TQG 64

64. Departure

“The saddle is unworthy of him,” I commented as I finished cinching it in place.  It was simple leather, utilitarian and unappealing to the eye.  “Shadow deserves a mastercrafted saddle.  Black leather adorned with silver, I think.  And inscribed with the seal of his rider.”

The horse nickered as though in agreement with my statement.

“Well, if you don’t like the saddle, then you can damn well buy the replacement yourself,” Uncle Auroras grumbled from behind me.  He had watched me work without once offering to help, but if this was my last time interacting with the magnificent stallion then I didn’t really want his help anyway.  I would miss Shadow, and --

“Wait, why would I buy his saddle?”

“He’s your horse,” Uncle Auroras informed me.  “Consider him a birthday gift.  It’s time you had a proper mount.”

I gaped at my great uncle, gratitude welling up inside me to the point where it almost began to shove aside my resentment of the man.  “I-thank you, Uncle Auroras.  I truly cannot put into words how grateful I am to receive such a magnificent gift.  I vow that I will take --”

“Yes yes, let’s just skip the speech for now,” Auroras said, interrupting me.  “Now then.  To be honest, I should really keep you for another month and finish drilling into your head what you need to know to keep from making yourself an embarrassment, but I need to get back to the capitol.  So I’m going to give you some parting advice.”

I sighed, but knew that listening would be the fastest course to freedom.

“First of all, stay out of the fight for the throne.  You’ve already made your stance perfectly clear.  Stick to it, and don’t waver.  Storm will see you as an enemy, but do not rise to further provocations from him.”

“You don’t want my support?” I asked.

“Why would I want your support for a position that I don’t want?  And one that I couldn’t occupy anyway.  Thedum would strike me down the moment I sat on the throne.  There is no way that he would abide having the gray man rule over one of his favored kingdoms,” Uncle Auroras said dismissively.  “I’m simply muddying the waters for Storm to keep the position vacant until a more suitable candidate is available.”

“I see,” I said.  “Who would you support?  Your grandson would be third in line after you now--”

“That insufferable pissant would run the kingdom into the ground,” Uncle Auroras snorted.  “And until we have resolved the matter of Storm assassinating anyone who poses a threat to his claim, it is best not to support any alternative to the two of us.  No, at present, I believe it is best if the throne remains empty.”

I frowned, because I strongly disagreed.  Someone needed to lead Yuikon.  The crisis with some of the Travelers joining the adversary would not wait for politics.  “Are you certain that it is Storm who is responsible for the assassination quests?  Could it not be someone else muddying the waters while our nation is most vulnerable?”

“It’s both of those things,” Auroras informed me.  “One of the men you buried was Storm’s contact with the Assassin’s Guild.  The other four worked for outsiders.  But keep your nose out of that, Hail.  You have more important matters that require your immediate attention.  It is time for you to visit your lands.  The truth is that your only influence at court presently is your name, and that name is one of a bastard raised by his doting grandfather and nothing more.  If you continue to neglect your lands, then you will be unable to support your kingdom and its next king at all.”

“That is what I was meaning to do as soon as I came back from the space between worlds,” I said.  “But then I got dragged into all of this.  You’re right, of course.  I plan on heading to Thorn March as soon as I can.”

“Go to North Shire instead.  It is in the most need of your guidance,” Auroras advised.  “And bring some of your Travelers with you.  If you journey down this road you will reach a crossroads, at which point you should be able to find your way.  You may leave now, Nephew, I release you from your captivity.”

“Thank you, Uncle,” I said.  I stepped over to Shadow and put a hand on his flank.

Auroras Teoran has gifted you the steed “Shadow.”

Shadow wishes to become your bonded mount.

Accept?

Yes

No

I eagerly accepted, and then I mounted the horse.  He accepted my weight effortlessly, and I could feel the power of the stallion beneath me, eager to be on the road.  Uncle Auroras walked with me around the temple to the front.

“There is just one last thing before I let you leave, Nephew.  I have another gift, of a sort,” Uncle Auroras said.  “Give me your hand.”

Frowning in confusion, I reached down.  He had been walking along my left side as I rode Shadow, and so it is that hand that I gave him.  Auroras’s cold grip enveloped mine, and I felt an icy sensation envelop my limb from the elbow down.

You have been Cursed!

Upon death, The Gray Man’s Touch will reduce you to level 1.

Your class, skills and skill levels will remain unaffected

You have gained a boon!

Through the Valley of the Shadow increases your experience gained by 300% while afflicted with The Gray Man’s Touch

You have gained a skill!

Draining Touch will allow you to absorb Health and Mana from a target while you are in contact with them with the hand afflicted by The Gray Man’s Touch.

I shot a lethal glare at my uncle, and I called him things which were very far from polite.

“Try not to die, Nephew,” he suggested merrily, and he slapped Shadow’s rump.  The stallion lurched into motion beneath me, and I was forced to turn my attention to keeping my seat as we accelerated to a full gallop.  I wanted to turn around and attempt to murder my uncle, but the hounds were already baying in pursuit.

Cursing his treachery, I was forced to focus on outrunning them.  We galloped down the old dirt road that led to the temple, our pursuers barking just behind us.  They say that Ramsay hounds can chase down a horse, but Shadow was no ordinary mount, and we began to outpace them.  However, before we had gone a mile, the air suddenly twisted in front of us, and before I could even think to adjust our course, we had passed through the portal, leaving the forest behind.  The portal snapped shut just behind us, cutting off the howling of the hounds, leaving us safe, but once again I had no idea where I was.

We were surrounded by vast empty hills, with no sign of civilization in sight except for the road we trod upon.  Still cursing his treachery, I slowed Shadow to a trot, and we continued to follow the road for a few miles until we came to the crossroads Auroras had promised.  I examined the sign for a moment, then relaxed.  I finally knew where I was.  I opened up guild chat to update my friends with the recent development.

Hail

Hey guys.  So, I have some good news, and some bad news.

Gummytiger

Give us the bad news first.

SubtleGhost

What?  Why would you tell him to do that?

Gummytiger

Let’s just get it out of the way.

Stormy

Whatever, it doesn’t matter.  Hail, have you been released?  Is that the good news?

Hail

Yeah, it’s part of the good news.  My uncle finally let me go, and he even gave me a mount.  The bad news is that he also gave me a curse.  If I die again, I don’t just lose a level.  I get knocked back to level one.

Malick

What?  That’s some bullshit!

Hail

Yeah, I know.  It comes with an ability and triples my experience, but it’s totally not worth it.  I’m going to head to a Temple of Thedum and see if I can get it removed.  The other part of the good news is that I know where I am.  I’m in North Shire.  The sign at the crossroads says that I’m six leagues from Ebbyvale, which is where the previous lord held court, so I’m going to go there.

Stan

That’s great, Hail.  I’ll give a shout out to <Peasant’s Revenge> and they’ll get your guard on its way to catch up to you.  Stay safe until they get there.

Corinth

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m heading that way too.   There’s probably a lot of quests and stuff that will unlock once he gets there.

Wesle

Yeah, good call

Hail

Okay, I’m going to stop paying attention now.

Birdie

Before you do, Hail, Daemon wanted us to pass on the message that your items have all sold, and that he’s sent you the money through the mail system.

Hail

Thanks.  Where is Daemon?

Birdie

His daughter is visiting today.  He should be on tonight.  Er, um, later this week.

Hail

Okay.  Thanks everyone.  I’ll heading towards Ebbyvale like I said, but I think there’s a village on the way.  I might stop there and spend the night if they have an inn, it will be nice to eat something that’s not poison and have a proper bath.  If I stop there, I’ll let you all know the name of the village so that you can meet up with me there.

Corinth

Thanks Hail, see you soon.

I closed the chat window with a thought, and I nudged Shadow to bring me off to the east, in the direction of Ebbyvale.  Keeping the stallion to a distance-eating trot, I surveyed my lands for the first time.

Northshire was on the northern border of Yuikon, where the lands were hilly.  The valleys were fertile, and the three forests were mostly ignored except for the wild game they produced, as the wood wasn’t of a variety that was useful for much.  There were a few lakes and rivers, but not enough for fishing to be a major industry.  I honestly didn’t know much about the land I had been assigned beyond that, although I was sure I would soon learn more.

My first impression after reading about the lands my grandfather had given me was that they weren’t particularly valuable compared to many of the larger counties and earldoms of the kingdom.  Their industries were mostly pastoral agriculture, providing a slow but steady stream of coin to the kingdom’s coffers through the governors that had been overseeing them since they had reverted back to the crown.  It was precisely their lack of value why they had been readily available for my grandfather to assign them to me in the first place.

That was fine.  In fact, it was perfect.  Once I got things in my lands sorted out, then I’d be ready to go off adventuring, gaining levels and busting dungeons and making a name for myself.  I’d much rather be doing that than endlessly managing a large and industrious region of the country.  My new lands were an important status symbol, but I wasn’t content to lead the life of an idle noble growing fat on the work of my citizenry.  Once I had taken in the lands and put things in order, I would appoint a steward for North Shire and Thorn March.

It was little different than what Uncle Storm did with his own lands; while he was technically the overlord of much of western Yuikon, he delegated most of the rule to his staff so that he could focus on being present at court.  Except instead of wasting my time impressing other nobles and jostling for position and power, I would be gaining levels and fighting back the darkness alongside my Traveler companions.

As I was contemplating my plans for the future, my path was abruptly blocked by a group which rode out from a camp hidden behind a hill.  To my surprise, the party of twelve was made of a mixed group of Travelers and Natives, and judging by the weapons they bore, their intentions were not simply to offer directions.

“Is this a robbery?” I asked my steed, who paused slightly at having his path blocked by the inferior mounts of the assailants.

“Hey you!  This is a robbery!” one of the Travelers shouted.  “We’ll be taking your mount, and your--”

“I don’t have time for this,” I muttered, and I promptly [Swiftcast] [Concussive Sound], followed by [Dazzling Lights].  I kicked Shadow’s flanks, and the steed charged straight through the blockade before the bandits had a chance to recover from what my traveler friends called my flash bang combo.

Shadow proved his superior breeding.  The bandits, once recovered, tried to give chase, but caught only the dust kicked up by his hooves.  I watched their figures shrink into the distance, and I seethed.

Bandits?  In my lands?  No, this would not do.  I may only be a bastard, but my noble pride would not stand for this at all.  But I was not foolish enough to try to taking on that group by myself.  I would go to Ebbyvale as planned, and then my friends and I would put together a solution to this problem.