Red picked his head up off the cold wood of the counter. He snatched a small piece of wood out of his eyebrow and looked around the room, somewhere in the back of his mind hoping it wasn't as bad as he saw last night.
The area around him was still absolutely catastrophic, and the light from the morning sun illuminated every single detail. Red now saw new scratches, huge holes in the walls and floors, and yet more burn marks that were originally veiled by the darkness.
He put a hand on his temple and shook his head. Looking down at the counter, Red saw a small torn piece of scroll with something written on it.
He picked it up and it read, "I will be back."
Red got up and made his way towards the second floor.
"Maybe I was too tough on him," Red thought to himself, "I don't want to treat him how the older knights used to treat me, I want to break that cycle. But with so much going on it's easier said than done."
Slowly stepping up the creaking stairs, Red examined the second floor as it came into view. The second floor had little to no damage, save a few chains poking through from the first floor. The second floor was fully furnished, complete with beds, couches and a full bookshelf. All of the furnishings had a thin layer of dust over them however, only adding more validity to Ruiner's claim that he was gone for eleven months.
Red walked up to a closet that stood alone in a corner of the room and swung it open. The closet was filled with identical versions of the Oldum's soldier's uniform in slightly varying sizes, along with a few female versions of the outfit and some casual outfits.
Red grabbed one of the biggest sizes and held it up to his body. He quickly put it on and opened up a nearby drawer.
The drawer had a few Oldum soldier badges, some in significantly worse condition than others. Red grabbed one of the badges in better condition and attached it to his lapel.
Heading toward the stairs, Red looked around the room one more time. In the middle of the room, propped up by a crude wooden stand was a katana. The katana curved deeply and was placed in an ornate wooden scabbard with gold accents.
Red walked up to it slowly, and circled it, examining it closely. He picked it up carefully with both hands and looked at the words finely carved into the scabbard.
He drew the sword out of the scabbard quickly and held it away from his body. It was masterfully crafted without a nick or a dent and it glistened in the light of the nearby sun.
Red lightly placed a finger on the blade and it created a small gash on his hand.
"So this was your new sword, huh Yasuke? Don't worry, I'll be bringing it back to you before the day is out."
Red held the sword in his right hand and stepped out of the front into the bustling city. More so than during his other times in the city, there were people completely flooding the streets. There were many individuals in strange attire and foreign armors crowding around the residential district, and the density only seemed to increase as Red slowly made his way to the royal district where the castle stood.
"I guess Ruiner wasn't exaggerating about this town forum."
People brushed by, shouting and swearing indistinctly as they rushed into and away from the main castle gate.
Red pushed his way through swarms of people as he neared the main castle gate. Everyone now stood shoulder to shoulder with no space at all to move. A short distance away, Red saw the cause of it. A group of soldiers formed a line blocking the entrance leading into the castle and forcing all citizens back, only letting a few select individuals in.
Red pushed his way to the front and stood face-to-face with the soldiers. The soldiers all wore the same Oldum uniform he did and carried swords and spears.
One knight pushed Red back hard, barely moving. He barked, "What are you doing soldier? You should already know that none of us are allowed past this point!"
Another knight, a shorter one with a baby face chimed in, "Sir, do you know who this is?" He trembled as he looked up at Red, "This is Red, the King of Crimson Blood! I heard rumors that he may be back but I didn't believe them…"
The first soldier, a gruff older man, looked at him, taking off his hat and squinting, "This is that Red? Nah there's not way it -"
Red sighed, "Look, maybe I'll tell you all about it another day. Now if you don't mind, can you please let your Grand Officer Red through, I really wouldn't want to keep the king waiting."
The two knights immediately stepped aside and he stepped through the space they made.
Walking through the first floor of the castle, the atmosphere changed significantly. Past the wall of guard, there were little to no people around, save a few individuals loitering around and speaking in hushed voices. As Red walked past them, holding onto Yasuke's sword tightly, all the voice stopped immediately. They turned and stared at him as he made his way past.
As Red began to make his way up a set of stairs, he saw three figures descending at the same time. Princess Emere wore an elegant frilly white dress that swept the floor as she walked. Two attendants walked alongside her, holding the longest ends of her dress up.
One of the attendants was completely unfamiliar to him, appearing to be a young woman in her teens wearing a short dress, with long bangs that seemed to completely cover her eyes. Red's eyes got wide as he looked over at the other attendant.
Day stood there, tightly holding the other end of the dress. She had a short pink afro and wore a variation of the Oldum soldier's armor, a sleeveless blue top that exposed the midriff and a long skirt that nearly went down to her ankles, along with a pair of black boots.
Red went to call out to Day, but Princess Emere spoke up first, "Oh my goodness! Is that our Grand Officer Red back from the great beyond?"
Princess Emere now rushed down the stairs, her attendants staggering as she reached the bottom. Princess Emere looked up at Red and put her hands on his shoulders.
"Now I may not be as knowledgeable as my brother regarding combat and magic but even I can tell there's something different about you," Princess Emere let go of his shoulder and looked back at Day for a moment before continuing, "I beg of you, you must tell where you've been after the events of today are completed!"
Red bowed his head, "Absolutely princess. Where are you going now? Is the town forum not up here?"
Princess Emere nodded, "Oh it is, right up this staircase in the large room to the right. The door is open, it's impossible to miss. I've been tasked with greeting a certain diplomat as he enters our country. I mustn't keep him waiting any longer, but I'll be looking for you after the event!"
As Red began to walk past the three of them and headed up the stairs, he glanced at Day for a moment. She kept her eyes fixed on Princess Emere and didn't say a word.
Red marched his way up the stairs and looked back at Day once more. She didn't look back and Red watched her as she talked and laughed with Princess Emere.
He gripped the handrail on the stairs hard, splintering the decorative wood and he continued upwards. The atmosphere shifted even more the closer he got to the meeting room. Several military officers and heads of government wearing gaudy outfits loitered right outside of the entrance. They stared directly at Red as he stomped up the stairs and a few of them snickered.
Red shook his head and squeezed through as he neared his destination. As he got to the top of the steps, he felt something splash on his head. He touched it calmly, and watched the liquid drip from his fingers down to the carpeted floor.
"Did someone really just spit on me?" He thought to himself.
Red went from frustrated to furious and he turned hastily trying to find the culprit.
An older man in a flashy brown military uniform, complete with a multitude of golden badges looked at in him in disgust.
"Damn monster. You just had to come back from the dead, didn't you? We were all happy and prosperous without you freak."
Red raised his fist then lowered it immediately. Instead, he smiled at the man, saying, "Me, a monster? I'm not a monster my friend, I'm righteous."
Red stepped into the spacious conference hall. There were towering trees placed sporadically throughout the room. In the middle sat a massive rectangular table with a few individuals already sitting down. Looking at each of them, Red recognized a few of them as the heads of state of a few of the smaller countries throughout Stolid.
"I see the king of Redalia and I'm guessing that person without a shirt on is the leader of La Des, but where is King Esa?"
Red walked over to a back wall and crossed his arms. He examined the auras present in the rooms and while there were a few strong individuals, there was nothing truly notable.
Except one.
One individual stood on the opposite side of the room looking down while crossing his arms. The man was humongous and extremely brawny. His muscles showed prominently through a sleeveless animal skin shirt and big fluffy pants. The man wore a wolf pelt overtop his clothes as a sort of hood, with the eyes and nose of the wolf completely covering his forehead and the rest of the pelt draped down his back.
"What the hell is up with him? His aura is way way too normal, like it's perfectly average," Red scratched his chin as he thought to himself.
Red stared at him for a while longer, as the conversations in the room grew exponentially louder.
The volume continued to grow and grow, until King Esa rolled into the room, surrounded by his Grand Officers. Right next to King Esa was Olo, who donned a blinding snow white armor set and a helmet shaped like a dog with horns protruding out.
Ruiner stood on King Esa's other side and wore a dull silver armor, with bandages in places of armor on his elbows. He held his pear-shaped helmet in his arms.
Grand Officer Forever stood behind Olo and trotted in confidently and faced everyone. She wore a shining set of silver light armor and donned a helmet wrapped haphazardly in chains.
Finally, a young man that Red did not recognize walked in behind Ruiner. The man had short beach blond curls that fell in front of his face. He wore the same standard soldier's uniform that Red wore with a few pieces of armor on top. His eyes met with Red's briefly, and he smiled wide.
King Esa and the Grand Officers made their way to the other side of the table opposite of the door. It was silent for a long while, as the king and the Grand Officers seemed to scan each individual in the room.
And then King Esa began.
"Alright, everyone I thoroughly appreciate you all for making your way here to our humble country." King Esa's voiced boomed through the room. I apologize for the delay on us getting here, I had to adjourn after our meeting with the entertainment sector and take a walk by the fountain, they can be quite…" He paused for a second and looked up, "Passionate. Or maybe spirited is the word? In any case, let's get this underway."
An overweight man wearing a garish suit called out, "All I want to know is when will the giant problem be dealt with in the northwest? Those creatures have been disturbing my trade lines for months and I haven't heard an update in months."
King Esa looked at Olo, who bowed his head and said, "No Lord Baron Ericus, unfortunately the problem has not been dealt with yet. I personally apologize sir, I wanted to send my own personal squad to deal with the issue but we have our hands tied with the continued sightings of Socotra soldiers near our territories."
Baron Ericus crossed his arms and tapped his foot, "So when can we expect that little problem to be dealt with?"
Olo closed his eyes, "I don't have an exact timeframe, but if you wish I will personally deal with it myself. I just need three weeks."
Baron Ericus sat back in his chair and pouted.
"All right, are they any other concerns that need to be brought to my attention before I give my address?"
King Esa looked around the faces in the room. All of the lords and barons sat in their chairs completely silent and still.
King Esa breathed a sigh of relief, "It took us three hours to get past that with the entertainment sector. I will now begin my address, and begin discussing in detail where we stand as far as our lingering socio-economic and systemic class issues, as well as our various political dealings in the past six months. Lastly, we'll go over the current state of our military and where we'll be heading in the immediate future."
The lords and barons all murmured a little bit before the noise quickly faded back to silence.
King Esa put his hand on his head, "I know, I know. It's all quite riveting. As a prelude to the festivities, I'd like to introduce my Grand Officers, who most of you should be familiar with, but some of you that are newer may not have been introduced to. Of course we have Commander Grand Officer Olo, Grand Officer Forever, Grand Officer Nahobi, known by his moniker the Ruiner and lastly our newest member Grand Officer Xango."
The lords and barons clapped and cheered and the young man bowed his head.
King Esa continued, "Grand Officer Xango has quickly risen up the ranks the past few months, going from Commander Second Class to Grand Officer in less than four months. Please respect him and look to him as you do the other Grand Officers. I would also like to welcome back our fifth Grand Officer, Red, who is known by the moniker the King of Crimson Blood!"
The lords and barons all clapped sheepishly as King Esa continued, "Come join us over here if you don't mind Grand Officer Red. I know your ability allows you summon armor of some sort so please do that as well."
Red walked over to the opposite side of rectangular table that King Esa sat at and slammed his hand down. The lords and barons jumped in their seating.
"I'm done playing your games Esa." Red growled out, "I said I'll go along with you, become your pet knight you can sic on all your enemies and I still plan to do that. But I just need you to tell me, where is Yasuke?"
"You have no right to talk to the king like that." Olo yelled out, "Don't make me-"
"Can we stop with the stupid jokes right now Olo?" Red cut him off, "I just told you I'm done playing around."
King Esa giggled, "You know what Red I like this new energy you're coming out with, so I'll do you one better. Not only will I have Olo take you to where Yasuke is, I'll also give you the new weapon that was made for him right before we put him away. It makes that weapon you have in your hands look like a wooden stick."
Red put both hands on the table and looked directly at King Esa, "And what's the catch?"
Agitation began to creep into King Esa's voice, "Catch? There's no catch. All I need you to do is summon your armor, come over here and stand behind me and try not to have another outburst in front of the lords of this country and every ally nation we have while I give my address. Is that so hard?"
Red's footsteps echoed throughout the entire room as he walked over to King Esa. He snapped his fingers and a less bulky version of his usual blood armor slowly draped over his body, complete with a skinny helmet that was oblong in the back and a crown of spikes.
"Ridiculous. This fool challenges the king-" Olo whispered under his breath.
King Esa propped himself up in his wheel chair and got into Olo's face, yelling, "Are you questioning me right now Olo? Are you? Are you really?"
Olo shook his head and King Esa sat back down, whispering under his breath, "Damn it, everyone is out of line today."
King Esa put his head in his hands and shook his head before looking out at the table and saying, "Look everyone as you can tell I'm already in a terrible mood, so I'll spare you all the pageantry and flowery language."
King Esa took a deep breath in, "The economy is in the toilet right now. Every sector is down, nobody is making a profit. Trade routes are infested with all sorts of monsters - not just giants - making it nearly impossible to trade any good we do have with nearby towns. Before we even get to that step though, our tradesmen are having trouble producing anything. Monsters are attacking tradesmen if they try to tend to crops, blacksmith, cut trees really anything."
The lords and barons murmured slightly.
King Esa kept on, "And the worst part is, the monsters aren't just attacking them. They're eating them or just maiming, so we're losing skilled labor and its not getting replaced. They're getting stronger, and significantly more aggressive. Olo told me it was some phenomenon, scaling maybe? But not only that, but with the increased appearances of this Socotra soldiers our military is really running thin with strong knights. We have these five, and they're a pretty significant force on their own, and their are a few soldiers in the lower ranks who can really put up a fight, but even the most basic infantryman from Socotra, what would be our equivalent to Knight First or Second Class, can contend with a Commander Third Class."
A baron draped in a giant bear pelt spoke up, "Can't you just hire mercenaries to supplant your military strength? At least for the time being?"
King Esa pinched the bridge of his nose, "They won't come. We must have an insider leaking information or something, I really don't know. All I know is somehow the information got out that we're the only country being bombarded by attacks from Socotra. They come in and fight our soldiers. Sometimes they kill them, sometimes just injure them, but they usually don't lose. And then they use that crystal and get away instantly, whether they're injured or not. Nobody wants to come fight in a suicide mission."
A woman in an overlarge black dress chimed in, "Is Britannius being attacked by these Socotra soldiers as well?"
King Esa shook his head, "No Lady Baroness, I do not believe so. We've been in constant communication with our allies that border Britannius, as well as our insiders that live in Britannius before they told us that's not the case. They weren't able to confirm whether Britannius and Socotra are allied but we may as well assume that is the case. Or maybe our mole here in Oldum is allied with them in some sort of way."
King Esa grabbed his head and rubbed his fingers through his hair, "I don't know my allies, my vassals, my royal knights. I just don't know. We're losing on all fronts. We're not bringing in nearly as much money as it's costing to train new soldiers and get new equipment. We don't have enough manpower in the first place to keep training soldiers at the rate we have been. Even if we conscript every fighting age male and female from this country and every vassal country, we'll still run out before the year is out. The point is, we need more everything to fight Socotra and this monster scaling. We need more men, we need more capital, everything."
Baron Ericus scoffed, "And where do you suppose we'll be getting all of this young King?"
King Esa smiled evilly, "I'm about to say something that will upset a lot of you. Given our current state, it will shock you and it'll surprise. For my vassals, my lords, barons and baronesses that live in my country or a country we directly rule, you don't have a choice I'm forcing you into this. For my allies, if you don't wish to partake I understand but please understand I'll be reneging on whatever agreement or truce we have currently. "
All of the lords and barons began to stand up and noise filled the room. Red watched the man in the wolf pelt who was now behind him, even he stopped leaning on the wall.
King Esa looked at all of them, and calmly said, "I will be waging war on Britannius, and immediately after I will wage war on Socotra. Oldum will be taking over this continent, all of Stolid, and we will be uniting it under the banner of Kaoroland. Of course that name comes from the promised land of our ancestors."
Noise erupted throughout the entire room as chaos ensued. A few individuals fainted, some gasped loudly and others screamed out in an attempt to make their voices heard.
One voice cut through saying, "What does Princess Emere think about this?"
All of the voice began to make sounds in agreement and all looked around the room for Princess Emere.
King Esa stood up and propped himself against the table. He seemed to have completely lost his composure, "Who the hell just said that? Who just said that? Whoever you are, you're dead! Your king is right here, telling you what's to come and you're looking to a princess?"
Veins began to pop out on the side of his head as he continued to yell louder, "A princess? You're looking to the princess for guidance? Everybody I want you to tell me, who in here is your leader, and who do you have alliance with? Who do you pledge yourself to? Her or me? Her or me? IT'S ME!"
The room became completely silent and everyone looked at King Esa as he hyperventilated loudly.
The man wearing the bear pelt, pulled a small flintlock pistol out of his pocket and aimed it at King Esa, pulling the trigger all in one motion. Before the bullet could reach him, a wall of chains sprouted up from the table and covered him, blocking the bullet.
King Esa sat back down in his wheelchair and in a raspy voice, demanded, "Restrain him."
The chains sprouted from the ground and brought the man in the bear pelt down to his knees with his hands behind his bank.
King Esa wheeled in front of him slowly and looked at him, shaking his head.
"I was going to get into the class issues in a little while Lord Noona, you should have just waited."
King Esa grabbed Lord Nona by the neck hard, and only tightened his grip, "See the issue is, nobody knows their damn place. Peasants like you get a little power and think you're on equal footing with the strongest. You don't even have the status to try and assassinate me. You won your land fair and square in that civil war and got your title."
King Esa let go of his neck for a moment and clapped, feigning enthusiasm, "Good job, good job. But just remember you're no king. Just a lowly lord, squabbling for any modicum of power you can get your hands on. But that's over. I'm demoting you. Submit yourself to me or I will kill you right here, right now. As of this moment you are my vassal, and everything of your country is mine. Everything. Do you agree to these terms?"
Lord Noona gasped out, "Please let go of my neck."
King Esa screamed, "DO YOU AGREE? YES OR NO?"
Lord Noona now losing consciousness, whispered, "I…agree."
King Esa let go of his neck as he passed out on the floor, drooling. He looked at an attendant that ran up to him, "Take him back to your home country now. And when he wakes up, tell him I want every able bodied man and woman lined up at my front gate single file in less than a month. Go."
King Esa rolled back over to the head of the table, "My vassals, those who live in this country and those who do not, I expect you all to be back here in a fortnight. There will be a more private war room, where I will be discussing the phases of this operation, the dates and what I expect from all of you." He scratched his head hard, "I actually had more to discuss but…for now, you are dismissed."
The majority of the individuals in the room stampeded out, and only a few individuals were left. Most of them seemed to be shaking.
King Esa looked at the people left closely, "My allies, please write my a letter detailing whether you are still with me and will be participating in the war, or whether you are not." He paused for a moment, "If we do not receive an explicit response one way or the other, we will proceed as though you are against us and your country will added to our warpath, we will make sure you submit. If you do agree to continue to ally with us, then I thank you for making the correct choice. Send your response, you will receive a letter from us within a week detailing what an alliance with Oldum will look like going forward, as well as further instructions on what will be expected. You are dismissed."
The remaining individuals in the room ran for the exit. Red looked back for the man with the wolf pelt, but he was already gone.
"I should've asked him who he was." Red thought to himself.
King Esa snapped in Red's face, causing him to jump back slightly. King Esa spoke softly, " I know what I just said must've surprised you. Don't worry, you'll be getting filled on all the details soon as well. It must be so exciting, getting to go back to your dirty backwater swamp you call a birth country. For now, Olo will take you to where Yasuke is imprisoned so you can begin reassembling Squad Zero. Princess Emere will also be relinquishing Day very soon so she can rejoin your squad as well."
Olo and Red began to walk as King Esa finished, "Xango, go find Emere. Compile a list of everyone who attempts to talk to her and make special note if they attempt to have her go against my decision. Also make sure to listen closely and see if she says anything…undesirable. Lyle and Forever, you both stay with me. Who knows when the next assassin will be coming, especially after all of the unprovoked threats I just made."
Xagon saluted, "Aye, aye your majesty."
Olo and Red stomped out of the room and paced down the stairs at a brisk pace.
The lords and barons from the conference were all scattered about, chattering loudly. As Olo and Red passed, the talking stopped and they all stared at the two Grand Officers. Red noticed that the mood had shifted dramatically now. The royals didn't look at him with disgust or disdain or contempt, their eyes were filled with fear.