The walk to the castle was agonizingly slow, not because of our pace, but because of the stillness and silence of the walk. Luster was the main draw away from this, my little Giga occasionally crooning and whining, but she was just as nervous and confused as I was. I was trying my best to keep my breathing steady, as I realized she was feeding off my mood, as it turned out, no one else really had a strong desire to leave their doors in the proximity of Lord Champion Alessandro Vasquez.

  I looked around wistfully, hoping to see some of the usual bustle I saw last time I rode into town, but Leofborough was silent as the grave. Those few I passed that didn’t avoid the Lord Champion seemed equally put off by Luster, who I had to repeatedly remind with a whisper of “Luster!” to not wander off and investigate other people’s smells on the walk. Alessandro stayed mostly stoic on the walk, as he kept moving.

  I had expected it would be an entirely quiet walk, and I spent my time counting the cracks in the stones along the path, before Alessandro finally broke the silence.

  “Many may wish to stomp your ‘Luster’, out of existence. Particularly the few who still have memories of their lost family or ancestors who fell to dragons. Keep him close.”

  I frowned. “I’m not going to let anyone do that to Luster!”

  “With jaws her size, I’d be unsurprised if she’d allow anyone to do that to her, either. But keep her close. And stay close to me.”

  My stomach was still doing rolls at the thought. “You’ll make sure no harm comes to her?”

  “I have chosen to spare your animal, so long as no harm comes to the citizens of the commonwealth from her. None defy the king’s blade, save the king himself. And explaining this to him should be a small matter.” Alessandro replied.

  “Really, ‘cause it kinda feels like I’m being called over a big matter…” I mumbled, looking surprised.

  Alessandro simply shook his head, tightening his fist. “Young Noah, I know you’ve only just begun to live your life in this realm, so I am not surprised by your naivete. With that said… King Cesar has grown into a splendid king, one whose mind is sharp and whose heart is firm. While you might not understand his commands, know that it is he who shapes the form of the court when it is in session, despite the jackals who claim to know otherwise.”

  “Hmm… if it’s as you say, then maybe I’m not in as much trouble as I thought…” I mumble, before giving a shrug.

  “Perhaps. I heard of you fending off that assassin earlier.” Alessandro replied, his voice halted. “ Victor was very honest in his reports.”

  I raised my eyebrow at that. “Really? Wait, is that a bad thing?”

  “...It would have, perhaps, been for the best had the body been incinerated. For you.”

  My face went a little pale at the statement, but as we were about to enter the gate to the castle, we were interrupted by a pair of crossed weapons. Both men had their eyes looking directly at Luster, a shock to me since this was the first time I’d seen people look somewhere else than directly at Allesandro Vasquez in his presence.

  “Is that a… baby drake? Is that a druid power? Are they linked with…?” One of the guards asked, pointing at Luster, who looked at his finger with the same sort of joy she had to butterflies too close… I chose to give her a gentle chiding, patting her on the head preventatively. I’d honestly not expected anyone to truly fear Luster after looking at her for longer than a few seconds. Sure, she was toothy and energetic, but she was a goofball that still wanted nothing more than to play and roll and eat…

  Well, that last part was a bit more dangerous, I had to admit.

  “Luster!” I called, before taking a snack from my pocket, feeding her a strip of beef I’d been saving for obedience training… After all, today would be a form of obedience training all it’s own! Besides, it kept her from panicking in the face of the sudden new vibes.

  “It is not. Or so I have been told.” Alessandro replied, giving a frown as he watched her devour the beef.

  “I’m telling you, she really isn’t!” I insisted to the guards. “She’s got more relation to the crocs in your moat than she does to a dragon.”

  “Crocs don’t walk on two legs like that…” one of the guards murmured in bitter contradiction.

  “He has given an oath on his life that there is no hint of draconic influence of any kind within this small beast. That oath is being held by I, Lord Alessandro. Do any doubts persist?”

  The effect was like lightning, as they immediately withdrew their weapon, looking like they’d just both suddenly realized they’d left the stove on. “No sir, Lord Alessandro! If you are guaranteeing his oath, of all people, then surely, we must be mistaken." The older, fatter guard replied. “Forgive us for taking your time.”

  “You were doing your duty, taking care of the security of the castle at large. But if you could, Alexander Smith…”

  “Augh… err, you know my name-err, sir, yes! What can I do for you!” the taller, younger one replied with a sudden snap-salute.

  “Inform the first guard you see on duty to take your position at the gate after informing him that the small, reptilian beast by Noah the druid’s side is not to be harmed under any circumstances. Is that understood?”

  “Sir! Yessir!” Alexander replied, snapping his fist to his breastplate before running off, the clang of his gauntlet resounding as he rushed to fulfill his duty.

  “I really didn’t realize how big of a deal one little Giga’d be.” I muttered to myself. “I’m surprised Ionos didn’t mention it…”

  “Ionos has been busy at work on analyzing and understanding the dark magic, from the moment you left the hospital until now. Keep that detail clear in your mind.”

  “But I-” I started to speak up, before the words started to really wind their way through the more intelligent parts of my brain. I didn’t know what game Alessandro was playing, but perhaps… Maybe, given it seemed like he wasn’t such a bad guy after all, I should follow his lead on this one. It seemed the kind of thing that’d be helpful for Ionos, at least, and I’m sure he’d speak up to protest if he wasn’t in on the same lie, right?

  I gave a nod that belonged more on a bobblehead. “-Definitely. Did not. See Ionos since the hospital, yes. I’m sure he was very busy doing… dark magic defense… things…”

  Alessandro gave a grunt that sounded like ‘good enough’ to me as he kept walking, and we soon found ourselves in the heart of the castle, stopped right before a set of massive wooden doors.

  “Stand back there.” He ordered me, as I realized we were standing right before the threshold to the throneroom - where we were originally summoned! It had been a while since I’d seen this room, and when I first entered, despite this great big intersection being a grand sight, I still hadn’t dwelt on it much. Azure carpet with golden borders followed from each of the four doors here, a circular chamber that had guards standing in every corner in full plate, runes etched on their armour… I wondered if it was more enchanted than the crimson plate Alessandro wore? It was a question I didn’t really feel was appropriate in the current circumstances, so I stored the thought away for later.

  Alessandro spoke to the guards as I waited, anticipation building as I could only hear the vague sounds of quiet vocalizations and muttering. I couldn’t tell exactly what was being discussed, probably intentionally, but every guard reacted in a way that implied purpose - some of them stood more rigidly, changing their position in the chamber, while other guards immediately started marching through to other parts of the castle. By the end of Alessandro’s instructions, we were alone with just two guards as my mind began wondering where everyone else was going with… a lot of worry, honestly.

  “Okay. Come along.” Alessandro spoke up, motioning to the door ahead to the throneroom. I was feeling a bit weak as I started to walk again, Luster striding beside me. As the doors before me stretched, they somehow felt far taller than before. The throne room stretched forward as a great, yawning chasm as every step felt harder to take, and somehow despite how slow time suddenly felt as I was moving, it felt all too fast at the same time. I could hear the murmuring of all too many people behind the door, and I was left

  Alessandro stopped walking, and I was snapped from my reverie as I had to suddenly halt to avoid smacking into the crimson steel plates on his shoulders

  “Druid. You’re holding your breath. Don’t.”

  I wheezed, gasping for air. “Oh. Thanks. Thank you!” I blurted, giving a shake of my head as things started feeling just a bit better. The doors swung open, and I stepped forward with a bit more relaxation… though something concerned me as we walked.

  Luster was making so many squawks and squeaks, and the crowded chamber beyond was absurdly loud - and yet, within all of that, Alessandro still had no problems whatsoever in hearing me. Just how did he manage that…?

  Asking him was certainly out, as the doors swung open with little more than a tap from the Lord Champion’s gauntlet, and a hundred faces stared back from the entrance.

  I lived in a city, so I felt pretty used to crowds in general… but not ones that were all staring at me. There was an invisibility cloak of sorts that came from walking down the street of a city where no one had time or patience to stop to recognize you, even if they might have some passing idea. No one walking by was likely to know who you were in the city. Here, I felt like more people in this room knew who I was than my entire life leading up to this point.

  The few people I knew in this room happened to be the other four heroes standing next to the king - set apart from the rest,they still stood below the raised platform on which sat the King’s throne. Victor didn’t have his usual smirk on, a thoughtful, neutral expression replacing it. His dark azure robes were patterned with blue today. Alicia, who I hadn’t seen for some time, was wearing something that looked like a modern engineer’s garb, overalls and all. There were metal bands attached by the knuckles of her gloves and her boots were now steel toes. A smith’s hammer and several other tools and bobs hung from a belt with an immaculate silver buckle, and apparently she hadn’t been able to clear her face before she got here, judging by the grease? I guessed she was pretty busy with runesmith things.

  Calia seemed to be wearing something more similar to what I’d seen at the Japanese tea ceremony in Ninja Scroll, back in the day, And Cameron seemed to be wearing something made a lot more traditional - a very nice looking cloak and a thick coat with elaborate, bright designs that seemed to be monopolizing most of the rainbow. I couldn’t tell if it was an expectation to dress up, or they just happened to nab new duds, but either way, I had to admit I felt pretty underdressed.

  I couldn’t resist waving to them, which was unfortunate because the king, whose face was already screwed up in a frown, seemed to turn rather scarlet.

  “Bow your head, fool!” Alessandro spoke up, and I realized that, regardless of how amiable he was in a more private setting, King Cesar was… err, king! I quickly lowered my head into the lowest of bows I could manage… a little too low, as I lost my balance around the ninety degree angle and almost fell on my face, barely catching myself from a complete nose-dive with both hands and obtaining a few licks in the nose from Luster as she hopped over and took her opportunity.

  “Stop it! Your tongue’s rough!” I insisted, “Err, my deepest sorries, your majesty!”

  The King took a second to respond, waiting for the murmuring from the rest of the court to reach a fever pitch. I was certain it was loud and angry but outside of a couple words like “darkness” and “disrespect, they were so layered and chaotic I couldn’t pick up on anything.

  “Silence!” The king spoke up with a sound like thunder, and like a rainstorm over a bonfire, the murmuring was snuffed out. “Here we have five who may yet shape this world standing in front of us. Five new to our ways and our cultures. You are the nobles and leaders of this world - do not shame us by yammering as gossiping children!”

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  I felt profoundly uncomfortable in this moment, as many angry eyes rested on me, as though I caused the chastising somehow. I studied the king’s face for some speck of the warmth and comfort on our first meeting, but it was like trying to learn the qualities of a wall of polished marble - completely reflective and without any weakness.

  “Noah, I have brought you here for two matters. One that concerns you, and your comrades who have been summoned into this world. That will be addressed later, depending on what is decided now.”

  “Ah-and what is decided now…?” I murmured.

  “The matter and consequence of Revanche Revancroft’s death, a matter I believe many have come to submit a hasty judgement upon. Firstly, your account is necessary.”

  I raised my head, realizing I was still down on one knee. “My… account? You mean, what happened?”

  “From your perspective, yes.”

  I gave a slight frown, recalling what I could. “I will… tell you all I know. But I think Victor saw more or less the same thing, and probably knows the same amount.”

  “We would like to test the consistency of your accounts, all the same.” King Cesar spoke, his arms crossed. “Start at the beginning, and continue from there.”

  “Right. Victor and I were discussing… I think, monsters, at the time. It wasn’t a very productive conversation.” I admit. “But during the conversation, in the midst of a heated moment, we had a silent break and I heard footsteps rapidly approaching me from behind.” I noted, with a frown as I recalled the attack. “I jumped out of the way fast enough to avoid taking a full hit, but even from a graze, I wasn’t feeling good - HP went all the way down to one.”

  I noticed all of the heroes reacted badly to that, with the exception of Victor. Cameron, Calia, and Alicia looked varying amounts of horrified or interested. Victor seemed unsurprised, but given he was there, it’d be weird if he wasn’t, I supposed.

  “It was this mean thing of a dagger, and the guy was already diving for my ribs with it. Black and serrated. I hooked it with my sickle, pulled it away from stabbing me.

  The King nodded, “...and you had a sickle with you?”

  I just gave a nod, despite the murmurs from the crowds. “From the farm, yeah! I recall I had brought it with me as I was told that I would need to demonstrate how far my powers had grown, and the sickle is the skill I noticed dinging up the most, so I thought it was my strongest weapon here.”

  Cesar tapped a hand on his temple, but Victor spoke up. “That would be the game of telephone, as I put it, I mentioned earlier. He thought he was coming to demonstrate to you, oh king.” The elementalist added respectfully, giving me a wink that could have been anywhere from legitimately encouraging to vaguely threatening. I didn’t wanna try to work that out right now - Victor felt like so small a threat compared to these rows upon rows of well-dressed and sometimes well-built nobles and guards that I was just relieved he wasn’t actively working to hang me.

  “I do recall this. And I was about to ask you to give your account on this. Continue, Noah.” Cesar replied.

  Victor gave a graceful bow. “My apologies, oh king.”

  “You heroes have come from far away indeed, so I hold no contempt for such an interruption. You’ve yet to learn the rules of court, though you will yet need to one day, as rulers yourselves. However… Now, you understand the rule.”

  Victor gives a nod in appreciation. “Of course, King Cesar..”

  I gave a gulp in anticipation. “Should I continue, King Cesar?”

  The King gave a nod towards me. “...Proceed.”

  “I hooked his knife away, and he lunged at me. I then tried to grab his cape - pull it off to see who this was. Then I got punched square in the jaw. I tumbled back and he fell on top of me, trying to stab me again. I smacked him with the back of my sickle across the teeth, And when he was winding back from that I threw him off me. I started screaming, but I’m not sure when I stopped from here. At some point.”

  The King nodded, but gave me a motion to resume with a cupped hand. “According to Lord Victor, you did not. Continue.”

  “He tried to use… Or, I think he tried to use some flame spell to burn me to death, since he declared he’d turn me to ash, and all, but then Victor used a spell of some kind to remove his ability to - his hand chilled to frostbite in seconds.”

  King Cesar looked to the side, towards Victor, giving him a nod to explain. “As stated before, I declare that I was using enfrost, localized onto his palm. It seems most wizards here have not been willing to utilize its application to the fullest of extents.”

  King Cesar raised an eyebrow, looking thoughtful as he digested that information. “...I’m familiar with the spell myself, and have never heard of it used in that fashion. Very well! A creative defense against fire magic.”

  I swallowed quickly before continuing. “He used a strange potion right after that, one that seemed to reverse the effects, and then uhh… well, Victor used a spell to shoot ice at him, he used a wand to turn it into boiling water instead, which… I think actually just made it worse on him.” I noted with a shrug, realizing that was a little stupid in hindsight. “And then after Victor slammed him behind a moving wall of ice, I thought he was done for. Turns out he had some kind of teleporting power, and he ended up getting behind me. I swung blindly behind me, but I happened to divert his dagger from my side as I turned around.”

  “You knew to prevent an attack?” The king asked.

  I gave a helpless shrug, “...No, he just decided to scream ‘for the Leofric Commonwealth!’ at that point, for some reason. I just happened to swing the flat of the sickle in a way to knock the blade away, but I was blindly flailing, so that was all luck” I admitted, “and when I turned back I realized I recognized the voice of this hooded stranger. Out for my blood. Smelled like Lilac.” I added after a second. “In retrospect it was rather nice…”

  “And did you recognize the voice?” Cesar interrupted sharply.

  I gave a shrug. “Well… kind of. Not too long ago, I went to a bakery with Calia.”

  Calia perked up at that. “You mean the one where…” Calia started to say, before realizing that she was speaking out of turn and giving an apologetic bow, before the king waved it off.

  “I will be asking for your comment in a moment on the subject, Lady Calia.” Cesar spoke, scratching at his beard with a determined glare.

  “...Yeah. The guy that we both saw run out of the bakery? With the red hair?” I asked.

  “...You’re saying you met Revanche Ravencroft in a bakery?!” King Cesar asked, looking at me with a stare that was equal parts incredulous and confused.

  “...Have you been to Kriskoff’s? It’s like… real good. But… yeah, I saw him. Not much happened beyond both Calia and I seeing him exit just as we walked in and started talking to the baker.” I replied with some confusion. This got some more murmuring from the crowd formed around us, but a quick look from the king silenced the lot of them.

  “...Alright. I will send a guard to speak to Mr. Kriskoff about the incident.”

  “Begging your pardon, King Cesar, but it’s owned by an individual named Ambrose, despite the name. Kriskoff is his aunt on his mother’s side, I believe. She paid for the place.” I helpfully answered.

  The king paused for a few seconds before replying, seeming to file it into some mental storage folder before finally saying, “In the meantime, finish your recollection.”

  “Well, I found out his identity when I started duelling him. Or… Well, I attempted to catch his head with my sickle, but he managed to dodge out of the way of each and every strike. When I finally thought I’d caught him, I just got his cloak, and it shocked me. So when he next struck-”

  Cesar held up a hand. “I need to know, before you continue - are you being literal?”

  I quirked my head for a second before continuing. “...oh! No, it didn’t have some kind of funny electric spell or anything. I took off his hood, and seeing that I recognized him from the bakery, it made me hesitate. I got confused and a little reluctant to attack him.”

  Cesar nodded. “Thank you for the clarification. Continue.”

  I gave an uncomfortable shrug. “...He did not feel the same about me recognizing him as I did, and stabbed me good right in the ribs, and I thought that was all I had left in me.” I admitted sheepishly. “...But I found some combination of adrenaline and stuff, and it gave me enough strength to grab him and push him. Eventually, he shook me off, so I tackled him down the stairs, and we both tumbled down the steps hard. I then lost consciousness for a few seconds.”

  King Cesar gave a nod, this seeming to be familiar to him? Maybe it was because it lined up with what he’d heard, or maybe it was for some other reason, but it made me feel a little more confident as I finished my retelling.

  “I punched him hard to try to stop him from doing anything else, or… because it was the only thing I remembered I was supposed to be doing, honestly.” I admitted with a wince. “He pulled out some kind of flashy explosive, and Victor froze his arm and the bomb down with an icy wall. From there, I mostly just remember passing out from blood loss. That’s… my whole story.”

  For a few seconds, the king did not speak, slowly leaning back in his chair. Then, the sound of one pair of hands clapping reverberated through the chamber. As it sped up, someone pushed through the crowd, popping up from the sides, and stepping forward. A raven-haired woman with a cruel beauty, angular cheekbones, and pale white skin, who fixed me with a glare. She was almost made of marble with how she looked, her elegant dress a dark purple, woven from fine silks, and her long, black hair pulled back in a ponytail held together by a jewelled clasp.

  “Bravo, Bravo! What a stunning performance you’ve given these people! Nothing less than a five star play!” the noble praised me, and that pit at the bottom of my stomach started to form again.

  “Bellinor Ravencroft. You should have asked for permission to speak.” Cesar replied, now leaning forward on his throne.

  “Forgive me, King Cesar. I realize I am speaking out of turn.” the woman replied, her words flowing like liquor and oil as she swayed and bobbed with every word, reminding me of a few disney villains from my childhood. “But I did ask for my opportunity to examine his words, and plead my case, with a proper line of questioning, did I not?”

  Cesar glared. “You did, which is why you’re merely getting a reprimand and a reminder, rather than exile from the courts. For the sake of expedience, I will allow you to ask your questions and plead your case, but I will expect you to follow my ultimate judgement on the matter without complaint, regardless.”

  “Of course, my king.” the raven-tressed noble replied, turning to me with an expression I often had seen on angry cougars, and feared no less now than I did then as I saw it stretched across this noblewoman’s face. She strode towards me in the middle of the court with a measured step, her long, thin heels tapping against the stone flooring with a rhythmic control.

  “For the new members of this court, many of whom I am looking forward to a lovely amount of cooperation and coordination with, I shall announce properly that I am Lady Bellinor Ravencroft, Head of the Noble House Ravencroft, and great aunt of Revanche Ravencroft. I am here with witnesses to discuss what I believe is the truth of the matter, that this druid in our midst claiming to be a victim is in fact a blackguard of the highest order, a murderer, and a threat to our way of life!”