Three
Nick looked up from his Ledger to see Dr. Palt coming his way.
At the moment Nick had been looking over all the mercenary possibilities.
After seeing the enemy forces, he was now fairly certain that he would need to hire more or less every mercenary in the damn book, hurl them at the enemy, and hope there was more to hire later.
Or that there was enough coin to do all that, at least.
Lucian’s estimation had been that there was close to seventy-thousand people in that camp at a minimum, but it could easily reach up to three-hundred thousand depending on how many people were in each tent.
Considering the number of people they’d killed or trapped in the pass, that left Nick feeling troubled. Troubled, cold inside, and genuinely fearful.
On the ride back to the camp, he’d realized he would sell his royal seed to every bidder at this point if they promised him soldiers. He would take even a monster to bed if they promised him troops.
“Doctor Palt,” Nick said, stood up, set the ledger to the side, and smiled. He picked up his Poleaxe without even thinking about it and moved over to the man. “ A pleasure to see you. I assume the capital trip went well?”
“Very well. Julie is having twins by the way,” remarked the older man as he walked up to Nick. He gave him a smile and shook his head. “I have no idea how you’re going to handle four children at the same time. I don’t envy you. I personally never wanted kids and Sandy wasn’t hard to convince of it either. I think she didn’t want kids but was willing if I wanted them.”
The Doctor’s dark hair had picked up far more white since the last time Nick saw him, though his eyes seem to have more life in them. The hard-grayness of them having gained some light.
“Twins,” repeated Nick, held his breath, then sighed. “Well, that makes it easier I suppose. One less pregnancy needed.”
“A good way to look at it,” Doctor Palt agreed and came to a stop in front of Nick. “How’re you, Sire?”
“Stressed. Otherwise fine. I haven’t checked my levels in a good bit and honestly… honestly I’ve been afraid to,” confessed Nick with a shrug that made his family Royal armor clink. “It’s a constant stream of experience from all the soldiers but… I just… I didn’t look.”
“Perfectly understandable,” allowed Palt with a small nod. He reached up to Nick’s head and he began to gently poke and prod. His fingers pressing at Nick’s neck, throat, jaw, cheeks, then eyelids. Peeling them down from below, then up from above. “It’s easier to pretend nothing’s changed when it’s the reality that everything has. From the son of an executioner to the king himself.
“You might as well be an entirely different person, Sire. Resistance to this collossal change, as well as disbelief, is perfectly normal. If you didn’t have some resistance to it, I’d be concerned, honestly.”
Dr. Palt frowned, then laid his hand to Nick’s throat and stared into his eyes.
“Jessie’s kept you busy, hasn’t she,” the Doctor said without even the hint of a question. “Sara and Harlowe too, I assume. That’s fine, but you need to make sure it doesn’t collide with your sleeping hours. You have the classic signs of an exhaustion debuff before it appears. So take precautions now so you don’t have to deal with something worse later.”
Snorting, Nick couldn’t argue the point. He had been quite busy with the three non-humans, he couldn’t deny. He wasn’t about to argue with his doctor though.
“I’ll make sure to get some more sack-time in,” Nick offered. “Less emptying of the other sack.”
“Mmm, a very wise response,” Dr. Palt concluded, then stepped away from Nick and lifted a hand up. He was clearly pulling up Nick’s Character Sheet.
Unable to dodge it any further, Nick pulled it up himself as well.
Name: Dominic Randolph
Race: Human
Class: Swordsman
Strength: 17
Dexterity: 13
Stamina: 15
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 09
Equipment-
Head: None
Shoulders: Randolph Royal Armor
Hands: Randolph Royal Armor
Chest: Randolph Royal Armor
Forearms: Randolph Royal Armor
Waist: Randolph Royal Armor
Legs: Randolph Royal Armors
Feet: Randolph Royal Armor
Back: None
Left Hand: Randolph Royal Armor
Right Hand: Randolph Royal Armor
Level: 103(146)/103(189)/103(250)/103(154)
Experience: 71/72/71/73
Hitpoints: 962
Mana: 912
One Handed Axe: The Fall (Legendary)
Two Handed Axe: End of the Line (Legendary) (*1,991)
Dimensional Coin Purse
RRE Set: I-XVI (Rare)
Badge: Axe-Lord Randolph (Unique)
Ducal Pledges: All+1
Covenant Agreement (Restored)
Locket of Hull (Unique)
Royal Signet Ring (Unique)
Royal Treasury Key: (Unique)
Outer World Ledger: (Unique)
Leather Gloves: (Common)
All plus one? The hell does that mean.
Did a foreign Duke swear to me?
Is this the Dark Elf Envoy or something else?
Wretin?
“Well, you’ve graduated into the Knight, Magician, True King, and Executioner titles. You also hold an honorary Axe-Knight title, though that just adds multiplier to skills and some abilities, rather than flat attributes,” Dr. Palt murmured. “Likely happened when you crossed over level one-hundred. Most people would’ve hit their second promotion long before that, though you’re such a unique case that… nothing really applies anymore.”
“Makes sense,” replied Nick with a nod of his head. He was stuck staring at his hitpoint value. He was genuinely so tanky in hit-points, that he could truck most hits without an issue. His armor itself was ridiculously over-powered on top of that and was easily beyond the pale of anything he’d ever heard of. “Did the skills change much?”
“Yes and no,” Dr. Palt whispered more to himself as he read over what was in front of him. “They’re all clearly upgrades of what you already had.
“Slash, Pierce, Slam, Block all went up a level. Throw Dirt is still there but didn’t level up. Execute has gone up, as has Death Stroke and Call to Account.
“Added to that was Coup De Grace, which I believe is to finish someone if they’re on the ground. All the healer spells and buffs are gone.
“Advance, Disengage, False Disengage, Lunge, Parry, Firebolt, Ice-spear, Wind-blade, Earth-shield, all hit level three. They’ll do significantly more damage.
“The spell builder forms are there of course as well. Ice Form, Fire Form, Wind Form, Earth Form. That’s how you’d built out your own personal spells that you design yourself.”
Nick wasn’t too interested in those as he genuinely wasn’t sure he had the ability of mind to make his own spells. He was far more likely the type to simply borrow other people spells and use them.
“You do have all the normal ones you had as a prince of course,” continued Dr. Palt. “Appoint, Dismiss, Declare National Status, Negotiate Nation Status, Officiate, Draft, as well as Abdicate, Renounce, Grant Investiture, Vassalize, De Jure Motion, and a few other minor house things.
“I’ve sorted it all out and then expanded your viewing window to see everything. Since you no longer need to hide anything, there’s no reason for you to be unsure of your own abilities. One of my own new found abilities. It’s quite nice.”
“Well thanks Doc. Alright. I need to go see the Envoy if you’re all done,” Nick murmured. He wasn’t looking forward to this, but now that this was resolved, he could move on to the next pressing issue.
Allies and troops.
Taking a deep breath, Nick pulled his helmet down over his head and left the main tent he was in. He glanced to the sky and noted it was already evening.
Moving to where the Envoys remained in the royal partition of the camp, Nick only barely noticed the night-guard settle in around him. Delaney, Sara, and Harlowe were likely getting dinner ready or settling their own affairs.
What everyone had seen of the enemy had shaken them. Each of them had wanted to go off to consider what to do in this situation for themselves, each other, and their families.
Nick had honestly been thankful for the break. He needed some time to himself every now and then. This had been that.
With any luck, he’d have the evening to himself as well, but he didn’t think that was likely. He needed to deal with the Envoys.
Or more specifically, the Dark Elf envoy who had brought troops as trade to take her to bed repeatedly.
Walking up to the tents, Nick paused and looked around. He spotted one tent that had several Dark Elf guards in front of it. Marking that one out as his destination, Nick walked over to it and stood before it.
“I would like to discuss the possibiilty of a negotiated treaty with the envoy,” Nick said with a small dip of his head. It was professional, courteous, and the right way to address someone when he was the king. Especially if he wanted to get a favor out of this woman.
“I… let her know you… go… here,” said the guard on the left in a halting way. Then turned and entered the large tent.
The man had barely entered before he was pushed right back out.
Out stepped a tall, leggy, extremely pretty, and overwhelming personage of the Dark Elf envoy. It was nearly like a Dark Elf version of Cordelia, but not as extreme. There was no comparing Jessie to this lovely creature.
“Your highness!” breathed the Dark Elf with a light bounce to her step, causing her impressive assets that were most certainly on display to bounce a bit. Her bright white hair was unbound and ungathered behind her head. Her eyes were a black color that could almost be called a dark gray or charcoal. It was an odd color to be sure. “I’m so pleased you’re here! You wished to discuss the treaty? I did warn your majesty that I wouldn’t negotiate lower. I’m already at my base requirements.”
“I’m aware,” Nick agreed, felt his jaw flex as he chewed on the words, then gestured to his personal tent some ways distant. “Will you speak with me privately?”
“I most certainly will. Please. Yes,” purred the Dark Elf with another bounce. She reached into her tent, grabbed a cloak, and threw it around her shoulders, then moved in to Nick’s side. “Please take me… away from here.”
That’s not subtle at all.
“She’s not trying to be, Sire. She wants you to bed her so the Dark Elves can claim a fraction of royalty,” Lucian advised. “This is often how new branch families start. I wouldn’t be surprised if she suddenly became a Great Duke or something of that nature while any child she has with you would become the first monarch.”
And it’s a hostage situation, isn’t it.
As long as they have a child of mine, they have a claim against my throne. No matter how small, it would exist.
“Yes, my boy. That’s exactly it. Fools would see the pleasure of her flesh and think nothing of the chains they would be putting upon themselves,” Lucian confirmed. “This isn’t so much of a fantasy, as it is a dose of medicine that may or may not poison the line down the family tree. There’s no way of telling.
“Best we can hope for is that the Envoy is a pleasant woman who is willing to work with us in the long term. That she’ll be fair, in addition to being paired with her obvious intelligence and political awareness and doesn’t attempt to put the proverbial knife to our throat once she’s pregnant.
“Though, to be fair, I’ve never heard of the Dark Elves banding together before. This is a very interesting situation all the way around.”
“My offer remains, ten-thousand pairs of eager hands willing to shed blood for an alliance,” the Envoy reminded him, glancing at him. “All for the low price of becoming a consort and a promised heir put into me.”
“I agree to your terms,” Nick said without hesitation. It was a chain he needed to pick up to be able to fight this war. He’d be lying if he said he wouldn’t do the same with the Werewolves, Elves, Gnomes, or Dwarves. “Is there any possibility of accessing more of your people in service? War is coming.”
She chuckled in a ‘fufu’ type of way and peered at him through the corner of her gaze.
In a way that made him feel that he was being hunted by a woman who knew what she was, knew what he was, and wanted all of it.
“There’s always other things that could be offered to gain more of my kin,” she allowed. “Let’s discuss it while you… hammer in the details of our first deal?
“This’ll be my first experience so I’m very much looking forward to it, so I admit that I’m not really in a position to logically debate further contracts until after we conclude our first bargain.
“With that said… shall we?”
“Let’s,” confirmed Nick with an icy feeling in his heart.
He needed to barter tomorrow’s fears for today’s cold-steel. He had no choice.
***
Nick stood on the northern wall and looked out at the muddy lanscape.
The Dark Elf soldiers had rushed here during the night and filtered out through the wall. Vanishing into the plains ahead. They were under orders to do whatever they felt best that would serve the war effort. So long as they could speak to the results they drove at a later date to insure the alliance contract was upheld.
The Envoy, named Lorelai, assured him that they would likely slip into the camps and begin cutting throats. The night posed no difficulty to them at all. If the camp couldn’t sleep easy, and kept losing soldiers, that alone would be devastating to an army.
Nick knew the truth of that, too. He’d seen what leaving Lucian and his soldiers to their own devices did in the pass. Those soldiers ended up becoming sleep deprived and making a lot of mistakes.
“I’m not truly sure how you managed to cow the prince,” rumbled Harlowe.
Glancing over to the angular faced, pretty, blonde haired, lithe, and rather fun to spar with Werewolf, Nick grinned at her. Her hazel eyes seemed locked to him right now as if demanding an answer. The corners of her mouth were upturned in her subdued smirk.
“I stared at him and let him know exactly who I was with that look,” Nick answered for her. “I didn’t look at him as my mate, but as a predator telling another predator… they were prey.”
“Well, I am clearly the fortunate one,” Harlowe remarked, then reached up to run her fingers along the line of trinkets he’d given her. They ran from the top of her cloak, to about halfway down. “My mate seems to shower me in gifts. I’ve put on more weight than I thought I ever could and while I didn’t den, I might as well have.”
“Har har,” Nick said with a grin for her and looked back out to the muddy fields ahead of them. “Yes, I do treat you as what I would expect a Werewolf woman would want from her mate. I’m mostly guessing but… I feel like it’s working.”
“Indeed,” Harlowe replied. “How’s Ker?”
“He’s fine,” Nick answered. He had a general feeling of contentment from his familiar. It was currently with Claudia, Cordelia, and Julie. “I feel like Claudia is overfeeding him but I can’t tell. He’s my familiar but… he’s also his own creature.”
“Mm,” Harlowe began, then held her breath. Gazing out to the north. “It would seem our early spring building phase has come to an end. We’ll need to be ready going forward.
“I’m rather glad I hit my level cap. I’ll be able to actually assist with the war.”
A frown creased Nick’s brow, he glanced to Harlowe, then tried to look out to where she’d been gazing. She clearly saw something he didn’t.
Gramps?
The mud isn’t stiff enough yet as far as I know.
Gryphons maybe? Something else?
“If an enemy is coming, Sire, it would likely be Gryphons, yes,” Lucian answered even as Nick turned to look backward.
He needn’t have worried though.
While he was standing there flirting with a Werewolf, actual military units had already figured it out and were in mid preparations. There were a number of people setting off magical alarms, lights, and sending runners to and fro.
“Guess you’re right,” Nick said and looked out to the muddy fields. Now that he was paying attention, he could see all the forces out there pulling up camoflauge, winking out of existence, or vanishing. They were all working with the idea that if they needed to be invisible, they could be.
Any visual confirmation of them out there would just give the enemy information. Much as Nick had gleaned from his own flyover.
“We need a Gryphon fighting force to ride us into fights,” Nick declared as he stared at what were tiny black dots heading his way now. He could just barely differentiate them against the sky now.
There seemed to be a great many of them.
It reminded him of the first time he’d seen Gryphon’s flying toward them and it was eerily similar.
“Want me to let you loose now, Gramps?” Nick asked.
“Oh, yes, please. That’d be quite enjoyable to tear into them,” Lucian replied, sounding terribly eager.
Nick called Lucian forth right above himself, high high above, and let him loose into the world.
Before he could even get eyes on his ancestor, the Dragon started flying even higher. Quickly vanishing into the sky far above him.
“You could try to find Dragons and see if they’re willing to make a deal,” suggested Harlowe.
Not for the first time, Nick considered that idea. He’d thought about it more than several times, in fact. He just didn’t know if he could reach out to a number of Dragons, if they had a nation, or if they were all hermits, like Lucian.
“No female Dragons allowed,” added Harlowe after a long pause. “I’m the top predator in the non-humans and I very much like it. If you include a Dragon maiden, I’d have a much harder time of it, I think.”
Nick only sighed.
“I’d take on fifty Dragon maidens and offer them a great deal if they said they’d fight for me,” answered Nick bluntly. With fifty Dragons he’d be able to cause a lot of destruction to the enemy. “Well… what was it yu said once Gramps? Where there’s a buyer there’s a seller.
“I should look into the ledger to see if there’s some way to contact Dragons or put out a recruitment message or… flashing… lights… or something.”
“Certainly worth looking into. Though… mmm… Lorelai is coming,” grumbled Harlowe, followed by the Werewolf losing her grin. “I don’t dislike her but I don’t like how she doesn’t hide her purpose or goal at all. Nor how she dresses.”
Nick turned and looked toward the stairs that went up to the wall from the inside.
The gorgeous Dark Elf was coming his way. She was dressed in a similar way as to how she was previously which was to put herself on display for his viewing pleasure.
Or that’s how she phrased it.
She smiled no sooner than her eyes met his and she hurried up a bit.
Reaching him quickly she patted his wrist and smiled at him.
He’d done as she’d asked the night before and bedded her several times without hesitation.
And then again this morning.
“I reached out and they’re willing to send another two-thousand ready pairs of hands,” Lorelai said, catching Nick’s gaze. “Though, there’s a price of course. It’s not as hard this time, I think.
“Would you allow us to set up a small county outside the southern walls and set up a settlement in your kingdom? Along the river would be ideal.”
“Of course,” Nick murmured after only a second of thought. That wasn’t much of a request and for another two-thousand Dark Elves, he’d agree to it. Because in the long term, having an enclave of Dark Elves to recruit from would likely be beneficial.
“That’s a lot of Gryphons,” Remarked Lorelai, looking out to the north.
Nick only nodded his head to that.
The war was starting for the year.
“Well!” she said suddenly with a movement that made herself ‘jiggle’. She clearly had done it on purpose. She was well aware of her looks and was clearly utilizing them to pull at Nick. One way or another. “It seems I should go hunker down with the non-combatants. I may be a Dark Elf, but I was most certainly not bred for fighting. I was bred for breeding!”
Lorelai kissed Nick’s cheek and flounced away. Bouncing and jiggling her way down the stone steps with an alacrity that was surprising.
“I can’t fault her,” Harlowe mumbled. “She’s hunting in her own way. Just with weapons I can’t use. Though I can’t deny I envy her tools.”
Nick had to forcefully pull his gaze off Lorelai.
He knew she was a weapon being wielded against him.
He just couldn’t deny it was a weapon that worked.
“I don’t think they’ll land this time,” Harlowe remarked. “Last time they did that they lost everyone. They’ll attack from above.”
Spells it is.
Nick set down his poleaxe on the ground beside him, planted his feet, and mentally began calling up his magical reserves.