M.J. Markgraf
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Norman the Necromancer Chapter 136
🕑 Added 2023-09-11 12:00:05 +0000 UTCThe party had kicked off about an hour ago and Norman was busy greeting a line of guests that were slowly filtering in when he spotted Saliu and Nolia stride into the room. He was caught a bit off guard at his Administrator’s choice of clothing but his eyes quickly left the woman and landed on Kalia.
He wasn’t sure if she would attend with how focused on her work she had been. And she looked lovely in the green and gold dress she was wearing. Norman smiled at her and she quickly looked away. He stopped himself from frowning at her response. Tonight was all about appearances and he hated every moment of it, but he maintained his chipper façade.
There were delegates from Grothlosburg, Beskara, and even the Commonwealth in attendance. He greeted each one in kind as they offered small tokens of appreciation. He wanted to sigh, it felt so fake, so contrived. He could lead his people without all this nonsense and pageantry. But all of his ministers agreed that they needed to make it official. He had finally agreed after they included the public ceremony, something they had initially been opposed to. It's one of the reasons this event had been postponed for so long.
His ministers had their reasons for not wanting to host a public event, but Norman didn’t care. Once he started occluding the people from events, it would divide the city into those with power and those without. And he wasn’t about to let that happen.
He also wasn’t going to hide away. While everyone kept telling him Ashvale and Normenia were only possible because of him, he knew none of it would have come about without the people behind him. His councilors, the enchanters, the guard, and the workers. Everyone was required to make this a reality, not just him. And that was what he wanted to celebrate, not just him being crowned the leader.
One thing that did annoy him about this party was the guild people who had weaseled their way in. He had hoped the new laws, Freya, his Judiciary Minister had put into place would have snuffed them out in their infancy, but they persisted. And they were a pain in the ass.
Their ability to monopolize had been taken away, but that didn’t mean they weren’t still making some things a challenge. Norman shook the hand of a weasely-looking man by the name of Bertrand. The guy was only known to him by reputation thanks to the weekly summaries he received about the city. Bertrand had been one of the people rescued from Vincent who had stuck around. It hadn’t taken the man long to start making acquaintances and deals with the Alacala Merchants. The reports he received indicated the man now controlled twenty percent of the incoming minerals from the desert.
Norman would have suspected Bertrand was working for Donovan, but there wasn’t any evidence to support his feelings.
While not an issue as of yet, if Bertrand's hold on the mineral market kept increasing, the man would become a concern. If he controlled too much, then he could set the price. Yet there was little Norman could do to stop it, besides killing the man, a thought that he had quickly dismissed. He would just have to encourage others to compete with him instead.
But Bertrand wasn’t the only one here, and out of all these guild people, only one wasn’t human. It was a jorik by the name of Lausu who had single-handedly cornered the entire mercantile market before the laws were in place to stop him. Every piece of clothing made from the robust grasses, that covered most of Normenia, came through him. Because he was the only one who knew the secret of processing the tough stalks into the fine threads used to make the cloth.
Despite the man’s monopoly on the market, he hadn’t so much as raised the cost of basic materials once. You certainly paid more for the higher-end fabric, but that was to be expected. Besides Norman, he was also probably the richest person in Normenia, with a brisk export also going to the Alliance.
He didn’t mind Lausu’s presence at this party but the other slimy guild people he could do without. It didn’t take long for the guild people to start wheeling and dealing with the merchants in the room to try and garner additional deals.
Eventually, the line started to taper off and he shook hands with Saliu and Nolia. “Thank you both for coming.”
“As if we would miss this momentous occasion,” the ornately dressed Saliu spoke. The man had warmed up immensely to Norman after his life-mate was returned to him.
“My mate is correct, Lord. We would not miss this for the world.”
“Well, my thanks anyway. And you both look fantastic.”
He watched his Administrator blush slightly and Saliu let out a light scoff. “Be careful, Lord, I might have to fight you for the honor of my mate.”
Norman looked surprised by the statement until the two let out soft laughs. “Excuse him, Lord Norman, Saliu has an awful sense of humor.”
“I do not,” the man complained as he was led away by his beautiful mate.
He smiled brighter and turned back to see Kalia standing there nervously and looking a bit unsure of herself. She started to curtsy before he waved her off. “Oh, none of that, please.” He leaned in to whisper to her, “It’s bad enough I have to stand here and greet everyone like an old friend.”
She laughed at that, looking a bit less anxious. “Well then, Lord… Thank you for inviting me.”
“Thank you for attending. And I must say, you look stunning.” He saw a blush creep up on her face.
The two stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before Kalia spoke up. “Um… I should mingle a bit.”
“Oh, right. Of course.” With that, the woman scurried off. Her actions still confused him. It seemed like she liked him but he wasn’t quite certain yet. He would have to see if he could speak with her some more tonight. Although he suspected that wasn’t going to be easy as he turned to greet the next person in line.
The line of guests eventually ended and Norman finally got a chance to get off the throne and mingle with them for more than twenty seconds at a time. He was surprised by how many people were in attendance. There were probably close to a hundred guests. Actual friends in attendance he could probably count on both his hands but even that number surprised him. While he had been popular in his youth, he never had very many people he could call friends.
And even those he had called friends, had all turned on him. Which made it even more surprising that he now had a larger group of even more loyal people he could actually count on when things got bad.
Norman supposed some of that could be attributed to shared adversity. Most of his current friends had all experienced the same trials and tribulations together.
He mingled for a bit before someone sounded a bell and a line of attendants brought in food for each table. Soon all the noise settled to quiet murmurs as everyone enjoyed the delicious entrees. Once the food was devoured, music started.
This was his first experience with the combined musical preferences of his people. It was…unique.
The first song started out with a deep resonant hum, kind of like Tibetan singing bowls, but sustained. From that came a chorus of deep throat-singing from a trio of gron. It sounded very spiritual until the guitar and drums started in and a tall human woman took the stage and began to belt out lyrics.
The music wasn’t bad, somehow all the differing bits harmonized rather well. It just wasn’t the type of music Norman was used to and not the type you could dance to.
Soon that song ended with a chorus of light applause and a new band took their place. This one was more traditional, and they started with a waltz. People who knew ‘the Norman’ from before might be surprised by this, but he could dance. He even knew the waltz. Why did he know the waltz? It was for the same reason anyone else did, to dance with beautiful women.
He took to the dance floor and some random women from the guild approached him first. He suppressed a sigh and danced with the woman as she jabbered away about unfair market practices and whatever nonsense she was trying to push through. Norman only smiled slightly and nodded at the woman. Assuring her he would have Freya look into the matter.
This continued as partners swapped until he was finally paired with Kalia.
“Lord Norman!” she squeaked in surprise. “I didn’t expect to see you on the dance floor.”
“Didn’t think I could dance?” he asked jokingly.
“No!” She responded in embarrassment, “I just didn’t think this was your sort of thing. It’s not really my forte either,” she added with a quiet mutter.
Norman smiled and leaned in so he wouldn’t have to speak too loudly. “If you want, just place your feet on top of mine.”
“Are- are you sure?”
Norman nodded and the woman glanced around quickly before standing on top of his feet. They danced like that until the song ended and she stepped off, her face a bit flushed.
“Thank you for that,” she replied, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m glad I didn’t embarrass you.”
“Someone as lovely and talented as you could never embarrass me,” he replied with complete sincerity.
He may have laid the compliment on a bit thick as the entire woman’s face turned red and she hurried off. He cursed himself for coming on too strongly. Kalia was not like the women he usually dated. In some ways, she was very self-assured but in others very shy. He found the juxtaposition rather endearing.
The next song was a dirge about the history of Ashvale. Norman enjoyed the song but it wasn’t the upbeat sort of tune he had hoped to hear tonight. Thankfully the rest of the music was more upbeat and the night culminated with the new national anthem.
This was the first time the song would be played to the public. Although, he had heard it and approved it before tonight. The melody was deep and commanding and the words spoke of conviction, desire, and a promise of retribution for those who wronged the country. As the song ended, the flag of Ashvale unfurled behind the band and everyone who was a citizen clapped their closed fists to their chests in response. The flag had two gray stripes on the top and bottom with a thin blood-red stripe going through the center bordered by two even thinner gold stripes.
It was another thing that would be unveiled tomorrow for the public. Norman had considered using black instead of grey but decided against it. He knew that colors could signify certain things in flags, but those didn’t much matter to him. He just wanted something that stood out and was quickly recognizable.
The Admiral walked up next to him, while his gaze was fixed on the flag. “Well, it’s certainly different.”
“You sound disappointed, Admiral.”
“A little perhaps. I guess I still held out a misguided hope that you would rejoin the US. I know it was foolish of me. But I am an old man set in my ways. Perhaps once this war is over, I will pass on the reigns to the newer generation.”
“I could always offer you a place here,” Norman responded.
The man chuckled lightly. “While the offer is appreciated, I’m a seaman. Without the sea, I am just a man.”
Norman rolled his eyes at the joke. “Well, let's hope you get your wish. Are you leaving tonight or in the morning?”
“Tonight, I’m afraid. While I purged the traitors from my staff, there is no telling what Donovan’s spies might have learned.”
The two shook and the Admiral wandered off to speak with a few more people before the party started to wind down and people began trickling out.
By the end of the night, Norman was exhausted. He had remained in his human form for the sake of his non-undead guests. And now he kind of regretted the decision based on how tired he was. Tomorrow he would appear in front of the citizens in his undead form, if only to make it through the entire event with any energy left.
At least he wouldn’t have to shake everyone's hand tomorrow. All of the shaking he had done tonight made it feel like his arm was about to fall off. He was pretty sure this was more handshaking than he had done in his entire life.
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Norman breaks out his charm and diplomatic skills for a change.
Comments
Prinny Knight
Where's the patreons patreon so I can read even further?
