The Zombie Knight

Chapter Two Hundred Ten: 'O, engrossing revelry...'

It wasn't nearly as luxurious as the Gala had been, but Hector didn't mind one bit. If anything, that level of opulence in his own home probably would've just made him uncomfortable. Good food and smiling faces--that was all Hector was looking for here.

And he got it.

Hector hadn't seen so many Rainlords laughing in one place since that visit to Luzo, just prior to the Siege of Marshrock. There had been quite a bit of merriment in their camp, thanks in large part to the Lord Salvador Delaguna. That giant man's boisterous laugh had been positively infectious.

Then the Blackburns had joined their entourage, and the tension between them and all the other Houses seemed to take precedence over everything else as they'd made their way to Dunehall. And then, of course, after being ambushed there and suffering so many horrible losses, the Rainlords as a whole had been in a seemingly constant state of grief, even while gritting their teeth and soldiering on.

So it was particularly good to hear Salvador laughing again. It wasn't as loud or as frequent as Hector remembered, but it was more than enough to help spread the cheer to the others in the banquet hall.

The Grand Hall of the Night, as it was apparently named according to Voreese, was the single largest chamber in the entirety of Warrenhold, and as its name suggested, it resided within the Tower of Night. It had become something of a "common area" for people to gather during lunch or dinner, but never had Hector seen it so packed like this.

Some people were eating outside in the main plaza or in one of the other tower's banquet halls, but Hector saw just about everyone present.

Rather weirdly, the King didn't want to sit in just one place while he ate, and he asked Hector to accompany him as they went around talking and eating with as many different people as possible. Lynnette moved to join as well, but the King told her to stay and relax with Roman and Gina. She seemed a bit reluctant to accept that order, but the man insisted, and she gave Hector a final lingering look before relenting.

Knowing how seriously she took her guard duty, that wasn't an insignificant gesture, Hector thought. She was trusting him to look after the King in her stead.

They'd been touring Warrenhold and meeting Rainlords the entire day, but the King had apparently not gotten his fill, because he went from table to table every few minutes. He would make introductions if he hadn't previously, then he would sit down and spark up a conversation, usually about history or medicine. Then he would politely excuse himself.

It was kind of amazing to witness, Hector felt. He'd always thought the King to be fairly charismatic, but seeing him now was something else. Granted, he hadn't really known King William all that well before, but still, Hector didn't recall him being this much of a conversationalist.

He decided to consult Garovel about it, privately. 'Was the King always like this?'

'Like what?' said the reaper, who was following close behind.

'Like, uh... er... actually, I'm not sure how to explain it...'

'Oh, do you mean how he seems to be channeling the God of Amicability, right now?'

Hector had to pause. 'God of Amicability?'

'I just made that up. It's not a real thing.'

'Oh... Well, shit, now I'm disappointed.'

The reaper chortled privately. 'Sorry.'

'But yeah, that IS what I was getting at,' said Hector. 'I never knew the King was so, uh... well, amicable is a good word, I guess.'

'Yeah,' said Garovel. 'He does seem a little different to me, too. In a good way, though.'

'I'm glad he seems to be in such good spirits,' said Hector.

'I'm glad he's getting along so well with the Rainlords,' said Garovel.

'That, too.'

Hector listened to the King having a conversation with a member of House Garza, a young non-servant woman named Luciana Garza. They were talking about the history of her family.

Thanks to his daily routine of going around the castle and checking up on everything, Hector was finally getting to a point where could remember all the Rainlords' names by their faces alone.

Luciana and her sister were the only two Garzas in all of Warrenhold, right now. Just like Diego Redwater, their House had been almost entirely captured at Rheinhal by one of the most powerful servants in the world, the Vanguardian Field Marshal Sanko.

And as Hector recalled, Luciana's sister was Elise, the non-servant woman who'd had the misfortune of ending up in Himmekel with him and the others. They weren't twins, but they looked incredibly similar to one another, with Luciana being only a year older.

Their mother, however, had not been captured by the Vanguard. She had been killed by Parson Miles, as confirmed by Zeff Elroy and Evangelina Stroud.

And knowing everything he did about them, Hector was a bit curious about their House's history as well.

Apparently, their hometown was a small place called Entierr. Their family wasn't nearly as large as some of the others, but they had played a famously important role during the Redwater Uprising. They were some of the best scouts and intelligence-gatherers on the continent, and without them, the Rainlords as a whole might very well have perished completely instead of just being pushed to the brink of extinction.

"In fact," King William was saying, "I remember reading that House Garza's actions single-handedly saved the Rainlord bloodline."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," laughed Carlos Sebolt, who was sitting adjacent Luciana. "That's taking it a bit far, I think."

"I don't know," said Luciana, who was all smiles. "I think there might be something to that."

"Yeah, sounds pretty accurate to me," added Elise.

"I remember reading an especially remarkable tale about a man named Benjamin Garza," said the King. "Perhaps all of you here can speak to the veracity of it."

"It's true," said Luciana.

The King laughed. "You have not even heard the story yet."

"Oh, but I have," she said. "You're referring to the Tale of Nine Revivals, no?"

"How did you know?" said the King.

"Every child of House Garza knows this story by heart," said Elise. "We all know the heroism of our great, great grandfather."

"I see," said the King. "That is heartening to hear."

"Please, do go on and tell it," said Luciana. "We would be happy to check your version for errors."

The King laughed again. "Very well. I believe it begins rather harrowingly, yes? At the fortress known as Waterbreak, near the end of the Uprising?"

Both women nodded.

"All hope seemed to be lost," the King continued. "The gates were broken down. The defenders were being overrun as the forces of the Mohssian Empire flooded into the castle. The famous Redwater Twins had perished months before, and by all accounts, this here was the last bastion of the Rainlords. The Empire sought their extinction."

"Right so far," said Elise.

Given the heaviness of the subject matter, Hector would've expected the looks on everyone's faces to be a bit more somber, but it didn't seem to be fazing them at all.

"Benjamin Garza managed to escape from that madness through a secret underground passage," said the King. "And with him, he brought thirteen children. Between them all, nine different Houses were represented. They were, each of them, the very last of their kin, and Benjamin went on to raise them all as his own. He became, in essence, the lone conduit through which the entirety of the Rainlords' legacy was preserved and passed on to the new generation."

"Yeah, that sounds pretty accurate," said Luciana.

"You forgot the part where Benjamin slays a dozen enemy servants while carrying the children to safety," said Elise.

"That definitely didn't happen," said Carlos.

"It definitely did," said Elise.

"How could he possibly have carried thirteen children at once?" said Carlos, still laughing.

"Easily," said Elise, glancing toward Hector. "A powerful enough materializer wouldn't even need to use his hands for something like that."

"Yeah, but as far as we know, he wasn't a materializer," said Carlos.

"Then, whatever, maybe he didn't physically carry them," said Luciana. "Maybe he just cleared a path while they all ran together. Doesn't stop it from being any less amazing."

"I'm not trying to say it wasn't amazing," said Carlos. "Just a bit exaggerated, perhaps. It's also quite unlikely those thirteen children were genuinely the last of all our brethren. We have reason to believe that there were a few of us scattered elsewhere across the continent at that time."

Luciana bumped shoulders with him. "Oh, shut up, Carlos," she laughed.

"Yes, stop trying to spoil such a wonderful story," added Elise.

Carlos just shook his head and popped a couple grapes in his mouth.

"I see," said King William. "So the veracity is somewhat contested, then."

"Don't listen to him!" said Luciana. "If anything, I bet the story is underselling what really happened!"

The argument continued on for a little while longer, though everyone involved remained in good cheer. Soon, Hector and the King moved on to another table, then another, followed by still more after that.

Growing up, Hector had never really understood why so many people seemed to enjoy going to parties. To him, they were always horrible, nerve-wracking affairs where the only thing he wanted to do was not draw attention to himself. Even the Gala, despite how much he'd managed to enjoy it, had ultimately felt that way for him.

But this?

This was just pure fun.

Among so many of his friends and comrades like this, Hector didn't really feel nervous at all. Sure, he was getting a lot of attention, but that was pretty normal at this point, and he knew that the Rainlords weren't looking to silently judge him or anything. There wasn't an oppressive feeling that he had to prove himself in their eyes.

They were just happy to see him. And he, them.

And the longer the banquet went on, the more he realized this.

Warrenhold truly felt like a home to him now, more so than any other place he had ever lived.

Stolen story; please report.

After a while longer of enjoying the festivities, the King finally began to slow down a little. He grabbed a drink for himself at the bar, and he and Hector made their way out into the main plaza together for some only-slightly-fresher air.

The King wasn't the only one slowing down, however. The crowd was thinning, and Hector could see a few people dragging themselves or each other up to their rooms.

Until just the other day, there hadn't been any alcohol in Warrenhold at all. Hector just hadn't considered it a priority, and neither had Ms. Rogers, apparently. He'd heard a few complaints about it here and there, but he hadn't intended to bother doing anything about it until hearing that the King would be visiting. So Hector had finally asked Ms. Rogers to have some hard drinks shipped in for the banquet.

Heh. And now that he was witnessing the results of that decision, he wondered if the alcohol was the real reason for everyone's good cheer this evening.

He hoped that was only part of it and not the primary cause.

Hector and the King were pretty much alone now. The few others that dotted the plaza were either unconscious or barely so, and even Garovel had wandered off a while ago.

The King offered him his glass of gin. "Want a sip? I promise not to tell anyone."

Hector held up a hand in refusal. "I don't really like alcohol."

That caught the man's attention. "You've had it before?"

Hector wondered briefly if he should actually admit this, but he supposed there was no harm in it now. "Yeah."

"Ah," the King said. "The prospect never occurred to me before, but could it be that you are one of those servants who is far older than he appears?"

Hector lost a bit of his mirth at that question. It reminded him of far too many other occasions where there had been much less enjoyment to go around. He considered his next words for a moment, contemplating if he should actually lie to the King of Atreya.

He didn't have the heart for it, he realized.

Instead, he explained about the sensitive nature of a servant's age.

"Are you saying that you cannot tell me your true age, then?" the King asked.

"Ah... something like that," said Hector.

"How disappointing."

"Sorry."

"Are you sure you are not just making excuses for your past underage drinking?"

Hector squeezed his lips together and exhaled through his nose. "Depends on if you plan to punish me for it."

"Oh, I certainly plan that, yes. Your punishment shall be to tell me of this sordid event in excruciating detail. As your king, I command it."

Hector scratched his head. "Uh... okay, well... I don't know about 'excruciating detail,' since there's not really that much to tell, but... basically, I was with a few friends who I've since lost contact with... and, uh... I drank so much that I puked."

"Ah. And you lost all affection for alcohol due to that one experience? Not that I wish to encourage your misconduct, but that seems a hasty conclusion to reach."

"When I puked, it made one of my friends puke, too. But his puke landed on me."

That made the King pause and stare at him.

"It was just, like, being hosed down with barf. Got all over me." Hector's expression twisted as he recalled that horror from his middle school days. "It went in my mouth."

"In that case... I retract my previous statement," said the King. "That is the worst thing I have heard in some time."

Hector couldn't help chuckling a little. "It was a long time ago. But yeah, I still don't really care for alcohol."

The King just took another swig of his gin, and the two of them approached the cavernous outlook at the end of the plaza.

The lake below was still largely the same, apart from a few sections near the stone stairs on Hector's left. Four large areas had been segmented off from the lake with giant walls of iron. No water remained in them, and the previously sunken buildings therein were now almost usable. They hadn't yet bothered to move any furniture or equipment into them, but they soon planned to. Once more of the sections of the lake were drained and more walls put up, the risk of a leak would be basically nonexistent.

They'd decided that draining sections of the lake was a better idea than draining the whole thing. A couple of the planners wanted to keep part of the lake intact.

As the silence drew out, Hector remembered that there was something that the King might be able to help him with.

"Your Highness, do you know anything about House Gaolanet?" said Hector.

As he was bringing his glass up for another sip, the King's hand stopped. "Your fellow Lords of Gray Rock."

"Yeah. I haven't been able to find out much about them, other than a few names."

"Yes. They are notoriously reclusive."

Hector decided to just come out and say it. "I have reason to believe that they've had knowledge of reapers and servants for several years, at least."

King William was quiet a moment. "That... would not surprise me, now that you mention it."

"Why do you say that?"

"House Gaolanet has long had ties to the Agency of Foreign Affairs," said the King. "However, I believe in recent years their role was relegated to little more than consultation."

"The Agency of Foreign Affairs?" said Hector, trying to place the name. "I don't think I've heard of that before."

"Its role in the government is, on paper, to advise the Crown on matters of foreign policy," said the King. "In practice, however, it has been more akin to a headquarters for espionage. And most importantly, the AFA played a large part in the assassination plot against the Queen. Behind the scenes, of course."

Hector's eyes widened as he listened.

"I imagine that Helen, Prince David, or my Aunt Jezebel would be able to provide you with the details better than I, but my understanding of it is that the AFA has since been completely reworked and is no longer a threat to the Crown."

"Uh. Well, that's good to hear, I guess."

"But as I said, House Gaolanet's role in the AFA is a shadow of what it once was. They once held tremendous influence within it, but I think that may have also been before the AFA developed into such an espionage-heavy organization."

Hector was still trying to wrap his head around all this new information. "So... all the spy stuff came after the Gaolanets left?"

The King bobbed his head. "That may be oversimplifying how it all transpired, but yes, I believe that speaks to the core of what happened."

"Hmm."

"Nine or ten years ago now--perhaps you will recall--there was an international incident between Atreya and Rendon. At the time, we had another government agency called His Majesty's Royal Intelligence Bureau, or the RIB. It was caught red-handed bribing a Rendon ambassador, and so Rendon demanded His Majesty the King--Helen's father--shut down the RIB or risk war."

That story didn't ring a bell at all, but Hector supposed that wasn't so surprising, considering he would've been about seven years old.

"Helen's father capitulated to Rendon," said the King, "though not without considerable negotiation and concessions on Rendon's part. However, the RIB was not truly destroyed. It was merely folded up into the AFA in secret."

"...That doesn't sound very legal," said Hector.

"Oh, no, it was perfectly legal. The King had full authority to do it and broke no laws. But yes, it was morally questionable without a doubt. And in retrospect? It was most likely an enormous mistake."

"Because of the coup against your wife years later," Hector surmised.

"Yes, that was the main issue I was thinking of. But there was also the matter of the AFA itself. While its operations were greatly expanded by its absorption of the RIB, its original purpose also seemed to become lost in the shuffle."

"Original purpose?"

"To help the Crown in matters of foreign policy. To provide wise and knowledgeable counsel."

"Hmm."

"The AFA became embroiled in so many secretive things that I believe there was no longer any one person who knew everything that it was doing--no one person who could advise the Crown, in other words."

All this information was making Hector curious about something else. "You sure seem to know a lot about this, Your Highness."

The man smirked. "Is that so surprising?"

"N-no, I just mean, uh. Er."

"Heh. I am only, how you say, joshing you."

Hector just pressed his lips together flatly.

"I am fully aware of my reputation," the King said. "The man who stands by Helen's side and contributes nothing of value. A worthless king."

"Whoa, whoa, I never said any of that. And I never thought it, either. What do you--?"

William held up his one hand. "That is kind of you to say, but there was, and likely still is, a disconcerting amount of truth in that perception of me. Which is why I have been attempting to improve myself in these past months. To familiarize myself with the true workings of this nation and its history."

Hector didn't know what to say.

"As for House Gaolanet," the King went on, "they are a rather mysterious bunch. The head of their family is Hanton Gaolanet."

Hector had already been able to find out that much just from browsing public records. He knew where the Gaolanet estate was located as well, and he was wondering if he should pay it a visit sometime soon.

"I have met him many times over the years," said William, "and yet, to say that I know much about him would be a gross exaggeration. He possesses a nobleman's manners, to be sure, but he does not speak often or carelessly. Or at least, that has been my experience with him. In fairness, I understand that royals are perhaps not the type of people whom most would wish to pour their hearts out to. I am certainly accustomed to dealing with individuals who wear 'masks,' so to speak."

Hector considered the King's words for a moment. "Was Hanton at the Gala a few weeks ago?"

"He was, though I am not surprised that you didn't notice. He is not a man to make a spectacle of himself, and he seems to only make the bare minimum of public appearances, and the rest of his family is not much different."

"So then if I dropped in on them unannounced, they wouldn't be very happy with me."

The King gave him a briefly wide-eyed look. "At their home? Yes, I imagine they would be incredibly displeased by that. Most nobles would, Hector. I would not recommend such an action."

"It was just a thought. I wasn't actually planning on it."

William chortled. "I know you must still be acclimating yourself to your newfound status, but if you wish for a meeting with the Gaolanets, I am sure you could simply have your people contact them and schedule one. I highly doubt the Gaolanets would refuse to talk to a national hero and fellow lord."

"Er, I-I know," said Hector. "I just. Uh. I wanna be careful, y'know?"

"Dropping in on them unannounced is being careful?"

"That was just a thought, I said!"

"Right."

Hector was reluctant to say more about his suspicions regarding the Gaolanets. He didn't want to go throwing accusations around, but he also felt like the King should be made aware of what else he and Garovel had learned.

But then again, maybe it would be better to wait until he had more to reveal.

Agh.

He decided to go for it.

"There's something else," said Hector. "I should, uh... I should make it clear that I don't currently have any proof of this, but... I suspect that House Gaolanet has been somehow involved in multiple murders via poisoning."

The King's brow rose. "That is a serious accusation."

"I don't know if they're the ones doing the poisoning," he clarified. "They could just be caught up in the middle of something. But I do have evidence that the Vanguard was also involved."

"The Vanguard? Involved in what way?"

Hector explained about the secret room that he and Garovel had found with Vanguardian documentation. He also explained that it had been long abandoned and that the name Pauline Gaolanet had been found at the scene.

The King shut his eyes and held his forehead. "Pauline... Pauline... Pauline Gaolanet... Where have I heard that before...?"

The man really seemed to be concentrating, so even though it was taking a little while, Hector just waited patiently.

"Ah!" The King's eyes shot open, and he snapped his fingers. "Yes! I met her once. Years and years ago. Before I even met Helen. It was a marriage interview, as I recall."

Hector just blinked at that news.

"Very peculiar girl," said William. "I remember her piercing silver eyes, like she was attempting to look into my soul. Or she was on drugs. Honestly not sure."

Hector's expression scrunched up, but he also couldn't help laughing a little. "Your Highness, uh..."

"What? It was true. She kept trying to predict what my next words would be. And she got very upset with me when I told her she was wrong."

"That, er... sounds like an interesting encounter," said Hector.

"Indeed," said the King. "She made quite an impression on me. I'm surprised it took me this long to remember her."

"How old were the two of you at the time?"

"Hmm. I believe I was twelve or thirteen, and she looked to be a year or two younger than me."

Hector couldn't conceal his shock. "Twelve?! For a marriage interview?!"

For a moment, the King just looked at him. "Yes. The families often like to get a head start on such things. To be clear, however, I should mention that even if that meeting and everything thereafter had gone perfectly smoothly between Pauline and I, we would not have gotten married until the younger of us was eighteen. At the very earliest."

Hector settled down a little. "Oh... hmm."

The King lowered his voice. "...You are not very old as a servant at all, are you?"

Aw, shit.

Maybe he could still play it off as just being unfamiliar with royal customs?

Agh...

Hector elected not to say anything at all.

After a time, the King patted him on the shoulder. "You may not believe me, but I find that comforting, strangely enough."

Still, Hector didn't say anything. He merely eyed the man curiously.

"Though she may be almost three hundred years old now, I feel that Atreya is still quite a young nation at heart. Unlike certain others, she has not often been forced to fight to preserve her culture. Even during the Continental War, she was able to remain neutral. It is fitting that her national hero should be similarly young."

The man had been right: Hector didn't believe him. He decided to keep holding his tongue, though.

The King had more to say, though. "It seems that good fortune is finally being tested, however. I fear Atreya has entered an era of great difficulty."

Hector could certainly understand where the King was coming from, but that viewpoint also reminded Hector of something else. "...Do you really think it was just 'good fortune' that kept Atreya peaceful all this time?"

"What do you mean?" said the King.

"I think the Vanguard was watching over Atreya until relatively recently," said Hector.

The King held his hand up to his chin, thoughtful. "I suppose that might make sense," he said. "But if that was truly the case, then why did they stop watching over us?"

"That's what I'd like to know," said Hector.

"...And you think the Gaolanets might hold the answer," the King surmised.

"Yeah."

Approaching footsteps drew both of their attention, and then Hector saw Lynnette there.

"Everything okay?" she said. "The two of you have been out here for a while now."

"We are just fine, Ms. Edith. We were simply lost in conversation." He gave Hector a smile. "It seems I've found the Lord Goffe's company even more enjoyable than I expected."

"Ah--uh, same here, Your Highness."

"Well, alright," said Lynnette, "I'm glad you've been having a good time, but it's getting a bit late, Your Highness. And you have several meetings in Sescoria tomorrow, don't you?"

The King's expression soured significantly. "Hmm..."

Hector and Lynnette exchanged looks.

"No," said the King. "I don't think I do have any meetings tomorrow."

Lynnette seemed taken aback. "Uh... I'm quite sure you do, Your Highness..."

"No. I'm canceling them. I think I will be staying here at Warrenhold for another day or two." He looked to Hector again. "That is, if it is alright with you."

It took Hector a second to find his words. "Oh. Um. Yeah. Of course. You're welcome to stay as long as you like, Your Highness."

"Wonderful!"

Mouth hanging open, Lynnette was apparently speechless.

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