-Callia-

  Listening to the three men in front of me, I struggled to understand where their confidence came from. I could easily feel the malice they projected when speaking in reference to the locals. However, the source was unclear. Thinking back to the first farmer who spat and cursed at Callen, a strange thought came to mind. When Mr. Bandit wannabe talked to us, saying “fellow big’uns,” it was spoken with the same kind of derision someone would say a slur.

  Then I consider the nature of the problem. Locals didn’t face the kinds of danger we did to get early levels, and they could peacefully grow up protected by society. In rural regions, stats unlocked at 15, and in cities, particularly safe cities, it was at 18. Thus, people from rural regions are all notably taller than locals. Then there was the perspective of strength. Locals were probably hostile to outsiders because we were stronger and faster, which represented a real threat to their livelihoods.

  Basically we were the minority facing underqualified manual laborers. It made sense if the locals banded together to resist or deny opportunities to easily identifiable taller outsiders. Having discovered that ‘heightist’ racial discrimination existed, I shifted my focus back to the men in front of us, who seemed to be getting impatient with me and Callen’s silence. It seems we both got caught up in thought, oops. Instead of answering with words, I felt I might get the message across with the heel of my boot.

  I moved forward with a casual stride and delivered a punitive punt, sending the idiot flying. The other two struggled to understand what just happened as I punched them each in the face, sending them both into dreamland. Patting my hands together, I turned back towards the others and smiled.

  “They seemed like trouble, so I thought I would save us the complicated detour.” With that out of the way, Callen gave them a quick medical check before we continued on our way. As we progressed, the fields became more and more common until a massive white tower shone from the edge of the horizon. It was a tower that seemed to reach infinitely into the sky. We crested a final hill and finally got a clear view of the city. The capital was a sprawling expanse that stretched beyond the limits of perception. It wasn’t just a single layer either; the outer buildings were lower, but as one got closer to the white tower, more and more floors were added until it rivaled skyscrapers. The outer districts were also cobbled from various materials, while the inner city was pristine chiseled marble.

  “Still the same as I remember,” Hew reminisced fondly, looking at the grand sight. Then he pointed out the building closest to the tower that looked like a castle but still stood significantly taller than even the closest buildings. “That’s the royal castle; if we speak with the guards outside of it, we should be able to get an audience for the transfer of authority. Don’t expect it to be a quick process; the king will likely set aside our business until he has spare time. I had to wait about a month in the city before I was called before the king. My group ran out of funds while waiting, so we had to split up, working various jobs around town. I went from cleaning the floor of an inn to bowing in the royal palace in under an hour.”

  We finished the final stretch of the road, and as we arrived at the gate, I recognized the farmer lady who had abandoned her goods on the road. It seemed she circled around the thugs I beat up and ran to the city before we arrived. As we approached, she pointed us out, and I groaned as I realized what was happening.

  “Callen, your scary face just got us arrested.” I watched in amusement as he tried to decipher my meaning, only to realize what I meant when a guard started yelling at us. Just like everyone else, the man was a head shorter than us, but just like a small dog, it only made him all the louder with his barking. I watched Callen try to mediate, but the commotion seemed to draw in more guards.

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  I wanted to step in to break up the situation, but it rapidly spiralled out of control. The men weren’t even willing to listen anymore as they started drawing weapons and yelling conflicting orders as they turned into a disorganized mob. I couldn’t help but wonder if I should beat them all into submission and try to explain things to whoever shows up afterwards, but on second thought, that was an absolutely terrible idea. Even if it did calm down the mess we were in, it would be quite the statement about how much we respect the king's authority. Callen seemed to be of the same mind, so I signaled our guards to stand down and secretly shifted any valuables on me and the others into the void where they wouldn’t be confiscated.

  Seeing the woman cheering as multiple guards roughly dragged us into the city made me secretly promise a visit on the way back. If anyone deserved one of my more extreme pranks, it seemed she won that prize. Judging from Hew’s story, we would have plenty of time to deliver justice while waiting. After all, it's difficult to imagine that a random peasant could have a knight arrested on her word alone.

  I sigh in frustration as the soldiers start gagging us. This didn’t seem like a typical arrest. We were led into a back alley into the darker parts of the lower affluent region. Finally we were forced into a dark building where various people were stripped and locked in cages. “What a wonderful introduction to the capital,” I sarcastically thought to myself. The guards left, and various masked men began to fill in the room. I shared a look with Callen, and it was decided that we had gone along with this farce long enough.

  Callen’s mana filled the room, and in an instant our bindings disappeared and our weapons were summoned back in hand. He didn’t stop there, as he gave a powerful shock to each of the masked men, making them spasm and collapse.

  “Goodness, nothing like this happened during my last visit!” I couldn’t help but shake my head at his statement.

  “When was that again, one hundred years ago?” I just stopped as he nodded in acknowledgement. Right, Hew had been around a long time. I kept forgetting that people could live so long. Looking around the room, we came to a dilemma: did we leave and ignore the issues here, or did we take the opportunity for some revenge? Personally I wanted revenge. What was being a knight for if I didn’t leverage my status at times like this to bring about righteous justice?

  Philip, Paul, and Hew stayed behind while tying up the unconscious men, while Callen and I went further into the building. As I moved, an amusing thought came to mind. Maybe, if we caused enough of the right kind of trouble, the king might feel inclined to bring our meeting and Callen’s appointment forward. Kicking open the first door, I got myself fired up to pummel some slavers.

  Lord Nox

  A knight rode into the city late at night with an urgent message. Lord Nox looked down at the letter in his hand again, trying to understand what kind of reasoning could prompt such an outrageous demand. He had long had a quiet feud with his liege lord, but he never imagined the man could be capable of such an outrageous demand. First it was his orders banning patrols along the major roads, leading merchants to have to spend a fortune to make any kind of delivery, but now the man dared order every child between 10 and 15 to make way towards Harlanou city.

  Had anyone else said this, he would’ve cut the man’s head off for making such a distasteful joke. He would sooner die than entrust his children to that psycho, but he also lacked the strength to refuse such a demand. The fact that this message had been delivered by a knight proved its legitimacy. He crushed the letter in his hand. He had just had a near encounter with Jasmine’s kidnapping, and now he was expected to send both his children away at the word of his enemy.

  Fume and rage as he did it didn’t change his helplessness to the fact that should he refuse, the duke was far closer than any allies he could rally. With a trembling hand he wrote the order, but that wasn’t the only message he penned. The other was a secret letter to his best chance at overthrowing Harlanou, Baron Meccas; the man was not only his only hope but also the only hope of countless children who would die while complying with the duke’s suicidal command.

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  says the Lord.

  “Though your sins are like scarlet,

  they shall be as white as snow;

  though they are red as crimson,

  they shall be like wool.