“Ooooohhhhh!”  The voices carried high and necks turned to watch the arc of the stone sail overhead and far beyond the distance lines.  The one who threw the stone behind her turned and held a hand up to her eyes pretending to block out the sun to see better.  She let out a long whistle, and then flexed her bicep and wore a toothy smile.

It was all the more impressive because it was only a little elf girl who did it.  “As expected of a servant of Lord Ainz.”  Enri said with absolute sincerity.  

“Nah, it was easy, that’s why, much as we like games, my brother and I shouldn’t do these.  We can’t not win, we’re fine with the food and music.”  Aura said with a grin.

A strapping young man took up a similar sized stone, took position, and with a roaring grunt he heaved it back overhead, it landed twenty paces away, and he flushed red when Aura winked at him.  With a sheepish grin in return, he rubbed the back of his head and said, “I kinda agree with the little lady here.”

Enri crouched down and put a hand on the shoulders of Aura and Mare alike. The two had become familiar with her and her near worshipfulness of their master, and so they allowed her touch, particularly since she was constantly thinking of their wellbeing and happiness when they were about.  “I just want you two to have fun too.  If you’re okay with music and food, that’s fine, just know that nobody will complain if you want to play.  Our home is yours as long as you’re with us.  It is the least we can do.”

“S-See sister, I told you.”  Mare said with a little blush to his cheek.

“Yeah, yeah.  Look it’s nice and all, but it’s better if we don’t, besides, we can enjoy watching.”  Aura said, a blue eye on her brother who she was sure would admonish her if she was rude about her refusal.

It was enough for Enri to give in at least, and she stood up and called the village to order.

Teams were selected and the team caber toss began, the heavy thunk of stripped tree trunks flying overhead to flip into the field was punctuated by cries of judges calling out points and shouts of enthusiasm.

Young men, eager to impress young women, sought to display their skills in archery contests, various games were all over the empty field beyond the village, and at every one, the prize was beer.  Music and dancing, dancing and music, but through all that, the leaders of Carne remained sober and supervising.  

Fights between the Runners and the native Carnians were broken up by Lukrut, Peter, Enri or Nfirea before they could become serious, and turned into contests of arm-wrestling or drinking, or the combatants put as a team against another pair to wrestle in displays of stubborn strength.  Nfirea would more than once covertly dose a Runner’s drink with a stamina potion to give them the endurance to win and so earn respect for their number.

Thus, the day wore on.  The smell of sweat and beer was everywhere, competing with the smell of abundant meat harvested from deep within the woods with a little help from Aura’s beasts, who sniffed out or killed greater game.

Two houses were set against one another, then those were paired to be set against two others, and little by little, barriers began to come down.

Enri crinkled her nose a little when she smelled sex and heard moans from a bush she passed by on the fringes of the fields.  When she came to Lukrut, he wore a boyish and bemused grin, somewhat mocking and flirtatious seemed to be his default state even when it wasn’t intended.

“Looks like it’s all coming together, isn’t it?  Though I wouldn’t want to drink from the river today.”  He chuckled, and Enri stared at him with a cockeyed look of confusion.

“Oh, I was just down there to take a leak, didn’t go, there were several different couples coming and going from various lightly concealed areas, and I heard a lot of splashing and moaning.”  He chortled when Enri began to blush.

‘That’s a really good idea!  I’ll bring that up with Nfirea later!  How did I not think of that?!’  Enri remonstrated herself, but forced a neutral expression to acknowledge the blonde archer’s lecherous point.  “Yes it is, a few fights to break up, but nothing serious and the Runners are starting to blend in well.  Speaking of, have you made your peace with Brita yet?”

Lukrut had the grace to look somewhat ashamed of himself, “No, no I haven’t, not really.  I was the deciding vote on not letting her into the Swords of Darkness back when we were all copper plates, and that’s a sore point for her still.”

“I see.”  Enri said without the hint of criticism she felt Lukrut deserved.

“Yeah, you don’t have to say anything, I should go clear the air with her, things are going to get real bad real soon and all… do you know where she is?”  Lukrut asked and, unwilling to meet the pretty eyes boring into him, looked off toward the crowd.

“Give her a little while, last I saw she was leading a Runner off to one of the newly built homes, I… wouldn’t interrupt, and maybe you should bring her a beer too, she’ll probably be thirsty.”  Enri gave him a bawdy look, and it was Lukrut’s turn to blush.

“Right, I’ll do that… maybe give it an hour, she’s… passionate.”  Lukrut bit his lower lip and gave a jealous look back towards the walls of the village.

“Oh, were you two…?”  Enri asked, and he nodded.

“Just once or twice, it was before I joined the Swords of Darkness, we had fun, that’s all it was supposed to be, I… no, never mind, this isn’t the sort of thing you need to worry about.  I’ll go apologize to her later, wish me luck.”  Lukrut said and shuffled on.

When morning came, and hangovers came with it, it was all but the end of having two villages in one set of walls.

Ainz exited his room just in time to find Lupusregina extending a hand to knock.  “How do I look, Momon?”  Lupusregina asked, twirling around in a quick pirouette.  Her gown was of a vibrant blue, and true to her seemingly preferred style, was slit at one thigh to show off her leg.  It rose up in a form fitting fashion to push up her ample breasts, which were in turn concealed by white ruffles, but leaving the shoulders exposed while her sleeves were long and ended in white gloves.

“Lovely.”  He said, and meant it.  For a moment, he almost asked how he looked, but instead he refrained.  Though at least he understood why after a moment, ‘I’m still thinking of that old ruin of a body I used to have, this one… I actually look good.’  Still, he didn’t ask.

“Shall we… Lupu?”  Ainz asked and extended the crook of his arm.

“Of course, Momon.”  She gave him a winning smile and savored a thrill of the sort any maid of Nazarick would have given her life to experience.  ‘I’m only a maid, this is only a cover, but this is still perhaps the happiest day of my life.’  Lupu thought to herself as they descended the stairs and every eye turned to team Axel that, for all appearances, might be born nobles.

A long table was laid out for the occasion, and at its head was an empty space for only one.  Nearest its left hand at the corner end was Gazef Stronoff, at its right, the king’s son, Prince Zanac, followed by his daughter, Princess Renner, beside her brother.  Behind her stood her bodyguard, but to her own right hand sat the Marquis Raeven.  

The space to the left of Gazef, Ainz saw, was occupied by Pandora’s Actor in his guise as Ainz Ooal Gown, and, to the left of that, two empty spots and it was immediately obvious to Ainz whom those spaces were for.  Proximity at the table was the measure of the position within the court. ‘Just like in normal work meetings, we wait for the boss to arrive.’  Ainz recalled from his old world.  

When Ainz and Lupu took their places, servants began to wheel out carts filled with silver trays or bottles of wine, and it was while they did this that a herald called out: “All rise for King Ramposa III!”  Ainz and Lupusregina stood like all the rest, and, with slow and stately steps, the King entered and walked to his place at the table.

When he reached it, the servants began to pour wine, starting from the end and working their way to the front while the King spoke.  “The King is the face and the beating heart of the Kingdom.  But the people, they are his blood, they are his fingers and hands, they are the feet that march to war and the living embodiment of his rule.  As King, I have always sought to protect my people as best I could.  Yet sometimes, even the greatest king needs help.”  King Ramposa waved a hand toward Axel and Pandora’s Actor.

“These three embodied what it means to do just that.  Ainz Ooal Gown crushed raiders that threatened not only my peasants, but our Royal Head Warrior.  Momon and Lupu took it upon themselves to protect a village from not one, but two skeletal dragons, and went on to destroy a Zuranon enclave in E-Rantel, thus saving the city from turning into a land of the undead.  They have, even if they didn’t know it, embodied the true will and desire of my rule, and for that…”  King Ramposa said just as a servant poured wine into his silver cup, and raised it, “I thank you, each of you.  Hail to the heroes.”

“Hail to the heroes.”  The court said, having raised their glasses after the King, and as one, they drank.

“Now, you may be seated… eat, drink, and be merry.  That too is the will of your King.”  Ramposa said with a charming sly smile before he seated himself.

“Two skeletal dragons, truly impressive, Sir Momon.”  Pandora’s Actor stated with the utmost courtesy.  

“From what I hear, you bested a whole scripture of the Theocracy, if we’re picking things to be impressed by, Master Gown, I think that is the more impressive.”  Ainz responded with similar courtesy.

“They’re merely men, and men can die, that’s always their greatest fear, but you bested men who love death so much they risked their lives to spread it.  No mean feat.”  Pandora’s Actor retorted.

“I won’t say it’s nothing, but men with no fear at all, as is said of the Scriptures, is nothing to belittle either.”  Ainz answered and sipped from his cup.  ‘Business rules, don’t outdrink the boss, drink just enough to be sociable, don’t make a fool of yourself.  Learn what you can.’

Renner stared at the two with the utmost fascination as the bond seemed to form right away, ‘Could they be… brothers?  Or related in some way?’  She wondered, it was little things, they used words the same way, they both cut their meat the same way, and they seemed to be on exceptionally good terms despite the fact that outside of a team dynamic, magic casters and warriors almost never got along.

She kept her suspicions to herself, and simply observed, filing away details later to possibly bring up to Lord Demiurge.  ‘Could Momon be a subordinate?’  She wondered.  Her father, though he was no fool, detected nothing amiss, nor did her brother, or anyone else.

‘Questions beget questions like whores do bastards.’  She quietly cursed and wished just for once to be able to enjoy something like everyone else did without questioning it.

The table grew steadily drunker as the evening went on, and servants began to help the people away from their tables to sleep it off in various guest quarters.  The sound of dragging feet and the occasional toppling of a body that had just a little too much and crashed to the floor or face first into the table, punctuated the sound of the remaining conversation.

It was not lost on Renner, however, that neither Master Gown nor Sir Momon engaged much in the way of drinking.  Though Lupu seemed to enjoy herself, she frequently cast ‘cure poison’ and went back to it again.  “It’s good to be a cleric.”  She said with a laugh that quickly spread to those near enough to hear it, even the King himself was only moderate in his consumption.

Finally it happened that only the King’s immediate circle remained both conscious and present, along with their three guests, and the King rose to his feet.

“Momon, Lupu, Master Gown, walk with me.”  He said, and for a moment it appeared that Gazef and the rest were going to rise as well.  Their hands on the table, they were pushing themselves to their feet to join him.  “No, I wish to speak with the three heroes alone.”  The King said with haste, and he left them behind.

It was pitch dark out when he led them quietly out to the back of the palace where the gardens lay.  Despite the night’s darkness, seeing wasn’t difficult, various green twinkling lights were going constantly along the path.

“Glowbugs,” Ramposa said, “rare creatures in most seasons, but at this time of year, they come out in numbers and flock to blue roses so my garden path is lined with their favorite perches.  It also grants me a degree of privacy I don’t get very often.”

“I see, fascinating.”  Pandora’s Actor said.

“Very pretty.”  Ainz added.

“Yes, it’s nice.”  Lupusregina completed the round of praise, and the King let out a bark of laughter.

The path crunched under heel as he led them down the garden path, “Like most things in this Kingdom, it isn’t what it seems.  The glowbugs kill most of the flowering buds they alight on, so we have to regularly call out casters to heal the plants.  There’s a metaphor there, and I’m sure my daughter could see it if I’d brought her with me.  But this is my task.”  He said and led them beneath a high trellis that was covered in roses and glowed with twinkling lights that lit up the small path, revealing it to be of broken up black pearl that reflected the light like countless tiny mirrors.

“Sir Momon, you were rightly promised a reward, and you will receive it no matter your answer.  My request of you is simple, and this is a job with abundant compensation to be had.  I want you and Lupu, team Axel, to take down Eight Fingers.  Hunt down their leadership, made up of adamantite or nearly adamantite killers.  I will give you all the information we have.  They are the rot of this kingdom, like a disease or a cancer, or perhaps like termites in unprotected wood.  They’ve eaten their way into the structure of the Kingdom.  They threaten to bring it down with their many nibbles.  This may not be easy, and it may pose a great risk, but if you succeed with the big fish, my personal guard and the Royal Faction can take down the rest.”

“That is… a significant request, King Ramposa.”  Ainz said, pretending to be surprised and glancing down at his partner.

Lupu clung to his arm and looked up at him, she winked and gave a tiny nod.

“What are you offering?”  Ainz asked.

“Lordship, of any lands you choose that I have available to give to you.”  Ramposa replied.  “If everything goes well, then even land equivalent to one of the ten great lords is a possibility.”

“That is acceptable compensation.  The village I fought in, I built a relationship with the people there.  If it is acceptable to you then I would like suitable land around that region.”  Momon asked, and to that the King was quick to concede.

“It will be yours when the job is done, we can talk about how far out that land should go, after the job is done, I trust you will accept my word that I will be generous?”  Ramposa replied, his piercing eyes not at all fitting the aged body that carried them, were held firmly up to the face of the Adamantite adventurer.

“I do.”  Ainz replied, “I accept your terms, all that you have asked, will be done.  I will begin tomorrow.”  

Ramposa then looked to Master Gown, “Magic casters are a prickly lot as a rule, and what I’m asking of you is even greater than what I am asking of Sir Momon and his partner.  Will you also, do as I have asked, and what will you ask in return if you accept?”

Pandora’s Actor took his cue from his master and from the plan of his master that he’d been informed of by Demiurge.  “I understand the desire to have a strong magic caster in your service, but I am far older than I seem, and I dislike serving.  I emerged from my studies only to help people I found in sudden distress by chance.  Being sucked into court games for someone else has no appeal to me.”

Ramposa felt his heart was about to drop into his guts.  

Pandora’s Actor put a hand on the King’s shoulder and added in a sonorous, noble voice, “Therefore, if I do this for you, restoring the peace I value so highly, would only be worthwhile if I were an independent ruler.  Give me the land of the Katze plains south of E-Rantel, and extending to the western border of the Draconic Kingdom.  When the Baharuth Empire capitulates, I will also take land from them in exchange for peace.  I will be a buffer state between you and they, and they will not threaten you again.  Give me an alliance between the Kingdom I will have founded, and yourself, and never again will a harvest be interrupted by a war in the north.”

“Peace within, and peace without, for not even a hundred and twenty miles of land across?  I call that a bargain.”  King Ramposa replied, but as he stuck out his hand he asked, “Are you sure you can do this?”

Pandora’s Actor reached out to the king and clasped forearm to forearm.  “I can.”  He said, in a voice that closed all doubt, like a coffin lid closed in the dead.

And King Ramposa III’s heart began to lighten.

roberthbutlerwriter

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