02.53: Mondgrove (🌶)

The newly confirmed Baron of Nebelhain rose slowly from the cobbled courtyard, then looked me in the eyes.

“Thank you for your trust, my liege.”

I stepped forward and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Just prove that I was right to place it on you, Baron Garwin Nebelhain.”

He nodded, sharp and certain.

The tension in the courtyard slowly bled away, like a bow relaxing.

While the new Baron and his future wife began directing the locals in hosting us and our large retinue, Reshma drifted to my side.

“Good job,” she whispered. “You might lack subtlety, but you do have a flair for theatrics.”

“At least some good comes out of being arrogant.”

“Don’t put yourself,” she cut herself off. “Alright, you are that.”

I smiled, resisting the urge to pull her in close for a kiss.

“So, what do you think of him and his bride-to-be,” I asked.

“She is very clever. If you had made Grunric Mondgrove’s regent, she would have found a way to marry him.”

“To secure the seat of Nebelhain for her daughters?”

“Yes, and her child from him would have inherited Mondgrove.”

“I’ll have a few more guards posted around his carriage.”

As night descended upon us, the great hall of the castle glowed with golden light of candles, interspersed by shadows dark as coal.

Toasts and oaths were made, followed by a dinner that included some of the same dishes we had in Dunkelhof, just with a little more flourish.

Reshma kept giving me knowing glances full of desire.

Someone definitely is ovulating.

Full of food, I went to sleep in the chambers given to me with a simple tune in my head.

I had just laid down on the bed when a soft knock came at my door.

My dusky lover was outside, looking around furtively.

“Again?” I asked in feigned exasperation.

Her eyebrows knitted in offense. “You speak as if you don’t enjoy it.”

“Oh, I enjoy it very much, my love, but the internal walls are wood. Someone might hear us.”

“It’s an open secret that we are together, and you,” she jabbed a finger at my chest, “will leave for Chadom only once I’m carrying your child. Not before.”

She pushed her way into the room, her hips swaying.

“You already have a reputation,” she purred. “Being chaste won’t change it.”

Accepting my fate, I locked the door behind her.

For the next few hours, the room echoed with the moans and squeals of an insatiable nympho and the rhythmic creaks of a poor bed being abused, despite my best efforts to be quiet.

Good times were had.

I woke up well rested, to find Reshma already up, the light of dawn outlining her figure as she looked through the window of the bedroom.

Sliding my arms around her, I looked over her shoulder at the view.

A vast forest of pines and cedars, still covered in shadow, blanketed the hills below like an ornate skirt flowing down to meet the gray-blue ocean, that stretched all the way to the horizon.

Cool wind rising from the coast was full of the smell of pine and cedar. Mixing with Reshma’s scent, it filled my lungs as I inhaled deeply.

Better than any cup of coffee.

“I wish we could stay here for some time,” she said quietly.

“We will,” I replied, resting my head against hers. “Once Nanon is safe enough. This place could become a travel destination.”

“A what?”

“A place where people come to relax.”

“Like us right now?”

“Yes, but more than just a few nobles.”

“How?”

“Safety and wealth.”

“I understand safety, but how will more gold help with that?”

“Not shiny metal, baby, but real wealth; institutions, infrastructure, goods and services. Only then will the common person have the ability to travel long distances cheaply without being harassed, and the free time and money for it.”

“Who will do all the work then?”

“Machines and chemicals. Tools that produce more with less effort. Right now, the commoners work almost every single waking hour, and don’t even get proper food in exchange.”

“Is that what your world is like?” she whispered, taking my hand in hers. “Safe and rich?”

“Not perfect, but safe enough.”

She looked up at me with hopeful eyes. “Can you really make this world like that?”

I almost chuckled.

“Calling it challenging would be underselling it. There are a lot of steps involved and there will be countless roadblocks in the way. Logistical, natural and human,” I counted on my fingers, “but I do have some knowledge and soon the position to at least try it.”

“I’ll pray for your success,” she said, putting my hand on her belly. “For the sake of everyone. For us.”

After breakfast, we gathered in the castle’s church.

Garwin and Sifrena stood before the altar in ornate dresses, hands joined, their families and the local elite gathered.

The priest spoke the words that bound not just two people, but two lines. Two claims.

They signed the parchment that made them legally husband and wife as everyone applauded, while I took a sigh of relief.

“Are you sure you cannot wait for the full ceremony, my lord?” Sifrena asked charmingly afterwards. “We would make it grand in your honor.”

“I’m afraid not, my lady,” I replied, shaking my head. “Mondgrove awaits. After my own marriage and once our realm’s borders have been secured, I will visit. This place is too beautiful to ignore.”

“We would be honored to host you and Her Majesty, and… anyone else accompanying.”

I gave the cheeky woman a wink and left the church.

In the courtyard under a cloudy sky, officers shouted orders and horses neighed as my force prepared to depart. The townsmen cheered as Garwin gave us a formal send off, a small contingent of his soldiers acting as the vanguard.

The road from Blackridge kept going north, but now we were descending. Going down the winding path turned out to be just as challenging as climbing up, even more difficult in some places. The drizzling rain didn’t help, making the path slippery. Thankfully it didn’t turn into a torrent.

It took us the better part of the day to reach the plains next to the Treacherous Bog. At the foot of the hills, the convoy stopped to rest next to a brook to water the horses.

My gaze was pulled to the north-east. Beyond the forest lay the Treacherous Bog, and beyond that, Chadom.

“Only a few more days,” Reshma said from behind me.

“You can read minds now?”

“No, but I can sense your longing. Aprilia must be a very special girl.”

“She is. Poor girl lost her home and her little brother to the exodus, but didn’t break. Kept her family together and took care of me when I was half-dead.”

“We have a few things in common, then,” Reshma said quietly.

I tried to gently pull her into me but she pulled herself away.

“Open secrets still leave room for doubt. You don’t want to crush it,” she whispered. “It would not reflect well on Laira for us to act like that in the open.”

I nodded, chastised.

“What if I come with you to meet Aprilia?” she asked.

“No. Laira has been long without you.”

We decided to give the mounts a rest and stopped at a village well before the sun had set. I felt a strong pull towards the forest, to meet the Frogmen who might be there, but managed to resist it.

I inspected the camp, making sure our two prisoners were well taken care of.

Then I found myself at the door of the hut that had been given to Eirica.

I knocked.

“Who is it?”

“Jack.”

“Please come in, my lord.”

She stood up as I entered, her child sleeping on the cot.

“How are you doing?”

“Fine,” she said politely, but the voice behind it was cold.

Good. My asshole act was finally having its intended effect.

“Cedric?”

“Doing as well as a young child would on a journey like this.”

“I… wanted to ask you something. What were you doing in Wolfwatch when you saw me?”

Her eyes sharpened. “So, that was you. Why do you ask?”

“We’ll be passing next to it tomorrow. I wanted to know whether it requires any intervention.”

“I doubt it. Lord Valthar has a tight grip on his town. It should be peaceful, even without his presence.”

“Good.”

I escaped the tense atmosphere and joined the circle around the fire next to my hut. The night was cold, the damp land trying its best to steal our warmth.

Dinner was a simple fare. Preserved meat and vegetables turned into a thick stew, along with some bread.

After spending some time with the men, I decided to hit the bed. I had almost reached the door to my hut when my ears caught the sound of muffled crying from inside.

Rushing, I pushed the door open, and found Eirica sitting on the edge of the bed, face buried in Reshma’s chest, shoulders shaking.

“What happened?” I asked in panic.

“She figured it out.”

“What?”

“Close the door first.”

I did so and turned around to see Eirica looking at me with puffy red eyes.

“I thought it was the injury at first. Then the stress, but… Jack would have never been so cold.”

She took a shaky breath.

“You look at people like a merchant inspecting wares. You know things like fingerprints, which no one else does.”

“You’re… not him, are you?” she asked, voice shaking.

It wasn’t truly a question.

I looked to Reshma.

She nodded.

“No, I am not the man you loved.”

Her face crumpled.

Reshma pulled her in her bosom.

We waited until her tears had run dry.

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re lying.”

“No.”

Her breathing quickened.

“You took his body!”

“I just woke up in it.”

“You expect me to accept it?” she demanded.

“Yes. You need my cooperation to survive and thrive.”

Her face hardened.

“That’s what I meant! Jack would have tried to understand. You… are trying to manage me like a pawn.”

My heart picked up pace. I wasn’t going to say out loud that getting close to her would mess with me.

“Listen,” Reshma said softly. “Whoever he is, he is the reason you and your child are safe from Grunric.”

Eirica shut her eyes, accepting the truth.

“What are you?” she asked, quieter and tired.

I shrugged. “A man placed in a body not his own, in an unfamiliar world.”

“Why were you sent here?”

“No idea. I’m just trying to live a life.”

“You’re doing a lot more than that,” she said, looking at me with hateful eyes.

“I can do a lot more, and it would be irresponsible of me to not do it when it can help millions of people. I fear we will not survive what is coming without it.”

I pointed to the south.

She slumped in exhaustion, Reshma keeping her upright.

“I will stay with her tonight,” she said, taking the grieving woman with her.

I lay down to an uneasy sleep.

The next morning, Eirica was composed and courteous, but distant.

That suited me just fine, as long as my secret remained as such.

“She won’t spill it,” Reshma assured me. “It threatens her child’s future.”

“She would have been regent without me.”

“You’re underestimating her. She understands the value of your system. I asked you to add her to our family for a reason.”

I smiled faintly, squeezing her shoulder. “That ship has sailed.”

For the better.

Our force of two hundred and fifty began its march southwards.

The walls of Wolfwatch soon rose from the ground, but we bypassed it. The city looked calm enough. Ox carts and donkey trains on the road hurried to the side upon seeing our banners. Their presence meant that the clashes between nobles hadn’t turned into open hostilities.

Godwin’s men had done a good job.

By mid afternoon, Althafen, Mondgrove’s capital, had become bigger than than just a dot.

My heart sank.

Multiple columns of smoke were rising from the city.

Thick and dark, spread across the city.

Not an accident.

I sighed.

“Goddammit.”