Touch Of Fate 186 The Duke

A tall and lanky man, dressed in a set of comfortable looking robes stepped in after them. "What's taking so long? His Grace doesn't have all day!" As soon as he noticed Kiertesan, he sneered. "What are you doing here? You know very well that diplomatic entreaties must be handled through the Ducal Council."

Glowering in barely hidden disdain, the Marshal replied, "I'm well aware of the proclamation you've had written, Count Salens, so let me rea.s.sure you that no negotiations were taking place. I was merely ensuring that our guests were properly situated prior to your delegation's arrival."

Mike used Appraise while they were bickering.

-------------------------

Salens Kritenist

Age: 35

Race: Human

Cla.s.s: n.o.ble

t.i.tle: Able Administrator

-----------------------

[Looks like the ones in charge of this campaign are part of the civilian administration. Although, the distinction between military and civilian is bit unclear in a feudal system.]

"Hmph, well you aren't needed here anymore. Take your lackeys and go somewhere else. I believe there is an a.s.sault that needs to be planned. Why don't you go start on that?" The arrogant man said dismissively before yelling at the armored men. "Well, what are you waiting for? His Grace gave you an order. Follow through with it!"

The soldiers remained where they were, but jumped into action once Kiertesan gave them a slight nod, something which caused Salens to scowl, spin on his heels and march out with an air of wounded pride. As the emissaries were being led from the tent, the Marshal grabbed Mike's arm while giving them an apologetic look. "I'll try to keep them from doing anything stupid, but it seems like the bureaucrats on the council only know how to create problems."

[Hm, maybe there is another option.]

Leaning closer, Mike whispered, "Sounds like you aren't too fond of your bosses. Should I help you change that?"

Kiertesan looked alarmed, then frowned. "I am a loyal Tenundian. Even though I don't always agree with the Duke's choices, that doesn't mean I'm willing to betray my homeland."

"Eh, worth a shot." Mike replied with a shrug, before motioning to a tent situated a little ways away. "Do me a favor and clear the surrounding tents out."

The Marshal blinked, "Why?"

"I would hate to end up killing more soldiers than necessary because of the stupidity of aristocrats." Mike answered with a wink, only to remember he was still in a mask.

His words had mixed effect on the listeners, Nurenal was indifferent while Kiertesan looked troubled. Henry had seemingly resigned himself to his fate, and was calmly staring off into the distance in a slightly wistful fas.h.i.+on. The most distinctive response was Jiri's, who gave him a ma.s.sive grin, as if to say that she'd already worked out what he was planning.

[Going to have to watch that one. She seems a bit too insightful.]

Thankfully, it seemed like Kiertesan listened, because he had a quiet word with one of the soldiers, who promptly left in a hurry.

As they were brought outside, Mike's gaze was met with a dizzying panoply of colors and heraldry as a small army of courtiers, advisors, servants, and guards milled about around a single man on horseback. Judging from the amount of fuss surrounding him, this could only be the Duke.

He had probably once cut a das.h.i.+ng figure, but years of comfortable living had taken their toll on him. His dirty blonde hair had been cut close to the scalp, leaving little doubt about the state of his receding hairline. Sitting upon a ma.s.sive charger, he loomed over everyone else, which seemed by design based on what little Mike had seen of the man's personality so far. A set of regal and heavily embroidered robes encased a frame that still looked impressively well-muscled, despite an ample amount of fat stored around his mid-section. He was bedecked in expensive jewelry, so much so that it actually look a little uncomfortable.

------------------------------------

Alderbert Mal Tenundi

Age: 47

Race: Human

Cla.s.s: Ruler

t.i.tle: Duke

-------------------------------------

[Interesting that he's here on the front lines.]

Henry and Mike were dragged in front of him, before being forced to their knees. In Mike's case this was more of a willing move. The bureaucrat from earlier, Count Salens, stalked forward and addressed his master. "Your Grace, these are the Almiran emissaries."

The Duke of Tenundi swept a dismissive gaze across the pair. "So those pretentious dogs send a watchman and a child. It seems that things really have gotten dire within the walls. Perhaps we should allow these two to return, so there are at least a few defenders when we claim the city. Wouldn't want to make too unfair, am I right?" He finished with a derisive laugh, one that was picked up by the a.s.sembled lackeys and flunkies he surrounded himself with.

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Mike quickly discarded any hope of solving this diplomatically. If this was what he could expect from the Tenundian ruler, then nothing short of a vast display of power would be sufficient to change his mind. That being said, he entertained the idea of simply annihilating the a.s.sembled group. If he could mask his actions till the last possible moment, he thought it might be possible to eliminate the entire Tenundian leaders.h.i.+p in one move.

Experimentally, he tried summoning up a wisp of mana. Surprisingly, Nurenal reacted immediately, taking a combat stance by reflex. Mike also noticed a few of the advisors and guards showing similar responses.

[Despite the Duke's att.i.tude, they are still taking me seriously. While I might be able to handle a few of them, fighting them all might be problematic. Besides, a country is probably capable of producing a few individuals with skills that could be lethal to me if I am caught by surprise. Better wait for an opportune moment.]

He also kind of hoped that the Tenundians would give him the reason to unleash. Even after all this time, he felt a strange sort of reluctance towards killing his own kind. But with enough motivation.....

Kiertesan stepped forward, "Your Grace, with all due respect, this is no way to treat emissaries who arrived under the flag of parlay. The rules of war-"

"Don't speak to me of the rules of war!" The Duke growled, suddenly furious, "They did nothing to stop the sack of Pont thirty years ago. Why should we bow to such restrictions when the Almirans themselves ignore them!"

[Hm, this adds a layer of complexity to the situation, although I should have suspected some bad blood between close neighbors.]

Not backing down, the Marshal continued, "Should we then descend to their level, Your Grace? Make ourselves worse than backstabbing monsters?"

"Enough! I will not be lectured by a jumped-up commoner." The Duke settled down, apparently just needing to vent a little. "So, tell me emissaries, what did you come here to discuss? It better not be an attempt to buy us off with token territories. We came here to crush you and your filthy kind, utterly."

Henry cleared his throat, "If I may, Your Grace. We were charged with seeking a mutually beneficial-"

"On second thought, save it. Unless you are offering the city's unconditional surrender, I don't want to hear it. Since we have nothing left to discuss, let us finish this. Salens, kill them and send their heads back where they came from." The Duke said dismissively, already turning his horse.

"As you wish, Your Grace." The lackey replied with a salute before motioning to the surrounding soldiers to start.

"Wait! Your Grace! This is a mistake! While one of these men is indeed a Almiran emissary, the other represents the Dragonknights. Kill him and you will risk making that order your enemy." Kiertesan broke in.

The Duke gave him a cold glare. "He was an enemy the second he sided with the Almirans in this conflict. Perhaps, Marshal, you should worry less about the fate of our enemy's representatives, and more on planning for our victory. Now comply with my order, Salens."

[Whelp, looks like we outstayed our welcome. Time to implement Plan C: Shock and Awe.]

After sending a quick mental message, Mike stood, drawing the attention of everyone in the crowd. "Its unfortunate that the foolishness of one man will lead thousands to their deaths, but such is the way of the world, I suppose. Know this Duke Alderbert, you will regret your decisions today."

Faced twisted in anger, the ruler of Tenundi threw an arm forward. "Kill that man!"

The surrounding soldiers surged forward, prepared to skewer Mike on their weapons. However, they were distracted by a sudden turn of events.

With a ma.s.sive impact, Red slammed into the ground, causing the earth to shudder and knocking several nearby people off of their feet. Mike noticed with some satisfaction that the Duke's horse reared, throwing its rider into the dirt.

Following Mike's commands, the dragon inhaled an unleashed a torrent of fire on the crowd, the emissaries included. When a s.h.i.+eld arcane energy formed to block the flames, Mike made his move.

Grabbing Henry, he launched them into the air with a burst of wind. As he pa.s.sed over the grouped up courtiers who were even then attending to the fallen Duke, he made sure to leave them a present, dropping an enhanced fireball.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Nurenal was better than he'd expected, and with no apparent effort, was able to create a second s.h.i.+eld, causing the fireball to explode with a thunderous roar well above its intended targets.

[Ah well, I knew it was a bit of a long shot.]

Thanks to slightly adjusted aim once they were in the air, Mike was able to land safely on Red, while depositing his screaming baggage there as well.

[Let's get out of here!] He sent a mental command, summoning another supply of mana to provide them the cover to escape. Luckily, he had a stationary target.

As the dragon ascended, he recited a chant that he'd developed recently, "I call to thee in thy desolate void. Heed me! Render unto nothing the view in front of me. Bring forth the howling fury of thine rage, and rend this world with the heat of thine magnificence. [Meteor]"

Mike felt a ma.s.sive drain on his mana, leaving him near empty as a white, hot speck appeared in the sky, growing larger by the second. In mere moments the screaming projectile had punched through the cloud cover at terminal velocity.

[While I feel a bit guilty for the Marshal and his crew, with this we can put an end to the...]

Nurenal, with a rapid chant created a patch of distorted s.p.a.ce. As the meteor pa.s.sed through it, its vector changed...slightly. Overshooting the Tenundian encampment, it impacted on the plains to the northwest. With a bright flash and a thunderous explosion, a portion of the landscape vanished in a ma.s.sive dust cloud.

[Hm, this is going to be more difficult than I thought. Perhaps I underestimated the warfare of this world a bit.]

As Mike flew back to the city with a now unconscious watchman, he little suspected that his actions were far from the norm when it came to military conflicts in Ea.

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Below here is a status update. Please feel free to skip to the next chapter.

--------------

Michael Rasmussen

Race: Human

Age: 15

Cla.s.s: Skill Master

Tier: 3 (High)

t.i.tle: None

Multiverse Traveler

Blessed One

Hunter of Renown

Battlefield Healer

Kal'Thel

Philanderer

Hero

Dungeon Savior

Undinekath

Saint of Healing

Nemesis of Demons

Antagonist

Wyrmkin

Fortuitous Alchemist

Known to the Lurker

Conjurer of the Draconic Bloodline

Dragonknight

Elementalist

--------------

Skills:

--------------

Primary Skills:

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Communication Magic (Rank 3)

Advanced Healing Magic (Rank 1)

Appraise (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Journeyman Almiran Military Swordsmans.h.i.+p (Rank 2)

Intermediate Water Magic (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

Intermediate Fire Magic (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

Intermediate Air Magic (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Intermediate Earth Magic (Rank 2) (RANK UP)

Basic Light Magic (Rank 2)

Basic Dark Magic (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Basic Conjuration Magic (Rank 3)

Basic Calling Magic (Rank 2) (RANK UP)

Basic Alchemy (Rank 5) (RANK UP)

Scrivening (Rank 5) (NEW)

Basic Artifice (Rank 3) (NEW)

Bind Familiar (Rank 2)

Blood Collector (Rank 1)

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Secondary Skills:

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Lifestyle Magic (Rank 0)

Advanced Lovemaking (Rank 3)

Athletics (Rank 2)

Intermediate Evasion (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

Basic Dagger Fighting (Rank 2)

Intermediate Spear Fighting (Rank 2) (RANK UP)

Intermediate Sword Fighting (Rank 2)

Intermediate Elemental Magic (Rank 4)

Basic Summoning Magic (Rank 3)

Intermediate Riding (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Basic Haggling (Rank 5) (RANK UP)

Basic Musical Performance (Wind Instrument) (Rank 2)

Intermediate Unarmed Fighting (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Basic Chanting (Rank 5) (RANK UP)

Dual Casting (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Aerosense (Rank 2) (RANK UP)

Basic Stealth (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Basic Dismantling (Rank 3)

Basic Blacksmith (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

Mana Transference (Rank 5) (RANK UP)

Mana s.h.i.+eld (Rank 1)

Mana Attack (Rank 1)

--------------

Pa.s.sive Skills:

--------------

Intermediate Fear Resistance (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Intermediate Physiological Resistance (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Advanced Poison Resistance (Rank 1)

Basic Heat Resistance (Rank 4)

Intermediate Mental Resistance (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Basic Electricity Resistance (Rank 1)

Large Mana Enhancement (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Large Mana Regeneration Enhancement (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Moderate Endurance Enhancement (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Moderate Agility Enhancement (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

Moderate Strength Enhancement (Rank 2) (RANK UP)

Basic Willpower Enhancement (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

Limit Break (Rank 1)

Detect Hostile Intent (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

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Inherent Skills:

Traveler's Luck

Fate-Touched

(BC) Vampiric Regeneration, Lesser

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- Scrivening (Tier 2, Rank 5) -

The art of drawing arcane runes with mana infused ink to create scrolls. Provides a minor system correction to act of Scrivening. Higher levels of skill increase the mana efficiency and potency of inscribed spells.

- Basic Artifice (Tier 2, Rank 3) -

Through a comprehensive mastery of one of the runic languages, the user of this skill is capable of creating rune-inscribed magic items. The effect and potency of these items are directly related to the quality of the composite materials, the skill of the crafter in question, and the synergy of all components working towards the intended effect. Higher levels of skill improve understanding and memorization of runes as they apply to crafting, enhance the potency and efficiency of crafted items, and reduces mana resistance in component materials.

- Intermediate Riding (Tier 2, Rank 1) -

The art of directing mounts in both combat and non-combat situations. An intermediate form of riding. Higher level of skill will improve the ability to bond with, train, and ride large creatures.

- Intermediate Unarmed Fighting (Tier 2, Rank 1) -

Whether learned in a street fight or at the knee of an experienced master, all unarmed fighters start with the basics. A more advanced skill of the Unarmed Fighting tree. Provides users with fundamental understanding of using their own bodies in combat. Minor system correction when fighting unarmed.

- Intermediate Mental Resistance (Tier 2, Rank 1) -

The user of this skill has had extensive practice resisting mental intrusion or mental effects. Moderate resistance to mental effects.

- Large Mana Enhancement (Tier 3, Rank 1) -

The user of this skill has a larger mana pool than others. Large increase to mana capacity.

- Large Mana Regeneration Enhancement (Tier 3, Rank 1) -

By consistent emptying of your mana pool, you have trained your body to recover its mana faster. Large increase to mana regeneration.