Chapter 61: Going back to Orestria

What was left of the guild waited at the mouth of the Alchemist's Lair, just as they had predicted. When they saw Lucius, they were relieved, but then their looks darkened when they saw Thomas.

"What is that traitor doing here?"

"Why is his mana so similar to the dungeon's?"

"Is that a demon behind him?"

Jeremy snorted at the last comment. His yellow eyes zeroed in on the adventurer who spoke. He bared his teeth, and the man shivered.

"The Slime party will stand in court for the deaths of Yima and the rest," Lucius spoke. "Chain them."

The adventurers were quick to do that, not caring that no one, not even the scary dark-skinned man, were resisting.

The four were placed in a wagon, and the trip began. Thomas stared at Jeremy for a while, then narrowed his eyes when he saw the alchemist staring at an adventurer pointedly.

"You are before we left," Lester had been wrought at that. Any goodwill he had towards them evaporating at the sight of his now empty dungeon.

"To think, all my hard work will be for nothing," they heard the tunnels collapse behind them. Centuries of history, gone in a flash.

"Don't cause trouble," Thomas ordered. The group didn't stop for the night, and they were in Orestria by the morning. The red roofs glimmered in the light. The quiet threatening to overwhelm them.

They made it to the castle, and Lucius came and took the chains of both Jeremy and Thomas in his hands.

"I can snap your spine like a twig, vampire," Jeremy spoke, when Lucius tugged a bit too harshly.

"I can drain you of all of your blood," Lucius threatened. Thomas's hands went to the mockingbird. It was getting hungry, and he could barely keep it contained.

The siren kept quiet as he was led pass the draw bridge and to the courtroom. No one but the king was present. Thomas looked behind himself. Rina and Teri were not with him. He looked to Lucius.

"Where are they?" He finally asked. Lucius leaned so they were at eye level.

"In the dungeons. You and that thing are the only ones I wanted to present to the king," Lucius smirked down at Thomas, who let the mockingbird fly off his shoulders, and, still invisible, land on the king's.

"The grave crime of the guild master must be exposed," the king spoke, and Thomas allowed himself a smirk. One to defy the vampire once and for all. A screen appeared, one that was appearing in every house, in every street.

"People of Orestria, Yima had tried to misuse the royal trust placed in him, and had marched on Yaranhold. Blood Bane, release these two men," the king pointed at Jeremy and Thomas. Lucius gripped the key to the chains so hard, it cut his skin.

"But they..." Lucius tried to protest. Thomas was looking at a life in prison, and now, he was going to get scot-free? How! Lucius was not going to just let it happen.

"Perhaps you, as the villain's second in command would like to tell us something?" The king kept on. Lucius made a threatening step forward.

"Villain? He fought for the guild until his last breath!" Lucius protested. The agony that Yima must have gone through filled his heart with anger. They hadn't seen eye-to-eye most of the time. But they had been comrades. "We went there to..."

The vampire stopped himself from saying anything else. The king was looking down at him. Guards were coming in from the doorway. Lucius knew that, even though Thomas was controlling the king somehow, a part of the weasel was still lucid enough to get Lucius's head, if he ended up exposed.

"To?" The king asked, the mockingbird having to apply precious little pressure on the man's mind.

"To do Yima's will," Lucius wanted to snarl. To throw things around. To grab Thomas's and the king's heads and bash them in the marble.

"Your loyalty is admirable, Blood Bane. But you owe the country, not your guild master. I have decided. As it is my power to grant the position, then I will make you the new guild master. If you try to show violence to the people of this country, rather than protect them, I will remove your head," the king said. People began to cheer, and the bird flew off the king's shoulders.

He blinked. Remembering everything he had said, he now knew that he had made Lucius into his enemy. He looked at the two people still kneeling on the ground. He didn't know how exactly they had controlled him, but they had.

"You must be hungry," the king said, allowing a fake smile on his lips. "The entire party will join me for breakfast. After you have had your refreshment. It is always nice to speak to a dungeon master."

Thomas's eyes narrowed, and he felt Lucius unlock his chains.

"You are in the big game, now," the vampire whispered in his ear. "I do hope you lose."

"You would, wouldn't you?" Thomas bit back. He stood, and massaged his wrists.

"And since you were the one who saved Yaranhold," the king continued, not paying attention to the exchange. "I name you Protector of the People."

Thomas blinked. Really? This scumbag was playing such a game?

"I thank you, king Leon," Thomas bowed low, and sent Jeremy a look, so he could bow as well.

"Well, then, Lucius, as someone who knows his way around the castle, I charge you with getting them to the guest rooms. And get the other two out of the dungeon. Breakfast is in an hour," Leon smiled another fake smile.

In his experience, it was better to not provoke dungeon masters. His little blunder with Yaranhold will soon be forgotten. United we stand.

Such a good motto. He could use it to his advantage. All those nasty rumors, albeit true, that kings used the Orestria guild to level towns will be put to sleep.

Sure, he would never be able to do so again. But with an immortal guild master like Lucius, the guild would be expected to remain peaceful.