Book 7, Chapter 3 - Third Master Counters
âSon, are you trying to get on my nerves? How could such a piece of garbage have come from my loins!â A handsome man with a well-kept beard in his middle years smashed a teacup he had been holding in his hands. âYou keep a close eye on this waste of air! In two days heâs going to the capital, and if anything happens before then I will see you all strung up and quartered!â
âYes, Governor!â
The stewards bowed and scraped, hunched in fear of the Governorâs wrath. They pushed the sloppy drunk Third Master into his room and onto his bed.
Once the stewards all left, Third Master changed entirely. His lolling eyes sharpened and the drunken stupor fled from his face. He got up from the bed as though nothing had happened. The plan so far had been troublesome, but so long as it worked all was well. And indeed it seemed to be â heâd already completely the first phase and had integrated himself into the city.
Master of the wastelands, Cloudhawk⊠dressed up as a dandy noble.
He shut his eyes and reached out to connect his will with Oddballâs. The little birdâs eyes were keen and quick, better than even some of the best spy-focused demonhunters. Through his small companion, Cloudhawk learned that Belial had already left the city just as he expected.
It didnât appear that he noticed Oddball watching him. As for where he was going, that wasnât hard to guess.
The Elder had been living among the Eysians for hundreds of years by this point. There were likely several little nests heâd arranged over the centuries so he probably had a wealth of places to pick from.
For the time being, Cloudhawk decided to pay him no more mind. The big question now was how to play off his new role.
As promised, Belial had provided him with some intel on Lance and his family. It wasnât overly detailed, but certainly useful.
The Third Young Master had never been to the capital. In a world where communication was limited, it was very easy to deceive strangers. Of course, tricking those whoâd known Lance for a long time would be a different story. Luckily he was only here for a few days. He wasnât likely to arouse much suspicion.
Cloudhawk opened a portal to another world and stepped through, vanishing from the bedroom.
He appeared before the real Lance who lay with his hands and feet bound. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of underwear and when Cloudhawk appeared, he stared at the man with a mixture of horror and despair.
This whole ordeal had been terrifying. Suddenly, someone who had looked exactly like him appeared and stole his entire life. If that alone wasnât frightening enough, this stranger was stronger than any person heâd ever met.
He could just make people blink out of thin air!
Lance was both uneducated and incompetent, but for better or worse he had trained in the demonhunter academy. He had some small ability to read the situation and could tough it out for at least a short time. One glance overhead told him that this wasnât the same world heâd come from, much less Stormford. His environment confirmed it. The realizations only made him more frightened.
Had this guy actually⊠brought me to another world?
âDo you want to live?â
Lance fervently nodded his head.
âThen listen good. Your life means exactly shit to me. I only need your identity for a few days then Iâm on to other things. Play nice and Iâll consider letting you go.â Cloudhawk waited for Lance to acknowledge him, then went on. âI want you to tell me everything about your family. Iâm hoping you donât decide to play games with me.â
Lance couldnât even dream of trying to lie to this monster. All he could think of was dying out here and no one ever finding his body. So Lance was quick to answer. âIâll tell you. Anything, everything! I promise you nothing but the truth.â
The two spoke for several hours. Mostly it was Lance spilling every little detail he could while Cloudhawk would occasionally interject with a question. It wasnât the information he was after, though. Mostly he spoke with the kid so he could copy his manner of speech and body language.
Through the course of their discussion Cloudhawk discovered both good news and bad news.
The good news was that Lance was indeed a demonhunter, and one with decent talent at that. If he wasnât such a layabout he would have made good progress. He was erratic, moody and twitchy â all qualities that would make a sudden change in behavior less obvious.
The bad news was that Lanceâs identity was not the best suited for what he wanted to accomplish. The Elysian army was an elite group, especially those tapped to go to the Sky Fortress. Lanceâs public position and reputation were going to make his job harder.
It was time to go back. He rose to his feet and turned away, but at the last minute looked over his shoulder. He left some food and water for the beleaguered noble. âThis isnât necessarily a bad thing for you, you know. At the very least Iâll leave you in a better position than I found you in.â
With that, he warped through dimensions and reappeared in Lanceâs chambers. He dispelled the illusory copy he left to cover his tracks, then laid down to rest.
When dawn broke the next day, the Governor summoned his son before him. The whole of their family leaders were all present â the Governor and his wife, and their two older children. Without a word of greeting the Governor launched into another scalding tirade, belittling his son in so uncertain terms. Yet even though his words were harsh, it was not hard to see that he was taking it easy on his son.
How else would a foul young man like that survive up to this point?
The Governorâs wife stood, interrupting his rant. âLance, the woman you are to marry is a noble of Fulmulta. You must learn to restrain yourself when you go to the capital. If you make trouble like you do here, no one will be able to protect you.â
Their third son put on a petulate glower. âI donât want to go to Fulmulta and I donât want to marry some stuck-up noble. Let someone else go, why does it have to be me?â
âSay that again, you stupid shit!â
The Governorâs anger flared, but his wife was quick to try and assuage his anger. âThis marriage involves two families. They need our support and itâs our familyâs ticket to the capital. The woman you are to marry is famously beautiful, what is there to be upset about?â
Lance whined piteously. âIf itâs so important, why not have one of my brothers marry her!â
Cloudhawk surprised himself with his talent for acting. He found it easy to slip into this obnoxious young manâs persona.
His two âbrothersâ shifted uncomfortably. The elder spoke up first. âBrother, donât be so stubborn. Didnât we decide this six months ago? I am already married with a son. Our brother is in charge of the cityâs martial forces. That leaves you...â
Lance cut in. âI am not leaving to get married. I want to join the army. I heard theyâre gathering troops for a war against the rebel realm. With my talents Iâm sure theyâll put me right on the front lines!â
That took everyone by surprise. The way Lanceâs mind worked was an absolute mystery. Was all of this just some dramatic way of trying to avoid marriage?
The Governorâs anger flared again. âWhat did you say?! You think your piss-poor skill means anything?!â
His youngest son held his head high. âI am strong, but none of you pay any attention. If you donât believe me, have my brothers try. If I beat them in a sparring match you will let me join the army.â
Had this boy gone insane? Everyone knew what sort of lout he was. It was a good day if he didnât collapse in a drunken stupor, and he thought he could take on his brothers? But before anyone could protest, the middle child stepped forward. âIf thatâs how you want it, then Iâll show you the truth.â
âBring it on!â
The second brother pulled forward an exorcist rod and launched himself forward through the hall. He stepped off the ground with a deft kick off his right foot and suddenly he was flying through the air, as though gravity had been turned off. The exorcist rod whistled as it came, deceptively quick.
No one stopped it. This young one didnât know his place and had to be shown. Maybe he would change his tone after he was beaten into the dirt.
Of the three brothers, it was the middle child who was the strongest. He commanded Byzantiumâs demonhunters and city guard. In many ways he was the Governorâs right hand, so as a challenger he was certainly no pushover. His younger brother had made his choice, there was no one to blame but himself.
The only one who seemed anxious was his mother, who was afraid her child might be injured.
However, the Governor stretched out a hand and stopped her before she could act. âDonât worry, our son will not be too harsh. Lance spends all his days making trouble, If it wasnât for us I shudder to think what heâd be today. A little suffering is good, itâll help him see what it means to be weak.â
The youngest son sidestepped the exorcist rod but did not fight back.
âBrother, with your skill you think you can beat me? You arenât even worth my time!â
Despite his words the middle son was surprised. When had Lance gotten so nimble, to avoid his attack like that? It didnât matter though, he was confident in his abilities and Lanceâs lack thereof.
He delved into the rod and activated its power, causing wind to rush through the hall as the top spun. Lance ducked back to avoid a second swipe, barely avoiding it. By then his older brother noticed something was off.
He must have been practicing in secret. An ordinary person couldnât have avoided two of his attacks. No more playing â he launched into a third, fiercer assault!
After several consecutive jukes Cloudhawk knew he couldnât play defense forever. He pulled out his own exorcist rod and knocked aside his opponentâs. Violent mental powers burst forth.
The Governorâs second son felt the power rip through him and staggered backward. Suddenly his expression was different as his younger brother rushed at him like a cornered animal. He caught the blow with his rod but the strength behind it sent his weapon flying. The winner was decided⊠but, how?
The Governor and his wife were stupefied. The eldest son stared in open amazement. What happened? Was he on some sort of drug? He was like someone else entirely, somehow able to beat his much stronger older brother. Even if heâd been holding back, it hadnât been by much. Had they really been underestimating him all this time?
Cloudhawk looked at their stunned faces. Shock⊠but not doubt. Thatâs exactly what he was looking for. Heâd held back so as not to make them suspicious, it wasnât like this guy was any kind of competition for him.
He threw the rod down with an emphatic clatter. âNow you have to agree.â
âAgree? Agree to what? When was this ever a negotiation?!â The Governor even rolled his eyes. âYouâre the one who came here trying to pick a fight. If your brother had used even a fraction of his strength youâd be dead! Get this army nonsense out of your head and marry the Governorâs daughter like I command you to!â
Lance blustered in a show of rage. âYou-!â
âShut your mouth!â By now the Governorâs wife had lost her patience. âYour father is doing whatâs best for you. The realm looks calm but there may be a darkness creeping in. We are protecting you by arranging for you to marry into a large family. Besides, they are more influential than we are. If you behave and earn their help, perhaps they can get you into the army.â
âAlright, thatâs enough of this nonsense. Itâs settled, tomorrow youâre off to the capital. Iâll hear no more of it.â
The Governor rose and stomped out of the chamber in a huff. He was no longer interested in this argument.
1. Remember that his tattered cloak had this ability. He rarely uses it.
If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.