Chapter XIII: The Brewing Storm (Part 2)

The council was gathered once more within the War Room, each of the 15 members seated at their respective positions, with the Head Councilman on a more refined and decorated chair. Servants came in, placing parchments, quills and ink cups, reports, and other documentation on the table, and the council members were quick to take up their utensils as they inspected the parchments before them.

"May today's present stenographer please note the date, time of Council Meeting, and starting subjects."

The quick writing of the present stenographer was heard as she jotted down the requested items on the list.
"Starting subjects: Economic and social landscape of Brimmen, taxation of regions, and...the discussion of Princess Amelia."

The room went silent upon hearing the name, a topic of now-awkward discussion.

"That should be the first thing we touch upon." One council member piped up, breaking the silence.

"It's going to devolve into argument again. I think it should be for last." Another remarked.

"No, I agree with Jona. We have to address the situation. If we don't, we could have a problem between the lower social classes and royalty. That is not something we want, especially now with the war going on between Brimmen and Cromoc."

Several council members piped up, agreeing with the statement.
"Very well. Let's address it." The head council member said.

"What much is there to address?" One of the council members started. "Her Demi-Human nature being revealed is the main cause of all this trouble. By Tog, she can't even walk outside without risk of being stoned in the streets now!"

"Even worse, this only came to soil our Queen's reputation, since most people know that one of her parents had to be a Demi-Human for this to even be possible." Another council member added.

"Have we found out who leaked the Princess' condition to the public?" Another asked.

"It's not like this was going to stay under the covers for the rest of her life. It was probably that long tail of hers that gave it away. You can't really hide something like that for long."

"Well, we should have given her time to learn how to curl the thing or something so it doesn't protrude in such a way that it's noticeable. Or better yet, we should have just cut the damn thing off so there would have been no problem."

"There's still the trouble of her quite-elongated fangs and her slitted pupils. You can't really cut those off, now can you?"

"Regardless," The head council member butted in. "It's happened. We can't the change the past, so now we have to deal with this...problem." He sighed, looking around at the somber faces of his team. "...We might have to make some changes to law regarding Demi-Humans."

"Even if we do, sir, it's not as if we can erase the social and cultural bias that comes along with it." Jona piped up. "A simple change of law is not going to rid the public of their hatred and fear. And it's not as if the Demi-Humans don't already have the same liberties as humans. You, sir, should be the most privy to the painstaking hours we spent devising liberties that restrained each individual race of Demis to their specific functions. No flying above twenty meters for winged Demis, no positions of power for Elves or Liches involving a lifetime service, etcetera. We've nearly broken our spines trying to make equal all of these damn races, and yet we cannot erase the discrimination they face from the people. That must be done through their own means, I'm afraid."

"Yes, yes, by Tog, your point is made, Jona." The head council member waved dismissively, looking over documentation. "Well, for now we'll just have to assign a bigger permanent guard to the poor girl until we can figure out a good solution. And by Tog, gentlemen, make sure anyone you hear spreading libel on the streets regarding the Queen or Princess is thrown in jail for light treason."

He sighed in frustration, pulling up another document.

"Now, onto our next subject...Humans engaging in sexual intercourse with man-beasts?! What the fu-"

Click-tap, click-tap.

Amelia wished badly that she did not have to wear her dress shoes for today. Had it not been for seeing her younger cousin off to Skrutland by boat to marry the royalty there, she would not have worn them at all.

Then again, the heavily armored Monarchsmen that were her royal guard, along with the several guardsmen lined up next to the walkway blocking out the civilians were probably much more likely to attract that very same, unwanted attention, so it was not as if Amelia could have prevented it anyhow.

She tried her best to shield her eyes downwards as she noticed the glares of suspicion and hatred she received from the blended eyes of the crowd that watched her walk along, all the while hearing whispers pass around those watching, undoubtedly filled with malicious rumors or slander involving her.

Curse this tail, she thought bitterly to herself, feeling her snake-like appendage coil up against her, making rise to a noticeable bump under her dress. She had heard several crude remarks about it from several different people over the past week, since her secret had been revealed.

The Monarchsmen walked silently along her sides, as if moving statues. It was as if their clanking armor only served to add to the tension in the atmosphere.

"All hail the Princess of Monsters!"

Smack!

A head of cabbage flew over the heads of the gathered crowd and broke apart on the cobblestone next to the princess, and immediately the guards formed up closer to Amelia, brandishing their shields upwards to prevent any perishables being thrown.

"CEASE AND DESIST, YOU TREASONOUS BASTARDS!" A captain of the guard yelled at the crowd, brandishing his club as the line of city guardsmen tried desperately to hold back the angry crowd, some of them beating angry citizens over the head.

More perishables began to fly from the crowd from unknown persons, hitting the shields of the Monarchsmen and near the pavement where the princess walked.

"Fucking monster!"

"Damned half-breed!"

"We'll not bow down to a spy for the Demis!"

Slurs and terrible words hit Amelia as horribly as the perishables that were being flung at her. She continued on down the walkway faster, trying to hold back her tears.

Crack!

She was shocked as one particular rotten tomato managed to fly past the upheld shields and hit her square in the face, splattering over her facial features. She began crying, holding her head in her hands.

Curse this tail...curse my blood...curse my damn mother for having been born under a Demi-Human parent!

"Don't cry, my lady."

Amelia brought up her tear-stricken face to see one of her Monarchsmen, Sir Joras, looking down at her. She could see his blue, caring eyes through the slit in his helmet. The slurs from the crowd, the perishables, and all other sounds aside from the soft, blowing wind seemed to fade away from her ears. He looked up, saying something she didn't understand to the other Monarchsmen, who nodded and headed towards the crowd. The sounds of steel rasping against their sheaths was heard briefly, but faded into obscurity along with the other sounds soon enough.

Her tears stopped flowing as Sir Joras draped his red cape around her with one hand, bringing up his giant, rectangular shield with the other, all the while looking forward as he led her towards the castle.

"Ignore their crude words, my lady. They are ignorant. It disappoints me immensely that they would ruin your beauty with their low-grown fruits."

Amelia couldn't help but stare at Sir Joras with relief and security. She had known him and grown up alongside him since birth, watching him practice the sword and shield, horse riding, archery, and squire for knights throughout their lives. It was an understatement to say that he was closest to her, besides her father, the King.

She was in love with him.

She continued staring at him with adoration in her eyes as he led her to the castle, only hearing the soft blowing of the wind.

"My ass..."

"How long has it been?"

"Uuuuuuhhhhhhh…."

"Stop complaining, you pussies."

It had been around 4 days of travel since the encounter with the drake, and the band had finally come upon the capital of Brimmen, the expansive city of Braymont. Everyone couldn't help but marvel at the stone walls that led across, stretching along either side, before turning off towards the towering cliffs that cut off at the sea a mile each way. A giant, grand palace ran along a mile of the cliff, with waterfalls big and small cascading down the rocks and into an unseen river below.

Aside from a few rivers that ran in and out of the city, however, there was little the group could see beside the few tall towers that rose above the giant, grey walls.

"DAYUM, this place is huge." Rulf commented idly, though he felt his anxiety increase when he noticed the amount of guards lining the walls and guarding the entrance into the city.

"I must say, it is quite a beautiful sight. I wouldn't mind living here if I ever retired from my heroism." Malin remarked.

"I don't think you retire from being a hero, Malin." Natsuki responded.

"Well, tis to be expected; The life of a hero is one of adversity." Malin proclaimed, prostrating himself upright so as to give off a heroic stance, his shoulder-length cape flying in the wind. Adrian, the tour guide, yelped as he felt Wolfe grab him by the scruff of the neck and pull him down to whisper in his ear.

"I've had to listen to this shit for 4 fucking days, for the love of Tog can you just get us inside already?" Wolfe seethed in his ear.

"Y-Yes, Mister Wolfe, just let me get the proper documentation."

Wolfe released Adrian, who breathed a sigh of relief before pulling out documentation for the guards standing at the entrance, who they were approaching fast.

"Hello there, sirs!" Adrian started, giving a wide smile as he urged his horse forward casually. The two guards, who were heavily armored and had poleaxes leaning against their shoulders, lifted their tired eyes up towards the tour guide.

"Whut's yer business, sir?" The one on the right asked in a monotone manner, as if he had said the statement a thousand times.

"We were requested by His Grace, King Brommel." Adrian responded quickly, pulling out a folded parchment from his courier bag and leaning down to hand it to the guardsman, who took it and read it over with half-open eyes. "You see, these are the eight brave heroes from Dawnusk that-"
"Alright yer good to go. Head in." The guard cut off Adrian in the middle of his speal, which made him stutter a bit before recovering, smiling once more at the guards in a sort of cringe-worthy manner.

"Th-Thank you, kind sirs, for your help. We'll, uh, be on our way now."

He bowed his head slightly before glancing back at the rest of the group, motioning with his head towards the gate. Everyone took the hint and urged their horses forward, passing through the open passage into the city.

"Make sure to deposit yer horses at one of the stables." One of the guards yelled back at the group.

"I'll make sure to deposit my foot up your arses, you fuckin' clod-nosed sons of bitches-" Adrian mumbled in anger as his horse continued trotting, and Rulf was privy to hearing many more crude words being said by their tour guide as they ventured forth.
Nonetheless, a few minutes in, they found an open stable that would allow them to cover their horses for 10 pence per day. Wolfe sneered as he heard the daily price.

"I've met with highway robbers that asked for less." He muttered, though Rulf was sure that he was exaggerating, seeing that he himself was one of those acclaimed highwaymen.

After they had their horses stored, they began to wander as a group, as Adrian, despite having visited the capital once before, was unfamiliar with the new layout of the capital of Brimmen, despite his supposed position as their tour guide.

"What use are you?" Wesley murmured as he found this out.

"That hurts." Adrian responded.

"I mean, he is correct." Malin interposed, much to Adrian's dismay. "What do you we need you for now that we're here?"

"For proper authorization!" Adrian insisted, his feelings properly hurt by now.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess you're good for that." Malin concluded, though Adrian was left feeling like utter trash by the end of the exchange.

They perused the various markets, which were numerous not just around the town square, but expanding towards the entrance of the city.

"That's a business tactic." Wesley said to Sayori, who listened in to his sudden lesson. "Since everyone comes through that entrance, it's wise of the marketers to place their stalls nearest to the entrance, so that they may get the most traffic from-"

"Pretty sure that's a bit obvious, Wesley." Wolfe interjected, which pissed Wesley off.

"Maybe to a smartass like you, but most people wouldn't be aware of such a subtle maneuver-"

"Well that is true, if we're talking about people who only use their brain 1% of the time."

"Why don't you go check out the stalls that sell the latest farming technology? Oh wait, you wouldn't really know what that would be, considering how you bought a regular wheel whilst thinking it would somehow make river water more pure because that's what you thought a regular watermill did-"

"You said you wouldn't reveal that out loud, you damn liar!"

A few minutes after their arguing died down, they eventually moved through all of the various buildings and market stalls to come upon another gate, this time with four heavily-armored guards.

"What is this shit, a checkpoint?" Rulf muttered in frustration.

"I think so." Adrian said, sighing in resignation. "Lots of security for a capital of an advanced nation, I guess."

They went through the same process as the first time, and eventually gained entry into the second level of the city, where they were greeted with a more refined road, buildings, and general infrastructure. They passed by several distinguished noble persons, along with their respective personal guards, though most of the passerby were formal and quaint with the passing group.

They also happened to pass by a few oddly-dressed individuals with long robes and distinguished caps, from pointed hats and hoods to feathered caps and specially-marked pins in their hair with an insignia that was unknown to any of the group members.

"Those must be mages." Adrian remarked.

"Mages?" Malin inquired.

"Individuals that can successfully utilize magic." Adrian explained. "It's what your friend there (Yuri, was it?) used earlier, a magical barrier of sorts that prevented that drake from flying in and slaughtering us, and instead splattering all over the barrier she conjured up. It's a bit hard to explain, but that was an example of magic. Honestly, it's kind of rare for someone to utilize magic like that without any sort of prior understanding or training to begin with, but not as much as you'd think. After all, from what I've heard, magic is most often powerful when it is fueled through emotion. That's probably why you rarely see any old mages nowadays-"

"Oh my Tog, are you still talking?" Rulf muttered to himself as Adrian went on the long speal regarding magic and its history.

"-And did you know that magic is more able to be used by women than men? In fact, that's what mainly affected the sex equality that you see today in most parts of the world with magic, since they often helped out with building the infrastructure and fighting back the terrible beasts-"

Rulf quickly lost his focus as he noticed a crowd gathering a few dozen meters away, near a particular walkway, where slurs and shouting was occurring. His interest piqued, he wandered over, followed subtly by Monika, and ignored by the rest of the group, who was still partly touring the city as Adrian went on and on.

"...Fuckin' half-breed!"

"You damn monster!"

"Spy for the Demis!"

Rulf was confused as he heard the phrases shouted, making his way through the crowd until he saw a princess walking through, surrounded by heavily-armored knights with swords and shields.

"What is this?" Monika whispered to him, though it could barely be heard over the shouting of the crowd.

"Dunno. Looks like some high ranking prick is gettin' hit with accusations and stuff." Rulf responded, his eyes on the princess passing through. She was barely able to be seen through all the tightly-packed guards around her. He felt a lifelong resentment stir in his chest.

He hated royalty, nobility, any of the like. Rulf considered them all to be corrupt, cynical asshats with only themselves in mind when making any policy or decision that affected the nation. It was a long-grown hatred, born out of the young childhood where he encountered many avaricious nobles that only used others as a stepping stool to gain a higher standing in life. Rulf considered that to be a terrible way to live, seeing no sort of fulfillment to be achieved through it. It was one of the main reasons he desired to only get rich to buy land and live humbly with a family to love and live with.

It was one of the reasons he protected Monika with his life. If she were, somehow, to be his love and wife in the future, he wanted badly to protect her and her charming personality, her great looks, her unique eyes, and every other surprising trait about her. He could see himself living a long, happy life with her, and thus he had to do whatever it took to protect that notion, however far off it seemed.

"You want a try?"

Rulf was disrupted from his deep thought by a particular citizen, who had in his hand a rotting tomato. That was when Rulf noticed that the other citizenry were throwing perishables at the princess, most of them hitting the shields that the guards had raised or the nearby pavement. He contemplated the action.

"Sure." He said, grinning maliciously and grabbing the rotting tomato with one hand. He aimed with one eye, centering on the princess, before throwing the tomato full-on towards the princess.

"Ooh!" He remarked in surprise as he witnessed the tomato fly up and over the crowd, past the raised shields of the guards, and hitting the princess square in the face. He felt a malicious satisfaction grow in his mind.

"That seems a cruel thing to do to someone who hasn't wronged you, my love."

Rulf turned towards Monika, who had voiced the subtle complaint to his action, watching him with honest eyes. He felt guilt as he looked into her eyes, but shook his head vehemently.

"Ah, bullshit. She and all those other noble cunts have wronged me and the common people since the beginning of civilization. All she's getting is fair treatment from the true ruling class." He responded, jabbing a thumb at himself to emphasize his point.

"Whatever you say, my love." Monika responded simply. She didn't care at all for the livelihood of the princess, so she actually wasn't sure why she was protesting the actions of her beloved. If anything, she should have been relieved that he wasn't sympathizing with the princess like a 'white knight' (a term she had discovered from the internet in her previous days).

Shhhink.

Shhhink.

Shhhink.

Rulf, now alarmed, looked over to see three of the guards had detached from guarding the princess and unsheathed their swords, now advancing towards the crowd he was in, their knight helms hiding their expressions. The crowd backed away in sudden shock and fright from seeing the threatening display, and a few screams were heard as one of the guards grabbed someone, pulling them out towards the open walkway. Rulf saw it to be a young adult man, who was struggling with fear as he was brought out to the center of the display, with everyone watching.

Without a word, one of the guards unsheathed a knife, stepping over towards the poor man being held and slashing his knife across the man's throat. The onlookers screamed in horror as he gurgled and choked on his own blood, which poured out of his mouth and out of his neck wound. The guard holding him threw him to the ground, leaving him to flail around as he died slowly.

"Fuck! We need to get back to the group!" Rulf said aloud, grabbing Monika by the hand and running away, along with the giant crowd that was now fleeing from the terrible display.

As they eventually rounded a building, Rulf placed Monika against one of the walls, looking at her with a hint of fear in his eyes. "Monika, please promise me you will not tell anyone what I just did."

"Never, my love." Monika assured him, coming in to hug him. He felt relieved to hear it, but nonetheless was on edge from what he had seen.

We need to be even more careful, walking around this place, Rulf thought to himself.

Eventually, Rulf and Monika had caught back up with the group as they were just about to enter the King's Hall.

"What's wrong, Rulf?" Malin asked him openly. "You look pale as a ghost."

"It...was nothing…" Rulf murmured, keeping his head low to the ground. Monika did the same, as she had also felt fear from what she had seen at the display, having taken the same nonverbal message that Rulf had gotten back there.

"Very well, then." Malin said, shrugging his shoulders. "I shall not pursue the matter further."

After much clearance, and stripped of their weaponry, they made their way into the King's Hall, where they found themselves before a two large, dark-oak, wooden doors with iron bolts lining it vertically in a pattern of sorts.

"I do hope ya people know how to address yourselves to the king."

"Of course we do." Adrian commented, smiling, before turning towards the group behind him. "When we enter this hall," He whispered. "Kneel before the King. Always refer to him as 'Your Grace', and always speak politely. Always ask, never demand."

Everyone nodded their heads silently as Adrian turned his head back to the wooden doors, which began to open.

The group entered into a grand hall of marbled columns and flooring, along with rugs, carpet, and tapestry depicting the insignia of Brimmen, a front-facing Great Bear, its several sharp teeth bared. Guards lined the spaces in between each column, with shield and poleaxe in hand. A few stood at the base of the steps in front of the King, who was at the far end of the hall on a raised throne, was speaking to one of the many advisors, along with a few of those mages, that sat in chairs around him, desks in front of them with parchment. Servants darted around the hall, going in and coming out of doorways. Wesley couldn't help but appreciate how form-fitting it all was.

"This place is pretty-"

"And who would you all be?"

"...Nice."

The King's voice boomed from across the hall, commanding their attention. The guards turned towards the group, and the advisors raised their heads from the writing they were doing on the parchments. Adrian was the first to respond, kneeling whilst bowing his head humbly.

"Your Grace."

"What're you doing?" Natsuki asked curiously, and Adrian looked at her as if she were stupid.

"Are you kidding me? It's the King! You always kneel before royalty!" He hissed, which embarrassed Natsuki.

"W-Well, you didn't have to say it like that-"

Everyone began to kneel, much to her alarm, and she quickly followed suit so as not to stand out, though mumbled under her breath about how rude some of these people were.

"So, uh, why are you here?" The King asked once more.

"Your Grace, these-" Adrian swept his hand across the individuals behind him. "-are the eight hero- er, adventurers from Dawnusk-"

Alright, asshole, you can't even call us heroes? Rulf thought in ire. I didn't even want to save some of those people, but I did, so give me some damn credit!

"-that boldly assisted in saving the town from-

Assisted?! You little bitch, I practically ORCHESTRATED the saving of that town! Wesley wanted badly to shout at the tour guide.

"-The forces of those evil cultists-"

Man, fuck those guys, Wolfe thought to himself in anger. I'm never gonna attempt to buy from that shitty town and its Tog-awful problems again.

"-And their leader, known to most as Haelin the Terror-"

I wonder what kind of chickens this town has? Malin thought absentmindedly, salivating at the thought of meat. Maybe one of those types that reside in the valleys…

I bet Malin isn't even paying attention to the procession, Natsuki thought, irked by his distant expression.

"-And saved the lives of over-"

"Oh, it's those guys." The King interrupted. "Yes, have them come to my war room immediately."

"...Yes, Your Grace."

At this point, Adrian didn't care anymore about interruptions. He just wanted to go home and stick his nose in another piece of literature.

"Rise, adventurers." The King proclaimed, standing up from his seat. Everyone did so, raising their heads towards him. "You may leave now, Mister...what's your name?"

"Adrian, Your Grace."

"Yeah you can leave now, Adrian."

"Many thanks, Your Grace." He seethed through his smile, bowing whilst backing himself towards the entrance.

"See ya later, chatterbox."

"Catch you on the flipside, Sir Yapsalot."

"Goodbye, you long-winded talker."

Adrian silently began cursing Rulf, Wesley and Wolfe as they mocked him whilst he was leaving, but as the door closed behind him, they faced the King once again.

"Sirs and ma'ams, the King shall now see you in the war room. But first, please deposit your weaponry with the guards."

The king, along with his advisors and counsel and the band of adventurers, made their way into the war room after the adventurers deposited their things with the guards, except for Natsuki, who insisted on keeping her dragon egg. The king saw no problem with it, leaving his personal guard outside in front of the war room.

"Man, he seems to place a lot of trust in us, going into a room without his personal bodyguards." Rulf whispered to Malin, who actually had to duck down to enter the room. Malin nodded his head thoughtfully.

"Yes, he does seem to think us trustworthy, going on without his personal guards like this." Malin spoke aloud for the entire room to hear, much to Rulf's alarm.

"Don't fuckin' say that out loud, you dumbshit-"

"Yes, I do place trust in you lot." The king spoke. Rulf turned his head towards him, a nervous smile plastered on his face.

"I-I meant nothing by it, sir-"

"Isn't it 'Your Grace'?" Monika whispered to him in a playfully sardonic manner.

"Y-Your Grace! Yes, I meant nothing-"

"I take no ill will towards it. But though I place trust in you all, I am not so foolish as to leave myself open to potential assassination. My advisors and counsel here are equipped and very skilled at combat, I assure you. But my entourage' fighting ability is not what we are here to discuss today."

The king took a seat on one of the many chairs that lined the big, ovular table in the middle of the room, and everyone else followed suit.

"I'm a little disappointed that he didn't announce our mission in the hall." Malin whispered to Natsuki.

"What, did you expect him to reveal this confidential mission out loud for everyone in the castle to hear?" She responded.
"No, but...I sort of expected a bit more...how you say...flair for the delivery."

"Now that I have you all gathered here," The king began. "I'll first introduce myself, if you don't already know of my name." He cleared his throat. "I am King Brommel Ragaery, Ruler of the nation of Brimmen, and Chairman of the Seven Nations' Allied Powers, otherwise known as S.N.A.P. Now, with that established, I have a task for you particular eight individuals, if you weren't aware."

All eight of them nodded their heads silently.

"I believe you were briefed on it by that Adrian man when he gathered you all, but if not, then I'll reiterate: For accomplishing this mission for the nation of Brimmen, ye shall awarded coin, lands, titles and even future prospects of service for the Crown, if you so desire it."

Fuck that, Rulf thought to himself. Like I'm gonna somehow do MORE work for these pricks after I get my land and coin.

Being greeted with silence, King Brommel shook his head solemnly.

"Now, for your assignment."

He took a long sigh.

"I need you to assassinate one of the war leaders in Cromoc, Archduke Daers Deukinson."

Author Notes

- The last name was messed up, now fixed.