Dark Pact had definitely saved his life by ridding the Ring's control over him. But he wasn't sure how powerful the maxed-out version of it would be compared to its level one counterpart. There was a small chance he'd just melt into sludge as soon as he used it.
Regardless, he flips from his status over to his inventory and tosses off the mangled Loyalist gambeson. Instead, electing to wear a shirt under the mangled chainmail along with padded trousers and boots. His Cloak of Camoflague had been stolen after his captured, so he'd have to make do with the mundane brown one he'd used before.
Fortunately, despite his capture, Cromwell, Sheffield, and Wardes were unable to remove his Fairy Trinket, which still sits comfortably around his neck. They had attempted to cut the thread holding it around his neck, but every time they were repelled as if the Trinket itself was rejecting them. A useful feature that he hoped all Dota Artifacts would possess... This might also be the reason why you could only use one at a time.
Michael was most upset about losing his sword though, he could do without his magic cloak, but that blade had been a faithful companion to him for most of his time in Antomiers... Just another crime to carve into Wardes' tombstone he supposed.
Before he leaves this area in search of Tiffania, he flips through the pages of the Book of Commoners until he stops on Shadow Shaman's page. He looks down at the animated man and nods his head. "It's been a while."
...
"Ah, has it? I'm not sure time flows the same way it does where you are, young one." Rhasta states unsurely before pointing at him, or, what he was depicted as in Rhasta's view. "You look like you haven't slept a wink in days! What've you been up to, student!"
Michael shakes his head, "I got captured. And I escaped... Master Rhasta, do you know anything about Elves at all?" he asks, wondering if there was a way to track them... It probably wouldn't work due to their world's being drastically different, but a guy could wish, right?
"Elves...? I don't know much other than they are close with the Spirits. I met one that even claimed to be descended from one, but... I laughed in his face, huhahahahehe! Like the spirits would even touch a mortal! Heha!" he laughs, deciding not to probe Michael more on his recent experiences.
Michael shakes his head, "Again, is there a way to track them? With the Spirits help maybe?" he presses, not wanting to scour the whole of Albion just to find his target.
Rhasta shrugs, "Probably? But it'd take years for you do, forget about trying it." he casually remarks while falling onto his back, looking as if he was going to fall asleep any moment.
"Yeah... Thanks for your help, 'Master'." he mutters, closing the book with a huff. "Now, where to go..."
Michael walks over to the centre of the village and picks up a stick, holding it upright and letting it drop to decide which direction he'd head. "Alright, that away."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Princess Henrietta sits opposite her mother while trying to not grimace. The Queen was barely holding back her anger, which was made obvious by how it sometimes slipped through her polite facade. "Mother, I-"
"Don't, Daughter..." the Queen almost growls as she slides forward a piece of paper, "You will tell me the truth of the matter, and only then will I decide your punishment... Did you write this?" she asks, allowing Henrietta to uncover the copy of the letter she'd written to Prince Wales.
Henrietta pales, her hands becoming clammy as cold sweat starts forming on her back, "Whe-" she starts but stops as the Queen's brow's scrunch. "Do not lie to me, Daughter."
...
"Y-yes mother. I did." she admits, but despite the tense situation she'd found herself in, her thoughts were drawn to how this letter became public, as well as how Prince Wales was doing... She didn't believe for a second that it was him who released it, meaning it'd been intercepted midway... It could only be Viscount Wardes or a rouge member of his unit. The fact that he hadn't returned yet made it clear that something had happened.
Henrietta's thoughts are broken as the Queen begins to speak, "Why, Daughter, did you write this? I was aware of your fondness for Albion's Prince, it was your father's intention to have you wed before he passed. But you know as well as I that the situation has changed... You may have just doomed Tristain with your single, selfish action." she states while retrieving another letter, this one looking far fancier than the copy of Henrietta's letter.
"This is a missive from the Germanian Emperor. Can you guess what his response is?" the Queen asks, her shoulders visibly trembling in anger.
Henrietta felt like curling up into a ball and crying, knowing exactly what the letter contained. "My engagement-"
"Yes. You're engagement. Which has been broken, smeared, dragged through the streets of Germania, and denounced by almost every nobleman from Albion to the Holy land. You-. We. Are now a laughing stock, the butt of every joke told in even commoner taverns... I had a meeting with the council not long ago, and General Gramont suggested to have you stripped of your title..." the queen continues, shocking Henrietta.
"Mother! You cannot listen to that traitor!-" She starts but is against interrupted, "BE QUIET!" the Queen exclaims, now not restaining the glare she was sending towards her daughter.
"I should have you stripped of your title and sent to marry some lesser noble in Germania as an apology for your actions!... But, I am still your mother... So I offer you this one last chance. You will marry General Gramont's first son, Teiter Gramont."
"But-"
"NO! You will do this or be banished from this palace! Your acceptance of Louise Valliere has already set General Gramont and his allies against us, so to prevent civil war, YOU, WILL, DO, YOUR, DUTY!" the Queen demands and gets up, not waiting for Henrietta's response as she leaves the room and lets her dwell on her words.
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It's been two days since Michael had killed Wardes, yet he'd only now discovered a small village after trekking through the dark forests of Albion. He didn't know whether it was because of the ongoing civil war, or because Albion was always like this, but the presence of monsters was far higher than anything he experienced in Tristain.
Wild Dragon's would swoop down from nearby mountain tops and steal deer, goblins, orcs, and anything else they were interested in devouring in... Obviously, this also included Michael. Fortunately, these dragons were nowhere near as powerful as those from other universes.
They weren't able to cast magic, they didn't have scales completely immune to damage, they weren't all that intelligent, and their fire breathes were barely even worth their name. If you compared their puny flame breathes to a dragon from, say, Dungeon and Dragon's, you'd be amazed that the two creatures possessed the same names.
Michael doubted that these dragons would even be able to harm a baby dragon from DND. The difference was just too vast. So, despite Michael not possessing a suitable weapon, he was easily able to dispatch the couple of dragons that attempted to harm him.
After cutting the throat of the third one, the rest hadn't dared approach him again. Though, this might partially be because he'd butchered their cousin's corpses near where he thought their nests were. He couldn't fit entire dragon corpses into his inventory, so he'd had to cut them into 'bite-sized chunks' to store them. He'd heard many stories of 'Dragon Steaks', so he was eager to try it out, not to mention that Dragonhide and bones were said to be good for armour and weapons... Though, he was unsure if they applied to this world.
He had enough hide to make some armour, but he'd have a proper tailor do that. The dragon corpses he had were around the size of an average car, meaning he had enough materials for a couple of projects at least.
During his travels, he tried cooking up some Dragon steaks and Dragon hearts and found that both were quite delicious... Unfortunately, eating Dragon hearts didn't seem to confer any special abilities, so besides being very nutritious, they were essentially just luxury meat.
Anyway, the small village he encountered was quite different from the previous ones he visited. The farms were separated from the homes and few stores by large walls, and he could see a single man standing atop a hastily made-looking watchtower.
The man finally seems to notice him and points his bow, "Oi! Stop there! Who're you? And what're you doing out alone!?"
...
"Is there a curfew or something?" Michael jokingly asks, but is surprised when the man nods.
"You didn't know!? Dragons have been hunting in the area! It isn't safe outside right now!" he shouts.
"Dragons? I killed three on the way here if that's what you mean-" Michael starts but the man shouts in shock.
"YOU KILL DRAGONS!? YOU... YOU MUST LEAVE! IF THE ARMY HEARS OF THIS THEN YOU'LL BE EXECUTED ON THE SPOT!" he exclaims, only further surprising Michael.
"What!? Why would killing those pests get me executed!?" Michael asks, wondering why everything he does ends up in him getting his head chopped...
"Dragons are captured and tamed for use by the Dragon Knights! Killing them severely weakens Albion! So Dragon hunting was outlawed hundreds of years ago! You must leave! Or you'll bring destruction down upon our village!"
...
Michael lets out an indignant huff and runs a hand through his hair, "Can I at least buy some supplies? I'll toss you some gold so, just throw some shit down... Deal?"
The man chews his lip in thought momentarily before nodding. "You have to pay first though! I won't trust an outlaw, even a well-meaning one!"
Michael shrugs and tosses up two gold coins which the man barely catches, if the guy tried to fuck with him then he'd just climb into the village and get some payback. It wasn't like his reputation could get any worse, was it?
Around ten minutes pass and the man reappears again and tosses a rucksack filled to the brim with travel supplies. Hard biscuits, bread, and a small number of smoked meats that'll last quite a while. Most importantly, there was also a map present which seemed to display the whole of Albion... Though it was a little lacking in details, it still noted every major city and village, which would help his search tremendously.
Michael gets the name of the village, Lochenter, from the guard, allowing him to locate his position in the South Eastern side of the continent. In fact, he was only a couple miles away from the Eastern side of the floating continent, which meant that if he really wanted to he could just jump off and try to swim back to the mainland with his Slithereen Strokes ability. He'd probably have to devise a parachute, but it was an option at least.
Michael had a vague idea on how to go about the search... He'd simply search every village until he found Tiffania... As far as he could remember, people regarded her as a fairy due to her kind actions, beauty, and hermit-like lifestyle... All he needed to do was ask around to find out if he was on the right path.
"Oi! Have you heard the rumour of that fairy going around the country? My mother is sick and I'm searching for the fairy to help her!" Michael asks the guard who'd been trying to ignore him after passing over the rucksack.
The man shakes his head and denies hearing such a rumour, allowing Michael to scratch Lochenter from his list. The next village in question was a day or so north of here, and was called 'Noibla'... Very creative...
Michael gives one last sarcastic wave to the guardsman as he begins his trek to the next village.
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