Chapter 490 - The Ansei Wards (2) : The Return Of The Huntress
"Hey, king of Sentinel! Open up!" A certain man in Ebony armor stood under a balcony of the Palace of Sentinel and called for the king.
"Stop it!"
"Dammit!"
Meanwhile, an Elf and a Redguard were trying to stop him from making any political misunderstanding. Mirren and Kareem were about to die from the scare in case the wrath of the King of Sentinel was directed at them.
"Hey, King. Come out! We need to talk." Yet Jon kept calling.
Miranda was gracefully standing at the back looking around the garden they appeared in just now. A minute ago, Jon just opened a portal in the middle of the Palace's garden and kept calling for the king as if they are friends from the orphanage but strangely, no one replied.
It took some time for the people around the palace to realize what was going on. Even the king himself staring strangely at his men.
Back at the Garden, the guards of the palace flowed from all directions towards the source of the strange voice and once they saw what was going on, they realized they have not one but four intruders.
"Trespassers! Arrest them!" A guard shouted but then he made eye contact with Jon.
"Arrest us? How cute! Hey, King. Come out already, why do you have so many guards in your place?" Jon kept calling for the king in his uncivilized way.
"Come on! Stop already."
"Krilon, if you don't stop…"
Kareem and Mirren were desperately trying to reason with him but Miranda spoke.
"Stop it you to, don't you see he is doing it on purpose?" She said,
Hearing her say that, the two looked at each other and had a worse feeling than before. Jon acting on a plan is way worse than Jon acting on impulse, Miranda is smart enough to see through Jon's actions so her words must be legit.
Meanwhile, a certain man with a strong character walked out of the balcony looking down at whoever was calling for him.
"What is it?" He called back with a deep frown.
He looked at the garden to see the guards surrounding four figures one of them was familiar to him.
"Lord Kareem." The King spoke.
"King Abbas." Kareem stood straight and greeted the King of Sentinel.
King Abbas, a worldwide known strong character whose fame is widespread. A powerful warrior and a poet who reigned supreme after succeeding the Throne. He was a strong opponent to both the Empire and Aldmeri Dominion making him the idol of many Crowns despite the fact that he favors the Forebears. He looked like a man in his fifties with the Redguard features of black hair and dark skin. He had a moderate beard and long hair while being dressed in a combat robe.
"What is the meaning of this?" The King asked.
Kareem was begging his brain for a proper answer but Jon spoke instead.
"Hey! You are that King?" Jon asked.
Everyone around was speechless for a second before getting to reboot their brains once again. King Abbas himself was baffled.
"That… King!" The King repeated strangely then looked at Jon and giggling, "Yes, I am that King."
"Good! I was looking for you."
"And who are you, friend?" The King asked.
"I am Krilon. I came here looking for the Ansei Wards! You have them."
Jon couldn't be blunter than this. He barged into someone's house, called for him rudely and asked for his treasure just like that. The King seemed amused by the fact yet he focused on something else.
"You are Krilon? I am aware of the name. You are the Mage of the Alliance of the Lords in the south, right?" The King leaned on the balcony with a visible smile.
"Yes. I am the one. Looks like being the King is not for a show, after all, you know your things." Jon replied in a brash way.
"Ah! Of course, Hammerfell is like my own realm of Oblivion so I am well aware of what is going on." King Abbas replied.
"Good. You know what I want then, let's get this over with."
The King laughed and shook his head wryly. Just what kind of a strange character this Krilon was?
"Krilon. What kind of name is that?" He asked.
"Huh?" Jon tilted his head.
"I asked for the meaning of your name. Where does it come from?" The King asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I gave it to myself. It doesn't have a meaning in particular." Jon said keeping the brash act.
"Is that so? Then where are you from? And what kind of face under that mask?" The King kept asking.
"You are getting complicated all of a sudden, King. Why do you need so many answers?" Jon stomped with his foot.
"Well, you are asking for the Ansei Wards, I should at least who am I giving them to, right?"
"Oh… Oh! Right… you are a wise man, King." Jon agreed and removed his mask, beneath it was his appearance from his past life remodeled to fit on his large body.
He didn't look too different from his original face but all the Nordic features were not there making him more mysterious than before.
"Hmph! Are you an Imperial… or a Redguard? No… too large." The King finally showed signs of being baffled but he soon returned to the composed atmosphere that fits a king. "Where are you from, Krilon?"
"Me? I don't know." Jon said.
"What do you mean?"
"I was born on the caravans that roam Tamriel, I have no particular home." Jon claimed to be a man of unidentified ancestry.
He was a human indeed, he could be more of a Redguard or Imperial than other races but he still was hard to identify. It was then when the king made an understanding face.
"So… A Nomad." The King nodded and stroked his beard.
Nomads are indeed the answer the King thought of and the thing Jon was aiming for. In his mind, Jon was making a victory pose but he kept a calm face.
Nomads are the uncultured folk that roam the land. They are not fixed to one place or fight for any country much like the Orcs. They don't even follow any faith and have little to no understanding of modern society. They may treat a King like Abbas the same way they treat anyone without even realizing what is wrong with that.
All in all, they are people who are impossible to educate in normal standards. One of the things they are unique for is that in their ranks, they are joined by all sorts of people from all sorts of races. This mobile society survives on hunting, gathering and raising cattle. Some are peddlers who carry goods from one place to another while some are performers or even raiders. There is no way to predict those damn nomads whatsoever.
Now that he thinks about it, in the report that arrived lately about the HoonDing Alliance led by Prince Kareem of Stros M'kai, it was said that the mage Krilon is accompanied by a Minotaur, a type of a creature that civilized people won't associate with.
If this Krilon guy was a Nomad, then things will dramatically change.
Jon knew that the King had the impression that he is the actual leader of the HoonDing Alliance rather than Kareem who acted as a figurehead. This was actually true but now that Jon acted as a brash Nomad in front of the King, then it is impossible for a Nomad to organize an army and give the cult this serious beating.
The King looked between Jon and Kareem and bought the act Jon was selling, he suspected Kareem to be the actual leader of the HoonDing Alliance and Krilon is just a Nomad who came across Kareem somehow and was convinced to join the fight against the Worm Cult. If that was all true, then Prince Kareem of Stros M'kai had more talent than what the King knew.
"Fine, guide them in." The King gave a signal to his guards as he decided to take a closer look at those sudden guests.
Jon kept a natural face until he put back the mask and then let out a wide smile. With [Lust] on, he can be the greatest actor on Tamriel. The powers of "Metamorphosis" and "Truth Inducement" were not just for interrogation or changing appearance but can do much more than that. He skillfully slipped through the judgment of king Abbas for the sole reason of keeping a low profile and shifting the credit for establishing the alliance for Kareem.
The only one who realized Jon's plan other than Miranda was…
{This Nord Bastard…} A voice rang into the head of Kareem.
Kareem lowered his gaze to the sword on his hip and held the hilt.
"Lord A'tor?" He whispered.
{When that blasted Nord said he would make you the figurehead, he didn't mention anything about a scapegoat.} The voice of Prince A'tor spoke to Kareem.
"W… What do you mean?" Kareem almost went pale.
{Hmph! He shifted the attention of the King to be all one you. Seriously, this sly man is…}
{Come on, don't go so hard on me.} Yet another voice interfered in the telepathic bond of Kareem and the Soul Sword.
"What is going on?" Having too many voices in his head, Kareem almost tripped while walking but Jon gave him a hand.
Jon waved with his staff explaining that he is using it to hijack the signal.
{As far as I know, Prince A'tor is a very seasoned commander and politician.} Jon spoke directly to Prince A'tor through Kareem's head.
{My reputation was exaggerated but I know what I am doing.} Prince A'tor replied.
{Says the man who convinced Tiber Septim to make peace with Hammerfell and even gain a self-ruling right under an Imperial Administration? I'm afraid that it would be hard to think of you as any less.} Jon said.
{Sigh! You are as irritating as that man. He kept playing pranks all the time.}
{Haha! Did he make any dick joke about a man trapped in a sword?}
{… Bastards.}
{Pffft! I'll take that as a yes.}
{What do you want?} The Prince was irritated with Jon.
{Nothing much. I may be putting some pressure on our friend here but I trust that a sword like you… a Prince like you is able enough to mentor him during such situations. Other than that, please forgive my impulsiveness.}
Jon smiled warmly but he was actually giggling slyly. On the other hand, Kareem was at his wit's end. Two voices were having a rather comfortable argument through his head, it was a bit too much for him.
As Jon turned away and wanted to haste forwards just a bit, a sudden change in the air caught the attention of the group and all turned to a certain direction. A split second later, an arrow was hurling at Miranda's throat.
Jon wanted to react but luckily, Miranda bent backward and fell on her back avoiding the arrow that landed on the ground digging a small pit where it landed.
"Wow!"
Everyone in the group felt a cold chill and looked towards where the arrow came from. Not sure how, a red-haired young woman came through the garden of the palace charging at Miranda as if she was the killer of her kin.
Mirren and Kareem tried to stop her but they were sent away by a swing of her arm. She looked at Miranda, held her from her clothes then started dragging her away.
"Hey! Do something!" Mirren called for Jon but the latter was nowhere to be seen.
Miranda tried to resist but she proved to be weaker than the red-haired young woman.
"What… are… you?" Miranda struggled to break herself free and once she took a step away, she pulled out her daggers and faced the red-haired woman.
"Who am I? No. Who are you? Why do I smell him all over you?"
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