Chapter 16: The Offer part 1

The very next day, as Vulcan and his group were ready to leave to do more quests, they were stopped at the front of the inn by a messenger. "I presume you are the well-known adventurers known as the 'Dark Sentry'. I come bearing a message for your hands only. It is from Lord Gillion, Baron of Roriksten. I must now bid you a fair day," said the messenger as he sped off on his horse.

Vulcan opened the letter and read the contents. He had quickly learned the common language the people used in this world. He guessed whatever power put him here gave him plenty of abilities to adapt quickly. "What does it say? Is it about what you told me last night?" Jess asked, as he had disclosed a lot of his plans with her after the new character 'Geppeto' was introduced.

"It's an audience with the town lord. He wishes to compensate us for saving his wife yesterday and the many great deeds we have done for the town," he said, then put the letter away. "We will follow the same schedule today. Then inform the guild and people we have been doing the quests for that we will no longer be taking the quests anymore. Once we have met the lord the next day, it is the day everything is put on jeopardy. If we succeed, then I will be one step closer to achieving my goals. If not..." He looked intensely at Jess. "We will be fighting our way out of town." His words left a haunting feeling in her. She knew he meant every bit of it, so she prayed to any of the divines that the lord of the town didn't make an enemy out of Vulcan.

The day was spent questing. Angela was disheartened to see her favorite guards leave, but since they had been summoned, she knew they may be getting a new and better job with the lord. With that, Vulcan made some last-minute preparations for the big day. He had even made a contingency plan and called a little more than 500 sentries near the town as backup in case the plan fell through. While he had been making moves in Roriksten, he had simultaneously been hard at work back at the mountain fortress expanding his forces.

The very next morning, Vulcan's sentry, who was going by the name 'Geppeto', left the inn with Jess and the rest of the sentries. They bid farewell to the inn owners and headed straight to the large fortified Manor at the middle of the town. As they were walking, they passed by the slums of the town. Vulcan had seen this part of town many times while cleaning up the streets. It made him feel how, no matter what world he is in, humanity will always step on their own kind out of greed. Several dirty children ran up to the group.

"Big brother, did you come to play with us again?"

"Big brother, did you bring any candy this time for us?"

"Big brother, who's the pretty lady next to you, is she your wife?"

That last comment caught Jess by surprise, and she blushed red, but her blush turned to a deep sorrow that reminded her of her past. Vulcan saw her expression and knew a little about her dead fiancée. They had spent a good amount of time learning a few things about each other.

"This is Jess, she is a friend and not my wife. Don't go around assuming things about people, alright? It isn't nice. As for why I'm here, I'm just passing through, unfortunately. But next time I visit, I will have enough time to play," said Vulcan as the children became sad at his words. But he soon cheered them up by taking out several sweets he had bought in preparation for this interaction. He didn't give them money since that would paint a target on their back by some of the adults in this place. The kids said farewell, and he turned to Jess.

"I'm sorry about that. Children are a shameless bunch," Jess just shook her head and smiled a little. "It's fine. I also grew up in a slum, it was just me and the other orphans at the orphanage," she said as she watched the kids eating their sweets with joy.

"If this meeting goes as planned, it will allow me to do more for them. I hope you can be a part of that," said Vulcan, turning to Jess.

"I would like that, let's go then," as she and the rest kept going towards the Manor.

After a while, they arrived at the gate and wall blocking access into the lord's estate. A wide gap between the walls and the town was in view to make it easier to defend in case of an attack. The guards at the gate spotted them arriving, "Halt, this is the lord's home. If you have any business here, then take out the proper documents and identify yourselves. If not, turn back before you are put under arrest!" said the lead guard knight. These guards were a lot more equipped than the regular town guards.

Vulcan turned to Jess and started speaking in a low tone, "Follow my lead. Just like we practiced," as his sentry switched from his original voice to an elderly wise man's voice. "My name is Geppeto, and we are the 'Dark Sentry' adventurer party. I have the invitation from Lord Roriksten himself right here, young man," as he gave the knight the audience letter he received yesterday. The knight read the contents and even checked the unique crest stamp on the letter with the lord's sigil.

"Very well, the lord has been expecting you. Please turn over all your weapons as you can't bring anything that will cause harm to the lord," said the knight. "Well, you see, mister knight, the weapons we are using are a very special kind of weapon that I would like to show the lord himself. In fact, I plan on showing these weapons as part of a deal with the lord," said Geppeto to the knight. "Wait right here, we will send a messenger to check if it will be alright," the knight said as he told one of the less armored men into the estate.

After a couple of minutes, the man came back and spoke with the knight. "You will be able to bring the weapons, but we will be holding them for you in your place." And with that, the group handed over the plasma spears and swords. As well as long thin wooden box with a tasteful design. Vulcan didn't bring any of the explosives since that weapon was too much power in the hands of humans. They were then escorted after being patted down for hidden gear.

As they walked, Vulcan noticed how deteriorated the walls of the estate were. Cracks were forming and needed maintenance. The Manor was a three-story Manor that was nice looking, but he had seen far better ones back on Earth. A servant who was a butler arrived and showed them to the lord's audience chamber. He watched servants cleaning; whenever they caught sight of his group, they would go wide-eyed. They were far more menacing looking than the knights escorting them.

A large wooden door carved with beautiful designs was then opened, and inside, he could see a decently large hall. A few guards stood at the sides in case they needed to jump into action. At the back was an elevated floor with five seats, the two in the middle were the lord and his wife. The lord was a man of large stature who seemed to have the body of someone who used to be well-built with muscle, only he had let himself go, and a large gut started to form. The balding in his hair wasn't helping his looks either. He glared at the group, watching their every move and studying them.

His expression changed a little when he locked towards Geppeto. His wife, on the other hand, was giddy and smiling at the group. On her side was her daughter, an almost exact image of her but far younger, and on the lord's side were his two sons. One at the age of a young adult and the other a young teen. The kids didn't show much interest in this; it actually seemed like they were bored and this was another day of the same thing.

The group stopped before the lord, and they all bowed deeply. "I present to you, Lord of Roriksten, Baron Gillion de Roriksten," the court announcer said. "Today's court has visitors who have shown bravery and chivalry. They have contributed to placing ruffians under arrest, cleaning the streets, and improved trade amongst the town. But above all, they lent aid to the lady of the house in her time of need. Today's heroes go by the adventurer party 'Dark Sentry', and their leaders are Vulcan and Geppeto!" said the announcer as they had given their names to a servant at the entrance of the manor. "You may raise your heads," said the lord with a deep, almost out-of-breath voice. The group raised their heads in turn.

"I have summoned you here today to reward you for saving my wife. I have planned on rewarding you fifty gold coins but also to extend a position to work for me. You may speak," said the lord as he observed their response.

"I refuse, my lord," said Geppeto immediately. People went wide-eyed, and some even gasped. Refusing a noble right away without softening their words was considered rude, and some guards grabbed hold of their sword sheaths. The lord, in turn, smirked slyly. "You are quite rude for a commoner. I have asked my servants about your group, but I believe they didn't say anything about you. Can you explain why you came into my town weeks after your group was here?" said the lord. He had been spying on this group and their every movement since almost day one of them entering his town, and he had noticed that originally, it was 11 people and not 12 who registered at the guild together. So, who was this mysterious masked stranger who called himself 'Geppeto'?

"You are indeed insightful, my lord. It is true I did not arrive with the group in the beginning. But I didn't come here to sneak in like a rat or a thief. I came here because I bring you an offer you won't be able to refuse," said Geppeto as he walked slowly forward. The lord glared at this. "Oh really, and what kind of offer is that you bring?" he wondered what this peasant could even have that was worth so much to have the confidence to refuse his service and disrespect him in his own home.

"An offer that will allow the kingdom to win the war."