Chapter 67: Reunion

Chapter 67: Reunion

The Next Day

Landar

My bedroom was sparse and spartan. A bed just large enough to fit me, a desk I knew I'd soon grow out of having my knees already scrape against the wooden legs, and a wardrobe that held a few changes of basic but hardy clothes.

Compared to what I had been living in for the last few years, it was luxury incarnate.

And of course on the wall hanging over my desk was a small trophy rack. I could move the pegs around from left to right, and up or down the three sliders. I had my war ax resting there for now. A gift, in a rightful place of honor.

A knock came at the door. It was early morning, and I had already finished my breakfast and stretching and was dressed for the day in the plane cloths that had been left for me. They were brown, and beige. But the cloth didnt itch, and I could feel the slight hum of mana infused in the threads.

I opened the door, and found a young woman roughly my age in a uniform staring back at me. Hello Student Landar. I am Sena. One of the Arch Dukes pages. He has sent me to show you the way. her eyes moved to the ax on my wall. Please leave your weapons, bring only yourself.

I did as I was told, putting on my boots and traveling cloak, I followed the girl down the several flights of stairs. Huh, I didnt think this thing went this deep, I thought as we passed the sixth spiral downwards.

So how far are we going? my voice echoed strangely in the stone walls.

Down to the basement of the tower. Some call it the dungeon.

Dungeon huh? my imagination was filled with images of deep dark forgotten ruins filled with ghosts and cobwebs. Where tombs of the dead were grander than the homes of the living, and beings of shadow and flame slept deeply. Only to be disturbed by those greedy enough to dig down into their lairs.

Yes. Though it is in a tower configuration, the tower is indeed a proper dungeon. Sena sounded almost proud. The duke holds court near the entrance node on the basement floor. Your professors will call it floor zero.

How many floors does the tower have? I asked as we reached the twenty fifth and final floor down.

Unknown. But Duke Mortimer has currently reached floor ninety nine. He hopes to break through to the one hundredth soon.

Woh, thats . . . a lot of floors.

Sena smiled and opened one of the double doors in front of us. Yes it is. Please enter, ill wait out here to escort you back to your room when your audience is over.

***

I walked into the hall, and found half a dozen people standing in front of a large throne. The room was poorly lit by two fire sconces to either side of the stark throne, while the rest of the walls and alcoves were bare of tapestries or paintings of any kind.

Landar! A very familiar voice said and before I could respond powerful arms wrapped me in a hug and lifted me off the ground. The air was squeezed out of my lounges as my father choked back sobs. I felt tears burning my own eyes.

Hello father, he put me down and my moment of freedom and uninhibited breathing was short-lived as another set of arms, not half as strong but equally as insistent wrapped around me.

My boy, Elsbeths voice was soft, and it cracked with emotion. Youre alive!

Hello mother, a hand reached up and messed up my hair in a familiar way. Hello Tabitha, I found my very pregnant sister, eyes burning with the same emotion I felt standing just behind Elsbeth. A mix of anger, and joy was plastered on her face.

Youre an idiot. She said, her words punctuated by the cracking in her voice. We thought . . . we thought you were dead. Tabithas other arm was being held by a man who matched my father for height, and looked like who would eventually match him in muscle. Eventually.

Roland, I thought you were dead.

Not going to lie, he said, his voice soft and raspy, as if it were being dragged across sandpaper and broken glass. I did too. My throat got crushed by a golem. As you can tell, I'm still healing from that beating I took.

I dont know, it sounds kinda cool. You could be batman. I got a blank confused look back from the man. Super cool detective with a thing for bats for some reason. Women find it sexy.

Oh. Maybe I'll keep it then. He smiled down at my sister and she beamed up at him. They kissed and my chest felt like it was about to explode. They had earned their happy ending after all.

Someone hit me, and I looked down to find my mother quietly bawling into my shoulder. She spoke through the sobs in a halting cadence. You. Cant talk. About girls yet. Too young.

Tomas smiled sadly and pulled her away from me into a gentle hug. Hes eighteen now, wife. Hes going to start looking at girls. And hes going to be a lady killer, just like his old man. He winked at me, and I couldn't help it. I felt a blush cross my face.

Another figure caught my attention then. A tall, familiar man with weathered features. He smiled sadly at me and I waved him over. Farmer! Mother, father, this is the man who found me on the road after . . . well, after everything happened. He and his family took me in and gave me a safe place to live for a while.

Is that so? Tomas glared at the man, looking Farmer up and down as if examining a street walker for any sign of threat. He let go of Elsbeth, and walked over to him. After a heartbeat or two of tension, I was worried I'd have to step in when Tomas extended a hand, and Farmer took it. Thank you for keeping our boy safe.

Youre welcome a course. But I got ta say. Im not sure we did much but feed the lad. He helped us far more than we did him.

Still, you gave him a roof over his head and a warm bed right? Elsbeth asked, and I nodded. And ArchDuke Mortimer already told us about what happened that night. You saved him.The initial posting of this chapter occurred via Ñøv€l-B!n.

More than that, they made me kin in all but blood. I said, repeating the farmer's own words to me.

Then we owe you, Farmer. We owe you a debt I dont think we can ever repay. Elsbeth pulled Farmer into a hug, and the man's eyes went wide. Then Tomas pulled both of them into an embrace and Farmer looked extremely uncomfortable.

Good, it's what he deserves. I thought smugly. While my parents both biological and unofficial talked, it gave Tabitha, Roland and I a chance to catch up. As it turned out, Roland was on the verge of gaining his fifth level and was in the academy on the Grey Priesthoods scholarship program. My sister had also been attending the academy, but had taken the last two years off since she got pregnant the first time.

We have three children. Raylin, our eldest little girl, Lonie, our eldest boy and the middle child, and then this one. She rubbed her belly. We havent picked out boy names yet. But if it's a girl, we were thinking of Mary.

Mary is an excellent name, a voice from behind us said and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Duke Mortimer appeared out of a shadowed alcove, reading a book as if what he was doing was not extremely weird. You know, some say that is the Mothers name. From when she was mortal. I dont much care for Gods, but that little tidbit always interested me.

Also true. She finished reading, and began again. This time going slower as she read through the document. Then she pointed to a particular paragraph. What's this about me being responsible to care for any kids you wish to acknowledge?

Oh that. Just you know, He moved his hand in a circle. Standard stuff. She glared at him and after a few moments Mortimer sighed. Alright, fine. You caught me. I . . . well, I actually don't have as many . . . Bastards, he glared at Tomas as he said the word. As people tend to think. What can I say, I'm not the romantic type. But lately thats kind of changed.

Did Duke Mortimer meet someone? Elsbeth asked, her voice a mix of teasing and pleased. Youve been a bachelor for too long. The Duchy would be thrilled.

Well yeah. But . . . it was a like a decade ago. She . . . she died when we went to take on the seventy seventh floor. Its guardian . . . well. She died saving me. He pointed twoards the scar over his eye. The other injuries, the burns and lost hair had all healed. But that scar from when I first saw him was still there. Ever present. Never healing. Pushed me out of the way and took the attack right through her heart. Damn near like poetry.

Oh. Im so sorry.

Bah. It was a while ago, and it was only a short trist. But I didnt know that she had a kid. Her grandfather has been raising her in the capital. And hes getting old. And I'm not . . . Im really not the parent type. If you know what I mean.

I understand. So, you adopt me. And we, She took Tomass hand. Help raise your child.

Where would that put her in the line of succession? Farmer asked, and the whole group turned their attention to him. You know. Just to prevent any confusion. I have three grown daughters, and a slew of other children. If I didnt tell them all who got what when me and their ma passed, itd lead to all kinds of heartache and bruised feelings. Best have that out the way now. . . sir.

That . . . is surprisingly wise. Thank you uh . . . what was your name again? Mortimer asked.

Farmer, yer grace. Thats all. Just farmer.

Weird name. But okay, just farmer. Thank you. Youre right. Hmmm . . . Lets meet tomorrow after council meeting, and well talk about it. Sound fair?

The document magically shifted, and though I couldnt read all of it, I could tell that language about further negotiations was added to the bottom.

I . . . I dont know. What do you all think? Elsbeth asked, looking to father, Tabitha, and Roland.

While you lot mull it over, I need to have a little chat with the feral child. Mortimer grabbed my shoulder and directed me away from everyone. Almost as if I had been forgotten, the group came together huddled around the contract and began whispering in tones I couldnt quite make out.

We need to have a little chat.

Yes, your grace. About what exactly?

A few things. First, not your grace. You can call me grandpa. Wait, no. Thats weird. Uh . . . uncle? No even weirder. Just . . . just call me mortimer. For now.

Yeah, thats probably best.

This business about you being from another world. We need to chat about it. Theres . . . His eyes grew distant with memory. I . . . theres a lot more to it then Sigvold explained. When someone is brought from another world by the gods it usually means something terrible is about to happen. The ground shook and dust rained from the ceiling as if to emphasis his words. It had been doing so off and on pretty much the last day and a half. And that, He pointed upwards. Doesnt exactly feel like it. At least not to me.

What do you mean?

When you get to a certain level, you start feeling the gods intentions for things. Start seeing their authority as it warps the world. And occasionally, when one of them thinks it wise, you can hear them whispering to you. That, motioned upwards again towards the dual high in the heavens. Is confusing. There is more than one authority wrapped up in it, more than one gods fingers in that pie. But when I look at you and that girl, I see only one.

Oh? And what god is that exactly?

Ill . . . ill keep that to myself. For now. But I will say this. It's not the mother or the father. It's a god with a global portfolio. Not a regional one.

That . . . did not make me feel better.

Wasnt meant to. Look. When you get powerful enough, people stop looking at you like a person and they start seeing only the power. Whether its raw strength, or political power it really doesnt matter. And most people, those with any sense in this world, fear power at its peak. That makes it difficult for me to . . . see in certain directions. Hells I have difficulty talking to my pages, and most of them come from high ranking noble houses.

Hence why my mother is so important to you. You need someone who can see how change up top will affect those at the bottom. I nodded, it made sense. He was trying to implement certain reforms, whatever those were. And in that process he needed to have eyes and ears running up and down his kingdom. So you can adjust your changes as needed.

Yeah. Exactly. But more than that. Most nobles, when they reach the heights of power rely on their children, their cousins, nephews and nieces to keep them apprised of the goings on in the middle ranks of society. And i . . . he looked embarrassed for a moment.

You dont have that.

More or less. I have a few people I can rely on, but most of those have grown in power themselves over time. You are going to be in a unique position. My cousin, you met the mistress of novices, I take it? I nodded and mOrtimer grinned from ear to ear. Shes one of those.

But even she is in a place of power and authority.

Bingo kid. Youre getting it.

Bingo? That was english. What? I shook myself mentally and refocused. It was a question left for another time. So shes going to need help at the school?

Youll understand more when you start classes, form your party, and start going on practice runs and missions. But . . . well, I need someone who will tell her about issues and report rumors of strange things to her honestly. Whatever is happening in the world right now, Again he motioned up towards the sky. Is probably going to have some pretty big consequences. ON top of whatever problem you and that girl were brought here to help resolve. The first people who usually encounter those types of issues are the common folk. And the common folk deal with threats by asking the adventurers guild, local nobility, and, He motioned to me. Students at the Silver Tower Academy who are deemed knowledgeable enough and strong enough to take on training missions.

So . . . you want me to act as a kind of field intelligence gatherer?

Yeah, kinda. Not a spy mind you. But whenever you see, or hear a rumor about something weird from your fellow students? Just send me a note about it. Can you do that?

It was my turn to smile. Yeah. If my mother becomes your daughter, legally. I wouldn't keep my . . . grandpa, in the dark. Mortimer shivered slightly. The man struck me as someone who was the consummate bachelor. He loved being single, and he thought of himself as still young and carefree. Despite everything around him screaming that that self image was totally bullshit.

You're a cruel kid. Cruel. he turned me around and gently pushed me back towards my family. Go enjoy the rest of the day with them, talk about it, and see if you can talk some sense into your mother.

You got it. I turned and met his eyes. Old man. I ran to my family, leaving the Arch Duke to shiver in the dark.