Explorer of Edregon

Vin wasn’t sure exactly what he was expecting after learning that the rankers’ king was the strongest of all of them, but he certainly wasn’t disappointed by the man he found waiting for him beyond the gilded door.

Standing a full head above him, the ranker king was a large, muscle-packed man with greenish-tinted skin that spoke of orc descent and a body covered in scars. He stood at the end of a small chamber beside a throne, currently going through what looked like some sort of advanced yoga as he slowly flowed from one stance to another with longsword in hand. He had on simple clothing but lacked the metal breastplate that the rest of the rankers wore, and his eyes were already locked on Tarnis as he led the two of them into the chamber.

“My king, I bring an Explorer who I stumbled upon earlier today near our eastern border,” Tarnis explained, giving the man the same nod of respect he’d given everyone else. “He claims to have knowledge of much of the world to our east, and he easily defended himself against a man within the top two thousands when attacked.”

“I take it you punished the ranker who dared attack one who is clearly not a warrior?” the ranker king asked, his gaze going hard at the news.

“He has been given a scar of shame for his actions,” Tarnis nodded.

“Good. Honor binds us all.”

“Honor binds us,” Tarnis immediately repeated, as if it were by reflex. “I have brought Emrelda as well, and our other esteemed guest is on their way here for an impromptu alliance meeting.”

“I see,” the ranker king said, motioning for Tarnis to go back to where he’d come. “Leave us.”

“Of course,” Tarnis nodded, turning and closing the door behind him as he did so. Suddenly, Vin realized he was standing alone in a chamber beside a questionable mage he already knew was capable of fooling his magic senses, and the man strong enough to lead an entire civilization of strength-obsessed warriors.

Even for him, this was a tad reckless.

To his surprise, rather than begin questioning him, the ranker king silently returned to what he’d been doing before they arrived, continuing his sequence of motions as though nothing had happened. As if he could read Vin’s mind, he spoke.

“We will discuss once the final member of the alliance has arrived,” he explained, not even looking at Vin as he somehow rolled into a one-armed handstand as easily as if he were sitting in a chair. His other hand never let go of his sword, which was balanced out beside him. “You are welcome to talk amongst yourselves, if you would like. I welcome any distraction.”

Glancing at Emrelda to see what she thought of the man, Vin stifled a chuckle at the hungry gaze in the beastkin’s eyes as she watched the muscular king show off his physique. She’d been clearly messing with him upstairs, but seeing as she was literally licking her lips in response to the ranker king’s actions, it was rather clear she was interested.

“Should I leave the two of you alone?” Vin asked, finally letting out a quiet laugh as she snapped out of her trance and shot him an annoyed look.

“If only,” she grumbled. “I’ve been pining over him since my first day here in the keep. It’s no secret, yet he refuses to take me as his mate.”

“I don’t like hair on my lovers,” the ranker king said matter of factly, as though they’d had this conversation more than once.

“For the last time, it’s fur!” Emrelda snapped, glaring at him as he somehow pulled off a backflip from his one-armed handstand, landing coolly in a plank position. “And would you stop showing off?! It makes it very hard to be annoyed with you!”

“I am going through my hourly routine,” he responded, not even looking at her as he held the plank as still as if he were an actual piece of wood. “You are not a ranker. You are welcome to close your eyes if you find my actions distracting.”

“If you don’t like fur, I can easily fix that for you,” she purred, waving a hand and transforming into a very attractive, very naked woman in the blink of an eye. Despite knowing it was entirely an illusion, Vin reflexively looked away out of modesty.

“I have told you before, we rankers are interested in physical prowess above all else,” the ranker king grunted, somehow launching himself up from his plank position to his feet as he finished his routine and frowned at her. “It does not matter what tricks you show me. The fact that even the weakest ranker could best you in physical combat means you hold no sway over me. Having learned how he defended himself against a ranker in the top two thousands means I am more attracted to him than I am to you.”

Vin blanched as he realized the ranker king was talking about him, and he let out a nervous chuckle. “Sorry… I’m already seeing someone.”

“I was just making a point,” the ranker king said, finally sitting on his throne as he stared down at the two of them. “Emrelda, make yourself decent before our other esteemed guest arrives.”

“Fine,” she grumbled, her illusion vanishing as she transformed back into her normal self. “I’ll get you to notice me one of these days!”

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“I highly doubt that,” the ranker king drawled. Thankfully, before she could start arguing, the door opened once more, and in walked Trod.

Vin recoiled in shock at Trod’s sudden appearance, before he realized it wasn’t actually Trod, and that he might in fact be slightly racist toward orcs. In his defense, this was only the second orc he’d ever met who towered over everyone just like Trod did, but he quickly realized this one had golden caps on the ends of the large tusks jutting out of his mouth, not to mention long hair reaching down his back.

“Ranker king,” the orc grunted, closing the door behind him as he stepped into the room. “I heard of an alliance meeting?”

“Indeed. Emrelda, fill Grunch in on the situation,” the ranker king ordered. Vin half expected her to make a snappy remark, but it seemed now that the alliance meeting was in session, the beastkin had become all business.

“This is Vin, an Explorer from beyond the eastern border,” she explained. “He has knowledge of Edregon that we are lacking and is willing to trade it in exchange for our own knowledge, and the three humans who appeared in our fragments recently.”

“Beyond the eastern border?” Grunch repeated, staring down at Vin with disdain. “Impossible. How could such a puny human get through the booming mists?”

“He fought off a ranker in the two thousands, so he is not as helpless as he seems,” the ranker king said, surprising Vin by coming to his defense.

“My mistake,” Grunch apologized, surprising Vin even more than the ranker king had as the massive orc actually bowed toward him. “In that case, what is this meeting even needed for? Why haven’t we already agreed to his terms?”

“For one, I’m still studying the magical residue coming off those three humans,” Emrelda frowned, staring up at Grunch as he righted himself. “I believe I can make a breakthrough and discover a new affinity for my people given enough time.”

“I already told you, I’m happy to come back with a literal Dimensional Mage once I bring those humans home,” Vin said yet again. “I think you’ll discover a new affinity far quicker with an actual teacher pushing you along.”

“He speaks the truth,” Grunch said, causing everyone to look at him as he stared down at Vin. “He believes his words to be true, at the very least.”

“Grunch is an Arbiter,” the ranker king explained in response to Vin’s confused look. “He has an ability that lets him sense the truth in any statement. Though I am indifferent as to what you believe to be true. You will not leave our keep without providing us with the information you have gathered, as well as the knowledge of how to pass through the booming mists. In exchange, I will give you the three humans to take with you, as well as what we have learned about our surrounding fragments.”

Vin had already noticed this earlier, but the ranker king had a strange way of speaking. Even when he asked a question, it was clear that every word that left his lips was an order, as if his words were absolute and there would be no questioning his decrees.

Which meant Vin had to choose his next words very carefully.

“I am fine with telling you about the other fragments I’ve discovered… but I don’t plan on giving you information about how to head east,” he said, carefully watching the king for his reaction as he went against his orders. “No offense, but your people seem a tad battle-hungry, and I don’t want to be the cause for war coming to our doorstep.”

There was a flicker of movement on his right, and he glanced at Emrelda, blinking as he realized that she had suddenly vanished. Even Grunch with his monstrous frame took a quick step back to the edge of the room, looking worriedly over at the throne.

Vin’s focus returned to the ranker king, who was now frowning.

“You would go against my word? In my own keep?” he asked. Despite the fact that he was still sitting with his sword held across his lap, Vin felt a chill run down his spine as the man stared at him. “I am the ranker king. My word is law.”

Oh boy, this is why you don’t meet with strange military kings all on your own. Without breaking eye contact, Vin reached over his shoulder into his pack and touched a finger to his journal. With a silent cast of Dimensional Sheath, his journal and all the information he’d gathered on Edregon up until now vanished into another dimension. Hopefully his precaution would be unnecessary, but he’d rather be safe than sorry.

“If you don’t do what he says, he might very well kill you,” he heard Emrelda whisper in his ear, confirming his suspicions that she’d merely turned herself invisible in response to his defiance. “It doesn’t matter that you have information he wants any more, you’ve infringed upon his honor as the ranker king.”

“You would do well to listen to her,” the ranker king said, earning a gasp from Emrelda before her presence vanished entirely. “As you are an outsider and ignorant to our ways, I will grant you something I have never given anyone before. A second chance. You will give us the information I require, and in exchange, I will give you the humans you are looking for. This is a fair trade, I do not see where the confusion lies.”

Vin wished he had a spell that would buy him time to think, as he desperately ran through his options. Honestly, the method of traversing the mist filled with exploding monsters was so simple he was shocked that they hadn’t already figured it out. All one had to do was hug the fragment border to keep their orientation straight even in the mist and shoot down the occasional monster that came for them, fleeing from the rest.

Ah.

These people are like Alka, but to a harsher extreme, he realized. They’d never run from a fight. Their weird code of honor prevents them from doing so. They want a way to fight through the booming mist, not run through it like a ‘coward.’ Even so, the orcs and beastkin shouldn’t have that problem. Why…

He ran out of time as the ranker king finally stood. The man had a grim look on his face as he took a single step forward, his sword held casually at his side. Vin readied himself for some sort of strike or for the man to lunge at him, and he devoted every single hard-earned point of his focus attribute for the first signs of an attack from the ranker king.

Which meant he was woefully unprepared for an orc the size of a large bear to chop him across the back of the head with his hand.

Vin had been so focused on the approaching ranker king, it took him a moment to even realize he’d been struck. As the world went black and he lost consciousness, the last thing he saw was Grunch catching him and carefully picking him up, the Arbiter’s concerned eyes boring holes into his own.