The Court of Nobles

It had now been a staggering six months since the young group of heroes had been in the strange world. They had trained and grown all this time. Gyrax had taught Alice and Rose as much as he could about magic while Zoe, Derek, Markus, and Ian had continued to train with the knight captain.

"This doesn't get any easier does it?"

"No, it doesn't."

Markus, Derek, and Zoe had all been exhausted from the training, but Ian's passive defense skill had made it easier to deal with all the expert hits from Chris. His body was being tempered like iron and he found it harder to get injured.

"Alright Captain, let's go. I'm ready to do my daily challenge."

"Well, someone set his balls on fire this morning, didn't he? I could use a good meat sack to beat the shit out of."

Ian and Chris took their positions again and prepared for another spar. Ian had beaten Chris last time, but Chris had also been practicing the move that Ian had taught them.

"Alright, get set and fight."

Ian took his stick and swung it at Chris' helmet as the captain rarely removed it. When his stick hit the helmet, the metal rang like a bell.

"Fucking hell, are you trying to make me go deaf?!"

Chris dropped her sword to hold her head and that's when Ian struck. He went around her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Then, he bent his legs and picked Chris up into the air and took her over him straight to the ground. The armor was effective in stopping cheap and shitty weapons, but it didn't have the padding for getting suplexed to the ground.

*Crash*

The sound of Knight Captain Chris' armor hitting the solid dirt ground attracted every person in a mile radius. Many of the knights came running to see what the noise was and were they shocked when they saw their captain on "his" back. Ian had already let Chris go and Chris was reeling in pain from being slammed onto her shoulders from so high up.

"Sorry Chris, I got a little excited. Are you ok?"

*Groan*

Chris could barely move and was struggling due to the pain. Ian picked her up and dragged her to the barracks.

"It's alright, I got him."

The guards looked at each other with confusion.

'Him? Do the heroes do not know about Captain Chris?'

Derek and Markus went to brief the king and the court about the situation while Ian had finally gotten Chris back to her quarters. The Captain's room was fairly simple in design but there were two large armoires full of clothes, a table, two chairs and the large bed. Ian laid Chris on the bed and started to undo her armor.

'Shit, I feel really bad. I could've killed him. I hope I'm doing this right.'

Ian was smart and knew a lot of different shit about a plethora of topics, but donning and doffing armor was not one of those things. He struggled for about 20 minutes in getting the bracers off before he could get started on the chest plate. The chest plate seemed to be oddly shaped and Ian had developed a theory, but he had never been able to prove it. Captain Chris had always worn her helmet and even when she took it off her hair was put in a ponytail like most nobles had theirs in. His only option was removing the chest plate.

'Wait, I can't expose Chris like this. I got it, I'll just flip "him" over on to his chest, take the back part of the chest plate off and look at "his" back. Genius.'

So, Ian flipped Chris over and began messing with the back of the chest plate. However, Chris finally came back to her senses and saw Ian messing with her armor.

"What are you doing?!"

Chris screamed at Ian and immediately crawled across her bed, clutching her armor to her body.

"Sorry, I was just trying to get your armor off so I could look at your back. I got a little carried away in the spar and I slammed really hard. I wanted to see how bad I had hurt you."

"Well, I appreciate the thought, but I can handle myself. I'm a strong, independent, -"

"Woman?"

Chris blushed and was taken aback.

"Who told you?!"

"You did, just now but I also had my suspicions based off how you walked and your chest plate's design. Almost like it was specially made for someone with a large bust. If I were a complete fucking moron then I wouldn't have noticed but it pays to pay attention."

"Well, what do you want a cookie?"

"Maybe I want you Captain."

Chris felt her heart skip a bit and flutter at Ian's words. She had grown up practicing her swordsmanship and spent the rest of her time honing her knightly manner. No one had really treated her like a woman till now. Plus, Ian was ruggedly good looking and she had grown fond of his willingness to grow stronger.

"Maybe I'll take you up on that offer one day."

"Alright, this has been fun and all, but I'll let you tend to your injuries. Just take it easy for now and get some rest."

Ian walked away from the barracks and began heading back into town. He went to go check on his old friend Zyran and see what the old man was up to.

"Hey old man, where are you?"

Ian entered Zyran's house as the old man had treated Ian kindly and even taught him how to smith. He walked into the dining area and found Zyran at the table with his head down and several bottles all over the floor, bone dry.

"Old man, what the hell are you doing?"

"Leave me boy, you wouldn't understand."

"I got ripped away from my world, was told I wasn't that special, got kidnapped by goblins, almost died several times in the first dungeon I went into and almost faced sexual assault charges against the Captain of the Royal Knights. Try me."

"It's my daughter."

"The supposedly cute one?"

"Watch it boy."

"I'm only joking. I take it she's in some kind of trouble."

"She was supposed to visit awhile back, and she never did. Apparently, she was trying to help someone clear their debt and she got mixed up with some powerful people. I don't where she is or if she is even alive."

Ian felt angry at this old man and couldn't hold back. He wound up a left hook and clocked Zyran in the jaw. The old man fell back out of his chair and hit the ground.

'Fuck, I'm just hurting everyone today aren't?'

"Get off your ass old man. Is you sitting on your ass and drinking your sorrows away gonna help you find your daughter and make sure she's ok?!"

"No, it's not boy. I can't believe I let myself get like this."

"Well, lucky for you that you have me. I'll do what I can about sending out a search party for your daughter. What does she look like anyway?"

"Haha, she's tall for one thing. Probably as tall as your friend, Max or whatever his name was. She has muscle to her, but she's not built like you. She's feisty, like her mother, and she has a bit of an attitude. Probably has a few scars on her and has her beast man ears which are bear ears. Her blue eyes look like sapphires and her smile will melt the coldest of hearts. I actually wrote about you in a letter I sent her but whether she got it or not I have no idea."

"Alright, I'll do what I can to help bring her back home. Take it easy old timer."

"You too kid, you too."

Elsewhere

"What do you think of the heroes?"

"I think we need them. There's no telling what that featherhead is planning and how desperate he could get."

"The heroes are not ready yet, but they will be soon."

"The thief girl certainly is my hopeful. Maybe I'll try to persuade her to my side."

"No Remus, don't you dare. You know the rules just as well as the rest of us. We don't have those kinds of relationships with the heroes. Our children can be potential partners, but we are forbidden from touching them."

'We'll see about that.'

The Court of Nobles was a governing body that existed to discuss matters of security for the country and how they should approach it. The 7 heads of their families were in charge of making the decisions and reporting to the king. However, like all countries, some of the nobles had their own plans and Remus Bloodthorne was no exception. Zoe had immediately caught his eye and he wanted her to be his.

The nobles finished their discussion and left their meeting room.

"I'm worried about Remus. We need to keep an eye on him. That hero without the class seems to be fairly close with the thief girl and I fear that Remus will get himself into something even he can't handle."

"Yes, I believe you're right. Keep an eye on him."

"Will do."