Chapter 4 : And he lived long and had too many children
Kingdom of Kamelott, in front of the Shakespeare Guild Hall
----- In the guild master's bedroom, 5:00 am -----
The alarm clock rings
Already?
Alarm clock beeps louder
Okay okay Cuts the alarm and sighs
Time to fulfill my role... as guild master
Courage, William
William rises from his bed and descends the long wooden steps of the empty guild hall
He heads for the hall's main counter, to brew a nice cup of coffee
I always start my day with a good coffee, or maybe two, I'll see
We're going to wake the fierce beasts! Shakes a bag of kibble
A crowd of cats, dogs and rodents run up to the counter where William is standing
He takes several large handfuls of kibble, and throws it all into the hall to feed the beasts
William: Sips his coffee "Fire”
All the lights in the guild hall come on,
Oil paintings and quotes such as “To be, or not to be, that is the question” are illuminated and revealed by the lights in the guild hall
William
Hmm, maybe it's going to be a quiet day.. Sip and sip his coffee, and cough
----- 6:00 am ----- I'm going to open the guild hall and look at the news box, we're sure to have some from the Kingdom of Reihim offensive
Opens the guild hall, prepares to look at the news box, but is interrupted by the hall door opening
??? #1: “OOOOHIIIIII WILLIAAAM BRING OUT THE BOOZE”
William: “Oh no..”
???#2: “Ooooh the little cats, the little dogs!”
???#3 : “Coffee, 5 sugars, milk, please”
???#4 : “I need a quest, William”
???#5 : “I've lost my cat again, I've come to ask for a quest Master Shakespeare”
A group of people enter the guild hall, William is already completely overwhelmed by the number of people requesting services
William: “Well.. I've already got work to do!”
Courage, William
----- 8:00 am -----
???#167: “Can you send a messenger to the Kingdom of Reihim?
I need to know how my daughter is!”
William: “I'll see what I can do, sir”
As usual, it never ends.. How did I end up here? aaaaaaAAAAAAAAA
???: “Daddy! Get some rest, I'm taking care of the customers!”
William: Eyes full of tears “Oooooh my little Yumi, you're saving my life!”
Yumi: “Hihi! Go wake the others, it's getting crowded!”
William: “Yes!”
Yumi
William goes up several flights of stairs, knocking on each door, many doors
He stops in front of an open door leading to Gin's room
William: “Where the hell has this kid gone?”
??? : “Yo old man, I think he told me he was going to a friend's, but you know him”
William: Sighs and crosses his arms “Yeah, he lied to you.. Go find him, Kin”
Kin: “Yeah, no worries, old man”
William: “IT'S DAD !!”
Kin
Each tooted door gradually opens, several people emerge from their rooms, ready to help William run the Guild Hall
William: “Takeshi, Rika, Minori, serve our customers in the Tavern area”
Takeshi, Rika, Minori: “Yes, Dad!”
William: “Ken, Tadao, we need help in the horse rental department”
Ken, Tadao: “We'll go right away, Dad”
William: “Yuki, Hisako, Haru, go help your big sister Yumi at the main counter”
Yuki, Hisako, Haru: “Yes, Dad!”
----- 10:00 am -----
William reads the news on a tavern table, drinking coffee
Damn Knocks his fist on the table the Kingdom of Reihim has been reduced to ashes.. I can't believe it!
I hope the civilians have been evacuated somewhere
Kin: “THE OLD MAN! GIN MADE A BIG MISTAKE!!!”
William: “AGAIN?!”
Kin: “Nah, this time it's serious!”
William: “What did he do this time? Where is he?”
----- On Gin's side -----
Gin is slumped in a chair, snoring, in the waiting room of Kamelott's adventurer management office
He's been waiting in this room since his return from the mission, but the news has already spread up the chain of command...
The Silver Fang group is no longer
A tall man in noble clothes and tall leather boots approaches the waiting room
??? : “Gin Shakespeare?”
Gin : Sleeps deeply, drooling and snoring
??? : “Ahem.. GIN SHAKESPEARE?!!”
Gin: Jumps “Euuaaaah!!!” Falls from his chair and stands up very quickly “Y.. YES SIR!”
??? “Sorry for the wait, little Gin, we had some very urgent business to attend to”
Gin : Lifts his head and sees the face of the man speaking “M.. Master Siegfried!!”
Siegfried, grandmaster of the guilds: Kind smile “Come on, Gin, forget the honorifics with me! Ahah!”
The great guild master, Siegfried Pendragon!!! He will receive me... me !! Gin's eyes shine with a thousand stars, showing how much he admire Siegfried
Siegfried Pendragon
Siegfried: “Come on, follow me, we'll talk about your report!”
Gin: Every tense “Y.. Yes Master Siegfried!”
Siegfried: “Ahah, you're quite a fellow, little Gin!”
Gin and Siegfried walk through the corridors of the adventurers' management, the walls filled with gilding and noble, draconic motifs and the floor made of shiny, reflective black marble
They arrive at the door of Siegfried's office, and as they open the door, Gin marvels at the decoration of his large deskroom
Large shelves full of golden books and grimoires, a study table with mysterious cartography essays, and various gadgets on his main desk
Ferrofluid, waving and floating by itself, is displayed behind his seat in a large “aquarium” lit by a violet light, and seems to act on certain parameters..
As Siegfried indicates for Gin to sit down, he walks over to his seat, runs his hand over his desk and starts a Newton pendulum on display at the side
Siegfried: Sits down on the seat of his desk “Good!”
Goes through the many papers on his desk and takes Gin's report in hand
“I've taken on board what you've said.. I just want to confirm some details with you, is that okay with you?”
Gin: Sits down, still tense “Er... Yes, of course” Gives a big, embarrassed smile
Siegfried: A gentle smile spreads across his face “Relax, Gin, I know you've worked very hard for a chance to save your sister Akane!
You'll be properly rewarded, including the 3rd class title you so covet!”
Gin: Blushes and is so happy “Thank you very much, Master Siegfried!!!”
Siegfried: “Good! Let's have a look, then!”
Siegfried painstakingly rereads Gin's report on his mission, underlining certain passages with his finger
He then turns his gaze back to Gin
Siegfried: “So, you were captured by the Silver Fang bandits, were you?”
Gin: “Yes.. I got caught while I was preparing an earth-type capture spell!”
Siegfried: “And so, you were almost assaulted by prisoners, and you were saved by a certain ‘Ao’, right?”
Gin: “Yes, he actually helped me a lot on that mission, but he wanted something rather.. strange in return”
Siegfried: “Hmm?”
Gin: Scratches the back of his head, embarrassed “Well.. He told me to tell you in person, not in a report.. hmm..”
Siegfried: “Don't be afraid, what did he tell you to say?”
Gin: “He told me to tell you.. that his name was Aotahi, aka Blue Light, and that I report it to my superiors..”
Siegfried: “...” empty eyes appears on his face.. and he lets a short silence settle in
Oh.. What's the mess he's gotten me into, Master Siegfried doesn't seem to like it..
Siegfried: “Pff.. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!” Sneering in a loud voice
Gin: “Oh.” Astonished by Siegfried's reaction
Siegfried: “Well, is that all? What a bizarre request!”
Gin: “Isn't it?”
Siegfried: “Yes, you must have run into quite a fellow, probably a kid with superhero syndrome!”
Gin: “Well.. the name Blue Light does sound a bit superheroic” Ricane silently
Siegfried: “Ahem.. Anyway, you kept your promise, and that's what's important in the end!”
Gin: “Yes!”
Siegfried: “Well, let's see the rest of this report!”
Suddenly, a very angry person can be heard shouting and getting closer and closer to Siegfried's desk William: “WHERE IS THAT FUCKING KID !!!”
William opens Siegfried's office door very roughly, while Gin is absolutely terrified and hides behind his chair
William: “COME HERE LITTLE IMP!!!” Quickly approaches Gin
Gin: “AAAAAAAH!!!” Runs behind Siegfried
Siegfried: “Come on, William! What's all the fuss about?”
William: Shouts and points at Gin “What's this killing bullshit?! HAAAA?!!”
Siegfried: “Well, we were just about to talk about that!”
William: “This runt killed Zack Silver?!!! You've got to be kidding me!!!”
Gin: “IIIIIIIIIIH I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING DAD!!!”
Siegfried: “Gin hasn't done anything that bad, in fact it's his ally of circumstance who's responsible for Zack Silver's death”
William: “Who?!”
Siegfried: “We'll talk about that another time, William! What I can tell you is that, according to Gin's report, Zack Silver was contaminated by dark energy and had inevitably lost control!”
William: “Oh..” Slowly calms down “I.. understand..”
William's thought
It's just as I feared.. poor Zack has been touched by the dark energy.. Sad look
Siegfried: “Well.. why don't you pull up a chair, William, and sit down again, Gin, and we'll discuss this report together, eh?!” Gentle smile
William: Silently grunts
Gin: “A.. Alright” Gently moves closer to his chair, still frightened of his father, William
Siegfried: Presses a button on his desk “Clara, can you make a nice cup of coffee for my friend William?”
Clara (Siegfried's secretary): through speaker on desk “How many sugars?”
William: “BLACK !!” Growls as he looks sideways at Gin
William and Gin resume their seats, and the 3 characters continue to talk about the report and events of Zack Silver's transformation into a demon
----- 12:00 PM -----
William, Gin and Siegfried rise from their chairs, having finished recapping Gin's report
Siegfried: “Well done, Gin!”
Gin: “Thank you again, Master Siegfried!”
William: Looks sideways at Gin and growls “Why don't you go join your big brother Kin, he's waiting for you outside?”
Gin: Scared “I...I'll be off then! Bye bye!” Speeds out of Siegfried's office
Siegfried: Sneering loudly “Holy Gin!!!”
William: Sigh “I'm going to pay the king a visit, are you coming?”
Siegfried: “Um.. Have lunch with me instead, won't you?”
William: “I need to get some information about the kingdom of Reihim.. A lot of people are worried..”
Siegfried gives William a big smile and beckons him to sit down..
William complies without asking anything
Siegfried: Presses a button on his desk “Clara, is lunch ready?”
Clara (Siegfried's secretary): through speaker on desk “Yes sir, as you requested, we've prepared an extra lunch!”
William: Growls and crosses his arms “You had it planned, didn't you!”
Siegfried: “You know me!” Finger snaps
As the finger snaps, the curtains on those windows close and the light dims in his office, giving way to an atmosphere bordering on top secret
A two-armed robotic device emerges from the floor behind William, holding in each hand a lunch starter, a small green salad with tomatoes and fresh cheese
The device's hands extend all the way to the desk, placing one dish in front of William and the other in front of Siegfried, then returning to the hole from which it came
William: Sigh “I take it this is more bad news?”
Siegfried: “Well yes.. my sources reported some very strange things about the battle in the kingdom of Reihim.. We all thought they were going to be attacked by demons, didn't we?”
William: “All signs pointed that a portal to Dirium (The dimension where the “Demons” live) was going to rip open not far from them, why? Were they attacked by something else?”
Siegfried: “Well.. there was a portal tear.. but it wasn't demons that came out of it..”
William: “What do you mean?!”
Siegfried: “All my sources are positive.. What came out of the portal were humans..”
William: Rises from his seat abruptly “What?!”
Siegfried: “It hasn't been revealed to the general public, as you can imagine.. There are two possible theories for this phenomenon:
- Demons use necromancy.. or
- The dark lord is now able to give human form back to demons”
William: “... Either way, it's very worrying”
Siegfried: “You want to know what's more worrying?”
William: “What, there's more ?!”
Siegfried: “I can tell you one thing
Currently
In the Kingdom of Kamelott
Demons lurk among us
We don't know what they want
But certainly
Nothing good”
... What a shitty day!!