CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  Building Foundations

  “Look out below!” someone yelled.

  A moment ter, a thick wooden beam crashed into the earth, sending dirt and dust flying. It had fallen from the top of a four-story building in stru at the edge of town, on a stretch of he path heading up the lonely mountain of Sundermount.

  “Anybody hurt?” called a workman hanging from the side of the building.

  “No!” Bram replied. In an uone, he added, “But you spooked the harts well enough.”

  Many of the beasts in the nearby round pens were neighing in pint, with several so startled by the loud noise of the crash that they scurried off to the far side of the enclosure. All except for one remained by the prince’s side, a majestic-looking bck hart that seemed uurbed by the ruckus.

  “You’re not scared of a little noise, are you, boy?”

  Bram lovingly caressed Renfri’s neck, and the hart neighed as if in agreement with his words.

  “It’s a brave one, for sure, just like its master,” said a familiar voice.

  Bram gnced over his shoulder.

  “Took you long enough to get here,” he said in his practiced oner’s drawl.

  “Fast enough for the likes of us who don’t like going into towns if we help it,” said the bear-like man who gri Bram.

  His face was a little more weathered thahey st met, and there was a new scar on his cheek, but his beard was better trimmed, and his smile was still full and toothy.

  “We were surprised to get your message, and in such a fancy way too…for a bloke who’d preteo be a bard whe,” Lil’ Joss said.

  “But I am a bard,” Bram whispered.

  He was back to his bard’s disguise. He dyed his hair purple again and even put on a new purple coat for their reunion, but the ruse didn’t seem to work on Lil’ Joss this time.

  In hindsight, Bram probably shouldn’t have asked Rowan to cast a ‘ Call’ spell that sent his message straight into the bandits’ minds, but the prince had no way to reach them. He didn’t know where the Mighty Greenwood Gang’s hideout was, and sending soldiers to look for them might have caused a misuanding Bram didn’t want to have. Not with these bandits he’d shared drinks and tales with…and other fun memories too.

  “Sorry about that, Lil’ Joss.” Bram stuck to his oner’s drawl anyway. “I was in a hurry and didn’t know how else to find you.”

  Lil’ Joss shrugged. “Least you asked. Most nobles’ would’ve do differently.”

  “With sword and threats,” said the wiry-haired, ely-faced woman standing beside her brother.

  Josslyn jumped the fend nded oher side like a practiced gymnast. Seeing her cat-like grace as she walked toward him, Bram couldn’t help recalling the night he’d shared with her and the beauty hiding underh all that fur gear she now wore.

  She stepped over to the other side of his hart. To her credit, Renfri didn’t pull away or attack her when she drew close enough to touch him.

  “Hey there, Luv, it’s been a minute.” Josslyn patted Renfri on the ne a way that made Bram recall her soft touch brushing against his chest. “Looks like the pretty noble’s beeing you good at least.”

  Renfri leaoward Josslyn as if he enjoyed her caresses more than Bram’s.

  The prince didn’t mind since he’d been uhe spell of those caresses once before. More importantly, Josslyn clearly possessed strong ‘Animal Handling’ skills, which meant that she at least could easily fulfill the task Bram he Mighty Greenwood Gang for. More than likely, the rest of her gahe same. Lil’ Joss certainly looked like he could handle a red grizzly on his own.

  “I knew you were the right people to call,” Bram said.

  “Are we now?” One of Josslyn’s thick eyebrows hitched up. “You gonna try and use us like the other nobles do?”

  There was a bite to her words he didn’t expect, but it wasn’t enough to deter him.

  “Do I seem so different from who I was whe?” Bram asked, his voice reverting to the speech of a noble.

  “Don’t know… Didn’t really know you, did we?”

  “Then perhaps I ge that.”

  Bram offered Josslyn his most charming smile.

  “Guess you’re still pretty,” she ceded after gazing into his face, her tone softening slightly. “But pretty nobles are the hardest to deal with… They’re the type to hide their ugliness behind a pretty smile.”

  She wasn’t wrong.

  There had been many times when Bram had witnessed depravity of the worst kind by nobles who offered charming smiles up front while looking at oners as if they were mbs beio sughter.

  “Then allow me to show you what I’m about,” Bram insisted.

  Josslyn eyed Bram skeptically.

  “e on, Lyn.” Lil’ Joss leaned against the railing. “We came all this way to hear him out. So, stop pretending like you don’t want to.”

  Josslyn closed her eyes in annoyahis is why I do the iating.”

  Bram couldn’t help grinning.

  After one final pat on Renfri’s neck, the prince led the two thieves away from the pens and toward a rge pavilion under stru on the opposite side of the road from the first four-story building.

  It looked much like Phoebus’ temple in Reise’s town square, though it was being structed entirely of wood with pilrs resembling giant trees supp its domed roof. Wide sweeping wooden steps climbed up the front side of the pavilion to reach a sed-floor nding that led to araill in the middle of stru.

  Unsurprisingly, Bram saw a familiar face walking up those steps.

  “Hurry it up, Recruit!” yelled a middle-aged man in the white shirt and brown breeches that made him appear like an ordinary carpehough his voice suggested otherwise.

  “Sir, yes, Sir!” yelled a tall brown-haired man in his thick southern drawl.

  Chris climbed up the steps while carrying a stack of lumber on his back. He wore the same uniform as the crew w on the pavilioranone of them looked like regur carpenters either because they all possessed the well-trained physiques of people who were used to training differently from simple manual bor.

  “You’re using soldiers for the stru?” Josslyn asked.

  “Only the ones with experien that kind of work,” Bram answered.

  This wasly a lie.

  Soldiers trained by Ser Anthoaught the basics of stru work so that they might all be useful in building defenses during siege warfare. Chris was the only exception, though this task was something the Texan didn’t shy away from si art of a quest that would lead to his first job promotion.

  Nearly four weeks have passed sihe events of the Red Forest were ed in a messy little bow. The party defeated a creature of myth and legend while seg resources, treasure, allies, and a brand new skyship currently docked for a new coat of paint at the Fmetail Tribe’s vilge of Wal the westernmion of the Red Forest.

  During this time, all three otherworlders diligently pursued individual quests that would allow them to reaew heights as the system’s users. For Chris, that meant choosing a path to bee a much sturdier vanguard for his party’s sake.

  Seeing him w hard now, Bram recalled that moment two weeks ago when Rowan had asked Chris about his pns.

  “Bridget has gone off to plete her quest in Walc.” Roicked up her teacup from the small table between her and the firepce. “What about you, Chris…have you residered Ser Anthony’s offer?”

  As had bee their habit i weeks, she, Bram, and Chris were enjoying tea ihe prince’s study.

  “I don’t think I’d be much good as a knight.” The Texan’s face turned ptive. “After ht with Loveless, I noticed it’s bey role to stand at the frontlio bee the tip of our spear, so to speak.”

  Chris eyed Bram whose nose was buried in unfurled scrolls. Feeling the Texan’s eyes on him, the prince absentmindedly passed him one of the scrolls.

  “A new expert’s arrived at the Master’s Pavilion,” he expined.

  One of Chris’ eyebrows rose. “Thought we hadn’t finished building that yet…?”

  “We haven’t,” Bram answered. “For now, we’re giving the experts who’ve arrived room and board at the Journey’s Respite. The innkeeper and his wife were only too happy to oblige my request.”

  “Because you’re paying them more than they’ve asked for,” Rowan guessed knowingly.

  “Yes, that too…” Bram took another scroll from the burgeoning pile on his desk and unfurled it so he could i its tents. “They won’t be there long. stru on the pavilion is going ahead of schedule thanks to the soldiers Ser Anthoo work oe.”

  “Won’t your soldiers draw attention to our…” Rowan’s face turned ptive as she recalled the words Hajime had used for their stru site. “…pyer’s campus…?”

  This time, Bram couldn’t help but look up.

  “A master of disguise would know to hide wolves in sheep’s clothing,” he boasted, adding, “Besides, it’s a gia in Reise’s outskirts. Why would the nobles care?”

  “Like one from a ival,” Rowan giggled. Turning to Chris, she added, “Is this expert our prince found the one you’ve been waiting for?”

  “You make it sound like I’m looking for a date,” Chris chuckled. Then he read aloud, “Asger of Begnan, former Warden of the Western Vinnd Pass…”

  The Texan’s brow creased.

  “I’m guessing he’s impressive?” he assumed.

  “Asger of Begnan is a retired ‘Guardian’ whose shield once survived five blows from Ser Anthony’s sword,” Bram expined offhandedly.

  “Now that sounds like high praise .” Chris scratched at the tip of his nose. “A guardian, huh… That’s a tier-three job promotion, ain’t it?”

  “One you take after thhly experieng the life of a soldier,” Rowan answered, with Bram adding, “You’ll want to take the exam at the city barracks to enlist as one of my household’s soldiers.”

  “Just like that?” Chris asked, sounding skeptical. “No other hoops to jump?”

  “Bastille is always in need of good soldiers…” Bram frow his own words for he suddenly remembered those traitors who’d retly attempted to kidnap him. His frown quickly turned upside down once he recalled how good Chris was with his shield. “They won’t say no to a strapping-looking man like you.”

  “Job promotion into a soldier…” Chris mused aloud. “Yeah, I served with the Marines when I was younger. It might be a better fit for me thauffy knight order Ser Anthony wants me to join. No offense.”

  “aken.” Bram looked up from his work. “Was there anything else?”

  “Yeah.” Chris suddenly looked unfortable. “Spoke to Ravi like you asked. They’ve tried sg for the old Damas but haven’t found him. With how he’s avoided dete from even Rowan, I don’t think we’ll find any answers with this route either.”

  Besides their job promotios, the party also earned what Hajime had called a main story quest.

  SPECIAL QUEST:The Hunt for the Old Damas!Kazem Bashar, one of the st elders of the of Stargazers as well as their chief diviner, disappeared on the day the party liberated the Red Forest from the mad nymph’s influehey’d sent trackers to find him, but the weargs returned in failure.

  They’d reported to Scarfang and Bram that they’d followed Kazem’s trail to the rusty sword that was the st oint the Stargazers had made before reag the Red Ruin’s clearing, but they couldn’t follow him through it thanks to their dual nature as man a.

  Without knowing where the old Damas had gone, Bram was forced to question his new allies iargazers, but her Master Mina nor Ravi knew where Kazem had fled. Ihey’d been shocked by the suspis Bram had shared with them because the old Damas had been a member of the Stargazers even before Master Mina joihe . Fortunately, her the Stargazers’ master nor its vice master had doubted the prihey’d even vowed to help in any iigation Bram pursued, and if necessary, t their former rade to justice themselves should Kazem prove to be the culprit behind the Stargazers e to the mad nymph.

  “It is an unfivable thing to betray one’s ,” Master Mina had said, the frustration clear in her expression. “If what you say is true, then Kazem Bashar will answer for his crimes against us.”

  When they’d spoken to Kazem’s granddaughter Alkaid, the silver-haired girl had no clue about her grandfather’s whereabouts. Indeed, she’d bee crestfallen when she’d learned of his disappearance. So, Bram and the others had decided not to share their suspis with Alkaid, not because they thought her plicit in his deceit, but because the pirl had gohrough enough already.

  “How’s it going with the nobles’ e?” Chris asked.

  Bram’s frown deepened. “That’s a failure as well…”

  The st thread the prince could pull vanished before he could grasp it tightly because Vite Henry Kleist had fled Bastille before Bram’s party returo his city almost as if he’d known beforehand that Baron Archibald had already beeed.

  “Acc to reports from Ser Anthony’s informants in the north, the Vite’s returo his abode in the Resolute Fortress,” Bram expined.

  Chris g the rge map of Lotharin hanging on the wall behind Bram’s desk. Directly north of the Red Forest’s Red Way was a drawing of a walled city. Even on the map, it seemed heavily fortified.

  “I re we ’t just go there and kno his door?” the Texan guessed.

  The prince shook his head. “The Resolute Fortress is the gateway to northern Lotharin. With tensioween us and Rhynend growing after Baron Archibald’s death, I doubt they’d be so aodating as to let us in…”

  Because of these setbacks, the search for the old Damas was stalled, and Bram now had many other s to deal with. In particur, preparing for what the dev team had dubbed the ‘Feast of Travelers,’ the day when the game’s alpha testing phase would finally begin.

  “For now, we’ll leave the search of Kazem Bashar to Ser Anthony.” Bram passed Chris a small item. “You should focus on your job promotio.”

  It was a shield small enough to fit iexan’s palm. On its surface was a teal yew tree on a field of white, its branches spreading out nearly to the shield’s edges.

  “‘Tis the token of Lotharin,” Rowan answered for Bram.

  The prinodded. “Show it to the barracks and they’ll let you join without taking the exam.”

  Bram’s gaze once again drifted to the unfurled scroll on his desk.

  “We’ve seen your talents already. You don’t need—”

  Bram noticed Chris’ hand slide the token across the desk, f him to look up again ahe Texan grinning back at him.

  “Appreciate the sideration, Boss,” Chris got up from his seat, “but I’m not the kind of guy who cuts ers.”

  The Texan put on the wide-brimmed hat he’d had ade from one of Hightown’s best hat-making shops and then tipped it toward the two Aarders in what Bram assumed was the famous cowboy’s salute.

  “I’ll do it right and true,” he promised, “because there ain’t no such thing as ho work that ain’t rewarded rightly.”

  As Chris walked toward the study’s door, Bram watched the Texan’s broad back with a smile growing on his face. The cogs in his braiurning with the possibilities of what was to e, and he couldn’t help saying aloud, “I’m looking forward to the Feast of Travelers…”

  GD_Cruz