Ch 54: Celebrating the Heroes

Overall the journey out of the mountains was uneventful. Baldeur did feel a small amount of killing intent on the first day they joined with the crown prince's group. But it disappeared shortly after he felt it.

He also noticed a member of the prince's guard paying special attention to him. For a while he thought the killing intent came from him, but the guard was as strong as his parents and with his experience he shouldn't have even let a little of his intent loose.

There were two broad categories of killing intent. The passive or weak kind was harder to to sense and was emitted by those with ill intent who have a minor history of killing. Out of their party only Piaras would be able to feel this level of killing intent. Baldeur was only able to sense it because his prior lives gave him experience with killing intent.

The guard was skilled enough that he should have no problem controlling passive intent and would generate active intent. That kind would allow the user to control who was affected and it would apply weak mental pressure.

From his perspective it didn't make sense for the guard to let him know he wanted him dead. Of course what Baldeur didn't know was that the crown prince ordered his guard to protect him and the killing intent was from an assassin that the guard disposed of already.

Once he arrived at the capital he was more than ready to hop through the gate back to home.

Unfortunately the kingdom decided to throw a celebration for their heroes. The Zeerous trade company saw this as a tremendous opportunity, so he was ordered to attend.

The day after they arrived in the capital, their group was fitted in local fashion and went to the castle for the party.

The grand hall was filled with nobles, powerful mages, and venerated druids. From the chatter Baldeur picked up they were divided into two groups. Those who trusted the church's prophecy and supported the crown's policy regarding the gate. And those who didn't.

He understood why people would doubt what happened in the Hoernter mountains. The dokunpal monsters didn't make it out of the mountains, so it was easy to pass them off as a regular beast tide. The only ones that were involved in killing this supposed demon lord were outsiders.

The full prophecy was broken up among different holy books and most of them were not allowed to read it in its entirety.

It was easy to think the whole thing was a ploy by the crown to increase their interests with the City of Gates.

Even with their doubts they still were gracious and made sure to introduce themselves to the foreigners. They could see that their side was shrinking and choose to jump on the bandwagon.

Throughout the night Mathys Lamara was surrounded by young women trying to use their charms to establish a relationship. His guardians were just a step behind him.

Nilo on the other hand was surrounded by young men trying to become his friend. A few young ladies had tried to approach him at the beginning of the night but Fiam and Kyriake were attached to his arms and their glares drove away those they saw as competition.

Sigurd and Haydn stayed off to the side of the chamber with a seated Derbail. She had recovered enough to join the festivities but was still very weak. They received a small flow of people paying their respects since most considered them minor players in the event.

Baldeur and Ailsing stuck to Piaras' side. Neither wanted to be left alone. Surprisingly Piaras was very good at handling the members of upper society. He skillfully talked to the older guests while keeping the youths from flirting too much with his young charges.

After a while Baldeur noticed Ailsing was becoming visibly annoyed with having to deal with the young men that approached her. Even with Piaras' help she wasn't used to this type of event.

Little did he know that her annoyance was more from his flirting with every young lady that approached them.

Baldeur had a few lifetimes of experience with different levels of society. He was able to be charming without overcommitting. But Aisling didn't understand the difference and was having trouble containing her jealousy.

It was then that a veiled woman came forward with a few beautiful attendants.

"Hero Baldeur, it is good to see you again." Veneris said.

"Saintess, it is once again a pleasure to be in your company." He replied.

"Hopefully we'll enjoy each other's company even more in the future." She said.

"It would be wonderful if that was possible. But unfortunately, I don't know when I'll be back to Axendre." He said.

A number of those around them were giving him jealous glances. Veneris was considered the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. And she was talking casually with a foreigner. It was also the foreigner that everyone said didn't participate in the battle with the demon lord.

A wide smile formed under her veil and showed through her eyes.

"Then I have some good news for you. The crown and the church have agreed to allow me to immigrate to the City of Gates. I was hoping that you and the Zeerous company would be my sponsors." Veneris said.

The cracking of glass pulled their attention to Aisling who had crushed her drink in her hand.

"Sorry. I…" Her face turned red as she realized what she had done and battled with the feelings that had caused her outburst.

"The Zeerous trading company would be more than happy to sponsor you." Piaras wanted to pull attention from Aisling.

This would be a huge boon for them. A Saintess was revered among the people and would help establish better agreements with local merchants. He also noticed that Baldeur hesitated in responding.

"Of course I would love to be your sponsor. The City of Gates is a wondrous place and it would be my delight to help you settle in." Baldeur had thought about how he could deny her but in this setting he'd be an idiot to turn her down.

Of course he found her gorgeous and would love to help her solve her curse through the pleasure of the flesh. But she had just played both sides of this little war and there was no way he'd be able to fully trust her.

As word spread through the hall of the Saintess' future departure, plans and deals began to be made to not only get their daughters to be her replacement but also to form better friendships with those from Zeerous. Those who had delayed their introductions cursed themselves.

In the middle of all this the crowd parted as two women wearing ceremonial garb approached Baldeur. The small talk between Veneris and Baldeur came to an end as they arrived.

"Greetings Baldeur Aslanbek. The Oracle has requested your presence in her chambers. If you could accompany us." One of them gestured for him to follow them.

He gave Veneris a questioning look and she replied with a knowing smile and motioned her head for him to follow.

"Lead the way." He said.

This set off another round of gossip as the Oracle was rarely seen. What could this young man have done, or will do, to gain her attention?

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"That fucking harlot. Calling him right in front of everyone like this. She's purposely embarrassing me. Doesn't she have any shame?" High Priest Sansone stood at the edge of a balcony overlooking the grand hall of the castle.

"Calm down my friend. People might wonder why you want to kill your sister's guest." At the back of the private room attached to the balcony, Pantel Nievok sat outside of the grand hall's view.

After taking a deep breath in, Sansone stepped away from the balcony and joined the other man on the couches. A few scantily clad ladies were accompanying the men. Their eyes were glazed over by a spell, making it impossible for them to remember what was said. Or to resist any suggestions.

"I just can't stand that he's stealing what should be mine." Sansone said.

"You have to be patient. Once I take my father's place you can have your revenge." Pantel would also have liked to take care of the trouble maker that caused him so much pain a few years ago.

But after surviving his uncle's tortuous lessons, he realized his past mistakes. He had been too impulsive. In the future he'd make sure to get everything he was owed and punish those who had wronged him.