216. King: Tabitha

“So I made the Black Butcher my Countess Auditor? Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” King Thor was a little irate.

“Firstly, because you sprung it on me in public and didn’t give me a choice. Secondly, I repeatedly told you that you needed better advisers, and thirdly because I thought it was hilarious.” I didn’t try to hide the smile.

We were sitting in his private meeting room just after midnight. At least Thor was dressed this time, and I didn’t have to look at his hairy legs.

“Duke Lamonte of Jern will be furious and want your head.”

“Tell him to get in line.”

“I should just kill you myself.”

“How ungrateful. After all that we have done for you. Now, when you have a Duke causing trouble, you can threaten to send the Black Butcher to see them. You shouldn’t have trouble for long.”

“That’s true.” grumped Thor. “My new advisors tell me a contract has just been issued for Imperial Slave Taskmasters by Wiremu Hunter. Shouldn’t you have given me some warning? The kingdom may not back it, but it is coming from us.”

“Just testing to see how strong your heart is.”

“Bloody troll shit. You are like the granddaughter I never wanted.”

“Hey, I am not that old. Add a couple of greats in there. At least great great granddaughter.”

“Now I am the one to protest. I am not that old.” Thor was full of complaints today. “The main point was the bit about not wanting you.”

“Hey, if you don’t want your granddaughter, she could always come with us into the empire,” I joked.

“I thought you would never offer,” Thor said, then he raised his voice, “Runa! Get in here!” One of the dwarven guards on the door entered. “Skygge said you can go with them into the empire.”

Bloody hell, he just conned me again.

“Great Gramps, anything to get away from you.”

And she takes after her grandfather. “I suppose you are a con artist like Gramps over there?” I said.

“That’s a rude thing to ask.” then she winked at me, “But I will show you mine if you show me yours.”

I need to get away from dwarves. Or maybe it is this kingdom I need to get away from. It is definitely this king.

“We are leaving at the end of this week, and we plan to ride fast,” I told her.

“Don’t worry, me and Horny won’t slow you down,” Runa said.

“Dare I ask?”

“It’s my bond. He’s a mountain goat, and we can ride anywhere. He is a horny old goat in every sense of the word.”

It is probably still faster than Wiremu’s Mosey. “Met me tomorrow at this address, and we will discuss it with the team. You know it is probably a one-way trip, don’t you?”

“Are you kidding me? It is a strike team with five affinity users. We are going to kick the imperial’s bald arses.”

“That’s enough, Runa. Swap out with your second and go prep.”

“Sure, Gramps.” and she left.

“Have you found your missing Marquess yet?” I asked Thor.

“He disappeared into the City States in the south. If you see him on the way through, slip a knife into him for me, will you?”

“You seriously need to find some competent people to work for you.”

“I am going to retire and leave this mess for someone else. The Dukes are pushing me to name a preferred successor, not that doing that means shit. They will fight over it anyway. The Western faction wants me to name Duchess Fielding, who is basically war-mad. The Central faction is in disarray after Terry’s coup. The Northern Industrial faction wants me to name some brand new Duke who hasn’t even got out of nappies yet, Eluf from Obalno. The Southern faction is a mess, but Duchess Irena is trying to round them together to support her.”

“You will be pleased to know that I have only slept with one of them, Eluf. I can tell you that he is good in bed.”

“That’s all you humans think about, isn’t it? That’s why you need a Dwarf or an Orc on the throne. Mind you, if he survived sleeping with you, maybe he is tougher than he looks. Or maybe he is just dumber than most.”

“You couldn’t resist my charms either. That’s why I am a countess.”

“Well, Countess, you can earn your keep on your way to the City States. Duke Boris is behind on this year's taxes. Sort him out on the way past, will you?”

“I am reduced to being a tax collector.”

“At least you have finally learned your place. Took a while.”

“Maybe I will just nick off with his taxes and disappear into the empire.”

“Well, just go and leave me in peace. I need some sleep in my old age.”

Runa was obviously there to keep an eye on us for the King. She was nice enough, and at this point, the King should know enough about us never to trust us anyway. She was a Warrior with specialisations in Shields and a class called Heavy Infantry, which was good for heavily armoured warriors. She was devastating with a sword and shield. With her shield, she could even keep Modrica at bay, which was funny as she barely came up to her waist. Horny was fast and agile, but Runa always fought on foot. I was amazed at how Horny could carry her and her plate armour and weapons. She was small but very solid. That description applied to Horny and Runa equally.

The problem was Mayakku. Mayakku came to us all excited because she had finally cracked Core Enchanting and got the specialisation. Better yet, she figured out how to enchant it so that Nyx could empower and recharge it. That was what I asked her to do almost three years ago when we met in Jern. She wanted my Blacksteel knife to enchant it for me. I asked for the Tough Hide Enchantment as I lacked a defensive ability. She would only be able to enchant the equivalent of a low apprentice level at this stage, but it was better than nothing. It was also not very efficient yet, but this wasn’t the problem. The problem was when Mayakku explained why she could only put one enchantment on the knife.

“It is the rune sequence to take the Core energy from Nyx and remove the flavours to make it clean like the energy from my enchanting skill,” she said. “The sequence takes a lot of room, and until I level it, I am limited by the size of the runes.”

“Wait up,” Wiremu said. “You can take Monster Core energy and remove the flavours with this rune sequence?” Mayakku nodded. “Can you add a flavour?”

Mayakku had to think about that, “Possibly?” she said uncertainly.

Wiremu thought this was the key to empowering the ritual to remove the Slave Class. Using a Monster Core, filtered through a rune sequence to remove the flavours and then add the flavour of a Journeyman Slave Taskmaster. We didn’t know what that flavour was yet, and Mayakku was unsure about adding flavours, but Mayakku had the highest Spiritual Sensitivity and the most Skills in that area. Wiremu wanted her to come with us.

A Catkin Pride is a very close-knit group. Males are usually the ones that venture out on their own, not females. The Pride is committed to running Elemental Traders, so the Pride can’t come. Mutalil and Anni are expecting another litter in a few months. The Pride is settling down and establishing a base, which they haven’t had before. Wiremu wanting Mayakku to come with us is a big problem.

Mayakku herself is open to coming. This could be the influence of Cōmpēṟi, her male lion bond. Young male lions are usually driven from the pride by the senior, but I guess things are mixed up in the bonds. That is Wiremu’s expertise, not mine. The Catkin all retreated to the Farm for three days to discuss it.

When Wiremu, Modrica and I went out to the farm to discuss it, we immediately noticed a difference in Mayakku. Appā was there when she met with us.

“Mayakku will go with you, but we were concerned for her safety,” Appā said.

“Your bond has changed,” Wiremu said.

“Yes,” Mayakku said. “The Pride were concerned for me, and so we empowered Cōmpēṟi.”

“You used the monster core,” Wiremu said.

“Piercing Sharpness,” Mayakku said and picked up a metal plate and extended a claw and drew a rune on the plate with her claw. “It seemed the right thing to do, and the Pride was there to support and help.”

Then Cōmpēṟi came in. He had changed. He had always been large enough for Mayakku to ride. Now Mayakku had to climb up on his back. His teeth were more pronounced and sharper. He wasn’t a sabertooth, but he was close. I am sure his claws are equally enhanced. He was now definitely a lion king.

“Wow,” was all I could say to that.

We got Ruku and Rodion a horse, although Rodion was very uncomfortable on a horse. That would either change, or he would run all day. He could easily run all day. He was a Skirmisher. We will see.

Kelda had a horse and Wiremu had Mosey. I think Wiremu was going to see if Kelda can specialise Observer into Scout. It seems compatible, but we will see.

The last surprise was Astrid. “You need a Healer,” she stated. “I have been a healer for a Mercenary company for … well, several decades. I can't settle down now. I am coming.” So she and Trassig, her stoat bond, joined us.

We hired a boat to travel down the Kirghiz River and the coast. This meant we could hide Težka easily. As soon as we got past the cultivated farmland.

Wiremu was basically over the moon to be out of the city and even more so to be off the boat. Ruku distracted him by showing him the best way to fish from the boat, but deep water is Wiremu’s weakness.

Nystad Empire, here we come.

Wiremu Hunter with Tāoke and Puia

Tabitha Carter with Nyx and Dusk

Modrica with Težka

Ruku with Wai

Rodion

Mayakku with Cōmpēṟi

Kelda with Liten

Runa and Horny

Astrid and Trassig

Four humans, one orc, one wolfkin, one catkin and two dwarves. What a mix. What a fellowship.