CHAPTER 5 World Player Indeed!

CHAPTER 5

World Player Indeed!

Rufus

Rufus went to bed, but he didn’t go to sleep. Instead, he tossed and turned, both excited for and dreading the travel ahead. His thoughts drifted back to when he’d first met the bard; it was hard to believe that it was only a year ago that his obsession with her music had begun.

One Year Ago

“Rufus!” Chloe Watercress yelled at me from the doorway of my very comfortable dungeon office in the Black Fortress. The enchanted prison cells were partially underground, letting in the sunlight from the outside. The front half remained usable for the prisoners of the Dark Lord—if Keith ever bothered to have prisoners—while the back had been converted into a cozy living space for me after I’d decided to move down here.

“Yes, Chloe?” I didn’t look up from my book, knowing that would irritate the necromancer all the more. Also, The Duchess of North Berkshire was a very interesting read, and I didn’t want to stop midscene. Miss Hana had just been found poisoned, and her knight escort was missing … though I highly suspected the butler had something to do with that.

Chloe announced, “I just thought I’d let you know that I’m leaving.”

That got my attention.

“Where to?” I sat up quickly, taking the tiny reading glasses off my midsize canine snout. I slotted them as a makeshift bookmark into my romance novel before placing both on the small table beside my reclined daybed. A tinge of worry about where our illustrious king would send her this time crept into my voice. “How many dead? ”

It was Chloe’s job to [Resurrect], [Revive], or [Raise] those who could be saved around the Dark Enchanted Forest. A flood? She went to fish out the nonsurvivors. A dungeon break? Cleaning up the mess. When the entire forest tended to shift around all the time, travelers never knew if they would wake up in the middle of dire wolf–infested woods or beside the beautiful shores of Lake Loria, where a dragon lay sleeping.

“I’m going to Servalt to enjoy their Annual Spell Script Collegium.”

I did a double take, raising one eyebrow. “But … why? You get the subscription scrolls every year.”

“I’m taking a vacation.”

I eyed the woman. Chloe flipped her long blonde curls over her shoulder dramatically, as if nothing bothered her and my opinion didn’t actually matter. It must, though, or else she wouldn’t be here. In my dungeon. Telling me about it.

“Does Keith—?”

“He approved my leave of absence,” she countered. “I’m going for three weeks. I’ve left two full crates of potions that should last until after I get back.”

“Alright.” I didn’t want to do this, but my notification tabs were going off in the corner of my eye, and I decided I could use the help. I much preferred patience to hitting the problem with a hammer, but judging by the nervous energy and masked uncertainty radiating from my friend, she wasn’t likely to open up on her own.

[Passive Skill: Mediator has been activated by your Patient Chloe Watercress. Primary emotion: Surprise, Startled. Subject may act irrationally. Threat Level: 1]

[Passive Skill: Patient has been activated. A Patient within the area of your Skill is in need of counsel. Warning: Patient Chloe Watercress is under the influence of a World Player . Threat Level: 1]

The system blinked with more messages that I ignored. There were always more messages. When I refocused on Chloe, she was pretending to be unaffected, waiting patiently for my verdict.

“Who did you talk to?” While I’d never heard of a World Player before, I could only assume it was a high-level, Rogue-class title. And not someone I wanted influencing my friends—let alone the right hand of the Dark Lord.

Chloe deflated and let out a rare, simple sigh, devoid of her usual dramatic flair. “I received a letter.”

Fishing out the scroll, she passed it over. It had a tiny broken seal in the shape of a teacup .

Dear Necromancer Chloe,

Thank you so much for resurrecting me. To return the favor, I would like to pass along this special pass to the Annual Spell Script Collegium. It is a wonderful event held every year that shares all of the latest magical spells and theorems.

I’ve heard there is even going to be a surprise presentation by the Grand Duchess of North Sumbria on her latest invention, something called an “elevator.”

I hope this finds you well, and that you’re able to go. And thanks again.

Yours Truly,

Madame Potts

“Wait, wait, wait.” I stood and waved the letter between us. “You saved the Madame Potts? When?”

Madame Potts was the illusive, elusive, reclusive oracle who told the future on the Crystal Cast Network all around the continent. World Player indeed! Everyone and their human were looking for that woman.

“How am I supposed to know? Do you know how many people I [Resurrect] in a month?” She reached out for the letter and snatched it back. “Anyway, I’m going.”

“If Madame Potts thinks you should go, then I’m sure it’s where you’re meant to be,” I mused, retaking my seat on the daybed. “Have fun.”

Chloe didn’t leave right away. I felt her stare as I picked up my book with every intention of getting back to it. When she still didn’t take the hint, I glanced up at her while using the opportunity to clean my reading glasses. “What?”

“I’m not the only one who should get out of here and live a little,” Chloe remarked. “When was the last time you left this dungeon—and don’t say breakfast!” She knew me so well. “When was the last time you left the Black Fortress?”

“I went to North Sumbria for the Summer Masquerade, and I’m going to Peldeep next month,” I argued.

“You went to the Continental Council meetings, sure, but did you go dancing? Did you socialize or do anything fun?” she demanded.

“I have fun reading in silence, and I have no intention of doing anything else, thank you,” I replied, placing my glasses back on my face and determinedly shoving my nose into my open book to end the conversation.

Chloe didn’t back down. “When I’m back from my trip, it’s your turn. We’ve been stuck in this stupid castle for too long. I can’t imagine how many banked holidays you have.”

“Need I remind you,” I said, “that I am Commander General Rufus Triever, level fifty-four leader of the King’s Dogs of the Black Fortress and the First Order of the Dark Lord’s army. I don’t take holidays! ”

“Do you want my advice?”

“No, but I’m sure you will tell me either way.”

Chloe stood there with her hands on her hips, the scroll nowhere to be seen. She was eye level with me while I was sitting, and a very terrifying woman who was like a sister to me. “You need a hobby, Rufus.”

I lifted my book. “What do you think this is?”

“I know you love reading, but you need something that gets you out of this dungeon. No one knows what your folk form looks like; why don’t you use that?” The concern in her eyes actually got to me a little. “You can go out and do something new in Peldeep. Anything! Go to one of the shows or enter a contest or check out the fish market. The Westcoast Shoals Festival should have something interesting.”

Imagining myself walking about in my humanlike folk form at all was strange, since I’d few reasons to transform fully into a beast or a man. My beast form shed too much, and my folk form was just so … furless.

And the thought of any one of those activities, surrounded in a crush of people, left me in a cold sweat. Still, I could see that this meant something to Chloe.

“If I promise to go to one show, will you be happy?” I sighed, imagining the horror of being surrounded by an enthusiastic theater crowd … Maybe a nice, calm music concert instead. I could do that.

It wouldn’t change my life to spend one afternoon uncomfortable in the stands.

“That’s all I can ask,” Chloe agreed. She turned on her heel and walked out of my office, calling out a final farewell before she left for Servalt. I shifted my glasses back into place and resumed reading from where I’d left off.

Now to find out what exactly the butler had done to Miss Hana’s knight escort!