"You made it, I'm so glad you made it?" Audita's inexhaustible stream of joy poured straight into Bondrewd's head in a steady, unintelligible stream.
"Did you expect the outcome to be different?" Lord of Dawn had asked the question casually, he had not hoped for an honest answer, but he was curious as to what his employer would give as an excuse.
"I thought you'd just run away like the heroes before you." Without a shadow of shame or embarrassment, the keeper blurted out.
"I'm just fulfilling my part of the bargain, and it's not your fault that I'm doing it." The very dialogue with the drunken half-divine curator was beginning to bore Bondrewd, but he continued nonetheless.
"What are my tasks now?" There was a frightening silence after the last word Bondrewd said, after waiting a couple of minutes the Lord of Dawn broke it, not being in the mood to waste time.
"Did you drop your hooves there by any chance?" Bondrewd asked with a serious dose of irony.
"I'll try to find out more about your tasks, so you can rest for now."
"I need information: how many necromancers are left and where they will gather the rest of their army, also it would be nice if you could give me more information on the warrior of madness and the forces he has."
"And I'll tell you about all this later, as soon as I get the information from the local gods, and don't pout, you're a hero today, so you can relax." There was a strange noise in Bondrewd's head like someone clinking bottles.
"What have you got...' before the Lord of Dawn could ask, Auditha shrieked. "I can't talk now, Mina brought more divine ambrosia, I'll contact you later, bye." The guardian exclaimed cheerfully and interrupted the communication session.
The communication session ended, and Bondrewd was still standing in the dark alley, drilling the wall with his gaze. "At least it's clear that my employer is not to be relied upon, apparently things were bad before me, which is depressing." Bondrewd sighed heavily and took a breath.
"Then we'll follow Plan A." Lord of Dawn waved his finger at Ozen, who was wasting no time finishing off a corpse rotting in the corner of the cul-de-sac. The man pulled the last bomb out of his pocket and held it out to Ghoul.
"Find its owner," Ozen walked around the strange, foul-smelling thing a couple of times, licked it with her tongue, and rushed out of the alley. Bondrewd followed her.
...
A dark-robed male figure entered the ornate room, the room was ornate and incredibly expensive: elaborate curtains covered the huge carved windows, glass cabinets were filled with countless books, vials, and jewels.
In the centre of the room stood a large table, entirely covered with papers, and behind it sat a woman of racy shape and size, catching the guest by the edge of her glance she beckoned him to come closer. He came quickly to the table, knelt down and began his report.
"The situation in the city is stable, the forces of the kingdom with the support of two unknown knights managed to defeat the forces of the necromancers."
"I already know that, you better tell me what unknown knights came to us, who are they, how strong are they, what goals do they pursue?" The woman's tone was mundanely boring, and she spoke to the envoy without raising her gaze, picking at her papers.
"First - Lord Bondrewd, my charges have already run him through the armorial books, no lord with such a name or surname has been found, and will not be found, dressed extremely provocative black clothes and a rectangular helmet with a purple visor.
"Definitely not a local, perhaps a foreigner from faraway lands, with a pale ghoul as his pet." The messenger was silent for a while, and the woman looked up in surprise.
"Very interesting, how strong is it?"
"Incredibly powerful, single handedly killed a necrodragon, collapsed a tower and killed a necromancer leader and half a hectare of forest with him, I think you heard the rumble - his handiwork. Possesses magic and most likely powerful artefacts."
"His targets?" There was no trace of the woman's bored tone, she was listening intently to the messenger.
"Unknown yet, but we know that the royal family has invited him to a gala reception tomorrow night, he's travelling chaotically around the city now, perhaps he's noticed the surveillance."
"I see the royal family's not wasting any time. What's the other one?"
"More interesting, Dick of the Legholes, former centurion and gang leader, who..."
"We've been tasked with retrieving the ring," the woman interrupted the messenger while massaging her temples.
"What's their connection?"
"We don't know yet, but the two of them arrived in the city, they acted together, then split up: Bondrewd went to the city gates, and Dick to the house of Ritor's interest-orner, where he was confronted by an unknown revived armour, my scout managed to save his life, after which the armour retreated. He is now in the same place."
"I think you should pay him a visit and ask him a few questions, but be careful, we must not disturb Lord Bondroyde unnecessarily until we know what their relationship is."
"I will,' the envoy was about to leave, but the woman called out to him, "let the maids carry my wear, tomorrow I want to see this mysterious knight in person at the royal reception."
...
The bandaged king walked down the long corridor accompanied by his guards, his wounds were a little sore, but nothing serious, he is served by the best healers in the kingdom, who do not eat their bread in vain.
Leaving the guardsmen in the corridor, the man opened the double doors and entered his chambers. Where, waiting for him on the bed was she, his consort. Lilia of Markia, her face was anxious, and her heart clenched into a lump at the sight of the battered monarch.
The king came to the headboard of the bed and silently hugged his wife tightly, even though their marriage had started as a purely political story, it had grown into something more.
"I was so afraid, I thought you were going to die." The queen whispered, clasped tightly in her husband's arms.
"I thought so myself, but by a happy coincidence I didn't. Let's just say I had a little help." The king spoke, a faint bitterness in his voice, a wounded pride baking his soul, but he tried not to show it.
"I know everything, and you've come to talk about this Lord Bondrewd."
"How do you know?" The king opened his arms, a look of surprise on his face.
"Let's just say I have my sources." Lilya answered quietly, staring at the floor. After a short pause, Avitus sat down beside her and continued.
"I want to marry our daughter to this lord." The queen was struck by an electric shock, unable to say anything, she stared at the king with a cold gaze, the atmosphere was getting hotter.
"And you're just going to marry your daughter off to who knows who."
"And I have a choice, the necromancers are gone, but who can guarantee that they will not return later, besides, the threat has passed and our 'hornet's nest' will stir again in the near future. He is a human, no, a messenger of the gods to help us keep the situation under control."
"I have not seen his power in person, but I have seen the faces of my subordinates who have seen his power in action, filled with awe mixed with primal terror."
"The royal family is as weak as ever, after my brother's death, everything went downhill, and I inherited this country, a pauper drowning in corruption and negligence. The nobles, no they are not the main threat, these fools can't see beyond their own noses." The king continued his monologue without paying much attention to his wife.
"The trade guild and the mages' guild are like a bone in our throat and a lifeline at the same time. The former feeds us, and without the latter, the city would have been in ruins long ago. I can already feel their nasty little hands on the new lord. And believe me, if they succeed, the fall of our dynasty is only a matter of time. Rumours of his power are spreading like wildfire."
"No one in their right mind would turn against Lord Bondrewd. So I simply have no choice." The queen listened to Avitus' arguments in silence, deep down she realised that every last word her husband said was true.
"And what about his squire?"
"He's a common bandit, he should be legally dragged off and that's it, but if he's really his squire... That could complicate the situation, anyway I've already sent some disguised guards to have a chat with him." Tears flowed from the queen's eyes in small drops. The king noticed this and continued in a firm voice.
"Everyone has his duty to the kingdom and to his family, including our daughter, before the reception it is too early to think something, too little information, but I think it is temporary." Said the king and without undressing lay down on the bed, the wounded body demanded rest, and the monarch sank into the saving morpheus.
...
A pretty brunette sat at a small table in a small room, her eyes were drawn to the crystal ball, in the murky vaults of which the streets of the ruined city could be seen, but she was not interested in the ruins of houses and people like flies swarming near them.
He was running through the streets - black as pitch armour adorned with a helmet of the same colour, with a purple visor, the one who drew the attention of the whole city, she was not often surprised by something, but he was a special case, his power was incredible, and his intentions were vague, the girl for the first time in her long stay in the guild of mages was overwhelmed by real excitement.
The girl licked her lips contentedly. "Who are you Lord Bondrewd? And what did you come to this world for?"
The girl's question remained unanswered, and she continued to stare into the ball, forgetting about everything in the world.