Chapter Sixty-Eight: ‘Of measured worth...’
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Hector’s mouth hung open as he looked at the Queen. He wasn’t sure he heard her right. He couldn’t have.
‘Whoa, whoa,’ said Voreese. ‘You’re giving away castles? Can we have one, too?’
“Voreese, no,” said Roman. “Hector’s one thing, but we definitely don’t need or want anything from the Queen.”
“Are you certain?” said Helen. “I have no qualms about granting you lordship over lands of your own.”
Roman bowed his head forward a little. “That’s very generous, but it’d be problematic for me if people found out that I was working with the government. In the circles I frequent, that kind of information is liable to ruin a man’s reputation.”
“I see,” she said. “Am I to expect lobbying requests for favors from you, then?”
Roman leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “It’s not like I have leverage over you or anything. I’d just appreciate if you and I could maintain a certain amicability moving forward. Having a friend in your position would be nice for me, and likewise, having a friend in my position would be nice for you.”
The Queen gave a nod.
‘Fuck that, I want a castle!’ said Voreese.
Roman rolled his eyes. “Voreese, shut up.”
‘No, you idiot! If she’s just giving shit away, then I want Warrenhold!’
Now Roman just seemed confused. “Why? And what is that, even?”
‘Ugh! Because--!’ She cut herself off and looked at Mehlsanz and Garovel. ‘Wait, am I the only one who knows?’
The other two reapers exchanged shrugs.
“Warrenhold?” said the Queen. “Are you referring to the Gray Warren?”
‘Yeah! The fortress in Gray Rock! No one’s lived there in ages, right? So it currently belongs to the Crown, right?’
“Yes, that is correct.”
‘Great! Then we’ll take it!’
“No, we won’t, Voreese! I can’t accept land from the Queen! It’ll ruin everything! Why do you even care so much?!”
Voreese grumbled and looked around the table. Her hollow eyes fell upon Hector. ‘Hector. Sweetie. And Garovel. You handsome devil. Choose Warrenhold. So we can visit you. It’ll be delightful.’
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
I can imagine a montage of hector shoring up the old dilapidated castle now, sheets of iron supporting ancient walls, and towering buttresses and battlements of a subtly phallic nature.
ReplyDeleteHere begins the seventh major story arc. That sixth one was a bit of a doozy, ending up as the longest so far. Thanks for reading, everybody. And please vote for TZK over at Top Web Fiction. Helps the story keep growing, which in turn, helps me keep writing it. :)
ReplyDelete"Subtly phallic"? I DON'T THINK SO. IT'LL BE SUPER OBVIOUSLY PHALLIC, FOR SURE.
ReplyDeleteI would think that hector would be more concerned about the fact that he is the most wanted criminal in the country. Surely there is something the queen can do about that.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, warrenhold might make a good place to set up a base where hector can hide for now and launch operations in the future if abolish comes back. A few million in equipment, supplies, weapons and upgrades would also give the queen herself a place to run to when super powered servants come at her again.
And the plot thickens...
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, I'd expected the Queen's big favor to be taking him on television to reverse his reputation. Or maybe she just considers that a given, on a separate ledger.
ReplyDeleteShe didn't answer Roman...huh.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with 'subtly phallic' is that it applies to EVERYTHING OBLONG WITH A FLAT BASE. It's pretty much a meaningless idea that only exists in the eyes of the obsessed.
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteNo, that's just A dick, phallic implies a scrotal sac is in play, which is MUCH more rare.
ReplyDeleteAh, interesting. I hadn't known that...and I suspect a lot of other people don't either. People who throw the word around a lot.
ReplyDeleteCan't use too much iron, though, or it'll all be in Hectors radius and he won't be able to make more.
ReplyDeleteHah! I knew Roman wouldn't want anything. Not in his nature.
ReplyDeleteLol Reese never fails to entertain me. And again she knew something Garovel didn't and I love seeing Garovel look stumped. And hell, Mehl didn't even know.
Warrenhold, huh? I guess we got our next arc...
Dat plot tho...
ReplyDelete