nemorosus

Chapter 303: Prosperity

Margravine Sophia stepped into a lounge in the Drawnwater estate, leading Vasilisa, Argrave, and his two companions. He’d once again donned the white wig to disguise himself as Silvaden, and thus far things had proceeded without issue.

Margravine Sophia pointed to a pair in the room and said to the Magister, “I believe you may know these two.”

Vera and Hegazar stood there, smiling at the new arrivals. Pavel Drawnwater was just beside them, silent but alert.

Vasilisa sh...

Chapter 302: Weeding

Elenore heard a knock just outside her tent, and her head darted to the side. The knock sounded like something tapping against metal. Only one person knocked like that, and she could perceive him wholly just beyond the tent with her extrasensory jewelry.

“Come in,” Elenore called out.

Durran pushed aside the flap and walked in. He walked in his gray wyvern scale royal-forged armor with his wyvern bone glaive. Ever since the attack, he remained ever vigilant.

“I think I...

Chapter 301: Revealing Conversation

Argrave opened the door to the bottom floor of the inn, expecting to find it empty. Instead, Magister Vasilisa sat in an otherwise empty dining area, a great many tankards before her. Argrave was taken aback for a bit, and doubly so when he saw the blonde woman staring at him with clearly focused eyes. She certainly wasn’t drunk.

Anneliese and Galamon entered behind Argrave, the two of them taking in the sight much the same as he had. There were few other sources of dread so intense a...

Chapter 300: Intruded Sanctuary

Ganbaatar slid a thin wire into a door’s keyhole, Svetlana kneeling just beside him while watching an adjacent door. Something clicked from within the hole, and then the elven man tried the doorknob. It opened, creaking slightly. Svetlana’s head whipped back around, and then the both of them entered quickly, shutting the door just behind.

Svetlana cast a simple spell, and light illuminated the room in the form of a ball of light. In one corner, Magister Vasilisa slept rather soundly...

Chapter 299: Poison Upon Poison

Argrave surveyed Svetlana of Quadreign. She wasn’t exactly a main character, but she was a companion the player could recruit—these reasons alone made her notable. She regarded the three of them with the same curiosity. In particular, she studied Galamon.

“Svetlana—wait for me outside, please,” Vasilisa said. “I have some business to discuss with the Drawnwaters.”

The Magister’s niece gave a slow, steady nod. “…sure, I can do that. I do have something rather im...

Chapter 298: Hands Off

How does one profit from war? That was a question that Elenore had asked a lot throughout her life. Her father, King Felipe III, warred throughout most of his reign, expanding the already significant holdings of the kingdom of Vasquer to a level beyond what it had ever been before. She had learned how to profit from the large industry in that generous allotment of time.

Those doing the warring received some of the profit, of course. Looting was commonplace in war, but that was a crude t...

Chapter 297: Taking Loans for an Investment

Argrave and Anneliese made their way back to the inn rather satisfied. Argrave felt things with the Magisters had gone quite well, which gave ample comfort for the tasks ahead. To show their commitment to their work together, the Magisters agreed to refrain from visiting Ivan until asked by Argrave. And in turn, Argrave gave them a document signed with his magic signature, detailing his promise to bestow Dirracha upon them after the war’s end.

He had half-expected the two to quibble a...

Chapter 296: Calling All Cars

A window jerked open quietly on the second floor of an inn, and then someone slid into the room: a man armored in black. Someone else occupying the room sat up anxiously at the sudden entrance yet let out a sigh of relief when she laid eyes on the person. She threw off her sheets and rose to her feet.

“When will you learn to use the door like a normal person, Ganbaatar?” she said, wreathing herself in the discarded sheets.

Ganbaatar stumbled a little, coming to lean up against...

Chapter 295: The Spurned

In the days to come, Argrave amply demonstrated the fragility of Ivan’s hold over the region to Vasilisa.

From the outside looking in, a fortress might seem unassailable. From the inside, one could see the deficiencies the outside hid. Ivan was lord of all the wealthy lands of the north. And yet… the things that he had done did not pass unnoticed, and his manner of rule paled in comparison to Quadreign significantly. Vasquer was shattered, and people took note of that. And lastly, a...

Chapter 294: Debt of Blood

“You’re sure this will work?” asked Vasilisa as she sat on one of the beds in their inn’s room.

Anneliese held the Starsparrow atop her finger. “It is most certainly our best bet of finding the two Magisters ahead of time. What else could we do? Ask questions around the city? They have not yet arrived, so that would be a pointless endeavor. You cannot call upon any friends that might know, yes?” Anneliese questioned.

Vasilisa slowly gave a begrudging nod. “Alright. I...

Down with the sickness

I'm sick. I don't think it's covid, but then again I haven't been tested. Feels like a flu. I tried to slog through it and write anyway, but I thought the writing was pretty bad. I think it would be best for everyone involved if I took a rest.

I'm going to rest for two days. Chapters will be released/accessible to lower tiers on Saturday and Sunday instead of the usual schedule, and thereafter things will return to normal. RR chapters are already scheduled to release at normal times, th...

Chapter 293: Avenues of Approach

Magister Traugott, wearing the gray robes given to him by the Order of the Gray Owl, sat atop a parapet on the walls of Dirracha, legs dangling over the side. He peered down at the first level of the multi-segmented city, eyes wandering its streets. It was dark out and the red moon above was barely visible at this time of month. Unless one shined a light upon him, he was all but invisible to all below.

“You,” a voice cut in, and Magister Traugott turned his head in surprise.

O...

Chapter 292: Lord of the March

A knock came at the door to the guest house, and Galamon stepped away to answer it. Once he did, Vasilisa stood on the other side. She looked about the room and then declared, “I won’t act unless I’m confident in what you plan to do.”

Argrave had been reviewing some of his writing in his notebook about Llewellen’s lecture on the dwarven musical cube. He closed the book and rose to his feet and stated, “That was rather prompt. Not as though that’s a bad thing, of course. I ...

Chapter 291: Enemies of Different Measure

Magister Vasilisa watched the man beside her pour a drink into her cup. Cups, rather—the bartender filled multiple tankards, each and all just beside Vasilisa’s wrist. Her eyes jumped between the brown alcohol and their party of three, sitting adjacent from her and waiting expectantly.

“You sure you don’t want anything?” Vasilisa questioned.

“Alcohol does nothing for me,” Argrave said vaguely while the two beside him shook their head.

The drink finished pouring...

Chapter 290: Time on Our Misery

Vasilisa grabbed the iron gate that stood out front the palace in Quadreign. She fit in a key and opened it wide. Argrave eyed the gate—it was cheaply made, and the iron had grown rusty and brittle. The Magister had led them through the city with purpose, and they’d diligently followed behind their escort. It wasn’t as though any people blocked their way.

The quest line in Quadreign had always described the city as failing, as a fragment of its former glory. Certainly, the player ...

Chapter 289: Embers in the North

“Feels like I can think again,” Argrave said loudly into the wind, one arm wrapped around Anneliese.

He hadn’t realized how much being stagnant in Relize had been weighing at him until he was gone. He hadn’t been doing anything too grandiose. His time had been spent giving his name to things, ordering that things get done in his name… but real, genuine progress? It was hard to come by. Certainly, this maneuver might damage his reputation somewhat… but Argrave was sure that w...

Chapter 288: Proactivity Reignited

“Traugott said that?” Argrave demanded, turning to Elenore as they walked through the streets of Relize. They headed for Leopold’s mansion, escorted by his royal guards.

“I’m worried for your safety,” Elenore said. “I think it would be best if we won some valuable spellcasters to our side as soon as possible.”

“Our first priority is to get word to Castro that Traugott isn’t exactly a stellar ally,” Argrave said.

“Already done,” Elenore confirmed. �...

Chapter 287: Unknown Factor

Durran opened a door, beholding the man waiting on the other side. His name was Traugott. As Elenore said, his skin was darker than most people in Vasquer. Even still, Durran had seen darker men in the Burnt Desert, and his other unusual features drew attention first. His hair was as black as ink, appearing soft and inhuman. It looked more like grafted strands of black silk than hair. And his shadow… it looked solid, almost tangible, and did not move with the light of the room.

Despit...

Chapter 286: Ancient Wisdom

Argrave pushed aside the tent canopy and entered inside. There, Anneliese sat at a table, a few royal guards standing around her.

“Wait outside, guard there,” Argrave directed them.

They gave affirmation and left, and Anneliese did not even lift her head from the notebook she wrote in. Argrave noticed the black cube, dormant and silent, just in front of her hand. He walked behind her and peered over her shoulder, feeling glad she was so entranced in this. Her notes…

�...

Chapter 285: Trust in Him

“Knight-commander, sir,” one of the royal guards said in a quiet voice as Argrave spoke to someone about sealing up this tunnel until the time came to deal with it fully.

Galamon turned his head and looked. His white eyes were chilling enough, but his size and proven skill made all of the guards beneath him both fearful and respectful of him—exactly the qualities one might need in a position of leadership.

“Speak,” he directed his subordinate.

“The king, sir… H...

Chapter 284: Entropy in Order

Argrave pushed into the red crescent moon on the front of the metal door, and it clicked a few times. Once enough of it had been pushed in, it made space enough to get a grip. Argrave fit his fingers into and pulled. He was rather pleased with himself when the door shifted—he’d half-thought that he’d need Galamon’s help to yank this thing open. The door itself was four inches thick, and quite heavy. Still, it shifted well enough.

Beyond, pure darkness awaited them. Argrave knelt...

Chapter 283: Untamed Valley

Argrave gazed up at the towering black rock dominating all of his vision. Their darkness gave the impression that one might find a gaping hole at the top of these rocks that led down into pits of magma. Despite that appearance, they weren’t volcanic rocks, Argrave knew. And their party, numbering over one thousand, headed for a new addition on the face of these rocks—a fortress.

The travel had been at a brisk pace the whole four days. It had felt natural to be travelling again—Arg...

Chapter 282: Blossoming Spring

“Duke Rovostar heads south, Prince Orion, to combat the approaching forces of the south. Though we can still see the dust clouds from their horses, we long ago lost sight of the army itself,” a kneeling royal knight said to Orion. Bandages peeked out from places in his golden armor, marking him as a plagued Waxknight. “We would need to send scouts to confirm where they are precisely.”

Orion patted the man on the shoulder. “I would not risk lives by sending men out on foolish s...

Chapter 281: Long March Begins

Argrave stood just beside Galamon, Anneliese on his other side. He felt a sense of relief no longer being surrounded by twelve additional warm bodies. This was because the twelve warm bodies that generally guarded him were instead training. At present, they trained in archery. Even the morning before they departed, Galamon insisted they receive basic training.

“They’re decently equipped, Your Majesty,” Galamon told Argrave. “Ebonice daggers, brought by Anneliese’s friend Hirna...

Chapter 280: To Work

A couple linked arms as they ascended up the mystic stone elevator in the center of the Tower of the Gray Owl. One was a fairly tall bald man with lean features and a grin that seemed markedly bitter. The one beside him was quite the enchanting woman with gray hair and sharp orange eyes. She wore tall heels—tall enough to be the exact same height as the man beside her. There was a strange air between them. It was not quite the harmonious aura one might see in a couple, yet it could not be l...

Chapter 279: Wonders of Time

Argrave picked up a ring and poured the well of magic bursting within him into the confines of the inscription wrought into the metal. Imbuing enchantments felt like he was handling red hot liquid metal, pouring it into a cast with his will alone. He attempted to speed it up… yet as one might expect, the magic danced dangerously, and Argrave quickly directed things so as to seal them off. Just as he did so, he was sealed off from the near limitless supply of power springing from th...

Chapter 278: Start of an Era

“One king is torn down before he can be crowned…” Duke Sumner, the young, brown of hair, and finely groomed mage of the south walked around a table where a map of Vasquer had been arrayed. He planted a crimson pin in the center of northern Vasquer, then lifted his head up.

All of the grand nobility of the south had gathered today. Margrave Reinhardt, leader of the southern rebellion, stood at the head of the table, flanked by his half-blind son Elias. Closest beside him was the as...

Chapter 277: Price of Pledges

“You’ve already declared your intent to take the throne, Your Majesty,” Leopold reminded Argrave. “This revelation doesn’t change that, so far as I’m concerned. And need I remind you… of the promises you made?”

The six of them stood around Leopold’s grand council room—Argrave’s companions, Elenore, and Leopold. The room was far too large for them alone, but no one else was around to take their seats. At the very least, not for now.

“My brother’s actions d...

Chapter 276: Sign of Things to Come

Argrave stared at the silver bracer around his forearm. It fit quite snugly, and it was difficult to tell that it was sapping his blood away if not for the slowly-filling glass meter atop it. He sat atop his bed, preparing for his day. Today would be the first day he wore this bracer, and he was curious to see how it affected him.

“…why are you so unsure?” Argrave asked Anneliese.

Argrave had become a king, now. People would refer to him with the prefix ‘king’ or call hi...

Chapter 275: Coddled Children

Orion stepped through a dark dank corridor, alone. Innumerable empty cells persisted along this pathway, blocked by thick iron bars. The stone, some of it stained by blood, told stories of past atrocities. The puddles of oil and water made unpleasant noises beneath his boots, the sound echoing throughout the cold confines. Even still, his approach was disguised by fierce, howling winds battering against the walls of the Dragon Palace’s cliffside dungeon.

Prince Orion saw two blue magi...