The Land: Catacombs (Chaos Seeds Book 4) (17 page)

With that, she carefully arranged her skirts and then went down on one knee.  “I formally swear allegiance and loyalty to you, my Lord Richter.  From now, unto my very death, I will protect you and your interests, to the best of my ability and without deceit.”

Richter was shocked.  He hadn’t expected such a profound and public show of support.  He walked forward and laid a hand on her shoulder. “I accept your oath of fealty, and swear to honor your pledge with the same gravity in which it was given.”  He offered his hand and helped her back to her feet.  He continued to hold her hand as he addressed his people.

“I make the same pledge to all who swear fealty.  The same pledge that I have made from the very beginning.  As I rise, so too will you rise.”  Shouts and cheers echoed out.  “Just north of us in the meadow, a celestial tree bears fruit that will increase our affinities.  Our Smith is forging enchanted weapons and armor in the Forge of Heavens to better prepare us for future battles.  The winds of change are upon us, and they blow in our direction!”  Raucous shouts of happiness rung out in the crowd. 

Richter waited for the crowd to quiet again.  “I have decided to extend the same terms to our new villagers as I have to the old.  You will be paid a fair wage for your work.  You will be fed, and you will have a place to stay.  These terms will last until the end of the year that my original villagers agreed to.  After that, all will be paid for work as appropriate and will pay for everything else from these wages.”  There was an almost palpable sigh of relief.  The people who had just come to the village had left all they had known.  They had boarded ships in the blind hope that the lord of a forest village would welcome them.  It was entirely possible that this unknown leader could have killed them or sold them into slavery.  That had been the extent of their desperation to leave Yves.  The news that they would be treated fairly and with respect was like a dream come true. 

“Everyone here has a choice to make, however.  The same choice that you just saw Isabella make.  This village is going to be a haven of law and justice.  It will continue to be a home for those who need and deserve it.  Only those who swear fealty will enjoy the special benefits of residing here, the fruit of the Quickening, the weapons of the Forge, Potions of Clarity and”—he held Isabella’s hand high—“my ability to awaken your magical power.  I want to say again, that any who do not swear fealty will be treated fairly.  Nothing will change for you.  For those of you who will bend the knee once, though, I promise I will help you to stand for the rest of your life.  What do you choose?”  His voice rose through his speech and at the end he was shouting.  Isabella’s hand was still in his, and she looked out at the crowd, radiating confidence.

“I swear fealty!” came a shout from the villagers.

“Lord Richter!” came another.

“Lord Richter and the Mist Village!”

Then the shouts grew too numerous to hear.  The villagers surged to their feet and amassed in front of the stage.  Most of the first wave of villagers was there.  Not too many of the second group of immigrants seemed ready to bend the knee, but Richter was not bothered by this.  As he looked out over the mass of loyal followers, he knew that he had time.  Shouts of his name continued to fill the air.  Despite the fact that he could bend the elements to his will, in that moment he realized that he was experiencing his first true taste of power.

He liked it.

CHAPTER 10
 

Randolphus organized all those who chose to swear fealty into a line, and they came up to the top of the stage, one after another.  The music started again, and the procession adopted a festive air.  Sumiko stood next to him and cast
Soul’s Window
on each as they gave their oaths.  Happily, everyone that swore fealty was genuine.  It took several more hours, but ultimately two hundred and thirty-seven people bent the knee.  Almost every one of his old villagers came forward as well as dozens of the new villagers. 

Some villagers brought their children up to pledge allegiance, but after he saw the first small wood elf girl walking towards him, he put a stop to it.  A command to Randolphus was all it took, and an official decree was made.  No one under the age of fourteen could swear fealty.  In all honesty, even that was creepily young as far as he was concerned, but the chamberlain had whispered to him that fourteen was the age of adulthood in the River Peninsula.

He was happy to see Quasea, Ulinde, and Zarr amongst those who pledged their loyalty.  All of the nonhuman elders he had met within Terrod’s inn so long ago did as well.  It also wasn’t a big surprise but was still reassuring, when Caulder bent the knee.  His example brought most of the other guards and their families in line. 

The ceremony would have gone faster, but for two things.  He used
Analyze
on every person that bent the knee and also took the time to try and awaken their Life and Air magic.  After analyzing about eighty of them, he got a series of prompts that brought a smile to his face.

Congratulations!  You have reached skill level 10 in
Analyze
.  Your understanding of others has deepened on an intrinsic level. 

You have received 2,500 (base 2,000) bonus experience for reaching level 10 in the skill: Analyze.

Congratulations!  You have advanced from the rank Novice to the rank of Initiate in:
Analyze
.  In addition to the information you already receive, you will also be provided with an abbreviated status page showing the creature’s attributes. 

Well, that could come in useful, Richter thought happily.  His good mood was improved at the number of mages he was able to awaken.  When all was said and done, he was able to make three more Air mages from the new villagers, and thirty-two adult Life magi between the two groups.  Most of the new Life magi came from the old villagers, showing again how lucky everyone was that had been present at the birth of the Quickening.

A wonderful surprise was that Krom had the affinity to become a Life mage.  The shocked expression on the dwarf’s face was priceless.  Richter began to laugh and soon his Smith joined him.  Weeping was a far more common reaction in many of the villagers.  At first, Richter had been concerned, but he soon saw they were tears of joy, and many of the villagers embraced him when the magic was kindled inside of them.  One man explained that for his whole life he had felt incomplete, like a piece of his soul was missing.  With tears in his eyes, he told Richter that he now felt a hole inside of him had been filled.

Each time he was able to feel a resonance inside of one of his subjects, he taught them the level-one spells that he knew for that discipline.  His new Life novices were taught
Charm I, Soul Trap, Weak Cure,
and
Slow Heal I. 
All of the Air mages learned
Haste I
and
Weak
Errant Wind. 
Whether they were Air or Life magicians, the way they looked at him afterward was the same, with adoration and loyalty.  Richter had to disable the prompts telling him that his people’s disposition towards him had improved.  Each new caster’s disposition rose by one or two levels.  

Once the ceremony was done, he left the stage and walked among the children of those who had sworn fealty.  With their parents’ blessing, he awakened magic in as many as he could.  He was able to awaken Air magic in two of the children and Life magic in seventeen more.  Randolphus was nearby to record the starting spells of all of them.  Most simply received
Slow Heal I
or
Weak Cure
, but one received
Cure Minor Disease
.  Other notable spells were
Summon Luminous Butterfly
, which just seemed to conjure a dozen small glowing white butterflies for a minute, and
Call Small Creature,
which would bring the closest small creature running to them.  For the next five minutes, it would obey simple commands.  What Richter was most impressed by, however, was
Life Beacon
.  The spell shot a glowing gold ball high into the air.  It would let anyone within a mile know that help was needed even if they could not see the light.  The knowledge seemed to be instinctual.  If they were ever attacked again, the spell could be invaluable. 

Richter was relieved that none of the children had been granted battle magic.  The idea of a petulant five-year-old casting
Charm I
on her parents was not something he wanted to contemplate.  He had known there was a chance that might happen, but the opportunity to have children train for years in their magic and one day be high-level magic users to fight for his cause was too good to pass up.  He would be lying if he said that it hadn’t also occurred to him that children growing up knowing that they owed their greatest resource to him might in turn feel a great deal of loyalty through the years.  Richter saw hushed discussions occurring between some of the parents who hadn’t sworn fealty.  Seeing such a tangible boon given to other people’s children and not their own clearly gave them a lot to think about. 

No matter their starting spells, he taught each of the children with Life magic
Slow Heal I. 
He wished he could have taught them
Summon Weak Life Wisp
as well, but their levels weren’t high enough.  Still it was a lot better than nothing.  He went on to teach all of the Air children
Haste I. 
They were the spells that, if ever the village were attacked again, might give the children a fighting chance and could keep them and others alive.  Richter pulled Randolphus aside and told him he wanted the children placed in a daily class where they could practice their spells.  The chamberlain made a notation and promised it would be done. 

The entire feast had been a wild success.  Despite the fact that most of the second wave of villagers hadn’t sworn fealty, he was happy to see that the new people were meshing well with the old.  It warmed his heart to see families reunited.  Now that the official work of the night was done, he joined his people to party.

CHAPTER 11
 

“What is that goddamn noise?” Richter shouted while holding his head.  It felt like a tribe of kobolds had taken a dump in his brain.  He opened his eyes slightly and immediately groaned. 

“Oh God!  That was a horrible idea!”  Despite the fact that he had hated what had just happened to him, he had to know what that horrible clanging was.  He cracked one eye open again and blearily looked up from the hard surface he was lying on.  What he saw didn’t make any sense. 

He knew that the sun was up because there was so much light to see by, but for some reason he was looking at a black sky filled with stars.  And what the
hell
was that gawd awful clanging?

He painfully opened his other eye while holding a hand up in front of his face to lessen the light that was shooting fire picks, he chuckled slightly, into his brain.  When he didn’t immediately die, which had been a legitimate fear for him, he slowly widened his gaze.  A rack of weapons was to his left and a clear green anvil was sitting on the ground to his right.  His hangover-addled brain started piecing these clues together, and he realized he was lying on the floor of the Forge of Heavens.  He started to get up but lost his balance and fell back down, one hand flying up above his head.

“Owww,” a grumpy and ladylike voice said.

Richter looked behind him and saw a beautiful wood elf woman… who seemed to only be wearing his Cloak of Concealment.  The cape had adopted the smooth white appearance of the marbled quartz it was set against.  Grey lines even shot across the material, blending near perfectly with the floor.  It did nothing to hide the pale shapely leg that stuck out from one side or the beautiful face and mop of red hair that peeked out of the top of the cloak.  He had inadvertently slapped the woman’s chest with his hand.  His first thought upon seeing this was that it couldn’t have hurt too much since she had so much padding in that particular region. 

“Sorry,” he wheezed out.  She grumbled slightly without opening her eyes and faded back into sleep.  Judging by what he was seeing, he’d had an amazing time the night before, but he just didn’t remember it!  He used
Analyze
and found that her name was Lorala.  Seeing her name on the prompt triggered a memory.

He groaned again as he remembered drunkenly walking up to her and saying, “Hey, sexy lady.  How’d you like me to show you heaven!”

He attempted to stand again and this time succeeded, though he had to lean against the weapons rack to stay upright.  That was the moment that he had his next grand realization.  He was naked.  Firmly believing that walking around a forge in his birthday suit would be a bad idea, he cast about for his Bag of Holding.  Sure enough, it was only a few feet away.  He retrieved it and found his clothes strewn about next to it.  He put on his small clothes, pants, shirt, and shoes.  Richter had no idea what had happened to his armor, because it wasn’t in his inventory.  He guessed that it had something to do with the black scorch mark on his chest, and why his health was down a few points.  He didn’t waste more time with that though.  He had an important mission.  The mission to find whoever the fuck was making all that noise, kill them, and then sow their lands with salt!

He left the naked goddess under his cloak and stumbled around the weapons rack.  His head throbbed with every clang of metal on metal.  After picking his head up, and squinting very hard, he saw a dwarf at the main elementum anvil.  Richter knew he was imagining it, but he could swear that he saw a red outline around the man, clearly marking him as an enemy that must be destroyed.  As he got closer, his bleary eye sight showed a salt and pepper beard and a familiar face. 

“Stooppp!” he croaked.

“Ahhh, yer lordship!” Krom said loudly.  “That was some shindig last night!”

The dwarf put down the hammer and left what looked to be the back of Richter’s chest armor on the anvil.   

“Wha-wha-what happened?”

Krom let out a hearty bellow that made Richter hate him slightly.  “Well everyone was having a good time and then you said you wanted something called a ‘shot.’  Zarr asked ye what that was and ye said that you wished that the ale we had was stronger.  Right after that, Zarr cast some spell on all the casks and that be when the party really got going!  When you did that thing with Alma, I laughed so hard ale came out of me nose!  Ha ha ha!”

Richter shook his head, confused. “Alma?  What does Alma have to—”  The rest of his question was cut off as he let out a rather ladylike scream.  His familiar had chosen that moment to speak with him and her psychic volume was turned way up!

*
MASTER!  Master my head HURTS!
*

“Alma!  Please stop thinking so loud!” he shouted reflexively while grabbing his head in both hands.  Then, not wanting her to mentally shout at him again, he thought to her, *
Please think softer, my love.
 
Where are you?
*

He heard a pitiful mewling and then saw her drunkenly flap up from where she had been resting behind a bucket.  Seeing her hovering in midair brought back another series of memories.  Him offering her a sip of his drink.  Her liking it and then sticking her face deep into someone else’s mug and drinking more.  A bunch of other stuff had happened… Then Sion had dared him to do… something. 

His memory got fuzzy again.  He reached up to rub his aching head and felt a twinge in his chest again.  Suddenly, Richter’s eyes grew wide as it all came flooding back.  “No fucking way,” he said to himself.  He hadn’t been dumb enough to…

“Krom,” he said in a grave voice.

“Yes, yer lordship?” the smith said with joy in his voice. 

“Did I climb back up on top of the stage last night?” he asked, knowing what the answer would be.

“Oh.  Ye did indeed, me lord.” Krom was clearly enjoying himself.

“And when I was up there, did I shout, ‘Someone call Kenny Loggins because I’m about to go into the Danger Zone?’”

“Yes, ye did.  That part was confusing for all of us, but what happened next more than made up for it!”  Krom’s grin was threatening to split his beard in half.

Richter just nodded.  He could well believe what had happened next would have been what people really remembered.  Because what had happened next was that first he had shouted at Alma, “Do it!” and then she had obeyed and unleashed a lightning bolt directly into his chest.  The bolt had struck him dead center, and the force of it had knocked him off his feet, and consequently, off the podium.  At a guess, the fifteen-foot fall was why Krom was now hammering a dent out of the back plate. 

Richter closed his eyes and nodded to himself.  That was, possibly, not his finest moment.  He opened his eyes and asked, “Is there anything else that I want to know about last night?”  Alma had made her way to his shoulders and basically collapsed onto him.  The poor thing was still mewling pitifully. 

Krom scratch his beard. “Anything that ye WANT to know?  Well that I can’t say for sure, but I can tell ye one thing that everyone else knows now!”

Richter took a second to control a wave of nausea and then said, “What’s that?”

“The Mist Village can party! HAHAHAAA!”

Despite the throbbing in his head, Richter smiled back.  Then he vomited just a bit into his mouth.  After washing his mouth out and spitting several times, he thought about the sexy woman he had woken up next to and decided that all in all, it
had
been a great night.  “Can I assume you have the rest of my armor here?”

“Aye, milord.”  Krom reached to the other side of the anvil and lifted up the other pieces, setting them by the chest plate.  “And rest assured, this dwarf will be ready to fight at noon.  I could use a good hunt.  Now go see if you can bring that young lass you have back there back to life.  From the noises I heard coming out of here before dawn, you fair killed her last night!  Ha ha ha!”  With that last quip, Krom walked away. 

Richter cast
Slow Heal I
to fix the damage to his chest.  Then he donned his armor and withdrew his sword from his Bag.  He shooed Alma off of his shoulders to the sounds of her protest and then fastened the sword onto his back.  He was ready to greet his bedmate—floor mate—of the night before, except for one thing.  He plunged his head straight down into a barrel of water.  The chill water cleared some of the cobwebs from his brain and he drank his fill.  When he straightened up, he felt much more alert.  He walked back to where he had left her.

“Lorala.  Lorala, it’s time to wake up.” 

The elf maiden, well definitely not a maiden anymore from what Richter remembered, opened her eyes, and he was able to see that her irises were the same green as elementum.  She smiled sleepily at him and said, “Good morrow, my lord.  Was I so fearsome last night that you must gear for battle before we go again?”

Richter chuckled at her saucy reply. “I would never put armor on before joining you in bed.  Why would I when all I want is for you to slay me again and again?”

“Well I knocked you down at least five times last night, but you just kept getting up.  I supposed it would only be polite for me to do the same.  Though I believe eating that much star zenia was cheating!”  With that she stood and let the smooth material of the cloak flow off of her body and pool on the ground.  Richter let out a slow and appreciative whistle. 

She was five-seven or five-eight.  Apple-sized breasts sat firm on her chest, and her white skin contrasted with deep pink nipples.  His gaze traveled downward to a trim waist and flat stomach, not muscular, but also with little fat.  His eyes traced the curve of her hip inward, and he observed her femininity in all of its glory, contrasting on her skin like an apple floating in cream. 

She looked at his expression of appreciation and gave a slightly throaty chuckle.  Her voice was a smooth alto as she said, “I’m glad you appreciate the view, my lord.  Last night you seemed quite pleased that my ‘carpet matched my drapes’ as you put it.”

Richter chuckled as well and said, “Well, thank you for last night.”  Then his male brain started scrambling. “I’m not sure how things are supposed to go now.  I’m also not sure what I might have said last night, but I’m not really in a good place for a relationship.  I was also kind of seeing this other girl back on Earth, and even though we’re probably separated by at least twelve parsecs now, I still don’t think I’m in the right emotional space to make a serious…”

He stopped talking because she laughed at his babbling.  “You humans and your conservative views.  I am not some stuffy high elf spinster to deny myself the passion I deserve.  Do not feel bad about enjoying me and having to leave.”  She gathered her dress and slipped it on over her head.  Then she walked up to him, grabbed the hair on the back of his head, and kissed him soundly.  “After all, I’m the one who used you.”  She let him go and started walking away.  Seeing the cockiness of her stride, Richter realized it would be more accurate to say she sauntered away. 

Looking at her back in bemusement, he called after her, “But I came up and propositioned
you.
”

She looked back and winked. “Keep telling yourself that,
Lord
Richter.”  She walked off into the early morning light. 

“This world definitely has its perks,” he said to himself.  It was also good news that he had taken the star zenia.  He didn’t need any little Richters running around right now.  He looked around for someone to share this moment with, but didn’t see anyone.  So as Alma settled on his shoulders once again, he gave himself a high five and walked out to greet the day. 

As he walked away from the Forge over to the Great Seal, he sent out a mental call for Futen.  Looking around, he saw more and more people passed out in various states of undress.  Some were up, but it looked like they were hating life as they stumbled through their walks of shame.  Richter shook his head and said, “Fuck you, Zarr.  What did you turn the beer into?  Chloroform?”  With no one around to appreciate his wit, he just kept walking and his head continued to throb.  

He tried to distract himself from his discomfort by checking on his notification log.  Apparently, he had auto-minimized everything during his speech and the party afterwards.

Your village has grown by leaps and bounds!  Never forget, there are consequences to your actions.  The following adjustments have been made to your village values. 

Average Morale has decreased from +330 to +155.