Reborn as the First Boss, Book 10 Prologue

Prologue – Officially Unofficial

Mainfridus Shadescar was a merchant, as his father had been before him. His grandfather, though, had been born a merchant, heir to the Shadescar Barony in Dascora. If his great-grandfather had been less of a self-righteous prick, then things may have been different.

The last Baron Shadescar had been a pious man. Overly pious. To the point where he was an open supporter of the Theocracy of Eclana. When his grandfather discovered that Baron Shadescar was planning to turn traitor and give the barony to the Theocracy, Reinald Shadescar killed his father, and gave up his noble title, taking the entire house out of Dascora out of shame.

That was the official story, at least. The reality that people in Shadescar Barony knew was that Reinald’s actions had saved the rest of the family from the headsman’s axe. The penalties for high treason were well-known, after all. By committing patricide and leaving the country, Reinald had not only saved his family, but also made it so that the Crown did not have to commit to a public trial and execution. Yes, they stripped the Shadescars of their noble title and exiled them, but everyone knew that the Crown had been as merciful as they were allowed under the laws of the land, especially since Reinald was allowed to take the family fortune with him when he left for Crystalshield.

That was mostly true, as well. However, the Crown had done more than just allow Reinald to take his money with him out of the country. They’d helped him in setting up shop in Crystalshield, using his merchant company as one of their primary trading partners in the Free City. It was far more than they had deserved, but it was not without reason.

Since their exile, the Shadescars had been the center of Dascora’s network of spies and informants in the Free City. Not that there was ever any true hostility between the City and the Kingdom. However, it was only prudent to have spies where you could, to have warning if ill-intentioned forces ever made a move on an ally. More than one plot had been foiled by having agents abroad, after all.

Of course, things change over the years. By now, those in power in Crystalshield knew that the Shadescars sent reports to their homeland, but did nothing, because having a ‘known’ spy made things easier in many ways, natural back channels for the flow of information and political maneuvering. In truth, at this point the Mainfridus was more like an unofficial ambassador of Dascora to Crystalshield. Officially, he was a merchant, and one who made a good profit, at that, but when the Crown of Dascora wanted to send a message to someone in Crystalshield without pomp and flair of official decrees and the like, they went through him.

Which is why Mainfridus was not surprised when a message appeared in the [Sending Box] hidden in the secret room of his Crystalshield manor. The [Sending Box] was a simple device, you placed a parcel inside, closed it up, said the command word, and the contents were instantly teleported to the matched box elsewhere on the same plane. Not quite as useful as [Message Stones], which could allow for instant communication and long conversations, but it did allow for documents and small packages to be sent, and did not rely on someone being where they could talk freely for the entire conversation.

In this case, the parcel was a simple cloth bag with two letters inside, both with the Royal Seal. Official letters. One to him, as expected, no doubt informing him of the details of the task, and the other addressed to Baroness Alis Pureheart.

Taking both letters to his study, Mainfridus called one of the servants to bring him some wine. At level 39, even as a Merchant / Diplomat, a whole bottle of Tier 1 wine would do nothing to impair his judgement, but he’d always found that a nice red helped him focus on important affairs. Once the servant had delivered the open bottle and a full glass, and departed, he picked up a letter opener from the desk, and broke the seal on his letter.

As expected, the hand was that of the Royal Spymistress, the Shadowkeeper, leader of the Shadowed Eyes, Princess Mariun. The only way the missive would have held the Royal Seal was if one of the royal family had written it, but the King would not (or rather, could not) use underhanded means to communicate with those who were, technically, spies in foreign lands, so any message from the King would have come through official channels. There was only one other who could use the seal legitimately, and that was the Spymistress. However, for the Spymistress herself to be contacting him directly meant that there was trouble, or at least potential trouble, on the horizon.

10th Brasu, Year 2537 of the Seventh Age

Ser Mainfridus Shadescar,

It is with some unease that I pen this letter. Much has happened of late, more than the Voice of the World has revealed to the masses. Much of it and more has come to be centered upon the youngest of the six barons of Dascora, Alis Pureheart.

There are concerns about the Baroness, and the speed with which she has advanced. According to sources in the Adventurer’s Guild, she was below level 10 when she slayed the Goblin Hero. Through a course of events that we have not fully traced, it is believed that, shortly thereafter, she eliminated an Eclanan Inquisitor and his Retinue, most of whom were Level 30, before setting out on the road to Crystalshield.

Along the way, she ventured into the Necropolis of Akkras in Shadescar Barony, and not only slayed two bosses, but destroyed the dungeon and released a godhead sealed within the dungeon’s core. Mere weeks after the Goblin Hero’s death, she was already Level 40. She then displayed powerful magics as she dealt with bandits set to pursue her, and blocked scrying of her, or her party, preventing us from directly following her path.

Through indirect means, we have ascertained that the Baroness Pureheart is still alive, and passing through Bikar on her way to Crystalshield. As the Dragonskull Caves dungeon is along the path, we expect she will delve its depths, and be into Tier 2 by the time she reaches the city. It is also possible that she will have more than the party of four slaves who accompanied her when she left Windwater Barony.

Beyond quests that she has taken through the Adventurer’s Guild leading to Crystalshield, Baroness Pureheart’s stated purpose for the trip is to engage the services of trainers who might work on creating a militia in Windwater Barony, similar to what Crystalshield employs. Since you are familiar with the Militia’s trainers, you are tasked with finding one who is not only amenable to the extended time abroad in Windwater that would be required for this venture, but who would also be willing to pass on information to the Shadowed Eyes for appropriate recompense.

Further, you are tasked with arranging a meeting between yourself and the Baroness, in part so you can deliver the letter that accompanied this one, but also so that you can observe her, and her companions, and report back. A focus on their abilities, including [Appraise] information, and general attitudes towards Dascora and other powers is expected. Note that the Baroness is known to have a [False Appraisal] effect up at all times, though it is suspected she may use multiple layers of the spell. The [True Appraise] skill available to the Merchant class should be able to pierce it, however.

Regardless of the results, inform the Baroness that you are unaware of the particulars of the letter, save that it includes an invitation to the King’s Anniversary on 25th Telvast (which is true). Under no circumstances are you to attempt to lie to her, as she is known to be a Mind Sorceress, and will have advanced to Tier 2 in that class. The likelihood that she would see through any outright falsehoods is high, and could lead to unfortunate misunderstandings. Better to be open and honest with the truth than risk her turning against the Kingdom.

After handing over the letter, be sure to offer to sell her a Teleport scroll to take her party back to Dascora, if she has not already obtained one. And advise her about appropriate gifts, as custom dictates. Above all, do not antagonize her or drive her into conflict with the Kingdom.

Shadows guard you,

Shadowkeeper Mariun

Mainfridus leaned back in his chair and considered the letter, even as the enchantment on its pages caused the thing to catch fire, burning to ash in an instant, without even scorching the other papers on his desk. A bit of wind magic carried the ash from his desk to the wastebasket, where it would not be noticed. As one who had Merchant as a class and not a profession, he was all but useless in combat, but he could use a wide array of cantrips, and had several effects which enhanced his analytical abilities.

If Pureheart was coming soon, as suggested by the letter, then he needed to have a few conversations with some of his contacts in the city. Arter at the Adventurer’s Guild, to point Pureheart his way when she no doubt went to see about more quests, if she was posing as an Adventurer. Sela, in the Lord Mayor’s office, to ‘suggest’ the proper trainer. And… hmm, Galous the centaur for the trainer. He had been making comments about wishing to leave the city, since his kind rarely dealt with urban environments well, but he could not return to his home in the Southern Continent for reasons he chose not to disclose, but probably had similar origins to why he was not welcome in Bikar. Centaurs had well-known appetites, after all. Mainfridus drained his glass, and then rang the bell to summon his butler. He had missives to send out.