Vaile awoke from his sleep to discover that, while he was still wearing his outfit, he was completely tied up. He looked around and saw the other passengers, drivers, merchant and guards that had not been marked red all tied up as well.

“Well, fuck. What happens now?” Vaile asked himself inside his head.

His question was answered when a rather slovenly man entered the large round tent that they were placed in. He chortled to himself in a disgusting manner as he ran his greasy fingers over his chin and eyed up the women and girls that had been bound and eyed them with visible lust.

“Be grateful! I, Rupert Duncecap Flagrant (pronounced by himself as ‘Flah-Grahnt’) have decided to give you an opportunity to serve me! I will take the more beautiful amongst you as my consorts while the rest can bear the children of the Red Mountain Bandits!”

When he finished, he let out a disgusting laugh that launched spittle as he chuckled.

“As for the men? Well, as long as you ensure your loyalty via a slave seal, I will be willing to have you join as whipping boys and targets for practice! At the very least you will live a bit longer! Hahahahahahaha!”

The faces of those in the tent who were not with the greasy leader were a mix of despair and anger. Vaile, on the other hand, was most confused by a single fact.

There were a bunch of men in the tent (the size of an old circus tent) who wore similar outfits. However, the one thing that they all had that was truly commonplace was the signet ring they wore. Out of the people in the tent, only about three out of every seven of them wore a signet ring on their right pinky finger (if they had one) and matching clothes, while the rest were in a mix of beat up mercenary outfits with no coordination or were wearing clothes fit for nobility.

The men with signet rings seemed to be taking up positions and preparing for something. What they were preparing for, Vaile had no idea, but he suspected that they were double agents, or perhaps even triple agents. As for the fact that they all seemed so very out of place among the mix of very uncoordinated and very fine attire… well, it made Vaile question the intelligence of the rest of the people in the tent. Why could they not recognize the obvious spies in their midst?

As the greasy yet fit man in nobleman’s attire creepily fondled a bound little girl, the sounds of fighting began to creep in through the opening in the tent.

“Who is making such a racket?!” The unkept but certainly not obese creep of a leader demanded.

The obvious plants sprang into action and began to effortlessly deal with the mercenaries in the tent before beating up and binding the sharply dressed individuals in the tent.

“Who?! How DARE you?! I am the Tyrant of Red Mountain! You will die for this! I have connections! Contacts! You will die in agony! I swear by the Gods that you will-!”

Rupert was silence with a swift roundhouse kick to the face, which made him start bawling like a kid whose candy had been stolen in front of them.

“You? You claim to be the Tyrant? You don’t seem to understand the gravity of what you have been doing, you little shit.”

A voice that sounded like it came from a man whose lifespan should have ended decades ago came from behind the flap that separated the inside of the tent from the outside. The flap was lifted and a man that looked too old to be alive walked through with the aid of a cane.

“I am the Tyrant of Red Mountain.” The old man said with a voice filled with malice and hatred, “And I do not tolerate imposters.”

The men with the signet rings saluted and made way for the impossibly old geezer as though he were a king. The old man stopped before the separated group of women and young girls and took out a dagger fit to be a national treasure. He kneeled down, which must have hurt his joints a fair bit, and cut the ropes binding the girl who had been molested by the greasy fuckwit.

“Don’t worry, child. I won’t bite. Besides, if I did, I would just lose my teeth!”

With a grandfatherly laugh the man who claimed he was the infamous Tyrant of Red Mountain freed the prisoners one by one as Rupert Whatshisname rolled around on the ground in agony.

“Now then.” The old man stopped when he came to Vaile. He had freed everyone else before him and now Vaile was wondering if there was something wrong with him. Normally you free the people in front first, but Vaile had been ignored so far in favor of freeing everyone else.

The old man cut the ropes around Vaile’s wrists and ankles. Vaile could have just broken them himself, Max Level Player Strength and all, but the events that were taking place right now were happening so fast he was unable to keep up. As Vaile stood up, the old man got on one knee before him.

“Uhh. What are you doing?” Vaile asked.

“Giving thanks and showing deference for my master.” The old man turned his head up to face Vaile, his smile seemingly trying to reach his cheekbones. “It has been far too long since we last saw each other. When was it? I believe it was when we went to bring Grazku Stormeagle and the rest of the Greenskin Leadership under you if my memory serves. But, in case you have forgotten, as you did have quite the number of followers, I am Seivalt Rodrick Trelawney, True King of the Trelawny Kingdom and the Tyrant of Red Mountain. Lord Vaile, it is an unimaginable pleasure to have you back!”

Once again, the name ‘Trelawney’ gave him déjà vu, only now he realized why it did so. The Main End-Game Raid before the First Expansion! THAT’S where he had heard it! So, a Kingdom from the Game got put in this world too!

“Seivalt, it really has been too long! But why did you become a Bandit? I mean, you were a rebel against the crown back then, but shouldn’t you have been more than able to beat the Kingdom by now?”

Vaile hoped he was not making an ass of himself, but his fears were unfounded.

“Ah ha ha! Yes, I certainly could have. By now the Kingdom is rotten and decaying. And, you know me, I love to play the long game. I figured that I could wait around both for you to return and for the whole structure to be weak enough to tear down with a good kick to the door, and now that you are here we can begin the process of giving you a Kingdom!”

Vaile was stunned into silence. If he was getting things straight…

“So, you created a vast criminal empire, systematically corrupted and destroyed order and common decency, ruined lives and livelihoods and more, all so you could take down a Kingdom that rejected you and install me as the new monarch?”

“Yes! Genius, no?”

“And you did not think that I might not want to rule?”

Seivalt laughed.

“But who else is fit to rule other than you? You have such a way with people that even monsters bow to you! If you are that good with people, then surely you are fit for a Kingly position. Besides, all this work can’t be wasted and for nothing, can it? You do want to rule, right? My work wasn’t for not, was it?”

Vaile wanted to deny that he wanted any part in this whole endeavor, but when he looked at the hopeful face of a loyal subordinate who was obviously on death’s door, he could not help but give in and grant one of his Tamed Beings his wish.

“Then I will accept this. BUT! I will be a shadow ruler. Never seen or heard, only felt. There will be someone better suited to be the face of the new Kingdom. I think you fit the bill. From what I remember, you had the moral high ground, despite being an enemy of the world. No one but you can be fit to act as King, while I act as the hidden ruler behind you.”

Seivalt’s wrinkly old face lit up like a Christmas Tree.

“To have such faith in me! I am honored, my Lord! Truly, serving you was the best choice I ever made. But, alas, I am reaching the end of my lifespan. I managed to last for far longer than I ever thought possible, but I am not like you. I cannot escape the reaper for much longer… Instead, let us have one of my heirs take that place. I know just the one, too. You will love her, I am sure! She is smart, strong, tactically and strategically gifted and has a way with people just like you, among other things. To think, I would not only be a follower of my Master, but also his in-law!”

Vaile’s eyes went distant behind his mask as he realized that he would now have to deal with what was probably another crazy lady, just like the five down in the underground.

“Oh, for the love of all that is good and holy… Why do these things keep happening to me?” Vaile moaned in thought.