to accept wholeheartedly, I remember, or rather, don¡¯t remember my own name. ¡°Uhm, I am sorry Lord-Governor, but I think there is a problem, what is my name?¡± The servants continue filling the fabricated table with foods of all kind; I hadn¡¯t realized how hungry I am. ¡°Oh, Sir Paladin, none of you summoned as heroes to this world remember your names, we have no concrete explanation as to why, but our scholars theorize it is to give you a new start.¡± That, now that made my head spin, the Deity took my name from me? Why would they ever do that? I thought I did them a great boon or whatever. I must have been out of it for a little while before a servant; a distinguished looking humanoid rabbit placed something delicious under my nose. A squash, stuffed with ground meat and peppers of some sort. Cooked crispy on the outside, the aroma of perfectly seasoned meats with all of the veggies mingling, my mouth was watering before I knew what it was. ¡°Sir Paladin, take your time finding your new name, from the previous heroes we have learned that it can take time giving up your dead name. I was also informed it has been hours since you were summoned and you have not been offered some of our cuisine. Please, feast and empty your mind, enjoy yourself, for this banquet is in your honor.¡± And so I did, they had small sandwiches, meat pies, and a flatbread they seemingly filled with some sort of cheese; honestly, it would have been the perfect kind of snack for me on those long game filled nights melted into the couch. Everything was hand food, which was fine by me, but that also meant I got to try several kinds of food without getting full. Soon I was offered one of the delicious smelling steaming flanks of the centerpiece beast. I bite into it hard, pulling the steaming, semi-pork tasting meat free of the bone and gobbling it down, it melted in my mouth, like well-smoked BBQ. Soon the desert was brought as the Lord Governor recalled some great adventure as the corps of maids replaced dishes. Sweet smelling pies, pieces of cake covered with berries, jellied cubes filled with fruit, and flatbread filled with what smells like cinnamon and sugar. ¡°So, there I was, facing down two wild boars, one of them had been struck by a feralis snake.¡± He starts prancing around, acting like he¡¯s dodging, but he¡¯s never seen combat, it¡¯s obvious in his movements that he spends his days never leaving his pampered life. Still, it seems that many of the other guests buy into it, oohing and aahing at his every word. ¡°He sneaks off and rides in the back as his guards hunt game,¡± a quiet voice tells me from behind. It¡¯s Grimalkin¡¯s voice, standing behind me, having snuck up on me as I lean on a window, looking out at the now dark walled city, the moon high in dark blue sky devoid of any familiar constellations. ¡°I was not expecting a Paladin to admit to any weakness, as I have been told many times, the body of a Paladin is incomparable to any native-born on the planet.¡± I¡¯m confused yes, but glad he¡¯s finally saying a word or two, I turn to look and see them resting against a velvet curtain. His movements are a little wider; I think he may have put a few back. ¡°Well, my ears work perfectly fine, too bad you didn¡¯t try to¡­ uhm¡­ use them earlier.¡± well that didn¡¯t go as planned, where was I even going with that? ¡°I mean, why were you so quiet earlier?¡± The swaying cat gave a small laugh and pointed at me. ¡°You¡¯re funny; you know that? that¡¯s another thing I didn¡¯t expect from you, I¡¯ve only known Paladins as stuffy old relics.¡± He is giggling as he says every word. ¡°Wait, huh?¡± was all I could get out before I could finish my thought he cut me off. ¡°I, well I espected you¡¯d be different is all.¡± he laughs again, not really at anything. ¡°Oooooh, I better go, any of these nobles see a drunk beastman, it¡¯ll be curtains for me.~¡± The sad tone in his voice is more than a little undercut by him making a hood out of the velvet curtains, with his wild-cat face it looked too adorable for me to react before he bounds out of the room. *** It was about an hour after Grimalkin hopped away when the little weasel-pope showed up, two-foot-tall white hat, gaudily jewel encrusted with emeralds in the shape of an X with a line horizontally through the middle on the front and back. The most hilarious thing of all was the little poof ball on a tassel at the very top of this stretched pentagonal hat. ¡°It is good to see you, Paladin! You will see that I am well, thank you for bestowing me with a miracle, allowing the other priests to tend to me as fast as they did. I truly do owe you my life.¡± Behind the priest stood Lord-Governor Leere, ¡°I see you have met Vansen, Speaker of the Deity.¡± I laugh the heartiest, most genuine laugh I have had since I came to this world. This slimy fellow is the speaker of the Deity? I have met the Deity, and while I¡¯ve not known this Vansen that long, the way he carries himself, the way he speaks, it always feels like he has another motive. Vansan slithered his way around the banquet, feigning pain for sympathy. I¡¯m sure it is fake because I was feeling it for him! Still, it was a two on my own scale, and if the burning was any indication from before, this would still feel like he had gotten every bone in his ghost-arm broken. ¡°Oh, no, Great Paladin, while I do not know your practices, he is quite qualified according to our standards.¡± The Lord-Governor gives the fakest smile I have ever seen, but what do I expect? He¡¯s a politician having to be in the same room as a religious leader, they always cow down. ¡°I apologize, Speaker Vansen, I meant you no disrespect, it is just that¡­¡± I pause, but hopefully not for too long so I can think of the best lie I can. ¡°It is just that Vansen is a hilarious word in my own language.¡± This time the Speaker chimed. ¡°Oh, our secret texts tell tales of this! The translation installed in your spirit doesn¡¯t always convert names, I understand, but please, do tell me what it means in your language.¡± Wait?! WHAT?! Not only was that new information, Installed? But now I¡¯m put on the spot, time to come up with something good. ¡°Oh, well you see it is what we call¡­. Uhm¡­ It¡¯s an insult meaning the person drinks their own urine.¡± I nod, satisfied with this answer, just random enough to hopefully not have a word in whatever language they¡¯re actually speaking, but just obscene enough to cause me to laugh. The room grows silent, not immediately, more like a steady invisible fog spread outward between us three. Every eye in the room looks at us both, I get reminded of earlier when the armor put on weight, but this time it has never felt lighter. The person who breaks the silence is ¡®Speaker of the Deity, Vansen¡¯. ¡°Oh, I could see how this is quite silly then, I would assume the word came from your people''s foraging and scavenging days, for it to stay in use that must not have been too long ago.¡± He says with a smug look on his face, a sneer on his lip, nose turned up to me, but that might just be that he¡¯s still a good half foot shorter than me even without his constant slouching. So that¡¯s how he wants to play this? ¡°Oh, my people have chosen hunt for sport. You see, we have learned that too many spiced meats and sweet treats can lead to sloth and an early grave.¡± I give my most confident smile back, crossing my arms causing my armor to clink as I look down at him. If it were possible, the room would have just frozen over from the dead silence. Not only was no one talking anymore, no one was moving; transfixed at the exchange between myself and the one-armed man. The priest bites his lip for just a split second, and then jabs back, ¡°surely you jest, who would leave this lap of luxury, your world clearly cannot be as advanced as we have been told if you choose to hide amongst the leaves with the game.¡± I laugh again, hearty and deep¡­ at least that was my plan, my voice is a little higher than I planned but still garnered a few surprised responses. Unsure what to say and then it comes to me, a smirk crossing my lips as I shoot a quick look at the Lord-Governor. ¡°You see, our leaders choose not to depend on the help to defend them, and actively train their bodies, hunt large game themselves without the crutch of letting their servants take the honor of the battle from them.¡± I mean, I remember in history class that Theodore Roosevelt hunted bear so¡­ I assume that would be a terrifying animal in any universe. ¡°H-Honor?¡± His mouth shuts, tight; clearly, a chord has been hit. Then, his face softens, all of the contempt and venom of his look melted into his voice with the most sugary sweet tone he could manage. ¡°Well, your leaders do sound worthy! Everyone, a Huzzah for the new paladin¡¯s homeworld, may it still be in good hands with them dead.¡± The sound of applause returns to the room, as people seem too afraid to let the tension build any further, extra effort had been paid to the word ¡®dead¡¯ after all. Chapter 3: The Jade Divide. The Jade Divide As the dinner came to a thankful close, I left the dining hall for the main entrance where Grimalkin was waiting on me. ¡°It would seem that I am a gift, Sir Paladin, Lord-Governor Leere has dictated that I am now in your employ instead of his own.¡± Handing me a paper with a weird symbol on it, like a combination of the modified X on Vansen¡¯s hat, but there were symbols surrounding it. A bit of whatever he had imbibed earlier still in Grimalkin¡¯s system as he leaned close to me, laying on my shoulder and whispering, ¡°Between you an me, this is an upgrade, that old pile of fertilizer can rot for all I care, least you¡¯re interesting!¡± He smacks my back, apparently meaning that as a compliment, but with his drunken stupor it¡¯s hard to take anything at face value. ¡°Alright, so you will be my assistant then.¡± I try to remain more business-like so I don¡¯t get too comfortable with him yet. Everyone seems like they know more than they¡¯re telling, especially this one, I think it¡¯s time I got some unfiltered answers. ¡°Now, what is uhm, this piece of paper for?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a transfer seal, I know you don¡¯t have magic where you come but you don¡¯t even know about contracts? Woooooooooow that place sounds awesome!¡± He sways back, bracing himself with both of his hands on my shoulders. One is never prepared for their first drunken cat-person; however, being from the middle of bourbon country, I know how to take care of an inebriated friend. At least, possibly future friend, there¡¯s less directed malice in his voice than the others. Which makes me more than happy to get out of that tense room, even if it is to be greeted by a tipsy valet. ¡°Anyway, all you have to do is cut the back of your hand, and then spread the blood in a circle around the Martyr¡¯s cross in the middle.¡± Don¡¯t think that slipped past me, ¡®Martyr¡¯s Cross¡¯? At least I knew what that thing was called now so I can stop referring to it as that X thingy. I slice the back of my hand with a spare dinner knife. A deep purple energy wraps around him, the small cut I made on the back of my hand is stinging as I finish taking a finger and wiping it in a circle. ¡°There, done, I guess you¡¯re my assistant now!¡± He laughs deep, a genuine smile crossing the wildcat face, or, at least I think it was a smile. ¡°YES! Assistant, I shall be your assistant Grimalkin, Sir Paladin.¡± He¡¯s still laughing, slapping his knee as he finishes what he says. Boy; this cat cannot hold his drink. I study his face, the way he just said that leaves me with some unease. But, considering that his boxy muzzle wasn¡¯t moving too much, and an obvious red glow from the cheeks behind the grey and cream colored fur, I couldn¡¯t tell what was the drink and what was his own thoughts. His short, fluffy ears flicked quickly as I took too long and he noticed, ¡°Hey now, you checkin¡¯ me out buster??¡± ¡°Well, truthfully, I haven¡¯t seen someone like yourself before, and we¡¯re finally standing still long enough for me to really take you in.¡± The red tint grew brighter as he laughs and starts walking. He looked roughly in his early twenties, barely past being a teenager. But then again, who am I to judge the age of a species I¡¯ve never seen before. Even drunk his movements had an air of grace to them, always catching himself mid-stumble. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to get you home too, it¡¯ll be in the barracks so get ready for a walk¡± The cat pushes himself off of the centerpiece statue he was leaning on. Like all of the others I have seen; it was made out of jade, calling all of this tacky would be an understatement. So, we left, the walk out of the walled city is much less eventful. My armor didn¡¯t seem to gain any weight this time as we walked through the main garden leading to the gate. The amount of wealth on display even at night was just staggering. Shops left their wares out, and these were not cheap shops, golden tipped daggers, swords of glowing steel, armor that at least to me looked like it had been forged from dragons¡¯ scales. All of these things would clearly be worth a small fortune, yet the shopkeep left them out without a thought of their theft. Exactly how well policed is the inside of this place? We neared the jade gate, the walls were made of carved, curved, brick jade with a large gray wooden door. Noticing my gawking, the drunken cat gives me his best tour guide impersonation. ¡°Oh yeah, the jade is mined out of the country, it¡¯s brought in with the by-products of the mining, apparently the mine is also rich in clay, which is what we buy to make our homes.¡± As we near the gate a guard runs up to us from inside a glowing room made of wood on this side of the wall. The guard checks me out and I hand him a paper I had gotten from Charlemagne, apparently it works like a passport to get in and out of the city. As we walked through the gate one of the guards threw his tankard at Grimalkin, ¡°Good riddance!¡± A small purple crackle raced over the cat-person¡¯s body. With clenched teeth and eyes that screamed murder, he looked at the guard and then at me. ¡°Permission to seek recompense for the assault on the Paladin¡¯s personal ¡®assistant¡¯ sir?¡± The last word was almost spat. The way he looked at me, it looks like he has already tried and someone had stopped him right before he could pounce on his prey. Just like a wildcat on the hunt, he was locked in and I doubted I could calm him down on my own. Besides, that guard has it coming. ¡°Don¡¯t maim him, kill him, or leave him disabled, got it?¡± I look at him dead in the eye, it seems he wasn¡¯t expecting that response from me. The still tipsy, yet furiously angry cat¡¯s face transforms into one not too dissimilar from when I would pet my own cat after being gone for an extended period of time. He looked at me like a drowning animal, fighting to stay afloat, that was the anger I saw in his eyes, that was the determination I had felt earlier. He looked up at me with his face softened, more focused and cheerful than I have ever seen him. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve thought about this since I was a child, for this to work, when I come back you need to loudly order me to return him his drink, filled, as recompense for my insolence.¡± Wow, that did not sound good, what¡¯s up with the guards in this world? With phrasing like that it¡¯s sounding more and more like my old one every second. Grimalkin takes the tankard and hops up on a roof, and then around to the side where the outhouse is. It doesn¡¯t take him long, coming back with a full cup of¡­ beer? Well, with his full cup of yellow-brown liquid he didn¡¯t spill a drop, which is especially impressive because the cat performed a full somersault when coming down from one of the roofs on his way back. ¡°I¡¯m ready Sir Paladin!¡± then he actually saluted me, it feels like we¡¯re just a couple of 8-year olds pulling off a prank, the smell once he had gotten closer made it clear that it wasn¡¯t beer. ¡°Grimalkin, I order you to return that man¡¯s tankard, with a full glass, courtesy of myself in payment of your insolence toward him!¡± I said as loudly as I could, the guard walked out of the station after a while, more than a bit drunk already as Grimalkin neared him slowly, handing him the tankard. Possibly so as not to offend me he took a swig as soon as he got it and spat it out as quickly as he could! ¡°YOU BASTARD PIECE OF GAME!¡± He tried to grab Grimalkin but the cat just hopped backwards and landed right on top of the man¡¯s head then bounded off. Doing a full somersault kick, hitting him square in the chest as he began running away. I, of course, ran after him, after all I had been the one who ordered him to do it. He¡¯s laughing his head off as we round one, two, three, and four corners, making sure to lose our pursuers. ¡°Oh, wow! That was better than I¡¯d ever dreamed of!¡± Grimalkin half-whispers through his panting as we round the last corner when we could no longer hear our pursuers. I can hardly stop myself from mixing laughing and panting, the armor had gotten lighter again, allowing me to keep up with Grimalkin, but even then just barely. As I brace myself against a wall I breathe deep, trying to flush the giggles from my system. Unfortunately, remembering such an epic spit-take by the guard I am forced into laughing again. ¡°Okay, just what was in that mug? It smelled like a foul beer from my world.¡± With barely caught breath the jovial feline gleefully said, ¡°I got that from the urinal bucket in the latrine.¡± Which made me burst out laughing even more. I hold my arm up, signaling I¡¯m trying to catch my breath as a wave of laughter hits me so hard you would assume The Joker had gotten me. ¡°Oh, dude, dude, that¡¯s not even the best part.¡± I get caught up by a case of the giggles again when I try to say it. Taking a moment I brace myself again, take a few deep breaths, and when I¡¯m not in the middle of laughing say. ¡°So, so I lied and told the Speaker that his name meant someone who did THAT on my world, drank their own piss.¡± Grimalkin went back to literally rolling on the dirty street, holding his breath as he laughs, the adrenaline from this event clearly just increasing the hilarity. ¡°Oh, oh wow, looks like Old Arrow-Head has competition then!¡± and the new insult for such a slithering man with such a dumb hat, the laughter came again. This truthfully went on for another ten minutes, each of us telling minor jokes to each other through a haze of laughter. After those ten minutes came another, and then another, soon it had been an hour of us telling funny stories to each other; the laughter shrank, of course, over time. ¡°Well, the moon is still high, we¡¯d better get you to your place, Sir Paladin,¡± Grimalkin concluded, getting up and offering me his hand¡­ paw? Honestly, it was a mix of both, imagine a human hand, now add pads onto it and that¡¯s very close, toss in his cream and grey spotted fur pattern and you get, TADA! Grimalkin¡¯s hand. I take the hand and get up as we start walking, ¡°I take it we¡¯re off course?¡± He nods, ¡°Yeah, but I know this town like the back of my hand, and you¡¯re the Paladin, I doubt we have much to worry about.¡± He speaks, the drink having gotten mostly out of his system during the laughing fit. having an air of seriousness about him that he didn¡¯t before. We were soon strolling down the dank streets, wet clay in the streets from two-day-old rain clinging to our shoes and slowing our pace. Wood coming out of the tops of the clay structures denoting where the roof supports were. A lantern lights the road every half block and faint skittering can be heard around every corner depending on how hard one would listen. I noticed that certain streets Grimalkin chose not to take in his winding path through the outer city would be blocked off with rubble, or the road so destroyed you would risk your own limb to trek it. Seeing the obstacles in the way made me realize that it was both best to follow his lead as he noticed them far before me, but that also, my vision was way better! Seems that ¡®improved body¡¯ or whatever Drunkalkin said had some proof. Soon we walk by houses that are crumbling, you can see inside as a whimper, barely audible can be heard from my silent as-of-late guide. ¡°Please, look inside, they won¡¯t notice, just¡­ if it¡¯s you, someone from the future of the world Papaw described, then maybe if it¡¯s you, you won¡¯t just look away.¡± The whimper continues, out of respect I am afraid to touch him, merely deciding to honor his wishes as I put my eye to a crack, looking inside. The inside was dark, with a small light from a dwindling gas lantern in the corner. Moonlight didn¡¯t fall on that side of the room so it seemed this quarter of roof was all they had. A family sits beside the light, huddled close around each other, sharing a single tattered blanket with three large holes, and those were only the ones I could see. If I looked closely I could see that all four figures, two large and two small, were covered in fur.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Th-that family of beastmen? I didn¡¯t even see a light from outside; I thought this entire part of town was abandoned, destroyed in some weather event.¡± Having seen the firsthand accounts of a tornado, it wasn¡¯t too far-fetched¡­ but maybe that was just me deluding myself, what could possibly¡­ ¡°Just beastmen? Look in another, family doesn¡¯t mean blood ties in this part of town.¡± I do as he says, looking at the house across from them, this time it¡¯s another family I assume, it¡¯s one adult human father, two small pups that would be the size of a 12-year-old, so I would assume¡­ and a lizard-person the same size as the children. They were eating burnt bread, dripping slightly with water, with a thick slice of cheese on it. I look back at Grimalkin, aghast, my mind running faster than I could imagine, horrors popping into my mind as I start crying, unable to do much else, he starts talking again. ¡°That¡¯s Terrance and his spouse, good guy; he used to be a soldier until his conscience couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He got a look at this and couldn¡¯t help it; he adopted two Beast-men orphans, that didn¡¯t go over well with his superiors. ¡°See, it doesn¡¯t look good for him to be ahem, ¡®tutoring the rabble¡¯. Asked him to turn in his resignation or the ¡®mangy dogs¡¯ must go.¡± I still dare not look at Grimalkin¡¯s face, the fact I was just feasting while people not even ten blocks away had so little. ¡°I brought him the cheese, officially, these people are classified as ¡®Homeless.¡¯ There¡¯s just enough support from the walled city so that they don¡¯t all die in mass. Most are the non-human inhabitants lucky enough not to live inside the walls, beastmen and kobolds mostly. Like Terrance¡¯s wife you saw in there, don¡¯t worry about the size, she¡¯s a good twenty years his senior. A few Centaurs and Slimes but they don¡¯t live much in this city, and then there¡¯s people like Terrence or other humans that find themselves down here.¡± Homelessness and poverty are problems in any universe, and unfortunately, I cannot say my world is any better, but¡­ the gaul of those people inside of the walls. Grimalkin stands, statuesque, not moving from the spot as he points to another house. Another family, no adults can be seen at first, there is a human child, warming its hands from another dying lamp. To one side of the child, a kobold, offering them food from a plate cleaned with a dirt-stained rag. To the child¡¯s left, there¡¯s a small, around 2-foot orb of opaque, green gelatin. Except it¡¯s moving, extending and trying to comfort the child, wrapping around it. I could feel the emotion from a being that doesn¡¯t even have a face as it tries to dry the silent tears I hadn¡¯t even noticed from the child¡¯s face. The stone-faced cat-person joins in, ¡°That kid lost its parents a few days ago, you aren¡¯t even safe if you¡¯re human in this country. Their parents were soldiers, off fighting the Demon Lord for the sake of the church and Lord-Governor. Yet when their father was slain on the battlefield, they were summarily thrown out of the walled cities child-care.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t know much to talk about it, but it seems the soldier¡¯s pay ran out the moment he died mysteriously enough. And being that the soldier had no other family, neither did the child, so here we are. Third class citizens taking care of the child of someone who would not have thought twice about stomping them into the ground for taking a crusty loaf of bread.¡± I stand, angry, furious, and ready to start marching back to the gate and to demand a visit with Leere. Grimalkin¡¯s words snap me out of it. ¡°You won¡¯t even remember tonight¡­ I just wanted you to know why this is going to happen.¡± What did he mean? What¡¯s going to happen? Skill Select: Pain Vampire What? That sounds like the voice I heard after I saved Vansen. The Deity slash non-Deity. Why is it selecting my skills? Status: Forced Activation A shrieking noise fills my brain as I feel the walls of my mind open wide, my tears start burning my eyes. ¡°No, please¡­ no more,¡± The pain, the hunger and despair, and worst of all the loneliness and panic. I feel the unending despair of a child, going to bed hungry for another time, unable to remember the last time they had a full belly. I feel the intense hatred of circumstances, hatred of those in power, but something stronger than that hatred¡­ An emptiness carved itself into my belly. I feel the words ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡¯ form on my lips, not apologizing for anything in particular, but the instincts of those around me flooding my mind tell me that¡¯s the only way many of them survive. Apologizing to those above in the hope they might spare some lifesaving sustenance. Even though I¡¯ve never had children I feel the fear of losing them, the pain of being unable to protect them from the harsh world I have brought them into. Intensity: Psychic Phenomenon. My mouth goes wide as I scream, I feel not only the physical pain of each injury but the weakness from the sicknesses, the loss of loved ones, the utter lack of hope. Safety Levels: Exceeded¡­ Devise protection method¡­ Method found¡­ Curse Precaution: Memory Valve Soul-Smelting: Initiated. And then, the world was quiet and my eyes closed as I collapsed on the soft, damp ground. **************************************************************************************************** Private log of Grimalkin, grandson of Baltamus and Napoleon. Month 7 day 9 Year 427 In less than a second after I pressed down and activated the rune, the Paladin doubled over, screaming in pain. I dare not look back, I dare not see his face as he realizes my betrayal, I thought I had steeled myself long ago to be the villain of scripture if need be. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Sir Paladin, this was the only way, and I¡¯m sorry Papaw, for using your classes in such an unseemly manner. I pray that this was for the best, that these people can finally get a good night¡¯s sleep, and finally someone with some power might finally be on our side.¡± To all others I would feign strength, never wavering, but in the book given to me by papaw, I cannot lie. Tears slowed, as I felt the pain the paladin would feel¡­ the hunger of everyone on Dekker Street. A pain too great to cry over I stood sentinel, my tears drying before I moved to help the Paladin to the side of the road while I figured out where to go from here. The original plan had been to kill him, just like when I came up with it at the age of eleven. ¡°Why did someone like YOU have to be the Paladin? Why couldn¡¯t I have done what I¡¯ve dreamed of since I was a kit!?¡± I screamed at the Paladin in my quietest whisper. Just as I had forced one set of tears to end another one began. No matter who it was I can¡¯t take killing someone in cold blood, and if I was feeling some of what the Paladin did through the stone¡­ Then it may be cold of me to say this but I gain hope for the future through the pain that I just caused. I had FELT the effect of the forced activation, the hunger, pain, everything¡­ But to my mind they were normal, I¡¯d felt them often. The crumpled mess of ¡®Legendary Hero¡¯ to my left made me feel like some grand villain or assassin¡­ That had been the plan, kill the hero when he shows up, hopefully, life gets better for everyone. The universe¡¯s sense of irony was on full display. ¡°I know you¡¯re supposed to be all heroic and everything, but all the other paladin¡¯s were fine with it. Why was it the Paladin of my generation that sounds like the one from that dusty old book?¡± I kick a large clay lump, softened by the rain, all the water makes it disintegrate mostly, the rest stuck round my paws. ¡°Eyugh!¡± Securing my prized dagger, the only thing left I have of mom, I lift the paladin, doing my best to pull him over my shoulder but he¡¯s just too heavy. His armor must weigh a ton, after changing my position I try again, piggy-backing him up on top of me. And so I carried him all the way back to the barracks, it took a full two hours to get him and the world¡¯s HEAVIEST armor back to the room, but I managed it. And now, as I lay down to sleep, I am troubled by a thought. If, even a week ago, someone were to tell me that the next Paladin would be someone willing to open their mind. Would it have steeled my resolve or would I just allow it to happen? **************************************************************************************************** Scripture of Vanessa II, edited by Vanessa II for accuracy. Month 7 Day 9 Holy year of the church 427 An old man paces in a room filled with artifacts and antiquities, scrolls with various maps on them dot the walls alongside poetry and other various knowledge needed to get past magical locks. The walls, where not covered in such papers and papyrus, have bookshelves placed in no particular pattern against the walls of the windowless room. A sword hangs above a fireplace in the farthest end, the embers coming to life after a long rest, hidden in the ashes of the enchanted hearth for decades. Anyone could tell the embers were there before this easily, all one would have to do is extend hands to feel the searing, life-giving warmth. A Kobold sits in the chair in front of the fire. ¡°So, Napoleon, It seems your heir could not do it, why do you think that is?¡± The short lizard spouts from the comfortable chair, normally far out-classing a member of her species, in Napoleon¡¯s office however, it was encouraged. The Kobold had an air, not unlike Vansen, but something about those draconic eyes made anyone looking, find something they could find assurance in. ¡°I doubt he could have done it either way, he¡¯s a sweet kid. Considering the object missing from my study, I have an idea why he backed off so quickly.¡± The elder laughs, holding up a box of four runestones, with a hole where a fifth should be. ¡°These are for activating the healing abilities of someone who trusts you, to be used in the heat of battle when your medic is unconscious or bleeding out.¡± A cackling laugh comes from the chair, warm and happy. ¡°A Healing Type, eh? We¡¯ve had many of them before and the scriptures were written the same.¡± She sips from a tankard, a strong smell of tea coming from it, steaming heavily, the water was boiling as the Kobold tipped the scalding metal in her hand without any problem. Drinking the magma-hot tea without getting burned she happily rubs her belly. ¡°Ah, then again, from what you have told me of your old world¡­ as well as the rumors I had heard around town. The tides of history may be changing.¡± ¡°Please¡­ for one night, let me try to forget about my damnable past.¡± The old warrior holds up a cup of his favorite imported drink, one of the few luxuries he accepts. A brown liquid, bitter and sweet like ¡®hot cocoa,¡¯ one of the only reminders of home that he allowed himself. The Two Friends share their favorite drinks together, laughing into the night at the good news. **************************************************************************************************** The Rising of Leere, as written by Devi Edited by Julius Ozymandias Leere for accuracy. Speaker Vansen stood in Leere¡¯s dining room, cold meat scraps on every table. The Priest turns his nose up at them, knocking a pair of plates with cold meat pies against the velvet curtains and ornate windows. The plates cracking a panel in one, causing a loud shattering noise to reverberate through the empty dining hall. ¡°That ungrateful piece of TRASH! It was my prayers that summoned him to this world and he DARES to laugh at me?!¡± He slams his arm down on a table, making it buckle slightly, the wood too cheap to hold up much resistance. ¡°Calm yourself, Speaker, scripture shows that the previous paladins could be combative as well, they all did their duty.¡± Leere steps forward from behind a painting, the reality of the wall waving like a pond disturbed by a pebble, the illusion providing virtually cost-free decoration and hidden passageways. ¡°And as your predecessor pulled his Paladin into place after the threat was dealt with, so will you.¡± Leere offers Vansen a drink of the finest wine in his cellar, to which the priest raises up his hand. ¡°No friend, I don¡¯t drink, I¡¯ll take some carrot juice instead,¡± as the priest responds Leere nods quickly to a servant, sending them off. His friend, ever the enigma, had always abstained from anything perception-altering, much to his own chagrin. ¡°Always afraid someone will get a leg up on you huh? You¡¯ve always been that way since boarding school.¡± He gleefully drinks his wine in front of Vansen, happy to show off his own sophistication in response to such a boorish reason, as the servant returns with a goblet of vegetable juice. Vansen picks the goblet up, taking a deep gulp, the healing magic having previously pulled many nutrients out of his body left him famished. ¡°Can you blame me?! I lost an arm Leere, an ARM! And that was me at my sharpest, I was sure we would be the safest in the summoning chamber, so putting the prison under it seemed like common sense, separate the criminal element. But no, that sorry excuse for a Paladin couldn¡¯t even slay one single degenerate, starved for half a month.¡± Speaker Vansen spits in disgust, a cold wet spot appearing on the rug right after, falling directly on the Martyr¡¯s cross woven into the design. ¡°All of these laws that keep us bound. It is only thanks to your intervention that we have begun to relax them.¡± Leere sits down in his throne-like chair, sipping his wine, legs up on an armrest as he lies down lazily in the ornate chair. ¡°With you convincing my colleagues, soon, very soon, we will be able to reclaim our property, and once we do, no more demon lords.¡± The candelabras on the walls start to go out one by one as the two school-hood brothers in arms share a toast to the future. **************************************************************************************************** Personal Diary of fmr Commander Terrance Farmsly Weekend. I went around the neighborhood, seeking others, mostly families, trying to figure out what happened before the arm of sleep began wrapping around me. The hunger had not abated but I could feel the warm embrace of a rest that had no wild dreams. The feeling that tomorrow might be alright¡­ that there¡¯s a change in the air. As I tucked my children into bed, I kiss both of their foreheads. ¡°Now, say your prayers to the Holy Paladins and go to bed.¡± Both of my excited, rambunctious children, so hard to tuck into bed normally, eagerly curling up together for warmth. Another joyous change. As I knelt over my bed, I saw my sweet Priscilla, a smile crossing my face. I would do anything for that woman, and she would do anything for me. It was hard in the lower city a lot of the time, being ex-military, Priscilla never minded all that. ¡°I pray for the return of the holy days, and the army of the five people. I pray for the safety and wisdom of the paladin, may he see through the false scripture. I pray for the wisdom of the people, may they see the error in the ways of the walled city.¡± Before going to bed, I remember one last thing. Not praying to a deity, or anything in particular anymore, merely praying to anyone who will hear it, ¡°and keep safe our Demon Lord, for she is our best hope.¡± Chapter 4: As the Sun Rises As The Sun Rises I¡¯m Hungry, so, so hungry. I curl up in the rags doing my best to double them up, to shield me from the cold. But the holes betray me, and the thin blanket so graciously ¡°donated¡± to me by the Walled City, it¡¯s barely more than an air filter. Papa is doing his best; he always has, ever since the days we lived in the house. I rise up, looking over as slowly as I can; Papa is wrapped around Mama, his warmth the only thing keeping her from a sluggish state where she can barely think. Papa and Mama don¡¯t want me to know how bad it is. Since Papa chose us over his job and his other family, he gave up so much¡­ for me and my sister.He runs his hands over her the soft scales on her cheek in her sleep, smiling; Papa has smiled a lot more after we came into his life. Is that why he chose us? I¡¯ve seen the old paintings when we lived in the big house; he always wanted to step away. It¡¯s confusing being an adult, Sis and I have been in these old homes all our lives, except for the few months after Papa found us. The hunger I was burying catches up with me and I do my best not to cry, it¡¯s best not to be thirsty too, after all, I¡¯m the big kid, I need to be strong too. *************************************************************************************************** I rocket out of bed, the feeling of hunger grinding in my stomach. The pit feels so deep so painful, quickly I push my torso off the side of my bed and empty the contents of my stomach on the floor. Why am I puking from hunger? How does that even make sense? And secondly, what was with that crazy dream? I must have gone out drinking with Grimalkin after the Gala. I can¡¯t remember anything after angering the guards, did we even get away? I have to check on him, even if he is my aid I don¡¯t think that the guards would let him off easy. After I finish puking like I have never puked before while giving myself a game of twenty questions in my mind, I look up, seeing the ever-ready lynx. ¡°Hello Sir Paladin, are you okay?¡± His face is more sullen, with a redness in his cheeks denoting I¡¯m guessing embarrassment. At least, I think that¡¯s why he¡¯s acting so quickly to help me, getting the towels from the side of the room and cleaning my mess up. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to puke Sir; I thought you would hold your drink better.¡± There¡¯s the jab I was expecting. ¡°Hey, you weren¡¯t the most eloquent person yourself with a few sips in.¡± I pop back at him. He turns away, getting more towels from the wardrobe at the front of the room, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m learning a lot of things about myself are quite different than how I thought I was. I guess I was giving myself too much credit, or not enough.¡± After he cleans it all up and puts the dirty towels it in a basket, he pulls a string attached to the door, a ringing noise comes out of the nob, some sort of magic or gadget I¡¯d guess. He hands me a new set of undergarments and drops the laundry basket with some clothes in it then tosses any extra towels from earlier outside the door. That¡¯s when I notice, I touch the bare skin on my chest, blushing. Looking up at him he shakes his head at me with a laugh. I do my best to recover, ¡°so, it looks like the armor comes off, honestly I was wondering if it would; considering it was summoned with me.¡± Grimalkin smiles at me, a warm, welcoming smile that I have been missing for the past day that no one but him would give to me. Even if a cat face smiling looks a lot like it¡¯s gotta sneeze, ¡°yes, it comes off, but do not worry Paladin, it cannot be stolen, if it gets far enough away from your body, it will turn to sand and then reappear within your field of vision. I would always try to take Papaw¡¯s armor from him but the prank never stuck.¡± ¡°Oh, thanks, that¡¯s good to know¡­ wait a minute, how come you all know so much about Paladins and everything?¡± The thought lingering in the back of my mind finally comes to the forefront. ¡°Good timing, I¡¯m getting ready to escort you to the person who will answer all of those questions for you.¡± He remarks smugly. I don¡¯t think the jab was at me, but the instructor, maybe they know each other? I get dressed and follow Grimalkin out the door; I seem to be back in the building I was summoned in. The walls are made of marble, much to my eyes relief, all of the green was getting taxing. This area of the barracks seems older, explaining the change in architecture. Grimalkin lead us down a spiral staircase, to a row of jade columns lining a lush garden, with a wooden shack in the far corner. ¡°Follow me.¡± He hops on stones through the garden, a winding path leading through some bushes and around a pair of trees. Then, at the end of the path, the shed, or rather, house. When I get closer I can tell it is two stories tall, possibly with a basement. Unlike any of the other architecture in the city, it looks sort of like a turn of the century home made entirely of wood. After a few knocks on the door by Grimalkin, soft then getting louder and louder until the door gets swung open in front of us angrily. ¡°WHAT?! Oh, OH! It¡¯s you two; I didn¡¯t know it was time. Come on in,¡± as he rushes us in, he quickly shuts the door behind him. He¡¯s an old man, in his eighties, still spry, not hobbling about his cluttered home like you would expect for one so old and balding. He had long white hair falling over his shoulders and a beard that made him look not unlike a wizard. His clothes were simple, yet not rags, a green tunic with brown pants. ¡°So, I see the summoning has been undertaken, so tell me, new Paladin, how long have you been in this world?¡± ¡°Yeah, uhm, I just spent my first night here, Sir¡­?¡± I trail off, unsure who he is just yet. ¡°I was the Paladin before you; I have chosen the name Napoleon as my living name.¡± He beams at me, clearly proud of the name I recognized. While mocked by other countries it was just due to their fear of him, that knowledge of the great general Napoleon was known to even school kids. ¡°First, uhm, what¡¯s a ¡®living name¡¯ and secondly, why can¡¯t I remember my old one?¡± The old man sips the tea I had yet to take, drinking it himself since I did not want it and sits in his armchair with a loud sigh. ¡°Trust me when I say this, but you just asked someone why gravity makes things fall.¡± He looked up with a smugness across his face that made a little kid sneaking a cookie look humble. ¡°But, in the simplest way I can put it; several things are forced out of your mind or changed when you are brought to this world. The fact you can understand the peoples of this country is proof of that, you will understand any language of those who have summoned you.¡± I wait impatiently, hoping he will get to the part of why I can¡¯t remember my own name, but still, does that mean I speak other languages native to this world? ¡°Now, they can be boiled down to basic rules. The first rule is, you are not allowed to share military information to the people of this world; your mouth just won¡¯t let you if you even try. ¡°Not just that, but also certain civic inventions that are used in siege engines that would be more advanced than the day you got here. Needless to say, without being able to describe certain pulleys and levers also means that we don¡¯t interfere with their own technological advancement. ¡°Now, as for rule two, leave your old life in the past. You died, I died, we both died before coming here, there is no going back so if you were considering it, don¡¯t, your lack of a name is part and proof of this rule. When you¡¯re sent over here, you get shot through this pool of all the souls who were unable to make it separately in the cycle of reincarnation, they collect into something called ¡®The Great Spirit¡¯. Functionally in the void, this reservoir is still conscious and creates new souls, thus, giving it its name as it writes the new souls using different parts of the older ones. ¡°When you got shot through this vortex or pool, you picked up enough of the basic parts of a soul, that your own spirit crafted you a new one. For whatever reason, your name, and the names of specific people in your life get removed due to this. I hate to say it, but while you will remember your parents¡¯ warmth, you will not remember their faces again.¡± He looks downtrodden, clearly, this was the biggest hit for himself when he came here, and meanwhile, I¡¯m just nodding along. The room goes silent for a few seconds, I could hear some scurrying in the old creaky walls. Grimalkin lowered his head, almost like a prayer or moment of reverence. ¡°I think I get it, and as long as I have the memories of the people they were, I don¡¯t need their faces.¡± I smile, giving the most honest appraisal of my feelings as I could. Napoleon¡¯s face was dumbstruck, apparently, I had said something quite uncommon. His jaw hung open to a comical level as he has poured scalding hot tea all over his lap without his even noticing it for a couple of seconds. ¡°YEEEOW!!!!¡± It took nearly a full minute for the pain of pouring boiling hot tea over one¡¯s self to break through the confusion placed by my last statement. He jumps up out of his chair as Grimalkin has already grabbed a towel for him, throwing it at the old man. I assume the towel will cover his head and possibly make him fall and hurt himself. But instead, Napoleon snatches it out of the air like it was standing still and quickly wipes himself off. After a quick trip into the other room he comes out with a pair of black pants instead. ¡°Sorry bout the show, you just shocked me, every account I have read described paladins as dreading never seeing their families again, why are you so different?¡± Truthfully, I don¡¯t know, Dad was still alive but Mom had passed a few months ago, right after my physical exam. Dad was a tough guy, he hunted his own food, his trophies on the wall were to respect the animal he said. Not trusting corporations to bring him healthy food he grows his own small garden as well. All Dad had to do when mom died was move into his parents'' old cabin in the country. I had no sisters or brothers, and all of the memories I had of my family involved going places, doing activities, family things. I don¡¯t really see the point of seeing their face when actions are the true measure of a person. And then I threw all of that personal stuff out and lied out my butt. ¡°I didn¡¯t have parents, I was adopted for a short time but I was by myself most of the time.¡± An eighty-plus year old man who can snatch something out of the air and who could bounce around the room so animated, he¡¯s just as suspicious as the rest! How can I know I can trust him? Secondly, I don¡¯t remember much after being chased, while my panicked mind had considered the thought of getting blackout drunk... I¡¯ve never done that in my life, so doing it for the first time ever the NIGHT I get to a new world? That sticks out like a sore thumb, no, something is up here and I will find out what. I was with Grimalkin and he¡¯s still way more fidgety than before, like he¡¯s guilty. ¡°While sad to hear, it would not be an uncommon story amongst the Paladins of the ages, it normally takes seeing true horror, to know how to combat it.¡± He looks down at the floor, then back up at me after a short time. ¡°Now, due to the fact I am still alive, and due to the tradition passed down since before the scripture, I shall become your Paladin-Master and teach you the ways of fighting in this world.¡± Well, that changes things. ¡°Wait, what?¡± Napoleon gets up, walking to a wall in the far side of his house as he gently places his hands on the hilts of more than twenty different weapons. From subtle daggers to even a spyglass made of deep orange amber. He lets his mind drift to some untold time as I watch him touch these instruments of death more gently than you even would an animal or child. ¡°Let me explain, while some paladins, like myself, are given the gift of Martial Skill if we did not have it before, and depending on the deities questions of course¡­ Others, who knew not how to fight with a sword, well they needed some training. Your spirit can handle it; the journey from another world has strengthened it, increasing how quickly you pick up on things.¡± He laughed deep and with his belly, if he had one, truly the guy was skinny as a rail. ¡°Now, in accordance with tradition, since you have not Martial Skill, I ask you share your manual¡¯s section on new abilities with me.¡± Okay, now I¡¯m lost, I get a MANUAL?! ¡°Uhm, okay, but can you tell me where it is? I didn¡¯t know we got a manual and well¡­. I¡¯ve kinda been winging it the whole time.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Napoleon looked ragged and tired. Letting out a sigh, ¡°From what I was told with the events in the summoning chamber from yesterday, you¡¯ve already activated it once. Upon your skills first, use and during any time an announcement is necessary, a Paladin will hear a voice, that is your manual.¡± He looked at me, expecting me to get it and I just shrugged. He looks even more exhausted as he lets out a long laboured sigh, ¡°Okay, that was plain as day so I¡¯ll just keep going till you figure it out. If you were to ask a question with the wording ¡®Manual, what is?¡¯ then that little voice in your head will fill you in on the basic knowledge of this world the manual accumulated by passing through this world¡¯s great spirit.¡± Wait, what?! Well, now my head hurts, I understand everything he¡¯s said, it¡¯s just a lot to take in. ¡°So, if I said Manual, how do I show Master Napoleon my skills?¡± To activate audio mode the phrase ¡®tell everyone¡¯ is required. Well, that was easy ¡°Okay, Manual, what are my skills? Tell everyone.¡± Ability: Pain Vampire. Ability to remove the pain from others while inflicting it upon yourself. Conversely, the ability to instill the pain gained from others into new hosts. Extra Ability: Pain Nullification. Enhances your spirit memory, pulling from your experience in your past life and giving you the ability to endure great pain Extra Ability: Vampire¡¯s Aura Sending out Pain Vampire in a psychic waive to affect others, also the ability to wrap the wave around physical objects, in particular, weapons. The voice was monotone, and to the point, not taking the time to show much inflection at all as Grimalkin stood transfixed. ¡°What in the name of the Holy Paladin was that?¡± Napoleon laughed and sat back in his chair, smiling at the lynx ¡°That, was the closest thing to the voice of the deity most would ever hear.¡± Grimalkin looked down, unsure of what to say. ¡°I expected there to be¡­. More to it, like a personality, something that would tell me about the Deities will¡± ¡°Now, Grimalkin, you know very well that the Deity we spoke to is not the Deity of this world, besides, if that was the case do you genuinely think we would have any answers?¡± Napoleon said with a sad sigh. ¡°Wait a second, that last one was new¡± I chimed in, not recognizing this Vampire¡¯s Aura from the list I got earlier. Napoleon brightened and spoke up again, ¡°Sometimes events make you gain new skills, possibly during that flyting I saw at the ball last night between you and Vansen.¡± I choose to ignore the new word, there¡¯s too much on my plate as it is, still I doubt an insult battle would result in that kind of a skill, exactly what can I not remember? ¡°Now then, I have a few gifts for you, and then we can go and pick your weapon¡± Napoleon said with a smile, getting up from the chair with gusto it seems this was the part he was the most excited for, too bad I had to tell him¡­ ¡°Sir, they already gave me the silver sword.¡± ¡°Yes, and after you used it, it disappeared, correct? You were probably moving too quickly to notice that the item had vanished. It is a blade designed to strike down evil, it is the treasure of this nation and rightfully belongs to any paladin summoned. It was crafted by a race of people wiped off of this planet before the scriptures. What we do know about it, is that it thinks, it lives, and its moral compass is decided by whoever wields it.¡± He takes a break to sip his tea, you¡¯d think he¡¯d stop after the spill but this man was determined. ¡°However, the memories of the sword remain the same, yet inaccessible to us¡­ The sword is still with you, just in some other dimension or something, and will come out when it thinks it¡¯s needed. I don¡¯t know about you but I believe a weapon I can pull out when I personally see fit is a lot more useful than one that can take the day off.¡± He finally finished; a wry tone in his voice. I nod, it¡¯s true, the sword had just vanished after the fight with the werewolf, and everything was just moving so quick that somehow it just vanished from my mind after the fight was done. ¡°Alright, so what¡¯s the plan?¡± With a grin ear to ear, this balding old man said with a mouth still full of sparkling teeth. ¡°We¡¯re going shopping~ but first.¡± And he tossed me an old scroll; it started glowing after I caught it. ¡°That is the Sacred Scriptures of the Paladins, while it doesn¡¯t hold records from every paladin ever, it does have a good millennia or two of knowledge to be pulled upon when needed. It¡¯s psychically linked, indestructible, and will teleport to you when summoned. Truly, a marvel of a magic item.¡± As I look at the scroll, it just glows back at me a faint bluish hue. I open it up, and right at the top is the lines History of the Holy Paladins. I mean, my jaw drops, I could sit here and read this scroll all day, this is the history of the people that came before me? Came before this old guy? Oh, this could be useful! ¡°Don¡¯t read it just yet, we have more work to do, as I said, we now need to go shopping, Grimalkin, grab the portable weapon rack.¡± he does as requested, bowing to Napoleon as he put it on the old man''s back, truthfully about as tall as a vending machine and as thick as a pool table. Without an ounce of notice toward it, however, Napoleon continues. ¡°Now, onward to the Adventurer District.¡± *************************************************************************************************** Walking through the middle of these clay buildings with an old man, carrying what could easily be called a freakin weapon shelf on his back. Well, that¡¯s quite an adventure; if he and Grimalkin walked ahead of me, I would see the funny looks people would give before they saw me, their Paladin, walk behind them. Apparently it was weird for humans from this world to team up with other species. Yet if they were with a paladin, due to all of the stories in the past; it was to be pretty much expected. Soon, we come to a building made of more sturdy clay bricks; I had been wondering if they¡¯d figured out clay bricks with all the mud-houses around, but it looks like they have, I wonder why the lower city just doesn¡¯t use them much. We step inside the brick building, a wooden roof with rafters up top. Swords, shields, armor, and more lined the walls of the shop. Some looked faintly magical; some looked withered and were marked down. A jovial voice comes from behind a curtain leading to a back room of some sort ¡°Be with you in a minute! Just got some new ¡®Lightning Ore¡¯ in and¡­¡­¡± Her voice is cut off when she sees me, in my armor, next to Master Napoleon and Grimalkin. ¡°Oh, Sir Paladin!? I never expected in my lifetime I would see one of you shop in my humble abode.¡± The beastman woman bows to us all and goes back to the way she was talking before. ¡°Anyway, I have this new lightning ore in and I¡¯ve not used it before so it¡¯s taking up a lot of time back there. I really should run back, I was kind of in the middle of something.¡± She¡¯s roughly the height of Grimalkin, jet black with pink and purples running down her back that started at her eyes. A long bushy tail is wrapped up in what looks to be a giant sized hair net. Grimalkin holds up his paw, nodding at her, ¡°It¡¯s okay, knowing these two they¡¯ll want to see it though.¡± The lynx laughed and slapped her back like he did me earlier; somehow these two were clearly friends. ¡°Oh, sorry Sir Paladin, this is Hephy, the best magical weaponsmith in all of the Green City and my sister.¡± I extend a hand for greeting, not sure if it would be taken up or not as the pinkish purple catlike beastman grabs my arm with both hands ¡°Oh it¡¯s such an honor!¡± Oh no, we¡¯re back to this again, I¡¯m just here for a weapon and this lady is checking out my armor. Taking notes on the chain skirt and armor plates. ¡°So anyway, what about those prototypes you were mentioning earlier?¡± ¡°Sir, this is THE Celestial Armor, only given to Deity chosen paladins, I would not be an armorer worth my hammer if I did not take a moment to look at the craftsmanship.¡± Somehow while still keeping an air of solemn respect for me¡­ This beastman checked me out so much that when she touched a small indent in the armor, the chain skirt hardened and became full plate armor all over my body. ¡°OOOOOH so that¡¯s how you get two different armors I¡¯ve heard rumors of in ancient historical record.¡± Wait, that¡¯s new, no one has mentioned history once yet this person just did. ¡°About that, what¡¯s the deal with historical record, most people I talk to refer to scripture in the past?¡± The helpful and eager blacksmith backed up, nodding. Yet again; I feel like a bit out of the loop considering how ready everyone else was to answer questions. ¡°Sir Paladin, in this country, our scripture is our historical record, as kept by the church. The founding Paladin of this country decreed that since the Dread Emperors kingdom fell, so did the dark religion, a new one must take its place.¡± I nodded along, pretending to understand what she said, but anything after the first sentence just sounded like the opening of a game. ¡°Alright then, I guess that makes sense, anyway, care to take me to the back?¡± I asked. Grimalkin had been behind the beastman armorer, pointing to the curtain through this entire exchange, clearly ready to see what was behind it. She lifted the curtain, motioning the three of us in; it took a bit more work considering Napoleon did not want to put down his prized back-pack-weapons-rack. Still, we all made it inside and then I saw what she was talking about, in the corner of the room was a massive eight foot wide rock. Almost cartoonish lightning bolts were coming out of it. ¡°I take it that¡¯s lightning ore?¡± I popped off. ¡°Precisely! It is iron ore that has been struck by the thunder attack of a powerful dragon at some point in the past, keeping the magical properties!¡± The nerdy look on her face as she explained the massive piece of rock in the room told me everything I needed to know. Napoleon had just said I can¡¯t share my technical knowledge from before this with these people, but I wonder if I could come up with something new. ¡°Considering I am the Paladin I would bet I have a bit of spending money allocated to me?¡± Napoleon and Grimalkin both gave me a nod, moderately confused as I look back at the blacksmith, ¡°I want you to make me; a stick.¡± *************************************************************************************************** As we walked back out of the blacksmith¡¯s shop I sigh happily at my decision, I feel I have made the right one. Grimalkin is the first to chime in. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s what you want? Sounds complicated.¡± I¡¯d described for her, a three-section staff, one that would connect and disconnect at my own discretion. She was more than happy to volunteer the lightning ore, apparently, using it in my weapon would bring her quite a bit of the fame and adoration she wanted from this job. She told me about some liquid-metal spells, allowing my handgrips to flow around on top of the weapon so I don¡¯t electrocute myself. Grimalkin looked down, clearly not wanting to see his old employer. Again I look at him, remembering that I own his servants contract now. Noticing this, I quickly say, ¡°Do me a favor and go over the weapon plans with Hephy while we go see the Lord-Governor.¡± A quick look at certain parts of the Paladin¡¯s Scripture, thank the Deity for an index, revealed that many paladins had special circumstances arising for the creation of their weapon. Still, asking the Lord-Governor for a piece of the Dread Emperor''s armor out of the holy reliquary, that might be a bit too much for even legend to ask for. Apparently the Dread Emperor had made this metal himself, it was uncopyable by any-standards and it acted as both an insulator and amplifier of elemental magic. Now, it was just my job to ask the old man in the dining room if I can borrow his trophy to make a new toy out of. Grimalkin stayed behind at the smithery and I was alone with Master Napoleon for the first time, he says to me, as blankly as he can without any emotion in his voice. ¡°I could let this go on for a while; let the nightmares eat away at you until you figure it out yourself¡­ But if I did that, I couldn¡¯t consider myself that kid¡¯s grandfather anymore.¡± He looked at me, eyes old and wisened, accustomed to tears. He continues, ¡°I ask that you spare Grimalkin for his deeds, he truly only wanted the best. But I suppose that is little comfort for what I am getting ready to say.¡± He looked at me, never before had this old man acted his age except for now, ¡°Grimalkin was ready to kill you last night, that¡¯s the hole in your memory you keep trying to piece together, trying to remember. ¡° My mouth fell open as we stood at the side of the street, confusion, surprise, GRANDFATHER?! What the actual hell did I just hear come out of this man¡¯s mouth? Grimalkin has to be so far the one I trust the most, at least he was honest with me¡­ or at least he had seemed honest. ¡°For reasons I am bound not to tell you at this current time, measuring your worth was an important step. You see, many, many failed paladins brought ruin to this country through the ages.¡± He looks down at his shoes, my skills not needed to feel his pain as he spoke and the shame in his words. ¡°Grimalkin is a good kid, a great Beast-man, I ask that you forgive him, he never tried to take your life after his suspicions had been proven true!¡± He¡¯s on his knees, pulling at my chain skirt, weeping into my leg. I try to pull us out of view but people started to notice, we had just gotten back inside of the Jade Walls after all, and being the paladin doesn¡¯t really help the incognito mode. Still, what do I do with this information¡­ it sounded like there was more; I should hold off judgement and finish this out. ¡°Tell me more Napoleon, whatever you may tell me, make me understand why I should spare him.¡± I say as sternly as I can, hopefully, if I go along with this we can finish this spectacle. ¡°He had to check your type, as in, the type of Paladin you are. To do that, he stole one of my Override Runes, a magical item from this world that lets others activate your healing powers in an emergency, but a trust by you must be placed in the person first.¡± he sighs again ¡°This does sincerely mean he betrayed your trust though. You see, as you can probably guess, your power is hard to define into any given category, so, to test if you were a Healer type, he activated it.¡± ¡°Many Paladins get called and considering that a Paladin only comes to this world once every 20-50 years, my own time waiting being the longest at a full 75. Well, a mixed bag gets put through, you see, the Deities gift is given to anyone willing to protect others, in the effort that spreading these kinds of beings through circulation will ensure an even distribution of hope. Still, many dubious characters had a last second change of heart, dying for someone else as a way of atonement. This plus many other discrepancies have occurred when the only requirement is ¡®sacrifice yourself for others.¡¯ This all feels like a gamble to me, the Deities finding people willing to go an extra mile, and then use us instead of fixing the problems themselves, but that is neither here nor there.¡± He¡¯s started to calm down, albeit only slightly, at least he¡¯s not groveling anymore as I stand him up next to a wall. Many of the people on the street have moved on, but a few wry glances can be seen on the people walking back and forth. ¡°Healers are Paladins with higher levels of empathy, those who see the pain of others and wish to help¡­ Truthfully they are the most righteous kind and the most likely kind to receive the title of ¡®Holy¡¯ but, if we¡¯re cutting to the chase¡­ A more dubious paladin in the hands of Leere and Vansen is a terrifying thought, especially to Grimalkin, blood grandson of the previous Demon Lord.¡± Well, that threw me through a bit of a loop, GRANDSON? I thought he was this guys grandkid. ¡°Anyway¡­ I was hoping you could understand the mistrust he had for you.¡± He looks at me, finished with his explanation, and¡­. I¡¯m dumbfounded, unsure of what to say ¡°You¡¯re buying lunch,¡± Is all I said as we walked into a high class eatery inside of the jade walls. Chapter 5: Legend of the Founding Paladin. Legend of the Founding Paladin It didn¡¯t take long for us to get past the guard station and inside of the walls, but Napoleon¡¯s begging rubbed me the wrong way. I yanked Napoleon into one of the restaurants lining the inside of the walled city, some local delicacy kind of place that used meats from an animal not unlike a goat. The reason that I know this is really quite simple you see¡­ ¡°Oooooh, I love this place! They make some great vem sandwiches.¡± Napoleon almost shouted gleefully as I dragged him in by the collar of his shirt. Vem, apparently, being the name of the animal with its picture all over the walls. The best way to describe it would be a short-legged goat, which can apparently float on its own wind magic. Napoleon nodded at the waitress even as I lift him off the ground by his shirt, to her credit, without missing a beat she offered us both menus with a big smile like nothing out of the norm was going on. She seated us in the back, apparently at Napoleon¡¯s old spot. ¡°Okay Napoleon, if you¡¯re from my world, I have some questions for you. Considering the display you just made outside it seems like you want to be on my good side, I need some things cleared up right now and I won¡¯t take ¡®no¡¯ for an answer.¡± I laid it out straight to him; I wasn¡¯t going to let him alone until I got the honest truth. Nothing adds up in this world and It¡¯s starting to feel like no one will just freakin'' explain anything! We ordered some food and sent the waitress on her way as Napoleon sits across from me, twirling a three-pronged fork in his fingers with the dexterity of a circus performer. ¡°Well, there are things that are not my place to say, but sure, I was already planning on answering all your questions, and really, I couldn¡¯t have asked for a better place! I was really feeling down doing all that and this¡¯ll cheer me a right back up.¡± He said with a big toothy smile, this balding old Paladin, what exactly is his game? Still, at least with him, I have something in common. Four hours later¡­ I swear I have tried every kind of Vem you can even conceive of! Vem tasted, depending on how you cooked it and for how long, anything between beef, pork, or goat. Candied Vem-chunks and dried fruits in sort of a meaty trailmix was served in a bowl on every table. Something that would almost be a Vem Burger was also served with a sort of cheese and leafy vegetable. It was pretty juicy and cooked medium well, just the way I liked it, so I had to admit this is probably one of my favorite places too now. ¡°So yeah, that¡¯s the story of the Demon Emperor and the fall of the Sixth Race.¡± Old-Man Napoleon was picking his teeth with a wooden toothpick; we¡¯d both just feasted as he pretty much told me anything I asked. I let out a satisfied, burp, holding my gut, I swear I must¡¯ve eaten ten pounds of food, but I didn¡¯t feel more full than say an over-large dinner. Extra Skill Acquired: Mother Bird. Effect: Large quantities of nutrient energy may be stored inside your body, storing all excess in a pocket dimension. Such Nutrients may then be recalled to support those malnourished by opening the dimension and siphoning off nutrients into a host body, or the Caster may use it to nourish their own form in case of emergency. ¡°Wait, what was that manual, can you explain more clearly?¡± I ask, waiting for a reply as I hear... ¡°Huh? What¡¯re you talking about?¡± jumped in Napoleon, his mouth partially wrapped around a flatbread stuffed with spiced vem, something I was now quite fond of due to this old coot. Converting¡­ Converting¡­ Converting¡­ Success. Explanation of ability: The power to store excess stamina and then infuse it to others or oneself. What did it mean, converting? Converting to what? Anyway, back to Napoleon. ¡°I guess Manual just told me I got a new skill, storing energy and giving it to others or using it, it gave it a weird name though.¡± ¡°What was it? There¡¯s a lot in a name, especially when given by the manual, that thing¡¯s in your head. From everything I¡¯ve been told they¡¯re what you if you had a full understanding of the ability, would name it!¡± He said, crossing his arms, clearly proud of himself as I pondered what he meant. The name I would name it if I truly understood it? **************************************************************************************************** The Legend of the Dread Emperor. As told by: Paladin Napoleon. The Dread Emperor, King of the Sixth Race, ruler of land stretching ocean to ocean. This was the villain of the last Holy Paladin, four hundred and twenty-seven years ago, the Dread Emperor held dominion over all six of the races, Human, Beastman, Kobold, Centaur, Slime, and Demon. ''Demon'' is not a legend to the people of this land; by all accounts, they were as demented as the tales of demons from our own plane. They ruled the five lower races, subjugating them all. Beastmen had their limbs permanently clamped in irons to slow their reflexes. Kobold''s claws and horns were filled down, their wings clipped. Centaurs were hobbled or forced to wear painful shoes that made them bleed if they galloped. Slimes were kept in the garbage and the sewers, never let out so they may multiply in the sunlight. However, Humans, they were different. The humans were not humbled as the other races were; for the demons did not fear them, for why fear a race inferior to you in every way? Magic, durability, the power of flight, the demons far outclassed the humans of this world in every way, and that was their downfall. From stories long lost to them, the human¡¯s souls remembered an ancient prayer calling to them in their hour of need. It is said that the humans prayed without food or water for five days, even in the more skeptical accounts. Just when the chain started to break, and they fell over on each other in exhaustion and hunger, the Holy Paladin appeared. Clad in an armor of white, with a trim of gold, the Paladin slew the oppressors one by one of the other four subjugated races. He cut the Prime Shackle, the magical item keeping the irons on the peoples. He destroyed the file factories and warehouses. He shattered the ancient barrier crystal thus freeing the slimes kept under the streets. And then he went after the hobblers, the demons themselves, breaking the torturous boots off of the centaurs as he went, the Paladin assembled the Army of the Five People. Upon the release of the leader of the centaur people, Mountain-Crasher Erinth, who later becomes his best friend, he was dubbed by the Deity, and himself Holy Paladin Cedric. It was then that the other artifacts came to him, the silver sword, the Paladin¡¯s Ledger, which he would later upgrade further into the History of the Holy Paladins, the relic I gave you. There are said to be many other items, including a helmet, lost to history with the power to make one live for far longer than they naturally would. Soon the Paladin would fight with the Dread Emperor; the later getting upset at his subjects all being set free. He had created a weapon that would wipe out all other five races, a magical beam of such power that upon hit with a target it would code the basics of those species building blocks and then seek out other similar victims. Unfortunately, the Paladin¡¯s gift from the Deity was that of ¡®Self Reflection¡¯ a skill that magnified malignant forces in others and showed them back to the person. I say, unfortunately, because he himself did as well, you can read it in the ledger I gave you¡­ But I¡¯ll save you some heartbreak in the details. For when the Dread Emperor fired this weapon at the Paladin, seeking destruction, the Paladin countered the only way he knew how. The ability of the paladin was originally only illusory in nature, but many battles had made it grow stronger. He had began to plan around it, using his power as an ace in the hole to bring down especially tough opponents¡­ He brought them down all right. The entirety of the demon race, collaborators, torturers, wet-nurses, all of them had been afflicted by something worse than death. Every one of them had a vacant look in their eyes, they were alive, if you could call it that, every demon was stuck, transfixed at something invisible in front of them. Their faces transfixed in horror as the hero of the world had reflected a doomsday weapon back at them. After that, the other races took to mercy killing the demons. They couldn¡¯t move, and the atrocities committed upon them were too great for the Paladin to raise much of a word. Truth-be-told he couldn¡¯t, he stays, transfixed at the Dread Emperor, removing his helmet and then hiding the living body. It was punishment for having unleashed the weapon in the first place, that the Dread Emperor, from a race who could already live five hundred years, to outlive the rise and fall of generations, with his face forever transfixed in horror. As for the Holy Paladin Cedric? He refused any appointing in the new government, and without his vigilant watch, humans were put in a place of supremacy. It was not just the demons that had underestimated them. The name Demon Lord is used as an insult, referencing the old days, claiming that this upstart would be as bad as the Dread Emperor.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. **************************************************************************************************** Napoleon had been summoned right when the Demon Lord was at the steps of the Lord-Governor of the time, his subordinate had taken the speaker to perform the summoning. The passed Governor had been opposed to it, so it was done in secret with the man¡¯s life as the bait. As he put it, ¡°You can safely say that I stopped this country from falling, for when within ten minutes of myself being here, I had the Demon Lord¡¯s head in a sack.¡± According to Napoleon, he has had the shortest and most disappointing story of all the Paladins in the Ledger. While I¡¯m not too sure of that. Considering his current age and how many more stories he must have. But also, I mean really, if this ledger was a relic for somebody 400 years ago, then there has to be some unlucky person who¡¯s more anti-climactic. Napoleon and I left the restaurant after giving the waitress a sizeable tip for not throwing us out. As we walked up the river lined cobble street path toward the Lord-Governor''s mansion, my mind wandered toward the dream I had this morning. Napoleon¡¯s explanation for it had been some sort of protection for my mind when Grimalkin used the runestone on me. He was untrained and little was known about my ability. I don''t know if they¡¯re memories or what, but they feel real, whats more I feel I will understand more about my ability after they run their course. An awkward hunger not my own fills my belly as shame starts to bubble inside of me¡­ I had just eaten way more than my fill, the gluttony feels obvious and yet I am unsure of what to do about the situation just yet. On the way there I notice more rivers all lining the streets all leading up to a central fountain. While we were outside the walled city even near the weaponsmiths, there were no rivers, why even have them if they don''t drain out? The fountain was a gaudy affair, some general on horseback or least it would be a horse if it didn''t have a trunk and tusks. His saber aloft and the trunk held high. It was almost comical how water shot out of not only them but the tusks as well in an alternating crisscross pattern. A blue banner and signpost hang in front of every merchant shop around the fountain. I was starting to notice the color coordination this world seems to be employing. Green seemed to be the color of the church, blue was obviously the color of the merchants. While red, the military, I hadn''t seen much red, only on the outside of the barracks I¡¯ve stayed in and a couple of guard posts here and there but that was it. We come upon the Lord Governor¡¯s mansion, a large, three-story building that is far longer than it was wide. Some sort of blue stone had been carved into massive columns on the right and left of the main door. The gold plating was over anything even vaguely metallic and it could be seen chipping in the more used places. Truthfully the walk to the Lord-Governor¡¯s palace was quite enjoyable except for the nagging thought in the back of my mind that was somehow giving me a pang of guilt in my stomach. We walked into the grand dining room again with his throne placed awkwardly at the end between the jade golems. ¡°Greetings great hero,¡± The Lord-Governor greeting me with his biggest, most punchable smile he could. ¡°My assistants have told me that you have a request of me, how may I be of service?¡± His eyes gleamed like a falcon hunting prey. ¡°Why yes Lord-Governor Leere, yes, I come with quite the hefty request.¡± I pause for dramatic effect, ever the theater dweeb. ¡°I, the current Legendary Paladin I require a piece of the Dread Emperor¡¯s armor.¡± That wiped the smile off his face; he looked down at his hands and began mumbling. Counting as he did with a dejected look in his eyes, just as he did; I felt hope sink in me for the piece needed for my new weapon. The look in the Lord-Governor¡¯s face became even more dire, clearly conflicted. That was until a vassal came up to him, after pulling him to the side for a few minutes and chirping words too fast for even me to hear, the two came back, all smiles. ¡°Honorable Sir Paladin I think we can come to an arrangement. My vassal, the humble son of a priestess, the very priestess who¡¯s in charge of records at the grand church, has informed me the church¡¯s view is the Dread Emperor¡¯s armor is inconsequential.¡± ¡°Merely keeping it out of the hands of the rabble is the best I could ask for; I will give you the Dread Emperor¡¯s own Helm should you complete this task for me.¡± If possible I would say his smile is trying to wrap around his head as if he was the one getting a gift. I didn¡¯t expect him to have anything to offer for me to do until the next Demon Lord sighting. Still, ¡°What would you have me do in return?¡± The Lord-Governor continues, ¡°The Mountain-Crasher, Darrell and his band of mercenaries took over a jade mining town close to us a week ago. As you can guess with the Demon Lord around I can¡¯t afford to spread my army so thin and requesting help from the Red City costs money. If you do not know, Mountain-Crasher is not a title here it is the name of a species of a larger centaur.¡± ¡°This one snuck under our noses, by the time he drew others to his side he was the size of our largest of our eight story towers. Wielding a spear tipped with the shell of an ancient crustacean he has taken the seat of Thebes. I implore you, Paladin, fulfill the contracts of old.¡± While begging with his voice his mouth was watering like Napoleon over a plate of stuffed vem. This is too easy, way too easy. He was freaking out a second ago, but now he¡¯s all smiles. Plus I don¡¯t like the way he¡¯s placing this all on the leader, even if he¡¯s giant when there¡¯s an entire band of bandits occupying the town¡­ And what about evacuating the civilians? His priorities seem out of order for any sane leader. But then again, sane leaders are pretty uncommon even in my own world. Thinking quickly I blurted out, ¡°I wish for three plates of his armor as a down payment, after all. I need to be armed if I¡¯m fighting a giant show pony.¡± Truthfully I hadn¡¯t thought it all the way through. But my response resulted in applause throughout the room. Even the Lord-Governor had wiped the self-satisfying grin from his face, smiling at me earnestly now. ¡°Well said, Sir Paladin! Very well said! I will give you the three plates and enough silvers to build a party like in the scripture!¡± Okay, now this man was fanboying over me, of course, this turned into a full-fledged quest, now I have to find a party? I mean, I have Grimalkin, but who else? The Lord-Governor continued, ¡°I will gladly give you that old relic as payment when you return, and I will further reimburse you if you will tell your tale in front of us all to be recorded in the scripture!¡± Oh, so that¡¯s his game, without a Demon Lord, he wants to use the new toy he just got? Why not play along for now, it sounds like this Mountain-Crasher is serious business, people may need help. ¡°How could I say no to that offer, I will choose who journeys with me, Lord-Governor it seems you know the most about the situation, and the particular quirks of Paladins, might I ask your thoughts?¡± The bait is cast, aaaaaaaaand¡­ ¡°Why gladly, Sir Paladin!¡± Hook, line, and sinker. It seems I found this old man¡¯s weakness, like all rich fogies he loves to be entertained. And what could be more entertaining than a hero of legend recounting his most recent victory? This old man was sending me to my first stepping stone. As a sense of tension filled the air, for the first time since I met the Lord-Governor, I could feel like I knew what was going on in his head. ¡°Alright, I will need to know based on the enemies¡¯ strength, how many people should I bring, what kind of foes will I be facing?¡± I said, and the talks went on as the sky grew from mid-afternoon orange to the dark blue of the night sky. small stars twinkling in the distance, whenever the conversation got too dry I would start coming up with my own constellations for this world. ¡°Thebes is a simple mining town, with some rural development. They¡¯re a simple folk, many retire from the army and go there. It was founded by a former general, and the towns¡¯ policy of ¡®equality¡¯ has made it a den for the less¡­ desirable sorts. Their open-door policy is about to get them all slaughtered you see.¡± Leer stated. ¡°We must save them all, after all, you are the Paladin, the reason the Deity chose you is your selflessness¡­¡± the self-important ruler said with a large grin on his face. The news, while a bit dark, seemed to be just the sort of set up he was going for. At least now he seemed like he had a conscious in there somewhere. The vassals informed me of the godkin, all 5 current races had larger versions of them. Respectively we had Giants for humans, Cubes for slimes, Direthropes for beastmen, Dragons for kobolds, and lastly, the Mountain-Crasher, an eight-story tall centaur. Apparently, unlike several of the other godkin, Mountain-Crashers gained no extra magical energy from their godkin status, instead, they were gifted with mountain-leveling power, hence the name Mountain-Crasher. Darrel, however, was just the leader, he had two generals. Devsiani, a kobold specializing in long-range nature magic, vines, trees, flowers and such. And Mishka, a human man specializing in close range heavy damage magical hammers. They had some mixed-species rabble in their basic forces but those were the three we needed to be worried about. After the consultation of his advisors and the priests, I was informed that a four-person party would be optimal. I had objections, sighting the eight-story centaur, but apparently Paladins have always worked best in groups of between three and seven, and that four would be the best bet for going in undetected. ¡°Sir Paladin, we have taken the liberty of retrieving Charlemagne. Our studies have shown that Paladins grow attached to the first people they connect to within this world. Considering Charlemagne''s own skill, I find it to be reasonable to send him with you as your primary healer.¡± One of the vassals, the one who had spoken up to Leere was telling me as he walked me to a room with what appeared to be a printing press. In parts of it, magic was used instead of levers, a purple aura coming from the screw-like device in the middle of the press. Steam billowed out of pipes that were attached to henges and the aura around the screw-press in the middle looked like a candle-flame laughing, it was truly something to behold. ¡°This is commonly known as the pamphlet room, you can tell our assistant what you want, words or pictures even, and we will distribute them inside and out of the wall.¡± That surprised me a little. ¡°Why the difference? As in, why also add outside the wall?¡± I add, slightly confused. ¡°Oh, we make it a national policy not to rely on the soulless lower classes, however many Paladins prefer to use them for some reason,¡± he said in an off-handed, dismissive manner like I had just pulled what I thought was a perfectly useable knife out of a trash bin. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get to work, even with the people I can think of off the top of my head for this, counting Charlemagne, we¡¯re still short one person.¡± And so, we worked into the night, creating a flier you could understand literate or not. Since the common people weren¡¯t allowed inside of the jade walls, we decided to have the casting be held at the barracks where Napoleon and I were staying. While he turned down the position of fighting due to his age, he would be invaluable in picking the last member of our group. Chapter 6: Perspectives Perspectives Hunting rats in the sewers was not easy work. The things were quick and didn¡¯t have a lot of meat on them, but as a mother beastman, I have a personal honor to uphold. My family rarely went hungry, and for a thick blanket for my children or a stipend of vegetables and fruit, I was more than willing to trade some of the little meat I could get. My son¡¯s teeth are bleeding horribly, and the cut he got a week ago from climbing in the rocky highland had opened up and it just wouldn¡¯t heal. I¡¯d heard about this curse before, it had affected my kind when they were hunters and only ate what they could catch. It is called the curse of blood to my people, an ailment inflicted upon you when your gluttony knows only slaughter. For my son to get it due to my own hunting ¡­ I don¡¯t think I have slept more than three hours in the last week. My husband does his best to find jobs he can do. As a swine beastman, he had plenty of strength and would be hired quickly, even by the humans inside of the walls. Too bad the last piece of construction work he was asked to help on was over three months ago. Truly, our neighbors called us ¡®The Barons of Dekker street¡¯. Dekker, being the name of the first inhabitant of this part of town; it was named after him. If I remember right, Dekker was eventually executed for stealing a loaf of bread from a nobleman¡­ And then I woke up. *************************************************************************************************** 7¡¯th month, Day 12. 3 days after the talk with Napoleon. It was slow-going for the next few days. Charlemagne had been brought to us. After explaining his own powers and the references that the other priests and nobles gave, it was clear he was definitely in the top 10 healers of the city. Blood and guts, the reagents of healing magic¡­ not too far away from what mom did in certain cases. The Magic of this world, when used by non-magic races, uses something called ¡®reagents,¡¯ that evaporate in the castor''s hand to cast spells. The reagent for healing magic is blood, simple enough. By sacrificing a game animal or magic animal¡¯s organ, Charlemagne could even heal the similar organs in other beings, unless completely shredded, he could fix nearly anything. He carried a small collection of organs, pickled in jars in his backpack, as well as a few bones and a couple of enchanted canteens of purified blood. Animals were categorized into three different kingdoms in this world. You had the game animals, animals that the beastmen had relation to, while beastmen could eat game without it being taboo, eating an animal too close to themselves might be viewed as cannibalism. The magical animals, beasts who¡¯d used magic to get around or stored it in their body, could innately use magic easily. Finally, there is livestock, while no, this does not mean all the animals on the list are trained or normally on farms. These are the animals that beastmen just don¡¯t have any relation to, the name livestock in my ears is probably them just saying the equivalent of ¡®food animal.¡¯ It didn¡¯t long to pick him for our party. As for Grimalkin, the beastman servant I had whom Napoleon had told was ready to kill me¡­. He was an exceptional dagger and bow user. His being a beastman gave him more mobility, especially in trees. Some sort of mountain cat, meaning that his balance and mobility in rough terrain were not to be underestimated. He even knows small spells for distracting opponents or buffing his arrows. Myself with Pain Vampire and the weapon I will be receiving in now only four days, I will fill the role of a tactical frontline fighter. The rest of my abilities, however, were harder to pin down. My body was fit in this world, exceptionally so. Apparently, when they summon you as a legendary hero, they give you a legendary body. Master Napoleon, who had been training us like recruits for the last few days, could not have been happier. His abilities as ¡®Frontline General¡¯ and ¡®Battlefield Promotion¡¯, could enhance the physical powers of those in a small group, kind of like a strike unit. Meanwhile, Battlefield Promotion had a secondary effect. The more heated the battle became, the more strength we would receive. This, in Layman¡¯s terms, meant he could work us to the bone with his training. The three of us were exhausted. ¡°Master Napoleon, do I really need a weapon, too? I¡¯m a certified combat medic, I don¡¯t need to fight if I can keep my allies healthy¡±, Charlemagne whined. Grasping the rapier Napoleon had handed him, he was actually pretty good at it. It¡¯s just that his soft, plushie form was resisting the overwork, we all were. ¡°And what if they get captured and only you can rescue them? You need to be battle ready as well! That needle-sword thing I gave you is light enough that it shouldn¡¯t impact that massive pack you have on your back,¡± Napoleon sent his sword downward so quick, every trace of blood was cleared from it. Yes, blood, you see to keep practice with Charlemagne''s healing and spellcasting, he was gleefully giving us niks in training to be healed by the disgruntled priest. Grimalkin landed deftly, the only one out of the three of us able to really keep up with the balding white haired man. ¡°Quit your bellyaching, he¡¯s taking it easy on you, ya know that?¡± Charlemagne¡¯s face went to a simmering rage, a smile crossing his lips, his normally cute form got an icy aura around it. ¡°What did you say to me, soulless?¡± There¡¯s that anger again, it turns out many of the humans in this world were quite biased, to the point of racism. Charlemagne, the normally adorable muffin-lizard, had quite the nasty side to show any of the other races. You see, the teaching of the church dating back to the founding of this kingdom was that races, other than humans, did not have the same soul that humans did. I¡¯d tried to keep them separate but Grimalkin insisted that he stay, saying it would keep him sharp. Charlemagne put everything into his rapier as he charged, giving jab after jab. Grimalkin with a leather-gloved hand, smacked the sides of the rapier during each one, sending vibrations up it hitting his arms. Charlemagne dropped his rapier after not too many of those, the vibrations making it too hard to hold onto the handle. Napoleon looked down at Charlemagne, lifting his chin up as the beaten priests¡¯ knees had buckled from the shock of being so deftly beaten by what he considered his inferior. Telling Charles, ¡°that is why you need practice. Free yourself of your prejudices or die on the battlefield.¡± The small priest then put his hood over his head, resembling a plush lizard again, he left the training hall in shame to contemplate. Napoleon was having me train with a very basic three section staff while the blacksmith worked on our combined creation. Using no knowledge I had gathered from my own world, I drew from fantasy when designing my weapon ¡­. A spear, a staff and so much more; charged with elemental magic, tipped a blade that can come out of one end that can channel the thunder magic further. Napoleon struck me hard as I was daydreaming, slamming me into one of the walls in the barracks training room. I coughed and blood dribbled out of my mouth as dust cleared from the small crater I had been forced to create. ¡°Suck it up; I know that isn¡¯t enough to make a Paladin collapse.¡± Napoleon mocked. It was true; it really did feel like nothing. I know it happened but it just felt like a minor inconvenience due to my skill ¡®Pain Nullification¡¯. I look at Grimalkin and Napoleon, both casually waiting for me to stroll back to the center of the room so an old man could give me a whoopin¡¯. He cleaned up well. It seems I¡¯d inherited the armor from him so he was wearing an exceptionally gallant armor set with massive pauldrons. Grimalkin wore the armor he always did, apparently having multiple sets of the same kind from his employ under Leere. The Blacksmith, working on my weapon, was also working on some new armor for grimalkin, using one of the spare armor plates from the Dread Emperor and some leather patches to make something akin to a more traditional suit from early 1900¡¯s America. Napoleon had a field day imaging an armored suit. Walking slowly, I let out an exhausted sigh. Then I sent my pole flying forward, holding on to the last end, using the first two rods as a mid-range attack. My poke gets deflected by Napoleon. But I¡¯d planned on it, my other hand coming for the displaced end, wrapping the three poles around my back; I spin around, sending it back at him again. This kind of fighting continued on for another half an hour as Grimalkin watched us. I got was a bit shaky at first but I was learning quickly, eliminating needless steps and excess torque. Eventually, if my initial feint was enough to make the man blink, I could actually score a hit on his back with my follow-up.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. In a short amount of time the three of us had begun to function as a team if I can keep those two from getting too close. After the training I decided to track down Charlemagne in his room, crying his eyes out¡­ Upon seeing this, I turn around and walk the other direction. All things considered, this looked like a ploy. Vansen has also played an inordinate amount of visits after Charlemagne was brought here. What¡¯s more, he had been brought without my request, simply shooing away my concern by mentioning the scripture. Combined with the information I had gotten from Napoleon about the last Holy Paladin not overseeing the founding of the new country, I was beginning to doubt the purpose of my summoning. *************************************************************************************************** I looked down at the silvers in my hands, a full thousand, roughly the same as ten gold pieces. This was enough to outfit an entire legion in some of the best gear that soldiers could buy. This was the money that the Lord-Governor had given me to prepare for my quest to reclaim the town of Thebes beset by Mountain-Crasher Darrell. One thousand was just way too much. Sure, buying reagents and equipment was needed. But many of those things were already taken care of. My own weapon coming in a mere four days, cutting it close to the time we are to leave. Thinking back to what Napoleon said, I can¡¯t help but think about the dream I had one night ago, as a beastman woman. I count out one hundred silver, tossing it in a bag to Napoleon, him just snatching it out of thin air like I¡¯d put it on a shelf. ¡°Hey, while we see the applicants today, I want you to have Charlemagne go to the market in the central city and buy up every different kind of citrus fruit he can find. I could really go for some lemonade and even though we¡¯re in another world, it¡¯s not like many of them came naturally to our world either.¡± Citrus trees, in particular oranges and a few others, were crossbreeds, for the most part, at least most of the popular citrus fruit were. Every time I close my eyes I saw myself as that woman, hunting in the sewers for rats, hoping to get enough that I might be able to trade them for a single fruit to a vendor¡­ It was high time I learned if these dreams were memories from real people I had somehow ¡®Vampired¡¯ or what. ¡°Sure, he¡¯s not a fan of being in the clay city so it should get him out of our hair for a while,¡± Napoleon, who similar to me, had just about had enough of Charlemagne''s antics, was just happy to get him out of the barracks. ¡°Yeah, Vansen has to make such looooong trips to come out here a good, oh, four times a day, totally normal.¡± I laughed, Napoleon laughed, Grimalkin laughed, it was a good time. Grimalkin laughed? Yes, my faithful, ready to stab me in a drunken haze servant had just walked through the door. ¡°He reminds me of the jade walls a lot, mysterious, overly green, and kind of pure in a way. Still; getting rid of him while we pick a person we¡¯re willing to fight alongside seems like a good idea.¡± Grimalkin sat at the table beside the two of us in the summoning chamber. The multiple round glowing lights behind us, the door to the chamber in front, the rounded rectangle of the room gave these try-outs an air of importance. Charlemagne soon shows up, ready to take the fourth seat when Napoleon looks at him with the biggest smile. ¡°Young apprentice, I know that you find it hard dealing with the action, why don¡¯t you let us handle the try outs. The Paladin has requested a reminder of home; would you go on a quest for citrus fruits in the main market for us?¡± Charlemagne stood at attention and saluted¡­ with the wrong hand. Eager for the chance to get out of here and into the walled city. Considering the Lord-Governor¡¯s response to anything ¡®Legendary Quest¡¯-y this comes across like fulfilling a childhood wish¡­ I would feel bad for him if he wasn¡¯t a giant pain in my rear, you really can¡¯t blame him for his indoctrination and lack of cleverness. He saluted again once he figured out why Grimalkin was giggling in the corner, a blush crossing his face. Still, he hit his head so hard with his hand that his hood flopped over, as he struggled to lift it back up it looked like yet again he was escaping being eaten by some sort of plush serpent. With him rushing off on his own little quest, I rang the handbell signaling the beginning of the trials. *************************************************************************************************** The Scripture of Charlemagne V, Scribe and Priest of the Green Church. Month 7, Day 12, in the Year of our country 427. 1.) The Paladin has given me my first true order. The scriptures have prepared me for this moment; in order to support our hero to the best of our ability, sometimes a reminder of home can be necessary. 2.) The Paladin had sent me, with a sack full of one hundred silver, to the grand market inside of the jade walls. I have been told that the Paladin misses his home, so to give him a reminder; I was to buy all of the citrus fruit I could. 3.) Vansen, however had other plans. The Speaker of the Deity met me in the market, having heard of my visit back to the walled city. We spoke at length about the trial process, having admitted my blunder of losing my cool at Grimalkin; I was given an odd piece of advice by my old mentor. 4.) Vansen said that no matter my own feelings, or the churches, that I should judge people of their own merit. That the scripture had many tellings of soulless teaming up with the Paladin to defeat great evils as well as many Demon Lords. Informing me that it was I that was making the rest of my party uncomfortable, he laid his only hand tenderly on my shoulder and then left. 5.) If the Speaker says it, then clearly it must be true¡­ With that realization; the Paladin¡¯s reactions to how I talked to Grimalkin filled my memory. It was true, every time I directed my emotions toward him, Master Napoleon and Sir Paladin would scold me. They were the Paladins, I was a mere priest, and who was I to go against them? 6.) And so, on my own, for the next few hours I wondered the Jade Market, buying up all of the citrus fruit I could find. Soon, I had a small wagon sent over from one of the guard posts to use for hauling. 7.) Even with that full wagon, with over thirty different kinds of fruit, I still had a full seventy silver after, and decided to treat myself. Buying a vem skewer from a local vendor, I glutinously devoured it before leaving. 8.) I pulled the donkey driven wagon back to the Barracks. It was a long walk, and many of the kobolds and beastmen look at me with hungry eyes when I walked past them. Yet none of them come close, rubbing their bellies as if freshly stuffed. 9.) I made it safely back to the barracks, cargo in tow, just as dusk was beginning to hit the city. 10.) The Paladin came out to greet me, telling me how the trials had gone, and informing me they had picked our fourth while I was gone¡­ Truthfully I was not surprised; after Vansen¡¯s words clarity had hit me. In the priesthood where it was only humans and a few kobolds I could get away with this attitude. 11.) The Paladin took a look at the wagon and smiled, assuming I had spent all of the silver given to me. When I returned a nearly full coin-pouch it turned into a frown. At first, I thought I had displeased the Paladin, but after further prodding he had informed me that I had not. 12.) Looking into the distance, the Paladin spoke to me plainly. ¡°If you could fill this wagon so full, and buy out all the vendors in the main market of their fruit for only thirty silver¡­ then how poor must one be to starve¡±? 13.) As he said that, there was an emptiness in his eyes, a cold loneliness as he took the reins from my hand. 14.) We walked in silence, only the Paladin and I for what felt to be a long time, nearing an eternity. There was so much I wanted to say, and so much to ask. If Vansen shared some of the views of this hero, then surely he could teach me the true teachings of the Deity. 15.) The Paladin had pulled the cart into an intersection; nothing was here save a few destroyed houses. Vansen had told us of the storms that come in the rainy season, and how those outside the walls don¡¯t defend themselves properly so their homes get destroyed. 16.) That is when everything changed. The Paladin, without holding back, had cupped his hands around his lips and was yelling at the top of his lungs for the denizens to come out. 17.) At first, only adults checking what the noise was, or curious children were visible to me. A woman, strong and confident comes up to the Paladin, asking him why he has come. 18.) With a pained look in his eye he smiled at her, but not one of joy¡­ truly a smile has never been as sad as the one he shared with this wolf-type beastman. After a pause, he said that the doctors in his own world could not cure his curse, he could not stand idly by as curses that were removable ran rampant around him. 19.) He looked at me, that same smile in his face; it is seared into my memory for the rest of my existence. 20.) ¡°This is your punishment,¡± he said, looking at the wagon. ¡°You are to feed these people, care for these people, the ones you refer to as soulless,¡± after he said the word he spat. 21.) ¡°As long as we remain in this city, you shall use the money I have given you to care after the people in this block of the city. I¡¯ve chosen to keep you in the party purely from Grimalkin¡¯s own request.¡± 22.) Then, with a fire in his eyes that I had never seen before, ¡°If I am not satisfied by the time we leave, then I will go without you. Napoleon has plenty of books on healing magic, I¡¯m sure I can learn the basics on the road.¡± 23.) And there it was. My hero, the one I had been looking forward to meeting so much. Informing me that as I am, I am not fit to stand at his side. 24.) Before he left me to distribute the food on my own, he gave me one more gift. ¡°See yourself in others, and no one else will be able to tell you who to be.¡± *************************************************************************************************** The Holy Scripture of Speaker Amadeus Vansen Month 07 Day 12 Holy Year of Supremacy 427 Transcribed by Delpheous IV, Edited by Amadeus Vansen for accuracy. Vansen sipped his juice slowly from his goblet, reclined in a large plush chair with his feet propped up on some old tomes. Massive paintings with frames of gold and jade lined the walls of the ancient room, filled with wonders lost to history. ¡°Charlemagne was too easy, even if the priest went rogue eventually, he really was of no consequence,¡± he said to no one in the room, empty and dark. The Speaker was alone in his private study. Glad he needn¡¯t travel past the gate, the Speaker of the Deity was pleased he had ran into the mole he had planted in a place guaranteed not to have any prying eyes. Charlemagne would report back to him during this excursion to Thebes, keeping him informed of how long the Paladin and his troupe would be staying in the city dealing with ¡®Darrell.¡¯ Even Lord-Governor Leere was all wrapped up around the Paladin, the old legends spurring their sense of romance and adventure. ¡°What easily swayed fools,¡± Vansen grew up on the old legends, nothing was hokier. When the young Speaker was old enough, he first met the Paladin Napoleon the swift. Only to see a broken old man, regretting his greatest achievement. ¡°What a letdown Paladins were,¡± Vansen had expected a grand hero, with a massive sword and hair flowing in the wind. Not these unusable warriors with bleeding hearts. Still, informing one of his own priests to stray from the church''s teaching on the soulless, if that was found out by the Cardinals he would be deposed for such blasphemy. Human supremacy was the writ of the scripture, and to even talk about considering an alternative would mean a peasants head. Chapter 7: The Trial of the Paladins The Trial of the Paladins Log of the Special Services of Themis: Council, Vadyana. Month 7, Day 9, Colonial Callender year 427. In Accordance with the Directive from Madam Themis, Upon leaving the palace of the Lord-Governor of the Green City of the Three Citys Federation¡­ The newly summoned Paladin and an as-of-yet unknown beastman, walked to the guard outpost inside of the jade walls. During which it became increasingly clear that the beastman was currently intoxicated. Upon leaving the guard post, a large drinking mug was thrown at the beastman¡¯s head. It appears that they had both paused for a moment, and then after the Paladin signaled to the beastman, he lept up into the guard''s personal quarters. Returning quickly, the Paladin loudly ordered the beastman to return the tankard, full, for the guard¡¯s trouble. Upon drinking it the guard spit it out and lunged at the beastman after a short scuffle both the Paladin and the beastman made it out unharmed. Then, for an hour while the beastman sobered up, the both of them talked and laughed together, holding each other¡¯s sides from laughing too much at one point. After helping the Paladin up, the beastman led the Paladin to Dekker St. There, his face hidden to the Paladin, the unknown beastman began crying uncontrollably. He slipped a dagger, as well as another device, out of his sleeves. The Paladin, unable to see any of this, went around looking into the homes on Dekker Street. After turning back to the beastman, they triggered the device in their hand, causing the Paladin to double-over in pain. In accordance to Mistress Themis¡¯ wishes, I did not intervene. Carefully, the beastman pulled the Paladin to the side of the road and wept, Not too long after that, the denizens began stirring. Lifting the Paladin onto his back the beastman carried him back to the barracks with some difficulty. Further research into the beastman has concluded they are Grimalkin, grandchild of the Baltamus, and adopted grandchild of Paladin Napoleon. Further investigation reveals the device an Override Rune. Further surveillance requested, secondary team requested to monitor additional parties. *************************************************************************************************** Come to the Paladin¡¯s Party trial! Have you wished to become a legendary adventurer in the band of the Paladin as you have read in your scriptures? If the answer is yes then come, come to the Southwestern Barracks on the edge of town where the Shrine of the Paladin is located. Accepted or not you will be given a warm meal and drink! *For those possessing exceptional skill picked by Paladin Napoleon and the new Paladin a prize awaits you even if you are not the chosen one. *100 Silvers for the Paladin¡¯s chosen one. Under this flier, another one bearing strange markings was attached. They were handed out under the cover of night all over the inner and outer city. Many hungry, dejected members of the outer city saw only the free meal, gladly giving up their day and hoping that somehow the rules would allow their entire family to try. These hungry souls and their families were greeted upon arrival and told that waited patiently in line and did their own trial, showing off any skill they had. That their family would be held by the Paladin¡¯s handpicked army-members and given as much food as they wished. All of this was according to the Paladin and Napoleon¡¯s plan, even before the quest to defeat Mountain-Crasher Darrell. A party or fellowship was the sacred right of the Paladin according to the holiest texts of the church. After hearing the possibility that the dream he had was possibly real, the Paladin steeled himself to find out. Napoleon was the one who had finally suggested an ¡®all you can eat try-out¡¯ putting the Lord-Governor¡¯s pocketbook on the line if at all possible. Thousands showed. But, many retired to the mess, after being informed that trial or not, they were welcome to it, only under one hundred stayed to compete for a chance at the Paladin¡¯s side. *************************************************************************************************** The door swung wide as the first of many waiting stepped up. She was a Kobold Mage, specializing in darkness magic, with few reagents she was able to create portals and increase gravity, but realistically, that was about it. She tried her hardest, especially considering she was in rags as she did. She throws a ribbon into the first portal she made at her feat, quickly she points to the roof above Grimalkin. A second portal appears there right before the ribbon falls into the first, and then seamlessly onto the top of my assistant¡¯s head. After a quick bow, she again raised her hand, crushing some kind of nut in her hand it floated away in a blue haze. Raising her second hand a wave comes out from her, sliding along the ground. Every chair holding a soldier collapsed surrounding her. ¡°My name is Tania; I¡¯m pleased to meet you.¡± The short blue dragon-esq person bowed to us. We kind of just stared and the four and a half foot tall kobold as we tried to find the words. Turning around and causing a huddle, Grimalkin pulled us two paladins to his side like playthings. ¡°Okay, I like her, but I don¡¯t know if we need another ranged fighter.¡± ¡°Her powers might be very useful, but they are still situational, in a real battle we can¡¯t use her,¡± Napoleon countered. I nod at them both, bringing up good points. This was an infiltration mission, after all, it is best if we don¡¯t get found out. But if we do, we will need to fight our way out of the walled village. Turning back around I toss her ten silver coins, ¡°Stay until the end. If you go down the hall, you will see a cafeteria, please eat your fill there, on us. That is for your time, keep it if we take you or not.¡± She started crying, I would soon learn that would not be an uncommon reaction, ten silvers was what people on the inner walls got paid in a full two weeks. I was more than glad to help, ten silver at a time wouldn¡¯t dip too far in to the reserve, and not only did she seem like a genuine possibility, I also didn¡¯t know where else to put the money to work. The next attendee was an orange slime who bowed to us all before showing us amazing things. They could harden their body, morphing a part of them in front of the rest in the shape of a large Tower shield. With their motion to fire, one of our guards in the room we had stationed for these demonstrations fired his short bow at it. The arrow bounced off, clattering to the ground without a scratch on the slime. Then, the slime motioned for the next guard to fire, this time a crossbow. The guard readied herself, aimed directly in the middle, and fired. The bolt flew, the tip seemingly entering the very front of the shield. I say seemingly, because¡­ ¡°Wow! That¡¯s something; being able to use the sword stopping technique as a gel-like being means they can stop anything!¡± Shouted the excited old man to my side, slapping the table like a sports fan after an amazing play. He had jumped out of his seat, smiling, it seems that seeing something new he just couldn¡¯t settle down. Then, as if to show me what Napoleon was talking about, the slime pointed to the guards on the melee side of the room. Asking for a guard with what appeared to be a large katana blade, once ready, with a squeak from the slime on deck, the guard brought the katana down as hard and quick as he could. Six small tendrils no thicker than fiber-optics touched the katana, three on each side, stopping it in its tracks. Even the guards stood up clapping at that. Without conferring between the three of us, I tossed the coins into the air, and the slime grabbed each of them individually, stretching and bowing. ¡°I am Eisho of the orange slimes, thank you for your praise.¡± Nothing really moved much on the slime as they talked, but the whole thing looked more like they were purring. ¡°Keep the coins! Stay in the other room until we are done here, we will call you back, there is food and drink in the mess for free all day.¡± With that, Eisho left the room, giddily bouncing in the shape of what genuinely looked like a jackalope if it were made out of orange gelatin. When Eisho left, we all discovered we had wanted them for different reasons. Personally, I just thought the transforming ability was useful. Napoleon thought it was a wonderful illustration of martial prowess. Grimalkin, on the other hand, had been thinking Eisho would make a wonderful piece of equipment. Upon voicing these thoughts, however, laughter erupted from the Lt. Commander in charge of the guards we were using. From that, the eternal question has been answered ¡­. Yes, centaurs do indeed whinny when they laugh. Still, the centaur bowed and stepped in the middle of the room when I called for the next attendee.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Sir, if you check, you will see my name third on the list. I am Lieutenant Commander Franz Velstein. Sir!¡± Bowing again, his legs are shaking more than when Eisho talked. It seemed finally someone had more than one name. ¡°Manual, why has no one else introduced themselves with more than one name?¡± I whispered as quietly as I could. Answer: Last names are only used by those of high standing in this country. Normally only humans use them, however any lineage three or more blood relatives serving in the military are also given last names. Lord-Governor Leere¡¯s full name is Julius Ozymandias Leere. His name was listed on the plaque when you were brought into his home. It is also reasonable to theorize that Vansen, as well as General Oberon, have first and last names as well. I open my hand and bid him rise, after that we went out to the tracks, following him. With practice swords against six mounted riders, Franz Velstein defeated them all with ease, never breaking stride. Again, another round of applause from all three judges, just as I was handing him the money like I did the rest of the winners so far, he stopped me. ¡°Please, Sir Paladin, I have heard what you ordered of scribe Charlemagne, I ask you to keep my stipend and if you see fit, it would do me the most honor if you added it to his budget. Many of the men under my command have spoken to me of your true intentions for him.¡± That¡¯s just not fair, that really isn¡¯t. I started crying openly, doing my best to dry my tears, genuine compassion in this world! For the first time! Maybe I can do this after all. Napoleon volunteered to take the role of the commanding officer in the room for the rest of the day. After shaking his hand and thanking him for restoring my faith in others I dismissed him from his duties for the rest of the day, sending him to the mess for the free food. After that, a smattering of thoroughly unimpressive noblemen trying to show off fencing skills¡­ The ninth contestant was a human man, approximately 5¡¯4 by my best guess, nearly naked wearing a white belt around his waist like underwear. It took me a while, but I finally got it. It seems, at some point sumo has come to this world through one of the Paladins. According to the ¡®History of the Holy Paladins¡¯ it was mostly on accident, ever since then, it has been a respected sport among all the races. The man brought his own dummies; practicing on them I could sense his concentration. He was plump, but a lot of muscle was there as well. The one thing I know for sure about sumo is these guys were nearly impossible to knock off balance. The way he stood it was as if he was rooted to the spot. He bowed, ending his training with some sort of ritualistic stretching. ¡°I ask now that you give me as many opponents as you wish, in one on one combat, using whatever rules they like for their style, until you are satisfied I shall defeat them all.¡± And so we did. Similar to Eisho, he knew the sword stopping technique, putting it to use in the sparring, showing me just how impressive that move was. After the sixth guard, Grimalkin looked like a pet just waiting for their treat. I smiled at him, holding my hand outward. The sumo looked up at him ¡°Oh ho! One of the Paladin¡¯s party members, I must best you if I wish to be your ally is it? I ACCEPT!¡± Grimalkin stood as far back in the circle we¡¯d made to simulate a sumo ring, ready to face him. But as soon as the referee had announced the start of the match, it was over in the blink of an eye. Grimalkin¡¯s head connected with one of the man¡¯s palms, he was rushed down in such a short quick burst of movement that he could not defend against. The man was now standing over him, lifting his hand up from the splayed Grimalkin outside of the ring. After extending a hand to my ally, the sumo bowed again, introducing himself, ¡°I am Kusanagi, taker of the one of the six names handed down according to the tradition of the old ways.¡± Napoleon leaned over, clapping, whispering to me. ¡°That means he¡¯s one of the six best in the country. I wouldn¡¯t underestimate him.¡± Grimalkin, after regaining his balance, bowed back at Kusanagi, accepting his defeat with grace as the man added in. ¡°I have never fought one of your kind before Sir Grimalkin, it was an honor.¡± One of human the guards jumped up when Kusanagi referred to Grimalkin as ¡®Sir¡¯, taking offense at him referring to a beastman in such a way. ¡°SIR?! You just pummeled him into the ground?! He¡¯s tra¡­¡± Napoleon did not take too kindly to this, raising his hand and merely pointing at the man, every other guard in the room pointed their weapon at him until he sat back down. Satisfied; Napoleon lowered his hand, and they too, lowered their weapons. While not exceedingly liberal, the military had a much different view on the non-human races. Adopting an opinion along the lines of, ¡°If they¡¯re good enough, we don¡¯t care about race.¡± The Merchants vehemently disagreed with every coin in their pocket. The church, meanwhile, until recently had adopted the same stance. However, the Speaker before Vansen had reinstated the Kobolds as official scribes of scripture. Any non-scribes however, were left to their own devices, getting no favor from the church. As a result of these interests, only Humans and Kobolds were allowed to learn how to read and write the official language. The other races, when making signs or writing names, used a system not unlike hieroglyphs that many humans did not know how to read. It took a Kobold scribe that Napoleon recommended for me to make the fliers getting everyone here after all. After the situation calmed down, the small sumo with curly hair, whose body was covered in scars bowed, and refused our silver, ¡°Save your money, I only wish the honor of being of use to the Paladin. I have grown up living under the teaching of Paladin Jariya. Merely being part of that history will be gift enough.¡± Again I am moved to tears of the powerful manliness on display, Grimalkin waving a towel over my face comedically. Grimalkin then could only shrug in disbelief as I looked over and see Napoleon, open-mouthed, bawling like a baby, clapping as grandly as he can. Kusanagi went to the mess with the rest of the contenders. After that there was a large number of poor coming in, all trying to impress me for the silver prize; a determination in their eyes I had to respect. I sent them off each with a silver, well enough to feed a whole family for a week, ordering the guards who stood against the outlier to protect them on their way home as honestly, none of them had been all that impressive. The honor of the Paladin was at stake, if anyone got hurt from my event I would be to blame would I not? It¡¯s all about how you phrase things with the upper class, make it a matter of your name and you could get away with anything. Even agreeing to let me do these auditions in the first place, which were just an excuse to hand out this silver to the poor souls who showed up with only their hope and an empty belly. Truthfully, I think emptying the mess out five times over on the Lord-Governors tab was a good use of my mid-week. Just as we were about to close the doors for the day and pick from our four finalists, one more beastman walked through the door. She¡¯s 5¡¯10 with a short, near rodent-like muzzle, the hair on the top of her head down the back of her shirt was white while the rest of her body was thick black fur, save a moon-shaped strip of white along her collarbone. Long whiskers on her face and a long, prehensile tail where the white from the back of her head shot back down its back. Her eyes were jet black and beady, yet there was nothing but curiosity in her movements. She bowed, this time first telling us her name. ¡°I am Themis, a xeshieen beastman.¡± Quickly, I whispered, covering my mouth so she wouldn¡¯t here. ¡°Manual, what¡¯s a xeshieen?¡± Game type species: Xeshieen. Drawing parallels: Processing¡­ Processing¡­ Processing¡­ Completed. Behavior and Abilities: Xeshieen is the largest marsupial on the continent. When young in life, they are stout and pudgy. As they age, their muscles harden and grow stronger. They are denoted by the large white spot stretching from between their eyes going down to the tip of their tail. They have the strongest bite strength of all non-magical animals. Their skin is thick enough that arrows bounce off of them more often than not. They are resilient and even one of them, when threatened, has been enough to cause an entire village to evacuate. Do not approach. While Xeshieen are only three feet long, they are not to be underestimated. Possible comparison animals: Tasmanian Devil, Honey Badger, Opossum, American Badger This is trouble, I¡¯ve heard tale of a badger being able to take down a bear, a NORMAL one, what could a bear sized badger do? As she had been waiting only a couple seconds I raised my hand, signaling for her to begin. She asked for two large trees with bark be brought in. Inch long claws became visible from under her long sleeves. The claws must have been as tough as iron as they easily clawed through the wood. Turning one into a makeshift Roman-style column and merely burrowing through the other. She laughed pridefully at the three of us all staring in amazement. ¡°Please, order your strongest guard in this room to strike me with the heaviest, sharpest blade you have.¡± I looked at her doubtfully, but the snarl she gave when I hesitated made me give the order, clearly she knew what she was doing. A pachyderm-type beastman stood up, woolly like a mammoth but the fur was snow white. Taking the heavy blade off of the wall he stood, towering over Themis, ¡°You know what you¡¯re asking young lady?¡± She smirked up, fangs showing, ¡°Bring it!¡± The Army-man brought down the blade with a mighty swing; I was more than sure it would have been able to cut through one of the stone walls. Yet, Themis barely moved. Quickly raising her left arm she blocked the blade with the back of her hand. The greatsword just wasn¡¯t cutting in and she showed no sign of strain. With the strength to block this attack one-armed¡­ she¡¯s so intriguing! I stood, clapping as loudly as I could. ¡°You get the job!¡± If she could, I would have said the strong confident warrior would have blushed and smiled, still, she just turned away. Soon after, everyone else who was impressed by her began clapping as well. Being most of the room; save the corner where the army-man had come from, clearly disheartened having such a powerful blow just batted away. ¡°A round of applause for all of the guards we had here for the trials, being the sparring partners all day was rough; drinks are on the Lord-Governor tonight!¡± Another roar of applause and tears in the room and my hand was shaken by every service-member there. I pull Themis over, handing her the hundred silver prize. ¡°You¡¯ve earned it, training starts tomorrow if you want to stay the night in the barracks go ahead. We¡¯ll make you right at home, your family shall be taken care of while we are gone, you have my word as the Paladin.¡± I tried to show an air of confidence and power, but in comparison to the walking tank level things she had just shown, I doubt I could ever match up to her even if I am some legend. She grabbed my hand as I gave her the pouch of money. ¡°It seems the stories are true, I¡¯ve talked to many who were asked to leave yet you still gave them money¡­ You¡¯re a weird one.¡± Chapter 8: Of curses and Crucibles Of Curses and Crucibles With the festivities calming down; I decided to go to Dekker Street and check up on Charlemagne. I had tried to send a message for him to meet me here using a spell from Napoleon¡¯s book, however, I had no idea if it had worked or how. Grimalkin came with me to keep an eye on myself and Charlemagne but would stay in the shadows unless I say otherwise. While we had our fourth member and thus didn¡¯t need to hold any more tryouts, the suits didn¡¯t need to know that. If Charlemagne disappointed and failed his task, I would need to add another member to our group, so all was good. Upon arrival at the street from my dream I saw nothing; disappointed, I sluggishly pulled myself back to the barracks. Grimalkin had looked concerned when he realized where we were going earlier, getting even jumpier after we started to leave Dekker street. He couldn¡¯t know it at the time, but this was my way of telling him that I knew, and I understood, at least partly. The day was ending and the sun hung half sunk, cradled by the two large rocky hills on either side of the harbor in the distance. I saw a little green speck coming toward me as I neared the barracks door. I had completely forgotten I¡¯d not told him to meet me there already. Still, best not get my hopes up, people like him are hard to read. Those with the will of others instilled in them don¡¯t always make their own choices. After running up to him waving I could see the wagon, one of the official ones you¡¯d see on the street used by the army or the guards. Charlemagne walked up to me with his donkey-pulled wagon, smiling large and wide, handing me back a coin-purse¡­ I had intended for him to use all of the money that day, what was he doing with what looked to be a full coin purse? Knitting my brow I looked down sternly speaking, ¡°I sent you with the full plan on you having an empty purse by the time you return, yet it is mostly full. What do you have to say for yourself?¡± He quickly ducked behind the wagon, my loud tone frightening the waifish boy. ¡°I-I-I spent everything I could Sir Paladin, the wagon had gotten full and there was no more citrus fruit to be found in the market!¡± A look crossed my face, one that I could not hide. I understood now that even a single silver was a large amount of money¡­ but had not known exactly how much. Blankly staring at the wagon, the question that had been in the back of my mind comes to the forefront, but first I need to know. ¡°Charles, if this is all of the money you still have, how much did it take to fill your wagon till it¡¯s bursting at the seams?¡± Charlemagne, in an effort to console me most likely, smiles as wide and as happily as he could, ¡°I got all this for only thirty silver!¡± Beaming with pride. I look away, staring up at one of the roofs as the sun goes down. Grimalkin looks back at me, with the same look in his eyes, he gives me a gentle nod as if letting me know the priest is indeed right. Choking back tears as I look up at Grimalkin, the setting sun behind him, coated in rays of light and majesty. He¡­ had known all of this, and not informed me¡­ This was the reason he had taken me to Dekker Street, why he was ready to kill me. I thought I had understood after seeing all of those hungry faces in my dreams and at the trials, but it truly had not hit me until now. Biting my lip and forcing the tears to stop for a second I dare not let the priest see his hero like this, ¡°If thirty silver can fill a wagon so large to bursting, then how little does it take to starve?¡± While I was off in my own little world, my tears had begun to dry, a conviction found under the surface of their salty pool. ¡°Alright Charles, as you most likely guessed, this food is not all for me.¡± To make sure that he gets the picture I grab what I assumed to be an orange or tangerine, cracking it open I soon learned it was a grapefruit. Taking a wedge for myself and handing one to Charlemagne I made good on my promise that the food was for the Paladin as we walked into the darkening clay city. The last rays of light are bouncing off the green jade walls, colors combining on the clay road to make a cruelly beautiful scene on the blood-stained roads. In under half an hour, Charlemagne and I, with Grimalkin in tow in the shadows, had made it back to Dekker Street. As we neared the intersection I saw in my dreams, I looked away from my companion on the roof. Making peace with not knowing his reaction to what I was getting ready to do and not fully caring to be honest, I cupped my hands around my mouth. ¡°Come out everyone, please come out, we mean none of you harm, we are not merchants.¡± Doubting me; only a few adults would peek their heads around the door, and a few disobedient children I have no doubt; sneaked a peek from the shadows. A beastman family emerged first, a large pig-like beastman and a sleeker wolf-like beastman woman came out. The woman spoke ¡°I am Virani; many around here seek me for judging important matters. Lord-Paladin, why have you come to Dekker St.?¡± I say nothing and look at her. I was her not too long ago. In my dreams I hunted as she did, feeling the taste of rat blood on my tongue. I smile lightly, a smile that I do my best to reassure her with, ¡°I come from a land where, as one of the common folk, I was under a curse.¡± The memories from my physical exam flood my mind, having cried earlier a single pair of tears drip from my face as I continue speaking. Never in my own world would I have stood up and told anyone about what I faced. ¡°The curse I was placed under was one of pain and immobility; one of feebleness and an age far exceeding my own. You, who have also suffered, cursed by means outside of your wildest hopes of defense, it is time someone paid attention to you. I cannot stand idly by as curses roam the streets of the home city I was summoned to. ¡°I tell you not this for you to pity me, for pity is a weak and useless emotion. Conviction is strength. Conviction to protect those closest to you and to see no harm comes to your neighbors. You are all worthy of my love and protection, more-so than anyone I have met inside of the walls. And now I, as someone whose curse tortured them for a decade straight...¡± I could not finish my speech, having thought it up on the way over here, I was actually quite proud of it. But it cut too deep; I didn¡¯t talk about this often for a good reason. The words having caught in my throat; I reach into the wagon, looking at the mother wolf beastman again, ¡°This is for your child.¡± After sniffing it and opening it up, she found that it was a grapefruit nearly identical to the one Charlemagne and I had eaten on the way over here. Still not trusting it, she took a segment of it for herself and one for me, handing it back. ¡°Merchants have come by here before, wanting to test out their poisonous wares, if I take the risk, so shall you.¡± It was hard to argue with the growling woman as I reached my hand out and she placed the segment in my gauntlet. Without hesitation, I showed it to everyone in the dirty alleyways and roads, and then, holding it by its tip, dropped it into my mouth for everyone to see. ¡°I ask not that you trust me on my word. This is a bounty for your hard work surviving until now.¡± After I ate my piece she did the same, checking it for poison to protect her child no doubt. A magic warrior of legend bringing a wagon to cure your son is a lot to expect someone of such little standing to even imagine. Puckering her lips it was clear she did not like the tartness of grapefruit. Also, I didn¡¯t know that wolves could pucker; still, she swallowed the fruit down. Without a word she took the splayed fruit inside of her home and it felt like relief washed over me. I let out a breath I did not know I was holding as I heard rustling inside and the telltale sign of a sick child asking, ¡°Mommy, what is that?¡± Turning to Charlemagne and the wagon the little fellow was crying his eyes out. For someone who didn¡¯t think these people had souls, he was surprisingly quick to empathize with them. Soon my mind drifted as we began to hand the fruit out to any person willing to come and ask for it. What had caused his reaction? And the others? Was the segregation in this society so great that Charlemagne had never needed to interact with other species before I came along? All of these questions and more flooded my mind as it worked away, trying to come up with the answer for a question that the more I pondered it, the more devious it truly sounded. Still, this was a punishment; Grimalkin was my friend and my only real companion since I came to this world. Even if he did have plans to kill me I will defend his honor as the Paladin, ¡°As long as we remain in this city, you shall use the money I have given you to care after the people on this block. I¡¯ve chosen to keep you in the party purely from Grimalkin¡¯s own request.¡± A large smile rushed over the small scribe¡¯s pudgy round face. If I hadn¡¯t seen his file saying he was actually two years my senior I would think he was fourteen or sixteen. I slipped the extra ten coins into the pouch that Franz had asked of me, putting another twenty in for myself to reset the purse to a full hundred. Still, Charlemagne knew he wasn¡¯t getting off easy and he saw me put in another thirty coins and said nothing.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°This is your punishment¡± I said as I looked over how much fruit was in the wagon. Surely this wagon had to be at least six feet wide by eleven feet long and the pile of fruit was so high that many were falling off. ¡°You are to feed these people, care for these people, the ones you refer to as soulless.¡± With a nod and a reserved smile, he looked up at me like a child looking at their favorite teacher. He¡¯s getting way too much out of this, it needs to be more of a punishment, and I can¡¯t allow someone I associate with to act like some politician. ¡°¡®If I am not satisfied by the time we leave, then I will go without you. Napoleon has plenty of books on healing magic, I¡¯m sure I can learn the basics on the road.¡± The smile vanishing from his face, as a look of determination forms in its place. In comparison to a similar look from Grimalkin, it was hard not to pat his head and ruffle his long red curly hair. I step away, many of the denizens of this block coming close, no doubt many children have the ¡°curse of blood¡± or ¡®Scurvy¡¯ as it¡¯s known in my world. My mind wanders to those thirty silver again. If thirty silver is enough to feed one of only fourteen blocks outside of the city, and most likely be able to give many of them seconds¡­ then where was the money going that should be here? As I go to leave and let Charlemagne alone with his ¡®punishment¡¯ I decide to give the now radiant priest a piece of advice my old man once gave me growing up. ¡°In a world as confusing as a kaleidoscope, it is dangerous to only have one point of view. If you don¡¯t see the color in the world, you might just be looking in the wrong direction.¡± *************************************************************************************************** Log of the Honorable Themis Month 07 Day 12 Colonial Calendar Year 427 Addendum to my previous message concerning the twelfth. After further study of the Paladin, I have found him to harbor doubts about how the walled city treats those outside. In light of this new information I have decided to take him up on his offer to protect my family. While I am in hiding, growing my name, I will need to make arrangements for them to be safe no matter what. The Paladin has kindly offered to give my family free room and board. Enclosed you will find fifty silver, half of the reward for becoming ¡®The Chosen One.¡¯ With that corny title, I will make my way through the jade walls and grasp Leere¡¯s neck myself. However, with the money, it is my wish that my inner circle pay off the needed clerks so that those sympathetic to our cause who have not seen my father before will be the ones in charge of this ¡®Witness Protection¡¯ program outlined in the paperwork. While these service-members were hand-picked by the Paladin, they were picked for their acceptance of others different from them, not their martial prowess. As such, I ask that member of my private council, Vadyana, pose as my mother so she may protect my father and brother if she deems necessary. It is far too early to say if the Paladin is merely handing food out to gain the people¡¯s trust, or to further his own goals. However, with the proof mounting that many of his plans will benefit hundreds of people, I have made the decision that selfish or not, for his own benefit or not, I will support his actions as long as they lead to the most good. I reserve my judgment of his character for a later date. As such he is deemed untouchable to our allies. I will be in contact soon. End Report. *************************************************************************************************** I¡¯m gelatin, or at least, I think I am. The room around me is filled with dust; the roof is caving in as I wrap my whole body around my ward. How could any race just leave a youth alone to suffer in this world? Well, I will not be like them, I will be better! This child has shown me in the short time since her arrival that humans have the capacity to be kind. As I use my body as a blanket for my child, I think about the others near us. Unable to spread myself so thin; I cannot warm them all like I can this young one. I still hear the cries of the beastmen family two houses down, one of their children has been afflicted by the blood curse¡­ For his suffering, I hope it is short, but for survival, I hope I hear those screams for many a night until his mother can get him the cure. The child of a general sits between me and my lover, cradling her as she relaxes enough to sleep in this scary home. I was so lucky to meet Sam, his powder blue scales contrasting against my bright red form. When Tanisha had first met Sam she¡¯d told us he reminded her of the sky and asked if he flew. It took some explaining to tell her that kobolds can only fly if they know wind magic. She¡¯s still quite young but she¡¯s so clever. She thinks she is sneaking up on me if I¡¯m doing anything that would result in me having a front, no matter how many times I tell her I can see from my whole body. Sam and I just wish we could provide more for her, give her something to remember her father for. But for now, a blanket is all I can be. *************************************************************************************************** The next day, I awoke, rested and relaxed. The dream this time had not been as horrible, honestly, kinda heartwarming actually. I mean, if you didn¡¯t consider that these poor homeless people were the only ones willing to take care of some great general¡¯s kid after he died. My room was empty, except for the orange morning light streaming in the windows. Leaving my room, I asked the guard stationed at the front when Charles had gotten in. ¡°He came in past when the moon was highest in the sky, Sir Paladin,¡± the guard said, saluting me. ¡°I will be returning to work, please, take the day off and be with your family¡±. I hand the woman a brownie, one from the best bakery in the lower city the ¡®Smiling Leaf¡¯ and relieve her of her duties. Napoleon and Grimalkin both insisted that my room stay under guard while I slept. The Demon Lord hadn¡¯t been heard of since the events that removed Vansen¡¯s right arm and the multiple days in a row of silence on that front had some people on edge. I was summoned due to the threat of a breakout, however Lord-Governor Leere had strongly opposed from what I was told. Stating that Paladins are too unreliable and that it¡¯s better left to the higher-ups at the army, he had refused his vote. However, only two of the three branches were needed to finalize the summon. And so, that is how I met General Oberon and Vansen in the chamber, all of this I had pieced together from various things the maids said in passing the last few days, Napoleon had backed it up. Earlier, in the Vem restaurant¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t trust Leere, he¡¯s a lying little snake in the grass. That¡¯s not an insult either, it¡¯s true. The man is known even among his own people for lying so much that no one can tell what his plans are.¡± Napoleon was downing a Vem arrangement on a stale flatbread served similarly to a hard-shelled taco from our old world. ¡°If you get him to put it in writing you¡¯re as good as gold, a Merchant''s worth isn¡¯t just calculated by their positions. A Merchant¡¯s worth is also judged by if they have ever gone back on a written contract. Leere has very proudly completed every contract he has ever signed. Also, while not fully or solely responsible, he has funded the laws and interests that have kept the wall in the middle of the town, dividing the residents.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve still not tracked down how, even with my own contacts high in the military of this world you now call home, where the money is even going if it¡¯s not just his pocketbook. There¡¯s still many there who support him as well. Only up until the rank of commander is a non-human allowed to work on their military career. So while the soldiers themselves are open-minded, the bosses are a mixed bag.¡± ¡°That said, eventually you will have the right to a fellowship, a group of people to go around adventuring with. As Paladin you are automatically made a silver plate adventurer in the free-guild. However, I was thinking of another idea¡­¡± Present Day. Soon after that, we worked out the specifics for week-long trials we had planned. After Leere threw a Mountain-Crasher sized curveball at us with Darrell we decided to extend the tryouts, and to get bolder. Napoleon and Grimalkin both have their doubts about the authenticity of a Mountain-Crasher so close to the Green City without their knowledge. So when I ran into Napoleon I just gave him a quick nod, confirming the meeting for the training room as I went to meet Charlemagne in the trial room. The small priest in his signature green robe smiled softly, looking up at me and I gave him back the satchel of silvers he had handed the night shift. ¡°You know what to do, vary the foods a bit more as well, really try to stretch this money out while not compromising too much on quality.¡± ¡°It would be cheaper if we just gave them pet food,¡± Of course the little jerk thought of that, egh. ¡°Yeah, but you wouldn¡¯t say that if I said get food for a human, which means these lessons are even more needed, continue your work as ordered.¡± He went out slowly, disheartened by my admonishment of his horrid idea. Truthfully, I also just wanted him gone; firstly, he had to be the worst pick for a secret agent I have ever seen. I mean it was clear he was easily swayed, and number two is he¡¯s more obvious than that time I asked what a ¡°Turbo Rhino¡± is¡­ Meeting up with Themis, Grimalkin, and Napoleon in the underground training arena filled with magically powered spotlights, I sighed. ¡°Okay, what fresh hell do you have cooked up for us this morning?¡± Napoleon just grinned, tapping a cane on the ground twice as the guards brought it in. A large, metal golem, unmoving, one would need to crane their head up at a painful angle to see the tip. The Golem¡¯s head was pointed near the top, with it spreading out at the bottom, looking like a stylized stretched garlic bulb. Napoleon smiles wide, an orange aura expanding from his body, wrapping around the three of us, we just wait. ¡°Okay, now that everyone has all the buffs going on, let me introduce you, this, an ancient war golem used by the Demon Race in the war over four hundred years ago.¡± He started off, stretching his arms wide as service members behind him started checking over the hulking brute. ¡°This is defeatable, and has been modified to go down once you have packed hard enough a wallop.¡± Without even a word he jumped out of the way, behind us where he prefers to stay, his ability ¡®Battlefield Promotion¡¯ boosting the three of us. Themis, not having trained with us before, after being affected, chose to test her strength. ¡°Hey old man, what even was that orange stuff that came out of you?¡±, as if she already knew the answer she reared her fist back, putting not even a quarter of her strength; she punched on of the many pillars dotting the outer part of the arena, shattering it into a fine powder. ¡°...Woah!¡± ¡°Yes Newbie, and while I may be an old man, I¡¯m also the one letting you all run at one hundred and fifty percent.¡± Napoleon smiled at her, warm like a proud grandfather, like he¡¯s known her all her life, yet has just met her. Chapter 9: Making War and Peace Making War and Peace. Record of the training hall. Official Scribe: Thomas I Month: 7 Day 13 Year 427 Attackers: Fellowship of the Paladin Defender: Dread-War Golem. Grimalkin lept back, dodging the golem¡¯s opening barrage of punches. For its size it was quite fast, forcing him back behind Themis. Themis, however, was ready; bracing both arms in front of them, she weathered the blows from the Golem as it automatically focused on her after landing the first hit. Pummeling her arms, the Golem; lacking any form of stamina limit and kept at it. ¡°I could use some help here guys! My arms can take it but it¡¯s taking all my strength not to fall to my knees!¡± she screamed at her allies, gritting her teeth as she steeled herself against the onslaught. The Paladin ran up behind Themis as Grimalkin ran around the side of him. Still distracted by hammering down on the xeshieen, the Paladin is of no consequence to it when he touches the back of the beastman. ¡°MOTHER BIRD!¡± He cried out, activating his skill. There was a small pinkish aura around Themis as she appeared to regain strength, pushing back against the punches. Eventually, after a particularly heavy barrage when the golem slowed to reset, she caught the first punch, gripping one of the heavy metal Golem¡¯s fingers and tugging it forward, causing the Golem to tumble. Grimalkin finds himself in the perfect position, leaping from a pillar behind the Golem. However, landing on its purple and black metallic body he can¡¯t find any easy grip. Sliding down the side, he finds one of the rivets on the back, pushing himself back up. He starts climbing after the head, dagger in mouth, ready to free the control crystal from its socket. Napoleon sits in the corner on a pillow, cross-legged with a drink in hand. ¡°HAHA! Rodeo that steer boyo! You can do it!¡± The old balding man was about falling backward with laughter, an orange aura still around him so his ¡®Battlefield Promotion¡¯ was still active. Wrapping his arms around the pointed head of the Golem, Grimalkin started searching for the control on the bottom of its floating head. After stripping many of the control chords allowing the golem to move, Grimalkin was bucked off. The Paladin threw his three-part practice pole, the feline catches it midair, tugging forward and falling into his Paladin¡¯s arms. Upon seeing his rescue Themis bounds inward, jumping and running up the Golem¡¯s arm. Climbing up ten feet off the ground she began pulling and tugging with all of her might. After a loud birdlike screech emitted from the Golem¡¯s core it collapsed on the spot, animate no longer. *************************************************************************************************** Themis¡¯ Undercover Log. Entry #2 The two boys performed magnificently together. I had worried that the Paladin would charge off, allowing his flanker to be targeted but he prioritized his targets quite well. Filling the role of battlefield motivator and support, I would value him higher than a medic; his ability to restore the strength of others is outstanding. During the barrage from the dark machine, blows hit my body with enough force it felt like I was out of breath, unable to catch a moment to breathe until the Paladin¡¯s touch felt like it took breath for me. ¡®Mother Bird¡¯ is a strange name for a warrior¡¯s ability. Grimalkin¡¯s guess may be proven true; there is no way that was not a healer ability. I am glad I found him before taking any action; I plan to confront the Paladin and possibly the whole party, save for the obvious plant of a priest. *************************************************************************************************** Record of the training hall. Official Scribe: Thomas I Month: 7 Day 14 Year 427 Attacker: Viscera Marionettes Defender: Fellowship of the Paladin Target: Paladin Napoleon. Twelve animated puppets, dripping blood from between their cracks advanced slowly, hovering off of the ground with their legs unmoving. The scene was not unlike looking at a puppet show where the strings held the puppets just slightly off the ground, where the legs just dangle. With a loud crackling noise, they surge toward the party. Napoleon had a red aura around his body, lightly pulsating when it first appeared it had flashed around the three party members as well. This is the ability ¡®Battlefield General¡¯, which allows those affected to communicate telepathically and receive information from each other¡¯s senses. All of this was at the cost of a percentage of adrenaline from those affected, helping to keep a cool head under pressure as well. The xeshieen looked uncomfortable under the effect, the game animal relying heavily on its adrenaline. Still, she leaped forward, Grimalkin flanking her left as Paladin flanked her right. The first to connect was Themis, her claws extended; with one swing her strength devastated two of the puppets before they could react. The paladin pressed the three segments of his staff together, turning them to lock them in place he began spinning it. A black and red aura bubbling around him spread around his pole as he slammed it into the head of one of the marionettes. The Paladin grunted in pain as the bleeding doll fell. He then jabbed it back without looking, slamming his pole into the back of a doll rushing at Grimalkin as he readied his bow. With a mighty shout, the Paladin announced ¡°PAIN VAMPIRE!¡± The almost friendly poke against the fourth marionette caused it to fall over unconscious. The Paladin proudly displaying his own tenacity by taking on the pain of his own attack and giving it to another opponent. Without harming the second foe''s body in the least, they pass out from shock. Grimalkin knocks three arrows in his short bow, aiming horizontally and jumping back, he fires at three of the oncoming nightmare creatures. Releasing a feather from his grip it disintegrates on the ground ¡°Piercing WIND!¡± three of the marionettes fall, their heads shattered by the heavy stone arrowheads and wind magic used to dispatch them. Just then, the tone of the remaining Viscera Marionettes changed. They started laughing, their voices little children, all calling for their mothers, fathers, sisters¡­ it went on, all of them begging to be saved. More marionettes showed behind them, the seven that had been destroyed were now resurrected, ready to strike again with all of their kin. The Paladin jumped back, far back, Grimalkin and Themis doing the same, forming a close circle around Napoleon as he then slammed his sheathed sword on the ground, declaring. ¡°Battlefield Promotion!¡± The Orange aura swelled around the four of them, the two abilities of Napoleon the Swift merging. The long-range communication; changing to allow them thought to thought as well as image communication. Slowly, after Themis, the other two¡¯s eyes shot open, whatever thoughts they had shared with one another was enough to power through the waking horror of the nightmare monsters. With the marionettes still screaming to be saved in the voices of children, and now the elderly, and then voices from all walks, blades sprung out of their disjointed mouths. A large hooked pincer-like blade coming from each side. Undaunted, the three warriors stand around their master, Paladin putting a hand on both of his allies on the front line. Grimalkin pulling out a set of rings with thin, strong string attached to them. Flinging his hands forward ten daggers danced from his hands, four of them landing, two of them incapacitating the Marionettes hit. However, that was not the end of his attack. Yanking his hands backward, the knives came with them, attached to the rings by the thin string. Crashing the four injured marionettes into six of their compatriots and slamming them to the ground, the Paladin lifts his hand from his ally''s shoulder, separating his pole as Themis again slammed her hands into two marionettes. However, this time they did not disintegrate. The xeshieen was not using her full strength as she threw the two into the pile of their allies. The puppets rose that could still move, a creaking sound as more blood Leaked from their bodies. Chunks of meat falling, their fingers now opened, revealing blades between their digits. ¡°Mommy, no¡­ Daddy noo¡­¡± the voices changed, reflecting accusatory tones as if they were being struck. Grimalkin balked; his eyes growing wide as saucers, a silent scream emanating from his lips. Curling into the fetal position as the monsters laughed. Napoleon''s skills both jumped away from him as if touched by fire. The Paladin attached a cable to his separated pole, laying it around the monsters, imbuing it with his black and red aura. When a Marionette tried to escape it was rendered unconscious, falling back inside of the circle. The Paladin rushed to his friend, clutching him close he held his hands to Grimalkins head as the feline could not move, his voice gone. Soon the Paladin began screaming, holding on to his friend as long as he could. The screams got louder and more shrill as Themis used the time they were trapped to try and search for whatever puppet master must be controlling them. At nearly the same time my own eyes sadly unable to tell which was first. The Paladin fell over, their voice failing them as Grimalkin rose once-more. The Aura of Napoleon the swift wrapping itself around his body again. Themis had also found a single pair of hands dangling out of a shadow, controlling the puppets. It was only hands; when Themis tried to pull them out of the shadow they were in, they dissolved into blood and intestines in her hands. Three of the puppets go limp, never to rise again. The other nine still screaming as Grimalkin bounds around the sides of the arena, reinvigorated. Finding the other three sets of hands before the Marionettes can break free from whatever imprisonment spell the Paladin had used. When the final set of hands had been found and taken out, all twelve of the puppets turned to sawdust, slowly blowing away. *************************************************************************************************** Themis and Napoleon helped me to the med room; Charlemagne was still out with the food wagon and would not be back until dark. Grimalkin, however, needed some time alone. I had been in his head¡­ or not? It was hard to describe. Ten minutes ago: I¡¯m not ashamed to say I was crying, worried about my friend. He¡¯d impressively shattered the wood with his arrows, all three finding their mark, he was amazing! ¡°Please, let me be strong for you¡­ let me be strong with you.¡± was all I could whisper over my crumpled ally, a quote from my mother. As she would sit with patients in the ER, waiting for whatever needed waiting for, cradling her fragile patient in her arms if she had to while they had a single moment in their lives to let out the pain. It took a while for my words to reach him ¡­. Minutes? Seconds? Who knows, adrenaline was filling my brain as creatures that made thriller movies look like the bubbletellies children''s show were in the middle of the room held by an ability I was not too sure how I had made. ¡°Please¡­ help,¡± was all he could mutter, and I activated my pain vampire. My mind flooded with indiscriminate screeching, pain, fear, hatred, love, none of it made sense. The tears flowed as waves of emotions with no name flooded over me. No memories, just raw emotion. It was there, with my hand on my friends back and no words between us we shared a moment, he was at his strongest, yet he felt at his weakest. Emotional turmoil I had no frame of reference to even conceive how it was made flooded us both. Soon, not even before I was halfway through sharing the pain, Grimalkin stood. ¡°That¡¯s enough; you¡¯re not the only resilient one around here.¡± I didn¡¯t need to guess, I knew the hell going on in that man¡¯s skull, blame for actions that never happened, guilt for never acting on events they never saw. ¡°Thanks for the shoulder; the memories are heavy and hard to carry.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Give em hell,¡± was all I could muster as I ordered my skill ¡®Mother Bird¡¯ to strengthen his body once-more. If I had any strength left in me, I didn¡¯t feel it. After that I had blacked out, remembering the tail end but honestly, the rest of the battle required me reading the match notes from the scribe for me to place anything. My ability was still in full effect, it hadn¡¯t got any easier, but I¡¯ve gotten used to it¡­ ¡°Manual, when will this kind of, ehem ¡®pain¡¯ cease for me?¡± Answer: Emotional pain will be relieved from the caster or the cursed when the pain would cease naturally from the person it was taken from. Hunger and other such kinds of pain will abate and not return when the hunger ceases for the first time after activation. A good enough answer I supposed¡­ I didn¡¯t see Grimalkin until the next day. *************************************************************************************************** I wish I could do something, but with no magic even as a kobold, I¡¯m useless to my husband. Only three in ten kobolds are born without any innate magical power in their bones due to their connection with dragons¡­ Just how unlucky could I get? Then I meet this wonderful man. He stood in front of three guards, only wearing a worn-out shirt and pants with a broken wooden stick. That man got beat that day for what he did. I had stolen a tin of small fish, just something to get me through the week. It couldn¡¯t have cost more than two copper. Even still, I had stolen it from inside of the walls; it would be my horns on the wall if the guards had caught up to me that day. He delayed them long enough for me to escape well into the clay city. I came back later that day when I was sure the guards had left to check on him. He looked up at me with a goofy smile and a thumbs up¡­ I haven¡¯t been able to leave him since. He treats me so well, and he has children that I love with all of my being. I just wish I could help him. *************************************************************************************************** Themis met me outside of my room. ¡°Hey hero, it¡¯s been a pleasure training with ya, but do you care to fill me in on why we went through the hell of the last two days?¡± I suppose it¡¯s time to let her in, she¡¯d been training like crazy with the three of us lately under the assumption of ¡®group dynamics¡¯ but considering that we leave tonight. ¡°I wasn¡¯t allowed to say until today\. But, we have a quest from the city of Thebes to retake it from the mercenary band led by Mountain-Crasher Darrell.¡± She blinked, disappointed about something I didn¡¯t say. ¡°Huh, more normal than I was expecting, nothing crazy evil or anything considering its Leere sending you out to do it. Still, how did a Mountain-Crasher get so close with no one hearin bout it?¡± She laughed deep and hearty at her joke, one of those kinds. Uncaring if anyone else found their quip funny. Fortunately for the both of us, I did. ¡°Fair, I was half expecting him to ask me to go to war or to track down the Demon Lords head and put it in a bag or something.¡± She looked at me, head-on, not blinking, and it was kinda weirding me out. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m glad it¡¯s something like this, a flat out rescue mission. This world is just as many shades of gray as my old one and it¡¯s hard to tell who the good guys are exactly.¡± I let out a small chuckle, ¡°However, I¡¯m pretty sure Leere is not one the ones on my side, people like him who act too happy to see you when you¡¯ve never met¡­ Those people are just too suspicious for me to trust, plus, it¡¯s kinda hard to miss an eight-story centaur, and no one has backed the claim.¡± This time, she laughed at me, slapping my back harder than it¡¯s ever been whacked before and making me jump a good three feet forward, hitting my face into a wall. ¡°Yikes, sorry, I¡¯m normally with folks a bit heavier, that don¡¯t fly across the room like that¡±. She smiled, a laugh in her upbeat voice. ¡°Ha ha, just don¡¯t do that to anybody other than me and the old man, I don¡¯t want you breaking anyone that¡¯s breakable. Anyway, that¡¯s not the whole plan¡±. Leaning back against the wall I checked to make sure no one was in the hallway listening in. ¡°You know that the trials are still going even though we have you, right.¡± She nodded at me and I continued, ¡°We had Leere sign a Paladin¡¯s contract. He won¡¯t break it; you need to know that going in. If he breaks his word he would lose all backing from the moderates and would lose his Governorship over the city.¡± Instead of asking questions as I expected, she just nodded along, as if I was stating the obvious. ¡°Anyway, Napoleon came up with this plan for us to give out food during the auditions. And then I agreed so that was ratified, later, when dealing with just his bureaucrats I informed them it would be the smartest if this was an infiltration. This means we would need a distraction, and we already had one. The auditions would be proof that the Paladin was still in the Green city. Because it¡¯s holy law to never write down a description or draw an image of the Paladin I didn¡¯t have to worry about people knowing that the me in charge of judging was fake. It also came with the fun little benefit of being a legendary hero that no one would recognize even if I was right in front of them.¡± ¡°Okay, I think I get it, but why would you keep the food bank open this long? It¡¯s leaching money.¡± She said it plainly, without regard for other life¡­ it made me mad. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? These people are hungry and this city has abandoned them, using the largest feat of humanitarianism this country has likely EVER seen seemed like a no brainer.¡± A growl was in my voice this time. ¡°Woah there little predator, I didn¡¯t mean anything by it.¡± She held up both of her hands, thick leathery pawpads showing. ¡°Good, now before we do anything, know that we¡¯re leaving today and the first thing on my list is checking in on my friend,¡± I said. She did a faux military salute and walked with me, wearing a large red shirt she had gotten from the garrison closet, and a cream-colored pair of pants. It didn¡¯t have giant high boots but the legs were cut short, so the whole attire looked kind of like an old British military uniform from their days as an empire. We walked in silence to the second floor of the building where Grimalkin''s hospital room was. He had just been staying in Napoleon¡¯s house down in the garden, but after the events of yesterday coming from an army barracks, he was asked to stay overnight for observation in a private room. I opened the door, ¡°Knock Knock, comin in.¡± I was already walking in by the time I said it and Grimalkin looked up, a smile on his face when he saw me at the door. He was sitting on the bed, fully dressed in a stunning three-piece suit and ready to go, knowing full well what today was. ¡°I was waiting, you know? The damnable nurses won¡¯t let me leave without someone willing to watch over me or something.¡± He smirked, grabbing a bag and jumping off the bed, doing a full front-flip in the air just to show off. Themis gave a pitiable half-hearted cheer just to get under his skin a little. ¡°Trying to woo the girl with your acrobatics kitten?¡± Themis teased, turning around and closing the door with her tail as she left, leaving Grimalkin and me in the room alone for a moment. ¡°Hey, be careful what you say, my mom was a nurse,¡± I chided him, sitting back on the bed while he stood this time. ¡°Is that so? Mine was a rat-catcher, she made good change when she got a few extra, the shady vendors would pay her a copper for five¡­ not caring if it took two hours to find maybe three of them in the overhunted streets.¡± Clearly, some look on my face gave away that he¡¯d just said something wildly out of nowhere. Continuing, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve kind of been stuck in the past for a bit since I woke up, and it¡¯s a bit difficult making sure it doesn¡¯t slip out.¡± I pulled him into my arms, giving him the biggest bear hug I could without hurting him. ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry, I felt it, I¡¯ve had something similar before. For a few months, I was prone to them, anything could have brought on my memories and then it was impossible to stay in the present. Whatever caused it, you don¡¯t have to tell me until you¡¯re ready to, I just ask for the same.¡± I look past him, giving him the benefit of having no eyes on him. He is able to unleash the torrent of emotions, screaming, crying, or completely silent, I will not say, that is his business. I merely bring it up saying that any of the responses are understandable. Wiping his face from the runny nose with his sleeve he looks at me, a glass-half-full smile greeting me. ¡°From what my mom used to say, ¡®Only the ones worth their salt will have stories like that. Don¡¯t trust a soul with no battle-scars¡¯¡± ¡°About that, what¡¯s this deal with what Charlemagne calls you, what the hell is his problem?¡± I shout; after all, the room is soundproof, for the privacy of the army patients. He looked dejected, staring at his hands he closed them slowly as if cradling something I could never see. ¡°It started at the founding of the nation, far back in the scriptures¡­ After the last Holy Paladin had given up his role as leader of the Army of the Five People, the human delegation, the least oppressed by the demons and the most commonly educated chose to take the role of restorers. Or so they said. Once the three branches of government, Finances, Faith, and Force were restricted to those with an impressive education, there was no hope for fairness.¡± ¡°After the passing of Holy Paladin Cedric, the church declared that he was summoned by listening to the souls of the humans. The desperate souls of the weakest race calling out for a savior, soon, that became accepted fact, which would not have been too bad on its own¡­ However soon, as soon as the next Speaker, they were preaching that the Paladin had refused the cries of the nonhumans. Soon, rumor began to spread through the masses as this was recorded into history as fact. Eventually, the belief grew upon the peoples noble and common that non-humans did not have souls, and were unable to summon the paladin. Wherefore inferior to humans¡­¡± When his tale was over I was stunned, not because it was so out there, not because I didn¡¯t expect something along those lines. I was stunned because of how normal it was, how boring evil really is, it just took three generations to fully demonize an entire population. Anyone could be the next slaughterer of thousands; all it takes is no one stopping them. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t buy any of that, and I know there¡¯s no way you do.¡± I stand, offering him my hand up off of the bed, he takes it, tugging quickly he gives me a quick hug and a hard pat on the back. ¡°Thanks, bossman, but it¡¯s the big day and we have to get going.¡± He puts a second hand on my back and flips over me, darting out the door; heading to the Blacksmith¡¯s to meet up with Napoleon and Themis. *************************************************************************************************** ¡°Ya know what Old Man; I like the cut of your cloth. Darting out of here the day we¡¯re set to get these babies is the ballsiest move I could think up yet. You¡¯ve finally earned my respect Old Man.¡± Themis was as lively as ever, slapping Napoleons back with quite a bit of gusto, she looked happy; this may very well be the first person who¡¯s ever been able to survive her true rambunctious nature. ¡°If you respect me so much, at least just call me Napoleon, and not ¡®Old Man¡¯ it¡¯s demeaning.¡± He shot off, clearly annoyed at her response to whatever he had said before we came in. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re finally here, Charlemagne has been ordered to come as well, we will have a guard detail continue the handouts. Themis came up with the idea; act like absolutely nothing has changed, inside and out.¡± ¡°What do you mean not to call you Old Man? I¡¯ve already got Armor Polish, Prejudice the Plushie, and the Tricky Kitty.¡± She stood proud, hands on hips, basking in the glory of her clever nicknames while Napoleon, Grimalkin, and I could do nothing but hold our mouths agape. ¡°A-Armor Polish? What do you mean Armor Polish? It¡¯s not my fault it¡¯s this shiny. Should I like, rub dust on it or something? Is it too shiny? Will it blow our cover?¡± I ramble on as Themis put her large hand over my mouth to shut me up as the Blacksmith returned. ¡°Alright, you guys really gave me a rush order, and ta think you¡¯d hand me Dread Metal, that¡¯s somethin.¡± she held up a leather box, a large wooden case, a long thin wooden box, a small book-sized leather case, and a large suitcase also made out of leather as well. ¡°I¡¯ll tell ya, if we hadn¡¯t figured out a secret that was LOST TO FREAKIN TIME! I don¡¯t think we would have had these ready for you.¡± ¡°Thank you Ms. Hephy,¡± Napoleon bent down and kissed her paw-like hand, much to the dismay of everyone else in the room. ¡°I know it is a bother but, I have another job for you, you may use the rest of the Dread Metal as you see fit during it as well.¡± he gave her a large pouch of coins under the desk. ¡°What?! Even more work? Please say I have a reasonable timetable this time.¡± She looked incredulous as if someone had insulted her pride. ¡°Unfortunately no my dear, while it will be less strict, the four weapons I have drawn on the cloth on the inside of that bag of coins need to be done by the end of the week. We can count on the resources and patronage no further after that.¡± He looked at her sadly, ¡°Should we come back successful, however, I am sure whatever ill feelings the Lord-Governor has will have passed, and then, how about a look at the crown of the Dread Emperor himself?¡± She was sincerely drooling on her front table, ¡°You got a deal Geezer! Who should I give em too though if you¡¯re going to be out of town?¡± ¡°Oh, you see, that¡¯s the best joke I know. Ahem. So, a Slime, a Kobold, a Centaur guardsman, and a champion sumo wrestler walk into a blacksmith''s.¡± He smiled at her as he said it, and before she could ask what the punchline was, he had stood up, motioning for us all to the door. ¡°Wait, what do you mean, you old coot!? Get back ¡®ere!¡± She yelled after him as he left out the door in front of everyone, laughing as he did. ¡°Bye sis, See you when we¡¯re back in town.¡± Grimalkin waved goodbye as we left the building, him bringing up the rear. Outside, Charlemagne stood, waiting patiently. ¡°I was told my punishment was up Sir Paladin, does that mean I have earned your favor?¡± He looked up at me, doe-eyed and innocent, but I knew not to fall for it now. ¡°Sure, we¡¯re good for now, we even got you a present for the special occasion, now, to the class, I would like you to tell us what you have learned.¡± I opened my arms wide; making sure to give him one last good ole¡¯ dose of embarrassment to associate with his actions. ¡°I would uhm, prefer to tell you all at the barracks, in secret, what I say might get me in trouble.¡± He kicked a rock, looking to his left and right with a speed that would make meerkats jealous. ¡°I can fix that!¡± Napoleon activated his ability, red aura coursing from his form, Battlefield General encompassing the six of them... Think it, and we will hear. I think that the other races might have souls. He was still looking left or right, the mere thought in his head making him fear for his life from his own organization¡­ ¡°Well no shit; ya racist creampuff gettin¡¯ ate by a frog.¡± And just as the words left Themis¡¯ mouth, we all saw what she was talking about, and it could not be truer. Chapter 10: Soot Covered Alley Cat. Soot Covered Alley Cat. Provisional log of Blacksmith Hephy in the service of the Paladin. Day 1 Entry 1 Well this is new. After being contracted by the Paladin ta better service the whole of the kingdom i was deemed¡­ ¡°Worthy¡± Or whatever for me ta learn how ta write like those civilized folk. Gee, aint that just nice of them letting the poor lil ¡®Soulless¡± learn how ta read? Now, I aint complainin¡¯ too much, them pictures we use aren¡¯t the greatest for numbers, so this¡¯ll help me out plenty enough. Anyway, the same upitty lil priests that brought me the ¡°Holy Magic Orb of Learning¡± or whatever brought my materials for this commission. And BOY, did I jump in the deep end, this is Dread Metal, the stuff from the old war. I know the old coot Paladin Napoleon said he¡¯d get me the element-resistant material I would need for that crazy handle idea, but I didn¡¯t expect the armor forged from the infamous ¡°Blood Ore.¡± Legend has it that this stuff was made by the Dread Emperor himself. Combining his own blood with one hundred members of each of the other five races. And then casting an aging spell on it so that it would age ten thousand years in four nights. The resulting fossil had all of the metals in its blood coalesce in the center, surrounded by another magical material, ¡°The Amber of Tears.¡± Out of that block of murder, metal, and magic was forged the armor of the Dread Emperor, twenty five feet tall. Out of the Amber of Tears his helmet and armor were adorned, melted down by some unknown spell ta fill the places gemstones had originally been intended. That was the legend of the Blood Ore. In a manner of speaking, the three metal plates in front of me was the single biggest monument ta the genocide of all groups don¡¯t seem ¡°Normal¡±. Truthfully, it had been my little brothers idea, something along the lines of ¡°and from that oppression they will make us stronger than we ever were before.¡± A fine sentiment all right. Seeing the guards in charge of beating the whole neighborhood forced inta handing them food with a smile, poetic irony feels pretty great. Giving two Paladins weapons made outa the hide of their old nemesis seemed just right. Plus, from what the guards told me through some tears of laughter, the Lord-Governor was none too happy it was lil ole me doing the work. Now, the first problem. The armor plates aint melting, my forge is magically insulated by the two kobold brothers from down the road, the temperatures reach 5000 degrees fahrenheit. Yet, the metal remands cold ta the touch, I have some friends ta call in, plus now that I can read I can go in the churches library with these guards peekin¡¯ over my shoulder. Entry 1 and a half This Vem stuff Napoleon told me to eat inside the walls is just great. The thing I got had the meat cooked with peppers and onions and then this massive amount of cheese in some sort of flatbread. Apparently the new Paladin had asked for this when he was in here too, gotta say, kid has good tastes. I think me an him can get along. Entry 2. It¡¯ been like two hours, accordin'' ta the last book I read, the metal only moves ¡°when the suffering of all wills it¡± or whatever. That¡¯s the most detail the dang thing would give me. Entry 3 Three more hours since the last entry, I called in Brenda, a friend of Napoleon¡¯s, shes¡¯s pretty high up in the church. She¡¯s been callin¡¯ in some engravers and stuff with experience in legendary stuff like this. Entry 4. I really need ta get in on this teleportation magic stuff¡­ Work is going good, I will write it in the morning. My home is a little more full than I had planned. Day 2. Entry 5. 1. No 5. The next one. Seven different masters of different trades are all in my home right now. We¡¯re going over the designs and we all agree we could touch them up. Napoleon is a lot of great things, but a master designer¡­ well I¡¯ll just say fisherman don¡¯t make the best boats. Right before midnight we cracked it. Myself and six of the others had tried bending the metal using my vice and accidentally injured ourselves doing it. It is for the Paladin after all, so we didn¡¯t think the smallish injuries caused would be any trouble. And if it got too bad we could always call in a priest. A pool of blood we¡¯d honestly not bothered to mess with was in the floor as we moved one of the massive six foot armor plates. When it touched the puddle, the part that did turned soft, like it was heated in the forge. I think we found the way they made this armor. When we all had the same thought dawn of us we all got sick to our stomachs, two of the pros puked. Still, we all volunteered our arms to get the job done. Entery 2.2 If we soak the metal long enough it starts ta spread out inta thin strings, they¡¯re just as strong as the whole plate though. None of our cutting methods have worked without the blood mixture. Entry 2.3 I¡¯m currently slicing a small nick in a kobold¡¯s arm. I feel bad taking their blood, but we all agreed. We needed to get more blood, and we could give those in the blood drive some well needed chow. If we¡¯re gonna take their blood, then we sure as hell won¡¯t give em nothin¡¯ for it! Entry 2.4 Whew, that¡¯s it for the day, alright, ta fill you in, peoples of the future. We got a total of fifty folx willin ta let the priests jab their arms with collectin needles. Not takin too much, but, we still wound up with a total of five buckets of the blood mixture, all five buckets work. If you leave the metal in the blood long enough it turns kinda like clay, it¡¯s moldable by the hand yet when the blood dries I have not found a way ta make the same metal budge. This is truly a cursed piece of history. Master Erickson and I finished Napoleon¡¯s special order mask, seriously, all the little switches and doo-dads? And the enchantments as well, if the armor plate wasn¡¯t this moldable we wouldn¡¯t have been able ta complete it. After the mask was complete, the flyin¡¯ daggers seemed a bit overkill. Master Vulcan took the idea and ran, modifyin¡¯ multiple small slivers of metal from the Dread plate, six small puppets could be used with the thirty strings that Grimalkin had intended ta use daggers for. I know my little bro and puppets don¡¯t get along anymore but he used ta be the best street performer in town when we were little. Myself, I worked on the three-part polearm, or sectional staff, in secret. Usin¡¯ instant spell scrolls made by the enchantment master Brenda had given me, I enchanted it as I forged. The elemental lightning metal gettin¡¯ a fluidity spell placed upon it, allowin¡¯ two other objects ta move about the weapon freely while appearin¡¯ solid ta all other entities. A psychic lockin mechanism ta change it between staff, spear, and three-part pole. And a few other secrets of my own that I have no doubt other legends will describe in great detail. Day 3 Entry 3.1 Lil bro came over today, curious how work was goin¡¯ and bringin¡¯ the final weapon order out of the five Paladin Napoleon had contracted of me. It¡¯s this crazy idea on how to deploy a tower shield. Takin advantage of the Blood Ore¡¯s unique strength even when cut near paper thin it can handle anything I could throw out it. It would be two fist-type weapons, the grips bein modified metal knuckles. When lifted up a certain way the shield would just telescope out of the backs of the gloves. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. With the way this metal works atleast this¡¯ll be easy, it¡¯s a simple design, as per usual from the old coot. Why make it more complex when simple works just fine? On a side note, Grimalkin told me what was botherin¡¯ him, it¡¯s hard ta console him. The situation is so many shades of grey and no side wants ta come out and admit what they¡¯re up to. He said he couldn¡¯t stop thinkin¡¯ about his mom, and the life he had after Leere had taken him away from us. That cruel old bastard, someone should take a whip to HIS back! I¡¯d do it myself if i ever saw the cowards face. Entry 3.2 The medical blacksmith finished her set of tools, wrappin¡¯ them in a leather case and puttin¡¯ it on my desk. They had left without tellin'' me upon completin¡¯ their job, apparently cursin¡¯ ever comin'' ¡®ere and bein made ta use the Blood Ore. Entry 3.3 I have ta agree, this stuff is unsettlin'', we gotta keep the blood at a certain temperature or it hardens. It stinks like a battlefield in ¡®ere. If we ignore the past and do not confront it, we allow it ta control us. At least in this small way I can take the blood back from my ancestors and use it ta arm their descendants. Entry 3.4 While simple, these sheets of Blood Ore are slow goin¡¯. We¡¯re all turnin¡¯ in for the night and finishin¡¯ it in the mornin¡¯, right before they are due ta show. Day 4 Entry 4.1 We all woke early ta finish the project, another five plates needin¡¯ ta be shaved off, due ta the process of applyin¡¯ blood only penetratin¡¯ so far we had ta shave them off one at a time like meat off a flank. The enchanters were finishing up their final touches ta our adventures gear. Entry 4.2 It took¡­ Three hours, none of us has showered in like three days, but FINALLY we are done with this! 4.3 We have more work¡­ I hope that old man rots in a ditch. Day¡­.. +1 Entry: one too many Wakin¡¯ up late, atleast we have a week for these four. A rush order but it¡¯s one less project and three more days. First up is somethin¡¯ we¡¯re goin'' ta need for pretty much every one of these new projects. ¡®Dread Thread¡¯ or so the great Paladin Napoleon¡¯s notes call them, what a load of whooey. Pretty much we¡¯re ta pull the metal out in such a way it stays malleable after the blood wears off. Brenda has a theory how we can do it, but if it doesn¡¯t work it¡¯s back ta the drawin'' board. Entry: Another one too many. Brenda¡¯s plan worked, at least this job can be expedited now, might as well start on the next hardest bit, all of these armor plates¡­. Who in their right mind puts armor on a sumo? Day 5 I guess, wait, i mean 6. Entry 5a Egh, this is a lot of work again, these front line fighters and their armor. We already gave the xeshieen the load of practice armor we made ta test how much we could mold the Blood Ore. If we¡¯d a known we needed more plates of the stuff we¡¯da just cut up the stuff we used for it. That woman better be grateful, but she did look so good in it¡­ No time for daydreamin¡¯. The ball of Dread Thread was done, that was simple enough, meanwhile, the multi-machine was takin a while. Brenda¡¯s brought in more clockmakers ta help with the transforming shenanigans havin¡¯ a bunch of inner workins and whatnot. As for the Punk-Pole, we were testin¡¯ fulmination spells ta see what would work underwater. It was known that one of them would but, between all of the master craftspeople ere, none of us knows which. Entry 6b Okay, all of the plates have been extracted from the final giant armor plate, not much is left now, but we only need two more items. Entry 6c. We had all wondered where the extra went¡­ every time we¡¯d made the metal squishy it felt like we got less out than before. The drain buckets confirmed it, we had twelve extra buckets of dried blood than the five we had used¡­ Tonight, we go ta bed knowin¡¯ blood of our ancestors is literally on our hands. Day 7 Entry 7d None of us woke up early, last night¡¯s news was drainin'', we just want this work over with so alla us can both literally and figuratively wash our hands of this. Entry 7e We did some sewin¡¯. Day 8 Mornin¡¯ We woke up, Brenda havin¡¯ taken possession of the waste material as a hand of the church had informed us somethin¡¯ amazin'', horrifyin¡¯, both? The extra blood had turned inta somethin'', regainin¡¯ age? The oldest of the buckets had turned ta the Amber of Tears. This was good news, the amber we pried out of the armor plate had dissolved after it was free. We had plans for the Paladin¡¯s group havin¡¯ the stuff in their weapons holdin¡¯ them as powerful reagents. The power of an enchantment is directly affected by the quality of the material. While the Blood Ore was very receptive ta it, amber was already known as one of the best materials for ingredients. Amber made as a byproduct of the manipulation of Blood Ore, well let¡¯s just say us enchanters were disappointed when we thought we couldn¡¯t use it earlier. Some time round noon. Oh, this stuff is good, these ¡°gifts¡± from Napoleon are goin ta be gettin an upgrade. Goin¡¯ ta bed soon. We¡¯ve already completed the enchantment ball for Eisho the slime, the channelin¡¯ ball will get finished in the mornin. After that we¡¯ll make the hand-straps with the sumo armor and multiple ambers in the multi-weapon. If we have enough time we might finish the upgrades we¡¯d planned for the crew before they left too. Day 9. Roughly 2 days till deadline. I was checkin¡¯ Napoleon¡¯s plans over again, findin¡¯ a secret route drawn in invisible ink. Sayin¡¯ that in an emergency I should go there. I hope I don''t need ta use it, it¡¯s down in the poorest part of town, which is sayin¡¯ a lot ta be honest. Anyway, the Sumo-armor (Seriously I can¡¯t get enough of this idea, does this man even know what sumo is?) was done, a holy rope ready ta be worn with it. it also enchanted with several protections for health and luck and many other things I didn''t care ta memorize. Somewhere around 1.7 days till deadline or somethin? The ambers for the multi-weapon are done, the clockmakers are finishin¡¯ workin¡¯ on the inside. Even more giddy than when they were workin¡¯ on the puppets. It seems this isn¡¯t work for them, but play, designin¡¯ such extravagant mechanisms had been their lives dreams. 1¡­ well the sun is goin¡¯ down on the night before the last. The crazy clockwork weapon was done, ambers installed in it ta fire any spells it wished in its natural bow form, ice arrow, fire, wind, all useable without reagents. The gauntlets for the armor are done as well, givin¡¯ them multiple reinforcement layers on them, wearin¡¯ these on the back of their hands, any person¡¯s skin would be able ta stop a pressurized water spell. The Channelin¡¯ Ball as we are callin¡¯ it is done as well, just activate the spell and count ta twelve. A reusable explosive. Many growth spells and a few others were packed inta the Honor Core. Eisho would be able ta generate over twice their current body mass, bein able ta control their transformed state with even more intricacy. With these weapons. I truly pray ta the Paladin he has a plan ta stop whatever foul air has filled the city as of tanight. I have a bad feelin'' about the next few days. Judgement Day. Entry-1 due ta how early I got up, bite me. The heat in the forgeroom was massive, needin¡¯ ta harden the ambers inta their finalized shape, only the kobold brothers and I could stay in the room with Brenda as she supervised ta make sure no cracks happened. Bein a Lava-Lynx has its advantages, namely bein'' able ta stand up ta volcanic temperatures with little trouble. Honestly, I don¡¯t know how my species aint a magical beast with this immunity. Entry 2. The heatin¡¯ is done, and the coolin¡¯ is close ta finishin¡¯, we¡¯ve done the same for the Paladin¡¯s group¡¯s amber as well, readyin¡¯ it for them, they¡¯ll just have ta modify the stuff we already gave them instead of partially meltin¡¯ them in like we did. All of us are readyin¡¯ ourselves a drink, finishin¡¯ half a day ahe *************************************************************************************************** Memo to the Honorable Julius Ozymandias Leere. Month 7 Day 21 Holy Callender 427 Upon entering the business the occupants panicked, throwing down some sort of spell it destroyed the front door, killing 7 of my men. The inside is scorched, no one will survive being in the front room except for the kobolds which were gone by the time we had cleared the rubble and casualties away. The Blacksmith is to be presumed dead. The search for the materials has only revealed scraps. All weapons were either destroyed or removed before our entry. All blueprints were destroyed in the initial blast in the front room. You have my word, the soulless will be brought to justice. Chapter 11: Tales From Within The Walls Tales From Within The Walls. Private Log of Grimalkin, grandson of Baltamus and Napoleon. Month 7 Day 15 Year 427 On the road again. A note on the case my sister had given me: ¡°Now, dontcha dare open this up until you¡¯ve found something worth protectin¡¯.¡± Didn¡¯t she know these were weapons to help us take down Darrell? Still, the outside of the case had a few arrows tipped with that ¡°Dread Metal.¡± With the blood of my ancestors at my side, how can I fear the future? Still, I dared not go against Hephy¡¯s wishes, last time I did that I wound up slicing my arm open good. If she¡¯s telling me not to open it until a certain time, it stays closed. Themis, Charlemagne, Napoleon, and the Paladin are all in the room with me right now, so I don''t have long. It¡¯s going to be a busy trip and getting time to write is at a premium. *************************************************************************************************** Wow, just wow, the carriage we had rented was massive. Six titanic white horse-like animals pulled it. They¡¯re fifteen feet tall and have an outer armor on all of their joints made out of bone or something. If the horses were any other color it wouldn¡¯t be too unrealistic to see them pull some tyrant around. As for the inside of the carriage itself, it was designed for long voyages, with an emptying latrine, a supply of food and water to last five people twenty days. Four rooms connected by a hallway on the right side of the carriage where the entrance was. If anything, we were riding in a land-yacht. Still, it would take five days to reach Thebes considering the lack of roadwork between it and the Green City. Apparently infrastructure was not high on the ruling bodies to-do list. Napoleon then looked at me with an unshakable force behind his eyes. ¡°You can do it now.¡± And finally, taking the piece of paper I had signed in blood earlier, I handed it to Grimalkin. ¡°If I''d done this in the city, you would have just transferred back to Leere, but out here¡­ Charlemagne let Grimalkin borrow one of your medical knives please.¡± ¡°Wait, WHAT?! What are you doing?! He¡¯s bound by that as penance for his grandfather. If we give it back who knows what he might do, he could rip out all our throats!¡± Every single one of us blankly stared at Charlemagne, communicating just how serious any of us thought the possible threat was. Causing the priest to put his hood back over his head as the stuffed green frog handed Grimalkin a scalpel from his new medical set. Grimalkin took the blade, and then looked at me. ¡°You sure about this? I can kill you without this curse killing me if I undo this. You won¡¯t be able to give me any orders as a Master.¡± I look at him blankly, not a hint of joy in my voice, ¡°I don¡¯t do slaves¡­¡± With that he gives himself a small cut, wiping the blood in a circle the piece of paper, it evaporated in his hands. After that we all just lean back, not rushing things as Grimalkin takes his first breath of free air he has had since over a decade prior. Napoleon had told me the story. To avoid the ¡°within three generations¡± rule that the merchants had pushed through into law for anyone deemed a ¡®Demon Lord¡¯ the former one had abandoned his daughter and wife. His daughter gave birth to and lived together with Grimalkin until he had reached around the age of seven, that¡¯s when things started catching up to him. His mother had been turned in to the church by a food vendor she sold rats to. Grimalkin, still a child was unable to care for himself and for three weeks, stayed in the home of himself and his mother, not learning her fate until much later. The starving, barely clinging to life kitten of a boy pulled himself out of the home to try and steal a quick piece of food so he didn¡¯t starve. That¡¯s when Hephy and her mom had found him. Hephy, being three years older than the small crying pile of fur had been an inspiration to the young boy. A Blacksmith family by trade they could easily endure the heat needed to craft legendary swords. He started doing puppet shows using hand puppets he¡¯d made that Napoleon had described as, ¡°Think of Punch and Judy, now add more swearing.¡± Soon he updated to wire puppets that his new sister had made for him, and for a year and a half he had been known as ¡®Reflexes of Lightning Grimalkin¡¯ apparently it sounded better in the native language of this world. His doing the shows to provide for his new family, however, drew the attention of the army. While the lower levels of it are integrated and reasonably accepting, nobles are still required by law to enlist for a minimum of five years. Nobles¡­ do not like this very much. Nobles also don¡¯t like the ¡®soulless races.¡¯ So, with no real reason, they started harassing the young boy. It escalated over a few days when he¡¯d refused to just give the nobles his puppets. That night, a group of five men beat Grimalkin with boards, clubs, and rocks. All of them were dressed as the boy¡¯s own puppets¡­ he never touched them after that¡­ When the guards were caught by their superiors for what they did, instead of punishing them; it was found out that Grimalkin was Baltamus¡¯ grandson and was brought before leere. As had Napoleon watched, Leere carved the ancient slaver¡¯s curse into the boy''s flesh, writing his contract using the dripping blade. This was the law for all members of a Demon Lord¡¯s family within three generations¡­ Humans could get out of this, just simply disowning a family member would mean that they were immune to the three-generation rule. However, the government did not acknowledge any rights for many lower-class members, even the right to distance themselves from each other. Marriage; for example, had to be paid for by a large amount of money, hiring an official scribe to make the certificate and a priest to conduct the wedding. Such luxuries were reserved for the members of the inner city who could afford them. The Three Cities chose not to view any form of family ties other than blood for those they deemed ¡°beneath them¡± as such, the disavowment of Balatamus family was never accepted. Napoleon won¡¯t tell me what happened to Grimalkin¡¯s blood mother, but he has assured me that Grimalkin knows¡­ I don¡¯t have the courage to satisfy my curiosity in this matter. With the curse lifted, I look at him, not sure what to say, so I say the only thing that comes to mind. ¡°In my world, when we learn about history, we¡¯re told that many of the freed slaves with only one name would choose a second to honor their new family line and rights as free men¡­ I think you should pick one.¡± ¡°I think I should too, but I''d like some time to think on it.¡± Grimalkin responds, a catch in his breath. Themis, seeing the gloomy look on everyone''s faces and the hiding priest has had enough of this. ¡°Okay, I get a heavy moment just happened and all, but we got like five more days together until we reach Thebes, so, let¡¯s get this all out of the way.¡± Then she stood up in the center of the room, wearing the armor that Grimalkin¡¯s sister made just to test the properties, ugly and crude, but indestructible. ¡°I am the Demon Lord.¡± My brain went blank, my sword wouldn¡¯t summon and my new weapon was far in the back of the carriage. Themis continued, ¡°Before you all behead me, I just wanted to say that after what I just saw, I have no need to doubt you anymore.¡± As Grimalkin, myself, and Charlemagne all inched back in our seats, knowing full well what Themis, the Demon Lord was capable of. Napoleon just sat back, crossed his legs on the seat across from him and laughed. ¡°Ha! So you¡¯re the new kid! I had expected the Demon Lord would show themselves at the trials. Hell, I actually thought that Kobold would be them, but you, now, that¡¯s somebody with the power to back up the title!¡± With the old man¡¯s legs purposefully blocking the only door out of here. All of us knowing his strength began to calm down, albeit slowly as Themis responded. ¡°I should have expected that from you old man, live as long as you have and you¡¯re ready for anything. Ya know, I always used to respect you growin¡¯ up, your arrival was messy but everything you did after that, now that was really something to be proud of. Thank you for all you have done.¡± With that, the normally brash and disrespectful xeshieen bowed to him. ¡°Stand up, I have no need for your bows or your thanks, all you guys have EVER needed was just us standing out of your way. Now, tell me what in the hell you¡¯re doing on this mission and NOT in the green city taking advantage of the Paladin¡¯s absence?¡± He looked incredulous, a cold anger brewing under the surface. ¡°This one wasn¡¯t tossed into a battle for the countries soul within ten minutes of showing up, you have a CHANCE this time! Don¡¯t you see?¡± His voice at the end erratic, panicked and unfocused, he quickly brought himself back to his usual composure however upon seeing everyone¡¯s concerned faces. ¡°You¡¯d think that. But you don¡¯t know what¡¯s been happening in the group.¡± She looked down, closing her eyes. ¡°Public executions, notice a rise in them lately? Theft, burglary, murder, horrid other crimes, there¡¯s a lot of us ¡®Soulless¡¯ being cleaved lately in the middle of the walls.¡± After checking to see our responses, even Charlemagne nodded, we¡¯d all been trying to not look at them, look away from the harshness as we went about our business in the walls. But it was hard to not hear the final words of everyone beheaded, ¡®Freedom!¡¯ Her eyes stayed low to the ground. ¡°In the ancient scriptures, barred to those without standing in the church, we learned of Paladin Eric.¡± Napoleon hangs his head upon hearing this and then looks back up, over at me. ¡°By my best guess, Paladin Eric¡¯s true identity is William Wallace¡­ He described his death and torture in the personal logs of the History of the Holy Paladins. He¡¯s one of the few we¡¯ve been able to determine other than Joan of Arc¡¯¡± ¡°War for independence William Wallace? Who fought one of the most evil empires of earth¡¯s history long before any of the more recent atrocities they committed.¡± I excitedly blurted out, I had been hoping some great ¡®hero¡¯ of history would have come to this world. This time, it was Themis who spoke. ¡°We found many of his journals copied into the library with our agents in the church. We learned of his actions in your world and his eventual defeat. We also learned what he achieved here.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Napoleon this time started speaking. ¡°Over seven hundred years ago, when the Demon Race was still around, Paladin Eric found a village ruled by them¡­ None of the residents were demon, yet all of their enforcers and leaders were. Enraged, he burned the village to the ground, taking the centaurs and humans from the wreckage they founded a new city, one which was unfortunately lost to the ages.¡± ¡°Yes, Paladin Eric made it his life¡¯s mission to free as many from the shackles of oppression as possible. The name of his first village, the one lost to time was ¡®All man¡¯s land¡¯.¡± She sits beside Napoleon, hands in front of her, ready to be restrained as if any of us could. ¡°You are the Paladins, summoned to fight on behalf of humanity and the church, I am ready to be brought in.¡± She has us, we all know it, well, all of us except Charlemagne. ¡°Alright Paladin, you¡¯re not as quick as Napoleon but you¡¯ve already defeated the Demon Lord, we can just turn around and drop her off¡­¡± He would have kept going if Grimalkin had not put his hand over the poor priest''s mouth before he really dug his own grave with Themis. I smile at her, almost laughing, ¡°You have us in between a rock and a hard place you know? You know very well by now we aren¡¯t coming after you, that¡¯s the only reason you¡¯ve brought it up to us all.¡± It was true after Paladin Napoleon had told me what happened to him sixty-five years ago, being freshly summoned and told to go kill what he thought was a movie monster type of bad guy, he¡¯s had many years to regret his decision. That was the reason he had confronted me after the blacksmiths, he wanted me in on his plan. ¡°I see you¡¯ve already made quite the use out of the reinstatement of Kobolds, I¡¯ll say, that took a lot of work.¡± Napoleon is still just smiling at us as we all look back at him. ¡°What!? You thought a Speaker from this world willed it? Nah, I found some dirt on him and he owed me too many favors to say no. I¡¯ve been TRYING to create a new ¡®Demon Lord¡¯ for decades, making openings in the system.¡± At that Napoleon showed off his lapel, multiple small badges were on it, denoting different kinds of military service and rank. ¡°Wait¡­ so you¡¯re the reason we¡¯ve been able to get so many agents inside the walls?¡± Themis asked, this time it was her turn to be surprised. ¡°I thought you were trying to stomp out resistance with gifts and had grown obsessed with charity in your old age.¡± With a wisened tone, ¡°Oh, far from it, who do you think engineered your father¡¯s escape right at the time the Paladin summoning was finalized?¡± Themis and I both looked at him, mouths agape. ¡°I knew your dad wouldn¡¯t go down without a fight to some newbie, and I guessed he¡¯d be a bit disoriented, much like I was, so I risked the chance. It was the only time your dad could have made an escape, our only hope was that my replacement wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake I did.¡± I feel so used! What did this old man think would have happened if I beheaded him? Any hope for working with the Demon Lord would have been lost. However, as I panic about what could have happened Napoleon continues unabated. ¡°Our plan was to find you after we¡¯d built up a small elite force of our own, you¡¯ve actually saved us a lot of time.¡± Napoleon continued. ¡°As for you Grimalkin, we know what you did, and why you did it, ease yourself.¡± Grimalkin, who had been stiff as a board, ready to jump into combat slowly relaxed, looking over to me and then down at his hands, where his old contract used to be. He almost said something but stopped himself. This time it was Charlemagne freaking out. ¡°Okay, I get you want to make the soulless, I mean the non-human¡¯s lives better but SHE¡¯S THE DEMON LORD!¡± He looked incredulous like it was just impossible I wouldn¡¯t want to fight her. Themis looks at him, her voice calm, ¡°Okay, I''m going to give you the benefit of the doubt, what, exactly do you think a Demon Lord is, little man?¡± He looked up at her, stumbling over his words ¡°A Demon Lord is¡­ well¡­ a Demon Lord is¡­. We just know they¡¯re really really bad okay and the Paladins are brought out to fight them because we can¡¯t!¡± at least the little guy was honest. ¡°No, The Paladin is summoned because humans don¡¯t want to do the work that a Demon Lord asks of them. You¡¯re officially dubbed a ¡®Demon Lord¡¯ by the cities when you¡¯ve united all four other races under you as an organization of some sort. The Paladin is used as a way to break those groups up, force blame to be made for something that doesn¡¯t require it. Then to keep them separate through threats and mutual distrust.¡± She looked at him in the eye her determination unwavering. Continuing, ¡°You¡¯re named a Demon Lord when your group asks for better conditions, pay, food. You¡¯re called a Demon because they don¡¯t even have to think of working with a Demon, it¡¯s unheard of. Turning away a ¡®Community Leader¡¯ is harder to justify.¡± A rage just under her voice she was able to keep barely contained, Charlemagne gives a squeak of terror and then backs off. ¡°Hey, buddy, I think you should go in one of the other rooms for a while.¡± Grimalkin pats him on the back, smiling at him and sending Charlemagne out the door. ¡°That¡¯s another thing catboy, why do you coddle him so much?!¡± Themis was now letting some anger flow into her voice, frustrations piling up. Grimalkin stared out the window, a melancholy look. ¡°He gave me bread.¡± Napoleon pats his back, pulling him in close and embracing him, after a quick moment of bonding he says. ¡°Sorry, I think they need more than that.¡± His voice cold, quiet and even, merely stating the truth. Grimalkin looks at Napoleon with a begging look in his eye and then continues. ¡°After Leere had found me and had me brought in, I was not cooperative in the least¡­ I tried to attack him multiple times, thinking if I killed him then everything in the city would just change, I was a fool. ¡°A kid, no older than eight was set to guard me, a priest in training, having spent his whole life in the church. He was fasting for some holiday or something, so he had only brought crusts of bread and water to eat, in honor of Paladin Siegfried.¡± he looked off into the distance. ¡°Do you know that Siegfried fasted because he had given all of his food to a pair of starving children he had saved from an evil dragon? I didn¡¯t.¡± Grimalkin still looking out the window, distantly watching the hills roll by. ¡°For months, he would tell me the stories of Paladins past, of great warriors and fierce battles¡­ After the first week however he learned what Leere had intended for me. No food or water was ever brought to my cell, and I was slowly starving to death. When it was clear to the priest that I wasn¡¯t getting food, he offered me his crusts of bread and water, he was eating so little yet offered it to me. ¡°¡®It¡¯s just what Siegfried would do, why should I be less of a hero than him?¡¯ was his response when I asked him why¡­ After two months Vansen came, inspecting me to see if I was a miracle or something for not dying after two months. When he figured out what the priest was doing he slapped the boy, viciously beating him and informing him that ¡®The Lesson of Siegfried does not apply to the soulless.¡¯ After that he mentioned something about orientation, I never saw the young priest after that. ¡°Napoleon was the one to get me to come out when he did, I handed him the hand-made cloth tissue that the kid had put the bread on. The name inside said Charlemagne IV who was much too old to have been the kid when we looked him up. Soon we learned he had a newly turned 9-year-old son in the care of the Green Church due to his ¡®Exceptional Magical Talent¡¯ or whatever¡­¡± Grimalkin finished, looking at Themis and me as Napoleon sat back silently. ¡°What¡­ what do you think happened?¡± Was all Themis could muster, my own mouth unable to budge. ¡°Considering how beaten up he was when he left the prison with Vansen, I would say anything. After hearing that he was Vansen¡¯s little plant to keep tabs on the Paladin I had to try and repay him somehow. The best I¡¯m coming up with is just showing him that others aren¡¯t so different or scary. I just hope I can break through whatever that old bastard did.¡± He spits on the ground, crossing his arms to show his resolve. Themis just nods, ¡°Still a racist jerk now though, he doesn''t get off easy with me.¡± We nod with her, none of us expecting anything else. *************************************************************************************************** Emergency Report for Speaker Vansen Scribe, Charlemagne V Month 7 Day 15 Year 427 I have reason to believe that the Demon Lord¡¯s forces are working together with the Paladins. I cannot confirm it yet, further inquiry is required before I can be certain. Requesting orders on what to do if I gain confirmation. *************************************************************************************************** Orders. Upon confirmation, you are to administer poison to all of those deemed working with the Demon Lord. *************************************************************************************************** The Scripture of Charlemagne V, Scribe and Priest of the Green Church. Month 7, Day 15, in the Year of our country 427. 15.) The Paladin has shut me out, the Demon Lord is right there in a room with two of them and neither of them are lifting a finger! 16.) I am unsure what to do, as a Priest it is my holy responsibility to protect and support the Paladin and yet I doubt. 17.) I had thought that the Speaker and Sir Paladin were not that different too long ago, I now know the error in that thought. 18.) The Speaker is willing to go the extra mile in these things, the Paladin¡¯s will must be flawed in a way. 19.) I have received my orders, but I question them in my heart. Is this truly the best thing to do? 20.) They have been with her for half a week and she did not make a motion to try and kill them. 21.) Vansen is ready to do anything to protect the peace. 22.) Should any less be asked of me? ************************************************************************************************** Deep within the jade walls, under the congressional cathedral, there are rumors of tunnels; deep, dark, and winding. The street children say that if the guards catch you stealing enough food they will send you to this place to be locked away and forgotten for all eternity. This is entirely baseless rumor-mongering. The adults outside of the wall on the other hand, believe that it is a place you get sent to if you speak out against humans. The torture chamber of the worst, or the best depending on your definitions. This, however, is not entirely accurate. As for the members of Themis¡¯ resistance? They believe that it is the place where many of their allies are held for charges that don¡¯t really matter. A place to put the undesirables from clogging up their view, for anything that they do not consider of value must surely have none. This would happen to be the most apt description. This fetid maze of winding hallways and nightmarish rooms is where Vansen now finds himself. Coming to a great arena-like chasm with four pillars framing the center of the room. From those four pillars four chains from each lead to the hulking mass of flesh in the center of the room, at the end of each chain is a jade spear, sunken deep into the grimy flesh of the beast in the center. Should the beast ever remove the spears himself, the pillars would collapse; sealing the giant in its cage for all eternity Sixteen was the number of his punishments, for sixteen is the number of humans killed in this beast¡¯s final raid. One of Vansen¡¯s predecessor''s finest soldiers, his magnum opus sat hunched, unspeaking, unmoving; just as it has stayed for over two decades. Vansen slowly walks into the room, his massive head-piece nearly falling as a gust of wind races through the cavernous room. The dome, entirely sealed off from the outside world, four doors with heavy locks bar the way of anyone attempting to enter this chamber. His only crime, at least according to Vansen, was doing his job TOO well. The small man speaks, ¡°I¡¯ve come! With a proposition!¡± Another massive gust of wind swirls around the room as the hulking mass lets out another breath. ¡°And what would the speaker have with me?¡± The voice of the giant is weak, ragged, accusatory. ¡°You lot locked me up instead of sending me with my men, give me one reason I should ever be your lackey again?¡± A wicked smile crossed Vansen¡¯s lips, his voice like honeyed venom as he sits down in the chair he brought for himself, ¡°We¡¯re getting the old gang back together. For one.¡± Chapter 12: Ghosts of the Paladins Ghosts of the Paladins The grass glistens yellow in the morning, I don¡¯t know if many people from my old world know that, but it¡¯s true. Every morning dew when the sun first touches it, it washes out the color of before. The blades shine with radiance just bright enough to alert you to day but soft enough to not make you look away. These were the only thoughts I could think about the next morning. Such a simple reason, but I don¡¯t know if Charlemagne is the person that Grimalkin remembers him as. I don¡¯t think I can ever get those haunting words out of my mind, he gave me bread. It wasn¡¯t the words themselves, it was the look in his eye, the accusing look he gave everyone in the room. It was as if he was asking us if we would have done the same, if we would be able, even, to do the same. I wouldn¡¯t have, not at the same age they were¡­ that I know for a fact. I¡¯ve seen Vansen¡¯s impotent rage and I wouldn¡¯t wish that upon any child, especially myself at that age¡­ But then again¡­ I shake off the thought as I walk into the main hallway of the carriage. Napoleon was eating in the main travel room, Charlemagne was just now coming out of the shared bedroom and heading to the latrine. Grimalkin and Themis have already gathered, Themis having found a massive meat leg of some kind and was gleefully gorging on it. ¡°Okay Old Man, you owe me a silver, the Paladin is out of bed first.¡± She laughs and gives me a good slap on my back, causing me to tumble forward and catch myself. ¡°I¡¯ve been awake for a bit, old habits die hard.¡± With all three of them looking at me like I''d said something random, I soon remembered I have a new body. ¡°I¡­ uh¡­. It¡¯s a personal thing.¡± Napoleon perked up from what appeared to be hot oatmeal and a side of some fruit, honestly, the cinnamon spell was driving me up a wall. ¡°That¡¯s the subject of today actually, once Charlemagne is finished waking we should all convene, it is time for our party to truly know who they are fighting with.¡± Grimalkin and Themis, however, looked at each other with a disgusted look and then almost simultaneously said, ¡°I don¡¯t think we need to know THAT much.¡± Their misunderstanding leaves me with a blush. We all heard a flushing sound, apparently, early on this society figured out how to make flushing bathrooms. Charlemagne comes in the room, drying his hands, as we all look at him, not on purpose per-say, but he was the last one to get here after all. Napoleon started when Charlemagne took his seat. ¡°Now, we will all be fighting together, it¡¯s only two days until we reach Thebes. As is my tradition, only those willing to shed blood with me may hear my story.¡± Grimalkin and Charlemagne both sat forward, Grimalkin¡¯s ears twitching with glee as Charlemagne rubbed his hands together. ¡°Settle down you two, I know you¡¯ve been wanting to hear your Papaw¡¯s story for a long time Grimalkin. It¡¯s only right, especially considering your own bravery yesterday.¡± Charlemagne looks very confused now, I gently laid my hand on his back, bringing his attention back to the speaking Paladin instead of the horror story he missed. Napoleon¡¯s voice sounded distant, ¡°I was born in Kentucky in 1892, to a little town named Boonsboro. I grew up a pretty normal life honestly, working on the farm, helping out in town where I could. Back then we were still a lot like this society in ways I don''t want to think about.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say not much of note happened in my life until then, that¡¯s when we entered the war. I was one of the first to sign up in the year of 1914, ready to do my country proud, defend it from all enemies, I was gonna be a hero. Oh, how wrong I was. You see, war, war is something that should never be glorified. There were people killing each other for political reasons no one understood much less held dear enough to kill another human being over.¡± ¡°So there, I was, in a hole in the ground, killing my fellow man with the weapons of war. Literally, weapons that are so horrible that I cannot even describe them to you, by the will of the Deity themself. And then, one day, it magically ended. We don¡¯t have anything like this yet here, but in our world, one day of the year, everyone is supposed to come together in mutual love for each other. ¡°And so, on that day in 1914, my world changed forever. I was fluent in the enemy''s language you see, my pappy told me it was good business to speak to everyone ya could. So when both sides put down their weapons for one day, singing together, exchanging gifts, I was one of the people chosen to help coordinate my squad with the enemies. You see, our families had sent us traditional gifts, and we had too many of one thing and not enough of another. And so, by the power of our mutual need and want, we came together to reach peace on the battlefield. Themis balked, tossing her head back in frustration. ¡°You¡¯re lying old man, if you wanted me to get on your side, you should come up with a more convincing story.¡± ¡°I assure you, everything he says is true¡­ It¡¯s in the history of my world, it¡¯s known as the miracle of 1914,¡± I say as I leaned back in the chair, there¡¯s no way he got brought here over a hundred years ago. ¡°May I continue?¡± He waits until all four of us nod at him. ¡°Anyway, that night, as the stars came out, I tried to find a secluded place to use up some of the supplies we¡¯d gotten from home. Candy, alcohol, between the trading we had so many goodies it was truly Christmas. ¡°That was when I ran into the most beautiful woman of my dreams. She was putting on lipstick in one of the trenches that commonly traded back and forth between sides. She looked scared, tried to run away, catching her was the best decision I ever made. Speaking her language, I released her arm, telling her that it was fine, and I understood. She was afraid that I would kill her, even with the ceasefire on, she was an enemy soldier wearing lipstick after all. ¡°Wait¡­ I thought, back then¡­¡± I started to say but quickly caught myself, my thoughts leaking out of my head as I put all the details together. Napoleon looked at me calmly, like a father chiding his kid. ¡°She was a woman, she wore lipstick, she dressed, she sang, she was a woman.¡± There was no anger in his voice, just a soft grandfatherly tone of someone trying to pass on some wisdom. I stayed quiet, letting him continue his story, unsure what to do after hearing that¡­ He was right, and it isn¡¯t my place to say a thing. ¡°We danced, we kissed, we talked about the things we loved to do, oh, she just loved making chocolates. Meanwhile, I couldn¡¯t shut up about business, my papaw taught me well. She gave me her address, to maybe visit once the hell to end all hells was over.¡± ¡°After the war ended, I did what I said I would, went to Germany and swept her off her feet. A local Jewish priest was a friend of the family and chose to marry us even if it wasn¡¯t legally binding. I soon grew friends with my wife¡¯s doctor, a Mister Hirschfield. The years during the sweet time of growth before the fall, oh, if only each of you could have seen it in its heyday¡­¡± Napoleon trailed off, the faraway look in his eyes getting more and more distant before he quickly snapped back to the story at hand. ¡°After the event that shook the world, the crashing of the global economy, many starved. I did my best to take care of my wife, I was a businessman after all! But many chose not to buy from me for whatever reason. I kept us afloat through the worst of the money troubles, but then the Demons rose.¡± Charlemagne, Themis, and Grimalkin all shot up upon hearing that last bit. Looking over at me, to confirm, ¡°Yeah, I hate to say it, but he¡¯s right¡­ but you see, the Demons from the world we live in, they aren¡¯t a race, even if they want to think they are. They¡¯re an idea¡­ And in truth, I don''t know if that makes them better or worse¡­ But yes, Demons existed then, we defeated them, but it seems you can¡¯t kill an idea, even if it¡¯s one that should have never been made¡­¡± I trail off as Napoleon averts his eyes, taking a handkerchief out of Grimalkins pocket he turns away solemnly. After around a minute of us respectfully waiting in silence, Napoleon turns back. ¡°Now then, gotta finish the story, where was I?... ah, the Demons. The Demons were funny at first, they were so hateful and angry that we just had to laugh at them¡­ None of us took them seriously until the beatings and disappearances. Even then it was hard finding anyone willing to listen, for fear of getting taken themselves.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t too many years after that, the shiny-boots pretty-boy patrol came knocking around the neighborhood. Once my wife had hidden away I looked outside. The old Jewish man who had married my wife and I, a man who wouldn¡¯t harm a soul¡­ The officer held this old man¡¯s life in his hands, kneeling on the ground, ready for execution. I¡¯d had enough! ¡°First my wife''s doctor got beaten so badly they thought he had died, I was not ready to let any more evil go¡­ And so I jumped out of the window, so no one saw me leave the apartment, climbed down the escape and charged up the stairs. The officer was still gloating, Demons tend to be long-winded but not say very much, which I was thankful for at that time. ¡°So, I did what I was trained to do, I disarmed him, and, in the mistaken thought that the authorities would arrest this man, held him for detainment¡­ When the police arrived, they bared their fangs against the old man¡­ and I jumped in front.¡± Napoleon hangs his head down, his cheeks still wet but his tears had long stopped flowing. He continued after a long silence. ¡°After that, I was here, body young and powerful again. Someone told me people needed help and I had to slay a monster¡­ So I slew a man and became a monster...¡± ¡°Wh-what happened to your wife?¡± Charlemagne was the first to break the silence¡­ I couldn''t blame him for the question, but I feel that I know the answer. So I just patted him on the back. Pulling the green-robed priest close and holding him, I didn''t know if it was more for me or him after that ordeal, I whispered in his ear. ¡°He¡¯s a warrior who¡¯s come to terms with his actions, let him have the mystery.¡± It honestly felt more for me than him, how can I tell him what eventually became of the people who went missing¡­ how can I tell him his wife was right near the top of their list? None of us said another word for another ten minutes, unsure how to respond, Napoleon had left to go to the pantry after that, Charlemagne was still in my lap While Grimalkin was standing up between the two parallel benches. Themis, on the other hand, had gone with Napoleon. Before bed the night before, I had read more of Holy Paladin Cedric''s chapter in the ledger. Death camps, state-sanctioned and funded slavery, experiments¡­ While, not a one to one comparison, yes, those people at any time are indeed demons. *************************************************************************************************** Log of the Honorable Themis Month 7 Day 16 Colonial year 427 I believe I have been accepted somehow into the group of the Paladin, with them knowing full well my status according to Leere. Paladin Napoleon has displayed trust in me that I confronted him about later.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Upon asking why he has not turned me in, he would only smile and ask what the reason would be for. Once I had explained the obvious his only response to me was: ¡°I don¡¯t see a Demon here, do you?¡± He is a strange man, but not an untrustworthy one. Tomorrow we will learn the status of Thebes now that it is under the control of the Spiral Mercenaries and plan a surprise assault on their base. I pray we rescue as many as we can. I will also use this as a chance to determine if the Spiral Mercenaries are being paid by the noblemen of the Blue City. Keep my family safe. I have been reminded of their value tenfold once-more. *************************************************************************************************** Charlemagne rocked back and forth in my lap, after he¡¯d calmed down from Napoleon¡¯s story he was marveling at it. ¡°So does that mean Napoleon himself fought the Demons, was the ¡®Pretty Boy Patrol¡¯ a group of demons? He beat them! That¡¯s amazing!¡± I nod, ¡°Yeah, it truly was amazing, but if he¡¯s so old, how¡¯s he uhm, still around, and I mean he doesn¡¯t look¡­¡± The calculations took longer than expected, ¡°...one hundred and twenty-something!¡± Grimalkin piped in, ¡°Papaw loves bragging about that, apparently, if you get reborn in this world, your body will be your ideal. Aged roughly twenty years old, so even though he¡¯s over One Hundred, he¡¯s sixty-five, eighty-five at oldest.¡± He rolled his eyes slightly but then smiled again. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what I''d have done without him.¡± Themis and Napoleon soon came back to the room. Themis shouted happily, ¡°Okay, it¡¯s your turn nooby.¡± I know she was completely innocent in asking. She was bouncing as she walked in the room, the normal upbeat chuckle in her voice I knew it was my turn, Napoleon had given such a tale that I feel obliged. The world feels like it¡¯s going in slow motion, my skin feels like electricity is surging over it and I can''t stop it. I slowly push Charlemagne off of my lap, his crying abated. I hold my head and pull my legs up to the front of my chest as everyone gets close to me. Themis reaches close, she¡¯s so slow but I inch backward. Everyone¡¯s eyes are on me, I''m being weird, I¡¯m being weird AGAIN! oh no. No, I gOt OvEr ThiS. My blood is racing in my veins, it feels so fast, so fast, am I okay? Oh no, everyone¡¯s looking at me. I open my mouth, my throat feels like the sand of a baseball field is filling it. ¡°I¡­¡­..I¡­¡­¡­...s.so¡­¡­...r¡­...ry,¡± Oh now I can¡¯t even speak now, how will I ever be able to get their respect again? SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT! I can¡¯t even speak, if I can¡¯t speak then I can¡¯t lead them into battle. Wait?! I¡¯m supposed to lead them into battle!? I got turned down from the army! I wasn''t up to snuff! BRoken BoDY BrOKeN bOdy Broken Body. What can I do, they all look so worried, they look worried about me? Why are they worried? Am I worried? Should I be worried? I gOt oVer THiS, i Gott OvR ThEs. What am I just thinking about? They look so scared, no, I don¡¯t want to scare them, Napoleon¡­. Grimalkin¡¯s gotta sneeze. Grimalkin¡¯s face is scrunched up, looking at me, trying to be serious, but he has to sneeze. It¡¯s like those cute video¡¯s you¡¯d share with your family members for fun, he¡¯s kind of adorable. Oh, he¡¯s leaning closer, his lips raising, showing some teeth, he¡¯s gonna¡­ ¡°AAAAAAAAHCHOOOOOOO!¡± Grimalkins face scrunched and his head shot back kind of like a small wind punched him in the face. He shakes his head, rubbing from his ears to his nose. And then, suddenly I feel more in control, I look up, around them, considering everyone else in the room. My head is spinning as I recover from my pulse skyrocketing, I thought that wouldn¡¯t happen anymore, I got a new body and everything. Napoleon covered me with the cloak he wore whenever he stepped out, shielding me from their eyes. The fear rises in me again, but Napoleon is there, he must get it, he was a soldier¡­ The smooth, southing, old country voice at his base came out, he was so quiet that I could only hear the wheels on the road, rolling on. The wheels are rolling forward and Napoleon was talking, I only caught the end, everything else felt like it melted out of my mind whenever I stopped focusing. ¡°It¡¯s a curse, Charlemagne, most likely warrior¡¯s cane.¡± Warrior¡¯s cane? At least it sounds stronger than anxiety or panic attacks¡­ ¡°Just don¡¯t pressure him, he will speak when he regains his strength.¡± Napoleon¡¯s voice was honnied, but slower, like molasses. Themis came over to me, making sure I heard her movements, her steps sounded heavier than normal, but not aggressive. ¡°H-hey¡­¡± her voice was more quiet than I''ve ever heard, slow and careful, she sounded kind of sweet, like blackberries. ¡°...I would be honored if you would let me assist.¡± Her normal brash demeanor was gone, as if a switch flipped in her head. From under the blanket, I saw her massive clawed paw-like hand, the palm looking up at me if I wished to grab it. A sense of peace seemed to overflow from Themis. I took her hand, holding just her pinky finger, wrapping my whole hand around the digit that seemed smaller than ever before. In that same, quiet, fragile sounding voice, Themis continued. ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell us whatever you don¡¯t want to, okay?¡± I nod under the cloak, catching my breath, in and out. In and out. Some time passes, five minutes, twelve hours, it¡¯s all the same to me until it¡¯s over. I finally feel somewhat better and open my mouth, beginning to speak. ¡°Thanks, uhm.¡± Napoleon stops me, his hand on my shoulder. Themis looked at me, I hadn''t let go of her finger, I hadn''t even noticed my hand naturally going to Grimalkin¡¯s as well. he had just always been there, so I hadn''t even noticed when he sat on my left side and had taken ahold of my hand other hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay, we get it, we record all curses in this world, magical and non. My mom had that too, certain questions messing ya up, I get it¡­ as in I get it too sometimes.¡± Themis gives me a very soft hug, really giving me an appreciation for the control of her strength. Grimalkin was biting his lip in the corner, ¡°Yeah, the funny sneeze face always helped calm Hephy¡¯s dad down too, and she always did it for me.¡± Charlemagne just gave me the biggest hug he ever could, which, through the really plush fabric of his robe, felt akin to a snowman made out of pillows cuddling you. ¡°I,¡± Sniff, ¡°I, I am just.¡± Sniff, ¡°I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re okaaaaaay!¡± I pat his back, comforting him and ruffle his hair, he could be quite cute. Themis brings me a large glass of water that I down quickly, not realizing how thirsty I had gotten, my skin was shining in the light of the magic candles. ¡°Just, just understand that I''m going to leave some important bits out, okay? People look at me differently when they find out, start walking on eggshells and treating me differently and¡­ I just don¡¯t want to tell you that part yet. Not until after we fight, I don''t want to risk it. I¡¯ve not done anything bad but¡­¡­¡± Themis had taken out a pair of small bones, some jewels, and a copper coin, she showed them right before tossing them in the air and catching them with her hand. ¡°Stand Witness¡± Her hand glows bright golden when she touches Herself, Grimalkin, Napoleon, and even Charlemagne at his protest. They all glow the same golden color and then it fades. Themis looks at me, a smile on her face, big and goofy, but also kind of scary considering she has the face of a badger. ¡°That was my skill, ¡®Stand Witness¡¯ until we drink again, we cannot lie. Heh, and people wonder why nobles and merchants hate me.¡± She Pauses. ¡°Nothing you say will make me doubt you as long as you did nothing to harm someone.¡± The other three all nodded to each other upon the declaration, saying in unison. ¡°Us too¡± I smiled at the four of them, glowing golden in front of me, radiant as the morning dawn. Then I reached forward, grabbing her hand and touching it to my chest as well. ¡°No backing out for me if I¡¯m doing this then I guess.¡± The four of them smiled at me With a knot in my stomach, terribly unsure if I should share any of this with the Demon Lord or an obvious plant. But here I go, ¡°Growing up, my mom was an ER nurse, my dad worked in the military, he wasn¡¯t around all that much because of that though. Ever since I was a kid, I thought I might get my dad¡¯s approval, a little thumbs up, if I joined the military, thing is, I was my mom''s kid too.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t think of hurting anyone, not really, truthfully I wanted to be a nurse, or a surgeon, maybe mental health¡­ But anyway, I trained all my life. Right up until I was nineteen, but I''ll get to that in a bit. Around the time when everyone else''s voice got deeper or higher, my body felt wrong. Kind of loose, and everything hurt, my mom and the docs all thought that I just had growing pains, so I thought they were normal.¡± ¡°Turns out, not normal. The feeling of things drilling into your joints, the sudden loss of energy, hard to get to sleep, and worst of all the feeling of if your skeleton were made of a regenerating broken glass substance. Ya see, no matter how much it felt like I got injured, it turned out I could feel even MORE injured. ¡°So, I grow up, thinking this thing is all in my head, train with the weapons of my military, learn medicine from my mom before I plan on going into the army as a medic. My mom died around the time I was sixteen and my dad came to live in the house I grew up in with me.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy and he was a stern guy, but he did teach me to be the best I could be. Then, after high school, I go to get my exam¡­ And I get turned down. Remember how that pain wasn¡¯t all in my head? Turns out it was all over my body, I didn''t have any collagen really, the stuff that protects your joints from moving around too much. I wasn¡¯t eligible¡­ I should have been let down right? But I was ecstatic, my dad had already seen my determination and hard work, I''d gone as far as I could. There was no way he wasn¡¯t proud of me, doing all of that, while disabled, only to be turned down. But after that, I sorta floated for two years.¡± ¡°After couch surfing and a string of bad roommates I wound up at a concert, it was loud, and a guy comes in with this spell that can destroy an entire building full of people¡­ so I jump on him, and poof, then I¡¯m here.¡± The room went silent for a little while, not dead silent, everyone was mumbling to themselves a little, which, I actually took as a good sign. Stunned silence was what I was dreading the most, the, ¡®Oh you poor, poor soul¡¯ and then they act weird around me. Charlemagne was looking at my arms and legs, I guess trying to see if anything looked missing, he was a medic, after all, I guess I can tell him what this stuff is later. Who knows, a little attention from the Paladin might count as a miracle to a few people that don¡¯t even know it yet.¡± ¡°Thanks for sharing your strength,¡± Themis gripped my hand this time, lightly, but protectively. ¡°You think that made you fragile? You made it through the fire, forged and strong.¡± Grimalkin hugs me tight, as Charlemagne piles on the two of them¡­ *************************************************************************************************** Speaker of the Deity Vansen¡¯s private log. Month 7 Day 16 Holy year 427 I called in that stooge Leere today, informing him of the Paladin¡¯s exit from the city. Charlemagne was pulling his weight swimmingly. The boy is such a powerful healer, giving him to the paladin was truly for the best. While he was gifted medically, he didn¡¯t have the drive or ambition that would make a great priest such as myself. The Paladin¡¯s party and even Charlemagne think that he¡¯s a double agent, of that I have made sure of. Upon hearing that we had a man on the inside, the buffoon asked if we could just manipulate him¡­ ¡°Seriously, if you¡¯ve gone through all this hard work, what are you doing not activating him?¡± My powerful voice easily forcing him to cower in submission. ¡°Charlemagne is not to be activated, the boy does not have the stomach for it. He is only with the Paladin to keep him on his toes until the Demon Lord takes our bait and tries to kill him before the Paladin slays the beast. Leere feebly asked up at me, on my high throne of gold and jewels. ¡°But Honorable Speaker of the Deity Vansen my Lord, why do you need the Paladin jumpy?¡± I know my poor college brother is slow, but I guess I really do have to spell it out for him and all of history to know my brilliance. ¡°The Paladin is a bleeding heart, he has been compromised. If he was to kill the Demon Lord and the Demon Lord to kill him, because he didn¡¯t trust the MOST CAPABLE MEDIC IN THE CHURCH, then truly I could have done nothing more to help him?¡± He squeaked like one of the soulless rodents at me, a god compared to his lower life, ¡°But what about if he lives and comes back.¡± I left him to ponder that, it will do his pea brain good to bask in my genius and to figure it out for himself. His businesses serve the most profit from the emergency legislative session I am putting through tomorrow, so he owes me more than his life, he owes me his money. Chapter 13: Splitting hairs Splitting Hairs After things had mellowed out from earlier, I was still kind of embarrassed. So, Themis, lifting her foot up and stepping on the seat, with her chest pushed out in the most audacious way she could announce, ¡°Very well, to quench your thirst for knowledge I shall tell you MY backstory! The backstory of the one the denizens of the walled city have dubbed, the Demon Lord!! Weeewooooweeeeee!!!!!!¡± She raised her hands and wiggled her fingers on the last bit, leaning into the energized performance. ¡°Seriously though, compared to you four I feel kinda like the odd one out. Truthfully I didn''t hate my childhood, during it, I thought it was normal. I was tough so I could handle myself, you could say I was made for situations like the one I was born into.¡± she continued. ¡°If I stole food, I was likely fast or tricky enough to escape, and if I was caught, well, let¡¯s just say I was tough enough to take care of myself.¡± With that last bit, she was gleefully admiring her long claws. ¡°Yeah, I''ve heard of those like you, beastmen with skills specialized for survival really do prosper in the clay city. So, what¡¯d you do? Become a kingpin?¡± Grimalkin looked at her accusingly, his teeth showing a little with the growl in his voice rising. Themis shrugged at him, turning away, ¡°that¡¯s exactly what I did. I kicked the kingpin out of my home turf, took everyone under my protection. After I was in charge though I noticed something, they weren¡¯t utilizing their resources.¡± Charlemagne and I just had blank faces, staring at the two beastmen before Napoleon piped up. ¡°These two need to know, Kingpins in the undercity are sort of rulers of their turf, they used to run rampant until four years ago since then the numbers have been dwindling. They were sort of gang-leaders who thought of themselves as kings.¡± Themis chimed in, loudly, proudly declaring, ¡°You¡¯re WELCOME! Geeze, let me finish my story you all. Anyway, after I was in charge as per custom the leaders of all the families came to see me and announce what they¡¯re capable of. If it wasn¡¯t for an ex-scribe Kobold listing the fact he could teach us to read and write, I wouldn¡¯t have thought anything we did was possible.¡± The elder Paladin interjected, ¡°Oh, hoho! You did it, you actually achieved the one thing Leere was afraid of. Ha, no wonder he was willing to allow you to be declared a Demon Lord, I knew all that hard work would pay off. By keeping the ¡®Lower¡¯ populace illiterate, even if they could steal any documents or plans, they could never read it. Thus surprise attacks were a rarity.¡± Napoleon smacked Themis hard on the back and the two laughed together for a little longer than what felt comfortable Themis wiped her eye, continuing, ¡°Anyway the last three kingpins didn¡¯t know what to do with the guy and had him on lookout duty. I put him to work organizing underground classes, teaching as many as I could how to read and write. Soon I picked the most trustworthy ones and we sort of became a group, we don¡¯t even have a name.¡± ¡°Anyway, after Leere learned of our classes he panicked, declaring me a Demon Lord, I had to take my family and go into hiding. Unfortunately, my dad was captured before that. Your summoning provided him the perfect cover to escape, they got lazy when they thought they¡¯d have a paladin to defend them.¡± She finished. The first to pipe up was Charlemagne, ¡°But what about all of those attacks on the barracks and guard stations.¡± Themis growls in a low voice, flipping around and falling into the chair, crossing her legs. ¡°You handed out food to people in my territory, you remember their faces at first? Let''s just say that those in the position of authority need to be better screened. Human, Non-Human it didn¡¯t matter, the guards who would take advantage of the system only cared that the ones outside the walls were open game. I apologize for nothing I okayed my people to do. ¡°But those innocent peo¡­¡± Charlemagne continued but Themis, fast as lightning covered his mouth, leaning close. ¡°None, NONE of those we attacked were innocent¡­ If you could have seen the people we released from the clutches of some of these people. Slavers, the depraved, the violent, those are the ones who suffered, and I have evidence of it all.¡± She removes her hand from his mouth, whispering as quietly as she could, I barely heard her say. ¡°You weren¡¯t there when I opened that door.¡± Grimalkin piped in, ¡°Alright Charlemagne, time to tell us, what¡¯s your story.¡± His face was hard to read, stern, curious, it was more neutral than anything. Charlemagne looked at him confused, ¡°Oh, my life was normal.¡± We all looked at him confused at this point. He stammered but continued, ¡°Yeah it was normal, I didn¡¯t go hungry, the other priests treated me great. I liked my school and the medical classes, all of my superiors treated me wonderfully.¡­ is that so out of the ordinary?¡± This time I had to chime in, laughing as I realized it. ¡°Ya know what, that makes a lot of sense, hey. Do me a favor and fill everyone in, how many non-humans did you meet while you were a kid? Ya know what, even before you met me?¡± Charlemagne looked at me like I was an idiot and then started counting his fingers on one hand. ¡°Uhm, three, I was asked to guard this kid one time when I was young cuz the priests said it would build character. Then there was a slime and a centaur in the army barracks I was stationed in during my exams.¡± A collective acknowledgment passed over everyone in the room at this point. It was obvious, this poor kid¡¯s onea those coddled ones, never let out to the real world. The gullible are the first to pull out pitchforks I guess. Charlemagne, for the most part, looked terribly confused at the four of us nodding to each other. I had to clue him in, ¡°Remember how you said you think that non-humans might have souls?¡± His head darts around, looking to see if anyone other than the five of us were there. Of course, there was no one else. ¡°SHHHHHHHHHH! I could get expelled for that blasphemy.¡± I sit him down, directly across from me, looking him in the eyes. ¡°Okay, I don''t think you¡¯re a bad guy, not anymore at least. Anyway, I think you''re also pretty smart for knowing as much as you do about advanced healing magic.¡± He nods, his gaze not moving from my eyes. ¡°So, if you¡¯re thinking that non-humans might have souls, do you think the reason they kept them away from you was so that you would just believe that they don''t?¡± His face, if it weren¡¯t so serious, would have been the funniest thing I have ever seen. In under a minute he went from crying, to bargaining, I don¡¯t really know how many stages of grief there are anymore, but I think he went through a majority of them in silence for two minutes. ¡°S-So¡­ everything I believe is a lie?¡± I get flustered at that, ¡°P-probably not everything, j-just, consider what the motives behind certain teachings might be¡­ If you disagree with it, just remove it from how you practice. Religion¡¯s more of a basic guideline from what I understand.¡± Charlemagne was quiet for a while. He got up to eat before dinner, I wonder just how much Vansen got into his head. Also, just how bad could that annoying little man with the too-large hat be? *************************************************************************************************** Homing Wisp Archive Month 7 Day 16 Year 427 Correspondence of Charlemagne V To the Desk of Speaker of the Deity Vansen. Nothing to report, Mission is on schedule. *************************************************************************************************** We awoke to a Party, Napoleon had turned the sitting room into a breakfast buffet. He¡¯s got seemingly every type of breakfast food. Fluffy, fresh steamy scrambled eggs, Toast with jellies of fruits I had no idea about. Sausages and grits, steaming and buttered. It was a full country breakfast. Themis has already dug in, "if ya want flapjacks ya better sit down.¡± He said with a smile. Have you ever seen a honey badger eat? Have you ever seen one eat with a fork and knife? Because it¡¯s a site to see, she was just packing it away, I guess all that strength as to come from somewhere, with my own gut growling I had to agree. ¡°Ya know what Napoleon, keep it coming!¡± Grimalkin and Charlemagne sat across from us as the swift Paladin of the kitchen worked away, eating as he goes. Charlemagne remarkably doesn¡¯t eat much, Grimalkin had a couple of plates. Themis and I were just packing away, I had caught up, sixteen plates a piece sat in front of us, licked clean of anything that glorious warrior chef could serve. Warning, Mother Bird stamina storage reaching capacity, 90%. recommend to cease filling your pie hole. ¡­.Okay, I know I''m not nuts, did the Manual just call my mouth a pie hole? We all finished eating, setting back and raising our legs up, still a couple of hours until we got there. Charlemagne had curled up with Grimalkin, the two were happily napping away as Themis and I sat atop the carriage. Napoleon drew on the top of the moving carriage, drawing a giant X connecting all of the corners to each other. Standing in the middle he slowly took out items from a bag. Twenty-something black feathers, some dried small lizards, and¡­ a bottle of eyes, maybe eight of them? He stood there chanting, as the reagents dissolve into a purple fog before he announced to us both. ¡°Full Cover. Now, now our tracks will be covered, our sound will be muffled, and we will be invisible to all for roughly a day or two.¡± We all stayed atop the carriage, the wind howling past, the top magically made so you could walk on it without being blown away. A walled village was coming into view, a lot of good those walls are considering the mercenaries got in anyway. Soon we pulled up outside of the village, Napoleon handing Themis and I both a cloak. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°While those two rest, we¡¯ll scout it out. Those have the same effect on them as the carriage. Don¡¯t get within twenty feet of anyone or the effect stops working.¡± Napoleon hopped off the top of the carriage, I looked down and he¡¯s perfectly fine, stretching for a run it looked like. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m takin the ladder¡± Themis was already walking back to the hatch, climbing into the cabin to use the door like a sane person. I, of course, followed her. Napoleon looked at us both, getting a big goofy grin on his face, ¡°No sense of adventure huh?¡± He tossed us both a pair of orbs, on closer inspection they¡¯re eyeballs. ¡°EYUCH!¡± I almost drop it as Napoleon stops me, clasping his hands over mine making me hold it. ¡°Those are auto-scribes. They¡¯re linked to the carriage and a gizmo in the back that I talked a friend of mine in the army into installing. Spit on them and they¡¯ll link to your minds until you crush them. They¡¯ll see what you see, record the thoughts you think. They¡¯re perfect for reconnaissance. I¡¯ve left some in a box in front of our two sleeping compatriots for when they wake.¡± Napoleon seems quite proud of this disgusting, mind-probing doodad, but fine. Let¡¯s do this. *************************************************************************************************** Record of Themis Time of Activation 11:07:17:427 Entry 1 When will this thing work? Huh? ¡°Hey, Napoleon, what¡¯s going on with this thing? It¡¯s floatin but it aint doin much else!¡± Egh, and what is with this headache? ¡°It¡¯s working when it floats.¡± Wow, I hate when this old man just waves it off. ¡°It¡¯s likely already recording, try structuring your mind like the scriptures and that slight headache you¡¯re feeling will cease¡­¡± What in the Dread is he talking about? Wait a minute, what¡¯s that echo in my head? Echo! I heard it again¡­ Wait, does this mean I¡¯m my own narrator?! Dread Yes! The first Non-Human centric scripture since Mountain Crasher Erinth! That guy was my hero growing up! All the plays, and all the reenactments, oh, when I finally read his scripture when Caspen pilfered it, it was a dream come true! Wait, does that mean this echo in my head is me hearing it as it¡¯s written? I¡¯m gonna have fun with this! I, the mighty and gallant Themis followed Napoleon through the trees, us staying close so we could be in contact. While the Paladin would be walking in the front door, it was still up, the thick timber making the gate quite impressive, so he would be our eyes on the inside. So far we¡¯ve found about five or so puny platoons, just a few thugs and some swords, nothing I couldn¡¯t handle on my own with a muzzle on and an arm behind my back. Really, these guys are pretty sloppy. Another twenty minutes and another five guard stations, all of them seemed manned with at least five or six pieces of cannon fodder. Here¡¯s hoping most is well and good inside of the village so these guys can live to see another day. I¡¯m not gonna spare a murderer, a pillager, no monster gets away. After another twenty or so minutes we¡¯d made it to the other gate on the far end of the village. Also open, they seemed to be pulling in some foodstuffs¡­ What? I guess this was more than just a sack and loot. These clowns might just make it out of here alive. Around thirty guards at the gate, counting the ones in armor pulling the wagons. Napoleon spoke first, I''d honestly kind of forgotten they couldn¡¯t hear us. ¡°Seems they plan on staying, I hadn¡¯t expected mercenaries to have a supply line already in place for Thebes. This doesn¡¯t feel right, if all my time as a soldier tells me anything, this is a set up.¡± ¡°Yeah, but even if it is, these villagers are still being held, and if anyone set you up I¡¯d bet it was the Merchants.¡± I countered back. These guys weren¡¯t dumb, they¡¯d most likely been spying on the Paladin since he was summoned. They¡¯d know he wouldn¡¯t be tricked like Napoleon, or indoctrinated like Charlemagne. ¡°Sure, I agree they¡¯re sleaze-balls but why would they set us up? Surely they¡¯d know we would stake this place out before we¡­¡± Just then some thought must have dawned on him because he ran into the village through the gate. ¡°I doubt we have long, we MUST get back to the carriage Grimalkin and Charlemagne are in mortal danger!¡± ¡°What?!¡± I run after him, leaping and bounding with grace. Suddenly we hear a giant explosion from in the distance, a great wind sending out cloaks flying. The thirty or so guards then promptly spotted us just appearing out of thin air. ¡°Oh dread.¡± Napoleon quickly jumped back behind me, activating his skills which make me feel a bit warm and tingly. Then I rush at the large elephant-like beastman, giving his tusk a hard punch with my new weapon. For a fossil, Napoleon has a great taste in weapons, as the tusk shattered under the power of the blow, sending the bandit flying. A kobold mage sacrificed some reagents and sent a powerful fire spell my way. Time to see if this works. Lifting my arms up and pressing them together the giant shield deploys from my fists, I dig my feet in as the attack hits me. It sends me back a bit, claw marks in the ground reaching three or four feet before the Kobold stops channeling, falling over exhausted. ¡°That all you got weaklings?!¡± I scream to my impotent challengers. That got their attention as four thugs rushed at me, a slime transforming into a flying sword, a Centaur with a spear with a human riding him using a crossbow as a ratlike beastman fired at me with his bow. I walk forward, not even blocking, letting the arrows hit, bouncing off of my armor. I really need to go see the gal that made it when I get back. Any arrows that hit my flesh fared no better, bouncing off my armor-like skin. I even grit my teeth and let the centaur slam his spear hard into my gut, it didn¡¯t pierce the armor and I doubt it would have pierced my skin either. Oh, this would be good. I look up at the centaur, holding his spear as he has yet to give up. The most menacing smile I could muster crossing my lips, fangs showing, I hold the spear with one hand as I stash away the shield gauntlet. Showing the bandits my claws as a rumble grew in me. Pulling the spear back and forcing the centaur to strike me again, not a scratch, then I made him strike my neck with it, the tip broke off his spear. The deepest, most rumbling growl in my voice. ¡°RUN!¡± My smile deepened. The smart half or so ran, five of them collapsed on the spot, including my new centaur friend, finely giving me my gift, so sad it was broken now. The final ten rushed, Napoleon laughing in my mind ¡°Enjoying yourself I see? As you asked, I will only intervene if you wish, if only I had your stamina.¡± He was jovially chuckling at the thrashing I was giving. Oh, meanwhile some bonehead tried to strike me with his sword, I caught it, shattered it, and struck him with my claws, giving him a nice stylish little scar for the future. I made sure to miss his eye, how else would I spread the rumor of my power and mercy? The next was a slime, deciding to cannonball itself at me like a projectile. After I grabbed the green wiggling substance in my hand, I proceeded to shove it down some unlucky human¡¯s mouth, throwing them both into a tree. Four more in a row, oh, I know how to do this. I bend down, pressing myself as low as I can, and jump up, grabbing a tree branch with my tail. ¡°Catch me if you can!¡± I claw over the trees crawling over them using my claws to grip onto the wood. Leading the fools into the forest inside of the walls. The fools followed me in, they didn¡¯t know what hit them. My tail holding onto the branch, I dropped down behind one of them without making a sound, gripping one of them in a sleeper hold. With one of the seven down, six more toys to go. Zipping from bush to bush, making them freak out, one of them screamed and tried to run away, I let him of course. ¡°Napoleon, one coming your way, make sure he runs OUT of the town, got it?¡± I tell him through the skill. All I got in return was some grumbling. I quickly zip behind two of them, slamming a human and a centaurs heads together, just strong enough to knock them out. Spinning around I slam a third one down with my tail, if he¡¯s not out he should just stay down. The final two soil themselves and run away, awh, I was hoping for more of a warm-up. Cracking my knuckles didn¡¯t seem to impress Napoleon as we continued dashing through the middle of town, trying to get to whatever caused that massive explosion. Running through the woods I notice something, a familiar wooden structure made out of logs. ¡°Adventurers!¡± It was a small guildhall, made for only servicing a few adventurers to turn in quests and receive rewards. There was a ceasefire between mercenaries and adventurers, due to the similar line of work they wound up running into each other often. So an agreement was reached saying that without a contract, Adventurers and Mercenaries will not interfere with one another. ¡°Napoleon, wait, if there¡¯s still adventurers here we might find some back-up! I¡¯ll go on ahead and check, you use that heavy coin purse of yours to get us some reinforcements, it seems we don¡¯t have time to think up a plan.¡± It seems he agreed with me as he broke off his skills, nodding at me as I ran forward. I can only pray that the guildhall has a couple of poor souls looking for coin. Running along the main road I''m passing a lot of stone processing plants with jade in them, a few farms and other things. The people seem to still be here, as they¡¯re tending to their jobs¡­ This is getting more and more confusing. I can understand and endorse not killing them all, but they aren¡¯t really even controlling them in the least. There¡¯s someone in the road. A larger slime, the yellow kind, with a green¡­ That¡¯s another slime, the yellow slime is using a transformed green slime as a weapon. This one might not go down so easily. ¡°I can¡¯t let you go any further, sorry sweetie.¡± Oh no, did that¡­. ¡°Did you just call me sweetie you uppity lemon-lime snotball?!¡± This is not good, I don¡¯t know magic, I can only really do physical damage, that slime is more than a small obstacle in my way. He swung, the green blade reaching toward me as I leaped to my left, I needed to find a way around him. The Paladin has that electric weapon, he¡¯s a better fit for this blob than I am, just give me something I can punch or slash or something! The yellow slime is now moving around on the ground, almost as if it were swimming, just a hand holding the green blade as it bounded toward me. This pain was trying to get me to block, so I jumped, but the blade moved, wrapping around my leg and slamming me to the ground. ¡°Let me go ya bastard!¡± The armor slime reformed, swinging me around on a great green leash, slamming me into the ground. Egh, even with my tough skin if I take too many of these crushing attacks I¡¯ll be in trouble. I grab my shield gauntlet, raising it up so the shield would deploy, while I was in air mid-swing, I slammed the side of the deployed shield into the blade. It let go of me screaming. I sliced clean through it, the lime reconnected to itself after it let me go. Finally, I was behind him, full speed to reinforcements. There¡¯s the Paladin a little down the road, Getting assaulted by some human with a whip or something. That¡¯s something I can handle, time to trade-off! *************************************************************************************************** Emergency Congressional Session Month 7 Day 17 Year 427 Called by the right of Speaker Vansen. First to speak: Speaker Vansen ¡°Honorable judges and magistrates, merchants and warriors. I ask that you listen to me. Long have we been under the threat of Demon Lords rising to usurp us and bring chaos to our lands. Long have we summoned the mighty Paladins to defend us, but today I bring you grave news.¡± ¡°On the journey to a village two days from here, to help with a recent magic beast surge. Paladin Napoleon, as well as the freshly summoned Paladin, was attacked by the Demon Lord. We have confirmed all five of their deaths, the scripture of the priest I had assigned to them had indicated a lack of trust placed in him by the Paladin. Surely the sympathizers must be purged, their thoughts have cost us our great Hero.¡± ¡°As you all know, we may only summon a Paladin once every twenty years. We are left on our own now, the Demon Lord is returning to the Green City as we speak. What will you do now, you leaders of the nation?! Will you allow this great city to burn? Will you allow the Demon Lord to rise, topple our mighty church, our mighty scripture?¡± ¡°No, I believe you will do the right thing. Restore the rights of the most perfect race. We must watch over the lesser ones, for their own protection. Lest they be led astray and become Demon Lords.¡± ¡°Return our Paladin given right to own the lesser beings.¡± Chapter 14: Vem on a Skewer Vem On A Skewer. I¡¯d activated my auto-scribe when I entered the main gate, but to be honest, it was kinda creepy. I just couldn¡¯t handle the eye over my shoulder, so I just did what Napoleon said, crushed it in my hand. Oddly, it turned into sand¡­ which didn¡¯t make it any less unsettling. The feeling of being constantly watched was NOT on my to-do list after yesterday. After I walked inside the gate, right after a ten to twenty-minute stroll inside, there was this giant bubble over a field. I got a bit closer before I noticed one of them getting near, seeing me. They were kind of like goats, with short stubby legs, a swirly green symbol kind of carved into them¡­ or was it natural? It¡¯s hard to tell, anyway. It literally floated over to me inside of the bubble, staring at me from the other side. ¡°Baaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmm¡± ¡°Oh, It¡¯s a vem!¡± The words came out of my mouth before I could cover it. The vem close to the one already looking at me heard my reaction and moved in closer. A light green Kobold came out of the front of a white plank shack in the back of the property. Farmland stretched behind the house with a couple of silos and a barn to match. ¡°Okay girls, just what are you lookin¡¯, aahhhhhh¡­¡­.¡± When he cut off, he had reached the inside of the twenty feet radius, seeing me appear out of the ether, with seven hover-goats all looking at me funny. He quickly jumped and got ready to run, bracing himself for some sort of sprint. ¡°Shhhh, shhhhh, please don¡¯t be loud, I¡¯m the Paladin, I¡¯m here to help!¡± I say, as quick as I can, not moving too fast as he slowly nods at me. ¡°Uhm, help with what Sir Paladin?¡± They start to raise up but then look at me funny again. ¡°Wait a second, how do I know you¡¯re the Paladin?¡± I really hope this works as I try to will the sword back into this plane of existence. ¡°Please?¡± I figured asking politely wouldn¡¯t hurt if it was indeed intelligent. And yeah, the sword sliced open a hole between dimensions and floated to my hand. This made the kobold hop back down and bow before me. ¡°Oh Paladin, how may I help you in your quest?!¡± I walk over and raise him up, dusting him off. ¡°We were told the Spiral Mercenaries took over the town, they sent me to save you.¡± After he got back on his feet, he offered to let me inside. There was a sign above the gate to the house. ¡®Cobb¡¯s Ranch. Vem and Veggies.¡¯ I explained that Lord-Governor Leere had sent us to assist the village. The Spiral Mercenaries had taken over, and we were here to rescue them in our carriage full of supplies for relief. The response I got was not what I was expecting. ¡°Oh, those guys? Nah, they showed up about two weeks ago, they¡¯ve been a pretty big boost for the town revenue-wise, they said they were on the lookout for bandits.¡± That doesn¡¯t sound right. An explosion in the distance loud enough to rock the house echoed through the walls. We both ran outside, seeing a large plume of smoke in the distance, around the area of the carriage. ¡°Charlemagne, Grimalkin, NO!¡± I start running toward it as a man walks up in front of us, wielding a sword over three feet in length. ¡°Now, I gotta stop ya right there Paladin, I¡¯ve got orders saying your little ¡®Fellowship¡¯ ends now.¡± The fire-eyed man cried out, his bronze hair waving in the wind as he slung his sword toward me. He was well over twenty feet away. There was no way he would hit me. I had forgotten a very important factor; I had already been told of a whip-sword user. The blade struck against my armor, a stabbing pain as it lands in front of my heart, not piercing the armor, but the impact rattling me. ¡°Oh, made of stern stuff I see. Here, let me give you a look.¡± The Swordsman flung his blade toward a metal silo on the ranch, slicing it in half easily. The top half slid off slowly, then stopped, somehow not all the grain falling out. ¡°This thing¡¯s a beaut. Every mission I had it enchanted with most of my paycheck. She truly is a legendary weapon, and now, I will finally get a chance to prove it. I think the name ¡®Paladin Slayer¡¯ sounds nice, don¡¯t you?¡± Slinging it toward me again, I pulled out my weapon, spinning and blocking the blade with two of the segments crossed in front of me. A line of electricity raced up his blade. The arc stopped at the hilt, however, dispersed by some effect as the unhinged man laughed to himself. ¡°Now, that¡¯s actually impressive, fine, I¡¯ll tell you the name of your killer before you die. I am David, son of Ashborrow, greatest raider of the five seas, Slaughterer of¡­¡± He went on for another minute, but truthfully, I¡¯m not even sure the vem cared at this point. I jumped forward before he could retract his extended weapon, flinging my blade forward the lightning crackled around it. I turned my wrist at just the right moment and the poles wrapped around his wrist, delivering enough shock to put a cattle prod to shame. He quickly pulled his sword back, curling it around the links and forcing the pole off of his arm. No blood had came out of him, so he shouldn¡¯t be able to use any healing magic like Charlemagne. He just tossed the handle into his other hand and flung it toward me, the blade barely grazing my cheek. But then I saw the whip¡¯s actual target. ¡°You thought you could win with elementals? Against me? You, who has been here maybe a week, while I¡¯ve fought to survive here all my life.¡± At the end of his blade, where the sword met its tip, it impaled a vem. The sword is leaching the blood from its body as I saw it shrivel up, the handle now glowing red in the man¡¯s hand. ¡°Repair Shock!¡± As soon as he cast his ability some red glow from the handle shrunk, not using up all the blood. His arm glowed green, the aura overtaking it as the scorch marks and shaking left his hand. Like hell, I would let this continue. I jumped at him, willing my partitioned pole into a bo staff. I tried poking him from long range, getting just far enough away that the sword form couldn¡¯t hit me without extending. He was laughing as I grazed and zapped him over and over. He would just keep repeating the same spell. Finally I backed off, jumping away. I needed to get this sword away from him somehow. ¡°Pain Vampire.¡± I whisper to myself, activating my skill and infusing my weapon with it before the spear tip pops out of one end. Made to focus and redirect the energy from the weapon, and being near indestructible, it should be a match for whatever he was packing. I swung forward, bringing my spear down and causing a large crackling hole to appear where the soft grass before had been. ¡°Bring it!¡± He jumped away, clutching his right leg as the shock wave from my attack had burned him. I went back to trying to medium range. However, right as I got my fifth slice in, I was starting to feel it. Draining away at me, feeling the pain of my own attacks is a bit of a mind-screw. The more damage I do, the worse I feel. Still, I bet if I can get this to a point where he doesn¡¯t notice how much damage I¡¯ve done, he¡¯ll just drop the blade. After my eighth small cut plus jolt that caused my body to buck slightly, he noticed that something was definitely up. Curling his arm back and pressing the hilt to his belly, he aimed it right at me. A crashing sound comes from the tree behind where I just was. It would have been where my head had been. ¡°Minor healing, Repair Shock!¡± He announced, holding the sword in front of him, drawing power. Now¡¯s my chance. I lunge forward, separating my weapon into three poles connected by a chain again, however, this time both ends had a blade on them. I feel much better, which isn¡¯t a good thing. It means his injuries are cleared up, and that I suffered those attacks for nothing. I land a good blow on his arm, forcing him back. The sword is out of blood as the handle isn¡¯t glowing read. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s time for me to get serious, is it? I thought you¡¯d be some fool newby, but you have some guts, let¡¯s see just how many! Tallon Storm!¡± The blades from his sword separated. There were now three of them I had to keep track of. No, this idiot is right, I¡¯m in way over my head here, and as long as we¡¯re on this farm, he can heal that arm wound if I give him a moment to get another one of those vem, or deity forbid; the farmer. I run into the barn and he quickly follows suit, throwing the bladed whips forward, destroying the back end of the barn as I continued running. Hopefully, I would reach the middle of town. If I can find some unlucky bandit and knock him out, maybe I can transfer enough of the pain from him to get rid of this maniac with the extendo-sword. It wasn¡¯t easy. All of this dodging is cutting into my stamina. Personal Exhaustion Level at 76% Rest is recommended. Would you like to restore oxygen and nutrients through Mother Bird? Yes, or No? ¡°Yes, yes, YES! A thousand times Yes!¡± While that man is human, this demonic sword of his never rests. Initializing¡­ Initializing¡­ Initializing¡­ Success. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Skill Gain: Second Wind. Mother Bird storage capacity down to: 73% Total Capacity needed to activate skill: Second Wind: 25% I hadn¡¯t heard him casting spells, but I saw more than one animal get impaled. He must have a supply of reagents, knowing where we¡¯re going. ¡°Get back here and fight me like whatever Legendary Hero you¡¯re supposed to be. This blade is thirsty and vem just doesn¡¯t cut it anymore!¡± he called. A blade shot past my face, giving me a deep cut on my cheek. Whatever spell he¡¯s using to patch himself up. It isn¡¯t enough, he¡¯s been getting sloppy because he doesn¡¯t feel it, trying to save up the blood for when we¡¯re away from the farms. He¡¯s not healing himself enough. My body is screaming at me when I move, getting worse and worse. ¡°Stop attacking me now, turn over your weapon, and you might make it out of this alive,¡± I say, stopping my run as I turn around, a large water fountain behind me. The streets were deserted due to everyone hearing us fighting. Sure, reinforcements are sure to show up, but I mean, really. Where else would Themis and Napoleon be, other than in the middle of a pile of cannon fodder mowing them down? *************************************************************************************************** Emergency Congressional Session. Month 7 Day 18 Year 427 Called by the right of Speaker Vansen. Eighth to speak: Lord-Governor Julius Ozymandias Leere. ¡°I come to you all, not as Lord-Governor, but as a businessman, Fellow Merchants, do you not know the pain of labor wages? Wouldn¡¯t you just like to pay upfront, once, and then never have to pay your employees again? Humans are expensive to employ, we all know this.¡± ¡°With this measure, Non-Humans will finally be able to have a job again. The job you deem appropriate. Goodbye, monthly wages, salaries. Say hello to bidding wars and labor abundant. Think of how many different skill-sets are down in the clay city. Think about what you could do if those skill sets were yours and not theirs. Well, you wouldn¡¯t have to daydream about it anymore if you can just own them with their skills.¡± ¡°The church is on our side, and with no Paladin to protect any of us, even the likes of Blue City may fall if the Demon Lord is not crushed now. Do it for your children, do it for your parents, do it for your investment returns!¡± The head of the committee then interceded because of the eruption of cheers from the merchant and church thirds. ¡°I beg you all to order right this instant! Now then, continue honorable Lord-Governor.¡± ¡°Should we instead let the Demon Lord lead them all astray? Should we allow such unsalted soil to become a mire in our way? How will we conduct our business under the constant threat of a Demon Lord attack?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you see the trash we let accumulate outside of these jade walls? Well, I for one have always made good money selling trash as treasure, the only difference has been the way one looks at it!¡± ************************************************************************************************** Record of Grimalkin Time of Activation 12:07:17:427 Entry 1 Oh boy, these things again, ECHOOOOOO! It¡¯s been a while since Papaw deployed me with one of these. To catch up the log, we¡¯ve just been attacked, the carriage where we were sleeping was assaulted. Small explosions scattered around outside woke me up. Before we wound up getting hit, I lugged Charlemagne and the pile of cases off the table through the window. ¡°What!? What just happened, why is there fire? How did you know that was gonna happen?¡± I quickly stuffed the paper note Napoleon wrote about the auto-scribes into his mouth. ¡°First, the carriage just exploded. Second, I don¡¯t know anything else you don¡¯t know. Now, grab those cases, jump on my back, and shut up if you want to live.¡± Surprisingly, he responds well to a direct order. Before I had gotten the last word out, he was up on my shoulders, ready to go. Eyuch, I just got this suit, still, jumping through the trees, you''re bound to get some bird poop on ya. ¡°So, uhm, I take it this is not going according to plan? So how did they find us?¡± he asked. ¡°They threw a few small explosive spells out first to find us,¡± I said, and he just responded with a dejected grunt, clearly rattled by the event. ¡°Grimalkin¡­. I have something to confess.¡± I hear a sniffle or something. ¡°Okay, tell me, just don¡¯t sneeze on me!¡± I quickly bounce back. ¡°Vansen sent me here to spy on you, I don¡¯t know how but this may be my fault, please don¡¯t leave me here to diiiiiiie.¡± He¡¯s crying, he¡¯s crying a lot¡­ He¡¯s crying LOUDLY! An explosion hit the tree in front of us, forcing me to stop and let Charlemagne get off of my back. ¡°I will not leave you¡­ Now, just stay safe, all right?¡± I grab my upgraded arrows and bow, leaving the cases with Charlemagne. A fire-red kobold appeared out of a burning segment of the forest. Three balls of fire spinning in his hand as he chucks another one at me, I quickly dodge and rush at him, but the closer I get, the hotter it is. I don¡¯t think I can step within fifteen feet of this walking volcano. ¡°Oh, you must be Grimalkin, the Paladin¡¯s tester-slave. There¡¯s a price on your head, and I plan on taking it!¡± He flung the other two at me, one right after the other as I bounced from tree branch to tree branch avoiding them, pulling my bow off of my back and knocking an arrow. I let it loose, flying right at the kobold as it hit a wall of flame. It sunk a good two inches into the wall, but was stopped when the wooden shaft was incinerated over a foot from my target. ¡°Oh, you think you can beat me? We¡¯re the finest mercenaries in the Blue City, you aren¡¯t going to be that lucky.¡± Two large spinning pillars of flame lunged at me as I ducked behind a thick tree. The fire not burning the tree so much as crushing it with destructive force. I nocked another arrow, pulling three feathers out of my pack and a gem. This would be a lot of reagents for a single arrow, but I doubt I will have anything else make it through. ¡°Wind Piercer, Dusklight Cold, Bitter End¡± All the spells crackled around the arrow, the surrounding aura an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colors. It hummed as I pulled it back. This arrow ready, aching to for release, but I needed a better angle. Those pillars haven¡¯t quit. Whatever fuel that Kobold is packing, he¡¯s confident he won¡¯t run out soon. Using the claws on my feet and with one hand I climbed the back of the tree, placing myself on a high branch I aimed down at the short pyromancer. Right as I pull back, aim adjusted, he just has to look up. I lose my arrow and¡­¡­. It misses, shooting right through the Kobold¡¯s barrier but not hitting his body. I check my pouch; there are only enough reagents in there to give me two more shots with all of those spells on the arrow. A lot of good this Dread Metal will do if I can¡¯t get it in contact with my enemy! I dodge from tree to tree, looking back and see Charlemagne on the ground, running after me, trying to keep up. The pyromancer, however, was riding a giant bird made of fire he¡¯d manifested himself, it was shaving off the tops of whatever trees it touched. Charging forward, I hear an odd ¡°SCREEEEEEE!¡± from behind me, the sound feeling like it was getting further away. I quickly look back to see Charlemagne, pushed up against a tree, crying his eyes out. NO! I will not let you take him from me, not you, not Vansen, not ANYONE! I pull out a vial of purple liquid, crushing it in my hand; the glass cuts open my fingers, mixing with my blood. ¡°Dawn¡¯s Blight.¡± Fire runs through my veins, my skin is thunder. I leap as quickly as I can, slamming into that heat barrier with my bow I send the Pyromancer flying as it connects squarely with his snout. He goes flying a good thirty feet across the forest floor, a fire burning up the forest behind him. I collapse on top of Charlemagne, gasping. ¡°What did you do, you foolish kitten? Was that an army drug?! Where did you even get that?¡± he asks me, I¡¯m in no place for this twenty questions routine. I put my hand over his, trying to lift myself up, I do so very shakily, ¡°So many questions doc, It¡¯s just an old family heirloom.¡± My muscles feel like they¡¯re falling off of my bone like a well-cooked roast. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m able to keep this up, I hope that pyromancer is down for the count. Charlemagne grabbed his bag. ¡°Fine, just tell me what it costs from you so I can fix you up.¡± Always thinking about others¡­ I still remember when I would see you in the academy. Sucking up to those bullies, bringing them whatever they wanted. Charlemagne might not know it yet, but those bullies are the exact thing that puts us on the same side. Oh wow, my mind is kinda nuts right now. Hey look, there¡¯s a magic frog. ¡°Hiiiiiii froggy!¡± I say in an airy, echo-y voice. The frog then spoke to me. It had a very hairy piece of gum in its mouth. ¡°Hold still or this incantation won¡¯t be able to find all of those little tears you gave yourself all throughout your body.¡± That¡¯s a silly frog! But I felt kinda better¡­.. ¡°Hey, wait a minute, what happened?¡± Charlemagne laughed, patting me on the head, ¡°Shut up if you wanna live.¡± So there I lay, my mind wondering about the infinite complexities of the universe. While an adorable frog tried to save my life¡­ Just your average day in the woods. After around ten minutes we heard rustling in the distance where I had thrown the kobold, most of the wildfire has calmed down by now, the trees and grass were still pretty wet from the rainy season. By the time I noticed, my mind was working again as a fireball had sailed over my right shoulder. Slamming into Charlemagne, causing him to grab his right arm in pain, burns and small patches of fire up and down it. After they put it out, I looked over to see that Kobold I thought I had knocked out. Apparently he doesn¡¯t enjoy staying down ¡°Charlemagne, stay here¡­ take care of yourself, I have something I need to do.¡± I looked down at the case with the finger holes. I¡¯d designed it when I was 14, told Hephy I was making my very own ¡®Forbidden Weapon¡¯. Pulling the strings out, the case opened; six small puppets were all inside. All forged after the mighty heroes of the ¡®Army of the Five People¡¯. Colored black and purple by what might as well be the very flesh of their greatest foe. Testing it out I pull out the Puppet designed after Erinth, a small two-foot centaur dual-wielding spears with large cleavers on the end. ¡°Oh wow, you think you can beat me with toys?¡± the kobold gleefully interjected. Controlling the puppet with strings placed on the ends of the fingers on my right hand. I commanded Mountain-Crasher Erinth to take the battlefield once more. Once I felt the ease; I put my left hand into controlling Varn, the human sword-master. While not height accurate, the Varn was slightly smaller. I¡¯d guess it¡¯s hard packing away an eight-foot-tall Centaur. A giant ball of fire hurdled toward the pair, charging at their enemy. Erinth crossed his mighty spears above his head, bringing them down, cleaving the blast of plasma in half. ¡°That won¡¯t work on legendary heroes,¡± I respond; heart racing, I¡¯m getting into it as I hear Charlemagne yell from the distance. ¡°Protect Effigies!¡± I look back to see him healing up his arm. It looked a lot better, but he is sweating more, he may near his limit. Dawn¡¯s Blight does not just inflict ¡®minor damage¡¯. When my eyes dart back around to my puppets, my hands controlling them through mostly raw muscle memory. The Pyromancer, upon hearing the support spell from Charlemagne, unleashed another torrent of fireballs his way. I commanded the glowing duo to intercept. ¡°Come-on, come-on!¡± The controls feel heavier, I can¡¯t see them behind so much fire, but I can feel their movements. It¡¯s like they put on several pounds. Slicing their way through a fireball toward me was Mountain-Crasher Erinth, eleven feet tall with Varn and Charlemagne riding on its back. I flicked my wrist, Erinth picking me up as he galloped by, leaving the pyromancer in the dust. I hug tightly to the back of the Mountain crasher, nimbly moving my fingers to keep his movement constant as I look back at Charlemagne behind me; gripping onto my torso with the strength of a newborn child. As I look back from riding on my legendary puppet, I see a large tornado of fire; chasing us toward the center of town. Chapter 15: Sword Charmer. Sword Charmer Emergency Congressional Session Month 7 Day 19 Year 427 Called by the right of Speaker Vansen. Open Call Speaker: General Theodore Winston Oberon. General Oberon, a high-ranking member of the military, has chosen to speak. Breaking his thirty-year vow of silence, all senior military officers must take. In Choosing to do this, Theodore Winston Oberon will be submitting his resignation to the council. ¡°I speak to you now¡­ As a man who has taken a vow of silence, not to protect any great valuable secret from our enemies. Not, to better serve the people of this country. Not, so I can allow true depravity like this to go unpunished.¡± ¡°When they are first enlisted, all members of my armed forces must take an oath, passed down from Holy Paladin Cedric himself. To protect the peoples of this nation, human, slime, centaur, kobold, and beastman alike. This meeting, called by a false prophet, is nothing more than to step on the very scripture they founded this country on!¡± ¡°I beseech you now, knowing full well that this committee has the votes bought and paid for pushing this action through the congress. I beseech you not to trample our mighty history, for we may still make something grand out of this country. Do not throw away our chances at coexistence just to line your pocketbooks!¡± ¡°I have served, thirty years as a general or higher, forced into the vow of silence by the Green Church. They tell us it is to reduce the spread of violence, by keeping us silent no one else can pick it up. In reality, it is so we cannot share the experiences we have gained serving alongside those who differ from us.¡± ¡°You may think the differences make us not trust each other on the battlefield. You may even think it causes deaths. Those who die would have died anyway from their own foolishness not to accept what is right in front of them. Every soldier I have under my command is PROUD to serve beside their non-human brothers and sisters!¡± ¡°I came to this committee ready to beg you all. Ready to get on my knees and grovel. But no¡­ The time for passively standing back is over.¡± ¡°I come now to give an ultimatum. If you are to pass this accursed law, allowing for the ownership of non-humans. The Red City will fight you. We will not back down. We will be the line in the stand that you shall not step over!¡± *************************************************************************************************** Record of Charlemagne Time of Activation 12:07:17:427 Entry 1 How do I use this blasphemous little thing, anyway? The note is simple, but¡­ wait, there¡¯s an echo in my head? Does this mean it¡¯s working? ¡°HOLY!¡± another fireball sailed past Grimalkin and I as I did my best to not freak out. ¡®Protect Effigies¡¯, a spell designed to bring power to the clockwork statues of the old defenders. Forbidden to all but the inner circle of the speaker. Its true purpose is to activate the defenders, to increase their size and fend off any outside intervention. However, when I saw that my friend¡¯s puppets had the same shape, it was an easy decision. I hear clicking and ticking, this puppet isn¡¯t just controlled by Grimalkin¡¯s movements, I hear clockwork inside of it. I hug onto him from behind as another three fiery orbs sail past our heads. Puppet-Erinth could dodge them all however with ease. ¡°It¡¯s hard to drive with you clinging like that!¡± Grimalkin yelled back at me, I know he¡¯s gotta be just now getting used to this, and I want to give him support. However, what came out was, ¡°It¡¯s hard to not cling with you driving like that!!¡± He shrugged and laughed at me; his tightly pressed suit was a mess. ¡°Fair enough I guess, just hold on, I think I can send Varn back to give us some cover.¡± With that he slung one hand back, controlling the swordsman as it jumped off of the centaur¡¯s back gracefully. The purple and black Varn was at full height, 5¡¯6 with two swords to either side. I¡¯d read of him in the scripture¡­ I wonder if he will live up to the splitter of forests. Varn crossed his swords as I heard Grimalkin shout. ¡°Thousand Butterflies!¡± His swords quickly uncrossed; sparks appear as metal scrapes along metal. But the Sparks do not fade off; instead, they come to life as small butterflies, all landing on the blades after the summoning was complete. Pointing the two swords in a V direction, the butterflies all flew out, dispersing within the cone. The orange butterflies danced among the trees for a while. Then, they started coalescing in one place. We heard screaming as we escaped. The butterflies might not be lethal, but they will light your skin, no matter the race, ablaze. Rushing out of the forest, Grimalkin stops Erinth and I look around. There are people moaning in pain in front of me. There is not much blood on the floor, but more keeps leaking out of the poor souls in front of me. I hear crashing in the distance as I pull out the leather case Napoleon had said was for me. ¡°Grimalkin, GO! I¡¯m needed here, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Tears come freely, showering my face as they always would. A crybaby, that¡¯s me, and I¡¯m damn well proud of it! Looking back at him right before he leaves the interior of the destroyed saloon we found ourselves in. ¡°Make them dread.¡± Grimalkin bowed to me, opening his leather box and changing out his puppets. I turned back to the eight people strewn around the floor in front of me. Their arms and legs had gashes, two of them were bleeding pretty badly from the thigh so I had to go to them first. Cupping the blood pouring out of their wound, I started my prayer. "Oh Holy force, return this life to its body.¡± The blood disappeared as my hands grew a lime green color, pressing them to the beastman¡¯s thigh. The disgruntled antlered man tried to push me away, but considering the blood loss, it was a light tap. ¡°Hate me later!¡± Ugh, just hold still, all of you hold still! I could see it in my mind as I pushed my fingers into the wound, finding the artery I pressed it together and my fingers grew warm. Spreading up my arm through my body and his, I could feel our strength become one. Using both of our power like a thread, I reconnected the torn flesh. ¡°M-M-My wife¡­¡± He hoarsely moaned out. He pointed to the centaur woman across from him; she was bleeding out; the blade had struck her lower body. Taking my backpack off, I leaned over her and spread what strength I had left from the husband over to his wife, hoping to stop the bleeding. Taking the organs out of the cupboard that I would need to sacrifice to heal hers. ¡°None of you are dying today, you got that? If you give up on me, I will crawl into your bodies and yank your souls back in place!¡± It is time for the church to change. And I¡¯m starting with myself. *************************************************************************************************** Just a few minutes earlier. This is bad, really bad. I was expecting at worse he would laugh at me, but instead, the crazy swordsman had sent one of his now multiple blades right at my armor again. But this time, it hadn¡¯t held. Snaking between the weakest parts, the whip-sword had pierced my shoulder and was now pulling the blood out of my body. My legs get weak and they buckle out from under me. I look up at the fire-eyed man, unable to lift my arms. He looks down, smiling, swishing his sword back and forth, causing me to cough and sputter in pain. ¡°Had enough?¡± he said as his tongue snaked out from his lips, a look of unhindered sadism in his eyes.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Themis jumps in the fight from off somewhere in the distance, slamming her shield-gauntlet into one of the blades, shattering it. She stands between the man and me, her shoulders broad, her stance feral. Riding into battle like an avenging angel. ¡°He¡¯s not your mark.¡± Fangs bared, a growl in her voice. Lunging at the man he quickly pulled back the multiple whips, once it had recalled all of them the sword retook its original shape¡­ Kind of. There were chips, cracks in it now, Themis was pounding at them any time he would block. The cracks grew larger and larger as the fire-eyed man was forced back with every step Themis took. He was barely able to block and deflect fast enough; however, Themis, wearing her shield gauntlets, was holding back. Every punch, every swing, a new crack spread throughout the evil sword. The swordsman then pulled the sword close to his gut, bracing it like he was ready to lunge. ¡°Themis, Move now!¡± I let out a yell. All of my time with anything fantasy related gave me a bad feeling about his pose. She heard me just in time, doing a full flip backward. The sword tip was still in my wound, still in my shoulder. The blood had stopped though, meaning I can¡¯t take this thing out until I have a doc ready. Two blades shot out from the sword, more alive than ever. ¡°Sword as Limb.¡± the man announced as one blade was circling around us like a hungry snake. Yet, that was not the blade we should have worried about. The other blade struck into a saloon in the middle of the city. Destruction was everywhere as a red aura spread from the blade, appearing out of the dust pile to the handle. ¡°Now, why don¡¯t you let me kill you, before all these innocent people all die because of you?¡± The psychopathic swordsman asked. When the dust cleared, there were roughly six or more people in there, either not moving or wounded badly. ¡°Mother Bird, activate second wind.¡± My body felt restored. But the agonizing pain in my left shoulder would not go away, I was forced to put away my electrified sectional staff. Mother Bird Storage Capacity at 48% I press my hand to Themis back. ¡°Mother Bird. Restore Energy.¡± ¡°Just what are you talking about back there? We need to do something about this guy, and those two brothers can¡¯t be far behind.¡± I press harder and a warmth escapes my hand. Warning, Restoring the power of a beastman such as this will require all remaining stores. Do you still wish to restore beastman: Themis? ¡°Do it.¡± I close my eyes, waiting for the inevitable rush of power leaving my body as it did earlier with the golem. Consent: Confirmed Emptying Mother Bird Storage. For half a second I felt like I could lift a mountain. For half a second I felt like even this demonic blade in front of me would be nothing to me. For half a second¡­ I felt like Themis. ¡°Thanks for the top-up, all that running and getting bashed about takes a lot out of a woman.¡± She laughs but then looks at me sincerely, her other senses never letting the snakelike whip fall out of vision. ¡°Can you still fight?¡± Gritting my teeth and holding my left arm, I stood. ¡°Evil must be destroyed.¡± The Paladin¡¯s sword appeared in my hand, glowing brighter than ever before. Evil must not grow. We must cut it off at its source. Huh, that¡¯s the longest string of words it¡¯s said since I got here. ¡°Hey, uhm, Themis¡­ the sword just said to cut it off at the source.¡± ¡°Well, of course, it said that it¡¯s just obvious. I¡¯ll do that while you take care of our little friend here.¡± While we had been talking and planning, the mad swordsman had not been idle. Drawing a massive circle in chalk and standing inside it, he began meditating. Chanting something in a whisper so quiet I could barely hear the words, "¡­ Of the soul-forged blade¡­¡± Themis rushed him anyway, only to be confronted with the other blade, slithering around, tip pointed right at her heart. Blocking the strikes with her extended gauntlets, she tried to find a way around the blade. Yet every time they found an opening, it was quickly closed with a resounding clink of metal hitting metal. I was fairing not as well, while I blocked many of the strikes in quick succession, many of them got through. Without my left arm¡­. Wait, I used to do this all the time. ¡°Heh, I guess you reminded me.¡± I gripped the blade with my left arm, small trickles of blood coming from the wound as I prepared myself. ¡°GIVE IT TO ME!.¡± Had it truly been so long I forgot who I was? Two weeks ago, this exact same kind of pain would have just been an average Tuesday! No, if Themis is going all out, I have to as well. For the people of this town, for my new friends, and for my own soul, I will not back down. The world slowed down. Everything slowed down, my mind was flooded with the pain of my shoulder, the stabbing, burning pain of a blade stuck in the wound. Yet my grip stayed strong. It felt like the blades dancing in front of me were in slow motion; I deflected the slow strikes one by one until it overextended itself. With its final thrust forward, trying to pierce through my armor, over five feet of sword was shot behind me. Before it could recover, I had brought down the Paladin¡¯s sword, shattering the coiling serpent. Themis was raging, pounding away at an invisible force field. However, the once manic swordsman was now calmly holding his palm across the blade. Suddenly I had a spark of clarity, ¡°Wait¡­ Soul-Forge?! Like my powers soul forge?!¡± ¡°Themis, get back! This guy has another trick up his sleeve!¡± Just as I announce it, he slams the blade into the dirt, the parts of it I can see show me it¡¯s in it¡¯s extended state. Like tendrils of an old god coming through the ground, over eight blades came out, surrounding us both. I can hear a hissing sound from all of them as they close in, curling around like they are alive, encircling their prey. ¡°If we don¡¯t make it outa this¡­ Just know that you¡¯re somebody I don¡¯t mind dying beside.¡± She smiled a wild, crazy smile I have never seen before. ¡°Uhm, thanks?¡± Was all I could mutter. The two of us could barely deal with three, much less eight. ¡°Just sit back and see where all that strength went that you gave me went.¡± She dropped the shield gauntlets, the hair all over her back rising as she gets on all fours. With the sliver of blade in my arm still screaming at me, I get into as defensive a pose as I can muster. She, however, grabbed the blade in her mouth when it shot by. Her jaws coming down on the metal as if it was ancient porcelain. With pieces of broken sword cutting up her mouth, she spits them out, the same smile getting wilder and more ferocious as her own blood dripped out of it. She bounded toward him on all fours. The twenty-foot distance was a vast desert I could never hope to cross. Yet she made the strides with grace. Deflecting attacks with her claws or shattering blades with her jaw, she charged at him. ¡°Wait?! What?! Hold on now, we only need to take out the Paladin, I have plenty of be¡­¡± He never got the last few words out, the blades attacking me had frozen in place. Themis¡¯ hand was around the man¡¯s throat. ¡°Themis, what are you doing?¡± I say apprehensively. The hand not around his throat was showing the wild man its claws. ¡°Putting down a criminal willing to slaughter a saloon¡¯s worth of people. You can try to stop me. But I learned long ago not to let the monsters escape, they have a habit of just moving on and torturing someone else.¡± She looked at me. A cold sadness in her eyes as she lifted the man high up, her hand around his throat. The radiance was blinding. Her sadness was almost touchable. I did not have the heart and I look away, into the saloon as I hear a sickening ¡°CRRAAAACK!¡± Then the blades that were still standing at attention, ready to strike any poor passerby? They fell, never to rise again. I see movement in the saloon, Grimalkin walks outside of it with two small puppets, only two-foot-tall, yet they were moving and walking on their own. Out of the rubble, I see a frantic green robe moving about with a speed that might make Themis jealous. ¡°Charles has the wounded taken care of. I¡¯m guessing that poor bastard over there was the one who massacred the place?¡± The dusty, well-dressed lynx-man looked at me as if I had just woken up from bed, like it was a normal day. Aside from the heavy breathing, sweat covered brow, and B.O. coming off of him of course. Themis piped in, ¡°Yeah, hey Paladin, you should go back over to Charlemagne, you need that thing taken out of ya.¡± I agreed and walked toward the broken-down building with holes in the front and back. I heard Grimalkin, ¡°Careful, I had the explosives one chase me around, but the level of his power is way different from the reports we got.¡± ¡°Yeah, the more we¡¯re here the more this looks like a set-up. There¡¯s a pair of slimes that weren¡¯t on any of the intel you all gave me.¡± She slapped Grimalkins back, nearly causing him to tumble over as she rejoiced at her own victory. ¡°If only you had been here sooner!¡± I decided I¡¯d had enough of that and found myself in front of a panicked, sweaty, crying Charlemagne. ¡°Oh, Sir Paladin! You¡¯re wounded!?¡± He ran toward me, but stopped and then shook his head. ¡°I need you to get me as much of the blood leaking out from them as you can!¡± he pointed to the various people laying about, many of which were too heavy to move, beastman, centaur, human. Grabbing a bottle with the top broken off of it, I did what I could. I looked for broken boards dripping with the stuff, finding a few; I put bottles under the drips to collect the blood. ¡°What happened?¡± Was all I could muster as I tried to find more bottles and more drips, bringing them back to him and replacing them as they needed it. ¡°I¡¯ve stabilized the worst of them, but this attack didn¡¯t leave much in the way of reagents. I¡¯m running out of my own supplies as well.¡± He was currently cutting some sort of liver open with a scalpel, I mean, I don¡¯t know what good that will do the liver considering it looked like preservatives already pickled it. ¡°I¡¯m just going to shut up and help, just get this thing out when no one¡¯s gonna die, okay?¡± I said, bringing back a full three bottles he immediately poured over the wound of a slime, which evaporated on the spot, being consumed by whatever high-level spell he was using. ¡°No, I¡¯ll take that out and patch you up when this slime is out of the woods, I know little about them. But I know enough that I should be able to help, NOW, can you PLEASE be quiet?¡± I shut up and let him get to work. Charlemagne, with his brow covered in blood and his hands as firm, set to the surgery he had commenced. Chapter 16: Thank You For Being A Friend. Thank You For Being A Friend. Record of Themis Time of Activation 13:07:17:427 Entry 3 With the Paladin out for the count, at least I get Grimalkin. But these weird puppets¡­ ¡°You sure these are useful? They look creepy to me.¡± Letting out one short chuckle he stuck his tongue out at me then said, ¡°You can judge for yourself, now, which one of our two tagalongs will show up first?¡± Grimalkin ain''t such a pushover, we each put 5 coppers on the guys chasing each other, that way, at least whoever was at a disadvantage win¡¯s the bet. One of those small weird things was a guy with two swords, the other looked to be a reindeer type beastman with a bow. I couldn¡¯t stop looking at them, and every-time I would, Grimalkin would have them look back at me. ¡°Hey, could you lay off with that?!¡± I ask from the tree I was in for¡­. Surveillance. He¡¯s slapping his knee laughing at me! ¡°Fine, fine, just be ready, the hothead chasing me doesn¡¯t let up.¡± Egh, I¡¯d love to wrap those creepy things around his neck, but he¡¯s right. ¡°I got a couple slimes, one¡¯s using the other as a weapon, they gave me a good amount of trouble. Plus, we scouted out a ton of fodder, we¡¯ve not ran into any inside yet.¡± I can¡¯t think of seeing any of those guards from the outside since I broke through the gate¡­ ¡°Grimalkin, we need to find that kobold, NOW!!¡± He looked at me with a blank face, not understanding what I mean just yet. ¡°Why? He was a load of trouble, and it looks like his forest fire is out. I don¡¯t see the problem, really?¡± ¡°EGH! You just told me that guy was like a living volcano! We¡¯ve only seen that sword-guy over there, and he didn¡¯t seem the most stable. If we don¡¯t get out of here and find that kobold RIGHT NOW! All those people in the saloon, any villagers inside the walls, the Paladin, and Charlemagne, not to mention us, will wind up a little on the extra crispy side.¡± The look on his face gave me some hope for him yet as reality dawned on him. He took the weird case off his back and began packing up his dolls, thankfully. There¡¯s an odd smell in the air, kind of like rot. ¡°I don¡¯t like this kitty-boy, the smell¡¯s coming from the mines, we need to get over there.¡± I leap through the street as Grimalkin takes to the rooftops. He¡¯s got guts for someone still so green. It wasn¡¯t long, maybe two or three blocks until we had reached the jade mine. Large boulders of jade and lumps of clay lay everywhere. We hear a muttering inside that I motion for Grimalkin to check out. He listens in, then quickly rushes back to me. ¡°They¡¯re bringing down the whole town, we need to get out of here NOW! I¡¯m going back to get Charlemagne, you carry the Paladin and Papaw if you have to.¡± Just as he starts to run past me I grab his arm, not letting him escape. ¡°No,¡± I¡¯m so disappointed, I had such high hopes for this kid. ¡°This town is still filled with all the farmers, miners, craftspeople. I¡¯m not turning my back on them like some snob in the Blue City. You¡¯re one of us¡­ you should know better than that.¡± The look of shock that crossed his face would have caused me to hold the poor guy if we weren¡¯t against the clock. ¡°Buck up, realize where you went wrong and change it next time!¡± I¡¯m already running at the cave, I smell sulfur, and where there¡¯s sulfur, there¡¯s delayed explosive spells. I hear him come behind me, whispering into my ear as I hide behind the entrance. ¡°I¡¯m best with a bow, I¡¯ll be down to just my daggers in there.¡± In the equivalent of screaming at him while whispering. ¡°This is the PERFECT time to send in your puppets, now get to it!¡± It didn¡¯t take him long to get them ready and send them in, tugging his fingers one way or another the puppets moved in ways I wouldn¡¯t expect. ¡°Hey, how do you keep all that straight kitty?¡± ¡°Practice I guess, I did a lot of puppet shows as a kid, I kept making better and better rigs to make them move. Eventually I settled on rings, after that I heard of a low level gravity spell you could put on string so it will always draw the string taut so I can control them from a distance.¡± I nod along¡­ I get the gravity thing, but what use could puppets b¡­ Grimalkin is peeking around the corner, moving his fingers deftly as I hear three different and very short screams. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s time for us to go in.¡± As we walk inside, passing the twitching mass of humans with electricity arcing between them, I notice the mining carts. ¡°Hey, kitty, I don¡¯t know if you read the intel like I did, but sulfur hasn¡¯t been found in this mine.¡± ¡°Damn it, I was hoping you were wrong.¡± We both look down the long dark tunnel, seeing a light at the end, also hearing a voice. Grimalkin stopped me as I tried to move forward, shushing me and then looking at me square in the eye. ¡°That¡¯s the guy who attacked the carriage. He¡¯s got a lot of power, fighting him in here could be dangerous but I don¡¯t know how much time we have.¡± I nod along. If this guy is anything like that mad swordsman from earlier, then this won¡¯t go easily. ¡°How many of those can you use at once right now?¡± He pulled the case off of his back and started looking at the puppets inside of it. After a long pause, he looked up at me. ¡°These guys are really technical, I had never even imagined using two, but, if I push it maybe three?¡± That¡¯s not many, but I had to ask. ¡°Are they like¡­ special? Can you do their moves? Because if my plan is going to work, I need you to be able to seal off that kobold. No air, in or out.¡± He gave me the nod, and that¡¯s all I needed, I began running at the flame-red Kobold ¡°Hey Buster! You trashed my ride, I liked that ride!¡± He looks up from his work, creating some spell orb the size of my fist. He doesn¡¯t have long to react as I push him through the gates behind him. A large room opening up, some sunlight streaming down from above through a crack in the cave ceiling. It looked like an ancient cathedral of some kind. Grimalkin comes up behind me. A puppet of Mountain-Crasher Erinth only two feet tall is holding a man up by his collar and pulling him away. The Kobold I was holding down was screaming and sputtering, but I had my hand over his windpipe. He can¡¯t cast a spell if he can¡¯t speak it or write it. ¡°Okay, now I need you to go and get all of those time bombs down, take em back to your priest friend or something, he knows how to defuse spells doesn¡¯t he?¡± The Kobold started laughing as I tried to hold him down. His smile was growing. I look back, ¡°Grimalkin¡­ hold on, i don¡¯t know if that will work. Come here and get me out a pair of those bird bones, a sapphire, and a copper, okay?¡± I keep him held down as long as I can while kitty-boy rummages through my pockets, finding some of the only reagents I carry on me. We then trade places, him holding the kobold down. I calm myself, shutting out the sound of struggling pyromancer. Breathing in and out, I toss the reagents up, catching them as they fall. They disappear in my hand. The cost for the truth. ¡°Stand Witness. All right, Grimalkin, let them talk. Just don¡¯t let their hands go after anything.¡± ¡°What? No! What are you doing to me! Come on, we can be reasonable.¡± The kobold pyromancer screeched. After he was quite finished I touched him on the forehead, the golden aura flowing over him. ¡°How do we save the town?¡± I ask him, a rumble building within me as I do. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s simple, just kill the Paladin, if you¡¯re here it means our dear friend failed in his mission. Mine, was to set the bombs to destroy the evidence. They hired Kuro and Tidus to stop you, but it looks like that went out the window as well. These bombs will go off with me dead or alive.¡± He smiled as he said it, coughing from all the dust, looking like a fool the entire time. ¡°There has to be something that can be done.¡± Grimalkin interjected, unable to hold himself back. The kobold looked off into the distance, and then looked at me with an open mouth going, ¡°Aha! You could flood the tunnels, that would do it, otherwise, no, you¡¯re outta luck.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. I look down at him, happy as can be, ¡°Thank you so much, now, have you ever killed an innocent, have you ever done anything depraved to them?¡± the coldness in my voice comes across as Grimalkin almost lets go of the guy. ¡°Depraved, oh no. But I have killed many people in the name of the contract. Besides, it¡¯s the Demon Lord who will take the fall for everything we do here.¡± he says it smugly, proud of his body count. I go to end it, this scum is the exact thing I¡¯m fighting to get rid of, but the cat stops me. ¡°Hold on, just¡­ turn him into the adventurer''s guild? They¡¯ll try him under international laws, he attacked us and is willing to destroy a village.¡± I pause¡­ he¡¯s not actively trying to kill everyone¡­ is he? But wait, the whole town¡­ only if the Paladin died. Just as I was considering the moral gray areas this man must operate in to spare his life, a fireball struck me from behind while I was looking at Grimalkin, making me fall forward onto him. Quickly followed up by seven more, I scream out, tears running down my face as my back gets scorched, Grimalkin quickly throws two daggers at the Pyromancer but the damage is done. I toss myself to the side, out of his arms. Soon darkness takes my screaming mind. *************************************************************************************************** Record of Grimalkin Time of Activation 14:07:17:427 Entry 3 I brought up my hands as quickly as I could, the mighty Slime Hero Banfan blocking the searing attack from hitting me after Themis tossed herself to the side. Shit! I¡¯ve gotta beat this guy and get out of here, I¡¯ve gotta get Themis to Charlemagne or vice versa. Banfan was taking the hit admirably. My slime puppet¡¯s only main use is deploying itself as a shield. Much like how the real Banfan could become one of the great heroes, even though he never broke his sacred vow of pacifism. I know these stories; I engraved them in my soul, and I will use them to their fullest. Clutching my strings tight, I feel a sprig of lavender float away as magic on the wind. ¡°Meditation Room.¡± Commanding my puppet forward, the shield closed in on the fiery kobold. Impervious to his fire, absorbing it actually, the shield brought him inside of a dome, keeping him there. I could hear him firing off spell after spell, not calming down. I tap on the outside of Banfan, ¡°Hey, if you want to live, you better cool it in there.¡± No response, just more screaming and noise, smoke leaking out of the plates that hold Banfan together, and then quiet. Themis looked up at me, trembling from the hit, ¡°Idiot smoked himself, huh?¡± I rush over to her trying to help her up but she¡¯s so heavy; I call back Banfan, leaving the kobold, smoked pitch black and steaming on the ground. Controlling Erinth again; I could at least count on the strength in this puppet to help me get her back to Charlemagne. It would take some time, let''s just hope the village doesn¡¯t explode while I get her there. *************************************************************************************************** Record of Grimalkin Time of Activation 14:07:17:427 Entry 4 I fall over exhausted after carrying this passed out xeshieen for almost an hour. The saloon where Charlemagne and the Paladin are is still standing, rustling can be heard inside. I make the wise decision to go inside by myself and get one of them to help. The Paladin is pretty patched up since last time, no giant blade in his upper chest. However, there was a big gash in his armor. ¡°So, any news on Darrell?¡± I shake my head, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the rest later, but considering they don¡¯t plan on keeping this town for long, I doubt there¡¯s a Mountain-Crasher here.¡± His eyes grew as big as saucers ¡°WHAT?!¡± I wave him off, ¡°Yeah, yeah, now, where¡¯s Napoleon anyway? Themis told me on the way to the mine Napoleon went off to get some adventurers, let¡¯s hope one of them knows water magic.¡± *************************************************************************************************** Wow, those two look like crap, Grimalkin was limping, barely able to stand after carrying a badly burned Themis back to the saloon. Charlemagne has stabilized all the victims remarkably, but when Grimalkin told him we needed to run¡­ ¡°No. I will not leave my patients. If there is one teaching the church gave me, I will hold as an eternal truth. It is that we do not leave the sick or injured behind.¡± He looked at Grimalkin sadly, but the tears weren¡¯t coming. ¡°Then pick them up and move, make Erinth big again, SOMETHING! If we do not get out of here we are DEAD!¡± He was screaming at Charlemagne, his voice going out every time he tried to raise it any higher. Soon it started failing him altogether, and he crumbled at Charlemagne¡¯s feet. ¡°I¡¯m too close to losing them, but how about this, five of them can be transported soon. After Napoleon catches up to us, you all can start evacuating them and the rest of the village.¡± His words seem like those of a child. Yet he says them with a sternness that shows just how far he has thought them through. Unable to get him to move, Grimalkin stays on the wooden floor of the saloon, right where Charlemagne¡¯s feet were as he gets back to work. I lean down to help him up, but he doesn¡¯t seem to notice me, just whispering, ¡°how can I repay you?¡± I do my best to pick him up, bringing him over to one of the padded chairs that survived the attack as I notice something out of the corner of my eye in the street. I walk outside to see a large slime, in the shape of a hollow suit of armor, holding a green slime in the shape of a sword. He¡¯s got about thirty guys behind him. I groan hard, pulling my staff off of my back and putting it in spear configuration. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll run away if I tell you we¡¯ve already killed the sword guy and boom-boom lizard, will ya?¡± I hold the spear tip forward, my left arm unsteady, while I can still hold it, the pain is still jolting through my arm. The green slime shook, ¡°We¡¯ll be leaving, we just want to make sure you aren¡¯t¡± Of course it was that way, why would it be any other way? It¡¯s always this way with meat-heads, isn¡¯t it? ¡°We¡¯ve been able to handle ourselves well enough so far¡­ are you willing to test your mettle against a legendary hero?¡± Muttering runs through the group like a wave as the green slime extends, cleaving two trees on either side of the group, bringing them to attention. ¡°Shut it! With them gone, our paycheck will be like KINGS!¡± Ten of the group rushed at me, I braced myself, ready to defend as something crashed down in front of me, causing a massive cloud of smoke. ¡°I hope you¡¯re okay there. Don¡¯t you worry now, the gals and I have this.¡± A massive, seven and a half foot tall silver-white bear was in front of me¡­ wearing clothes¡­ and it can talk¡­. Beastman? ¡°Let¡¯s introduce ourselves first Bertie.¡± rolling up behind me was another slime, purple, extending a tendril to shake my hand. ¡°We¡¯re the Silver Edge. My name is Gata, it¡¯s nice to meet you, new Paladin. Now, if you don¡¯t mind, we can handle this.¡± ¡°These guys look like they might put up a fight ladies, don¡¯t slouch!¡± an elderly human woman called at the first two. ¡°This is an official quest from the Commander, let¡¯s not make fools of ourselves.¡± She held up some sort of flying gizmo. It had two wings in the shape of a bat, but the body was different. There was no head or feet, just the wings, and some gadgets. ¡°You¡¯re so cold Meredith, you can¡¯t even help the poor boy up?¡± The large white bear¡­ Bertie, I think, jabbed back at the human woman. A familiar voice came from behind me now, Paladin Napoleon stepping up, putting his hand on my shoulders. ¡°Worthy allies can be found in any age, that is, if you know where to look. These women served under myself and Oberon for some time in the Red City, relax, the cavalry has arrived.¡± Bertie ran forward, pushing the men, women, slimes, and those not otherwise defined out of the way using her raw brute force. Oh, and the fact she¡¯s a terrifying seven and a half feet tall bear caused at least 10 of them to bail before she even got to them. ¡°Hey, honey sucker!¡± Bertie''s head turned back, looking at her allies as Gata beamed her in the face with a potion bottle, falling into the bear''s large hands. ¡°Drink it!¡± As Bertie gulped down the thick blue liquid, Gata was lobbing potions and flasks at the enemy group, taking down at least three of them with what I assumed was a variation of the Molotov cocktail. After Bertie drank the strange potion, she grew a little, topping out at ten feet with a slightly deeper voice. ¡°Thanks, Gata! Meredith, I¡¯m up!¡± She raised her arms high as I looked at the old woman. She was unmoving, except for something in her eyes was. The closer I looked, I realized her left eye had multiple tiny gears inside of it, like it was mechanical. Then I heard a commotion. Looking back to Bertie she was getting surrounded by the remaining fifteen enemies, counting a few who got back up. ¡°NOW!¡± Meredith yelled, the flying bat device wasn¡¯t alone now, multiple other small varied machines converged around Bertie. In a whirl of gears and cogs, she was transformed. Adorned with clockwork armor and a steam-powered weapon in the shape of a giant hammer, her open face masked revealed the glint in her eye. ¡°Oh, this is the new one? It¡¯s not my birthday!¡± the massive bear squeed. ¡°Just don¡¯t break it too bad!¡± Meredith yelled back, laughing and taking a seat beside me, speaking to me. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s nothing more I can do, I haven¡¯t brought anything else other than those experimental drones.¡± Gata, however, was gleefully throwing a green potion at the two transformed slimes. Chasing the once threatening duo around the battlefield. ¡°Uhm, what¡¯s up with her?¡± Gata and Napoleon both groaned as I saw Bertie slam the steam-powered hammer into three of the mercenaries at once, sending them flying into the furniture store¡­ Was she playing Mini-golf with the bad-guys?! Napoleon finally decided to inform me of the obvious, ¡°Well, looks like there¡¯s no eight story centaur, all of that bluster was for nothing. I¡¯m guessing he wanted us to be ready for oversized opponents and then get blindsided by the little guys.¡± I can only nod, a little befuddled by the sights in front of me. Bertie was gleefully using her newfound height and steam powers to take her enemies on a high-school first date. Where they were the ball. Gata finally landed a light blue potion on the two slimes, the glass shattering at the slightest impact on them; they were flash frozen. ¡°That¡¯ll teach you two to go behind my back¡± The purple slime flowed up to us after pulling the two off of the battlefield. Spreading out two tendrils, comically shrugging at us, ¡°Grandkids, what can ya do?¡± Small hiatus. So, well, I just need to skip this week to let myself heal up. My hands have been... less than cooperative in my attempts to edit this latest chapter of So, I Became A Blackguard. It will return next week. I''m genuinely sorry for this, but I just need a break to keep going. This series takes a lot out of me as the chapters are longer than my other and to be honest. the worldview I had when originally writing this is quite cynical and hard to return to. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. I guess if you have any questions, be it about the story, characters, or anything else, consider this post a Q&A. This will be removed next week when I post the real chapter, however.