75 New Orders (1/2)
Will approached the doorway leading into the castle. Since he already had his fun, he stopped right before they reached the pair of knights guarding the castle.
Maya raised an eyebrow and smirked. ”Are you going to have fun with these guys as well?” She pointed at the guards who were just beyond earshot.
”Unfortunately the time for games is over.” Will saif seriously. Maya was taken aback. For almost an hour, Will had been so carefree, much like he used to be. Now it seemed as though he were a man on a mission.
”The real challenge starts here, Maya.” Will said calmly as he put his hand over his cross. Within a blink of an eye, the cross burned white-hot before a flash of light engulfed him. When he emerged, he wore a full suit of obsidian black armor bearing his family crest on the breast plate and back. He wore no helmet, and two swords were attached on his belt. The one on the left was his usual ruby pommeled blade, while the one on the right was the new clear opal gemmed pommel.
Maya's eyes widened as she saw the transformation. ”Just what are you capable of now?” Her gaze followed his back as he moved towards the guards who immediately opened the doors.
Maya followed behind as Will made his way to the throne room. By now, he knew most twists and turns within the castle, seeing as though even while he was in astral form, he still enjoyed exploring.
”Presenting Prince William Ragnos, the Second of his name!” The last set of guards announced as they opened the door to the throne room.
Will entered along with Maya. They slowly made it towards the throne where the king waited patiently.
”William my boy!” King Ragnos bellowed from his throne while Will was still half way. ”About time you come to see your old man!” Though his tone was delighted, Will could pick up a slight annoyance. 'I guess he isn't used to being kept waiting.' Will thought as he reached his father.
”Sorry,” he said as he scratched his head sheepishly. It was harder to play innocent when he wore such powerful looking armor. ”I was in bed for so long, I needed to stretch my limbs.”
King Ragnos nodded his understanding. ”Fouteen months is quite a while to be kept bedridden.” He descended the throne and took a better look at his son. ”That's quite the armor you have.” He said as his eyes roamed the glistening black plates. His eyes then roamed to the swords and stayed on his original blade. ”Is all of this from your lineage cross?”
”I've been training during my coma,” Will said. ”There are many things I am capable of now.” His eyes grew serious once more. ”There's a great deal that I've learned from training with our patron deity, and much I need to pass on to you.”
The king furrowed his brows slightly. He was more than happy to have his son back. He knew Ragnos had much to teach him within such a short time, yet the results were as clear as day.
”Tell me what our God Ragnos wishes to pass on.”
The king's voice sounded guarded to Will, almost as if he knew some of what was going to be said.
”Firstly,” Will raised a plated finger. ”There is much going on outside of the kingdom that needs to be addressed.” He wasn't going to go into full details about what Ragnos said, first he had a few issues he had to work out. ”There has been slavery going on outside these walls for far too long. Before I came to you, I had gotten rid of a large scale slave operation. Now most of the former slaves are employed building the city outside these walls. Their previous slave trader is now someone who works with them.” Will didn't take his eyes off of his father. The atmosphere was uncomfortable enough that even Maya looked away.
”Slavery is not a way to line anyone's pockets anymore. Any trade posts you know must be given to me within a month. I will go there myself to disband them and give them jobs that can earn them an honest living.”
The king nodded while Will went into detail on what the former slaves would be doing. He wanted each slave to be given at least fifty silver a head to make up for the wrongful detainment they had endured. Will knew that his father had been out of the picture for more than half of his childhood. He was either confined to his room, or locked in the dungeon. Though Will knew what had happened to him, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in how the kingdom had been run up until he returned.
”Secondly,” Will raised a second finger. ”Leo has been bringing over equipment from our world and figuring out ways to convert aura into energy. I'm sure he's a lot further in his studies than I can guess.” Will thought of the dirt roads outside of the city. While the castle and surrounding streets had cobblestone roads, he knew that more than a dozen carriages a day got stuck in the mud from previous rainfalls. ”I plan on paving the roads outside the kingdom and then on to our neighbors should they request it. No more rain washing the roads away. We will make the roads safer to travel in all seasons.”
”Next business is that of the knights.” He brought his hand down and instead released his aura, allowing the armor and weapons to regain the form of the cross on his chest. He stood in front of the king in a ragged and destroyed white shirt and blue jeans. His feet would have been cold underneath for lack of shoes against the stone floor, but he allowed his inner flame to keep him heated. ”Whether someone looks like me,” he pointed towards his shirt. ”Or a noble, none of your knights are to look down upon any who enter the gate. If our guests do not show hostility, they shouldn't be greeted by it either.”