I reincarnated in game

44 Sisilia wants Action

William was pleasantly surprised to see his son had already arrived by the time he showed up to work.  True to form, Tom was leaning over the desk chatting with the attractive assistant.  She appeared to be impressed with his tall, muscular frame, short dark hair and ruggedly handsome good looks; from the blush on her cheeks, he knew that Tom was trying to charm the young lady.  Neither of them had noticed William’s arrival.  He cleared his throat to alert them to his presence.  The assistant stood up; her face now crimson at the thought of being caught in a compromising situation by her boss.  Tom, on the other hand, slowly stood upright and smiled at his father.

“Good to see you here, Tom.  Come into my office; we need to talk on a matter of great importance,” William said.

As father and son walked into the room, William turned and shut the heavy, double doors with a dull thud: this would be a very confidential meeting and he didn’t want it to be overheard.

“I need you to go to Third Level; to Aldo.  You will be the lead delegate of a team representing the interests of both the Curia and Kingsley Chamber of Commerce,” William stated matter-of-factly.

“Why are you sending me?  Aldo … isn’t that the cold region, with snow all year round?  Surely there are a lot of other people you could choose who would be able to adequately represent your interests …” Tom countered with a tinge of annoyance in his voice; he would prefer to stay here on Second Level where the weather was nicer and the ladies were richer.

“Sisilia has sent a message telling us that they are not amused by the unrest in Aldo; they are charging us with the responsibility to put pressure on King Archibald to quell the disturbance.  It is the poor who are instigating the problem; blaming the church for the high taxation.  If it is perceived they can revolt and get away with it, others may take up their fight.  Sisilia will not accept a reduction in the tribute we collect and forward to them.  This is why I am appointing you.  Our family has a vested interest in Kingsley Chamber of Commerce; when it prospers, this family prospers.” William stated.  “You are not only a capable fighter, but you are also very eloquent.  You will be able to ask all the appropriate questions to put the desired amount of pressure on the King.  It must be made abundantly clear to him that First Level is the impetus behind this mission and they are insisting on immediate action.  He has no choice in this matter.” 

Tom smiled as he considered his father’s words.  He was making this mission a little more interesting; he definitely would enjoy making the King of Aldo squirm a bit.  He thought that maybe this wouldn’t be too bad; he could always get some warm clothes, and who is to say that the ladies wouldn’t flock to a good-looking rich guy from Second Level!  He turned to his father and said, “So, when do I go?”

It was William’s turn to smile at his son’s sudden change of heart.  “I will book passage on the airship this afternoon.  You will not be alone.  Two members of the Chamber and three clerics will accompany you; they will be there to support you.  I will arrange to have monies to fund your mission transferred to our branch office in Aldo.  I will also be giving you an allocation for your personal use.”   

William stood and walked around his desk to where his son was seated.  Tom stood; he was at least two inches taller than his father’s six foot frame.  “Good luck, son.  I have a great deal of confidence in you.  Both our business and our family are depending on you … make me proud!  You can forward any communications to me by way of the bank couriers.  I love you, Tom!”  He wrapped his arms around his son in an uncharacteristic hug.  William wondered if this would be the last time he would be able to do this.  Tom wondered what had brought this on. 

Back in Aldo, on the evening of the day of the assassination, Hugh, Judi and Kenneth ate their evening meal in a somewhat subdued manner while the rest of the patrons and staff continued to discuss the bishop’s demise.  Afterwards, the trio went to James’s room.  He opened the door to their knocking and ushered them in.  Once there were seated, James turned to Hugh, “I believe you have something to report.”

After Hugh recounted the events of the morning, James smiled and said, “Congratulations on the success of your first mission in Eos!”

The following day, before climbing out of bed, Hugh reflected on how pleased he had been with the accolades that James had given him on his first mission.  He was anticipating that this could lead to him being given other missions to complete on behalf of the organization.  He considered the attribute points he had at his disposal.  Maybe it was time to deploy some of them in order to better prepare him for any eventualities.  He moved a couple attribute points into each of crafting, weaponry and intelligence. 

Kenneth stirred in his bed then opened his sleep-filled eyes; Hugh was standing there smiling at him.  “Glad to see you are up.  How would you like to go shopping with me?  I am thinking I would like to build something to help me with any future missions in Eos.  You will be my guide since you know best where we can get the materials we will need.  You and I can then put our heads together to develop whatever we need.” He said.

Kenneth jumped out of bed and raced to the door, still in his sleepwear; he looked as if he was ready to go now.  “Maybe you should get dressed first … we might even want to have a little breakfast before we hit the road!” Hugh said, laughingly.

“Oops,” Kenneth said, somewhat embarrassed that his excitement had him almost out the door before he was dressed.  While Kenneth was addressing his oversight, Hugh slipped next door to tell Judi of their plans. 

The three went down to breakfast and before long, were on their way downtown.  Hugh anticipated there would be no restriction on travel because, while the town was buzzing with the gossip of the bishop’s murder just twenty-four hours ago, there had been no announcement of a lockdown.  As they approached the square, they saw there was a noticeable increase in the number of the king’s guards about the square; particularly around the inn where the bishop had stayed. 

Nobody challenged their presence or asked what their business was, so they simply kept to themselves and followed Kenneth as he led the way to one of his father’s favourite parts shop just off the square.  They had discussed some ideas of what they would like to build, so once again, Kenneth took the lead in selecting the items.  As they left the shop, they noticed that the wind had picked up and it was significantly colder.  They were hurrying along, towards the square on their return trip, when a young woman rounded the corner unexpectedly; she had to stop suddenly in order to avoid bumping into them.  

“I’m so sorr …” she said as she began her apology, but as soon as she looked into the faces of the party in front of her, recognition flashed in her eyes.  “It’s you!” she exclaimed. 

“Me?” asked Hugh, having no idea who the woman was or how she thought she knew him.

“Yes.  It is you.  You and this woman tied me up the other night … in the inn’s storage room.  Because of you, I lost my job, was whipped and punished.  They thought I was the one who was responsible for allowing you to get in!” she said with an excited and annoyed edge to her voice.

Hugh then recognized the woman before him as the maid they had tied up and left in the storage room the night they had done their reconnaissance in the bishop’s wing of the downtown inn.  “Please calm down,” he said in a hushed tone.  “We aren’t going to hurt you; in fact, we would like to apologize for the way we treated you when we last met.  It certainly wasn’t our intention that you suffer repercussions because of our actions.  Please allow me to give you something to compensate you for the loss of your job and the punishment you received.”  As he awaited her response, Hugh noticed that her epithet was present but the contents were indistinct … he couldn’t make out any information within the bubble.

The maid did calm down as requested.  She looked at the three faces in front of her and decided they weren’t going to hurt her.  “My name is Anne,” she said and held out her hand.  The trio introduced themselves in return.

“I don’t want your money but I need you to promise to do me a favour.  I will need to get to Sdel in a couple of days or so.  Will you take me there?” Anne asked. 

Hugh hesitated; he was not sure whether James would approve them to leave at this time.  Anne thought his hesitation was going to lead to his decline of her request so she spoke up quickly, “Remember, you owe me; this would be your repayment.”

Hugh decided he would be able to explain his position to James so replied, “OK.  I promise I will take you to Sdel.  When do you want to go?”

Anne thought a moment.  “Well, I actually have a few things that I need to do so I will have to let you know the exact date later on this week.  Where are you staying?” she asked.

Hugh told her where they were residing, mentioning its proximity to the airship docking station. When she was ready, she could simply contact them there.  Anne agreed and then sped off quickly.  The trio returned to the inn.

That evening, Hugh had seen James and explained the morning’s chance encounter with the maid from the inn; he told of her loss of a job and the beating administered to her.  He mentioned Anne’s refusal of compensation and her request to be taken to Sdel.  He then asked James whether it would be possible to ensure the maid’s safe passage in recompense for the trouble that befell her because of his actions.  James had agreed; it was the least they could do for the disadvantaged woman.

That night, when Hugh crawled into bed, he reflected on the lack of information in the maid’s epithet along with her refusal of money; asking only to go to Sdel. 

There was something strange about that woman, but he just couldn’t put his finger on what it was.  He muttered to himself, “How come there is no information showing in her epithet?”