Herald of Shalia 3, page 20
“You can’t just kill everybody.”
“Hansel,” Frost looked around emotionlessly as men and women in various states of undress rushed from the taverns and inns. “Does it look like I’m killing everybody? I killed the men who thought it was fun to tie up and beat quartohumans…no…I don’t like that name either. Monsters is still the only word that really works. Anyway, this entire part of the town is a disgusting pit. Why shouldn’t I burn it to the ground?”
“Because it sets a bad precedent,” Hansel said calmly. “It makes you look like a tyrant. You already killed men in the street without giving them a trial.”
“But I am a tyrant,” Frost said while bouncing his head around as if he were trying to choose which building to destroy first. “It’s my territory. If they don’t like the rules, they’re free to leave.”
“Herald Frost,” Hansel looked around at the assembled audience of dockworkers and prostitutes watching fearfully. “If you burn down this portion of the city it’s going to create an unsustainable situation. These people will lose homes and possessions. People do not forgive the loss of their homes and possessions. This will push them toward crime that will bleed over into other parts of the city. While I can execute them should they commit crimes that will likely exacerbate the fear. And people who are afraid do stupid things.”
“Fine,” Frost said as his fireball dissipated. “The next time I visit this town I expect this area not to reek like piss and cum. If it does, I’ll burn it to the ground.”
“Thank you,” Hansel sighed while shaking his head. “I assume this means you don’t intend to kill me?”
“I don’t need to kill you Hansel,” Frost answered. “All I have to do is send you back to Zira.”
“That’s fair,” Hansel nodded. “In that case can we please go back to my office and discuss the situation with the monsters?”
“That’s fine,” Frost said while glaring at the men and women with disdain. “Your governor has convinced me not to turn this end of the town to ash. He’s convinced that he is capable of fixing this pile of rat shit and I’ll give him a chance to prove it. I suggest you help him because if you don’t, we’ll do things my way,” Frost shouted so everybody in the square could hear. “Good luck.”
“Was that really necessary,” Hansel groaned as Frost hopped onto his horse. “You already have them terrified of you.”
“Yeah,” Frost answered coldly. “But now they know that you’re the only person standing between them and me. That can be a powerful thing if you use it right.”
“Sounds like something my father would come up with,” Hansel froze as he realized what he said. “I didn’t mean…”
“I’ll take it as a compliment,” Frost scoffed contemptuously. “Your father came closer to killing me than any other man in this world Hansel. I might not have liked the man but I respected his talent.”
“I see,” Hansel said while wondering what his father would think of that. Not that it mattered since the man was dead.
CHAPTER 16
The elves helped the monsters clean up and resupply while Frost explained the questing system that was going to be implemented in the village. The young duke diligently took notes and asked for clarification on time frames, costs, and benefits of the system as Frost answered what he could.
Frost couldn’t help but feel awkward around Hansel.
When he’d first met Hansel in Pluma village, he seemed to be relatively carefree and even laughed at his joke. But the man in front of him felt almost devoid of emotion. Frost was almost certain that he was suffering from some type of grief or disorder resulting from seeing his father killed and was likely throwing himself into work to avoid it.
He considered requiring him to have check-ins with Lysandra like many of the more troubled elves but it would likely be a waste of time if Hansel didn’t see a benefit. Instead, he simply had to hope that the young duke could figure it out a healthy way to deal with things on his own.
“Excuse me,” a lovely maid with an eyepatch knocked gently on the open door. Frost’s smirked as he admired the near perfect proportions of her legs, hips, waist, and chest. She did seem to have a few scars but nothing too distracting. “I apologize for interrupting but you’re being requested at the docks my lord.”
“It’s almost sundown,” Frost said while looking out the window. He wondered if some people were attempting to lure them to the docks so they could attempt to get revenge for the square.
“Is this about what happened earlier?” Hansel asked while setting his notebook on the table.
“I’m sorry,” the maid bowed at Hansel and turned to Herald Frost. “But Herald Frost is the one being requested. A large ship has docked and the passengers refuse to get off.”
“A large ship?” Hansel looked at Frost suspiciously. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”
“No,” Frost shook his head while picking up his coat from the chair. He smiled politely at the lovely maid while wondering if she lost her eye entirely or if she wore the eyepatch due to vision loss of some type. He was curious but lacked the rapport with the woman to ask. Besides, the strange ship was the priority. “Is it from Rilia or Zira?”
“The dock foreman said it’s bearing the standard of Ocelon,” the maid said politely. “The passengers on the ship seem to consist of a combination of demihumans and several monsters my lords.”
“Ocelon,” Frost had heard of the god of peace but he was the primary god of one of the southern continents. If he recalled the continent was split between two large countries. “Tilore, right?”
“That’s correct,” Hansel answered. “Tilore is primarily ruled by followers of Ocelon and Solara although there are some smaller factions as well. But this is concerning. Kal is the smallest continent and is generally ignored but if you’ve earned the attention of gods like Ocelon…”
“Things could get rough,” Frost nodded.
Frost had researched the gods and Ocelon was one of the big six. Sthilinna controlled an entire continent thanks to her massive Arachne horde and the only reason she didn’t control more was due to the Arachne’s fear of water. Solara was the goddess of knowledge and occupied countries all over the world although her herald resided on Tilore. Tarr, despite having a medium sized presence on Kal, was extremely popular on other continents. And Ocelon was the god of peace whose popularity rivaled that of Solara.
Imaral and Ozon finished out the big six but he couldn’t find much information about either of them other than the fact they controlled the two largest continents. They were the two most powerful gods in the world and nobody outside of their continents knew much about them.
There were dozens of smaller gods like Shalia but Frost didn’t bother learning much about the ones that weren’t on his continent. There were just too many and most of them were irrelevant like the gods of music or travelers.
“Ocelon may be a god of peace but that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things,” Hansel said. “After all, Shalia is a goddess of love but you’ve killed quite a few people.”
“Fair,” Frost chuckled.
“I’m more concerned about how far your resources will stretch,” Hansel said. “If Ocelon decides to start dumping off demihumans in your territory that could get out of hand rather quickly.”
“Are you worried about me invading Blackwater?” Frost chuckled while making his way to the door. The maid smiled at Hansel as the young duke grabbed a few items. Frost paused and watched Hansel scribble things in a book. “What are you doing?”
“Writing down the items I’m taking from the room,” Hansel said.
“Why?”
“So, I know what I have and I know what is here,” Hansel answered. “More importantly I’ll know if something goes missing.”
“Are you worried she’s going to steal from you?” Frost said while pointing at the blushing maid. “She doesn’t look like a thief. Are you a thief?”
“No, my lord!” the maid said fearfully. “I would never dream of stealing from Duke Raullon!”
“Duke Hansel,” Hansel winced. “Or Lord Hansel. Or even the duke or the lord. But never Duke Raullon.”
“Sorry my lord,” the maid said while bowing her head. “I apologize. I know you’ve told me before and it just slipped. If you wish to punish me…”
“There’s no need for punishment,” Hansel said coldly as he walked toward Frost. “Just get it right.”
“Really?” Frost glanced at Hansel and the maid. “No punishment at all? Not even a spanking?”
“My lord,” the maid turned bright red at the thought. It was obvious to Frost that she wasn’t opposed to the idea but Hansel was probably blind to it.
“I’m not you Herald Frost,” Hansel said irritably. “I don’t live my life chasing fleeting pleasures.”
“Nothing fleeting about them,” Frost winked at the bashful maid while heading out the door. “Don’t worry sweetheart, I’m sure he’ll come around.”
“My lord!” the maid buried her face in her hands as he and Hansel left for the docks.
The dock foreman led them to the large pier where the vessel bearing the standard of Ocelon was anchored. It was smaller than he expected but Frost wasn’t sure why he expected larger. Wooden ships weren’t going to compare to large navel warships or even cruise ships in size. It should have been obvious to him that they’d be small.
“Who is this?” the captain of the ship asked nervously. “I know it’s not the Herald of Shalia. Even he couldn’t have arrived from his village so quickly.”
“I was here for something else,” Frost announced loudly while glaring at the captain. “I’m the herald and you won’t find anybody here who’ll argue that fact.”
“I heard the herald always travels with a contingent of demihuman whores,” the captain said while looking around. “I don’t see any whores.”
“Captain,” Frost glared at the man while pulling out a small dagger. He flicked the dagger into the post next to the captain and pulled out another. “Did you just call my wives and lovers whores?”
The expression on the captain’s face turned to fear as he scanned Frost and realized at the very least, he wasn’t somebody to insult. Frost similarly scanned the captain along with any heads peeping over the side rails of the ship to get better views. Most of them were in their teens as far as levels went and the captain was only in his twenties. There wasn’t a single threat among them.
“I’m the governor of Kald and you have my word that this man is Herald Frost,” Hansel said while bowing politely. “Might we inquire as to why the Herald of Ocelon has taken an interest in Herald Frost?”
“You can inquire all you want but I don’t have answers,” the captain said while shaking his head. “All I knew was that word had gotten around about you and I was hired by some demi’s to smuggle them over here. Next thing you know, the Prophet of Ocelon was telling me that the herald himself was now sponsoring my voyage for some reason.”
“Word had gotten around?” Frost asked. “What’s that mean?”
“You know,” the captain blushed. “About your territory and your proclivities.”
“You mean the elf-fucking?” Frost winked at the elf women peeking over the rail. “Or are you talking about the other types of fucking?”
“Um,” the captain looked around nervously. “I already seem to have offended you once Herald Frost and I don’t wish to do so again.”
“Herald Frost,” Hansel judgmentally stared at him while pulling out parchment and a pen. “I have a lot to do and…”
“Alright,” Frost chuckled. “Fine. We’ll move it along. Captain, does anybody aboard your ship happen to have a letter of some kind?”
“A letter?” the captain repeated while looking at the demihumans and monsters. It was clear that none of them had any idea what he was talking about. “It doesn’t seem so.”
“Hm,” Frost did another scan of the passengers. Word hadn’t even fully spread through his own small continent but somehow it reached the continent of one of the most popular gods. That didn’t make sense. Frost pointed at one of the elves, “You, where did you hear about me?”
“M-me?” the elf looked around anxiously and pointed at a taller pink-haired elf. “It was announced in our village by a traveling official.”
“An official?” Frost glanced at Hansel. “Do you have any idea what the hell is going on?”
“Some,” Hansel said. “I think. But it’d just be a theory.”
“Herald Frost,” a beautiful elf stepped toward the railing and Frost’s heart pounded so hard he thought it’d burst from his chest. “I believe I may be able to answer that question.”
His mind was inundated with thoughts of the first night he spent with Lysandra, the warmth and love he felt as the gorgeous priestess embraced him. The elf on the ship looked almost identical to his perfect priestess with only a few differences, all of which he loved.
She had the same violet eyes as Lysandra and the same beautiful white hair. Hell, they looked like they could be sisters if it weren’t for the other features. His eyes quickly found themselves unable to resist the pull of her massive chest which rivaled Zinnia’s in proportion. Her narrow waist also served to accentuate her wide child bearing hips and the thick thighs he just wanted to bury his face between. She might have been the most beautiful elf he’d ever seen.
He felt guilty just thinking it but she was as beautiful as Lysandra.
“What’s your name?” Frost asked while scanning the elf. Unlike the low-level elves, she appeared to be level twenty-nine, and a priestess. Another similarity between the curvaceous elf and his future wife.
“I am Priestess Cala,” the elf bowed politely while stepping in front of the captain. His heart pounded as he felt her violet eyes burning a hole through him. “It’s an honor to meet you Herald Frost.”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Frost smirked while eyeing the generous slit of her skirt and low-cut top. Her clothing was much nicer than everybody else’s and arguably too nice given the circumstances of her arrival. “You said you could explain what was going on here?”
“Yes,” Priestess Cala nodded. “Ocelon arranged for this transport to get rid of those he deemed troublesome.”
“Troublesome,” Hansel grumbled while documenting every word of the encounter. “That’s just wonderful.”
“It is wonderful,” Cala said, narrowing her eyes momentarily. “Amara, the young pink haired one you spoke to, was deemed troublesome for refusing a marriage arranged for her by the Priests of Ocelon. An elf lord needed to be appeased. Amara and her sister ran and were branded fugitives for it. Would it comfort you if each of us to explained why we’re troublesome?”
“Not necessary,” Frost smirked at the woman. “But I am curious as to why you’re troublesome. You don’t look like the others.”
“I’m a Priestess of Shalia,” Cala said politely. “That makes me very troublesome since the Herald of Ocelon’s peace requires conformity.”
“Herald Frost,” Hansel shook his head and lowered his voice. “I believe she may be a spy sent by Ocelon. She is claiming to be a follower of Shalia to earn your trust. Additionally, she’s the exact type of woman I’d send to you if…”
“Yeah,” Frost chuckled. “I get it Hansel. She’s the exact type of woman I’d send as well.” Frost turned his attention back to the suspicious priestess. “So Ocelon’s peace is basically taking away people’s ability to think for themselves, right?”
“That is a very concise way of putting it,” Cala smiled. “Although, those at the top of the hierarchy operate with different rules.”
“Yeah, that’s always the case,” Frost smirked. “You said you’re a Priestess of Shalia but it’s more likely that you’re a spy. How do I know I can trust you?”
“I’m not a spy,” Cala responded calmly. Frost couldn’t help but feel she was too controlled for having just been accused of being a spy but also wasn’t sure how he expected her to respond. “What makes you believe I’m a spy?”
“Good question,” Frost chuckled. “I suppose the main reason is that Lysandra is the High Priestess of Shalia and she’s never mentioned other…”
“Lysandra?” Cala’s face lit up with the excitement of a thousand holidays as she looked around as if hoping to see her. “Is she here with you? Can I see her? Is somebody going to go get her?”
“She’s in the village,” Frost said while scanning the woman again. The enthusiastic response was strange but definitely wasn’t something he’d expect from a spy. The white-haired priestess seemed genuinely excited at the prospect of seeing Lysandra. “You know Lysandra?”
“Oh,” the woman smiled embarrassedly while regaining her composure. “Only from reputation. As a devout follower of Shalia it’s only natural for me to be excited at the prospect of meeting the High Priestess.”
“Alright,” Frost nodded while wondering if instead of a spy had some sort of fanatic on his hands. “But I haven’t heard of followers of Shalia anywhere but here and…”
“Um,” one of the elves raised their hands. “There were lots of followers of Shalia back home.”
“What?” Hansel looked up from his parchment in disbelief. “That’s impossible.”
“It’s not,” another elf chimed in. “There was a priestess who came through decades ago and built several small villages. She saved elves from famines and plagues! But then the sorcerer Lohan started trying to wipe them out.”
“Really?” Frost smiled nervously at Hansel. “Is it possible that they don’t know about the whole famine and plague thing?”
“Tentrum isn’t exactly known for its free flow of information,” Hansel said pensively. “Tilore is a very large continent and the only two countries are Tentrum and Solar. While Solar celebrates knowledge, Tentrum curates what the people hear. So, it’s possible that citizens of Tentrum don’t know about it.”
“I understand,” Frost said as he realized very quickly the type of leader the Herald of Ocelon was. There were plenty of theories on how to maintain peace but one of the more popular ones used by despots was keeping the population uneducated and brainwashed. He turned his attention back to the elves. “You said Lohan tried to wipe them out?”
