Chapter 33 - The Plotting of Others

Somewhere

???

I stand before the shackled King. One eye is closed, a dark purplish ooze dripping from it. Its tail is between its legs, its hind legs shivering in my presence. Despair and pain is evident in its stance. A low growl issues from it, observing my every movement with its remaining eye.

How quaint. Capturing the King cost me a few pawns. Not that I care, the ones I chose for that task were all failures anyway. Weak and broken from being unable to comprehend, or even willing to accept, my Gift to them.

Now, to prepare for the next part. I step closer to it. It takes a step back, pushing its back up against the cave wall, trying to get away from me. It's no use, dear Forest King, for I have a plan for you...

Within the Harmekian Capital

As witnessed by the Divine

Minister of foreign affairs, Seul, is seated at a desk. Going over Harrison Gloombottoms report of the meeting with the King of Parshura. Seems the King was telling the truth, he really did manage to tame the Monarch.

He sets down his pen, it's exquisitely decorated in the shape of a feather, and sighs. This complicates things infinitely. The army is pretty much ready to go, and a route of advance has been scouted and cleared. But this Monarch will most definitely be able to put a stop to any army, and grow stronger still in the process.

A knock on the door pulls him out of his contemplation. No wait for a response before Army General Knark Drakefang (~the Kn is pronounced like in knife~) enters. Much shorter than the average Human, the only reason he even made the cut into the Harmekian Army was his Unique Skill, Generals' Knowledge.

With it, he quickly rose in ranks, and any soldiers he led returned victorious due to his Skills ability to assess the weakest point in the enemies defenses.

"What do I owe the pleasure, Army General Knark?" Seul feigns a smile. Knark has the effect of making a room quite serious, something Seul never quite got used to, so he prefers not being in the same room as the Army General.

"The Queen requests a meeting. The entire Council is called." Knark states bluntly. "Seems Her Highness has cooked up a plan to deal with this 'issue' we're having." He sighs, his usual gruff persona faltering, revealing a tired and stressed man.

"I fear She might have made deals we will have trouble repaying." He brings out a flask containing a dark brown liquid. It fizzes slightly as he unscrews the cork. He takes a swig before pocketing the bottle.

"Now, Army General, Her Highness would be quite upset to hear you say such things." A voice issues from somewhere. A glint of light reflecting off of a pair of glasses betray Spymaster Jaxs' position within the shadows.

Great, thinks Seul, even Jax is here, his two least favorite colleagues are with him in the same room. Knark immediately turns pale. "You wouldn't dare." He hisses, his gruffness back in full force. "Hm, you're right, we both have too much dirt on each other to make it worth bringing you to the Queen on charges of disloyalty to the Crown." Jax adjusts his spectacles as he steps out of the shadows.

"Now, Seul, Knark, I suppose we shouldn't keep Her Highness waiting?" Jax gestures for the three of them to leave for the throne-room. Seul wonders how long Jax had been in the room with him.

As they walk, Seul muses over the possibilities. What mad scheme has Queen Typhona Vileclaw thought up this time?

It's widely known within the Kingdom that the Queen is quite mad, the loss of her husband and the birth of an ill-formed child robbed her of her sanity many decades ago. Now in her old age, she leaves most of the day-to-day business of running Harmek to the Council.

Of course, she still holds absolute power in the Kingdom, and as such, whenever she calls the Council, it is usually to reveal her latest machinations. Most often, these are directed against the Kingdom of Parshura, which she believes were responsible for both her husbands death and the defects of her child.

The news that King Dervix had tamed the Monarch sent her into a frenzy of hate, and Seul fears deep in his heart that this time Her Highness might bring the Kingdom to ruin in her madness. The three men stop in front of the doors to the throne-room. The seven other Council-men are already there.

Minister of Arcanum, Meglor Umberclaw, Minister of Engineering, Lonell Dockfell, Minister of Health, Reimund Goldroux, Minister of Construction, Almon Hopefaire, Minister of Agriculture, Heath Opalroux, Minister of Commerce, Cooper Copperroux and finally, Royal Treasurer Hock Buckhorn.

The doors are opened, and the Council enter.

Absolute silence comes over them. No-one, not even them, are allowed to speak without permission here. The penalty is death for breaching this rule. Seul notes the figure to the right of the staircase leading to the throne.

That robe... That emblem... That mask...

It's an Aurellium Envoy, one of the five Tendons. The messengers of Aurellium themselves, they bring communications between the Undead Noble and the Nails, the Leaders of each of the components of the organization. Seul feels his heart drop and a chill run up his spine. If one of Them are here... He glances over to the others. They all share similar expressions.

Her Highness, Typhona Vileclaw sits atop her throne. Of course, she hardly ever leaves it nowadays, only doing so to eat or sleep. As usual, she's dressed in full regalia, her withered hands grasping the royal Scepter and Orb as malevolent amber eyes peer out from beneath the crown that almost envelops her entire head.

A few tattered feathers are all that remain of her hair, her once royal purple dress is now faded, dirty and tattered. She never wears anything else, and refuse to let others touch it, for fear of them tampering with it; "What if they smear poison on it?" She'd say whenever the topic was brought up.

"Dear members of the Council, it is with great pleasure that I'm announcing that a possible solution to the Monarch issue is close at hand." Despite her decrepit look, her voice carries with an uncanny strength. Once again, Seul nervously glances to the others. They're all in various stages of fright and steeling themselves.

"This Envoy made contact with Me, and proposed a wonderful plan for Us." She continues, weakly gesturing towards the Tendon with her Scepter. The Tendon remains unmoving, their mask hiding any facial features and expression. "The Aurellium will provide the manpower and materials. In return, the Kingdom of Harmek will provide legitimacy to the Ritual."

Seuls' body runs cold. No- impossible! To think that the Queen would be willing to Summon a Hero! He stares into the floor, too shocked to do much else. Of course, it's a perfect opportunity to potentially deal with the Monarch, but at the same time...

The Ritual of Summoning is an ancient Spell that was taught to the humanoids in the early ages of the World, before the All-War. In times of need, when Legendary monsters appeared, or when they needed a champion for a Duel, the Ritual would be performed.

Eight mages as well as eight pure Magic Crystals are consumed by the Ritual. In return, a bridge between Worlds is created, and a suitable Hero is Summoned to the World. They'd be a person with overwhelming power, and several Unique Skills at their disposal. Once Summoned, a Task is engraved upon their Soul, and only once this task is fulfilled, could the Hero return to their own World.

Should the Hero die in their attempt at completing this Task, their Soul would be returned to the World of their origin, and reborn within that Worlds' Cycle.

The Monarch must be a threat to the Aurellium as well, seeing as they're willing to co-operate with Harmek. Of course, Seul suspects that the only reason they approach Typhona with this proposition is because if something goes awry, they stand to gain on the chaos created for Harmek.

The Aurellium would never be able to Summon on their own. The Divine would simply not allow it. But, if the Kingdom of Harmek claimed the Ritual is theirs...

"So! Preparations are already being made. Around nine days from now, we'll have Summoned a Hero to slay the Monarch!" Typhonas' face twists into a wicked, wrinkled grimace of a smile. "Oh how I'd love to see the face of that despot once he learns his pet is dead!" She cackles.

"Now, go prepare for the Heros' arrival. Jax and Knark, I expect you to gather the finest equipment available." Her tone shifts to one of utter seriousness. She leans slightly forward from her usual slumped back position. "Dismissed!" She scowls.

Seul fears the beginning of the end might be approaching. The end of what, he's unsure about.

G'cal Guild Hall

Valenas' POV

I observe the note-board. Nothing fun is listed today, and I've already taken care of most of the difficult D-Rank missions that were already listed. In the time between my Trial and now, I've been made the leader of a small team of D-Rankers, and we've been hugely successful in our ventures.

Almost too successful...

You see, ever since Millibelle and I parted ways, my Stats have been going bonkers! All my Core Stats rose to eighty! That's impossible! Also, everyone seems to be really nice to me now, as if they're afraid of something happening if they don't...

Ugh... I just wanted to become a strong Hunter on my own...

"Vaaal~ Hurry! Pick a meowsion! I'm getting booooored~" Lima Mudcore, Lentils' niece, puts her head on my shoulders from behind as she threatens to crush my chest with a hug. "Lima, phlese-" I gasp, trying to wiggle out of her grasp.

"Lima, please don't hug the boss too tightly, you'll break her ribs..." A hooded girl taps Lima on her shoulder, prompting her to let go. Lychee Voidreiser, Photian, though she commonly poses as a human in order to avoid undue attention, most of the other humanoids are more likely to kill her for just being a Photian than not if they knew.

The hooded robe she wears is an effective disguise, so long as her eyes remain shaded by the hood. "I'm sorry~, I just get sooo booored when Val takes a long time." Lima pouts. Her personality would never give away that she's one of the best great-hammer wielders around. She also has a tendency to make cat-puns, entirely subconsciously of course.

Lychee is the support, healing and applying Shield and Shell to us when needed. I'm the 'pest control', I take care of the small guys. Lastly, there's Leon Grubherd, a Pyrean mage. He's the ranged offense of the team.

We're still looking for a proper ranger, but so far we've not found anyone that would fit the team. I'm seriously considering taking a few classes in archery, just to fill that void in our lineup. Leon's currently off getting supplies for our next outing, so that leaves me to keep an eye on Lima.

I return to scanning the note-board, when a Guild Clerk comes over to add a new note. I look it over once she's done.

"Escort needed for Illomen Expedition; D-Rank, 20 G reward.

- There's been rumors of something strange going on in Illomen, and as such, it is the duty of Mina Blusparks Research Team to look into it! We're looking for a group of around four experienced D-Rankers to escort us as we conduct the investigation.

- Estimated time: 2-3 days of investigation, plus 1 days travel to get to Illomen and 1 day to get back to the city.

- Departure: As soon as possible!"

Wow, sounds important. Also, the Illomen Forest... that's where I met Millibelle. I yank the note off of the board.

"Ohh, finally! Whatcha got?" Lima asks excitedly. "An escort mission to the Illomen Forest. Seems it's going to take a few days, and the pay is really good!" I show her the reward. Lychee looks too, and moves her mouth wordlessly as she calculates the actual reward.

"Hm, around four Gold, ten Silver each then, when the Guild's share and costs are considered." She smiles, "It's really good pay! I might even be able to afford that Tome I've been wanting with this." "Do we wait for Leon and hear what he thinks or do we accept it right now?" I ask them.

"I'm purretty sure he'd not mind us just accepting without him. After all, this is too good to paws up, right?" Lima tilts her head at me. I shrug and bring the note to the desk. "My team and I would like to accept this mission, please." I tell the Clerk. "All right, please sign here, and it's all set!" The Clerk tells me in her usual cheerful manner.

"Well, I suppose we should prepare whilst we wait for Leon." I tell the others as I finish signing the contract. For some reason, I have a building uneasy feeling about this...