October 27, 8 ATC

City of Pyrruby, Duchy of Milk and Cereal

It was around one o'clock in the afternoon when Austin, Kazehh, and Jelo arrived in Pyrruby, and they were surprised by how pristine the city was. Prosthetium was by no means a cesspool, but it certainly didn't have a reputation for robust infrastructure. Pyrruby, in contrast, was remarkably well-kept. There were few beggars, and the streets were paved with mortar instead of cobblestone. All the buildings, wood and stone, were clean. Even the water around the docks was clearer than in Armed and Ready.

"Oh, my," Jelo said, squinting at the pristine towers of Duke McDouggal's castle. "It's straight out of a storybook."

"You could probably eat off these roads," Kazehh noted. "Though I'd rather not test it."

Austin merely gazed at the castle in the distance, watching as the red banners danced in the heavy autumn winds.

"Not to be a spoilsport," she said, "but we do have a job to get to. Shall we, boys?"

Kazehh and Jelo nodded, and they strolled through the city. Several times Kazehh and Jelo were distracted by the wares that the artisans were selling, and several times Austin had to pry them away like a disgruntled mother.

"I swear, you two are children," she grumbled, prying Kazehh away from a painting store. She frowned while Kazehh looked around curiously.

"Haven't either of you been to Junipera before?" she asked.

"Only to Arkos," Jelo explained. "It's always been way too cold to justify travel here. But seeing this…" He trailed off, distracted by a glass-blowing booth. "I might change my mind in the future."

"Especially with the paintings here," Kazehh added. "I might pick up painting again."

"Just like you tried to pick up brewing after breaking into that vinery?" Austin poked, and Jelo chuckled in remembrance.

"Hey!" Kazehh furrowed his brow, but then smiled wryly. "That's better than the time you two stole a chest of iron and tried to smelt your own weapons!"

"At least we didn't need to fumigate the house afterward!" Austin retorted. "We couldn't go back in for days!"

"And besides, I've gotten much better at smithing!" Jelo added, patting the self-made morning star at his side.

"More spikes doesn't necessarily mean better, Jelo." Kazehh patted his crescent axe. "Sometimes, beauty is in the simple things."

"I distinctly remember you stealing that from an executioner on a dare," Austin reminded him, and Kazehh sheepishly patted the blade again. "Besides, you can't go wrong with a good sword!"

She placed a hand on her claymore's hilt, only to feel the cold grip of a metal gauntlet on her shoulder. The three turned around to see a guardsman glaring at them. Austin quickly checked her surroundings and realized that they had not only walked up the road to the castle gates, but they were talking about and patting their weapons in a very suspicious manner.

"Mind telling me what you three peasants want with Duke McDouggal?" The guardsman raised an eyebrow, his voice remaining at a deep, dull monotone. Though his arm twitched towards his blade, he did not grasp it.

Austin produced McDouggal's contract and showed it to the guard. The soldier glanced over the document before looking back at the trio.

"Very well," he said. "Follow me."

The four of them walked up to the castle gate. Six guards stood outside it, eyeing the new arrivals suspiciously.

"Johann, Maria," the guardsman called out to two of the sentinels. "With me. Keep an eye on them."

Two of the guards broke away from the gate as the three passed through, marching behind them as they walked through the castle. Suspicious gazes from the guards uneased them, and Jelo and Kazehh exchanged nervous glances.

At last the tense silence came to an end. The party arrived at the throne room, and the chief guardsman opened the doors with a loud creak. The party walked inside, where they saw a middle-aged man sitting on a medium-sized throne, flanked by a dozen guards.

"Hmm," he said, scrutinizing them. "Are you the three Cinder told me about?"

"Yes," Austin said. "He gave us this." She produced the contract and handed it to the guard captain, who in turn handed it to McDouggal. He glanced at it, and then folded it in his lap.

"And what, may I ask, are your names?"

"I'm Jelo," Jelo raised his hand and waved it at the Duke. "She's Austin and he's Kazehh."

McDouggal's face remained mostly expressionless. "Well, you match the names, descriptions, and mannerisms that he provided me. Guards, you may leave."

The guardsmen exchanged confused glances, but obeyed nonetheless. As they left, they cast backwards glances at the three mercenaries before shutting the door behind them.

"Forgive them. My people are not accustomed to outsiders." McDouggal stood and walked down the steps of his throne.

"That seems to be so," Kazehh noted. "God, if looks could kill…"

"Their hearts are in the right place, I assume, but one can never know for sure. Hence your presence here." McDouggal turned and beckoned for them to follow.

"I was going to ask about that," Austin said. "Why use mercenaries instead of your own men? And why us three?"

"Never look a gift horse in the mouth," Kazehh whispered, but McDouggal paid him no heed.

"I chose to use mercenaries because, as you may have heard, there is a Diet coming up. I can't risk any of my guards, however loyal they may be, being bribed. I know that each of them has their weakness, and I cannot risk them being exploited. So, I contacted Cinder, and he assured me that he could find me a few strong, loyal mercenaries. And so he did."

"So what's the deal with the Diet?" Jelo interjected. "I mean, I get the gist of it, but I don't fully grasp the dynamics. Give us a once-over, like we're five-year-olds."

McDouggal chuckled jovially. "If you really want to hear it. Queen Inferno of Pollination put forth a referendum to unite the Subreddit under one rule: an elected monarch. Doubtlessly, she's making moves on the entire realm. Another king, King Coronam of Renora, is leading the opposition to stop the referendum. I need unbribable mercenaries to ensure that I will not be coerced when the time comes to cast my votes."

"And how will you vote?" Austin asked. McDouggal stroked his chin.

"We can discuss that later." He arrived at the guest quarters and turned to his mercenaries. "These are your quarters. Dinner is at five. Do not hesitate to call the servants if you want something."

"Oh, I won't," Jelo assured him as he peered into his room. Austin and Kazehh smiled and turned to thank McDouggal, but he had already disappeared.

"Huh. Speedy guy," Kazehh remarked. "So, what do we do for the next few hours?"

"I bet I can beat you in a game of rummy!" Jelo eagerly cheered. Kazehh chuckled in anticipation.

"That's what you said last time, and the time before that. I didn't even need to steal your money pouch to strip it bare."

"Yeah, but before that I was winning! I figured my luck's back by now!" Jelo began fishing around in his satchel for the card pack. "Care to join us, Austin? I'm sure he can't win against the two of us."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Kazehh said. "She has even worse luck than you do."

Austin chuckled and ran her hands through her hair. "You two have fun with your card game. I'm going to take a nap."

"Suit yourself," Jelo said. "I don't need the help anyways."

"Oh, getting cocky, are we?" Kazehh asked. Jelo furrowed his brow and opened the door to his quarters, gesturing to a large table in the middle. Austin laughed and entered hers, shutting the door behind her.

She paced around the room. A small, circular table sat in the middle, and a twin bed sat in the corner next to a nightstand. A bookshelf rested against one wall of the room, beckoning to her. She decided to read something before she went to bed.

Austin ran her hands along the titles, reading them to herself. Numerous philosophy books, some great fables and epic poems, a few memoirs. Nothing terribly interesting.

One, however, caught her attention like a fly in a net. A medium-sized red book with gold trim. She pulled it out and read the cover.

The Collected Accounts of Team ANGQ, by Austin Rufus, Nitesco Gaming, Gwydion Forto and Quixotic Quail.

Austin Rufus.

She perused the pages, unsure of what to expect. She found that it was nothing more than a collection of journal entries of the four ANGQ commanders, as well as personal accounts of the battles by the two survivors. She set the book on the nightstand for later.

"Well, at least he finally got published," she muttered sadly.

She sighed and laid down on the bed, allowing a deep sleep to come over her.

A loud knocking on the door roused her from her slumber. Groggily, she shambled over to the door and opened it, where a bald servant was standing.

"Dinner's on," he informed her, and he beckoned for her to follow. With a sigh, she sluggishly followed him.

By the time they had navigated to the dining room, Austin had woken considerably. She took her seat at the square dinner table across from the Duke, while Kazehh voraciously tore into a loaf of bread and Jelo gnawed at a particularly tough cut of pork.

"Ah, you've finally arrived," the Duke noted. "I would have fetched you earlier, but they told me you were asleep."

"I still was, but it's no big deal." Austin said.

The table was covered in food: swan, pork, beaver, bread, and three places of assorted fruits and vegetables. Austin fought off Kazehh for the last swan leg, took a scoop of carrots and potatoes, and gestured to a servant for a goblet of wine.

"So," Jelo asked, grabbing a carrot. "What's it like being a king?"

"It's not anything like people fantasize it being like," McDouggal stated. "It's not all luxury and good food and expensive things. I have to manage my realm, to defend it, and to ensure that no malcontents threaten the security of the nation."

"And how do you do that?" Jelo asked before he crunched down on the carrot's tip.

Austin quietly sipped her goblet as McDouggal pondered his answer. Goddesses, how long had it been since she had tasted wine?

"As an administrator, I delegate tasks to my assistants. The more stratified my administration, the better. But sometimes, there are tasks I cannot delegate or deny, and these are the issues that are most dangerous to my nation. Often, they require the most...unpleasant remedies." He punctuated this statement by draining his goblet.

"Such as?" Austin questioned. The Duke put another slice of pork on his plate and sighed.

"Sometimes, a King must do… conflicted things to guarantee the safety of his nation. Take the Diet, for example. I have a choice: either I enable Inferno, a power-seeking harlot, or I side with Coronam, who obviously has designs of his own. The priority is to stop Inferno, but in the process, I enable Coronam and his designs."

"Well, what's he planning?" Austin asked.

McDouggal sighed and bit into his pork. "He's planning something, I'm sure. People always look out for themselves before anything else. This is just a fact."

"Well that seems awfully cynical," Austin grumbled. "So what drives people, then? Not morality? Religion? Common decency?

"Only the dim indulge such things as a ruler," McDouggal said. "They're nice things, but they do not belong in rulership. Sometimes, a few people have to be disenfranchised or quieted in the face of these things. Morality is nice, and religion is comforting, but sometimes they must be put aside for the good of the people."

"So, would you burn a village for the good of your people?" Austin asked. "Would you kill your brother for the benefit of your nation?"

"I have," McDouggal said, and a hint of regret entered into his voice. "And I would do it again. These things are regrettable, but they have to be done. Sometimes politics requires sacrifice for the benefit of the people."

"Well," Austin said, picking frustratedly at her food. "That seems very distasteful to me."

"But it must be done, mercenary," McDouggal furrowed his brow and knit his fingers in a disconcerting manner. Jelo slowed his chewing, and Kazehh took a loud sip of his wine in the hopes that it would drown out the increasingly hostile conversation. "It's always sad when somebody has to die, but it's better than letting the nation suffer for it. The weak-stomached don't have a place in rulership."

"Weak-stomached?" Austin clenched her fork, and Kazehh slurped louder. "Just because I wouldn't commit murder for my own selfish manipulations doesn't mean I'm weak-stomached!"

"Selfish?" McDouggal stood abruptly, and Jelo folded his hands uncomfortably in his lap. "Everything I have done has been for the good of my people!"

"And the needs of the people just so happen to align with what's necessary to keep yourself in power, don't they?" Austin crossed her arms defiantly. From his seat, Kazehh grabbed her arm.

"Austin," he whispered, "Don't piss off our employer." Austin and McDouggal both ignored him, instead staring agitatedly at each other.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," McDouggal hissed. "I've ruled this country longer than you've been alive. I know that everyone, ultimately, has their own agenda. I will do whatever I can to protect my people. I don't care what you think about me, but that is the truth!"

"Your, uhh, magnanimousness," Jelo interjected, "Perhaps we can just...let this argument go?"

Austin and McDouggal stared at each other in terse silence while Jelo and Kazehh remained in their seats, staring at them both. Finally, McDouggal exhaled.

"Fine. At least we can all agree that the business is unpleasant, huh?" He laughed humorlessly and clasped his hands together.

"That doesn't stop you, does it?" Austin stared disdainfully at the Duke, and he frowned.

"I didn't bring you all this way to have you mouth off at me, girl." McDouggal practically spat out the words. "I brought you here to guard me. In the future, keep such comments to yourself, or I may decide to end the contract prematurely." He turned to Kazehh and Jelo.

"Kazehh, Jelo. Enjoy your dinner." He stopped to exchange one final glare with Austin before disappearing into the castle.

A dreadful gloom descended on the room. Austin stared at her plate and seethed. Jelo awkwardly picked at his food. Kazehh continued to loudly slurp his wine.

Finally, Jelo broke the silence. "Austin, I know you're an upstanding person and all that but… can we keep it to a minimum? I really don't wanna lose this contract."

"I concur," Kazehh said. "The Diet's in two weeks. All we have to do is get him there on time, stand around looking threatening, and that's it."

"Can you do that, Austin?" Jelo asked.

Austin stared in silence at her plate. "Yes," she mumbled at last.

"Thank you," Kazehh said.

Austin reached for a potato, and they continued their meal in awkward silence.