Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.72 (303)

Natalie Keening was beginning to realize that she wasn’t as in control of the situation as she thought she was.

After the ambush by the kobalds, when the fighting began to die down, she’d taken the opportunity to reconnect with the Thought Hub. With her status merited a relay connection to the city through the Battle Hub, she’d been able to finally upload everything she had been preparing. Up until now, she’d been relying on a communications orb, severely limiting what she could do.

The first thing she’d done when back in range was upload the numerous interviews she’d performed after the battle for the portal, supplementing and reinforcing the few she’d already sent out. Then there were the multiple memory engrams of the battle she’d collected which had already been arranged and edited. They were sent out next.

But her content wasn’t just interviews. Included among her uploads was a comprehensive overview of House Walker’s daring decision to take the mission, their harrowing journey, and the awe-inspiring finale. All together it was hours and hours of content that hit the Thought Hub like a meteor, spreading its content across the city.

Suffice it to say, she’d been busy. So busy in fact that she hadn’t been participating in the decision making process of the battle. She’d even temporarily relieved herself of her duty, focusing entirely on her efforts to get her message out.

The original idea she’d had was to follow Lord Walker’s hints, intent on setting a new standard for how a noble house, like House Walker, interacted with the common citizenry. He’d once referred to her position as a ‘P.R. Director’. When she asked him at the time to clarify what he’d meant by P.R., he’d explained his views on public relations. Although he hadn’t gone into much detail, what little he’d said had been eye-opening.

Noble houses, large businesses, guilds, even the Center and the government, they all typically confined their information dissemination duties to strict structures and policies. While one could argue that they were shaping public opinion, no one would consider that to be their primary purpose. What they were supposed to be doing was clarifying the truth of whatever matter was being talked about throughout the city. By law, no official organization could report anything but the absolute, verifiable truth. So, propaganda of any kind was typically considered pointless. If one wanted to be seen as a trustworthy organization, then they had to do trustworthy acts, reporting and alerting the public as to what they’d done for them.

Opinions and agendas were things that private citizens could present through their own Thought Hub interactions. Popular presenters were seen as unbiased information gatherers, becoming trustworthy and knowledgeable figures in the city’s shared consciousness.

However, Lord Walker seemed to look at her job as something different. The way he had talked about public relations had opened Natalie’s eyes to an entirely different way of looking at her duty. When she’d chosen to take up the position, she’d done it because she’d wanted everyone to know what kind of lord she was serving. His beliefs were simple, but profound, and she hadn’t wanted anyone to misunderstand him. But, now she’d begun to take that a step further. Much like a missionary, she had begun to spread his message proactively.

What she hadn’t accounted for was the response.

“You asked for me?” she heard a voice call out from her left.

Turning her head and minimizing her focus to her link, she saw Mike Harring looking at her with a nervous look on his face.

“Yes, I did,” she replied while sending him several files over her link through the battle hub.

She wasn’t sure if he had access to the Thought Hub, as his position likely didn’t merit it, but she needed him to understand what was happening back in the city.

“Take a look at this, and tell me what you think,” she said.

Watching his eyes glaze over, she waited for him to go through the pings she’d sent him.

Widening his eyes in shock, he refocused on her and asked, “Is this for real?”

With a sour look on her face, she nodded.

“Uh… then what should I do? I mean, is this what’s best for House Walker?” he asked.

Unsure herself, she replied, “I don’t know. What you’re looking at is something I’ve never seen before-”

Interrupting her, Mike said, “I don’t think anyone has!”

Ignoring him, she continued, “Thousands of people sent personal messages, congratulating House Walker on its success, thanking us for saving them, and professing their support if we ever need them. The reason I’m bringing this to you is that more than half of those people who’d contacted us mentioned you specifically.”

Curious and surprised, Mike replied, “Me? Why? I mean… how? Is this about that interview you had me do?”

Smirking, she replied, “Yes, it’s about the interview. Or more specifically, your story… you legend.”

Not understanding, he began to slow down as he became lost in thought, uttering under his breath, “My legend?”

Nodding, she patted him on the shoulder to ensure he kept pace with her. “Yes, your legend. That’s the best way to describe how they’re treating you. It’s your story. You were directed by powerful and corrupt forces to seek out and assassinate the very lord you now serve. In a way, your service is inspiring. Why do you think you were appointed the head of the reformed criminal division of our forces?”

Awkwardly shifting the straps on his armor, Mike replied, “No, I get that. It’s not like I don’t understand that I’ve become something of a symbol for the group, but I don’t see how anyone outside of the Wackos would even care.”

Shaking her head, Natalie replied, “You’ve become a symbol of redemption. The path you were on was headed toward death and shame, but through your service to Lord Walker, you’ve saved the city!”

Flinching at her tone, he replied, “I barely did anything! It was Lord Walker who closed the portal, saving all of us!”

Unable to stop herself from smiling, she replied, “Yes, it was. But you were there. You witnessed it, participated in the battle, put your life on the line for something greater than yourself. Comparing who you are now with who you were just weeks ago, your path is completely different. That kind of story resonates with people.”

Mike replied quickly, “It’s not just me, though. Everyone has a similar story. None of us were anything special until we became Wackos.”

Sighing in understanding, she said, “That’s true. And now people are noticing. Hundreds of applications have been received from people wanting to change their paths. And above every other Wacko, they’re looking to you as their example.”

Seeing as Mike was unable to come up with a reply, she continued, “If House Walker were a church, and being a Wacko was a calling, then you would be considered the first convert… a prophet of adventure if you will.”

Gulping, Mike asked in a quiet voice, “What do you need me to do?”

—--

When they finally arrived at their destination, Nero was looking forward to a few hours of rest before eventually returning to the city proper. But from the moment the front of the formation began exiting the tunnel, he’d already begun to hear the cheers echoing from the chamber ahead of them. It had sounded like there was an entire stadium of fans eagerly awaiting their chance to see him and his Wackos take the field.

Noting the equally confused looks on the people around him, Nero hadn’t been able to do anything other than wait patiently until he could see with his own eyes what was going on.

By the time his section of the formation finally left the tunnel, his jaw had dropped at the sheer number of people he could see waiting for them. There must have been thousands.

Much like the area they’d departed from when they’d begun their journey into the upper levels, the chamber in front of him was multi-tiered with exits heading off in multiple directions. Over ten levels high, each ringed platform was packed with people cheering and waving down at them.

Nero couldn’t understand it.

Based on what they were wearing, they were all soldiers, but they were acting like fans at a European football game. He would have likened them to American football fans, but other than a few college teams during their bowl games, he couldn’t remember ever seeing stadiums acting anything like this.

Since the noise was too overpowering for anyone else to hear him, Nero shouted to himself, “What in the hell is happening?!?”

Before he knew it, he was being lifted up by some wackos and presented as an offering to the crowd. Rather than simply throwing him up on someone’s shoulders, they’d instead decided to lift an entire wagon bed with him atop it, serving as an impromptu platform so that everyone could get a good look at him.

From his new height, he could see that the entire chamber was packed shoulder to shoulder, with multiple soldiers even choosing to stand on top of the stone buildings they’d set up in order to get a better vantage point. If the sight alone wasn’t enough to shake him, then the feeling of hope, satisfaction, and revelry in the ether truly was.

Nero felt like his entire being was being judged, and in an unanimous decsion, they wholly and completely had come to the agreement that he was awesome.

Alone on top of the wagon, Nero slowly stood up to his full height, squaring his shoulders and basking in the attention. While he wouldn’t normally be so comfortable with how many people were staring at him, the combined weight of the acceptance he was feeling was messing with his emotions. It felt like he was being swaddled in a warm blanket, given a cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows, and offered a soothing bedtime story by the mother of all mother figures.

It was a heady feeling, and it was making him somewhat giddy.

Spreading out his arms as if he were basking in the sun, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. The resulting cheers from seeing him acknowledging them in his own unique way were enough to make the essence around him vibrate.

He honestly had no idea how long the cheering ended up lasting, but it did eventually die down. And even better, at no point in time did anyone demand a speech from him or ask him to do anything other than wave. Likely due to the fact that they were all soldiers, when the cheering ended, most of the attendants left for the tunnels.

He almost pitied the kobalds that would eventually run into them. From how strongly their essence fields were projecting their emotions, Nero could tell that they were hyped-up and looking forward to some fighting.

When he was eventually put down, he was collected by a few team leaders and taken to the command tent. Or at least that’s what they were calling it. It was more of a stone building they’d raised up in the middle of the cavern, which was then surrounded by spell cannon emplacements and barricades. Calling it a fortress would be more appropriate than anything else.

Keeping his voice quiet, Nero asked the soldier who was leading them through the checkpoints, “Why do you call it a command tent? It’s not a tent?”

Shrugging, the soldier replied, “It’s a temporary structure that houses our commanders. Usually it's a tent, but since we’ve had the opportunity, we’ve improved it.”

Choosing not to argue with the man, Nero allowed him his utterly logical stupidity. By this time, he’d gotten used to the fact that everyone in this city had embraced their unimagination as a uniformly agreed upon lifestyle choice. It was similar to how everyone back home agreed that ties weren’t a ridiculously pointless clothing choice, and were instead for some reason a symbol of intelligence and superiority. To Nero, it made about as much sense as putting mayonnaise on hotdogs.

By the time he’d arrived within the structure itself, Nero couldn’t stop himself from asking about its construction. Through his senses, he could tell that the walls weren’t exactly the same type of construct that the kobalds had made. In fact, the longer he looked at the walls, the more he was sure that they had actually chosen to use real materials as the foundation when they’d built the place.

“Are there like spell-builders or something? How exactly did you guys do all this?” he said while he ran his hands along the walls.

Not stopping, the soldier replied over his shoulder, “After you’ve met with Commander Dahl, I’ll introduce you to the engineering teams. But, Lord Walker, now isn’t the time for that.”

Cathleen’s harsh voice snapped out, “My lord, the commanders are waiting for us.”

Turning his head, he saw that everyone was staring at him. Even his good buddy Blackwood was looking a bit annoyed at how little attention he was paying to the ‘seriousness’ of the moment.

Rolling his eyes, Nero replied, “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

Like he expected, when they eventually arrived at their destination, it was just a bunch of self-important assholes waiting for them. Commander Dahl stood in the middle, greeting them with as much gravitas as he was able to infuse into his bullshit. Alongside him, other fancily armored people stood there at attention, their ornate tabards demonstrating their importance for anyone lucky enough to be in their presence.

Glancing over to his right, Nero made note of the buffet table.

‘These toolbags even went so far as to set out hors d'oeuvres?!? Figures they wouldn’t spring for a fondu fountain,’ Nero thought to himself with a smirk.

After exchanging pleasantries with Angelton and Cathleen, Commander Dahl made his way directly to Nero. From his body language and essence field, it was clear that he considered everyone else in the room unworthy of his attention.

“Lord Walker. I’d first like to say thank you on behalf of all of Dorchester for what you have done. You’re courage and selflessness are an inspiration to us all, and although you are no longer a member of our city’s nobility, you shall forever be remembered as a friend,” he said solemnly while slightly bowing his head in thanks.

From the corner of his eyeline, Nero noticed that several people were carefully choosing their place away from the crowd to get a good memory engram out of the Commander and his meeting.

Setting down the plate of food he’d started gathering from the moment he’d seen the spread, Nero turned to Commander Dahl and replied loudly and proudly, “Your thanks are appreciated, but unnecessary. House Walker was only doing its job. We’re a house of adventurers. This is what we do. Wherever there is adventure and glory, wherever darkness is in danger of drowning out the light, wherever good men and women of Oglivarch are in peril… we’ll be there. The Wackos of House Walker will not shy away from any foe, and will forever be humanity's shield against the terrors that go bump in the night!”

Seeing the looks of shock at his over the top and grand proclamation, Nero turned to his right, addressing the Wackos who’d arrived with him. Smiling widely, he said, “You can clap now…”

Embracing the joke, the team leaders broke out in applause and laughter. Even Cathleen and Angelton surprisingly chose to politely join in, while remaining much more subdued than the others.

Glancing over at the sight of the Wackos enjoying themselves, Commander Dahl took a step forward so he could be heard. “Lord Walker. If you wouldn’t mind, we need to formally receive your after action report. If you’ll please come this way.”

Nero looked at the man, somewhat annoyed that he once again had interrupted his food collection. “If you didn’t want me to eat, then why is all of this here? Can’t you give a guy five minutes before you start grilling him? The portal isn’t going to reopen anytime soon, is it? You can calm down big guy,” he said before offering him the plate in his hand and adding, “Here, have some of this. I think it’s like bacon… but blue. I’m calling it bluecon.”

Confused, Commander Dahl accepted the plate by reflex. After taking a moment to process what Nero had just said, he replied, “It’s hokath, or chicken if you prefer. Specifically chicken from the Usillee region in the Northeast, prepared in their style. Of course, we have a population of Usillee chickens being locally cultivated. It’s not imported if that’s what you were wondering.”

Nero nodded, not really paying attention, merely replying half-heartedly, “Uh-huh. Makes sense.”

For a solid minute, Commander Dahl stood by while Nero continued to ignore him. Still holding the plate Nero had given him, the man slowly began to fume. He’d heard that Lord Walker was particularly difficult to deal with, but he hadn’t realized how infuriating he could be up until this very moment.

From out of nowhere, Cathleen arrived. She offered the Commander a slight nod in greeting while taking the plate out of his hands with a stern look on her face.

Reaching out and smacking the back of Nero’s head, she said, “Come along, my lord. You can eat at the table.”

Nero had felt the blow coming, but hadn’t bothered dodging. Since he’d come down from his presentation on the wagon, he’d had his mage armor up and running at full blast. While he realized he might now be considered a celebrity, he also knew that nails daring to stick out tended to get hammered down.

Complying with Cathleen, he took his two plates with him while collecting a pitcher of what smelled like orange juice in the nook of his arm. “Lead the way,” he said.

Leaving the Commander behind, Nero added over his shoulder, “Cathleen was the Battle Leader, so she’ll be the one providing you your answers. Any other questions or inquiries can be directed to my counsel or publicity department.”

Now a few feet away from the man, Nero turned to Cathleen and asked under his breath, “I do have lawyers, right? Vera said I was getting lawyers.”

Angelton, having overheard what Nero had said, stepped up to walk alongside them toward the table, asking, “Why do you think you need a lawminder?”

Having gotten pretty good at noticing the nuances of the translation magic here, Nero took his seat while arranging his food and his pitcher. “I’ve heard several variations of that. Lawminders, lawbringers, lawbinders… what’s the difference between them and a lawyer? Aside from the obvious that is.”

Taking their seats at the impressively large conference table in the center of the room along side him, Nero noted that most of the Wacko team leaders who had come with him remained along the walls behind him. As for the rest of the table, it was slowly being filled by Commander Dahl and the rest of the army people who’d been here when they arrived.

Angelton, ignoring Nero’s atrocious table manners, replied, “When you say lawyers, it sounds like you’re just saying those in the business of the law. Or more accurately, certified arguers. Typically, our legal professionals have an area of expertise. Lawbringers work under the Tower of Law to enforce justice. Lawbinders handle legal matters between people, organizations, and houses. There are as many types of legal professionals as there are areas of the law. It’s not uncommon for nobles like yourself to hire multiple people who are skilled in multiple roles. You’re no doubt correct in your assumption that Lady Verena has already begun to recruit a few for House Walker.”

Cathleen chimed in by leaning over and glaring at Angelton. Since she was seated on Nero’s right and with Angelton being on his left, Nero was in the middle and was therefore forced to suffer her displeasure by virtue of being in her way.

“Stop talking. He doesn’t need a ‘lawyer’. This isn’t a tribunal. It’s a debriefing. Focus on the matter at hand,” she hissed before turning to Nero and threatening, “And you, my lord. If you would please remain silent and let me handle this. I believe it would be in everyone’s best interest.”

Continuing to chew his hokath, Nero replied with a smile, “You got it boss. Has anyone ever told you that you're particularly impressive when you’re worked up like this? You’re like a charmingly ferocious housecat annoyed by everyone interrupting your nap time.”

Receiving no response other than a glare that made the hair on the back of his neck stand at attention, Nero turned his attention back to his food, muttering, “I’ll just focus on my bluecon. Don’t mind me. You’ve got this.”

*Chapter 303 - Safe and sound.

*Spoiler - People's personalities are effected by their circumstances.  That seems like an obvious statement, but its interesting to consider the differences between how people view different places.  Some people might become intimidated by the sight of a courtroom, because they know what it represents.  For someone who hasn't watched a few courtroom dramas, someone sitting in a black dress behind a big ass desk might cause them to laugh at loud at the ridiculous sight.  The point is, people react to different situations in personal ways that if you look for them, you might find it interesting.