∼ Duelaheim ∼

Chapter - 058

"What's your business?" A man decked in padded armor inquired.

Looking the steadfast guard over, Eric's gaze moved to the mansion behind him. A gated estate of white marble rising multiple stories high. The oaken structure adorning the colors of the other residences stretching on in a white skyline, shielding one from the rest of the city entirely.

This was the Ivory Lanes, the part of the city where the nobility and the rich reside within their decadent homes. The streets were laid in white marble with outlines of some magenta stone. The patrolling guards were outfitted in gleaming white armor, even matching the surroundings with the purple inlays and rims. Everything was opulent and over the top. It was as beautiful as it was discomforting.

The sheer contrast from the poverty-ridden Dregs had Eric disorientated. Noticing the guard's irritated glare at Eric's lack of a response, he hesitated only a moment more. He loathed the idea of doing it, but he nonetheless had to. Removing an emblem from a stitched patch inside his vest, he showed it to the guardsman. It was his father's house emblem; an oak tree engraved upon it.

The guard's attitude shifted instantly upon seeing that, from annoyance to deference.

"My apologies sir," He bowed.

A vein bulged against Eric's forehead as he put the emblem back into place. He had never actually used that emblem; its function signifying him as an honored guest of the Brakken Barony. Since it would've after all have meant to use the influence of his father, of the family who had not only abandoned him but also tormented him almost his whole life.

But he truly had no other option. For he doubted that his uncle even remembered his existence. The only memory he had of the man was of a kind and good-spirited person. However, Eric had been but a child back then, the only recollection of that uncle before he left Aemsburg for Boreas - a vague mix of impressions.

"We need to see Baron Duelaheim," Eric said simply.

Duelaheim was the name his uncle had taken after he married into a fallen household here in Boreas, gaining back the title of Baron he had left for his father, Joseph. Though he was still a Brakken, in blood and flesh.

"Right away, sir. I'll send word to the Lord." He turned to tap his spear against the gate. "Allow me to lead the way,"

As the gate was pulled upon, other guards beyond the walls hastily got into motion with one young boy running off to the mansion. The heavily-armored guard motioned for them to follow. As they entered the courtyard, every servant and guard showed nothing but servility and courtesy, bowing as they walked by. The sheer deference displayed was something Eric had never experienced before, however, it did little more than make him sick to his stomach. Inspiring aversion deep within the marrow of his bones. For it was all on his father's authority.

The three of them were shown through the mansion, the interior as opulent as the exterior.

"The Baron will be right with you," A wispy-haired old custodian bowed, gesturing to two couches facing each other at the heart of a reception room. Nestled in between was a table laden with food and delights.

Whereas Eric and Aria were hesitant, being left alone in the large room, Nyx had no such reservations. He had bounded for the table the instant he saw the delectable offerings laid out for his great redness. Stupid, smelly, ugly, or not. Humans could cook some damn fine food. That much, at least, he could give them.

Whilst Nyx engorged himself on plentiful pastry and the like, Eric and Aria made to sit beside him, waiting anxiously for whatever was about to unfold. Be it to their fortune or be it the instrument of their end. They had long lost any choice. Fidgeting, oblivious to Nyx's loud and uncouth munching, Aria looked about as nervous as she could be. "Are you about this?"

Eric glanced towards her, pausing. "No, I'm not."

The next moment, from a door from the side of the room that they had entered, strode out a man, tall and finely-clothed. He was nearly as tall as Eric and shared his impressive build, the black tuft of hair and strong green eyes giving his hard-cut face a handsome semblance. It was Matthias Duelaheim - Baron of the Duelaheim Household.

Shooting to his feet, Eric looked at the man with an unreadable expression, Aria awkwardly mocking him with a delayed reaction. Watching the man, Aria quickly noted just how much Eric looked like him.

He walked with a brisk step, his gait showing that he had neither prepared for guests nor that he wanted to unintentionally disrespect them by making them wait. "And to whom do I owe the honor? It would seem my servants have failed to request your... names..." He slowed, his voice trailing off as he laid his eyes on the two robed figures and the young man, confusion was written all over his face.

He had not expected anything of the like. Definitely not some ragged kid in travel-worn clothes, a robed woman with the eyes of a Cassian, and what appeared to be either a gnome or a human boy in shrouded robes. But the more he took in the visage of Eric, confusion turned to shock then incredulity. He gripped the couch as if to steady himself.

"E-Eric?" The green-eyed man muttered disbelievingly.

Eric himself was stunned. Not just because his uncle actually remembered him, but that in the man's eyes, was a turmoiled look of grief, sorrow, regret, and even what appeared to be relief - for some inexplicable reason. He had not expected such emotion from the man he had only fragmented memories of.

"Hi... uncle," Eric greeted hesitantly as he did in fact not have the right to say that. For he was a bastard. Not a Baron's son. Not nobility.

Later into the evening, Eric looked down at his half-eaten plate, the silence of the dining hall deafening as only the intermittent sounds of cutlery against porcelain could be heard. Having realized just who had come to visit his estate, Matthias Duelaheim had invited them all to dinner.

Beside him sat Aria, tentatively eating her food. Beside her, was Nyx, a bloated tumble of robes as he slumped on the all-too-large chair in front of an empty plate. He had eaten his fill in both sweets and food, and then some more. Even though Aria and Nyx were still hooded, Matthias did not seem to take offense. For all his focus was on Eric. The lost nephew.

"This food... it is quite delicious..." Aria said nervously in an attempt to shatter this oppressive silence.

The baron seemed to be slightly dazed as he came out of his inner thoughts, giving Aria smile once he realized she had just spoken. "Yes, I'm fortunate to say that I have a most talented chef in my employ. But also, I must give credit to the salt. Borean salt. Mined directly from the hills, it is even better than the imported good in rest of Argon. This city prides itself on the mines."

"I read about it. How it should apparently contain trace amounts of mana as it forms within the Spine, giving it the slightly fresh and chilly taste that it has.

"Learned I see," He nodded. "It's true. The salt mines and the fish from the lake is what Boreas is famous for."

The brief conversation Aria had managed to strike quickly died after that, the silence returning.

"You look just like him, you know," The baron said suddenly after a while. "Before he went sour, that is."

Eric finally showed some sign of life as his jaw clenched and his gaze did not meet his uncle. He just kept staring down at the plate that had remained untouched the entire time.

"I'm sorry, I remember how he treated you." He apologized, shaking his head as a sense of regret entered his green eyes. "I honestly should've never left you with him." 

He sighed heavily, putting down his cutlery. "Eric, why have you come to me?"

Eric hesitated for a moment. "Uncle... we've gotten ourselves into some trouble. We came here for help."

Matthias looked surprised. "So you were there when it happened then?" 

Not understanding, Eric's brow creased as finally met his uncle's gaze. "When what happened?"

"Aemsburg has been burned to the ground, is that not why you're here?" The baron said seriously. "There's no sign of my brother or nieces. I... thought you had died there too."

Eric was shocked to learn that his hometown, the one he had spent all of his life, was no more. Although he barely had anyone there he'd considered more fondly than an acquaintance, they were the people he had grown up with. Now, they are all gone. Nothing for him to return to, even if he wanted. 

"I have connections with the Arcane Communication Department." Matthias continued. "They receive weekly tidings from Mayne. A report had come in with last week's relay. From a veteran mercenary party who was sent to deal with an Arachnid infestation nearby when they came upon the smoldering embers of what remained."

Eric couldn't read his uncle's expression as he told of this, but he got a distinct notion that Matthias was shielding his real emotions so as not to upset Eric. The man probably cared a lot about his younger brother, despite all his unforgivable faults.

"Uncle, I remember hearing things about you. That although you only hold the title of baron, you possess considerable influence and power here in Boreas." Eric glanced around at the decadent dining hall. "To me, it would seem those rumors weren't false."

Matthias sighed, taking a long swig of wine from the fine glass goblet. "I suppose you could say it's something like that."

Eric noted a distinct hesitance in his uncle's voice as he said that, the man not looking him in the eyes as he said it. "We need your help, I believe that the people who have burned Aemsburg to the ground are the same who have been chasing us all the way here."

Matthias froze. "People? It was reported as a monster attack."

"I doubt that to be true," Eric said. "The people who have been pursuing us seem to be from a very influential and powerful group. Maybe they..."

Matthias looked conflicted if anything, a million thoughts rushing through his head to the point he could no longer hide the emotion on his before stoic face. "Eric..." He said finally after a while, his voice turning a little dark. "I'm not the person you think I am. The influence, the power, the capital. It was not something I gained solely on my own, and they gained by respectable means. There's only so much a baron can do amongst the high-nobles."

He paused. "Tell me, who are these people who have been pursuing you?"

Eric looked to Aria, a look of hesitance evident on both. But Eric spoke after a wordless exchange with the ruby-eyed girl. "After we arrived in the city. We think we've found who they are. The Stained Tooth."

The wine glass in Matthias's hand shattered.