Book 2: Chapter 58 (Patreon)

Silas fumed in his office. His daughter, Madeleine, was going to send him to an early grave.

He tapped a pen against the mostly blank piece of paper in front of him, thinking. Lay the problems out one by one and solve them in order. That was the way he operated. He took a breath.

First, his only remaining family member… his own daughter… had left the city and his protection to play adventurer with the [Hero], Daniel. Silas knew without a doubt that Guildmaster Pritus had engineered that on purpose. Silas could respect her moves while still retaining the desire to tear out her throat. She had used Madi, even if his daughter couldn’t see it now. The Guild had long requested the rights to destroy dungeons around the countryside. Those rights belonged to the lords of Dey and had since the first dungeon had been found. By having the daughter of a lord of Dey defeat a dungeon at the Guild’s request, Pritus had appropriated those rights in the eyes of the people. Silas had been too busy dealing with the aftermath of everything else to see what was going on until it was too late. The Guild had relinquished the rights back to the lords but it set a precedent. If the Guild found a dungeon before his own guard did, they would report they had taken care of the danger to Dey. It had been done before, so it shouldn’t be a problem the next time.

An annoyance for sure, but one that would only cost the lords some small concessions. The Guild was usually contracted to defeat newly appeared dungeons in any case. He could set up a standard price that the Guild had to pay for lost training opportunities. Perhaps a quiet deal with Pritus to split new dungeons between the Guild and his guard. Guildmasters didn’t last forever and he could tighten the restrictions with each new appointee.

Silas pushed the letter he was writing away and grabbed up another. He’d already signed it but considered whether he should tear it in two. Madi had drafted it for him, a small contract offer for the elven council. The terms were quite good and if it had been the only item his daughter had returned with from the forest, he wouldn’t have given it a second thought beyond congratulating her on a job well done.

Except it was addressed to Arandir, the elder of elders. Any person of power in Asmea knew the power behind the elven council. He had thought Madi’s education in who to avoid in the world at large had been complete. This was the second problem his daughter had brought to him when she had run off to the elven forest to meddle in political maneuvers he would be hesitant to try himself.

Opening a line of dialogue with Arandir would benefit Dey in the short run, most likely even for Silas’ entire life. A true lord of Dey didn’t consider just his own interests though. The elf was trouble and at some point, he would ask for more and more to keep the lucrative trading open. Silas had brought the issue up with Tarris and Timpe. Both thought more with their purses than their minds. The signed letter of intent was proof of that.

Either of these problems alone would have created a nightmare of issues to deal with in the coming months. Arandir would have to wait for his contract.

Silas pulled the sheet of paper back in front of him and tried to write the sentence again.

Upon my honor, with indisputable and actionable evidence, I have learned that a Demon Lord…

Silas sighed and rubbed his eyes. The next year was going to be difficult.

“How did he take it?” Orrin asked. He’d stayed behind while Madi and Daniel approached Silas.

“He made Daniel share the Quest with him,” Madi answered, throwing herself on Daniel’s bed. She sniffed the air. “Daniel, when’s the last time you had the maids change your sheets?”

“That’s Orrin, not my bed.” Daniel pushed her feet to the side and sat down on the foot of the bed. “Have you been training?”

Orrin nodded. He’d gone to the courtyard and practiced some [Way of the Water] stances. A few guards had chuckled at the strange movements but he’d just ignored them, moving through the different katas. “I couldn’t sit still while you were talking with him. What’s the plan?”

Daniel shrugged. “We train. Silas is going to pressure the other lords into getting me more dungeon time. They’re going to see if Dragoon team will train me up a bit too. Supposedly, what Leanthun said about stats applies to skills as well.”

“What do you mean?”

Daniel scratched the back of his head. “I… well the way he… I think…”

Madi rolled around so she was sitting next to Daniel. The two of them across from him. She sighed as she explained, “If Daniel just gets his skills from Quest rewards and doesn’t put in the work, he isn’t using the skill to its full potential. My father is going to have a few teachers out to help put Daniel through the paces and iron out any rough edges.”

“That’ll be good for him. He thrives when he’s being pushed.”

Madi and Daniel gave him a look.

“What? It’s true. He gets lazy unless someone taunts him or tells him he’s doing it wrong.”

Madi’s incredulous look turned thoughtful. Daniel snapped his fingers in front of her. “Hey! Stop that. Don’t agree with him.”

“He does have a point,” Madi trailed off softly. “Anyway, I will be helping him prepare for an assault. We’re putting together a full battalion to try and clear the Pass.”

“Is that even possible?” Orrin smiled at Daniel’s betrayed look. “When do we leave?”

Madi exchanged a look with Daniel. Orrin got a worried feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Madi? Daniel?”

“Hear us out before you bite our head off, okay?” Daniel shifted on the bed.

“It’s not set in stone, either,” Madi hurried to add. “So, if you are totally against it, we’ll find another way.”

Orrin sat silently.

“My father believes—”

“Pass.”

“Shut up, dude. He wants to make you like an ambassador or something.”

Orrin frowned. “What?”

Madi smirked. “Orrin, you upgraded your [Teleport] didn’t you? You can get to the elves and back in the same hour. You are on a first-name basis with Arandir. The lords of Dey… all three of them, not just my father, have offered you the post of delegate of Dey. You can help us recruit them. A battalion of our guards and Guild members is only three hundred people. Most of those won’t be at a much higher level than we are. If we can get Arandir to send even a dozen elves, we’ll stand a better chance at succeeding.”

“You still haven’t told me what the plan is,” Orrin grumped. “I’m not going to be a glorified messenger.”

“Can you stop being impatient and let me actually talk,” Madi shot back. “On the far side of the Pass, there is a small outpost. It was never more than a place for scouts to spend the night but it’s stood for centuries. We are going to try and expand it into a full Wall. If we are successful, then any Horde that attacks would have to push through that Wall before going through the Pass.”

Orrin considered the strategy. It wasn’t half bad. They wouldn’t need to defend the new Wall to the last man and could always retreat through the Pass if they were overrun. But…

“How long would that take? Building something like the Wall must have taken years. From what you said, we don’t have that kind of time.”

Madi rolled her eyes. “We have [Stonemasons] and [Builders] who can have it up in a day or two. The main point of bringing an entire battalion is to protect them while they work. We can’t afford three hundred people to watch the Wall once it’s built. We would have to create entire supply chains, people wouldn’t be near family, and the logistics of it just wouldn’t work. The new Wall would funnel the majority of any attacking force through the gate system, giving us time to prepare.”

“Why not build a bunch of Walls and defend each one in a fallback pattern? Don’t fight to protect the Wall but take as many out from the top as you can until you are forced to retreat to the next one. All the way back to Dey.”

Madi rubbed her eyes. “Daniel suggested something similar. What was it you said? Draw them in and blow them up?”

“I said we should build a few Walls and line some with explosives. When they get through, we blow it up.”

Orrin grunted in appreciation. “Not a bad idea, D. If we—”

“We don’t have the time or resources to do that. Getting one Wall built is going to cost a fortune. Those people we will have to draft to put up the Wall will need to get back to work. They don’t have unlimited mana or stamina to build wall after wall. Even if we could get it done, the city would see it as a failure if we simply destroy it as we retreat.”

Orrin forgot sometimes that this world operated with a different set of values. They sent groups of five into dungeons without a healing class because each person wanted as much glory and experience as they could get. High-level adventurers went on suicide missions for the chance they’d be talked about as heroes after the fact.

“Silas promised to bring it up, but they’re still down one ruler,” Daniel added. “But if we could get a few elven archers on the wall, we could hold them off longer. Maybe Arandir could grow a few trees together into a mini-wall or something.”

Orrin hated the idea of leaving his friends, even for a day or two. “Why me? There must be other people with [Teleport] who could do it. Sure, I know Arandir, but that’s not enough reason to make me deliver letters.”

Madi shook her head. “You wouldn’t be just delivering letters. You would be the voice of Dey in the forest, in Veskar… and in Odrana.”

Orrin stood and walked to an end table with a pitcher of water. He could have pulled a waterskin from his [Dimensional Hole] but he needed to walk away from what he’d just heard.

“Orrin,” Madi said quietly. She had moved up behind him without his noticing. “We are not sending you away to protect you or because we don’t want you around. You really are the best person for the job. Talk with Arandir. Get him to send a letter to Sanerris. A Demon Lord means the end of the war if Sanerris has any sense. You’ll be completing the Quest.”

Orrin doubted that very much. Lord Sanerris had the glint of crazy in his eyes that spoke of a spoiled upbringing and getting away with whatever he wanted. Orrin was under no delusion the man would remain dangerous no matter the circumstances.

“It’s not like you’ll be gone all the time,” Daniel chimed in, standing up as well. “You need to get back here and train with me. I need my sparring dummy.”

“I haven’t agreed to this,” Orrin retorted.

Madi laid her hand on his arm. “Take the day off and rest. Or go explore the city a little. My father won’t have finished getting things settled until tomorrow anyway.”

Daniel leaned in as if to say something more, but Madi gripped his sleeve and dragged him out. Orrin’s fingers trembled around the pitcher handle. His mouth was dry but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t lift the glass to pour.

You’re not being left behind. He chanted over and over. They are not leaving you behind.