《Inheritance》Chapter One: Burn
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They marched through the streets, military boots stirring the dry dust of the cobblestone road into a long cloud trailing behind them. Ten men in a column, Consul Kronne at the head. Ptolemy ignored the people staring at him – women, children, young and old, stall merchants, fishmongers, tanners. None had ever seen a soldier quite so grey in the hair.
At times it seemed the whole world was reminding him of his age. That very morning the wife had pleaded with him to consider taking an honourable discharge.
“I’ll never leave the Consul’s side, until battle takes me.” He had said.
Really, it wasn’t about honouring an oath or any such chivalrous motivation. Ptolemy didn’t know what he would do with himself if he wasn’t marching through the streets or standing sentry. What would he do, tell stories to the grandchildren? Small chance, considering he never had children himself.
The Consul halted the line when they were outside a manor that sat at the top of the Palatinate Hill. Inside it seemed at first that no one was there. Searching, they found a room adorned with the ancient and evil symbols of the Iconographers. She made no effort to hide her embarrassing ways.
The Consul gestured to Ptolemy.
“I shall send for the headsman. She will be executed on the morrow,” said Ptolemy.
“You misunderstand me. She is a heretic. She must burn.”
--
Burn she did. At the stake, at dawn the very next day. Wonderful way to wake the city, to the screams of a burning woman, thought Ptolemy, as he groggily awoke, headache and all, at the tavern. He thought he remembered walking home the night before. Perhaps he had been walking and forgot where home was.
When he opened the creaky door and saw that dawn was only just breaking, so he went back into the tavern and shouted for a tabard. The owner stumbled in, apparently only just having awoken himself.
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“What the hell was that?” the owner said.
“I said, another fucking tabard! Your strongest stuff.”
“No, that sound. Outside.”
“It’s that woman we found. Who was praying to those idols- You gonna get me a drink or what?”
“Praying to idols? Is that a crime now?”
“Sinful.” Ptolemy glared at the owner.
“By God that Consul is a hard man.” The owner disappeared down the stepladder to the cellar and came back up with a bottle.
“He keeps the peace. You should be grateful for that.”
“Oh I am.” The owner slapped it down on table with two dented old iron cups, took off the cork and poured. “Three coppers that’ll be.”
Ptolemy fiddled with his belt, his purse jingling with each movement. When he had untied it, he threw it down on the table. The owner ploughed through all the gold and silver with his fingers, searching for the coppers. Ptolemy took his cup and gulped the whole thing down. The owner’s breath became shallow.
Ptolemy put his cup back on the table. He grabbed the owner’s wrist and squeezed until he opened his hand – a silver.
“T-thought it looked like a copper… i-in this light.” He dropped the coin.
Ptolemy shoved his empty cup toward the owner. “More.”
The owner poured. Then he poured in the second cup for himself.
“Cheers.” They said to each other.
“To another honest day’s work.” Sighed the owner.
Ptolemy collapsed onto the table.
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Welcome to the Upward Bound System, V.2
Technically abandoned. I will be reposting an updated version of the story one chapter at a time. When the System came to Earth, it changed everything. It is a grand thing used by gods and men alike. What had once been fantasy was now a reality. People believed and so that belief gave ideas the strength to manifest. "Welcome Founder of the SCP Foundation" It stirred the gods from their deathly slumbers. Stirred by an almost mechanical voice promising them new life, and followers as countless as the stars. All it asked of them was for their help. Help with what though? The old gods, the forgotten gods, and the new gods drew breath, and then made their voices heard. On a day like any other Dante was home from college watching the Presidential inauguration with his parents. Little did they know that this day would turn out to be anything but ordinary. That this was the day everything changed. Dante is not your typical MC. While he has a troubled past, he looks forward to the future. Follow Dante, his parents, and the new friends he meets along the way as they traverse this new system world. However, before they can explore this new world they must complete, the Tutorial. (Please note: This tutorial will be part of the story. Rather than a skim of the information, you will get to experience it in depth. So the tutorial will last a good while.) A much slower style of LitRpg than what you would normally find. Follow Dante and his party as they find their world taken over by the system. Welcome people of Earth to the Upward Bound System!... With the system's arrival so too does great danger come... The tools of your survival shall be granted upon you by the system... Please note, I don't own the art. Please enjoy the story, and if you don't please leave a comment and I will try to improve the story for you. This is the second version of this story, so feel free to check out the original and compare the two.
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