War aeternus 4 harbinger.., p.6
War Aeternus 4: Harbinger of Ash, page 6
“Your Lordship,” the woman said, taking a half-step closer to him. “I am also to present you with one more gift should you acquiesce to the request of the king and agree to serve in the war.”
“Ah, you brought money then?” Lee glanced up from the documents and looked directly into her eyes. He very much doubted that she was able to work an inventory like Ling had learned to do, and it wouldn’t have been possible to carry very much on the Krunklerump, so gold was the logical bribe.
“No, the king is still amassing the bounty you shall be awarded,” she said.
“Then . . .” Lee glanced behind her and then met her gaze once again. Maybe a weapon? While I don’t need one, there are always Paladins that could use an upgrade. Who knows? Maybe it’ll be—
“Myself,” the woman clarified. The single matter-of-fact word struck all other thoughts from Lee’s mind. “I am here to present myself to satisfy your needs in all aspects to the best of my ability should you agree to the king’s request.”
“You mean . . .”
“If your question is whether or not I intend to warm your bed and pleasure you with my extensive talents, then yes. That is what I aim to do,” she affirmed with the same flat, straight-to-the-point tone she had used earlier.
First wives, now concubines . . . Is everyone trying to throw girls at me? “There is no need for that,” Lee responded with a shake of his head. It wasn’t that he hated the idea of sleeping with a woman—especially one who was willing—but he had Masha in the other world waiting for him. Even more to the point, he didn’t want to be around this woman. Extreme beauty might leave many men uncomfortable or even agitated, but this gorgeous woman created far more than just the average awkwardness a man felt around a woman who was too attractive. It was as if some sixth sense was telling him to be careful about even staying in the same room with her. “You may return ahead of me with news for your king: I’ll be heading to Birnefeld as soon as I wrap up here and organize logistics for the journey.”
She, to her credit, didn’t show an ounce of displeasure as she nodded at Lee. “Thank you for hearing our people’s request. I shall report this matter at once.” With that, she turned and walked off.
Lee followed her every movement with his eyes until the system notified him of a skill update.
Your mastery of Mental Fortitude has progressed from the rank of Initiate Level 2 to the rank of Initiate Level 3. This skill improves one’s resistance to psychic-based magic attacks.
Due to improving Mental Fortitude, you have received +1 Intelligence. Current Intelligence: 262.
What in the world was that? Lee shook his head and tried to regain his composure. After he was certain that he was thinking clearly again, he found the guard and instructed him to relay the news of his imminent departure to the rest of the members of the council. He also had the man deliver a discrete note to Connacht requesting that he send Lee any and all information on Birnefeld as soon as possible, preferably before he left the city. Lee needed to know if the intel Kirshtein possessed matched the reports that had, in such a generous and trusting fashion, been openly handed to him via the messenger.
Next, he told his Paladins that they’d be leaving soon. He was tempted to take the full regiment of greenhorn holy warriors with him, but he didn’t want to lose too many of them if things went awry. Despite the information that he had been given, there was no way for him to know exactly what he was walking into. This world’s communication network was medieval at best, and there was no telling how accurate even the best intel really was or if it would still be valid by the time he reached Birnefeld. Dave and Henslee had put several systems in place so that the Paladins would continue to level and recruit while he was gone. In the end, he decided to only take his inner circle: Miller, Dave, Ling, and Jade.
Since it was late already by the time he had let everyone know what was going on, collected all the information he needed, and finalized all the preparations, Lee retreated to Tigernach Manor in order to get some shuteye. Ling naturally followed close behind, and she eventually settled herself into a chair just inside his room so that she could keep an eye on both Lee and the door.
“You know,” Lee began as he watched Ling take her usual spot, “you don’t have to do that. Dave has plenty of guards outside, and I can handle myself in a fight.”
She shifted in her seat as if uncomfortable. “You’re attacked at night quite often, so it’s better to be safe.”
Well, she’s actually right. It doesn’t seem to matter where I go, be it Satterfield, Kirshtein, or a Dwarven city halfway up a mountain in the middle of the wilderness. People keep trying to kill me during the wee hours of the morning. “Well, I could get more security here. You really should get some proper rest. We have a long journey ahead of us,” Lee insisted.
Ling ignored his suggestion and simply settled into her chair, tightly gripping her bow and closing her eyes. “Goodnight.”
-----
Lee awoke to blaring trumpets and the loud bang of doors being thrown open. When he opened his eyes, he was immediately aware of the fact that he was somewhere completely different than his bedroom. He wasn’t even in a bed, and he wasn’t lying down either: He was sitting upright on a comfortable, cushioned surface. It took a moment to parse together everything else after that. His brain was fogged and hazy like he had been up drinking all night.
He was in a vast room so large that the golden marble tiles seemed to stretch out endlessly in all directions around him. A single strip of black-edged red fabric extended forward from beneath his chair between large red pillars with black footings. The towering columns stretched all the way up to the ceiling, which was at least two to three stories high and solid black with gold drawings inlaid across it. Lee took a moment to study the images—which were of dragons, panthers, and other creatures—but his eyes were eventually drawn back down by the soft sound of leather boots trodding along the thinly-covered floor.
This time, when he looked down, everything was different. His chair had somehow been transformed into a throne that was situated upon an elevated platform, and there were dozens of beautiful women on either side of him. The women were all dressed in elegant, flowing gowns that accentuated their curves in a way that was guaranteed to make women jealous and men lustful.
From far off, a woman approached between rows of guards stationed on either side of the red pathway. Each sentinel was dressed in golden plate armor that was trimmed with red and black. Every one of them held a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. There were also rows of people standing at attention behind the guards facing Lee. Everyone stood completely still and held their heads high as if they were wearing needle-tipped collars that prevented them from moving their heads so much as an inch without being poked.
It was then that Lee realized who was approaching: the gorgeous envoy whom he had met earlier in the day. She was wearing a black dress that puffed out slightly at the waist in place of her oddly-pristine military uniform, and she was still stunning. She smiled, sweetly exposing her pearly-white teeth, as she came to a stop about ten feet away from the platform and bowed her head ever so slightly. “Greetings, Lord Lee. I’ve come as you requested. I am ready to . . . serve your needs.” Her voice was as alluring as her outfit: The timber was as smooth and as rich as velvety chocolate as it rolled across Lee’s eardrums, leaving a tingle in his head even as the sound faded.
“Lord . . . Lee?” he repeated. The familiar title felt entirely new and foreign in this clearly-royal context. As tempted as he was to give in to the fantasy, he recognized the situation now as the only thing it could be: a dream. This was a world either created by his mind in the middle of the night or one crafted by Augustus to mess with him. As such, he couldn’t help but feel irked by the title ‘Lord Lee.’ Such a grandiose appellation was the wish of children. Only a child would desire to be called by a ruler’s name, to be the king, the emperor, or the lord. For Lee, that puerile dream had faded. This was a world of suffering and of violence, and the longer he stayed here, the farther he waded like Macbeth through a river of blood to achieve his goals. Those words felt like a plague to him. They weren’t a praise, a compliment or even truly a noble title declaring his station in the world. They were a weight cast around his neck, drowning him in a sea of blood and responsibility. Rank and station might offer power and authority, but they came with a very real moral cost. Someone with deficient character might not feel the toll, but Lee felt it.
“Mhmm . . .” the woman purred, coyly smiling up at him. “Lord Lee, the ruler of an empire, the conqueror of a thousand lands. That is who you are, after all, isn’t it? I’m not in the wrong palace, am I?”
Lee looked around at the throne room again. The scene and scope were so majestic and grand, each detail so perfect, that he felt as if he were on the set of the most expensive Chinese film of the decade. “I am Lee,” he replied, “but I am no conqueror.”
“No conqueror?” she replied, laughing, and even that came out sweetly. “My lord, if you aren’t a conqueror, then what are you?” Her sly smile broadened until it was entirely devoid of her earlier coquettishness. “You crush your foes through blood and violence, subjugating them to your will. You break the enemy until only your people remain and raise your banners over the graves of your enemy. Is that not the definition of a conqueror? You destroyed a Herald in Satterfield. You liberated a town of Dwarves only to send your emissaries to them and secure them under your banner. You ruthlessly hunted down the people of the Firbolg Herald in Kirshtein until the whole city was nothing more than your footstool, a power over which you, their spiritual and military leader, now reign supreme through fear. How are you not a conqueror?”
“I did what had to be done,” Lee replied. “I did not conquer; I freed. I did not murder; I killed. You confuse me,” Lee said with a sigh. “You see me as a man who fights to wear the crown . . . but that’s not who I am.” Slowly, the people surrounding him began to disappear. “I do not battle to pick up ornaments; rather, I struggle to put down the blade.”
“Dishonesty doesn’t suit you, my king,” she countered with a laugh. “You can’t live without control. You can’t exist without the burdens you use to define yourself. You just haven’t accepted this truth.” As she spoke, her form slowly started to disintegrate and blow away. It started one grain at a time, grew to a hundred, and then the remainder disappeared. The entire throne room followed suit, disappearing as if it were a mere trick of light until nothing was left behind but an empty, pure-white room devoid of even the slightest variation in color or the tiniest shadow.
“This is who you are without your crown,” the woman declared from nowhere, her voice echoing off walls Lee couldn’t see. “Your sense of right, your need to force who you are on others—that is what colors and shapes every part of your reign, my king.”
Lee awoke, lying in his own bed exactly where he had gone to sleep. He quickly looked over to Ling and found her awake in the chair where she had lightly dozed off earlier. She was watching him intently.
“Something wrong?” she asked. “You were mumbling in your sleep.”
“Nothing,” Lee answered, shaking his head slightly. “It was just a dream.” However, that explanation didn’t feel right. It had been too real, and it had left him with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. That wasn’t just a dream, was it? he asked Augustus. It was too vivid.
“No, I don’t think it was either,” Augustus agreed. “Be careful: Not all Heralds attack from the front.”
Chapter 2
Name: Lee
Race: Human
Class: Herald - Statesman
Level: 39
Health: 490/490
EXP: 15267/127000
Primary Stats:
Power 49 (56)
Toughness 49 (56)
Spirit 49 (56)
Secondary Stats:
Charisma 31
Courage 22
Deceit 31
Intelligence 303 (348)
Honor -2
Faith 36777
Personal Faith 437
Skills:
Unarmed Combat Novice Level 4
Swordplay Journeyman Level 7
Sneak Journeyman Level 10
Cooking Novice Level 1
Trap Detection Initiate Level 8
Knife Combat Novice Level 2
Mental Fortitude Initiate Level 3
Sleight of Hand Initiate Level 7
Blood Shield Novice Level 8
Sewing Initiate Level 8
Glass Smithing Novice Level 10
True Patriot
Carpentry Novice Level 4
Delegation
Masonry Initiate Level 7
The Statesman:
Territories:
Satterfield (+10: Savior)
Defensive Strength Rating:1
Economic Strength rating: 14
Population Rating: 5
Territory Rating:12
Tech / Utility Rating: 22
Influence / Tourism Rating: 15
Public Persona:
Kirshtein (-4: Brutal Enforcer)
Birnefeld(1:Uncertain Assistant)
Divine Skills:
Golem Sculpting Adept Level 4
Appreciative Drunk Journeyman Level 4
Nectar of the Gods Novice Level 5
Spirit Smithing Novice Level 4
Faith Healing
Ignis Veritas
Spirit Builder Initiate Level 4
Divinity Powers:
Life in Death
Titles:
Cheat Code Fighter
The Great Deceiver
The Aggressive Mile-High Chef
Man of Many Sighs
“So, if you had to pick between In Another World with My Laptop and How to Summon an OP Guy with No Spine, which premise makes for the better anime?” Jade asked. The two had decided to take a route that Jade and Dave had plotted to maximize the amount of experience they could get on the journey, and it had led them off the main road and through the woods. Now that they were closer to Birnefeld, however, there were no more giant, walrus-sized toothy, tentacle-covered plant monsters trying to kill them, and the expedition had turned into a peaceful nature walk, a sure sign that they were near a town.
“Neither,” Lee answered.
“What? Neither?” Jade asked in shock. “Are you telling me that they’re both so amazing that you can’t decide?”
“Yeah, neither. They’re both terrible. They’re the type of show that’s success is like half the reason anime is terrible most of the time too.”
“Anime?! Terrible?! You can’t say that! Anime is like the butter-toasted cracker and overly-sweetened chocolate-hazelnut paste of my existence! Don’t you dare insult my waifu!” Jade snapped. She created a blood sword from the copious amounts of gore drenching her clothing, assumed the samurai stance, and adopted the most serious expression Lee had ever seen on her face. A second later, she turned and hit him on the shoulder.
“Ow!” Lee grimaced, rubbing his shoulder where he had been hit.
“My name is Jade. You have insulted my waifu! Now, prepare to die!” she declared, butchering an attempt at a manly Spanish accent.
“I’m not sure I have six fingers,” Lee replied, taking a stab at guessing her reference. He correctly caught and continued Jade’s allusion, but he could see Miller and Dave in the background holding their heads in annoyance. It had been a bit dicey the first time Jade had gone on a tirade, stamping her feet, yelling, making threats and manifesting her blood katana, and both Dave and Miller had reacted, thinking that she was actually serious. Thankfully, they were both so used to this type of exchange now--everyone within their small cadre knew that there was no way she would ever start an actual physical confrontation--that everyone just ignored her.
“Yeah!” she giggled, allowing her sword to dissipate. “I loved that movie so much.”
“I miss those types of classic films,” Lee continued. “Everything I saw that was worth half a grain of salt was either a remake of a good movie from the past, with worse acting and better graphics, or an adaptation of a great comic book. It’s like, why can’t they just admit that they can’t write worth squat? And then just take more great fantasy or VRMMO action-based books and make movies out of them?”
“I know, RIGHT?! I mean, at least when they remade movies over and over again back in the day, it was only the plot structure with prettier actresses and new dialogue. Now, they even copy half the lines. Ugh. Such lazy writers. But you’re not off the hook! How dare you insult my precious anime! It’s so amazing. In a world of bad movies and boring television that makes me want to sleep before WebCinema can ask me if I’m still watching, anime is the savior! It’s the hero from another world here to save the day!” Jade was practically shouting at this point, adding extra flare to her already overly-dramatic performance by spinning in place with her hands in the air as if she were trying to catch something.
“It’s really not that great though,” Lee grumbled. “I mean, I love it more than regular TV and watch it all the time . . . Hell, before I got this world’s amazing translation system, I even thought about learning Japanese just so that I could listen to it in the background while I game and still know what’s going on. But, that said, anime’s just the best option out of a series of bad choices.”
“Blasphemy!” Jade shouted, throwing her arms over her head in exasperation and turning away from him. “I will hear no more of your blasphemy, you heretic!”
“Oh, come on! They spent five minutes during the first twenty-minute episode of that Summon an OP Guy with No Spine anime focusing on skinship between girls whose collective wit couldn’t match a ten-year-old’s. Then they put in another three to five minutes of intros, outros, and next-episode nonsense. And the stuff in between had zero direction! Double twenty-minute episodes, and the plot did what? Move the main hero from the summoning circle to the town and establish that he’s a high level? Give me some great writing, and we’d have three characters fleshed out in the same amount of time.”
