NOVEL NEXT Chapter 48:
Chapter 48:
Staring up at the blue sky, I just appreciated being alive again for real instead of just in an afterlife. I took a deep breath and instantly regretted it, spluttering. I attempted to sit up, but the sucking sensation of mud all around me made me take stock of my situation.
"The fuck am I?" I blurted out as I extricated myself from the mud. Looking around, I saw nothing but puddles of stagnant water and scraggly growth.
"Someone threw me in a bog," I said aloud. I got to my feet, knee-high in mud, before wading towards one of the stunted trees on a somewhat firm piece of land. I looked around. When I turned around entirely, I realized I wasn't that far from what appeared to be a dirt road cutting through the bog. I just had about twenty feet of marshland to cross over.
I yanked my foot out of the mud and accidentally left my boot behind. I grabbed it while hopping on one foot and pulled it to the firm ground by the tree. Slipping it back on, I realized it was a soft, very well-made, knee-high leather boot. In fact, if you ignored the mud and blood, my pants were the finest silk I had seen. Inspecting the rest of my clothes, I found they were all extremely well made, even for modern clothes, with embroidery of gold stitches in the shape of lions and a deep red color. The only issue was the massive slash and hole in the front of my shirt.
Pulling it up, I felt nothing but tender skin and a slightly red scar across my stomach. Loki had said I was going to be someone recently deceased. I poked my stomach and found I was a bit flabbier than I was used to in Valhalla, where I was nothing but lean muscle. At least I was around a similar height and build, so it wasn't too awkward getting used to my new body, but I did feel the weakness and slowness. The only thing that felt out of place was the rock on a string that Loki had given me. I pulled it out, and it read, no souls for the month.
Tucking it back under my shirt, I looked around. I didn't really have much with me, and as far as I could tell, the road ran in both directions endlessly. Grumbling, I was curious, so I found a small pocket knife that looked to be maybe for trimming quills or something. I think people used to do that. I cut my finger as I drew runes on the ground with a stick. The modified ritual just showed my stats, which popped up.
Stats
Strength: 35 (4)
Speed: 56 (6)
Constitution: 20 (7)
Focus: 21 (5)
Free Points: 0
Looking at it, I groaned. I was used to having a speed over fifty and a strength over thirty, but now I was back down to basics. At least my focus stat was unlocked, though. A stat of five was disappointing, but a brief pulse of my Fool's Constitution spell and the cut on my hand healed. I felt dizzy afterward, but I did have magic as promised.
As I moved, I could still feel the grace of long training with a sword and dagger, making it clear that at least I'd still be able to fight, if not nearly at my maximum capacity. Looking out towards the road, I started plotting a path. It took me nearly a quarter mile of walking to make it that short distance, as I had to backtrack several times to find a somewhat solid path to the road. When I was there, though, I saw nothing but horse tracks and wheel ruts running in both directions. I stretched out, enjoying the feeling of the sun beating down on my face, before I picked a direction at random and started walking along the road. At least my boots were comfortable.
***
By the time any sort of civilization appeared beside the bare dirt road, my feet hurt. My feet hurt a lot. While the boots were comfortable, they clearly weren't made for walking. The soles were far too thin, and I could feel every single pebble underneath my feet. My constitution was not nearly high enough for this. Not that I ever had an extremely high constitution, but this was a new low. Clearly, this body hadn't exercised much at all, and the extra 15 pounds I was carrying felt like a lot more than it should. Also, I was starting to get dehydrated and had a pounding headache.
But I smiled when I saw the turrets of a castle over a forest only half a mile after I exited the bog. Civilization at last. Now I just had to worry about... well, too many things to count.
Luckily, though, when I walked through the collection of small houses made of wood and roofs thatched with straw up to the wall surrounding the keep, the guards recognized me. One of them explained, "Count Alaric! What are you doing? What are you doing here? Where are your guards?"
"Captain!" he yelled in a panic, and before I had a chance to get a word in edgewise, I was surrounded by eight guards. They were rushing me through the streets of the inner city towards the keep. I didn't struggle or protest the treatment. They were not apprehending me; they were instead watching all around, making sure that no one attacked and that I was safe.
Eventually, though, they got us into the keep through the inner courtyard, and the captain of the guard turned to me.
"Sir. My lord, what happened? We didn't expect you back for weeks." He looked me up and down, really taking me and my parents in for the first time.
"And you look like you've been through... um," he said, clearly trying not to offend me.
I waved my hand. "Thank you, captain. I have had some troubles. It seems that my... transport," I said, not knowing to call it a carriage or escort or what, "was attacked by bandits, and I was left for dead."
He blinked. "But you're all right, my lord?"
I nodded. "Though I did take a bit of a blow to the head, and a lot of my memories are rather fuzzy. I shall fetch the doctor immediately, my lord," the captain said. "then you would probably like to see your Chamberlin."
I nodded first, "though I need a bath and a change of clothes."
The captain nodded, and, hearing my words, a maid who had been standing unobtrusively in the corner set off at a run.
Soon, I was soaking in a warm copper tub with a lot of fancy soaps. I had to shoo the maid away from undressing me, exclaiming that I wanted to be alone with my thoughts. She seemed rather surprised, but judging from my brief glimpse of the culture here, it seemed as if I had servants to do everything. It was nice to take a hot bath with no real concerns about a challenge or having to fight to the death any time soon.
But my predicament actually was not great. If I was just a random person, I would be free to travel and fight. But the way the guards treated me, I doubted I would have any chances for honorable combat personally, which very much limited my ability to gather souls for Loki. I needed to stay here for at least a month. I suppose I could not retrieve the quota for the first month, but then that would sour my relationship with Loki, and I did want the rewards that came from doing a good job. Besides, he said he invested money, he invested something into me, and I did owe him.
Groaning, I levered myself out of the bath, toweled off, and dressed in the clothes that had been laid out for me. I recognized the golden lions from my previous clothes and the banners that flew above the city. Apparently, gold and red were my colors, and the lion was my symbol. It seemed rather grandiose for a simple count. But, well, I didn't know the history here. My name was Alaric, and I appeared to be somewhat wealthy.
Striding out into my sitting room, I found two people waiting for me. A doctor, judging based on his spectacles and suitcase that he had open full of potions and vials, and a nervous-looking man who was a full foot shorter than me and as scrawny, so scrawny that I thought maybe he was malnourished. I took him to be my chamberlain.
"My Lord," they both said and bowed. I sat in a chair and let the doctor inspect me while I looked at the count's face. As I looked at it, he got progressively paler and paler as I didn't say anything.
"Chamberlain," I said, "catch me up to speed on what happened while I was gone."
"Yes, yes. After you left to investigate the bandits, not much happened. It's only been a day. There was some minor matter in court that may need your attention in the next couple of months. One of the magistrates issued up... um, allowed an appeal for your mercy to be heard and scheduled sometime in the next three months or so," he explained nervously.
I nodded. "Good." I was very suspicious about how fearful he was looking. "Are you all right, Chamberlain?"
"Yes, yes, my lord. Um, just a problem with the wife, you know," he said, and he gave a very non-convincing smile.
I nodded acceptingly.
"Good. Now...," I said and fell into a thoughtful silence. It seemed to me my best method for honorable combat was probably finding whoever attempted to kill me. And if I was investigating bandits, that was likely to end in violence. But what would happen if I sent men off to go fight bandits, and they killed the bandits or were killed in turn honorably? Would that count? I thought so, but I did need to find them.
And also, why was I investigating bandits? Shouldn't I have, like, officers or the captain of the guard to do that for me? And peers. I was robbed too, as I didn't have anything on me.
"I feel the sudden need to audit our finances." I declared. "Chamberlain, take me to the books."
The doctor protested slightly as I stood up, but I knew I was healthy. I thanked him for his time and told him to expect a payment within or collect his payment as he left. The chamberlain gave him directions, and I followed the chamberlain to the books, who looked over at me nervously as I went down to his office.
There were huge volumes of money ledgers, but I pulled out the most recent month and most recent years and a copy of all the reports sent to the King.
"You may leave me," I told the chamberlain, and he was practically sweating as I left. That was not suspicious at all. Finances weren't my area of expertise from my life back on earth, but I knew how to read a ledger. You didn't get to be the level of executive I was without that ability. Watching detective shows taught me one thing: always follow the money.