Meeting of the Nobles

Wade left the carriage back at the inn and headed to the noble district on foot. The tournament was still underway, which was his guess as to why the streets had so little people. Instead of making him happier, however, it made his stomach sink. 'Losing my toes again would be more pleasurable than this,' he thought as he reached his destination.

He stood in front of one of the tallest buildings in Draken Capital, the Court. The building was made out of the same white stone that made up the streets, except it wasn't covered in dirt and footprints. The six massive marble pillars which supported the white wooden roof were as big as the trees back at the front lines. He got strange looks from people as he walked up the dozens of marble steps to the main entrance. The massive windows between each pillar were like eyes looking down at him.

It was here, in the Court, where nobles from around the kingdom met up to discuss the happenings of the country. Meetings between the powerhouses were held semiannually, today being one of the meeting days. The reason why it was today was simply that it was convenient for the nobles, who were already here for the tournament anyway.

Now Wade stood in front of the marble and stone building, the first commoner to be there in years, apart from the servants and guards which nobles frequently brought with them. He squeezed the spatial ring that Jameson had lent him and cursed. 'Why can't you send Thomas here instead of me? Lord Virility, I know he's young, but you should at least trust him with this much. I guess it makes sense though, considering he should be resting the day before the tournament. These geezers will probably bore him to death.'

Two massive guards, covered head-to-toe in runic armor, eyed him up and down. Wade held out the symbol of the Virility family. They inspected it for a full minute before searching him for weapons and opening one of two massive wooden doors.

He had to wait at the doorway for an escort, who wore even more armor than the two guards. "I am Mark," Mark said as he pulled Wade inside. "I'll be your escort today." Wade walked in the front while Mark walked directly behind him. His hand never left his sword's handle. "In there, you are trash, scum. You will only speak when spoken to. You must not make any sudden moves. Listen to what I say when I say it, and you might live."

He was "escorted" through the building's greeting area. He winced when he looked back at the trail of muck dirtying the white tile, originating from his shoes. Paintings of prominent noble families lined the white walls, their unmoving eyes looking down at him much like the windows and the grand glass chandelier above him. The high ceiling stretched higher than the Virility Mansion. As he got closer, voices yelled out, originating at the door at the end of the room.

"What is that?" Wade asked.

Mark hit him on the back of the head. "Only speak when spoken to. Those are the nobles. All day they're going to yell at each other about their policies and bullshit agendas, like they have for every other meeting they've had." He kept his deep voice low, as if his scorn would seep through the door and expose him. "Remember my words," he said as he knocked on the door. The yelling subsided a bit, but not entirely.

Another guard opened the door. His eyes immediately went to Wade. "He's the Virility representative," Mark said. The guard nodded. Wade was shoved through the door by both guards.

Jameson had told Wade a little about the Court before the trip. On the edges of the circular room were desks, which nobles sat at with their most trusted aids behind them. The king was easy to spot. While the room was circular, it seemed as if he was somehow sitting in a corner. He was where the room began and ended. His golden crown sat on his grey-haired head. He wasn't yelling like the rest of the nobles. His wrinkled hands were under his chin in contemplation. He wasn't looking at Wade, yet compared to the windows, grand chandeliers, pillars, and paintings, the side of his head alone pressured him more than all of them combined. He glanced at Wade, who instinctively bowed. When Wade finished his bow, the king was back to observing the rest of the red-faced nobles.

In the middle of the room was a single table, far from any of the nobles. Wade was pushed to it by one of his heavily armored escorts. "Empty the spatial ring." Mark's grizzled voice offered no warmth.

Wade did as he was told, placing the now shrunken head of the creature on the table. Various flat glass surfaces floated down from the ceiling and cluttered around the head. Wade was pulled away. The nobles had taken out orbs. Through them, they could see close-up images of the head. Their right-hand men drew pictures of it.

"Peasant," one of the fattest people Wade had ever seen called out. "There was a letter that was supposed to be sent alongside this. Read it."

Wade took out the letter and opened it: "The letter reads: This creature was found by Jameson, who works under Lord Reginald J. Virility. Jameson is at the silver stage, yet this unknown creature was able to scratch him."

"So what?" The noble threw his drink. It sailed across the room and shattered against Wade's forehead. The expensive wine dripped into his new scratch, but he felt none of the pain. He gained a burst of energy, and all his nervousness dripped away.

'Good thing I didn't bring a weapon,' he thought. 'Don't do anything to embarrass lord Virility.' He told himself over and over through his red vision. 'Hopi died for these people; these grown children born with silver spoons in their mouths. Lord Virility, thank you for being a decent human being.'

Nobles laughed at his state, the fat noble who threw it laughing the hardest. His triple chin was waving back and forth. A hand touched Wade shoulder. He looked to its source, Mark, who was shaking his head.

Wade took a deep breath: "This creature was human and in the blue stage of life essence. After transforming, the human grew in size, as did his nails and hair. Every part of him moved as if it had a life of its own. It took five minutes to take it down. It had high regenerative capabilities, making it extremely dangerous. Even after beheading the creature, it kept flailing around for a minute. It did not have blood, but a black oily substance. After its defeat, it shrunk until it was mist. Its blood was washed away by the rain, so we were unable to recover it." He looked back at the head, which had vanished like the letter said happened to the body.

"That's enough peasant," the embodiment of obesity said. "Leave us," Wade bowed and turned to leave with the escort. Through his suppressed rage, he had forgotten to pick the pieces of glass out of his skin and clothes.

"Hold it," the king said, his voice calm like a clear sky. Wade looked to the escort, who nodded. "This is not the first sighting of the creature. My people have dealt with it as well. It took down an entire squadron before it died for seemingly no reason. Although they were just in the blue life essence stage, they were not pushovers. After the creature died, it faded into mist. Tell me, on what day did Jameson fight the creature?"

"The eighth," Wade said. Those two words set off another bout of curses and yelling.

"The same thing happened to me!" One noble shouted. "We fought a creature like this on the eighth." His comment was followed by nods of most of the other nobles. The momentary surprise and acknowledgement quickly turned to silence. "We were all attacked by similar creatures on the same day."

The king frowned: "Which means this wasn't a random event. This was a message, sent to almost every noble in my kingdom. This creature was but a test."

"You're just paranoid," the lump of lard said. "So what if you all got attacked. You all killed it right?" He looked around, his fat shaking in disbelief. All talk ceased. The nobles looked to the ground. It was so quiet that Wade could hear the alcohol on his clothes drip to the floor. The noble kept looking around, as if someone would change their mind if he did so. The silence sobered the noble.

"Y-You guys killed them?" Not one noble looked him in the eye. Even his own right-hand man stepped back. "Oh my goddess." The man put his head in his hands. "Peasant, you can leave now. Tell lord Virility that I apologize for your treatment and to increase the supply of elixirs to Draken Capital." Every single noble, the king included, nodded. Wade left, escorted by Mark.

Halfway to the front door, Mark stopped him and said, "So, did you see that creature and what it could do?"

Wade took a second to realize Mark was talking to him: "No, I just know that Jameson killed it. Why are you so curious all of a sudden?"

The escort took off his helmet. His tired face and grayed hair didn't match his voice, nor his strength. "I've been working here ever since I graduated from the knights' academy. Those nobles have talked about assassinations as if getting their lawn cut. I've heard them estimate thousands of deaths like they were pieces of gold. I can't even say all the inhuman shit they've discussed. Do you know how many times those nobles have been quiet throughout all of that? Twice. Once when the topic of Maximus Draken and his possible family came up. After that day, ten nobles were executed for treason and heresy. The second time? Now."

As Wade looked into the grizzled veteran's eyes, he saw buried below the grit, fear. "You go back as quick as you can now," Mark said as he put his helmet back on. "Have yourself a nice day."