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Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.29 (260)

Even with how dire the circumstances were, Commander Dahl was feeling more and more comfortable with the situation that he and his city found themselves in. He could tell that everyone in the Command Hall felt the same way. There was a sense of control permeating the room that had been absent up until now.

Their training, the battles and conflicts they’d faced, and everything they knew about commanding troops revolved around knowing their enemy. Being caught off guard by the kobald’...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.28 (259)

Waiting in one of the communication rooms of the Tower of Magic, Vera thought back to the last time she’d spoken with her mother. It had been just after her wedding had been officially finalized and registered with the Tower of Law, and she remembered the conversation well.

After having taken her husband’s name, Vera had finally cut ties with her mother’s family, the Pendeltons. Allowing her to finally make a name for herself on her own. During the brief but heartfelt conversation...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.27 (258)

Nobody wanted to admit it. Hells be damned, he didn’t want to admit it. Nevertheless, Commander Dahl was willing to concede, if only in the privacy of his meditations, that the army… no, that the entire city was unprepared for an enemy like the kobalds.

From an early age, commoners and nobles alike had been taught that there was always a possibility that someone was watching. Whether through their interactions on the Thought Hub, or someone simply going out of their wa...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.26 (257)

Chapter 26 (257)

“Everything looks good over here!” one of the robed scientists called out from behind his control hologram.

Throughout the plain stone room, people were working hard. Some were moving around like bees busily attempting to pollinate the various machines that took up much of the floor space. Others were like pillars of professionalism, overseeing everything within their little slices of controlled chaos. All the while, in the center, the fifteen-unit tall pillar...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.25 (256)

In one of the private conference rooms in the keep, City Lord Cosgrave sat at the head of the table with her fingers steepled in thought in front of her chin. Around her sat the assembled advisors and aides of House Cosgrave, each one in charge of the various assets and pursuits of her house.

When the memory engram she and the rest of the attendants had been watching finished playing, she broke the silence by ordering coldly, “Play it again…”

As requested, the memory engram ...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.24 (255)

Rubbing his hands over his face in annoyance, Archmage Jennings muttered to himself, “It’s going to take forever for these fools to clear all this out.”

In front of him, above his desk, he stared blankly at the updated maps he’d been able to create now that he knew what to look for. The entire mountain range was indeed infested with kobald cities, each one filled to the brim with kobalds and spawning chambers. Worse yet, he could see at least five cities that had active portals ...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.23 (254)

“So, to summarize our current talking points… Firstly, House Verena is both the representation of House Walker in Dorchester, and also a house on the rise with power and prestige of its own.  Secondly, after acquiring all of the assets Lord Walker had in the city, House Verena is looking forward to the new ladder rankings and is expected to earn an impressive placement despite its recent founding.  Thirdly, House Verena’s trading houses are to be highlighted through all of our...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.22 (253)

Having been the youngest of seven children, Peter Rollins had always felt like an afterthought. While his brothers and sisters had always known exactly what they wanted to do with their lives, he’d struggled to find a place for himself.

At one time, he’d thought he’d end up being a flower merchant like his mom. Then he’d wanted to be a blacksmith or a machinist like his uncle Owen. For a brief moment during his twenties, he’d even considered being an arena mage.

The one ...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.21 (252)

Plopping himself down on one of the recently manifested stone benches in the simple common room, Crusher pulled out a small keg of ale from his runically enchanted pouch and set it up on the shelf over his shoulder with a practiced one-handed flip. Without bothering to look, he filled a mug by activating the valve with his forefinger and gripping the mug with his thumb.

“Alright, so what do ‘e think?” he asked tersely, wanting to hear everyone’s impressions concerning the humans...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.20 (251)

Mage-adept Newbanks stood near the back of the control room on the platform overlooking the array. With her arms crossed and a stern look on her face, her presence filled the room despite her staying out of the way.

While the main focusing array spun in the center of the room, the mages scurried around it like frenzied worker bees. They knew she was watching.

The mage currently in charge of the central array continued to call out orders, attempting to bring some semblance of order...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.19 (250)

While her time among the Southerners had done a lot to alleviate the prejudices she’d once had, she still occasionally found herself wanting to lash out at them for their idiocy. There was something about being able to choose when and where they fought that dulled the tactical skills they should have developed as battle-hardened warriors.

Subcommander Jates was a perfect example of what kind of soldier the Southern cities tended to produce. He was individually strong, self-confident, ...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.18 (249)

Smacking his fist against the table in frustration, Archmage Jennings closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He needed to calm down and get a hold of himself.

In front of him, hovering above his desk, was the map of the kobald cities given to the army by the dwarves. While not detailed, it clearly showed multiple cities spread out under the mountain range, some of them being nearly the size of Dorchester. It was clear the kobalds had dug deep into the ground, probably breaking int...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.17 (248)

It was common knowledge that excellence and success are rewarded with responsibility and elevation. So, despite their grumbling and conspiracy theories, Kendra Sterling and David Henderson knew they’d been assigned as Center liaisons to the army survey teams due to their achievements. Having recently been on the team to discover the density shift, and then being among the few survivors of the first kobald attack, they rapidly rose through the ranks.

The only problem was that neither o...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.16 (247)

Standing near the edge of the overlook on the third level, King Mavros Mithrilstrike looked out over his new mountain city. Although his expression didn’t show it, he was happy. Here, he would rebuild his kingdom and revive his clan.

The empty mining town below him had been built by and for humans. There weren’t too many large buildings, and they’d wasted a great deal of time and energy carting in wood from the surface. Most of these buildings would have to be torn down. Especiall...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.15 (246)

Cathleen looked over the various teams getting ready for deployment with pride. While she hadn’t had all that much time to train them, they were performing admirably. Each and every one of them was dedicated to House Walker’s development and eager to push themselves further along their path.

She had always been the type of woman who enjoyed seeing others working hard to improve themselves, and this new challenge… ostensibly leading a new house… was turning out to be everything t...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.14 (245)

Commander Dahl was happy with how quickly the army was adapting to the new operations paradigm. Much happier than he thought he’d be in fact.

Over the past day, he’d received over 20 transfers into his command, directed by the grandmaster himself. Each of them had taken over aspects of his responsibilities dealing with briefing the council of leadership and interacting with the nobles. Several were simply there to ward off personal requests he had been constantly receiving through h...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.13 (244)

Crusher and his dwarves had taken over a corner of the square where they’d been told House Walker would arrive. Leaning against one of the make-shift war wagons they’d built the night before, he thought about what his king had told him.

Neither he nor anyone else liked how the local ‘nobility’ had handled House Walker. Interfering with clan politics was considered extremely rude in dwarven culture, and demanding a newly founded clan to give up its rightful position during a nego...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.12 (243)

Leaning back in her chair, Lord Heleema Cosgrave sighed heavily. “And why do you believe that the dwarves won’t be honoring the agreement?”

The aide alongside Lord Renard said firmly, “Twenty dwarves under the command of King Mithralstrike’s right hand arrived less than an hour ago at the mountain gate. According to the dwarf, Crusher, they’re there to honor the agreement they had with Lord Walker.”

Lord Renard, sounding both annoyed and outraged, added, “We won’...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.11 (242)

Michael Harring stood off to the side of the platform, calmly watching the arranged memory engrams play on the large holographic projector. While memories in this format were limited to just the visual and auditory spectrums, seeing Lord Walker speak was still impressive.

He’d watched these recordings many times, as had everyone else in this room most likely. However, he still wanted them fresh in their minds when he addressed them. This was the fourth introductory session he was lead...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.10 (241)

King Oliver Oglivarch was well aware of his reputation among the citizens of his kingdom. He was known as one of the most powerful kings they’d ever had and was expected to reach level 100 and ultimately join their pantheon. It was common knowledge that his first pillar, observation, made him a practically all-knowing master of the game, one whom there was no point in crossing.

However, he knew that his abilities did not make him omniscient. He was just very good at monitoring events ...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.9 (240)

It had been a while since Evaluator Quincy felt this tired. Getting a few hours of sleep here or there was usually enough to stave off any symptoms of fatigue. Yet, over the past few days, he’d been too busy to spare even an hour for rest. There was simply too much for him to oversee.

Since he and the other evaluators submitted their final reports to the Royal Academy and put in their termination papers, they’d been focusing all of their energies on ensuring their new lord’s path ...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.8 (239)

Grandmaster Lancel was well aware of how much of a disruption his actions were to the army’s ability to function. However, he knew it needed to be done. For too long he’d allowed things to get out of hand. With the war with the kobalds and the threat of the density shift, he could no longer turn a blind eye. Politics and personal interest had infested his beloved order, and he would no longer stand for it.

Waving away the hologram displaying the investigators' most recent efforts to...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.7 (238)

Commander Dahl knew he should be feeling lucky. Having survived the emergency tribunal with his position intact was nothing short of a miracle. Had he not already prepared the memory engrams for the investigators, he’d probably be just as doomed as General Branson. He was well aware that there was every possibility that the tribunal may end up executing the man. In fact, he’d heard that three commanders had already been found guilty of violating the knight’s code and summarily dealt wit...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.6 (237)

City Lord Cosgrave stomped into her office, stating loudly in a tone devoid of levity, “Well, that could have gone better.”

Behind her, Jessica Chandler, her aide, and Head Guard Dalton filed into the room with equally blank expressions on their faces. Neither of them said anything, not wanting to upset her further. As city lord, she had to maintain her public persona of control, so they were used to seeing her vent her emotions like this in private. For them, it was an honor to be ...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.5 (236)

Having taken a seat at the table they’d been using for the drinking game, Mavros pondered over the conversation he’d just had with the human lad. While half-listening to the dwarves arguing amongst themselves all around him, he carefully reviewed every single word that had been said. The human, Nero Walker, had snuck in several phrases and hints that he just couldn’t get out of his head.

Had the other dwarven kings deliberately mishandled the negotiations for his clan’s new moun...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.4 (235)

Mike Harring grew up as the son of a Butcher, and while the local center’s schools did their best with him, he’d never applied himself to things like history and science. So, when he heard about the dwarves arriving in Dorchester, he’d tried to pretend that he understood what everyone was talking about. Now though, seeing as his new lord was currently drinking and laughing with them, he could no longer contain the questions that had been plaguing him.

Sitting at the table with his...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.3 (234)

When he’d first come to Dorchester to ‘watch’ over the anomaly, Nero Walker, he’d thought he was being clever. It had been like a confluence of events that had come together to give him multiple things that he’d wanted. He’d finally had a reasonably legal excuse to deal with that waste of essence Cranston, an interesting subject to study and observe, and above all… a justifiable excuse to foist his duties at the tower onto others, namely his friendly pain in the backside Mathers...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.2 (233)

Growing up under her mother, who could truly be described as a living legend, City Lord Heleema Cosgrave had learned everything she could about politics. While her idiotic siblings had focused on the accolades they could earn through combat and business, she knew that true power came from understanding one’s self and those around you. That was the key to success in politics.

That wasn’t to say that combat ability and reputation weren’t important, but they were infinitely more effe...

Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.1 (232)

Dwarven legend holds that they have been on this plane since the beginning. When the plane’s crafters came together to forge the world, they left behind the dwarves to give their work meaning. Through their love of exploring, mining, crafting, and fighting… they were inextricably tied to this material realm.

It was a universally accepted belief that dwarves lived for the challenges the world constantly put in front of them. Whether it was a previously unknown ore that needed to be r...

Sept ‘24 Situation Report

Hey all,

Today was the last chapter of this arc. Nero is finally officially free of the societal weight his nobility has been trying to chain him down with. Although still technically a noble, as a unique, his responsibilities are now his to decide. It's like a dream come true for a scoundrel like Nero.

You probably all know where the next arc is going to happen. Nero and his new wackos are heading into the mountain. The dwarves are going to be coming along for the ride as we...