《Diaries of Nero the Halloween Cat》Chapter 62 - Night 64
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NNNnNNNyUH~ I'm freaking exhausted. I don't have any particular plans for the night, so that's nice. I need to move the Fish and Meglacommon from Halloween, though. That's important. It would be nice to finally meet the Dwarves as well. Getting up, I began to get dressed. It's always a pain with this outfit. Getting dressed probably took me around 10 minutes on account of my exhaustion. I'd love to sleep in, but I'm an important individual; these nights. The others can't really afford to have me skipping out on my duties. Finally clothed, I began to make my way through the Throne Room and into the Dining Hall. To my dismay, I slept in. There's no feast to be found. Some of the others are playing cards, though. I guess I'll just eat raw Fish... It's not the end of the world, but it certainly feels as though it is. The worst part? There's a freaking Elf seated at my table. It's not even my favorite Elf. It's his lackey. Ugh… Elves.
"Greetings. I come on behalf of the Elven Council of Vanheim once more." [Elliot] greeted the Witch of War with a smile.
"Yes, yes… Get on with it." [Nero] groaned.
"The Council would like to know of your reasoning for the latest attack against the Lizardmen Pyramid." [Elliot] confessed while fiddling his fingers above the table. To which, the Cat sighed before making his explanation.
"The Lizardmen made the same mistake as the Beastkin. They captured and tortured a couple of my companions, and so I infiltrated their Pyramid and rescued all of those held captive." [Nero] exclaimed with a tired expression.
"I will pass the knowledge on to the Elven Council. With that out of the way, I have one more question to ask of you." [Elliot] replied with a smile before continuing.
"..." [Nero]
"It is regarding your declaration of war against the City of Reygid." [Elliot] humbly informed the Cat of his second purpose in coming.
"...It has come to my attention that I owe more to this continent than what I have been giving it up to this point in time. As the True Halloween Cat, I feel as though it is my absolute responsibility to clean all of the atrocities currently plaguing this continent... If I may be so bold, I believe that the mass slavery within the Beastkin Kingdom is absolutely abominable… And so, I will put an end to it. Be absolutely aware. It is not the citizens of Reygid that I am threatening. I am threatening the wealthy, and the royalty; as well as any who choose to stand in my way. I gave them 60 days to abolish slavery, and if they fail to do so... I will do it myself." [Nero] proclaimed immaculately before assuming his largest form and continuing.
"The slave masters within the Beastkin Kingdom don't properly feed, pay, clothe, or even sometimes shelter their slaves. They reap immeasurable profits from the sad state that they leave a vast majority of their inhabitants to rot in… I must request that the Elven Council stay as irrelevant to the problem as they possibly can. It is not the Elves that I witness committing atrocities each time that I visit their Kingdom. It is the Beastkin. Choosing to align yourself with slavers will make you no better. It would be the ultimate statement that your race stands behind mass slavery. Part of my message to the King of Reygid was that if he made any moves against me before the 60 days were up, I would execute him early. If he reached out the Elven Council in attempts at garnering allies to stand in my way, and henceforth; neglect to abolish slavery within Reygid… It technically stands as him making a move against me. I would like to know whether the Elven Council learned of this themselves, or if the King truly did reach out to them. I expect a response within 3 nights." [Nero] declared before assuming his Human form once more.
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"...I will carry along the message." [Elliot] said dejectedly.
"Oh, while I have you here… Please. What is the current state of the Elven Prince? Is he alright?" [Nero] begged the question with a smile.
"...Lemmispire has been restricted from taking part in diplomatic solutions with you. He has also not been granted permission to venture back into the Lost Kingdom after having first met with you... It is in the Elven Council's opinion that Lemmispire took a great risk in meeting with you, and due to how he wishes to return so that you can help him grow stronger… He has been confined within his quarters. He has been training rigorously with your advice to use his abilities as often as possible, but that is just about the only thing that he can do." [Elliot] explained the situation in a timid manner, as if unsure of whether he should divulge such sensitive information. To which, the Cat took a moment to think before responding.
"...He's the only Prince to the Elves… He should be treated as such. Elliot, this is a precarious situation. Not as precarious as Reygid, but it's certainly an important fact that we can't ignore. It may be a coup in attempts at harming the Lemmispire family's claim to the Throne. If their heir is locked away and can not become powerful enough to demand the respect that he's already lacking from the citizens of Vanheim… Then it's all the more possible for the Council to remain in a position of utmost power. The longer that this goes on, the worse that he's going to look to his people. It likely appears as though he can't be trusted to make his own decisions, or the decisions of the citizens of Vanheim for that matter... And so he has been locked away as a problem child. That is the message that the Council sends by locking him away." [Nero] replied with a calculating tone while taking a seat across the table to face Elliot.
"But what can we do?! I can't stand up to the Council…" [Elliot] asked hysterically, as if he was already fully aware of the circumstances before adding as he began to look down.
"Listen... If we're going to help Lemmispire, we need to be smart about it. If you can detail me the precise location of where he is being held, then I can discretely rescue and help him gain power outside of Vanheim. After he has finally risen in power... He should be fine to return to Vanheim, and he might even earn some respect of the citizens if he returns baring trophies." [Nero] exclaimed after setting his aviators down onto the table. To which, the Elf seemed quite intent on listening.
"I'll help him train in a place far away from the Council's grasp. He won't return until he has the power to stand up to them. If this is to appear as though I was uninvolved, then you will need to stay in Vanheim. If my most recent messenger goes missing alongside the Prince that vanishes out of thin air… Then it is highly likely that they will put two and two together. In fact, do not even visit Lemmispire until after he has returned. I don't want to wage a war against the Elves if I don't absolutely need to. Thing is, if they expect that I'm the reason for his disappearance… Then they will come knocking at my door, giving me little to no choice in the matter. Now, what do you say?" [Nero] explained his plan to the Elf with a smile before begging the question.
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"...I'm in. Lemmispire is being locked away in the triple Golden Mushroom House, within the highest cap. If you visit Vanheim at night, you can't miss it. It shines radiantly above all others, and it's the only Golden Mushroom House with three caps." [Elliot] thought for a moment before choosing to nervously detail the location of his Prince.
"Understood. I will rescue him. You have my word." [Nero] declared before holding a thumb high for the Elf to see.
"Thank you. I'll be taking my leave now, I wish you luck." [Elliot] thanked the Cat sincerely before taking a stand as he declared with a smile and made his way out of the Dining Hall.
Elves… Jeez. Their information gathering is phenomenal. I might not even be capable of doing this without them noticing. They seem to notice every single major move that I make… This task will require a more subtle approach. I'm thinking that Rita is the one for the job. I'll bring Rita to the border of Vanheim while keeping a very low supply of MP in order to not give away my position out of haki. I'll have Rita infiltrate the City in search of the triple cap Golden Mushroom House, sneak in… And somehow manage to get the Prince out before leading him to me. I'll then fly them both far away, toward the Orc Mountains. If Lemmispire is going to train and get stronger, he's going to need to face the abominations roaming around the Orc Mountains. The Orc Mountains are one of the very few places that the Elves rarely venture. Due to how the Elves know of my attack against the Lizardmen Pyramid… They likely have some kind of intelligence gathering network set up within the Lizardmen Tribes. That might not be the case for the Orc Mountains. It's a gamble. It's risky... But I'm willing to bet on it.
Rita's an Assassin class, or something. I need to give her something to disguise the Prince with as they move, though. There's one issue. The Prince likely has his own haki. Rita does too. Rita will no doubt have a rare haki, as a Tier 5 Rifaleesi… Perhaps she can convince a Tier 1 or Tier 2 Rifa to save the Prince? One with such a small amount of haki, that if anyone notices the two… They would immediately assume that the Prince himself is just off on his own? It's worth a shot… But how do I give the two adequate power to actually escape Vanheim without my assistance? Oh! I know~ What if I were to call on all of my Clansmen toward the northern edge of Vanheim, but simply had them perform music? It might attract the attention of the citizens… But it would still lead to me being a suspect after the Prince spontaneously escapes. How can I possibly do this without dirtying my paws? I'll need to sleep on it. I'm far too hungry to keep thinking about it right meow.
Entering the Kitchen, I opened the fridge and procured myself two common Fish. Moving along, I exited the Kitchen as I ate my Fish and went on my way to the waterfall. It was uneventful, but I managed to finish eating my Fish. Calling on the [Hallowed Gate], I asked Fred and Daphne to watch it, before I made my way into Halloween. I ended up calling on the other Scarecrows to help me carry the Fish back into a fridge. I also asked Conrad to help me carry the Meglacommon to the Kitchen. He ended up doing it by himself, and was even skilled enough to masterfully slice it into two pieces. We stuffed it into a Freezer. Everything is going smoothly.
It ended up taking the Scarecrows about 15 minutes to carry all of the Fish, but it's finished. It's all good. Actually, since tonight seems to be a free night; I might as well go ahead and take that trip to the Casino with Veronica and Cetilla. We need those cards. The others would never let me live it down if we cancelled the weekly Safari Card Game Tournament in lieu of needing more cards, only to never end up getting more cards. Yeah. Let's do that. I'm still not intent on spending my wealth on gambling, though. Especially considering that it's gambling in a City that I just declared war on. Now that I think about it, Cetilla doesn't even know yet. I need to tell her. She's known every major decision that I've made ever since… Well, ever. She really has been here this whole dang time. It's her Kingdom that I'm declaring this war against, so she really does have the right to know. I would absolutely hate to have someone else tell her before me. I'd never hear the end of it.
And so, I began to try and find Cetilla. My first place to check, was the fireplace. As it turns out, she's present and accountable. There are even some of the newer residents out here as well. They seem to be getting along nicely with the others, so I suppose that there's no need for me to kick anyone out. Pulling her aside, I received some strange looks from Vana and Christina. It's not like that!
"So…" [Nero] began to speak after bringing the Sorceress off and away from the fireplace. To which, the Sorceress only began to grin.
"I may or may not have declared war against Reygid." [Nero] said bluntly while averting her gaze.
"Okay~" [Cetilla] replied nonchalantly before beginning to laugh.
"...You're not going to ask me why?" [Nero] asked while tilting his head.
"Nero... I don't like Reygid either. If you're going to wreak havoc there, I really couldn't care less. So, when are we going?" [Cetilla] replied with a grin.
"Cetilla… Your family is directly involved in this predicament." [Nero] shot back with eyes wide. To which, the Christmas Catkin began to visibly think.
"...My father, or my mother?" [Cetilla] asked, after a long silence.
"Does it even matter?!" [Nero] shot back, as if flabbergasted.
"It changes everything, honestly." [Cetilla] replied while she shrugged her shoulders.
"Well… I believe that your father is the one directly involved with slavery… But your mother is no doubt an accomplice. She reaps in all the benefits of his treachery, and she doesn't seem to have a single quarrel with how utterly problematic it is. It's not as though your mother would simply stand idly by while she watched me murder her husband." [Nero] replied cautiously.
"What if we abducted her?" [Cetilla] asked while tilting her head.
"It might work… But she was a first rate Sorceress as well… Do you believe that we can manage capturing her without severely wounding or even slaying her?" [Nero] exclaimed before he shot back.
"Leave it to me." [Cetilla] replied boldly with a grin.
"Wait… So you're fine with me executing your father?" [Nero] asked slowly.
"Meh~ When will we do it?" [Cetilla] answered with a shrug before asking excitedly.
"I'm going to give them 58 more days to abolish slavery or make a move against me." [Nero] answered with a shrug.
"This is going to take forever..." [Cetilla] groaned.
"It's not easy to abolish mass slavery." [Nero] sighed.
"So what if they make a move?" [Cetilla] asked while seemingly excited.
"We'll execute the King." [Nero] declared solemnly.
"Good riddance… I can't stand that guy~" [Cetilla] sighed before adding as she began to twirl a strand of hair through her fingers.
"What he did that night was unforgivable." [Nero] exclaimed while adjusting his aviators.
"Wait… So if they don't make a move, and they don't abolish slavery… We're just going to kill them all, right?" [Cetilla] added while rubbing her chin before begging the question.
"No. If they fail to abolish slavery, we'll execute the King and free all of the slaves from the Kingdom. Anyone who stands in our way will die. We'll take the liberated people here, and I guess we'll just need to figure out our next move from there on." [Nero] rejected the thought before beginning to explain.
"It won't be easy to take care of that many people." [Cetilla] groaned.
"It can't be helped. The slaves are not the issue. It's people like your father who choose to never pay them for their labor. Many of them do not properly pay, feed, clothe, or even properly shelter the slaves. It's a really big issue." [Nero] replied with a tone of indifference.
"I guess… But everyone in the Goblin Village is literally already starving. We can't expect them to take in the Beastkin or Human slaves." [Cetilla] sighed before going off to explain her thoughts on the matter.
"This is true. Do you have any suggestions?" [Nero] agreed before begging the question.
"I honestly think it's going to be impossible… Unless, we were to turn them all into Halloween Clansmen." [Cetilla] exclaimed blatantly.
"That's a big decision. Moreover, it's kind of cruel… Don't you think?" [Nero] shot back before asking.
"Meh… If Rei can do it, so can they?" [Cetilla] shot back while raising an eyebrow.
"I mean, yeah… That's true, but Rei chose to do it. We can't just force everyone into becoming undead… It wouldn't be right." [Nero] replied and began to sit down on the grass while watching Cindy and Rustle play in the distance.
"Well... Something's got to give. We can't achieve such a massive task without bending." [Cetilla] exclaimed while taking a seat beside Nero in the grass.
"...What if we didn't kill all of the slavers?" [Male Voice] chimed in, walking up from behind the two Catkin and making them jump.
"Eh?! Goblin Funk! You were listening?" [Nero] froze before snapping his neck back and asking.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I kind of heard a whole lot of the conversation." [Goblin Funk] confessed while rubbing the back of his head before taking a seat.
"...But not killing the slavers?" [Cetilla] asked after a moment of silence.
"...Sort of. What if we killed the slavers before turning THEM into Halloween Clansmen?" [Goblin Funk] explained with a smile.
"..." [Cetilla & Nero]
"Think about it. If Nero becomes the master to the-" [Goblin Funk] began to explain before being brutally cut off.
"Then we can allow all of the liberated citizens to live in harmony within the Beastkin Kingdom!" [Nero] screamed in excitement before regaining his composure and continuing.
"This could work." [Nero] agreed to the plan with a face of determination.
"Then it's settled! We'll find the Lich, save Rei and Milton, slay the lochness monster… And finally, annihilate the slave masters of Reygid." [Cetilla] declared with a wicked grin.
"Thank you, Goblin Funk. You have just saved a lot of lives." [Nero] said sincerely.
"Just here to help~" [Goblin Funk] replied while he puffed out his chest and winked at the two Catkin before getting up and going off to take a seat near the fire.
If we slay them and resurrect them as Phantasms and Banshees… There's no going back from that. They wouldn't be able to escape the fact that they're undead. They could theoretically decline becoming my Clansmen… But they're still undead. Phantasms and Banshees can't even eat proper food. All that they can do is suck away the life force of other monsters if they hope to continue with being undead. If not, they bid farewell to this realm. If they don't join, we can slay them. I wouldn't want any vengeful spirits hellbent on our demise wandering the skies unaccounted for. As far as I can tell, my Clansmen don't have very much free will. I mean… They can raise a fuss all they want, they can even decline my call… But they can't escape the fact that they need to remain in Halloween during the day. If they don't, then they'll take heavy damage and practically die. I don't need to heal them if I don't want to, but it will slowly happen in a more natural manner if I have full MP. I could also merge their souls, so there wouldn't be as many of them to deal with if they're refusing to accept their judgement by wandering the realm recklessly each night. I could easily have my other; more willing Clansmen temporarily stop them and force them to return to Halloween indefinitely.
"What are you thinking about now?" [Cetilla] asked while poking the Witch of War's shoulder with a finger.
"...I was just going over the plan in my head." [Nero] replied honestly with a smile.
"Nothing wrong with it?" [Cetilla] asked while tilting her own.
"Nope~ We should be good.��� [Nero] answered as he began to laugh toward the end of his statement.
"Then what now?" [Cetilla] sighed.
"Would you like to come with me to the Casino?" [Nero] asked with a grin before laughing.
"Uhmmm~ Is it even a question?! I'm all in!" [Cetilla] screamed as she began to laugh as well.
And so, extending a hand to Cetilla as I raised my Broom and hoisted myself on top… She joined me and we set off. We're going back to the Throne Room to procure Coins. We need the Gold! It's still underneath my bed. Grabbing it and paying no mind to Cetilla's presence… We flew out of the Wailing Keep and started to fly northwest. I don't care if Cetilla knows where I hide my Coins. Not that they were exceptionally well hidden… But it's literally just Cetilla. She's fully aware of my intentions, and has partaken in far too much of my madness. She's wholeheartedly invested into my wrath. She'd do anything to see us succeed at this point. I'm absolutely certain. Cetilla can do no wrong… But she definitely couldn't do this all without my pushing her in the right direction. This girl was fully prepared to annihilate Reygid as a whole, with the exception for her mother. Granted, she probably wouldn't have even thought to annihilate Reygid if it weren't for me stating the issues related to it. It's like she doesn't like Reygid, but she can't quite put her finger on the problem. Total annihilation was her initial idea for solving the slavery issue in Reygid. She's a loose cannon, but she's on my side. I can work with that. In fact, she might even keep me in check by being so absolutely out of check. She's not my voice of reason. She's my voice of torment. I need someone to be so utterly evil if I'm to know just where the line to not cross is. I must say… I'm glad to have her, that Sorceress.
I was reflecting on my relationship with Cetilla as we flew to the Vellisroi Estate. I made a promise to visit the Casino with Veronica, so we're going to get Veronica. Cetilla's ecstatic to have more time with her mother, so everything is happy go lucky around here. I made sure to explain to her that our prime objective was attaining more decks of Safari Cards, not to gamble. She wasn't too pleased, but she was able to bounce back relatively quickly. By the time that we had arrived to the Vellisroi Estate, we learned something. There are Kingdom Knights posted outside of the Estate. Roughly 50 of them, if I had to say. Getting more than a little worried, I made sure to check up on Clive's Establishment and the Koalakin's Candy Shop.
As it would turn out, both of the stores are absolutely fine. No one is posted outside of them. It's just the Vellisroi family. Flying back to it as I discussed the matter with Cetilla, we decided that it may be fruitful for us to sneak into the Vellisroi Mansion without alerting the Kingdom Knights. In order to do so, we need to be wary of our haki. Thankfully, haki seems to be less noticeable if you are a great distance away in terms of altitude. We shouldn't be noticed if we're flying high in the skies, which we normally are. It's mostly about actually getting the message to Veronica that we are here. And so, I called upon Robert; my one Tier 1 Bat. I asked him to infiltrate the Mansion without actually being noticed by anyone, and to find Veronica. His task is informing her to sneak out and get to the Casino.
After he left, we sat atop my Broom for a solid 25 minutes before he had returned. According to him, there's a secret underground tunnel within the Vellisroi Mansion which leads to the southwest edge of the property. Veronica is currently en route through it. The Knights still don't seem to have noticed us. Works for me~ Looking at Cetilla, she gave me a nod. We're doing this. It's happening, people! Vroom vroom! Apparently, Cetilla had never even learned of the tunnel; not even as a child. She's interested to see where it leads, but even after arriving to the southwest edge of the property; I still don��t see it anywhere. We tried to find it, we really did… Only to have Veronica spontaneously appear from behind us, to greet us. She's wearing a dark blue cloak to keep her identity hidden. Interesting.
According to Veronica, the Kingdom Knights are keeping close tabs on the Vellisroi family for their own protection; as well as out of suspicion. Roy managed to pass along the declaration of war to the King, and this is his payment. Shame. I'll need to find a new way to get my shipments to Clive, or I'll need to execute a whole lot of Kingdom Knights every time that I come to make a shipment. Technically, this kind of counts as standing in my way… Do I now have the right to execute the King? I can't say that I didn't expect at least some sort of reaction… But to make one a mere 2 days later is kind of intense. Not to mention, the King probably appealed to the Elves for assistance or something. I highly doubt that the Elven Council's intelligence network is strong enough to garner this highly sensitive information, considering that I only told Roy; and he only told the King… And I guess, Veronica. Seriously. He really jumped the gun on this one. He has 58 days left, does he really expect me to make a move so suddenly? Part of my message was that any moves made against me, would result in the King's execution. Is the King really willing to make a gamble on whether or not I was serious? I'm quite certain that I was serious, okay? I meant it.
Why would the King go off and risk it like that?! Even just telling his Knights about the situation is risky… So under what exact pretense did he send these Knights to guard the Vellisroi Estate? I'm baffled. He's not leaving me with very many options. I decided to ask Veronica about the King. I asked him if he had an heir, or any close relatives. Thankfully, he does. I'm about to do something rather serious. In another life, I probably wouldn't like me very much right about meow. The King not only has two heirs, but he has a Queen; and three younger siblings who each also have their own families. I'm going to send a message, and kill an heir. The King needs to understand that I mean business, but I'm not ready to execute him just yet. If I did so now, I would be left with a whole lot of corpses... And no feasible way to resurrect them as Banshees or Phantasms. If I did so without actually taking the measures to also stop the slave masters, then I would utterly fail in freeing the slaves. If there isn't a King leading this Kingdom who is aware of the situation… Then the abolishment of slavery here simply won't happen. I would just end up killing all of the slave masters later on. I need the full 60 days if I'm to find the Lich.
According to Veronica, the Prince can sometimes be found at the Adventurer's Guild; while the Princess is usually within the Castle. The Prince is actually an Adventurer, and is not the genuine heir. The Princess is. The Prince might be stronger due to his experience as an Adventurer, but he's the easiest kill simply due to probable location. And so, I cast a Hallowed Gate before leading the two Christmas Catkin into Halloween. Veronica seems just about as in love with Halloween on first glance as Cetilla was. Yes, I know... It's fabulous... But we don't have the time for this. The Kingdom Knights could have noticed my gate, and so I quickly rushed the two Sorceresses into the Wailing Keep before I closed the gate. We're getting Candy, and we're leaving Veronica at the Wailing Keep while we go off to assassinate the Prince. At least, I thought we would… Until Veronica insisted on joining us. Jeez... What is it with you two?! We ended up grabbing 12 buckets. You can never be too safe with these situations.
Leaving the Wailing Keep, I quickly introduced Veronica to a plethora of the individuals living within. She was received nicely, and was ecstatic to see Goblin Funk and Budget Dragon once more. While we were catching up with everyone, I made sure to ask Goblin Funk and Goddin Village Neith Sama to get an early night's sleep. I asked them to help Grenda and Cloaked Monk with training Grenda on the prairie Slimes. They'll begin their work tomorrow. A wise Kitsune once said… The Goblins are not capable of protecting the Kingdom. Let's work on that.
After I gave out the task, I handed Cetilla my Broom and Lantern; put down my portion of buckets… And I went back into the Treasure Room to get undressed. Assuming my smallest form, the Halloween Cat XXS (Basic); I crawled out from my clothing to run back out of the Wailing Keep. Returning to the group, I asked Cetilla to hold me as we flew. Cetilla is holding 6 buckets including the one holding my Gold Coins, as well as my Lantern, and myself… While Veronica is holding 7 buckets. We're off to slay a Prince. Reaching the Adventurer's Guild took us around 9 minutes. As we flew, I asked about the Prince as we devised a plan. He's a Lionkin, appearing more Human than Lion. Veronica doesn't really agree with my whole plot, but she's willing to help considering that my current task is a means of not slaying her own Husband. The Prince is 28 years old, and is fabled to be even more powerful than TempCat. Scary. His method of fighting is close range. He wields exceptional Earth type magic, but fights with his bare paws. He's a Brawler class. He has a name. It's Treylin Reygid. Apparently, Reygid has literally only ever had one line of royalty; and they named the City after them. Talk about pretentious~
We'll enter the Adventurer's Guild as a group, and if we encounter him… We will rent a room in the Adventurer's Guild under Cetilla's name. I'll go into the room, and change to my Halloween Catkin S (Cat) form before casting [10 Minute Makeover] and devouring enough Candy to recuperate myself. After doing so, I will vacate the room and then we will challenge the Prince to a friendly duel at the Beach. I'll make something up about wanting to test my meddle against him, appealing to his ego. I'll even offer a bet on who wins. I'll cast [Barrier] when the battle begins, and will immediately call upon my Clansmen in an attempt to slay him. Cetilla will pass me my Broom, and I'll be devouring Candy as I watch my Clansmen execute him. As we go to the Beach, Veronica will sneak back into the room at the Inn. After slaying the Prince, we'll fly together to the Castle while carrying his corpse. As we do so, I will be clawing into his fur to send a message in Blood. Very serious. We'll drop the Prince onto the Courtyard of the Castle, return to the Adventurer's Guild… And bring Veronica back to the Vellisroi Estate. We're skipping the Casino tonight.
Veronica doesn't really like the fact that she won't be of any use to the plan… And she's definitely upset about the Casino night being cancelled… But it's the best way to ensure that she and Roy are not held accountable for the King's mistake. It really isn't my fault that she wanted to come along… But she can't be seen by any Kingdom Knights as she's wandering Reygid. It can't be helped. And so, we descended to the Adventurer's Guild and entered. Opening the doors, we walked on through; as the two Catkin scoured the room for any Lion Princes. Around 5 minutes later, it was decided that the Prince was not present. Veronica thinks that he might be off on some quest… So we're out of options. According to the two Sorceresses, the Adventurer's Guild has a strict rule forbidding any of their Staff to divulge information pertaining to who has taken on the quests from their bulletin… So we'd practically be trying to find a needle in a haystack if we were to simply scour each of the recently taken quest's locations. Lame~ This sucks!
I suppose that this task will need to wait until the Elven Council gets back to me. And so, we went to the Casino. It happened to be just around the block from the Adventurer's Guild. It was sort of large, but Casinos on earth are far more impressive. Here, they had fairly primitive slot machines made of wood, tables to play cards and dice at, a bar, an inn, and a gift shop. That's all that they had. In the gift shop, they sold Safari Card decks, and dice. It was a fairly small gift shop. It was essentially just a counter. I can't help but be unimpressed. The best thing that they had going for them, was the fact that chandeliers seemed to be enchanted. The flames that adorned them would change colors every second. Magical. I ended up purchasing 10 decks of Safari Cards, and 24 six sided dice. I felt as though I was just robbed, as the entire purchase set me back 3700 Silver Coins. Each of the decks cost 250 Silver Coins, while each dice cost 50 Silver Coins. Due to not having any Silver Coins on me, I was given 300 Silver Coins change… And a woven basket to carry them in. I was told that if I left with the basket, I would be charged an additional 500 Silver Coins… So, yeah. I was forced into playing a game with Veronica and Cetilla. We each bet 100 Silver Coins. It's on me. I was given quite terrible treatment the entire time that we were there, on account of my form. Many of the individuals treated me as a pet, before I began to speak. Several weapons were raised up against me, but we managed to get out of conflict due to Cetilla's name.
Veronica won, and took the 300 Silver Coins for herself. Afterwards, we visited the bar in the Casino and she treated us to a few drinks. I say that, because we could only afford 3 by using the 300 Silver Coins in the basket. It was tasty, but it wasn't enough to get any of us drunk. I wasn't about to splurge all of my Coins in this establishment, either. I refuse! Leaving the Casino, we flew her back to the southwest edge of the Vellisroi Estate… And she left the buckets of Candy there before bidding us a good morning. Cetilla ended up taking a peek at where the passageway was, but according to her; before she could get a good view… Veronica disappeared. Strange. Anyways~ We're going back to the Wailing Keep meow. Cetilla's having a time with carrying the 13 buckets, Broom, Lantern, and Cat; but nyah~ I believe in you, Cat Crewoman #1!
When we finally arrived to the Wailing Keep, Cetilla dramatically dropped everything before running away to go and spend time with Vana and Cyclozard. That's fine with me. I'm tired~ I called on Conrad to help me carry the things back into the Treasure Room and decided to call it an early night. I asked Con to wake me as dawn arrived, and after the two Clansmen left me to my devices; I crawled into the blankets. Good morning~
***********
"CAWWW! CAWW! CA-" [Con] squawked.
"NYAAAH! [Daily Candy]!" [Nero] screamed, interrupting the Crow before falling back asleep.
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Domain of Man
Isolation is terrible. To feel isolated with your fellow man around you is worse. What if you were dumped in some backwards cave somewhere, completely nude, maybe with your family, or even completely alone? The age of pioneers, heroes, generals, and geniuses is long gone. Humankind has become numb to the world around it because of how paltry everything else is compared to the glory of its history, the sheer volume of their accomplishments, and the sum of its innovations. You can interact with people across the world, travel miles in mere hours, and never prepare your own food or shelter, and it's all accessible to even the normalest of individuals. Artificial intelligence is within arms reach in devices and computers and even houses, and neural interfaces aren't exclusive to the rich and powerful at this point. Someone far in the distance took notice of Earth, saw the multitude of hairless apes swarming its surface. That one went down the checklist to see if humanity had, in fact, beaten the 'game' of Life. Sure enough, they had gone above and beyond the requirements, but nobody had been watching. 'Why might that be?', that one wondered. Protocol was protocol, though, no matter how strange the situation was. They pulled the lever, they flipped the switch. It's time for New Game +. ??? Don't be afraid to leave critique or share your support! I really appreciate any feedback you can give. In any case, I sincerely hope you enjoy the story! It's going to be a wild ride. HQ/Kindle-Grade cover art. Book Cover 2.0: "Heiroglyphs"
8 84Kingdom Shattered
Harold Schultz is a young substitute teacher making just enough money to pay rent and fuel his gaming hobby. When the highly anticipated upcoming video game Kingdom Shattered announces a raffle to decide invites to private beta testing not only the game, but also the next generation of full immersion gear, he immediately applies and ends up winning a slot to become a beta tester. Leaving his apartment and part-time teaching behind he heads to the game company's headquarters where the entire event will be broadcast live, with each player earning money off of the amount of viewers they are able to obtain while alive. On top of that, the first place player will walk away with a one million dollar grand prize. With his eyes on the giant cash bonus, Harold is determined to do everything he can to make it to the end and walk away with the grand prize. Will he be able to conquer Kingdom Shattered and become its first King? Cover art is temporary and used with permission from the artist Morten Solgaard Pedersen.
8 100LONGING || Kimetsu No Yaiba Oneshots
LONGING (n.): A strong desire for something or someone: A strong desire especially for something unattainable~~~~~"Why are you still smiling like that knowing you left me behind?""She'll return with no trace of scratches!""I'll be in your care.""You're... You're very pretty!"~~~~~| Disclaimer |I do not own Kimetsu no Yaiba. All rights belongs to Koyoharu Gotoge.
8 219Naruto The Shinobi Hunter
Naruto knew what the real world was about at a young age, but his siblings didn't. Menma and Naruko wanted to play 'hero', but Naruto was always the villain. But when someone bothers to train him, he takes the world by storm. Note: I own nothing except the idea
8 59In Review
What is "Life In Review"?Saga, song, sonnet, story, satire, summary, sorry situations, silly sort of stupid stuff, sense and non, poems, prose, anecdotes and dozy doats, and a possible personal blow or two.This book is a collection of writings, opinions, and experiences from my time on Earth.
8 215Hades Doctor
She was a piece of Heaven he wanted to own.And he, was the flames of Hell she wanted to tame."You must be tired." The unparalleled face softens with an indulging smile, and I nod hastily like a chick pecking at grains.My reason, wisdom, and rationality became words of a foreign tongue when the fingers tangled amongst my hair trail down to my cheekbones, the caresses like the fine strokes of a paint brush that gave colour to my skin."But next time."His eyes of hellfire narrows, reflecting the features of a iolite-eyed mortal, and crimson lips pull back over sharp canines. "I might not be as easy to tame."■What happens when the greek god of the Underworld becomes the 'Grumpy Patient' to a kind hearted mortal, burdened by a curse untold, and a gift unrivalled.■Slow burn ♡Update schedule : Every 2 days ◇#1 - Mythology, #3 - in fantasy, #4 - Humor
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