The Royal Palace of Aethelgard sat atop the city's highest hill, a sprawling complex of white stone and gold spires. It was meant to be awe-inspiring. To Ravi, it looked fragile.
Like a dollhouse he had to be careful not to step on.
He was marched through halls of polished marble, past tapestries depicting heroic battles and statues of dead kings. The guards flanked him closely, eyeing the Widowmaker with a mixture of lust and terror. Lyanna and Celeste had been stopped at the gate, despite their protests, leaving Ravi to navigate the viper's nest alone.
They arrived at a heavy oak door guarded by two elite knights. Captain Valerius knocked once, then pushed it open.
" The adventurer, Chancellor."
The room was an office, but it felt more like a museum. Relics lined the walls—glowing crystals, ancient weapons, strange skulls. Behind a desk buried under stacks of parchment sat Thaddeus Grimshaw.
He was a thin man, angular and sharp, like he'd been whittled from dry bone. His robes were black velvet, trimmed with silver. He wore a monocle that magnified one pale gray eye, giving him a perpetual, scrutinizing glare.
He didn't look up as Ravi entered. He continued writing with a quill that scratched loudly across the parchment.
"Sit," Grimshaw commanded.
Ravi looked at the delicate wooden chair in front of the desk. He opted to remain standing. "I prefer to stand. bad back."
Grimshaw stopped writing. He looked up, his magnified eye narrowing. "I see. The F-Rank adventurer who breaks minotaurs and rejects chairs. An interesting combination."
"I aim to please," Ravi said.
"Do you?" Grimshaw leaned back, steepled his fingers. "Because your actions today were... disruptive. Aethelgard relies on order. Hierarchy. Everyone knowing their place. And then you appear. A nobody. An F-Rank with no mana, wielding a weapon fit for a Titan, cutting down threats the Royal Guard couldn't handle."
"Would you prefer I let the minotaur eat the civilians?" Ravi asked. "I felt that would have been more disruptive to the order."
"Cheeky," Grimshaw noted, though he didn't smile. "But effective. We found traces of Void magic in the beast's carcass. It was induced to rampage. Someone is testing our defenses."
Void magic. The words hung in the air.
"Why tell me this?"
"Because you are an anomaly," Grimshaw stood up and walked around the desk. He moved with a serpentine grace. "And anomalies are useful. The Academy wants to study you. The Guild wants to exploit you. But the Crown? We see... potential."
He stopped in front of Ravi, uncomfortably close. "Aethelgard is facing threats it hasn't seen in centuries. Shadows are moving in the North. Our knights are brave, but they are constrained by honor, by mana limitations. You seem to lack... limitations."
"I have plenty of limitations," Ravi lied. "Pickle jars are my nemesis."
Grimshaw ignored the deflection. "I am offering you a position. Not as an adventurer. But as a... troubleshooter. Directly under my command. You would have gold, status, access to resources beyond your imagination. In exchange, you handle problems that the Guard cannot. Discreetly."
It was a tempting offer. Protection. Money. A way to hide in plain sight by being the guy who operates in the shadows.
But Ravi looked at Grimshaw's eyes. They were cold. Calculating. This wasn't an offer of employment. It was a leash. Grimshaw wanted a weapon he could point at his enemies. A blunt instrument that couldn't be traced back to magic.
"And if I refuse?" Ravi asked softly.
"Then you remain an F-Rank nobody," Grimshaw shrugged, turning back to his desk. "But a nobody with very powerful enemies. A nobody who will find his 'luck' running out very quickly. The Inquisition has ears everywhere, Ravi. They burn people for far less than what you did today."
The threat was unveiled. Join or burn.
Ravi tightened his grip on the Widowmaker. He could kill Grimshaw right now. One swing. The guards outside wouldn't even hear it.
But then what? Run? Become a fugitive? Drag Lyanna and Celeste down with him?
No. He had to play the game.
"I'm an adventurer, Chancellor," Ravi said, keeping his voice level. "I like my freedom. I like picking my own quests. But... I'm also broke. And I hate minotaurs."
Grimshaw paused, his back to Ravi. A slow, thin smile spread across his face.
"So," Ravi continued. "I won't be your private assassin. But if the Crown has a job that needs doing... and the pay is right... you can hire me. Like any other client."
He was walking a fine line. Refusing subordination, but offering cooperation.
Grimshaw turned back around. He studied Ravi for a long, tense moment. Evaluating. Assessing.
"Mercenary work," Grimshaw sneered slightly. "Very well. We shall test this arrangement. There is a ruin on the border, near the Gloomwood. Recent reports suggest a... cultist presence. Investigate it. Clear it out. Bring me proof of their affiliation."
He pulled a heavy bag of gold from a drawer and tossed it onto the desk. It landed with a heavy clink.
"Consider this a retainer. Do not fail me, Ravi. Anomalies that prove useless are usually corrected."
Ravi picked up the gold. It felt light.
"Understood," he said. "I'll look into it."
"You are dismissed."
Ravi turned and walked out. As he passed the guards, he let out a breath he didn't know he held.
He hadn't signed a soul contract, but he had stepped into the web. Grimshaw was dangerous. More dangerous than any monster he'd faced so far.
He found Lyanna and Celeste waiting at the palace gates, looking like they were about to storm the place.
"You're alive!" Lyanna exclaimed, rushing over.
"For now," Ravi said, tossing the bag of gold to her. "Drinks are on me. We need to talk. I just got us a job."
"A job?" Celeste raised an eyebrow. "From Grimshaw?"
"A ruin clearance," Ravi said, his expression darkening. "Cultists. Void magic. And probably a trap."
Lyanna's hand went to her sword. "Cultists? That sounds like an B-Rank mission."
"At least," Ravi agreed. "But we're taking it."
"Why?" Celeste asked, her logical mind seeking the reason.
"Because," Ravi looked back at the looming white palace, at the single window where a magnified eye was surely watching him. "If we don't play along, he burns us. And besides..."
He patted the cold steel of the Widowmaker.
"...I think I'm done running from shadows. It's time to punch back."