The Last of us VIII

Jacob felt anxious, he could not sit still for more than ten minutes. As the days slowly ticked down, he knew that the generals would be on their way here to the capital. Famous figthers and those wanting to gain prestige would also appear. All for the sake of the Grand Assembly.

The event would put smiles on everyone's faces and ease all their worries. The entire city would be lit up for the special occasion.

Yet, what was to follow was something else. That is what was making him anxious.

Just as he heard a knock on the door to his study, Jacob shot up from his seat. His eyes glanced over towards the door as he sat right back down.

"Come in."

Teressa opened the door, revealing her gorgeous face. She brushed one of her curls behind her ear as she did a bow upon entering.

"Lord, you have a special visitor. He insisted that you two meet."

Teressa told Jacob as she stood tall with her hand on the hilt of her longsword.

"Who is it exactly?"

Jacob asked as he was truly curious.

"The headmaster of the knight's academy. He said that it was important."

Jacob was silent for a moment. He had no need to meet the man, nor was there any need for him to meet Jacob. So the question of why appeared in his head.

Sitting back in his seat, Jacob sighed.

"Let him in."

As soon as he said those words, the door to the study opened as Lord Kurtwell stepped into the room. He was wearing his fancy knight's armor minus the helmet and without his sword or daggers.

He looked at the young Lord in front of him, seated behind the wooden desk giving off this strange aura. It was warm and Lord Kurtwell wanted to get closer to that warmth. However, he stopped himself from moving forward. His black eyes locked onto Teressa for a moment before he turned to greet Jacob once more.

Raising his hand slightly, Jacob signaled for Teressa to leave them be. Lord Kurtwell may be a knight, and probably stronger than Jacob in pure strength. But, Jacob could hold him off until the others arrived no problem. He was confident in that. Although, it was unlikely the man would attack Jacob. If that were the case, it would have occurred long ago.

"Take a seat and tell me what I can do for you."

Jacob said as he motioned for the headmaster to pull one of the chairs up.

"I'd rather stand, thanks."

"Suit yourself. So what is it that brings you here?"

Jacob cut right to the chase, not wanting to dance around with a song full of mystery. He figured the headmaster did not want to play around with words either.

"I'll cut right to it. What do you know of a rebellion?"

Lord Kurtwell examined the muscles on Jacob's face, waiting for them to show his true emotions. And that they did, telling him that Jacob was surprised by his words. Yet, those muscles shifted as Jacob's body language changed a split second later.

"What are you talking about? What rebellion?"

Jacob played dumb.

He did not want to leak any information he knew, nor did he want to be in the spotlight. Who knew what Lord Kurtwell was planning, and what he would do with the information Jacob had.

Lord Kurtwell's eyes narrowed, showing his disappointment.

"Look, I did not come here to play games. Let's lay out our cards for each other to see, I'll go first."

Lord Kurtwell said.

"Last night I found out my inventory was empty, the academy is essentially broke at this point in time. The culprits ran away before we even noticed."

"It was not me."

Jacob interrupted.

"No shit. What I'm saying is that someone is trying to weaken our forces at the academy. Not to mention two of our students were poisoned with Devil's Dust. If that is to get out and spread, it'll have the entire capital in an uproar and heads are sure to fly."

Devil's Dust. Jacob did not even flinch at the name of that poison. It was not that he did not not what it was, it was just that he was not bothered by it.

From what he knew, it was a posion in Pathfinder that ticked away at the opponents health. It would slowly kill the opponent unless they were cured. If they did not find a cure and died, their body would catch on fire and leave nothing but ashes behind. Those ashes would then spread to anyone nearby and they would be poisoned as well.

In the game, it was a mid-tier poison. Any high level healer could cure it with ease, and the cure was not difficult to make.

The best thing the poison had going for it was the fast rate it ate away at a person's vitality and the aoe poison damage. Yet, he did not know if the effects were the same here. It was unlikely.

"What does this have to do with a rebellion?"

Jacob asked as he was still trying to figure that point out.

"If our forces are weakened and it spreads, it would be cause damage beyond repair. The Grand Assembly would be put on hold, the city gates would close. We would be cut off from the outside for a week at most. A lot can happen during a week. But, that is not what you really want to know. As I said, I'm laying all my cards out. I've been keeping a tab on you for a while now, and everything around you. I don't know exactly what you've been doing, but my eyes in the city have seen you making a lot of moves. Their ears have been wide open and I've heard talks of a rebellion. When I started to piece it together, the only person that could put a rebellion into motion would be Dezmond. Yet, he's dead so I can't get any answers out of him."

Jacob chuckled.

"So you chose me? The young noble lord who just so happens to be engaged to his daughter? Sorry, but I've got no answers for you."

Lord Kurtwell clicked his tongue.

"So that's it then? You're just like the rest of them? I assumed you were different but what was I expecting from a child who locked himself away for years."

Jacob knew that statement was supposed to get him riled up, but it did not. It had no effect on him at all. After all, Jacob was not Vulcan del Lezhalt.

Jacob was going to tell the headmaster he could go now, but he couldn't. The headmaster had what he was lacking. An army.

While it was not large, it definitely would get the job done.

"As I stated before, I do not have any answers for you. Relating to Dezmond at least. But! I can inform you of why I believe a rebellion is going to occur. Yet, I want to know. What are you willing to risk?"

The question caused Lord Kurtwell to hesitate.

"Are you willing to put your life on the line? Are you willing to sacrifice everything you've built? Are you willing to put your loyalty to the test? How loyal are you to the Emperor?"

Jacob tossed question after question giving Lord Kurtwell something to mull over.

The room was silent for a full minute before Lord Kurtwell opened his mouth.

"I'd risk it all."

Jacob held back his grin.

He recalled the plot of Pathfinder, how the empire had fallen. The tale of a man who had everything taken from him and was willing to do anything to get it all back.

He told Lord Kurtwell what he knew from his perspective as a developer of Pathfinder. Giving him examples of oppression, slavery, and the high taxation with the threat looming over the shoulders of the commoners that a war might be out at any moment.

How he found two children that I formed him of their friends going off to join the rebellion. Jacob mixed stories together to create an elaborate tale. One that would fill Lord Kurtwell's curiosity.

At the end, even he himself could not believe what he had done. He wondered how his acting skills would compare to the actors of his world.

"If you've been sitting on this information, why haven't you informed anyone?"

Lord Kurtwell asked.

"Would you? All those pig nosed nobles here are a stain to the true nobility. The Emperor is but a puppet, and the generals are looking for a reason to fight one another. Who would try to stop something that would spark a change?"

"So you just planned on letting this happen?"

Jacob shrugged.

"I was, but I think we can work together to stop all of this."