NOVEL NEXT Book 3 Ch 6: Julian - The Audacity
When Julian finally got away, it was after dark.
He found his way to his old rooms. Everything still looked the same from his childhood, since they were the rooms he’d used as the duke’s heir. While he could have taken over the main suite in the palace, he insisted that his mother keep it.
There were too many memories of his father in that place.
He felt stifled and went to open the door to a veranda off of the receiving room. This part of the palace, while in the main tower, faced the city. The Grand Duke’s official rooms were one floor higher and to the left.
Julian always felt restless in the palace.
He might not be the Level 91 Arcane Sorcerer his father was, but Julian still had a decade to catch up to where he was when his father fought Sumbria in the civil war.
[Name: Julian Von Slyke
Occupation: Duke
Level: 63
Age: 29
Experience Points: 6669/15250
Hit Points: 1274/1274
Mana Points: 500/500
Class: [Monster Slayer]
Titles: [Half-Elf] 0, [Duke] 10, [Guardian] 20, [Adventurer] 30, [Commander] 40, [Monster Hunter] 50, [Border Master] 60,
Attributes
Strength: 49
Dexterity: 22
Constitution: 26
Intelligence: 20
Perception: 25
Charisma: 20
Skills
Stoic 2, Bureaucracy 2, Defense 4, Dungeoneering 2, Leadership 4, Tracking 4, + Shield Arts [Divine] 2
Perks
Natural Poise, Quick Read, Barrier, Guard, Monster Lore, Battle Call, Personnel, Scan, Light Foot, Multi-Target Shield, Hold the Line, Crushing Blow, Silent Guard, Divine Heal, Charge]
Unlike his father, who specialized in offense, Julian had walked the path of the shield.
Music drifted up from below. The summer solstice festival was in full swing and people were singing and dancing in the town square. The night market was lit with magical floating lights, and the smell of street food carried on the breeze.
He pulled out his locket from under his shirt and opened it, revealing a magical image captured of his family on the right side. Julia was smiling a gap-toothed grin, sitting on their mother’s lap. Julian was standing beside his mother, looking awkward and stiff. His father, Grand Duke Lysander, stood behind with one hand on Grand Duchess Calisto’s shoulder and the other on Julian’s.
The other side of the locket had a shard of crystal behind a pane of glass.
“I’m sorry it’s taking so long,” He told his father. A thumb rubbed over the picture and then Julian closed the locket. He pressed it once to his head and then he dropped it back to hang against his clothes.
Julian leaned on the railings, conscious of the magical barrier that prevented people who weren’t supposed to be there from coming and going. He was very familiar with barriers, and with some work he could by-pass this one. Still, it had a job to do and he didn’t want to weaken the integrity of the palace defenses.
Just because he was six stories up didn’t mean assassins hadn’t climbed or flown in before.
When Julian was growing up, he wasn’t authorized to pass though like he was now – and so couldn’t fall over the edge – but as an adult he could jump down if he so wished. Still...
Again, he looked out over his domain.
The reason he considered tampering with the barrier was because it was also an alarm. It would inform his mother that he’d left - though honestly, she had magical detections up around the entire palace in numbers unheard of since Madame Potts’ kept threatening interesting times in her casts. No matter how he chose to leave, she would probably be informed.
He leapt.
[You have attempted to use the Perk [Light Foot]. You have succeeded. Spend 3 mana per second to control your footwork. Every step is sure and soft. You can travel distance up to (Level) = 63 feet in a single leap. Anyone with a Perception equal to or higher to your Dexterity 22 will be able to hear you. ]
Fireworks rose into the sky and exploded into colorful fire, illuminating his descent. There was a small courtyard below with a simple fountain surrounded by benches. The unassuming stone decorations were offset by the beautiful fae-glade vines in full bloom under the moonlight. The large flowers were green, with a pinkish hue in the center.
Julian landed gently on the stone bench, and then jumped to the outer wall in a single bound.
A sentry, startled from watching the fireworks, whipped around to glare at whomever had the audacity to scale the palace wall. He stopped when he saw the calm and serene nod of the duke.
“As you were.” Julian ordered, and then hopped down to the street.
It was a quick walk at his pace to join the crowd in the market.
A half-giantess was up on a bench with her lyre harp out playing a song that echoed out over the town square. Everyone was singing along to Tammy’s Pub, and a few were even dancing in the spot right in front of the bard.
Julian leaned against a lantern post to watch, breathing in the refreshing cool night air. The lantern didn’t put out as much light as the magic lights that floated around to brighten up the festivities. He wasn't there long before it happened.
He shivered.
Years of fighting monsters and dungeon delving had honed his senses. Someone was watching him.
He searched the crowd until he found her.
She was standing just a ways past the bard. A troll. She was dressed in a clinging purple corset dress. Her long dark green hair fell over her shoulders in intricate braids with flowers and jewelry woven into the strands. Even at this distance, he could see the gleam in her clear brown eyes reflecting the magical lights dancing overhead. Her gaze bored into him.
There was something in those eyes that made him catch his breath. An understanding? A recognition. It was soft like pity but cut with intimacy.
The troll suddenly frowned and glanced behind him. Julian turned, but there wasn’t anything noteworthy to see.
When he looked back, she was gone.