by Charles Dean
“Oh, what? You? You got straight A’s? Oh, my god. That’s awesome,” Bonnie said. “Don’t worry! It makes sense! Without a girlfriend to distract you, it must have been really easy to study.”
“Awkward and smart.” Viola let the words exit her mouth slowly. “A bit dull but definitely a pervasive role amongst gamers. The only question you have to ask yourself is, how will you stand out and be different from the others?”
“Why do I even have to stand out?” Nick asked. “This isn’t a play. I’m not trying to be the star. Can’t I just play the game and have fun? I didn’t work my rear off to spend the summer working my rear off again.”
“The whole world is a play, every part of it, and if you aren’t amusing, you’re forgotten,” Viola said haughtily. Then, as if something on the side of the street that no one else noticed was suddenly much more interesting than he was, she turned away from him.
“Anyway, it’s one thing to be supporting cast; it’s another to be behind the curtains,” Viola harrumphed.
“I’d hate to go to a play that didn’t have stagehands,” Lucas said, patting Nick on the back. “Not that you’re a stagehand.”
“Well, if you ever give up on the stage and end up working lights, make sure the one over me shines the brightest!” Viola sang, theatrically twirling about until the hem of her skirt flared out.
Do friends usually pick on each other like this? When Lucas had been in college, his then-girlfriend and soon-to-be wife, Yu Hua, and Liu were the only two he had ever hung out with. After that, as a CEO of an up-and-coming corporation, everyone was either a sycophant after something or strictly professional, so he wasn’t used to the type of sharp jabs and awkward insults that were always being exchanged amongst the members of his group. He couldn’t help but think that he wouldn’t have acted so calmly if Bonnie had insulted or treated him the way she did Nick.
Liu looked over at Lucas and then glanced at Nick as if to indicate she knew exactly what Lucas was thinking about. She shrugged.
“Oh, man, you sure I don’t need a collar for this, boss?” Bonnie asked. “I would look delicious in a collar. Ooo, maybe one with studs . . .”
“Will you just quit that?” Lucas replied.
“Well, she’s not wrong,” Xun Guan argued. “It would help our case here. You’re a new noble that no one knows, and you’re about to enter the court with three non-Humans, none of whom is dressed like a butler or a maid. They aren’t even carrying any brands, tattoos, or emblems to signify what house they are from.”
“Wait, do I have a royal symbol?” Lucas asked, looking down at the ring he was wearing. He had “inherited” three such rings on Hesse, and as far as he knew, they all bore the exact same symbol. It had never occurred to him that there might be more; he only naturally assumed that they were all identical. The symbol was comprised of four separate pieces, each of which was golden and set on a blue background comprised of miniature sapphires. The centerpiece was a long staff capped with a jewel and tiny dashed lines that made it look as if it were giving off a power or being activated, and then the staff was crossed by both a sword and a scepter. In the center, where all the items crossed, there was a crown serving as a sort of cuff holding them all together.
“Yes, that’s the royal symbol,” Xun Guan explained. “And those little marks”--she pointed to two stars set on either side of the ring--“those let people know you’re a Baron.”
Lucas pulled out his Ritter Ring, the one he had gotten from Rowland, to compare and noticed that it only had one simple cross where the second star was on Lucas’s current ring. The ring he had received from Kegan, which was a basic Knight’s ring, had no stars at all. It was just a ring with the royal symbol on it.
“I take it that, as I gain levels, this symbol will change?” Lucas asked.
“No, it’ll gain stars as you gain rank,” Liu answered.
“I guess this means that I also lack any house symbol since I’m new?” Lucas asked, looking at the rings. “Or did I inherit Kegan’s?”
“Can’t inherit a house’s symbol. The only people using Kegan’s symbol now would be any family members he might have left, but given that no one showed up in Hesse after his death, I can’t be sure that any even exist. I was going to look it up in the game’s files before”--she paused briefly and looked from side to side, probably not wanting to tell the others about the incident--“but I just didn’t get a chance.”
“That’s fine. I’m sure we’ll run into his family sooner or later if they’re around here,” Lucas said.
They arrived at a large one-and-a half-story-tall wooden double door that filled out a massive arched gateway. Lucas and his entourage had to climb up a few steps from the street to reach it. There were six attendees and four guards stationed around the door, and Lucas could only presume that they had arrived at the royal court.
“I’m sorry, sir, but you’re not--” One of the attendants had begun rejecting Lucas and his people before Lucas could even say anything, but as soon as the gentleman saw Lucas’s and Liu’s rings, he corrected himself. “I mean . . . Baron, Lady, I apologize for my rudeness. Are these your servants? May I know which of you each of them is representing?”
“Is it your place to question whom I bring?” Lucas automatically slipped back into his role of the villain, and he felt like acting a little haughty since they had come so close to turning him away without a second thought.
“No, sir, not at all,” the attendant said, shaking his head. “It’s just . . .” The man frowned. The attendants were dressed like what Lucas expected of a 1920s butler, and they were wearing far more clothes than could possibly be comfortable in the current heat.
One of the armored guards wearing full chainmail that was even shinier than the outfit Willmarth had made Lucas on Hesse stepped forward exactly one-half step. “What he means to say is that it is a required tradition. You have to state which person is with whom so that, if trouble should arise or if one of your servants causes damage or is damaged, we know where to send the bill.”
“If one of my servants is damaged, I won’t be expecting compensation,” Lucas said gravely. “I will be expecting heads. As for who is with whom, all of them are with me. Is that a sufficient enough answer to pass?”
“Yes, Baron . . .” The guard drew out the word “Baron,” clearly expecting Lucas to fill in the blank with his name as to avoid further offense due to ignorance. The action was proof of how weighty the authority of the nobility was in the Imperium.
“Lucas. Baron Lucas,” Lucas answered. “Now, if you will move aside and let us enter before I have to . . .” This time, it was Lucas’s turn to pause as he had no idea what he actually could do to the guard. He still didn’t fully understand the rules of the Imperium, so he just trailed off and gave the guard a wicked smile, expecting him to fill in the rest. “Be creative in my punishment.”
By leaving it vague, the guard clearly thought of one of the worst-case scenarios, and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. “I’m sorry, Baron Lucas. Right this way.” The guard stepped aside, creating a path for the six people to walk into the court.
The room inside instantly reminded Lucas of the stateroom at Buckingham Palace. There were large curved arches leading to square-tiled roofs, each with a picture across it, and heavy crystal chandeliers hanging from above. Each of the chandeliers, except for one, was illuminated by a ring of candles. The largest- and lowest-hanging contained a magic crystal, which was being powered by a Mage standing near one of the walls, constantly channeling power into an Arcane Energy line that ran up the wall, through the ceiling, and down to the chandelier. The spell she cast wasn’t very powerful, but it was flashy, and it provided a copious amount of light that was further filtered and dispersed by the crystals around the main one. The walls were as white as the stone cliffs Lucas had seen when the ship first approached the merchants’ port, and the floor was covered with a luxurious blue carpeting.
“This is amazing,” Lucas
muttered, admiring the room.
Bonnie shrugged. “It’s okay. I bet you’ll have an even nicer place one day. I mean, that manor of ours was great, and we were barely there for a week or so.”
“Imagine how many lives were sacrificed so that this beautiful place could be built?” Viola said quietly, walking over to one of the walls and touching it as if physical contact might yield some sort of emotional connection as well. “It’s amazing. Hundreds of thousands of man-hours must have gone into creating this. They don't have any of the modern tools we do, so they would have been forced to use people working day in and day out for years to build something this large, their toil and labors only serving to produce a few simple rooms that look more lavish and have more space than others. Simply beautiful.”
“Alrighty then.” Nick looked away from her as if he didn’t want to admit that he knew who she was.
Lucas shook his head, dismissing Viola’s role-play, and followed Nick’s gaze back to the rest of the room. One of the things he had been good at as a CEO was reading the room and picking up on signs, and he automatically began taking stock of the people present. Very quickly, he realized that, out of everyone in the court, there were at least thirty nobles like himself with staff hanging nearby. Every single one was talking amongst themselves in hushed tones that Luas couldn’t quite make out. It was also painfully obvious that every single pair of eyes in the room was locked on him.
Well, I am new, and this is a group of gossip mongers. Of course, they’d look. However, as he scanned their faces, he realized that what was going on wasn’t simple gossip. It was disdain. He had already been judged.
Chapter 2
Character Name: Lucas
Level: 30
Hit Points: 4995
Arcane Energy: 2600
Stamina: 100
Holy Energy: Class Locked
Current Class: Enchanter
Stats:
Arcanum [increases Arcane Energy by 10 per point]: 250
Holy [No Effect/Class Locked]: 0
Athletics [increases Stamina by 10 per point]: 0
Fortitude [increases Hit Points by 1% per point]: 350
Charisma: 350
Luck: 60
Unspent: 0
Current Elemental Attunement:
Lightning Affinity: 1.5%
Effects: +3% Lightning Element Damage
+6% Lightning Element Channeling Speed
-3% Non-Lightning Element Channeling Speed
+0.75% Lightning Element Damage Resistance
Arcane Resistance: 2%
Combat Proficiencies:
None
Racial Quest Chain Progress:
Vampire: 2 out of 5 requirements met to start chain.
Lucas knew those looks, and he had been the recipient of them on more than one occasion. These people would never even give him the time of day unless there was something that they wanted from him, and from their perspective, he could never possibly possess anything they could want. He was about to turn away when he spotted a familiar face among the crowd, one that stood out simply because it seemed happy to see him. When Rowland’s eyes met with Lucas’s, they lit up like a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, and Dennings, Rowland’s wife, spotted him as well.
“LUCAS!” Rowland called out, raising a hand and waving him over. “LUCAS! Oh my GOD! You’re here! Father! You have to come to meet him!” Rowland called exuberantly, turning to the older gentleman he was with. As if Rowland were nothing more than a petulant child demanding attention to his latest passing fancy, his father merely yanked his arm free and shot his son a deadly stare.
“You will quiet your voice in court, Rowland,” his father chastised, adjusting the cuff on his suit that had been wrinkled by Rowland’s tugging.
“But, Father, it’s Lucas! How can we not be excited? He’s such a great guy. If it weren’t for him--”
“If it weren’t for him, then perhaps you would have learned manners while on Hesse--part of the exact reason I sent you there in the first place.” The curt reply didn’t seem to faze Rowland’s enthusiasm in the least, but it did change Rowland’s tactics. Giving up on dragging his father to Lucas, he instead rushed over, grabbed Lucas, and pulled him over to his father.
“My love, if you keep getting so excited over him, I’m going to get jealous,” Dennings warned reproachfully after watching Rowland.
For his part, Rowland’s father didn’t just ignore his son: he actually turned away from him and Lucas and walked away and engaged in another conversation with four men. The circle closed itself off as he entered the discussion, leaving Rowland and Lucas neither room nor opportunity to join in.
Rowland seemed a little dense socially, but even he was able to pick up what this meant. The only people left outside the private conversation were Dennings, Rowland, and a gray-haired woman whom Dennings had been talking with. “I’m sorry about this,” Rowland said. “I don’t understand why everyone is being so rude.”
“I thought it’d be painfully obvious,” the gray-haired woman said, scoffing at the question. “The gentleman might have some charisma to him, but just take one look at that ilk he travels with.”
“They’re good people,” Rowland protested. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them, and I won’t speak ill of any person who helped save me.”
Dennings rushed over and hugged the now-moping Rowland. “I concur with my dearest, Grandmother. It is not a polite and noble tradition to repay kindness with offense. There, there, my love. I promise you the sun and stars will shine tomorrow, and our kindness will still show true to all. Giving them a moment of time that could be spent on each other--is that not already the greatest gift?”
Yup. That’s the Rowland and Dennings I remember. Lucas chuckled to himself at the sight. He liked the fact that the world could literally be burning down around them, and both parts of the loving duo would still only be looking at each other. It was something sweet and pure--as long as they weren’t doing it when their lives were being threatened by a mob of angry protesters dead set on killing them.
“I did not raise this one,” the old woman said, looking over at Lucas. “Nor do I know where she gets this sort of behavior from.”
“I don’t know . . . I rather like it,” Lucas said, touching his necklace for a moment. He had the sudden urge to do something he knew he shouldn’t. He was positive that he had higher Charisma than her, and he had to fight the urge to force the judgmental old woman to embarrass herself in front of everyone with a simple cast of Meddling Minds. Truthfully, he wasn’t worried about whether or not it would be polite or acceptable to do it--he knew that it absolutely wasn’t--or even whether or not the guards might sense the casting and attack him. The only thing stopping him was that he genuinely liked Dennings, and he didn’t want to cause her to suffer as the result of any fallout.
“Of course, you would. Hessians have no taste,” she muttered, turning her head so that she never had to look directly at Lucas. “Anyway, what brings you from the barbaric island back to the capital? Did you miss polite company and manners? Or perhaps”--she spared a glance at Liu and the others--“you just finished gathering flesh for your feast, and so you no longer had any purpose left there.”
“Oh, I love how this one talks,” Bonnie commented as she walked up. “It’s always funny when stuffy aristocrats act like they can understand anything about life. Perhaps, you can help her find a servant that will fetch her a book, boss. That way, the next time you talk to her, she’ll at least know a few words worth listening to.”
“It’s fine,” Nick jeered as he walked up after Bonnie. “My grandmother was delusional at her age too. She’s only got a few years left; no use in teaching the dog any tricks now.”
“If you’ll excuse them”--Lucas pretended to look at them angrily, but as soon as his head was turned so that only Bonnie and Nick could see his face, he gave the two of them a “thank you” smile--“I’ll be happy to answer your question. I c
ame here to buy some land. I have plenty of gold but no place to set up shop.”
Whatever fondness Lucas had for Dennings, he felt no such sentiments about her grandmother. His estimation of her dropped with every passing insult that she handed out, and it was quickly approaching rock bottom. That said, he didn’t particularly have a reason to lie to her, and his reasons for coming to court would be out in the open soon enough anyway. If he was going to establish himself as an evil dungeon master, he needed a lair. If he was going to get a lair, he needed territory, and the only people in the entire area that would have the amount of land that he was looking for would be in this very room. Even if they didn’t have something for sale, they would know where to go. After all, they all had children that would need their own places eventually.
Instead of answering him, however, the woman just turned her nose up and laughed. “You? Territory here? What gives you the right?” Her glaring disdain bled through every word she spoke. “You’re a Hessian. Who would be so foolish as to sell you land?”
Lucas bit his tongue and stopped himself from saying exactly what he wanted. There was still an angle to work here, he just had to find it. Taking in a deep breath, he instead turned to look around the room, hoping to find something that he might use as a mutual ground to start from. It was only then that he realized that there were no actual guards within the court, only servants who might potentially be private bodyguards--servants whom Lucas didn’t see accompanying Dennings’ grandmother.
“You’d think that, in the thousand years you’ve been around, you’d have learned how to say something nice,” Nick spat. “But apparently wit doesn’t come with wrinkles.”
“And if your master had even an ounce of wit,” she grouched patronizingly, “he wouldn't have brought you in here. You’re the reason everyone in here is gossiping--since you’re apparently too dimwitted to notice.”
