Chapter 23 The Noble’s District

❄️Snow❄️

Snow rose out of bed and yawned; the chirping of birds and rays of sunlight signaled the new day. Today would be Snow’s day, they had decided to leave Sir Harper for today, as his estate is on the far edge of the nobles district and would take a while to get too. Opening the windows of their room, the sunlight flooded in and after her eyes adjusted, Snow could see the tapestry lined streets and the council building. The marble landmark had a small line forming outside its doors. After taking in the sight, Snow turned her head towards Lussuria’s bed to see her slumbering sister. Lussuria was a heavy sleeper and as her arms and legs had been sprawled chaotically over different parts of the bed, Snow wondered if sleep removed the consequences of imperfection from her mind. It would make sense considering the near sloth state of her sleeping form.

“Lussuria.” Snow moved to wake her up.

Lussuria only groaned.

“Lussuria come on, we have to get going.”

Lussuria turned her head to go underneath the pillow.

“Five... more... minutes… dear… sister.” she mumbled before quickly falling back asleep.

“Five minutes and then I’m waking you up.”

Snow left Lussuria in her bed and went to the washroom. After she washed her face and cleaned her teeth, Snow made her way down the hallway and descended the steps to the first floor lobby. As she neared the final steps Snow could hear Arthur and Crow having a conversation.

“I understand, Crow, but I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“It’s on orders, we must go investigate it. No matter how many potential threats.”

“Just scout it out, nothing further. Then report back to me.”

“Understood.”

Snow took the last step to the bottom of the landing and Arthur greeted her from the fireplace area.

“Good morning princess.”

“Good morning, what were you two just talking about?”

“Just some secondary business, you need not worry. It will not interfere with our visit to the knight councilor.”

“It sounded dangerous.”

“No no, it's not that, we just don’t want our cover blown that’s all.” Arthur smiled.

He was lying. Snow could tell. Not even from looking at his face. She could tell by looking at Crow, who’s usual emotionless demeanor had a hint of worry. Whatever it was, she figured that she wouldn’t pry.

“Are you and Lussuria ready to go?” Arthur redirected the conversation.

“Lussuria said five minutes.”

It was in fact not five minutes. Getting up alone took nearly twenty and getting ‘ready’ was another twenty, which Lussuria claimed was “fast”. At least they were out and finally on route to the next objective now. Snow, Lussuria, Arthur, Ares and Crow were making their way through the common district again, but this time they were going north instead of south. The group followed the main road which ran around the left side of the council building.

As they were walking through the main road towards the nobles district, horses and mules trotted down the busy road pulling wagons, while a bunch of commoners and workers were carrying sacks of groceries and supplies on their back. For such a busy street their usually loud group had mimicked silence. Snow couldn’t help but notice Ares was uncharacteristically reserved.

“Ares?”

“Hey princess.” He gave her a bright smile.

She figured she would ask him something to lighten the mood.

“Do many weapons transform into armor? I’ve never seen one do that before.”

“Aha, so you noticed!” He exclaimed louder than he should have. “I bet you got some battle curiosities don’t you! Yup, it's right here!” He tapped the metallic armor that was plating over his leg. “Lugging that thing around is quite intimidating so I usually put it on” he shrugged. “And nope, this one unique, crafted by an old buddy of mine.” He seemed to relish in the memory of his friend.

That icebreaker brought breath back into him, his behavior returned to normal, to which the first thing he did was point at the sign far off in the distance where a fork in the road had formed.

“Hey Crow, I bet you can’t read that sign from here.”

Crow responded with his usual sigh.

“Of course, I can.”

“Noble district square, valley of stones, and warehouse row” Arthur had answered the question to which Ares grew shocked.

“Arthur, you could read that from here?! If I knew you could be capable of reconnaissance like that, I wouldn’t have suggested bringing Crow!” He laughed.

“He can’t see the signs you idiot, he just knows the map of the area! And why are you talking about that in the open, can’t you be a little discreet!”

“Relax Crow, I'm just kidding! He padded Crow on the back. I know if you saw something, you would shut me up! So, I can talk as loud as I please!”

Crow sighed in annoyance before complaining.

“You’re the one I’m questioning on bringing. Are we escorting you? Or are we escorting her majesty’s- “Ares clasped Crow’s mouth. Crow realized what he was about to say. There was an awkward silence before Ares responded.

“What was that about me being discreet?” Followed by a boast of laughter.

Crow was once again defeated.

They were approaching the gate of the noble’s district, stopping thirty or so feet in an area empty of guards or people.

“I guess this is where we break off.” Ares Declared.

“Indeed.” Crow responded.

Lussuria wasn’t aware of what was happening.

“Are you guys going somewhere?”

“Yes, Crow and Ares will be gone for most of the day today. You girls will be with just me. The noble’s district is extremely safe, as well as Harper’s estate. So, we decided this was the best point to split up. They will be back tonight.

Ares and Crow nodded.

“Good luck on your negotiation, your majesty.” Crow bowed.

“Knock em dead princess! Show harper the blood of Deamonia, that will send him running!” Ares cheered her on.

“Thanks guys, be safe on your mission okay.”

“Don’t worry, Crow may not know how to keep his mouth shut in the midst of a public street but he's the best overwatch in the order! Right buddy!”

“Don’t get me started…”

Ares and Crow began walking in the opposite direction.

“Are you girls ready to enter the noble district?” Arthur asked them.

“Yes.”

“Hopefully it is not as grimy as this one.” Lussuria rolled her eyes.

Snow, Lussuria and Arthur went up to the large gate that separated the two districts and crossed over.

The Noble District was like jumping into a new world, the gate they had crossed may as well been a magical portal connecting two places across time and space. Every building was extravagant in both design and size, made of polished stone and the clearest glass the girls had ever seen. That wasn’t even mentioning the golden metal trimmings coating almost every edge and corner in sight. Whether or not the metal was real gold, the visual impact was the same and conveyed the same message: we are better, because we are wealthy. The shops open to customers were also completely different. Whereas the Commoner District shops had been dominated by professions that were necessary for daily living-things like blacksmiths, seamstresses, butchers- the shops here provided only luxury goods and services: theaters, jewelers, high-class restaurants and more.

They reached the center of the noble’s district where there was a grand fountain, headed by a huge gargoyle statue.

“How about we take a short break here, your majesty’s. We have been walking for a while.” Arthur halted their progression to allow them to rest from the hour walk that they’ve been on.

“Sure.” Snow and Lussuria agreed.

Snow sat on one of the marble chipped benches that surrounded the gargoyle fountain. On the gargoyle’s head she could see white doves perched on top of it.

Lussuria took a seat just next to her, crossing her legs.

“Snow, have you figured out what you were going to say?”

“Yes. I’ve thought about it a lot.”

“Care to run it by me first?”

“No need, Lussuria. Another thing I’ve come to an understanding with, is that I should do this on my own. It's my own test.”

“Well, if you change your mind I can assist.”

“Thank you.”

After the short break they walked for another hour to the edge of the nobles’ district to the point where the city ran up to the mountain edge.

“This is it.” Arthur declared.

Snow and Lussuria looked at each other and then at the bridge they faced.

“This is an estate?”

Sir Harper’s estate was not an estate, it was a small fortress located in the north east corner of the nobles district. Hovering off the mountain, supported by smaller mountains not connected to the main one. They had to cross a grand bridge just to reach it. With the amount of knights you would expect the king to be living here. Arthur made their titles known to the knights at the start of the bridge and they were allowed to cross.

“Knight Councilman actually lives in a fortress, okay then…” Lussuria noted while sticking her head over the side of the bridge. “...and right above the famous stone valley too.”

“Stone fields?” Snow questioned, looking over the side with her.

“‘The Valley of Undead Golems’ one of the scariest places known to man, where dozens of mages die whenever they go in!” Lussuria said with a dramatic flair of her arms as if she was telling a scary story before chuckling.

“Sounds like a myth to me.”

“It actually isn’t, she’s right.” Arthur confirmed Lussuria’s tale.

“Really?”

Arthur nodded as both Snow and Lussuria were still gazing off railing into the valley. Snow could make out rocks and statues, all in pieces all over the grounds.

“Back when the war ended, the lotus army threw all the golems and constructs down there to avoid having to waste resources destroying them. The plan was to let them power down, but they never did. The constructs became dormant and no matter how many years go by, their power never runs out for some anomalous reason. Any person that gets near causes activations which wakes all the nearby constructs to pummel or crush them to death.

Snow’s eyes looked past the valley of golems towards the frontier.

“Isn’t that dangerous? Someone could wander in there by accident. Why haven’t we destroyed them yet, it's been ten years since the war.”

“The Mountaineer council doesn't want to. They keep it because it’s an invasion deterrent. Before the war, this very fortress was the protection for the eastern flank of Vulcas. Armies would try to scale the mountain directly into the noble’s district or the king’s regal district. This fortress was built to shoot them down if such a thing happened. Now the stone fields are deterrent enough.”

“So they just plan on leaving it like that forever?”

“The tradeoff of course is that this side of the kingdom cannot be expanded while that valley of constructs exists. It is effectively a no man’s land.”

The group had reached the end of the bridge. The knight councilor’s estate radiated luxury in every sense of the word, the estate held several buildings, a visible garden, water ways, beautiful décor and flowers that were strung around several pathways. This fort had been completely transformed into a paradise. The word ‘stunning’ would be an understatement. Snow remembered from when she read his files. Sir Harper was one of the most distinguished generals in the mountaineer kingdom and retired immediately after the war. These days he made it a hobby to buy a scroll’s length of businesses.

Several knights on horseback as well as foot patrols were making rounds about the estate.

“This place seems more guarded than home.” Lussuria noted as they strolled down the walkway made of colorful bricks towards the main manor building where a steward with a small red hat was waiting for them.

“Greetings, My name is Harold, steward of Sir Julius Harper, owner of this estate. May I ask who is visiting and for what purpose?”

“Hello Harold, I am Snow Regalia, princess of the Regalian Kingdom, and this is my sister, Lussuria Regalia.” Lussuria nodded. “We wish to speak to Sir Harper, regarding some business.” Snow stated their intent.

“The Lotus? They bless us with an audience? Why of course! Please follow me inside.” He agreed and let them onto the grounds of the manor.

🛡️ Ares 🛡️

Ares rappelled down to a desolate part of the Commoner District, taking a shortcut from the northern angle of the district into the lowest common section near the old mage’s guild: This was the property the High Queen was going to use for her plans. He could feel that something was off here. When he approached, his instincts turned out to be right as two guards were posted up on one of the few roads leading to the front of the old property.

He continued walking and pretended as if he was going to ignore them, but they stepped in his way.

“This road is off limits.”

Ares tilted his head sideways, as he considered them, before deciding to engage.

“Hm? And why is that? I am a Lotus Agent; I know you can see the symbol on my chest. I just wanted to check out that property you seem to be guarding.“

The guard flinched back at the mention of the property just before he poised himself aggressively at Ares, brandishing his weapon along with his fellow guard.

“It’s on order from the king himself! This area is closed, including to the Lotus! Turnabout or there will be trouble.”

Ares looked closer at the man, and peered right through the visor the guard wore, straight into his eyes.

“Don’t you think this trick is a little old already?”

The guards looked confused at this, until Ares spoke again.

“You might have escaped in Regalia, but you won’t be escaping now.”

The two mercenaries disguised as guards dropped the façade and swung their swords at him.

“Kill him!”

Ares flexed his leg and the axeblade masquerading as leg armor clicked, partially unfolding. In the time it took his attackers to begin their swings, the transformed weapon glowed with arcane might as he brought his foot up and then stomped it down. The effect was devastating as it erupted in the mercenaries’ direction, cracking the stone of the path, and sending them flying back several meters. They stayed that way, dazed and groaning as Ares approached.

“Bastard Lotus!” One of them shouted from the ground, still dazed and was struggling to recover from the sudden earth shock. Ares responded once again with a lifted leg and the weapon attached to it, glowing with power. He hovered it over the man’s shin, just below the knee.

“No... Stop!” The man tried to plead but Ares didn’t care. His foot smashed down, and the leg gave way like a twig with a sickening crack. The screams followed, but Ares couldn’t focus on that for long as a blade scraped against his chest plate from the side, trailing sparks in its wake. The second mercenary had gotten back up and was already swinging again. Area reacted by dodging the swing and grabbing the man's neck and sword arm. The choked mercenary's feet were hovering off the ground as Ares held him in the air. The man was struggling to speak. Ares loosened his grip to listen.

“Burn… him… already!” The mercenary managed to shout out.

Ares turned his head at the sound of ignited flames over his shoulder to see two more mercenaries with bottles in their hands, the tops stuffed with lit rags burning away. He saw their hesitation on whether to throw them while he had their comrade in his hands-it was short lived. They both leaned back to throw the bottles, but before they did, a small group of crows flew at them, claws and beaks striking at hands and eyes. The group became a flock as it bled the two men: every time a crow drew blood another crow spawned, revealing the unnatural nature of the birds. It wasn’t long before the two men were lost in a cloud of black feathers, piercing beaks and sharp talons.

Crow sat far away, perched on the edge of a roof just before the Noble’s district looking at Ares’ location. A normal person would not even be able to see what was going on from this distance, but Crow saw with more than just two eyes. From the stitches on their fake uniforms, to the blacksmith’s marks on their weapons- no detail was missed. A dark magical wind surrounded him as he controlled the unnatural murder of crows.

Back on the street, Ares looked again at the man he was holding.

“Start talking.” He ordered the short and simple words in contrast with the malevolent grin on his face.