by Logan Jacobs
“And what sort of deal was that?” The duke seemed a little more in control of himself, and his cheeks had started to turn red with anger.
“Bastianville, formerly known as Addington, is now under my protection.” I held his gaze in mine firmly and spoke in a clear tone.
The duke started to laugh, and then he grabbed a rope hung from the ceiling and pulled hard. A loud tolling bell rang out above and all throughout the castle, so loudly my bones rattled.
“What’s happening?” Elissa asked in a worried voice as she and Mahini pressed in close behind me.
“He’s summoned all his forces, I would assume.” I could take whatever he could dish out, but it would suck to be known as a fear-provoking god instead of an all-powerful benevolent deity. My end goal was to declare Bastianville’s freedom, and just because I could kill everyone easily, it didn’t mean I should.
So, I reset back to my previous save and tried again. At least this time I would already know where the audience chamber was at. Plus, I’d gotten a good look at the duke’s defenses, and I was confident I could fight our way out if things went bad during a different dialogue tree.
Chime.
While it wasn’t bad for a first attempt, I was ready to try a different approach. I could always kill the duke’s army if I had to, but there had to be a way to impress him with my powers without so much death.
I slowed down as we approached the guards, and I pulled my pack from my shoulders to retrieve Lucian’s helmet. I just had to be patient with the two assholes who watched the entrance and convince them to let me inside. Easier said than done, but I’d rather do that than face all the men in the city.
“Greetings, my name is Sebastian, and I have an audience with Duke Bullard,” I told the two men.
“We weren’t told to expect anyone by that name,” the guard to my left said in a hesitant tone.
“I am the God of Time,” I said in a louder voice, “Hero of Bastianville, Breaker of the Lake Balerno Curse, and Savior of the People. I demand you let me through.”
“You can throw six more names at us,” the guard to my right said as he crossed his arms. “Doesn’t mean you’re getting in.”
“Would you really prevent a man from hearing of the death of his beloved son?” I faked an offended voice and held up Lucian’s helmet. “This is proof that Lucian, son of Duke Bullard, is dead, and I am here to deliver the news to his father.”
“Let me see.” The first guard crossed the distance between us, and he scrutinized the helmet I held aloft. “It has the duke’s family crest on it. Seems to be legitimate.”
“The duke would have our heads if we stop him from going inside,” the second guard said in a worried tone. “I’m not putting my head on the block.”
“Me, either,” the first guard agreed, and then he gave me a bow. “Right this way, sir.”
This was exactly what I wanted, so I followed behind the guard with Mahini and Elissa by my side. We entered the wide hallway and turned into the connecting corridor, but then we encountered another group of guards.
“Halt, where are you taking them?” one of the guards asked our escort.
“To see the duke,” he replied.
“Audience chamber is closed,” the man who was obviously the leader of the new group said. “Private meeting in session.”
“It’s urgent,” I interjected. “I am here to inform the duke of his son’s death.”
“But I just saw him alive and well this morning!” the leader of the inside guards argued.
“Not Tobias,” my escort explained in an exasperated voice, “Lucian!”
“Oh.” The guard who had stopped us frowned and considered this new information for a moment, but then he nodded curtly and let us pass. “Go on, then, you take the blame for this.”
I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at the responsibility avoidant guardsmen. No wonder they’d been so easy to kill during my first attempt. It made me determined to train my militia back in Bastianville extra well.
As the small group of guards passed us in the corridor and continued on to their destination, our trio followed our escort into the audience chamber.
“It’s a nice castle,” Elissa observed quietly as she took in our surroundings.
“It is very big,” Mahini added in a low voice as she stayed close to my side.
“That’s what she said,” I murmured under my breath, and I resisted the urge to chuckle at my own joke as we neared the dais.
“Pardon the interruption, sir,” the guard said as we approached the throne dais, “but you have visitors.”
“This is a private session,” the duke snapped, and he waved his hand dismissively. “Get out.”
“I’m here to tell you about Lucian’s death,” I called out in a loud voice, and I held the helmet in my hands up over my head. “I killed him myself, honorably, and I bring you his helmet as a gift.”
“You mean proof of his death,” the duke scoffed, and he pushed himself up from the dais.
The crowd of nobles gathered around the throne parted ways to let him through, but they all followed in his wake to form a semi-circle around him.
The Duke of Bullard glared as he waddled up to me, and then he held out his hand expectantly. “Here, hand it over.”
“With pleasure,” I said as I handed the helmet to the duke.
Bullard examined it for a moment, but then he let out a long sigh. “I knew it in my gut. He was doomed to fail.”
He cradled the helmet in his arms like a baby and slowly made his way back to his chair. He wasn’t as distraught as I’d expected him to be, but maybe hearing the words from a man who just killed a bunch of guards wasn’t the easiest thing to handle. This time, the duke seemed almost relieved, but I couldn’t blame him after meeting the Loser Lord for myself.
“You killed him, you say?” The duke narrowed his eyes at me as he sat back down in his throne-like chair. “What happened? He left on a mission to help one of our holdings not long ago, and he hadn’t been gone long enough for me to worry yet. Why is my son dead? Why do you bring me this news?”
“You may have heard of a little town by the name of Addington, yes?” I cocked one eyebrow, and the duke nodded. “By the time Lucian showed up to clear the goblins out of the mine, I’d already taken care of it, but he didn’t seem to like the idea of being beaten to the punch. He challenged me, and I won, fair and square. The town has been renamed to Bastianville, and it is under my protection now. You will forfeit all claims on the mine and the town to me immediately.”
“I will do no such thing!” Now, the duke was upset. The color drained from his face, and his chins wobbled as he tried to sputter out an argument. “That is my town and mine, and no man is going to waltz in here and demand it of me.”
“No man, maybe,” I said in a mysterious voice, “but I am no mere man. I am the God of Time.”
“P-Preposterous,” the duke sputtered. “You look like a normal mercenary.”
“It’s true!” Elissa cried out in my defense. “He speaks the truth! He saved our town and rescued me from having to marry your pig of a son--”
“Elissa, love, let me handle this,” I requested in my sweetest voice, and my heart swelled at her total faith in me.
I caught Mahini’s piercing blue eyes, and an unspoken message crossed the distance between us through my gaze. Then the desert goddess nodded imperceptibly before she wrapped a protective arm around Elissa’s shoulders and pulled her a few steps behind me.
“I can prove it,” I replied with a shrug. “Test me.”
“Fine,” the duke huffed, and he puffed out his chest before he raised his voice. “Guards!”
The platoon trotted in and took up a formation in the back of the room, but since the duke hadn’t immediately commanded them to seize me, they stood at attention awaiting their next command.
I wasn’t going to wait for the command, though, and I stomped my foot to activate the fleetness ability of my griffon feather b
oots. Then I dashed through the thirty men and relieved them of their weapons faster than the Flash. Finally, I dropped the weapons all on the floor in front of the dais and grinned up at the duke.
I hadn’t even needed to chime.
I was getting pretty awesome at this god stuff.
Elissa and Mahini blinked in surprise at my sudden movements, and the desert goddess still had her hand on her sword like she was about to come to my defense, but the fight was over before it started.
I winked at my two beauties before I turned back to face the duke.
“Any other questions?” I asked with a cocky tilt of my head.
“Impressive spellwork,” the duke countered in a haughty tone. “Let’s see how you stand against my wizard.”
“Yes, let’s do that,” I laughed out loud.
Let him send for Kane. I knew all the court wizard’s spells and how to counter them.
I’d show the Duke of Bullard exactly what the God of Time was capable of.
Chapter Sixteen
The duke sent for Kane, and we all waited in tense silence while the old man made his way to the audience chamber. In the meantime, I paced the thick rug and peered out the windows while the nobles whispered in hushed tones.
“He can freeze time,” one said in an awed voice.
“No, he just goes back in time,” another mused.
“He created time,” a third insisted.
I chuckled to myself as the snippets floated into my ears. They could keep on guessing all they wanted, but summoned from an alternate reality didn’t exactly roll off the tongue, so I let the NPCs continue their babbling, and I turned my attention back to the architecture of the room.
It looked fit for a king, and the duke’s audience chamber could have fit Elrin’s entire house inside of it. It made me wonder how much wealth came from the small towns the duke was sworn to protect. He could be bleeding the peasants dry while living it up in his small palace, for all I knew.
Either way, I was going to change that soon enough.
Kane finally trotted into the audience chamber looking winded and tired. “You called for me, sir?”
His robes were wrinkled, and exhaustion was settled into the lines of his face, but he stood with his shoulders straight as he faced the duke.
“I have an opponent for you to best with your magic,” the duke informed Kane in a pleased tone. “Go ahead and burn this imbecile to a crisp.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Kane said as he bowed.
I watched the old man’s gray eyes scan over me, but I saw no recognition spark there. Of course, he didn’t remember me, but I certainly remembered him, and all his spells as well.
“Are you ready?” I asked the old man, but he merely nodded.
Kane and I circled each other in the center of the room while the guards made a protective enclosure around us with their armored bodies. The duke watched with mild curiosity from his high chair, but the nobles were more blatant with their earnest expressions as they peeked between the torsos of the soldiers with wide eyes.
The first thing Kane did was summon his magical shield, but I knew he had a tendency to peek around it even though it was translucent. I waited for my opening while I watched him take the stance for a fire spell, and just as he moved his head around the magical barrier to fling his magic at me, I cast negate.
His spell flickered out like it had never been cast, and in the court wizard’s momentary confusion, I lobbed fire and ice at him from both hands.
“Fur, chs, fur, chs,” I chanted as I took long steps toward him, and I cast a spell with each motion.
It was all Kane could do to keep his shield up over his face, so I stopped to give him a chance to fight back.
Kane darted sideways and threw out an ice spell, but I hopped over it, and then I hit him with disarm. Since the only thing he had was his shield, the magical barrier sputtered and then vanished.
I really wanted to drive home my point, though, so I summoned all of my will power before I cast the next spell.
Then I hit him with a fireball bigger than any I’d summoned during our lessons, and the adrenaline of the fight must have enhanced my magical strength, or something, because my head didn’t even hurt.
The fireball raged across the room and barreled into Kane, and he screamed out in pain as the flames ate away at his robes. I felt bad for the old man, so I ran forward and covered him with ice to put out the blaze.
He moaned and rolled over, and he was still alive, but the magical duel was over almost as soon as it had started.
I was victorious once more, and I realized again that I hadn’t had to restart.
I turned to gauge the duke’s reaction to my victory, and he looked like he was about to faint. The duke’s eyes were wide with fear and awe, and his hands shook as he clasped either arm of his throne-like chair.
“Can it be true?” he breathed. “You are the God of Time?”
“How else do you explain what just happened here?” I countered with a grin. “You can throw whatever you want at me, Bullard, but I will always come out on top. You can bet your treasury on it.”
“Kane has never been bested in a magic duel,” the duke continued as though my words didn’t even register in his brain. “I would have sworn this would be over as soon as he entered the room, but look at him… He may not survive the encounter… No wonder Lucian lost in combat to you, he was a talented swordsman but no match for a mage.”
“Your court wizard will live,” I assured the duke in an even tone. “Now, about our deal.”
“What sort of arrangement are you looking for?” The duke seemed to suddenly remember my presence, and he scurried to rise from his chair and stand before me.
“I want you to forfeit all claims on Bastianville, formerly known as Addington. That includes the copper mine and all the citizens of the town.” I clapped the duke on the shoulder and gave him my best smile. “Easy, right?”
“Y-Yes, o-of course, Great One,” the duke stammered out quickly. “Your wish is my command.”
Well, that was almost too easy.
I made a new save point since the duke had just agreed to give me my main goal, control over Bastianville, and I continued to see what else I could get from him.
“If that’s the case,” I said in a cocky voice, “how about you call me Duke Bash from now on, or Your Grace.”
“What? Preposterous!” The duke looked like his head was about to explode, and his eyes flicked to the pile of weapons nearby. He knew as well as I did that I could kill every man in this room if I wanted to, and he looked torn. “I-I couldn’t. The title of duke is bestowed upon me by the king himself. I am not capable of giving it to you.”
“The king, huh.” I scratched my chin as I realized I hadn’t even thought about who ruled over the duke. I’d just have to go see this king guy myself.
With that decided, I thought over my other options. I wanted to see what my limits were with the duke, so I reset back to my save.
Chime.
“Anything I wish?” I mused out loud as I built up dramatic suspense. “Then half your holdings pay fealty to me.”
“I-I wouldn’t be able to survive like that, Great One,” the duke stammered in a worried tone. “The small holdings keep our books balanced.”
“I’m sure you could part with one or two of them?” I persisted.
“I couldn’t, Great One, please,” the duke begged as his chins jiggled in dismay.
I rolled my eyes at the pompous nobleman blathering before me. I would make a much better duke than him, but that was a challenge for another day.
Chime.
“I expect the royal treatment while I am staying in the castle,” I announced. “I’m actually on my honeymoon, and I was hoping we could enjoy your town and castle while we were here.”
“Oh, yes, of course, honeymoon, you say?” the duke gasped and eyed the two women behind me. “Which one is the lucky lady?”
Mahini cocked her hip to the
side and planted one hand on it. “Both of us.”
The duke’s cheeks turned crimson, and his eyes flicked from woman to woman for a moment before returning to my face. “I suppose y-you a-are a god.”
“Yep,” I chuckled. “So, we have a deal?”
“Yes, of course, Great One,” the duke replied, and he grabbed my hand to shake it eagerly. “Addington, now Bastianville, is under your rule, and please enjoy my castle for as long as you wish.”
“Thank you,” I said with a small bow of my head.
I was satisfied with the result since my main goal was to free Bastianville from the duke’s reign. I was excited to see how much the town had flourished during my absence, but in the meantime, my little trio would be able to enjoy our honeymoon in a gigantic castle.
“Let me introduce you to the nobles here,” the duke said in a nervous, high-pitched tone, and he beckoned for the small crowd of people to come closer.
Their eyes were wide with awe, but it was an expression I’d started to get used to, so I scanned them over with a scrutinizing glance. They wore finely made clothes out of expensive looking fabrics, and both the men and women had powder on their faces.
I shook hands with all the lords, ladies, and various other nobles who had been included in the private session with the duke, but I wasn’t very interested in learning all about their family trees. I wanted to get to the fun part, where Mahini, Elissa, and I got to be alone again.
After many formalities and a tour, the duke finally showed me to a guest room with a humongous king-sized bed.
Elissa giggled and ran across the room to jump into the center of the very large bed. She was immediately swallowed up by the lush green duvet, and she bounced on her butt until she got situated.
“Come on, Bash,” she urged. “Join me. You, too, Mahini.”
“I’ll leave you to it, then.” The duke cleared his throat. “I’ll send a servant to your inn to gather your belongings and bring them to you.”
