The four bolts struck true. All found a spot of the duke’s torso to hit, and two of them actually burnt all the way through him. One took off a chunk of his offhand’s shoulder while the other burned a hole straight through his stomach. Dave stepped back as the duke fell to the ground without so much as a cry of pain. All of his bluster had come to nothing.

  Just as he started to walk toward Emiri and the other spectators on his side, he noticed something odd. The green energy of the combat ring was still visible on the ground, and that faint shimmer in the air that marked the barrier made it clear the spell was still in effect. That could only mean one thing. Duke Holstein wasn’t dead. Dave turned, intending to behead the man. He must be unconscious if he wasn’t dead, or he would be screaming in agony from wounds like that.

  Before Dave could reach the duke, the man started to move. A black tar-like substance started to ooze out of his wounds, and within moments the wounds began to seal up. Dave was stunned for a second, which allowed the duke to sit up and rant, “You have no right. He promised me I would have all the power I needed.”

  “Don’t you get it by now? Power doesn’t mean anything unless you use it for the right reasons,” Dave replied. His moment of hesitation was over as he recast Minor Enlarge while bringing his blade down.

  The duke lurched to the side but wasn’t able to completely dodge the blow. Instead of cleaving his head, it severed his sword arm from his body. In a display of inhuman strength, he managed to jump from a seated position to fully standing even as his arm fell to the ground. The black tar started to seal that wound, and Dave noticed not a drop of red blood was spilt.

  “What are you?” Dave asked, even while thrusting his blade through the duke’s chest and burying it in his heart.

  “I am the one who has seized power. I can’t be denied by the likes of you.”

  Dave had to admit it was disconcerting to see the man speaking with one arm on the ground and a foot of enchanted steel through his chest. It again shocked Dave enough that he wasn’t prepared for the duke to twist his body and wrench his sword away. The maneuver cut halfway through the duke’s chest, but again he didn’t make a single sound of pain.

  Even though he was more than three feet taller than the man, Dave took a hesitant step back, unsure what to do at that point. Then it kicked in. Whatever deal this corrupted man had made, it most likely had been with Seimion. That explained the talk about power and this dark magic. Dave realized that whatever Seimion had done to increase Holstein’s tier had come at a great cost to the man. A cost that it didn’t even seem the man realized as he numbly fumbled for the sword in his chest with his one remaining hand.

  “You can’t fight like this any longer. You are bleeding black slime, and your arm is cut off. Surrender and perhaps something can be done for you,” Dave said with the last of his compassion.

  Holstein sneered back in reply as he said, “’Tis but a scratch.”

  Dave could no longer afford to look at this as killing another human. This was putting down what had once been a human but was now just a rabid dog. He took a step forward and then, with increased Dexterity and Agility, grabbed the sword handle while planting a front kick squarely into the duke’s chest. The result was his sword was pulled forward and Holstein was knocked backwards.

  Then Dave was upon him. He cast Fleeting Fury to improve his attack speed and started to hack. This wasn’t swordsmanship. It wasn’t a battle, and it certainly wasn’t a duel. This was butchery, plain and simple. He set to dismembering the duke. He cut each limb off and then cut them in half again.

  From each wound the black tar leaked out, but with each wound there seemed to be less of it. Dave took care to make sure that Holstein didn’t bleed on him, as there was no telling what that black substance might do. By the time he removed the duke’s head from his dismembered body, it brought a blissful silence and an end to the man’s threats to Dave, even going so far as to say he would bite him.

  It still took a few seconds after the head was removed for the mouth to stop moving, but at least it didn’t make any noise with no air coming from the lungs. Dave knew the battle was finally over when the barrier dropped and Gunidar appeared at his side. The royal mage said, “We need to burn these remains. That was not a natural magic, and I fear it has the taint of fiends in it.”

  “I can do one better than burning it.” Dave then used Lesser Repulsion to push all the severed body parts together before repeatedly casting Spatial Bite and shunting all of the parts off to some pocket dimension. Gunidar followed that up by burning the ground where any of the tar-like substance was left with a flame so hot it burned white.

  A moment later, his family, Steffen, and other friends were gathered around Dave, congratulating him. Surprisingly the forces on the duke’s side didn’t move at all. No weapons were drawn, and they didn’t say much at all. It was like all the air had been let out of a balloon with Holstein’s death, but Dave was sure he saw relief on more than one face.

  Gunidar called out, “Baron Eikhorn is the winner of the challenge and named regent of Albia. I shall bring as many of the nobles as I can to the capital for a congress of lords tomorrow, and a new king shall be determined.”

  Steffen followed that up with orders for his men to round up and organize the forces of the duke. Dave turned and left that for his friend to finish up. He was just glad to have his family with him and content to wait to see what happened over the next few days.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  “It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do.”—Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the World.

  Konig, Royal Palace—Dave Nelson

  It had been a pleasant surprise how quickly the forces with Holstein laid down their weapons and gave way to Baron Eikhorn. Even the handful of barons and numerous knights who had been with Holstein made no protest at their lord’s death. All in all, the transition was very peaceful. The only real loose end was the disappearance of Holstein’s daughter with a certain smarmy baron.

  Every day hunting parties led by the paladins of Mishpat went out to hunt down the remaining fiends. Fortunately, the disappearances and murders came to an end, and normal life in the city resumed fairly quickly. There was a great deal of damage that had to be repaired, but the Albians seemed fairly stoic about it all.

  The Faeloran army retreated the second day after Eikhorn took over, and the Albian lines had been reinforced by the veterans of the western army. A display of casting power by Dave, Mira, and Gunidar probably didn’t hurt either. Massive ice storms, tornadoes of fire, and summoned monsters seemed to do the trick.

  Based on Jackson’s and Tabor’s reports about an insider at the academy working with Holstein to harm Jackson, Steffen launched an investigation. It came to a quick end, though, when it was discovered that the headmaster had fled in the middle of the night as Eikhorn had taken over the capital.

  Dave was happy to meet Master Meyers from the academy then at Jackson’s request. He explained about the boys’ suspicions earlier but shared their satisfaction with finding that the battle instructor was not the spy. It had simply been an unhappy coincidence that his hip had been injured in a duel. Once they talked everything through, it became apparent that even the injury to Master Meyers had been arranged by former headmaster Talcum.

  Dave’s least favorite part was the congress of lords. His position afforded him a seat, but Albian custom forbade any women from attending, so Emiri was not allowed to be present. That alone earned him an earful, but in the end she kissed him and told him to go make this all worthwhile by helping choose a good king.

  At first it seemed as though the council was going to go badly. There didn’t appear to be enough support for either of the dukes who would have been the foremost candidates. As predicted, Tarstadt was not very popular with his liege men, and Oppenheim was simply too tired.

  When Dave recommended Steffen be made king, it got some initial opposition. Eventually a deal was reached that would provide a trade agreement for Tarstadt to sell the wool that was the single largest export from his private estates. By getting an agreement that they would have an exclusive right to be sold in the Murkwood over any other sources of wool, that made the duke happy. The prospect of transitioning from there to the moon elves as an entirely untapped market made the man happy. If he couldn’t have power, money seemed to be the next best thing to him, and Dave pledged to buy the wool at an exorbitant rate.

  In typical Albian fashion, once things were decided, it only took two days for a coronation to be arranged and Steffen to be crowned. Thus four days after the death of Holstein, a new king sat upon the throne of Albia and held court for the first time. It was traditional to hand out rewards to those who had served him well. The biggest jewel to be had was the duchy formerly held by Holstein.

  Steffen stripped the title from the family and granted Holstein’s son only the title of baron and control of the area around the city of Holstadt, even though he had been absent through the entire conflict. Various knights were rewarded with gifts of gold from the royal treasury. Eleazor, who had taken over as steward for the new king, looked apoplectic a few times about the amounts being awarded but said nothing.

  The big surprise came shortly after all the small rewards were handed out and Master Meyer had been promoted to headmaster of the academy.

  “Now, the looming issue is what I intend to do with the Duchy of Holstein. I know most of you have an opinion about how this should be handled, but it has fallen to me as the new king to make this decision. None should think that I have made this decision lightly, but every time I thought about it, it always came back to one man. Baron Murkwood, please step forward.”

  Dave looked at Emiri, who just grinned, then walked forward to stand ten paces from the throne.

  Steffen rose and said, “You are new to our nation, yet you epitomize what is greatest about our people. Your strength, hard work, and integrity are above reproach. I can think of no better man than you to take up this post. Please kneel.”

  Dave dropped to a knee before the king, who then named him duke of the newly renamed Duchy of Nelson. Dave almost cringed at how stupid he thought that sounded for the name of a duchy but managed to keep it all bottled up and his face flat. Just as that weight settled onto him though, Steffen continued to speak, “Your prowess is something that can’t go unrewarded. It was your duel with the tainted man, Edwin Holstein, which secured this peaceful transition. There are few if any others amongst us who could have bested a monster like that, and just as importantly, you made it look easy. It is for that reason that I name you as the first champion of Albia, the blade of the king, and general over all the forces of Albia.”

  Apparently there was more to the champion business though because Eloria itself took note, and Dave felt a heat rush through him, and then a notification popped up. He wanted to look at it, but Steffen had already called Tabor, Jackson, Max, and Martin Raddick up to stand next to Dave.

  “The contributions that each of you have made can’t go unrewarded either. Tabor, you are my son, and I am proud of you. You are also my heir, and now that I have been elevated, I wish to confer upon you the title of Baron Eikhorn. However, you can’t hold that title officially until your fifteenth birthday. So I am naming Martin Raddick to hold the power in your name and to act as commander of all the western army. As such, you are now promoted to the rank of colonel and will answer directly to General Nelson in military matters and awarded the title of knight with lands to be sorted out, in which capacity you shall report directly to the throne until Tabor reaches his majority.”

  Much of that had been expected, but there was still a round of applause until the king began to speak again. “As for you, Captain Smart, your service in the Purple and Gold is grand, and I see the value that my predecessor saw in you. To that end, I am promoting you from your current post to the position of colonel with control over all of the military forces held in and around Konig as well as a knighthood with lands to be sorted out.

  “Finally, it is not our custom for one man to hold two titles in Albia. Thus Duke Nelson can no longer be Baron Murkwood. This creates a bit of tension, as that land is jointly claimed as a district of the moon elf nation and by Albia. So far that has worked, as Duchess Nelson is also a moon elf noble. I am going to appoint Duke Nelson to find a diplomatic solution to this issue that pleases both nations, but for the Barony of Murkwood, I name Jackson Nelson as the new Baron Murkwood. Just as with my son, you may not hold that title by law until your fifteenth birthday. So I am naming your father to act in your stead until such time as he can find a suitable steward or you reach your majority.”

  The rest of the ceremony became dry with lots of oaths being given and all the remaining nobles and knights bowing their knee to the new king. Dave took this as an opportunity to examine the notification.

  You have been named the Champion of Albia. As such, you must have freedom to operate anywhere within the borders of Albia at your full power. Your land ruler bonuses shall henceforth apply anywhere within Albia. Secondly, as the sword of the king, you receive a bonus to your primary weapons skills. Long Blades +20.

  That explained the surge of power he had felt when the position was granted to him. The extra skill with a sword wasn’t going to be game-changing for him, but having a 25% increase to all of his stats anywhere in Albia was pretty big. Dave still didn’t know how he felt about the increased responsibilities. He had just gone from being lord over a couple of thousand people to being the lord of more than one hundred thousand.

  This raised many questions, such as how the patron bonus would work and if he could create the environment that existed in Eris’ Rise in a full duchy. He felt like Steffen had given him more of a punishment than a reward. Oh well, for now he was just going to enjoy being with his family and leave these problems for another day.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  “The light of heaven is seen more clearly by looking to serve your fellow man than by keeping your eyes on the sky.”—From the private journal of Emiri Nelson, Chosen of Shanelle.

  Temple of Shanelle, Konig – Emiri Nelson

  Emiri felt odd touring the streets of Konig with Dave as part of King Eikhorn’s entourage. The past few days they’d spent a portion of each day touring the streets of the capital. The new king seemed genuinely concerned about the welfare of his people.

  She had never met the prior human king, but was quite fond of Steffen. She supposed that was good since she would essentially be acting as the ambassador for her people to Albia. What was left unprocessed in that thought was how easy it was for her to now think of the moon elves as her people and the humans as somehow different. A part of her knew that would eventually require a reckoning, but now was not yet that time.

  Now they were on their way to the temple of Shanelle. They had already toured the temples of Mishpat and Karbanot. Both had been very warm to her, although the leaders of each church clearly wanted to assure themselves that the presence of a Chosen from a different church was not going to create a problem for them.

  This repeated fear was beginning to bug Emiri. Her people were afraid that she was going to force them from their ways. Yes, she wanted them to understand the Gods as she did, not through bitterness but with an eye to a relationship. The fear from the various other churches was even more annoying to her.

  Truthfully, Emiri had begun to see all the true Gods as distinct parts of a trinity, which completed her understanding of God. This helped her reconcile her experience on Eloria with the beliefs she had back on Earth. Even though she didn’t express such for concern that she would be misunderstood. People didn’t like to have their preconceptions shaken. That was the same in whatever world she was in.

  Somehow the meeting with the bishop of Shanelle was the one that worried her the most. She had seen the inklings of political machinations in the church just in the representatives who had been sent to her. But for Emiri, redemption was a matter of life and death, not a matter for the wrangling of power.

  Now, walking up the marble steps of the temple, it was impossible to deny the beauty of the building. She felt a sense of peace, almost as though the presence of Shanelle permeated this place. Everywhere else in town during their inspection, the king had been the main draw, and she had been relegated to that place of a curiosity. Not so here. Every group of people who stopped would bow their heads to the king, but then swarm up against her.

  Hands reached out, just trying to touch her. Voices asked for a blessing. It was overwhelming in many ways. There were far more worshippers here than she had anticipated, and this made her suspect that the timing of her visit had been put out ahead of time.

  At the top of the stairs, they entered the temple proper. Inside, they found a formal party awaiting them. In the center was a middle-aged human male with a mostly bald head except for the ring of gray hair around the sides. “Greetings, Chosen. I am Bishop Myren Tengur, and I am so honored to welcome you to the temple of our Goddess, Shanelle, here in Konig. May you feel welcome and consider this to be your home.”

  As was the custom of her people, she gave a short bow to the bishop before replying, “Thank you for your warm welcome. Though I am here today less as a Daughter of Redemption and more as the ambassador of the moon elves and a duchess of the kingdom. I would be happy to discuss spiritual matters with you in private, but it will need to wait until more pressing and mundane matters can be handled.”

  A quick frown passed over the bishop’s face so quickly that if she hadn’t been paying close attention, she would have missed it. “Of course, I will be at your disposal. Perhaps we could meet for breakfast tomorrow morning. You could join us for prayers, and I am sure the faithful would be happy to hear of how the redemption of Shanelle has spread to the moon elves.”