Growing up under her mother, who could truly be described as a living legend, City Lord Heleema Cosgrave had learned everything she could about politics. While her idiotic siblings had focused on the accolades they could earn through combat and business, she knew that true power came from understanding one’s self and those around you. That was the key to success in politics.

  That wasn’t to say that combat ability and reputation weren’t important, but they were infinitely more effective when wielded by a political mind. Knowing ‘when’ to strike was just, if not more important than knowing ‘how’, both in battle and in the public’s perception.

  Luckily, she’d taken steps to appear on Lord Walker’s side, or at best neutral to his presence in her city. She’d even gone so far as to sacrifice both her heirs to appease him after they moronically chose to act against him.

  ‘Confronting an opponent you don’t thoroughly understand is both premature and idiotic,’ she reminded herself, quoting her mother.

  True, she’d arranged several challenges for his new house, despite it having been recently categorized as a unique house due to his upgraded status.

  She’d tried to use intermediaries to reduce the influence of his shipping business, but Vera Salvatore-Verena had handled that plot before it had even started. She’d tried limiting the number of essence crystals the trading posts his house had set up could legally hold, but that also failed due to the Tower of Law’s intervention. And while she couldn’t be sure, she was reasonably certain that Lady Verena was behind that as well. The woman was frighteningly capable.

  She’d even allowed for the Dorchester Council of Leadership to hear an accusation of war crimes against Lord Walker, which had been put forth by the soon-to-be-disgraced General. Surprisingly, that brought to light how strong Lord Walker’s position truly was here in Dorchester. The actual grandmaster of the local branch of Oglivarchian knights had defended him, along with half a dozen of the Royal Academy’s evaluators who’d been sent here by the capital to observe the kingdom’s newest unique.

  Truly, the young man was now completely out of her league, and as such, for the time being, completely out of her control. She would most likely just have to be patient and wait for circumstances to change, or for an opportunity to present itself.

  As these thoughts plagued her mind, she stood off to the side of the reception hall with her retinue, along with several other scattered nobles. It was important for her to be seen supporting the day's events… by everyone. She’d made a very public point of being one of the first to agree to attend today’s ceremony.

  One of Lord Voltan’s heirs, Rodrigo Voltan, caught her attention by asking rather rudely, “So, I heard that you’ve formerly petitioned to invalidate the consort agreements you’ve had with Houses Margrave and Howard. Am I to assume they’ve done something to displease you?”

  The ether in the area seemed to pause for a moment as the question hung in the air.

  Turning her ice-cold gaze toward the young man, she replied sharply, “Not at all. They are both fine men, and what we had together was quite fun while it lasted. However, now that I’m without heirs, it seemed like a prudent time to reorganize my house in preparation for new ones.”

  Not letting the subject drop, the smarmy man responded, “I see. However, I may have heard that House Cosgrave and its allies have been targeting your former consort’s houses during this trying time. Without your support, it seems that their finances have taken quite the hit. Not that their status on the ladder has quite caught up with that fact. But I’m sure that is all just coincidence.”

  Keeping her expression blank of any and all emotion, City Lord Cosgrave replied, “Really? I hadn’t heard. You must have an extensive network established to have found all this out so quickly. The news of my abrogation of the contracts hasn’t even been formally reviewed. I’m curious how you’ve heard about it… has your father been gossiping at the dinner table?”

  Trying to not look intimidated by her tone, despite the beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, he replied warmly, “No, my lord. Not at all. It was just something I heard in passing. Though, I must say, the news was pleasantly received. I’ve always believed a powerful woman such as yourself should be with men more equal to her status. While Houses Margrave and Howard may have helped you attain the city seat in years passed, their current status isn’t worth comparing to yours.”

  Slightly narrowing her eyes, City Lord Cosgrave replied, “And yours is?”

  Several chuckles erupted from the nobles witnessing the confrontation, each having found the situation somewhat amusing for their own various reasons.

  While the corners of his eyes visibly tightened in anger, the Voltan heir managed to keep his composure as he replied, “I may not be the head of a house, but I am currently leading my family’s ladder and will likely inherit the position after my father passes, or decides to leave the city.”

  The atmosphere among the nobles quickly turned from amusement to interest at the man’s enigmatic statement.

  Slightly raising one eyebrow to strategically show her surprise, City Lord Cosgrave asked, “Oh? Has Lord Voltan expressed a desire to abandon Dorchester during these troubled times? I would have thought a man like him would have relished the challenge the world has provided us.”

  Caught off guard by her rebuttal, Rodrigo Voltan stuttered his reply, “No, my lord, not to my knowledge. I was merely commenting on the fact that I am the likely successor to the position of house head for House Voltan.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the dwarves enjoying themselves at one of the tables.

  Uninterested in continuing the conversation, City Lord Cosgrave replied sarcastically, “Well, that very well may be true. However, I believe that likely says a great deal more about the status of House Voltan than it does about yours.”

  Having already mentally dismissed the arrogant young man from her thoughts, she returned to her contemplations. She needed time to consider how these foreigners would affect her plans, and what kind of future city they would build at the behest of the kingdom’s capital, Hennings. While it could very well end up being the boon the royals promised, that would only happen if she managed the next few years very carefully.

  Hearing the arrival of Lord Walker before she saw him, she turned her head to see numerous nobles clapping and congratulating the young man as he made his way through the room with a forced smile on his face.

  ‘I really need to find a way to get him out of my city. This is not the time for uncontrolled variables to be allowed to influence things,’ she thought to herself in annoyance while keeping her expression as blank as a fresh canvas.

  —--

  After a short break to use the restroom and splash some water on his face, Nero had been dragged to the reception hall what he jokingly referred to as the ceremony’s after-party. While he understood why he had to attend, he was not looking forward to it.

  From the moment he’d entered the room, countless people he didn’t recognize swarmed around him, offering their congratulations and asking about his plans. Luckily, there were so many people talking that he never felt the need to answer anyone. He just smiled and nodded, slowly pushing his way into the room until he could find someone he knew.

  As luck would have it, Cathleen appeared out of nowhere and skillfully took control of the situation. Nero wouldn’t have thought a woman of her particular temperament would be able to handle the situation without violence, but she did… and she did it well.

  The gaggle of nobles quickly separated back into their groups without issue, resuming their chatting as if they hadn’t been rudely dismissed by his house’s manager.

  Looking over his shoulder at the nobles in confusion, Nero was too distracted to notice that he was being led away. In no time at all, she had him seated at a table with the few people who’d stepped up to control his new house. All the big names were there.

  Knight Angleton, the former captain of the army and current commander of his military forces. Natalie Keening, who was once the leader of his wackos but is now the head of what he thought of as his public relations department. Michael Harring, the former convict and one-time assassin who’d once tried to kill him. Nero wasn’t exactly sure what the man’s current job was, as he seriously doubted the man was still the head of his force’s criminal contingent.

  Even Nick was there, his good friend and partner in chaos.

  Taking her seat, Cathleen’s very presence designated her position at the circular table as the table’s head. Something about her just grabbed everyone’s attention. She had taken it upon herself to basically lead his house, and Nero honestly didn’t have a problem letting her.

  “I’d say the ceremony went well,” she stated before turning to Ms. Keening and asking, “How has the public response been?”

  Ms. Keening responded quickly with a smile, “Better than we could have imagined. Lord Walker’s welcoming speech ended a lot of the problems we’d been worried about before they had a chance to get out of hand. Aside from over 60% of the recruits having had second thoughts about joining up, our position couldn’t be better. However, even that has resulted in a few positive developments.”

  Unable to stop himself, Nero nearly shouted, “Wait! That was only 40% of the people who showed up? How many were there to begin with? And what problems? What are you talking about?”

  Ignoring his outburst, Cathleen replied, “Positive developments like what?”

  Awkwardly ignoring Nero, Ms. Keening tried to focus on answering Cathleen’s question. “Well, we were worried about having enough funds to support a force the size of what our projections showed. While in the long run, it wouldn’t have been a problem once our hunting teams were set up, the first few weeks would have been… challenging.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Cathleen nodded in understanding, already having known about the issue. “That worked out well then. Have those who decided not to go through with their oaths been making any statements we should know about?”

  Ms. Keening replied, “Not really. The consensus is that Lord Walker is one of the few honest nobles. His categorical denial of any knowledge about divine intervention resulting in his arrival, while not outright dismissing it as a possibility, has taken the legs out of the champion argument we were worried about.”

  Nero, utterly confused, asked, “What ‘champion’ argument?”

  Cathleen, sounding rather annoyed at Nero’s constant interruptions told Ms. Keening, “Just explain it to him. It’s his own fault for not realizing the issue before now.”

  Ms. Keening happily turned to Nero, glad to have received permission to address him. “It’s like this, my lord. As you mentioned in your speech, the faith district has been making claims that you are a divine champion sent to aid Dorchester in its time of need. Due to their praise, there has been a growing sentiment among the faithful of several religions that the only reason you were raised to unique status was to get you out of Dorchester so the nobles could profit off the prophesied doom of the city. While the movement hasn’t spread too much, it was a possible concern for the future.”

  Nero had known about the different faiths talking about him like that, but he hadn’t heard anything about any ‘movement’.

  Continuing on, she added, “Many of the people who came here today to follow you were not interested in leaving Dorchester. They likely viewed your previous statements, most of which have been spread through memory engrams over the Thought Hub, as you feeling as though you lacked sufficient reason to stay. While not immediately a problem, it would have been something we would have had to deal with when it came time for you to leave. However, since that wouldn’t be until the kobald war resolved, and possibly not until the density shift’s expected beast waves happened, we weren’t all that worried about it.”

  Nero, now understanding the situation, replied, “And what I said in my speech helped with that?”

  Nodding vigorously, Ms. Keening replied, “Absolutely! You made your intentions for our house’s future very clear. We are to be adventurers, traveling the kingdom and handling the issues that plague the citizenry.”

  Injecting himself into the conversation, Knight Angleton added, “At first I worried over your ethics, but I see now that I was mistaken. I didn’t understand your vision. You didn’t just want people to follow you, but to follow the path you’ve laid out instead. Each of us is responsible for our own future. Mindless heroics don’t pay the bills, or advance our path. It’s our interactions and experiences that define us. You intend us to do good and be paid for it… while keeping each other safe. It’s a different perspective than I’m used to, but a much more reasonable one than that of the army.”

  Not truly getting the giant of a man’s point, Nero could only nod and feign a wise look on his face. Choosing the old fallback of speaking in riddles, he replied, “If that is how you chose to hear it, then you are free to believe that is what I said.”

  Abruptly the serious atmosphere was shattered by the sound of Nick failing to contain his chuckle behind his hand. Seeing everyone turning to look at him, he said, “Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just enjoying Nero’s unique leadership style. Please, continue.”

  Rolling his eyes at the man, Nero turned to Cathleen and said, “OK, so those people who were on the fence didn’t sign up, and that successfully fixed our potential financial problems?”

  Cathleen replied quickly, “Yes and no. We still will rely on the investments you made which will be handled through House Verena. However, we need to take this time while we’re still in Dorchester to get the Walker Adventuring Company working smoothly.”

  Nero frowned, asking, “When I created the W.A.C. I thought that was going to be the name House Walker would go by, but I’m guessing that’s not what you mean?”

  Nodding, Cathleen replied, “Yes, the W.A.C. will be the place for our hunters. They’ll be taking quests and handling the issues out of whatever city’s Hunters Hall we end up staying near. While you and the main force will be handling the quests from the councils of leadership, they will be our main source of localized income.”

  Nero tapped his finger on the table in thought. “Right, because each city basically has its own currency and the exchange rates may end up making what I’m earning from Dorchester useless. Seriously, how does having every city acting like an independent country not end up causing chaos?”

  Nick immediately began to reply, “The economics of each city need to be isolated due to the effect of regional -”

  Nero interrupted him angrily, “Not the time, Nick! That was a rhetorical question! You can lecture me later when I’m not surrounded by nobles.”

  Nick chuckled and held up his hands in surrender, a smile dancing on his face.

  Turning back to Cathleen, he was about to ask more about how the management structure of his house was going to work when he was caught off guard by Vera walking up to the table.

  Without any preamble, she said, “It’s confirmed. Apparently, the mining town that Lord Walker acquired from the Dorchen estate has been offered to the dwarves for their new city.”

  While grumbling erupted around the table, Nero looked around in confusion. ‘I had a mining town? I knew that, didn’t I?’ he wondered.

  Seeing Nero’s expression, Vera explained, “If you recall, during the noble war you took part in, the Populators wiped out a majority of House Dorchen’s forces due to their exposed ties to Islangur. Their treasonous actions merited royal intervention. Due to the Populators’ dedication to their duty, they wiped out all life in the mountain town, effectively making the investment worthless. It was given to you by the city lord to pay off part of your award without giving you another source of income. I’d planned at some point to repopulate the town for you, resuming the mining operations and taking advantage of our transport capabilities for an increased profit margin. However, that is no longer an option.”

  Not knowing how he was supposed to feel about it, Nero asked, “So, the city lord and the council tried to screw me, but now the kingdom has given the town to the dwarves? Am I understanding that right?”

  The subtle frown on her face revealed Vera’s anger at the situation. “Yes, you are correct. But, it’s not that simple. The kingdom has no right to just take your land without compensation, and someone has obviously been planning on causing you a problem by putting you at odds with the dwarves. Either the city of Dorchester will have to compensate you, or you’ll have to come to terms with the dwarves yourself.”

  Shrugging as if it didn’t matter, he asked, “Why don’t I just gift them the town and be done with it? What’s the point of making a big deal out of it?”

  Everyone at the table widened their eyes in shock at his statement. Not understanding how he could be so calm about giving up such a large source of power and income without any recompense.

  Seeing their expressions, Nero asked in confusion, “What? Am I not allowed to or something?”

  For Nero, he didn’t feel as if he was losing anything, as the town was just sitting there empty. Besides, he hadn’t even really thought about it. While he was almost positive someone had at some point mentioned it to him, it hadn’t been worth paying attention to at the time, and as far as he was concerned, it still wasn’t. So, if he ended up handing it over to some dwarves who’d he never met and had no conflict with, then so be it.

  Before Vera could explain to Nero why that was such a ridiculously bad idea, a loud gruff voice that Nero vaguely recalled from an outburst he’d heard during the ceremony chimed in.

  “Lad! It’s an honor to be here to witness the founding of your clan. I’m King Mithrilstrike, head of my clan, and your new neighbor. I need to talk to you about your mountain,” he declared, marching up to stand right next to Vera… patently ignoring the fact that he might possibly be interrupting something.

  Nero sat in shocked silence, staring at a real-life dwarf. The incredibly wide man's girth was only matched by how short he was. Standing at barely 4 ft, even sitting Nero didn’t feel as though he had to look up at him. Smiling widely, Nero blatantly stared at the man’s long and lustrous beard, along with his incredibly detailed armor. In full plate, with helm and gauntlets included, the dwarf looked more like a slab of hairy metal than a person.

  Hopping out of his chair, Nero looked down into the man’s intense stare and exclaimed, “Holy shit! You’re a dwarf!”

  Despite part of his face being obstructed by the helm, Nero could see the confused expression on his face.

  After a second or two to process what Nero had said, the king replied angrily, “Yeah, and what of it?”

  Smiling like a lunatic, Nero replied, “That’s awesome… you’re awesome! Do you drink mead and blacksmith stuff? I mean, are you into weapons and armor and all that? Do you live underground? What am I saying, of course you do, you’re interested in my mountain. But, do you have like an incredibly long line of forefathers that you revere and loyally follow? Seriously, all I’ve read about dwarves has been from what humans have witnessed… tell me what being a dwarf is really like!”

  King Mithrilstrike took an unconscious step back from Nero’s enthusiasm. As the young human in front of him went on and on with his questions, the king felt more and more uncomfortable.

  Seeing as he was freaking the man out, Nero took a step back and grabbed an empty chair from a table nearby. Plopping it down right next to him, Nero said, “Sorry, please, have a seat. Let me get you a beer and we can talk about the mountain. Sound good?”

  Behind the king, several dwarves who’d been watching the spectacle couldn’t hold back their laughter and began urging the king to sit down… albeit sarcastically.

  “Yes, Mavros! Sit down and negotiate!” one shouted.

  Crusher chimed in by adding, “Answer all the human’s questions! We need that mountain!”

  Even Ironwick couldn’t stop himself from shouting, “That’s right! Tell the young man what he wants to know. You know you’d sell your axe for a beer.”

  Feeling the ether vibrating with their very non-human vibe, Nero couldn’t help but reach out and touch their overlapping essence fields. The moment he did, he instantly felt how different they were from the humans he’d been used to feeling. They were strong, grounded, and full of life. There was a contradictory sense of permanence and an almost ignorance of the passage of time, offset by an overpowering sense of the ‘now’ and a dedication to the moment. Their essence fields felt both youthful and ancient at the same time.

  King Mithrilstrike, being unable to stop himself from facing a challenge, hopped up into the chair and demanded, “All right lad, ask your questions… but first I want the beer you promised.”

  Around him, the dwarves all intensified their laughter and enjoyment of the spectacle. Meanwhile, Nero’s human companions who’d been watching were all exchanging looks of confusion and shock at what they’d just witnessed.

  While not having personal experience with the phenomenon, it was common knowledge that for the most part, humans and dwarves didn’t usually get along all that well. They were just too different… a completely inhuman species they could never hope to understand.

  Nero, however, had ignored most of that biased nonsense when he’d looked up the different species of the world. He’d been more interested in finding out how similar they were to the fantasy races he’d grown up reading about. Now that he had a chance to meet one in person, he sure as hell wasn’t going to waste the opportunity to find out for himself.

  Quickly mentally reaching into his personal space to find something to offer the dwarf in front of him, Nero muttered a quick, “Shit!”

  Seeing the dwarf glaring at him from the chair, with his stubby legs humorously unable to reach the floor, Nero’s smile returned as he held up his hands in a placating gesture, nearly shouting as he said, “Just stay here… I’ll go find a cask or something. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a second.”

  Rushing off, Nero’s head was on a swivel trying to find a servant or someone who knew where he could find some beer. He hadn’t felt like this since he’d been a freshman in college trying to find an upperclassman willing to make a booze run for him.

  While Nero shot off into the crowd, King Mithrilstrike turned to look at the other humans at the table and asked, “Is the lad always like that? So… excitable?”

  Nick, who was thoroughly enjoying the situation was the first to reply, “Oh, you have no idea. Our Lord Walker is like no human you’ve ever met.”

  Crusher, who was now standing behind his king with a hand on the dwarf’s shoulder, leaned over and replied, “Well, that’s just another reason to like the lad, isn’t it?”

  All the dwarfs laughed uproariously, King Mithrilstrike included, while the humans frowned at the uncivilized and unnecessarily confrontational insult. As a group, the humans all silently agreed that everything they’d read about dwarves was most likely true, and wondered what the capital was thinking when they agreed to this sister-city arrangement.