Perrim stood on the balcony of his quarters in the manor, watching that mortal's procession leave the city. The thought of allowing him the opportunity to leave the city irritated him to no end. But that was all he could do for now.
According to the presiding steward of this region, the mortal could produce clones and currently had one in the capital, working with the princess.
He released a snort of derision. The mortal was already making inroads with the regional monarchy to establish his own power. A truly pathetic attempt.
If the mortal wanted power, he should have come to them on his hands and knees, begging for any morsel they could spare. Instead, he settled for this backwater kingdom. A pitiful decision that’ll cost him dearly, Perrim vowed.
Footsteps approached him and stopped directly behind him. He turned to find Nepherani bowed at the waist. “Is it done?”
“Yes, Adjudicator. Callow, Harden, and Stelwar are in position to tail them.”
“Good,” he said before his communication crystal vibrated within his storage device.
His heart stopped briefly after he pulled it out and found the rune for the Divine Mother pulsating in time with the vibrations. He took ?a deep breath before answering the call. “Divine Mother. How may I be of service to you?”
“Adjudicator Perrim, has the Divine Lord contacted you?”
He frowned at her question. Was the Divine Lord supposed to contact him?
“No, Divine Mother.”
Her tsk came through their mental connection before she continued. “Have you found anything in your investigations?”
He paused for a moment, contemplating whether to reveal what he had learned. “Nothing of significance, Divine Mother.”
Her sigh echoed throughout his mind. “I’ve divined that only someone from the Divine Realm could produce such an energy surge. So I’m dispatching Adjudicator Irina to assist you. She’ll be there within the hour.”
With that, the Divine Mother severed their connection, leaving him flabbergasted. Irina was coming here? To assist him?
His confusion gave way to rage. Had the Divine Lord sabotaged him?? That would explain why the Divine Mother asked about the Divine Lord when he first answered her call.
But to send Irina. He growled as he put away his communication crystal. She was always the favored ?sibling among them.
He spun and made his way out of his quarters with Nepherani following close behind.
“Are you heading out to deal with the mortal yourself?” Nepherani asked as they made their way down the hallway.
“No,” he groused as they reached the stairs. “We’re going to ?receive your mother.”
Nepherani’s footsteps behind him stopped for a moment before she quickly caught up to him. “Mother is coming? Here? Why?”
He, however, didn’t even bother giving her an answer. His focus was on something the Divine Mother had said that he had overlooked in the moment. Someone from the Divine Realm had caused the surge of energy. That meant only one thing as he concluded the mortal was but a servant to another, a Divine being.
He gritted his teeth in frustration. Things were rapidly spiraling beyond his initial assessment. Perhaps having Irina and her team of Inquisitors as reinforcement wasn’t such a bad idea.
He shook his head at the notion. He’d go along with the Divine Mother’s wishes for now. But he’d have to come up with a plan to gain full credit once they exposed who the mortal served.
June stood beside Zeraiah, watching the river of people stream out of the city gates. Off to the side stood Crydell and the other gate guards, glaring daggers at him. He paid Crydell no mind as Zeraiah turned to him, a questioning look on his face.
“Rumor has it you’re all heading out to Castle Dumar?”
“Yes, however, it’ll no longer be named that.”
Zeraiah’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh? What will it be called? Castle Mikkelson?”
He chuckled at that. “No. That would imply that I’m to be the presiding lord, which I’m not.”
Zeraiah frowned. “Then who? Layhanna Milliadry?”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
He nodded.
Zeraiah looked at him speculatively. “Huh… I just thought with you being in the Transcendent Realm… you’d take lordship over the castle.”
Good, he thought to himself, the rumors of his victory over Perrim were spreading. By now, he should be cemented as a Transcendent Realm Cultivator.
“I’m not that ambitious a man,” he said with a smile as he returned a child’s excited wave. “I have no desire to hold a position of power. To help those in need is enough.”
Zeraiah’s gaze swept over the large procession of people. “That you are… hopefully.”
He turned to look at Zeraiah, an eyebrow arched.
“These people deserve the opportunity to at least build a life for themselves beyond living in squalor. I just hope that Layhanna… or rather you, can provide them with that opportunity.”
Zeraiah’s eyes drifted up to stare at the city walls. “This city is not a place for those seeking a fresh start, but for those seeking to indulge in pleasure.”
That he agreed with.
A sudden cacophony of cries then drew his attention as a burly Althori man pushed several of the Vyshtani women and children out of his way, knocking them to the ground.
“Out of my way!” the Althori shouted before he marched up to Zeraiah, fury blazing on his face.
“Commander Zeraiah, order your men to remove these half-breeds so that my caravan may pass! I can’t afford to waste my time and money waiting on these half-breeds to rid themselves from our magnificent city!”
June couldn’t help but release a dry, humorless laugh. “Some things really do remain the same, no matter where you are.”
“Silence, half-man, before I crush you beneath my boot!”
He just shook his head as Zeraiah stepped forward. “Aerlin, return to your caravan and wait. Lord Dumar has granted these people first rights to pass through this gate.”
“Piss off with what that little lord says. If I don’t leave within the hour, you’ll have to answer to my proprietor why we were delayed.”
However, Zeraiah didn’t back down from Aerlin’s threat. “Are you deaf? I said Lord Dumar, not City Lord. If you have an issue, then take it up with him. He is currently at the City Lord’s manor.”
That got Aerlin to back off as he made his way back inside the city gate. The nearby people passing through tried to move out of his path, but weren’t able to because of the number of people there.
“Out of my way!” Aerlin shouted as he swatted an arm at a Vyshtani man holding what June assumed was his wife and child close to him.
The man shifted to shield his family with his body. However, he needn’t worry as June flashed over and caught the arm before it was anywhere near hitting them.
Aerlin turned to glare at him and tried to pull his arm free, but failed. Before Aerlin could do anything else, June shot out a quick kick to the back of Aerlin’s knee, causing him to buckle to a knee. He then pulled Aerlin’s arm back and twisted it slightly, forcing Aerlin to bow.
“Release me, you impudent little bahh—” Aerlin said before June twisted his arm just slightly, silencing the merchant.
“You know, you really are a shitty merchant. The first rule of being a good merchant is always be friendly,” he said as he bent down to be eye-level with Aerlin, “because everyone is a potential customer.”
Aerlin laughed through the pain. “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! You expect me to take you or any of these half-breeds to be paying customers? It would take every single one of you 20 lifetimes before any of you could even dare approach my proprietor or me for our products!”
“And who is this proprietor of yours?”
“The great Rolwan Ashford!”
June scoffed before releasing Aerlin’s arm and pushing him forward onto his hands. “Good to know. I’ll be sure not to do business with you or this great Rolwan Ashford. Now, leave and be sure to keep your hands to yourself, or I'll take them from you.”
Aerlin got up and rubbed his arm as he stomped off through the crowd. June turned to find the man and his family still standing there, staring at him. “Thank you, good sir.”
He patted the man on the shoulder and gave him a nod. “It was nothing.”
They continued walking with the group as June returned to stand beside Zeraiah.
“You know who Rolwan Ashford is, don’t you?” Zeraiah asked.
He just shrugged. “Not a clue, but I intend to do my own investigations into him and see if his employees reflect him. If not, then I’m still open to a meeting.”
Zeraiah nodded in agreement before they fell silent once more.
A few minutes passed ?before June caught sight of someone he hadn’t expected to show up.
Reyah weaved between the crowd like a needle through a weave. In a matter of moments, she was standing before him, hood up, eyes downcast, and fidgety. “I’m sorry for what I said the other day.”
His initial response was to say that she didn’t need to apologize, but he thought better of it. She had just mustered up the courage to apologize to him, which, judging from her demeanor, must be an uncommon occurrence.
“Thank you. Are you okay?”
Her head snapped up, and her glare landed on him. “Of course I’m okay! Why wouldn’t I be?”
He just looked at her as if asking, “What?”?, causing her anger to deflate.
She huffed out an exasperated sigh. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been having a rough morning.”
“Okay,” he said with a nod.
An awkward moment of silence passed between them before she moved to stand to his left.
“Are you not staying in Revelcroft?” he asked.
“No. I’ve overstayed my welcome.”
There was a lot to unpack from that single statement, but he wasn’t about to pry. It wasn’t his place nor his business.
“You’re welcome to join us if you want.”
She briefly glanced at him before looking back at the crowd. “That was the plan.”
Zeraiah had since moved to rejoin his men at the guard station, as a few minutes of silence passed before Reyah broke it.
“So, where are we headed?”
“To the castle formerly known as Castle Dumar.”
“Formerly? What’s it called now?”
A smile slipped onto his face as he remembered the name Layhanna had come up with. “Artoli, the city of dreams.”
