Penitent-Chapter 231 Book 4 Ch 12: Kingly Rewards

Michael pulled his sword from the king's chest, and wiped it clean on the dead man's shimmering cloak. He looked at the king's titled shield and peeled it off of his arm, slipping it onto his own. It was a tower shield, larger and more unwieldy than he was used to, but he saw what it had done for the king, and he'd needed for the fights to come.

"That shield once belonged to General Venture. He held a fort for two years with dwindling supplies and no reinforcements. Of course, his reward was to have Matthias's father strip the shield from him for his own use and send him right back to the front." Bayle was writing in one of his paired journals even as he spoke. He had a number of tears in his armor, and blood coated the sword that hung loosely at his side, but thanks to Michael's healing he was unharmed.

"You can take it, but I must insist the sword and armor remain here. Those artifacts are older than Stent and they'll help boost the Crown Prince's claim."

Michael nodded, still testing the weight of the shield. He looked at the others to see Marcus looking into a small mirror with a wide grin on his face.

"Checking your makeup?" asked Ollie.

"Yea, had to make sure my eyeliner wasn't running," he said, slipping the mirror into his cloak. "I was also looking at my Titles and Deeds. Looks like you were right Michael, the four of us killing him at once gave me the title, and my own title gave me some excellent bonuses."

"Good. We'll need all the advantages we can get," he wanted to check his own, but his mirror was back in his pack. He turned to Bayle who was still scribbling furiously in his journal even as he surveyed the dead.

"Bayle, where else do you need us?"

He shook his head, not looking up from his journal. "Your part is done and in spite of the interruptions to our original plans things are moving well overall. Luckily, the king lost more support than gained from the reveal of his new ally."

He quickly scribbled something else. "Besides, your part in this needs to be minimized. The story that will be told needs as little outside interference as possible. I would recommend returning to your ship for now. I can't guarantee your safety within the palace at the moment. I will signal you once things have settled."

They agreed and began making their way out of the palace, taking the hidden passageway back to the diplomats quarters to retrieve their things before making their way quickly and quietly back out of the palace and into the city. It was oddly calm as they made their way back. There were guards patrolling the streets, a few men being dragged from their homes by them, and the occasional sound of a powerful spell being flung in the palace, but other than that things were quiet and orderly. Michael found it eerie, but how many coups had gone that same way throughout history? With thousands of people sleeping through it, unaware that in the morning everything would be different.

They reached the docks, and Ollie signaled to the Pride of Hume with three flashes of green light, followed by a single flash of red. The plank was lowered and once they were back aboard it was drawn back up. The deck was filled with men on watch, armed and ready to leave at a moment's notice.

The first mate gestured for them to follow and they were taken to the captain's cabin where Shreve was already seated with a glass of something strong and brown in his hand. The Captain was at his desk with a similar beverage and their bodies seemed to relax when they saw them.

"It's done then?" asked Shreve.

"The king is dead," replied Michael. "And Pyotr managed to kill his rift monster ally as well."

"It took a long time to scrape her off my boot," said Pyotr with a smile.

Shreve nodded. "Now we just have to hope that they meet their end of the bargain." He took a long sip of his drink.

"Don't be like that, Shreve," said the Captain, standing from his desk and retrieving a bottle and several glasses. He poured one for each of them and began handing them out. "These men just managed a feat that hasn't been accomplished in living memory and you're already borrowing concern from tomorrow." He held up a glass. "Cheers gentlemen. To Hume and its glorious knights!"

Stolen story; please report.

Michael nodded and threw the drink back, feeling it burn all the way down to his stomach. After that they had two or three more drinks before they left the Captain's office and made their way down to their shared cabin. The gentle rocking of the boat along with the alcohol in his gut caused him a bit of discomfort, so he cleansed the alcohol from his system like poison before he laid down in his hammock. With his mind clear he reached into his pack and pulled out his small mirror. Before he checked his Titles and Deeds he took a moment to appreciate how this small shard of mirror had somehow survived from when Marcus got it for him back on Stent's front lines, all the way across Hume and back.

He summoned a small mote of light and looked at his reflection, focusing for a moment to show his Titles and Deeds.

Titles:

Michael Mann

The Restored

The Wound Man

Seer

Champion of the Gods

Paladin of Hume

Wrath of Gold

Riftwalker

Count of Hume, Lord of the Old Capital

Deeds:

Bridge Holder

Revenge Denier

Run Conqueror

Resilient Competitor

Fort Healer

Righteous Defender

Castle Taker

Baron Breaker

Rift Sealer

Warrior Mender

Titan Slayer

Realm Firmer

Village Protector

Saviour of Lataxia

King Slayer

Blessings:

Absolute Healing

Mass Pain Transfer

Smite

Bless Many

Eyes of Love

Eyes of Judgement

Michael took a deep breath. It had been some time since he'd looked. He hadn't even taken the time to look at his new Paladin and Count titles. He'd been too focused on Gabriel to give his attention to anything else. He checked his Champion of the Gods title first to see if there had been any changes, but saw none. He hadn't been as focused on directly fighting rifts, conversions, and prayer when it came to the kingslaying, so that made sense. He turned his attention to the Paladin of Hume Title. It seemed to have replaced his Knight of Hume title.

Paladin of Hume 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Grants:

Major Speed

Major Strength

Middling Durability

When fighting in the name of the gods in Hume, your blessings require less energy

A powerful improvement, particularly the last part. He hadn't noticed a difference in the energy he'd used in the last fight, so it was likely Hume referred only to the territory of Old Hume and not Hume's old borders. A shame, but it would be invaluable when he was back. He turned his attention to the Count of Hume title.

Count of Hume, Lord of the Old Capital

Grants:

Major Awareness

Major Durability

When in the Old Capital Major increases to Absolute

Absolute? There was a a level above major? He'd already been surprised to see the Very Major boons that had been granted to the king, but this was another level. It made sense though, the Emperor he'd seen in his visions had to have had greater abilities than anything he'd seen among the modern nobility. It was possible there were even levels beyond Absolute, though he supposed that was a bit of a naming nightmare for Estaid.

Finally, he turned his attention to his newest deed, one he'd earned only hours before.

King Slayer

When fighting Kings or Rulers Grants:

Major Strength

Major Speed

The former subjects of the slain King will fear you, and the rulers of other nations will know to be wary of you.

Michael nodded. A more specific deed than he was used to, but still a beneficial one. He was grateful that it wasn't specific to King, as that would be too limiting. He wondered exactly how the latter part of the deed worked, but considering he was in the land of the king he'd just slain he'd probably find out soon. At the same time the title seemed a bit weaker than he'd been expecting. Perhaps that was the downside to his attempt to make it so they all gained the Deed?

He let the golden lettering in the mirror fade and looked at the now familiar face in front of him. They'd slain King Matthias a week ahead of schedule. He hoped that meant he was a week closer to meeting Gabriel, though he knew it would depend on the work King Marlo had managed since he'd left. They would be physically close to the same age when he saw him. Would he be looking up at a son that was taller than him, looking into eyes he didn't recognize? How would Gabriel feel when he told him who he was? He tucked the mirror into his bag and settled into his hammock, grateful that he was tired enough to actually fall asleep.