The guard stared at him for a moment. It was like he couldn’t believe a human would have the gall to request an audience with the regent. With a huff the guard turned around and walked away. The other royal guards didn’t move. Hugo took another step back and waited. He found it interesting that Darius was regent again. He had warned them about the assassination attempt on the former royal family. He wondered if they had failed to save them, or simply hadn’t passed along the warning. Knowing how important the throne was to Darius, he suspected it was the latter.

Hugo stood there awkwardly for the next fifteen minutes. He was starting to doubt that he knew his former father that well. Had the regent decided that Hugo was a broken twig? In a culture where prophecies were often wrong, perhaps the man decided to just ignore everything Hugo had said. It would be hard to believe a stranger over his brother.

Another five minutes passed, and then the same royal guard as before returned. He walked up to Hugo and gruffly said, “Follow me.”

Hugo followed him past the guards and into the royal grove tree complex. They walked through the central garden and up the main branch. This was slightly disappointing. The guard was leading him to the royal reception hall. Hugo had hoped that he would be able to talk to them in private. Now he would have to dance around certain subjects.

They arrived to see a few people lined up just outside the hall. Apparently this was the line to speak with the regent. The guard spoke to a court steward as Hugo took his place at the back of the line. While he waited, he looked into the hall. Shirin was there, along with the First Princess. Amir was standing in the wings. It was good that Hugo had seen the traitor standing there before he said anything about the man.

“Announcing Duke Hamill of the Fruited plains,” the steward said.

A boring conversation about fertilizer costs followed. After him was Dutchess Fisher, then came Sir Ford. Hugo zoned out when they started talking about kessels.

“Announcing Mage Ersatz of Shimmer Mountain,” the steward said next.

Realizing that was him, Hugo stepped forward and said, “Regent Darius, thank you for seeing me today. I have heard of your challenge, I trust congratulations are in order after the first bout?”

Darius nodded and said, “Indeed. My win was always a foregone conclusion. What business do you have for the court today?”

“Before we get to that, I would like to offer you a gift,” Hugo said and opened up his trunk. He pulled out a large shield and bandolier of daggers. The shield was his standard titanium/mithril mix, with a coating of painted porcelain. It would easily chip off, but this way it wouldn’t offend riese sensibilities. The bandolier of throwing daggers was similarly treated. Interestingly enough, he was able to get a sharper edge with porcelain than he had ever gotten with fabricating metal.

“I have no need for a buckler and tiny knives,” Darius said.

Hugo nodded, “Of course, of course. I made these for your daughter. The shield absorbs and reflects hits. The daggers are runed with a piercing effect. She may prefer a different weapon now, but I am sure she will find throwing weapons a useful addition to her skill set.” He hoped the regent would get the hint that Lina should practice ranged weapons for her fight against Bijan. It was one of the few good counters to a sword that could cut anything.

Darius gestured for a steward to take the gifts. He said, “Was there anything else you wish to discuss today?”

“I have heard that the city was in the market for a mana core. I have a lead on a tier five monster that has recently entered your forest. There is a chance it is old enough to have grown a core. I would like permission to hunt it, in exchange for my promise to sell the core to you at the standard rate,” Hugo said.

The regent’s eyes grew wide as Hugo spoke, but when he heard the word “sell” he sat back. He said, “Why should we pay you to hunt on our lands? I would be remiss if I didn’t just send our own hunters.”

Hugo shook his head, “If you send your own hunters, they will die. Tier four monsters are not to be trifled with. That is if they even find it in the first place. Your lands are vast and this is one beast.”

“What kind of monster are we talking about?” Darius said.

Hugo just smiled and said nothing.

Darius frowned and said, “I get it, your knowledge has value. You have no desire to give it up for free, anymore. I will need to discuss this with my advisors before I agree to any deal that would cost the city so much.”

“Of course, my lord. If it helps, I am willing to take along an observer so you know I am telling the truth. Perhaps the huntmaster if he is not otherwise engaged?” Hugo said. Left unsaid was the fact the huntmaster could also ensure that the mana core got back here instead of being sold on the black market.

Darius nodded and sent Hugo away. He was asked to return the next day. On his way out, he convinced the guard to let him talk to Yasmin and rent out a few aphids for a hunt. Hugo was confident that the regent would see things his way.

...

“I am afraid her presence is non-negotiable. The regent said the presence of his daughter was a condition of the hunt,” Huntmaster Ramin said.

“Wait, Lina? No, I wasn’t talking about her. I was talking about Parisa. She can’t come along. Feel free to bring along someone else, just not Parisa,” Hugo said.

Now the huntmaster was confused, “Why wouldn’t you want my right hand along? She is strong and competent. She would be a great asset to your hunt.”

Hugo shook his head, “I will explain myself when we are on the trail. For now, either pick a replacement or the four of us can just leave.”

The huntmaster grumbled and walked back to the armory where Parisa, Lina, and Yasmin were gearing up. He had a short conversation with Parisa. She didn’t look happy at all. Eventually she threw up her hands and stormed off.

The remaining three riese finished gearing up and they walked back to the aphids. Hugo could feel the huntmaster’s gaze on him as Yasmin returned the extra aphid to the stables. He ignored it. The gruff man would understand eventually.

The four of them traveled in silence, heading northwest for hours. Hugo killed most of the monsters with his crossbow, Ramin only jumping in when there was a large group of them. Hugo felt the man’s anger lessen as he showed off how effective a hunter this human could be.

Eventually, Lina broke the silence. She said, “Mr. Ersatz, where are you taking us?”

“We are out here to hunt a serpent hydra, but it won’t be vulnerable for seven more days. I could have just delayed the hunt, but I figured you could use a bit of extra training if you are going to survive your challenge.”

Lina shook her head, “Challenges aren’t fights to the death. I would survive either way.”

“If house Juniper wins the competition, the first act of the new royal family will be to kill you. Ariana Juniper hates your mother so much. She will point out the fact that you are soulmarked instead of Mother blessed and say you are damaged. She will have you killed, trust me,” Hugo said.

“Why should the regent’s daughter trust you on anything, Human?” the huntmaster said.

Hugo calmly turned to him and said, “For the same reason I know that your secret thrip hunting spot is a day’s journey that way.”

The huntmaster only grew more suspicious, “How did you know that?”

“I know several possible futures. One of them includes your thrip hunting grounds. If we let the girls hunt there for a few days, Lina will rank up and get stronger, and Yasmin will be blessed by The Mother,” Hugo said, “I know that sounds unbelievable, but Lina can attest to the fact that I appeared out of nowhere on a ritual circle, and several of my predictions have already come true.”

They looked at Lina and she nodded. The huntmaster seemed unimpressed, probably because seers were already part of his culture. They were known to make mistakes on occasion. Hugo didn’t mind. He didn’t need anything from the man.

“Since you brought up the future, can I ask a question about it?” Lina hesitantly asked.

“Of course,” Hugo said. He wasn’t holding anything back this time.

“Why... why did you say Bijan would betray me? I know him, I love him with my whole soul. I know he loves me just as much. I can’t believe he would do that,” Lina said.

Hugo sighed. He wondered if her puppy love would blind her to the truth. He would have to come at it from a different angle. “I never said he didn’t love you. He does. He also loves his family. If you were forced to kill your mother or Bijan, who would you choose to die?”

Lina looked contemplative, but didn’t respond.

“Bijan cares for you deeply, he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to you. But his mother will soon force him to choose between the two of you, and he will choose the mother that raised him from birth,” Hugo said.

Yasmin spoke up for the first time, “I have been telling you this, Lina. His loyalty lies with his family. It has to. He is blessed by The Mother. She doesn’t bless people that would betray their family.”

The next few hours passed in tense silence. When night fell, they rode their aphids up the trunk of a nearby grove tree. The enormous trees would provide them plenty of protection from monster attacks. Hugo still set wards to alert him if anything snuck in or out while he slept. He was in a good mood as he unrolled his bedroll on top of one of the branches. Instead of a harrowing experience like last time, he was able to enjoy the view and the stars above.

Huntmaster Rasmin scowled as Hugo ate. The riese were gaining their strength from the grove tree. Hugo knew that his food could cause problems if monsters smelled it, but he was human and didn’t have another choice.

“You promised to tell me why you wouldn’t allow Parisa to accompany us,” the huntmaster said.

“You know how Lina’s life is in danger from assassination attempts from house Juniper? Parisa is bad luck. Whenever she is guarding Lina, or even nearby, Lina dies.” Hugo said. He decided not to tell the whole truth because he knew that Ramin wouldn’t believe him. Parisa was like a daughter to the huntmaster.

The huntmaster grumbled and set up a watch. He left Hugo out of it, obviously not trusting him yet. Hugo was happy to be able to sleep the whole night.

The next morning, Hugo led them to the thrip hunting grounds. The trees full of monsters looked much larger than he remembered. He was a human this time around and much smaller. Hugo sat back and let the huntmaster give the girls a rundown on the monsters, and their fighting habits.

It took most of the first day, but eventually the girls got into a rhythm, killing monsters one after another. While they fought their best, Hugo did some crafting. He had chosen porcelain and spider silk on a whim last time around, and now he was stuck with them. He figured it was about time to delve into what options these elements opened up for him.

The first thing to come to mind was replicating Lenna’s woven armor. He used thin strands of titanium and spider silk to weave into a stretch of fabric. It took him most of the day to get enough thread to weave two feet square of fabric.

He gave up on that project. Lenna must have some sort of trick to fabricate cloth instead of thread. The next day he tried a few other options. The first few experiments failed as well, but his porcelain tipped whip was very effective. He had been able to cut branches off a nearby tree with it.

His next experiment was a porcelain spear. Predictably, it stabbed well, but shattered when hit on its side. Perfect. During the girl’s next break, Hugo handed two new porcelain spears to Lina.

“What’s this for? I am happy with my sword,” Lina said.

“You will need a new fighting style if you want to beat Bijan. He has the orc’s bane shortsword now. It can cut through any weapon you have. The spears will help you practice attacking with a weapon that can easily be broken. Quick strikes, no blocking. That and the throwing daggers I gave you will give you a fighting chance to win your challenge,” Hugo said.

Lina looked towards the huntmaster. He shrugged and said, “It couldn’t hurt to add another fighting style to your repertoire.”

She nodded and took the spears. They were both broken within three minutes. Hugo chuckled and fabricated five more.

The next few days were lazy, relaxing days. At least for Hugo. Yasmin and Lina were exhausted every day. The last day before they left, Yasmin was blessed by The Mother. A blessing of wind again. Lina tried to be happy for her friend, but Hugo could tell she was jealous. He had a plan to change that.