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Nero Walker, Book 3 Ch.46 (161)
🕑 Added 2024-04-25 22:30:01 +0000 UTCThe past few days felt like the ending to a long and drawn out nightmare for Sergeant Wesker. But, now, by the grace of whatever deities happened to be paying attention to him at the moment, he was finally going to be able to leave this cursed team and return to his regularly scheduled life.
As he walked along the streets of Gate 23’s central district, he mentally reviewed the numerous interactions he’d had with Lord Walker which had caused him no end of grief. Whether it was the young man’s disregard for orders, his incomprehensible attempts at humor, or his uncanny talent at whatever he put his mind to, Wesker couldn’t recall a single instance where he’d been able to understand what Lord Walker was thinking. The boy had been an enigma from the moment he’d met him. Simultaneously extremely hard working, while being completely absent minded. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it weren’t for the fact that the young lord was just so damn competent.
Wesker recalled the look in Walker’s eye when the young man was setting the entire forest ablaze with natural fire, gleefully burning a mob without any regard for the consequences. Images of Walker skillfully fighting in melee with beasts twice his height flickered through his memory. Then there was Walker’s unbelievable talent in magic. What kind of newly awakened monster required an actual war-mage to personally train them in combat-casting?
Yet, above all, it was Walker’s almost unbelievable skill at politics and strategy which had constantly forced him off-balance.
Thinking back, he recalled that out of all of them, Walker alone survived the ambush, only to decimate every one of the enemies while still giving himself enough time to resuscitate his allies. At the time, it had been too absurd for a soldier like Wesker to accept. He recalled how brutally the young man treated that assassin whom he’d pinned to a tree with his sword. The manipulative skill he’d displayed during the interrogation that still made Wesker’s hair stand on end when he thought of it.
Ever since he’d met the young lord, not for a single second had he trusted him. Something about the unusual young man had always struck him as wrong, or at the very least, inhuman. His talents were too broad. His play-style in the game too intricate. His actions too incomprehensible. No… Wesker hadn’t trusted him at all.
Looking around the brightly colored street, smelling the fresh air of the city, listening to the chatter of the citizens going about their day, Wesker felt the last of the stress he’d been under finally disappear. All because he know understood what he’d been missing. Lord Walker was a unique.
It was so obvious now that he was able to think about it objectively. It was likely that the only reason he hadn’t realized it before was quite possibly a manifestation of the young man’s talent.
Obviously the young man’s actions were beyond his comprehension. Uniques were not like the rest of them. It was common knowledge that uniques were weirdly powerful, abnormally wise, aberrant examples of humanity. It had been Wesker’s mistake to try and understand the young man. All of his repressed rage, all of the inner turmoil, it could all have been avoided if he’d just known the young man was incapable of thinking or acting like a normal person.
Wesker couldn’t contain his smile as he and the rest of the team were led through the keep and into their assigned waiting room. His essence field was radiating contentment as he joined Lord Verena on a couch. Despite the fact that he used to think of Verena as nothing more than a useless noble, every issue Wesker had had with the man had been addressed by the fact that he was one of the chosen companions of a unique like Lord Walker. Not everyone was cut out for interacting with that class of people, and Verena should be applauded for his skillful handling of the amazing young man.
While he listened to Lord Verena’s completely off-base thoughts on how he expected the war with the kobalds might progress, Wesker nodded along with a smile.
The best part about of all of this, above and beyond the fact that the mystery of Lord Walker had finally been solved, was that after the meeting with the general… there was a very good chance he’d never have to see the little bastard ever again.
He truly couldn’t stop himself from smiling so hard his cheeks were starting to hurt.
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Nero led his team through the keep’s wide halls, prepared for whatever nonsense the general had waiting for him. He’d come to terms, at least as best as he could, with the fact that his life was going to drastically change once again. Now, he just wanted to get it over with.
The keep’s aide opened the doors and announced loudly to the cavernous room, “Lord Walker, and his companions!” He then bowed quickly before walking away.
Nero raised a curious eyebrow at the man’s peculiar behavior, watching the man hurriedly run off back into the hallway and swiftly shut the large doors behind him.
Turning back to what he could only describe as a reception hall, he saw several people he’d come to expect when dealing with a headache-inducing events. There was General Branson, City-lord Cosgrave, that law-woman Lord Bennings, a couple of other nobles he’d seen during the meeting about the most recent attempt on his life, along with several other people he vaguely recognized. Yet, it was the ones he didn’t recognize that made the hairs on the back of neck stand up. There were about 20 people with clothing styles he didn’t recognize. That was his first hint that they weren’t from around Dorchester, and their smug faces made it clear to Nero that not one of them was happy to be here.
But for Nero, the biggest surprise was the obscenely large hall they were in, which was most definitely not a council chamber, and the vibe he was getting made him feel like this was not in any way an official city event. It was more like a meet-and-greet for muckety-mucks.
The halls 30ft ceiling was filled to the brim with essence chandeliers and murals, propped up by sweeping supports leading down into pillars spaced up and down the sides of the room. The central area was a wide open space with pale marble flooring, giving the room a light, airy feel to Nero’s senses. Along the sides were tables filled with various finger foods and fountains of colored water, which were quite possibly beverage sources if Nero had to guess. There were even a few smaller tables which were spaced out for smaller groups to use for leisurely conversations. All in all, it looked less like an official meeting, and more like a wedding reception as everyone was standing around in small groups chatting with fake smiles on their faces.
There must have been around 40 people in the room, all of whom were staring at Nero and his companions. He, and the rest of the team, were frozen at the entryway, unsure of what they were supposed to be doing. Compared to the fancy outfits the nobles were wearing, they looked like local-yokels crashing one of the upper crust’s dinner parties.
General Branson and City-Lord Cosgrave didn’t waste any time, and approached the small party with overly cordial smiles plastered on their faces. Meanwhile, most people returned to their conversations. Although, there were a few who stood patiently, waiting for the introductions to be made.
City-Lord Cosgrave initiated the conversation by saying, “Greeting Lord Walker, I’m pleased to see that you were able to make back behind the welcoming walls of Dorchester, safely and without incident. I apologize for the short notice, but I need to introduce you to the evaluation team sent to assess the petition for your unique status.” As she spoke, she stepped closer to Nero, gesturing him to move deeper into the room.
Meanwhile, General Branson turned to the rest of the party and said, “Sergeant Wesker, please take the rest of your team to the banquet tables. There is plenty to eat, and I’m sure you’re all looking forward to getting some real food after what you’ve been through.” Obviously wanting to separate them, he raised his hand to steer the rest of the team away from Nero and the city-lord.
Not moving an inch, Nero asked in a voice devoid of any warmth, “Where’s Vera? You didn’t forget to invite her again, did you?”
The rest of the team and General Branson paused after only taking a few steps, while City-Lord Cosgrave raised an eyebrow in surprise at Nero’s blunt, almost rude, tone. After a second or two of uncomfortable silence, the tension was shattered by Nick attempting to stifle a chuckle.
Seeing the city-lord and the general glaring at him, Nick’s grin faltered a little as he said, “My apologies. Pretend I’m not here.”
Nero offered Nick an eye roll, not surprised to see the man dodging the politically charged encounter with his typical shamelessness.
City-Lord Cosgrave looked down at Nero with a calm smile and said, “I’m sorry Lord Walker, but as this is a matter directly pertaining to you and the petition for your new status, her presence wasn’t required. Please understand, there is nothing nefarious about our intentions. As the leadership of the city, it is our responsibility to deliver you to the evaluation team without delay. It is a matter of law, and we have no intention of shirking our duty. When you meet them, be sure to….”
As she was speaking, two of the oddly dressed people walked up to them, clearly interested in joining in on the conversation. While Nero halfheartedly listened to the city-lord’s bullshit, he took a good look at the new-comers, coming to the obvious conclusion that they must be members of the supposed ‘evaluation team’.
The pair was a man and a woman, with the woman being a surprising 6 foot in height, easily dwarfing the man who was at most 5’ 2’’. Both of them were wearing identical outfits. As a base, they wore thin, ankle length robes that had a gold choker sealing them at the neck. On top of that, they each had a weird leather skirt that lacked any material in the front. The ‘skirts’ were attached to ornate belts with some type of overly detailed golden belt buckles the size of a small plates covering their stomachs. Then, as if that weren’t enough, they had matching jackets, tight-fitting, and with a ridiculously tall collars that almost reached up to their ears. And to top it all off, Nero got to see the first honest-to-god hats he’d come across since he got here. They reminded him of fez’s but were much wider at the top than they should be. Everything they were wearing was various shades of green, and on top of their hats were matching little balls of green flame that made them look like they cos-playing as human candles, begging to be mocked by everyone around them.
As a result of the new-comers’ hilarious outfits, he missed a great deal of what the city-lord was saying.
The taller woman, with a face carved from stone and her chin in the air, rudely interrupted the city-lord by saying, “You are Dorchester’s new noble, Lord Walker?”
Nero looked up at the woman, having trouble taking her seriously as his short height combined with her haughty demeanor made it difficult for him not to stare up her nose.
Doing everything in his power to restrain the impulse to mock the woman in front of him, he replied, “That is correct. I’m the man, the myth, the legend, the one, the only, Lord Walker of House Walker. Known to the internet hermits as the master debater, the prevaricating speaker of truth, he-who-likes-coffee, and finally to my closest friends, I’m referred to as the not-so-tall. But if you’d like, you can simply call me Nero.”
OK. So Nero couldn’t stop himself from mocking her.
The woman’s confusion was palpable, and Nero’s heart grew two sizes as he saw her look down at the man next to her who had an equally confused look on his face. Meanwhile, he took advantage of his mental perception to watch the general’s smile falter, as his face turned red from embarrassment. The city-lord just sighed heavily, apparently having grown used to Nero’s antics. But his companions were the true treat. Wesker looked like he had been hit by a stun gun, and Rose was frozen in fear of what might happen next. Cathleen, bless her soul, didn’t bat an eye. And Nick, glorious Nick, was smiling ear-to-ear mumbling, “The Nero-not-so-tall… I’m gonna have to remember that.”
To her credit, the woman recovered quickly, replying, “Yes, well I believe we’ll stick to the standard model of address and refer to you as Lord Walker during our evaluation. We’ll require one of our retinue to join you during your day-to-day activities, so that a record of your abilities can be compiled. We’ll also need access to as many of the witnesses with first-hand observations of your accomplishments as are available. The local Center-Research facilities should be sufficient to provide the scientifically verifiable data we’ll need to confirm your abilities and approve of your elevation to your new citizen level. As for accommodations, your estate should prove adequate for our needs, and …”
Nero listened politely with a smile, enjoying the woman’s assumptions about what he’d be willing to put up with. In a way, it was endearing to be reminded that there were still people in the government who acted like pompous pricks and expected everyone to go along with whatever they said.
As she droned on, further digging herself into a hole, Nero’s smile grew wider as waited for her to finish with her demands.
Luckily for her, the city-lord was well aware of Nero’s personality, and she interrupted the woman after seeing Nero preparing for a return salvo that might result in all of Dorchester getting put to death for rebellion.
Stepping slightly in front of Nero, the city-lord addressed the evaluator with a smile, saying, “I’m sure all of that can be arranged without issue. For now, however, we should give Lord Walker an opportunity to eat and recover from his time outside the walls. As promised, he was collected and brought to you without delay, but surely you can see that he and his companions are in no shape to deal with this at the moment. Rest assure, I’ll be taking personal responsibility to arrange everything for him.” As she spoke, she skillfully turned the evaluator around by slipping her arm around the woman, and leading her off toward the rest of the guests.
Nero watched the woman leave, his smile fading into a frown as if someone had just stolen one of his toys. The short man who’d been accompanying the female evaluator turned around and followed the city-lord and the woman who was obviously his boss, doing a picture-perfect impression of a boot-licker.
Looking over to his right, he saw the general standing there with a judgmental look on his face, while the rest of his party stood around him with varying degrees of relief painted on their faces.
Nero met their stares, not apologetic in the least for what they all knew almost happened. Deciding that he didn’t feeling like getting into it, he said, “Well, that went about as well as it could have. So, are we gonna go eat some of this fancy grub, or what?”
With a huff, the general turned around and walked off, apparently not interested in dealing with Nero when he was acting like this.
Nero looked over at Nick, seeing the relieved looking man sporting a rueful grin on his face. Figuring his friend was the most likely to appreciate the comedy gold he was spitting, Nero asked with a shrug, “Who would have guessed the general wasn’t a fan of parties?”
At that, the entire group walked off to follow the general, somehow coming to a silent, but mutually agreed upon decision to leave Nero to his games and get themselves something to eat.
With a grin, Nero watched them leave. After successfully buying some time, he reached out to connect with his link so he could contact Vera. He had absolutely no intention of facing these bastards without someone skilled in these matters watching his back.
Feeling the connection establish, he felt Vera’s surprise at hearing from him. “What are you doing back in Dorchester, Nero? I thought you’d still be with the elites out in the mountains. You weren’t called back to deal with the kobald’s surface incursion, were you?”
Realizing that Vera was more than a little out of the loop, he replied, “Not exactly. Listen Vera, I need you to get down here to the keep. I’m kinda in a situation I don’t know how to handle, and I need your advice.”
Vera’s mental presence sharpened like a knife as she asked, “What kind of situation?”
Nero put his hands into his pockets as he sauntered off to one of the table filled with finger sandwiches as he asked, “Well, what do you know about ‘unique citizens’?”
At that moment, Nero would have given a significant portion of whatever money he’d made since arriving in this world to see her face. Judging by how flustered her mental presence felt, Nero figured it would be worth it to have the priceless memory he’d be able to cherish for a lifetime.
Comments
Ocean Breeze
Also, it was cool to see a perspective of how regular people view these "unique" citizens.
Ocean Breeze
Poor Wesker. After a build-up like that, there is no way he's going to leave this party free from Nero.
