Warsinger by James Baldwin (most inspirational books TXT) 📗

my father’s banner captains. Ur Yuri, who has helped me all this time, says Zoltan used to be a knight, but he deserted during the first battle and he’s now nothing more than a common bandit. He declared himself the new lord of Bas, and is oppressing the peasants and using them as slave labor. He wants to kidnap me.”

“Why? For ransom?”

She shook her head. “No. He will marry me so that he can be the legitimate lord of the county.”

“How old are you?” I scowled.

Kitti looked up at me. “Fourteen, your Grace.”

“And how old is he?”

“Umm… I don’t know. About the same age as my papa, maybe a bit older.”

“Right.” I flexed my fingers on the arms of the throne, hard. “Give me the quest.”

She nodded, and concentrated. All NPCs were able to give quests, and it was an ability they all seemed to understand, no matter how old or young they were.

New Quest: The Last of Her House

Lady Kitti Hussar is the 14-year-old daughter of the Baron of Bas, Myszno’s southern-most county. Lady Hussar’s entire family perished in the Demon War.

In the aftermath, Zoltan Gallo, a veteran knight who deserted Baron Hussar on the battlefield, has rallied a militia and declared himself the new baron. In addition to oppressing the citizens who survived the war, he has given Kitti an ultimatum - marry him, forfeit her inheritance and elevate him to the noble class, or die.

Zoltan has hunted Lady Hussar all the way to Karhad, and she has claimed asylum with you. As Voivode of Myszno, you must protect your province from this upstart – and decide what to do about Lady Hussar, who may inherit her family’s land when she comes of age provided she does not marry.

Difficulty: Moderate (Level 20-25)

Rewards: 270 EXP, 40 Build Points, Unlock New Resources (Barley, Silver, Mana), +400 Renown (Myszno, Renown (Bas)).

Special: Complete this quest within 7 days to earn bonus rewards. Quest must be completed within 27 days.

I accepted it with a thought. The Quest didn’t go into my regular Quests menu, though. Instead, a new pane opened up. It was titled ‘Kingdom Quests’. The quest I’d received earlier in the day, A Desperate Plight, was also there. “Done. Leave it with me, and I’ll see what we can do. Sounds like this Zoltan guy has an appointment with me and my lovely scaly lady friend outside.”

“I want you to geld him like a corrun!” Kitti paused, startled by the venom in her own voice, and covered her mouth. “I mean… umm… my apologies, your Grace, I didn’t mean to be so indecorous…”

“Trust me, I’ll be the one to cut them off if I get my hands on him. Kids are off limits.” I waved it off. “I, uh, acknowledge your request for asylum and will be happy to have you stay here with your men while we sort out a plan. I might need to talk to you all in private, get more details. Does that work for you?”

“You are generous, Your Grace.” Kitti curtseyed again. “But I would beg your leave. We are all tired, and very hungry. Our hookwings are exhausted, too. May I go see the steward and… and get something to eat?”

The Steward. Right. I was a nobleman with a castle now, and castles had servants. Except, we didn’t. “We uh... we don't have a Steward yet. Pretty much everyone in Lord Bolza's household was killed by the Demon. About the best I can do is to have you hang out at the back of the court-”

Kitti's face blanched, and her eyes widened. “Hang?”

A nobleman with a castle and a gibbet. Right. I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “'Hang' as in 'wait'. If you can wait until this clusterfuck is over, we’ll be able to find someone to set you up with a room and food.”

“Oh.” Kitti flushed, then curtsied nervously. “As you will. Thank you, Your Grace.”

The girl hurried off looking relieved, despite the inconvenience of having to wait. It was almost as if she hadn’t been expecting me to take the quest.

The lady and her escort hadn't quite reached the back of the room when the huge double doors swung out, and a further thirty soldiers, armed and armored, poured through with Istvan in the lead. The petitioners were all stunned into a brief silence. I jumped to my feet and banged my spear on the ground, and all heads turned to face me.

“Listen up! For the first time in my adult life, I am being deadly fucking serious!” I called out. “Either you settle down and line up, or everyone except Lady Hussar and her men are being escorted the fuck out of my castle. You hear me?”

[You have lost 150 Renown in Myszno. Current Renown: 1387]

There was a lot of muttering. I forced myself to sit back down and wait. It took a minute, but one by one, a queue began to form.

They were about to step up when a knot of people boiled up and shoved them out of the way, ejecting a huge, porcine man with a red flushed face and a mop of blond curls perched on top of his head like the pelt of a skinned animal.

“I represent the people of Karhad, the Ducal County, and I demand to speak with the Voivode first!” His voice boomed through the Great Hall.

The battered knight in the front dropped his hand to his saber, as did Istvan. “And who are you, you impudent hog?”

The guy drew thrust out his barrel chest, glowering as the band of commonfolk escorting him formed a protective semi-circle at his back. “I am Alan Bubek, and I am the elected Mayor of Karhad!”

“The Mayor is appointed by the Voivode, you corrun’s arse!” Istvan snarled with surprising passion, taking a step forward. “You have some cheek coming in here, to the Voivode's domain-”

“And asserting the right of the people to choose their leader?” Alan thrust his barrel chest forward. “I'd have thought better of a