Reborn as the First Boss, Chapter 133 (Patreon)

Chapter 133 – Highfrost

Thankfully, we managed to return to the city in time for our dinner with Baron Highfrost and his retinue. Both of us were leaving the city tomorrow after lunch, so this was the last chance for me to accept his hospitality without needing to make the trip to Castle Highfrost. Not that I wasn’t planning to visit at some point, but we both had things to take care of in our baronies.

Aymon Highfrost rose to greet us as we entered the main hall. “Ah, Baroness! I am so glad we had time for a proper meal before heading back to our lands. I know you’ve been busier than most, these last few days, especially with that ritual business.”

Cristina Snowbrace, his seneschal, stood at his right hand, and said, pointedly, “My apologies, Lady Pureheart, but we only have Tier 1 spirits here, and everyone, especially my lord, has been warned not to engage in drinking contests with you or yours.”

I had to chuckle at that, since apparently the woman was not over the fact that she, along with the rest of the baron’s retinue, had drunk themselves into a stupor, and woke up in bed together, naked, with two women each sandwiched between a pair of men. Of course, the baron had been with me, that night, and had thoroughly enjoyed himself. But the embarrassment of waking up like that had definitely stung the seneschal, and she did not look to be entertaining the idea of a repeat performance. More’s the pity.

“Oh, do not worry about it, Lady Snowbrace. I am sure that we can have a wonderful evening even if we were just drinking water. After all, alcohol only removes one’s inhibitions, making you more honest with yourself, and making it easier to ignore things like reputation and social standing. So long as you have a couple potions ready to help handle the consequences, it is just a bit of fun, no?”

Cristina coughed once, and said, “That is neither here nor there, Lady Pureheart. There are things one simply cannot do when they have positions of authority. Especially when one is a female Seneschal, rather than a Baroness. Even then, if you were not set to have an heir, it would be a horrible scandal.”

“Now, now, Cristina,” Aymon cut in, placatingly. “Each barony is a reflection of its people, and its leaders. Just as Highfrost is full of hard people who all know how to defend themselves, and can deal with cold winters and hard work in the mines, Windwater is a barony that is shifting to become more open about things, especially after the tyranny of the old baron. Baroness Pureheart does not need to hold herself to another barony’s standards, because she is setting the tone for her lands. And she did not make you or the guards drink, last time, so do not take your embarrassment out on her.”

Cristina looked as though she’d bitten into a lemon, but said nothing. I decided to rescue her by changing the subject. “I hear that you have begun organizing a regular tourney in your lands, Lord Highfrost. A way to encourage your people gain skill and experience with weapons, even though they are no soldiers?”

Aymon nodded with a smile, all too aware of what I was doing, but also willing to go along with it. There was no good to be had from needling his seneschal unnecessarily, after all. “Aye, that is the plan. The barony’s defenses are fairly secure, thanks to the mountains around us. The monsters make it impossible for an army to approach unless they arrive on the south road leading to Windwater, or come through the Dark Path dungeon from the crownlands. So, a regular militia is not something we need, for the most part, but rather ensuring that our people can fight better than untrained levies can. But openly encouraging our people to get stronger has a tendency to attract attention from the Shadowed Eyes, unless one has a reason for it.”

“Even when there is a reason, like having only just fought off a Goblin Hero and their forces, you pique their interest, I’m afraid. Had one of them reach out to me in Crystalshield for a bit of a conversation. Of course, since I was already Tier 2 at that point, and had a Lesser Frost Dragon with me, the conversation was more polite than it might otherwise have been.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Aymon said dryly, though the smile in his eyes said he found the humor in it. “I expect that, at that point, the conversation was more geared towards ensuring that you were a friend, not a foe.”

“Something like that. They were quite happy to report that I intended no action against the country, or the crown. And the news that I had to share, about various threats I had uncovered in my travels, helped in that regard. After all, I helped end a threat that sought to bring Bikar in conflict with Dascora, and another that wanted to bring Crystalshield into Eclana’s embrace, while uncovering a long-term threat that the Theocracy had hidden.”

“That would be the [Soulslave Ritual] that the Crown Princess warned me of, when I met with her? She mentioned that the first confirmation of its existence came from you.”

“Indeed,” I nodded. “The easiest way to ensure your lands are free of anyone under the ritual’s effects is to get someone to summon an angel with the [Perceive Soul] skill, and bind them as a familiar. That will allow them to root out anyone who has the hidden Soulslave or Soulbinder titles, which can only be seen by one with the skill. If you kill the Soulbinder, and free the Soulslaves, then you can get the Freer of Souls title, which gives you and a few others immunity to effects that would bind your soul, and allows you to remove those effects from others if you pay ten times the sum of their mental attributes in MP. Which gives you options you otherwise would not have.”

“Yes, that matches what the Princess told me,” Aymon said. “Unfortunately, spellcasters are somewhat rarer in Highfrost than other baronies. For some reason, our land tends to breed those who focus on physical skills. There are few priests and fewer mages, compared to the more martial classes. But we should be able to find someone with the appropriate abilities.”

“That’s an obstacle, of course, but a solvable one, if you are willing to spend coin on single-use rituals. The [Familiar Binding Ritual] is common enough that it would be fairly cheap, so the only real cost would be summoning an angel and convincing them to be a familiar. However, they are creatures of ‘order’, so if you make sure to let them know that you’re trying to root out spies using magic on people’s souls, I’m sure they would be willing to help.”

Cristina nodded once. “That said, a familiar’s strength depends on the caster’s mana reserves, so we should still look for someone with a respectable mana pool to use the rituals. With the muscleheads in the barony, it is likely we’ll need to recruit someone from one of the churches.”

I nodded. “If possible, you should try working with either Videa, or Yton, unless you go with someone from one of the other pantheons. Those two, from what [Religious Doctrine] tells me, may be incorporated as part of the Theocracy, but neither of them are all that supportive of it.”

Aymon frowned. “I’d always heard something like that. Something about how Yton basically told the Theocracy to lay off the crafters, who rallied behind him, and Videa simply threatened to withdraw her favor from the lands unless her demands were met.”

“Not entirely accurate, but better than what most stories of the divine record,” I nodded. “Zazriel, could you fill them in?”

“Of course, Mistress,” the angel bowed to me, before turning to the others. “You see, Baron Highfrost,…” I had to hand it to Zazriel, her explanation of the political games the divines played, and how they interacted with the Theocracy was thorough, yet succinct, and easy to understand. That was a quality that few individuals possessed. Thoroughness did not naturally ally with brevity, just as technical information records are rarely associated with light reading. Managing to threat that needle was impressive.

As dinner was served, the conversation shifted more than once. A description of the tourney in Highfrost, and its rules. A bit about how training the militia was going back in Windwater. Cristina commenting that my stomach was starting to bulge with the egg, which gave an indication of how quickly it was growing. And, of course, a sanitized version of the ritual to send Eztar back to the divine realm. Which led to a discussion about what would happen in the Theocracy now that one of the pillars of their faith had fallen so publicly.

After dinner was cleared away, Aymon invited me to come and see the first tourney, on Halfmark, but I had to decline. “Unfortunately, that is about the time my scholars believe I should be laying my egg, which is when I’ll learn enough about it to know what kind of care it will need to grow properly. Also, part of the wages the centaur who is in charge of training the militia come in the form of weekly rendezvous with a Succubus bound to me, and a liaison with me each markday. I daresay he would be quite disappointed to miss out.”

Cristina’s eyes went wide. “With a centaur? Really?”

I chuckled, and said, “I’ve lain with normal horses, dire hellhounds, and even lesser dragons. After all of that, a centaur is not nearly so frightening. And it not only keeps the trainer happy and productive, while ensuring that the ardor his people are known for has an appropriate outlet, but it also means I was able to underpay him on his normal fee. Though, he still comes out ahead, considering the coin he’s not spending going to working women who are willing and able to handle something so big.”

“But, how? Even magic should have limits!”

“Capstone skill for the Courtesan profession, [Enduring Body]. Prevents damage to the body from sex. Cost four skill points, but it was more than worth it. Especially since it would allow you to enjoy creatures who have more ‘interesting’ anatomy. Getting to feel spikes without getting torn up by them, or dealing with creatures who are made of fire, or one of those slimes with tentacles, and so on.”

“I may need to revist my decisions about drinking tonight.”

A nice chuckle at Cristina’s expense later, things settled back down, and Aymon leaned forward. “So, other than laying an egg and expanding your carnal horizons, what do you plan to do when you get back to Windwater, Lady Pureheart? I’m sure you have some plans already in motion, no?”

“Well, other than just running my lands? I’m going to wait until the new Baron Longchaser gathers some materials, so I can conduct a ritual to possibly replace the Necropolis dungeon that broke when I released Zerat. Which is why the Baron will be sending forces after the bandits that have taken up residence in the mountains between Shadescar and the Northern Reaches.”

Aymon’s face went deathly still. “An artificially created dungeon? I’ll admit, I’ve only heard about something like that once before, years ago, when I was a lad.”

“Oh? The first I heard about the possibility was when young Longchaser mentioned a grimoire he found in his father’s study. You’re saying the ritual has been done before?”

“Traveling merchant, running a route down through the border between Bikar and Dascora, through Shadescar and Windwater to Highfrost, and then taking the Dark Path dungeon to the crownlands. Because he was from the Theocracy, he ha to go the long way around, rather than passing through the Northern Reaches, and he wanted to avoid forts and official recognition as much as possible. I was not yet baron, then, and was dressed as a common adventurer, since I would often hunt monsters and delve the Dark Path for XP and materials. That, and the drink, were enough to make sure he did not recognize me.”

Aymon took a breath, and said, “He said that the Theocracy had gathered resources together, including sacrifices, and conducted a ritual that turned those sacrifices into a dungeon. One that, supposedly ran from Level 1 all the way to the cusp of Tier 2. Possibly even beyond. But I never paid it any credence. After all, the merchant was already deep in his cups, and the whole thing sounded absurd. However, if you’ve found a ritual that does that…”

“Then it would explain how servants of the Theocracy managed to make it to Tier 2, without bothering the elves or the dwarves, or passing on to one of the other continents. We fought quite a few Tier 2s when battling the Theocracy’s plots, and figured that they had to have a hidden dungeon.” I shook my head slowly, and said, “This is going to be a problem.”