Ch. 64: Personal Reward

A month passed by in a blur. The King seemed to warm up to me after the first couple of days; the Queen and Crown Princess were so happy to have women from outside the fortress that they rarely let Illana and me out of their sight. We apparently weren't as 'pretty' as Weemason women (according to the fact that all their women resembled the princess) but they still enjoyed our company.

The unconscious thug did wake up after two days, but he wasn't much help. Apparently the 'boss' (or more formally, Lord Dissident) was leading a group of people called the Dissidents - why I have no idea. This Dissident fellow wanted to build a different type of society directly in opposition of the Bodach Empire.

Honestly, I'd like to hear what values they might have since the Bodach Empire ran on war-crazy, misogynistic, destructive morals - but if this Dissident guy hired thugs that liked to rape women, I wasn't so sure if their group was all that great. I mean, they did successfully seize an entire fortress just to have a chat with one chic; kind of a waste of resources if you ask me. Their leader couldn't have the best interests of his newfound society at heart.

Other than the name and the society info, the thug really didn't have any more answers. He couldn't directly give us a location or country that the enemy was based in (he was apparently a newly hired recruit) and he didn't know what the boss looked like or what his real name was. Luckily we got the info we could out of him because he didn't last too long under torture. The man's mind was shot - he became catatonic in less than a day. I guess people couldn't hire strong-minded thugs these days.

The real question was, why was this Dissident guy looking for me? I mean, since becoming Champion I haven't had too many enemies that I didn't already kill, so who could it be? The Zantarkans were rather upset with me not taking their offer to stay . . . perhaps Grand-Elder Horace wanted to meet and make another offer? Or maybe it was someone from my past . . . Someone who heard that I'm from Eurosia and wants to meet again? Thoughts like this plagued me for the first couple of weeks, but I just pushed it to the back of my mind once we couldn't get any more leads. If this Dissident guy was seriously wanting to get in contact with me, he'd find a way to do so in the future. In the meantime, I needed to keep my guard up.

Other than that, the days went by smoothly. Our army assisted with tearing down the previous tunnel (we unfortunately couldn't track the thugs that escaped) and built a new one leading to the outskirts of the Weemason forest where a wonderfully large waterfall was located. Resources were brought in to replenish the food shortage that the Masons endured under siege. We had supplies brought from Gorvant, Bargona and Bodach while the Masons had more brought in from the lands that they were currently in trade with.

In our downtime I got to learn more about the Masons. They showed us their incredible jewel mines and it was an unbelievable experience. Richie and Iren were so ecstatic; just seeing their awed expressions was worth all the troubles we've endured. During the tour, I noticed there was a small stream flowing through the mine holding tons of tiny ruby stones. When I asked about it, our personal tour-guide (the lovely Crown Princess) explained that the ruby stones contained tiny flying lizards called Whelps that are indigenous to this area and they primarily hatch in watery environments.

Things were pretty good as the days passed. Illana and Richie still argued like two bickering old women, Rodair was ever vigilant by my side, and Toval was always ready to teach Iren any new battle tricks/maneuvers. After some weeks even Kovin's mood seemed to improve slightly and it became evident that poor Iren was the subject of an avid admirer. The Crown Princess would always smile coyly with her buck toothed grin, twirling locks of oily hair anytime he was near. Richie and I would give him tons of grief for it, but he bore the weight of being the center of someone's affection with nobility, as was expected of a Prince.

Once the month came to an end, I was actually kind of sad to go. The Weemason Kingdom was quite a friendly, caring place even though the furniture and houses were tiny. The King had come to a decision to form an alliance with the Bodach Empire after realizing that we had no ill intentions. The King made it perfectly clear there were no grudges by offering to establish the alliance in the form of matrimony. The two binding souls just happened to be Prince Iren and the Crown Princess - the look on Iren's face was priceless.

"Your highness, although I am so very flattered to be offered your lovely daughter's hand in marriage, I'm afraid that I will have to refuse." Iren started weaving that charming voice of his.

"You see, I am the destined Champion of the Bodach Empire. Lady Ezran will be soon giving her title to me, and it would be unfair for the beautiful Princess to endure a husband-less marriage. Someone so fair, kind and well-bred should be treasured daily by a man who can shower her with gifts and love. Surely you can understand that I would be unworthy to accept her hand when I can't be by her side?"

The Princess looked downhearted but equally pleased with all the compliments. The King seemed to give a very long thought to what Iren said and nodded his head, "You're right. My daughter is a renowned beauty - we mustn't be too hasty to marry her off to a man who can't be by her side often. War life is difficult . . . I wouldn't want my daughter to become a widow at such a young age."

I stifled a laugh at the obvious stab that Iren might die an early death, but Iren held his composure while bowing deeply, "You're wise indeed, your highness. We would still like to maintain an alliance with Weemason if you will allow it."

The King grinned, "Of course! Even if you won't be my son-in-law I'm still very pleased with the Bodach Empire's assistance within the past month. In fact, I would like to personally reward Prince Iren, Lady Ezran and Sir Kovin for rescuing us the first night your army came. I may have said some things that were rather harsh that evening, but upon reflection I can see that I was in the wrong. You three could've easily escaped and left our kingdom under siege - instead you chose to help us in our time of need and for that I thank you. Please step forward."

I was greatly shocked, however we each stepped forward as the King continued, "Prince Iren, my gift to you was going to be my daughter's hand, however I will give you my own sword. It was passed down to me from king to king, and I want you to have it." The King laid a magnificent broadsword in Iren's hands, the steel gleaming and the gold hilt inlaid with dazzling diamonds. Even though it was a little smaller than the average sword, Iren took it graciously.

The King looked to Kovin, "Sir Kovin, you defeated all of those men, saving my wife and I. I don��t know if there's anything that could possibly be equal in importance, however I would like to give you anything you desire. You have but to name it."

Kovin gave a small smile and his scar twinkled in the light, "Your highness, I have all that I need. There's nothing I currently desire."

The King frowned, "Well, if that's the case then I want you to know you are always welcome here. I will have a house built to your height specifications and land prepared for you - if you ever wish to return, do know that you will be warmly received. If you come across an issue in the future, do remember to call on me because I will be there to help in whatever way I can."

Kovin bowed, "You are too kind, your majesty."