Chapter 337

“Enough,” Samuel repeated more slowly, his presence filling the room enough that any attempt to talk back was stifled. “This is disgraceful, from all of you.”Lord Rohm seemed eager to reject that assertion, but he kept his lips pressed together, and a strange sort of acceptance washed over him, as if he knew that now that Samuel had revealed himself, he no longer needed to take the lead.

On the other end of the spectrum, Terence had gone bone white, as if he couldn’t reconcile the mild-mannered steward with the powerhouse standing before him. He opened his mouth, but no words came out, and he closed it again a moment later.

“I would have preferred to let this matter be handled locally, but it’s clear that’s not going to happen,” Samuel said, suddenly piercing eyes meeting each of their gazes.

Nick raised an eyebrow, unaffected by the aura of power and almost daring the man to do something. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand his position; even with the advantages his path granted him, he was nowhere near ready to face a Prestige warrior, but he also knew that letting the other see him intimidated would mean an immediate loss.

They’d get steamrolled and have to run back to Tholm with their tails tucked between their legs, while Long Reach fell into their opponents’ hands.

Because that was what would happen. Samuel had clearly been the contact point between the Rohms and the Hones’ faction for quite a while, and while he might not have been behind the werewolf attack, he was not above taking advantage of it.

“The accusations you have thrown around are completely nonsensical. None of you have the power or skill needed to control a pack of werewolves, let alone bring it here from the Moonlit Plains. That means it is a native phenomenon, originating from the dungeon that’s been spreading across the land, and any other interpretation is utterly foolish,” Samuel declared.

For once, Nick had nothing to complain about. The assessment matched his own, though he was curious to learn more about the Moonlit Plains. If there was already a place where werewolves were known to roam, he’d love to compare the two strains of the curse.

The minuscule impression he’d gotten of the entity behind the local one was of wild pride, intense hunger, and territorial dominance, something that somewhat resembled the Fae Court he’d fought against in the other dungeon.

Would a more natural origin be less connected to its divine origin? More?

Samuel leaned over the desk, almost looming, and continued laying out the facts of the matter. “Its presence here is a clear threat to everyone. It means that despite the Tower Master’s best efforts, the spread of its influence is still accelerating, and soon enough, it will have regained its former forces and will launch more than the salutary attack.”

“Yes, the dungeon is dangerous, and its presence means all the towns at its borders risk destruction,” Monte interrupted, the first to do so openly. “That doesn’t explain why none of you helped fight back the pack, nor why we should listen to anything you say.”

Samuel focused on him, the weight of his displeasure at being interrupted making itself known, but Monte didn’t back down, despite clenching his hands and locking his legs to resist the natural urge to appease the most powerful man in the room.

Somehow, that eased Samuel's tension, and the dark shadow passed without incident. Apparently, he could respect grit.

“That’s because they have been waiting for something like this.”

Every eye in the room turned to Terence in surprise. The young nobleman hadn't shown much courage so far, but he seemed to have reached his limit after all the shocks. “They knew something would happen. That the town would come under attack, in some way, and they were counting on it to force the militia and the adventurers to bend the knee. They were probably counting on the refugees drawing in powerful monsters, as bait. Ironically, it’s turned out they were the actual monsters.”

“Be very careful,” Samuel said slowly. “About your accusations, young Terence. If the safety of Long Reach had been in doubt for a single moment, I would have personally stepped in myself. This is not a simple political game.”

“But it is, isn’t it?” Nick asked rhetorically. “You’re making a play here, a very dangerous one, that seems to be going badly for you. Everyone who fought on the walls knows that the lord didn’t send help, and that will spread through the town before the night is over. The only shot you have at salvaging the situation is to stall long enough for your reinforcements to arrive tomorrow and sweep in.”

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That there was internal conflict within Long Reach didn’t surprise him. He’d already seen that firsthand at the Gilded Mirror, but only now was he understanding the full context of those messages. Rohm’s grip on the town had to be even shakier if he saw the howling monsters at his gates and still chose to fortify his position instead of taking advantage of the situation.

Samuel didn’t dismiss his accusation this time, which served as enough of a confession for Nick. He sent the signal he’d agreed upon with Tholm by tapping the ring next to his spatial band, then decided to have a little fun with it.

“Alright, I’m calling it,” he sighed. He didn’t like having to do so, as it would mean much less freedom to study the werewolves, but the tangle of intrigue in Long Reach had reached critical mass, and he didn’t have the power needed to handle it himself.

Samuel’s eyes widened as he understood what he meant, and in an instant, he was on Nick, gripping him by the neck with a blade pressed against his jugular.

“What have you done?!” He shouted in his face.

Nick restricted himself to a smug grin, relishing how much that annoyed the unshakeable old man. “It’s too late,” he said instead of replying.

The blade pressed deeper, cutting into the flesh and causing a rivulet of blood to drip down its length and onto the floor.

Monte was already moving, his stiletto aimed at stabbing Samuel in the neck, and even Terence had decided to step in, seemingly trying to tackle the old man’s legs, while Lord Rohm watched it all with a dispassionate expression, as if it didn’t involve him at all.

Provoking a Prestige-tier assassin, especially in such a high-stakes moment, should have resulted in Nick’s death. Nothing in his arsenal could stop the man from driving the blade deeper and decapitating him, at least not without proper preparation.

But for once, Nick didn’t need to handle everything himself.

A moment later, Samuel’s overwhelming presence disappeared, and Nick immediately pulled a potion from his spatial ring, applied it to the wound to slow the bleeding, reducing what could have been a large sprout to just a trickle, and then completely stopping it. A moment later, the skin was smooth as a baby’s bottom.

By the time he looked back up, everything was already over. The room was a mess, with the desk shattered across the floor. Monte and Terence were the only two who seemed to have escaped unhurt, though they were definitely shaken, while Lord Rohm was tied up and gagged in his own clothes, which shimmered with reinforcement glyphs.

Samuel, on the other hand, was suspended in mid-air, having been in the process of trying to stab his own heart with his blade.

Before him, staring with an impetuous frown, was Tholm.

The old man didn’t seem overly concerned about the state of things, and even when the two guards barged in, instantly swinging their weapons toward him, he barely bothered to wave a careless hand in their direction. That sent them flying back, smashing the two skilled knights into the far wall, and pinning them there with another flick of his fingers, which turned the stone into a liquid and solidified it around them, as runes appeared on its surface.

It all happened in just a few seconds, illustrating how incredibly unfair being an Archmage was. Tholm wasn’t even someone who prioritized combat skills, yet he still completely wiped out House Rohm in moments.

Those soldiers who remained ignorant and kept guarding the castle against all external threats were honestly better off where they were, as they would be more of a hindrance.

“Explain, Nicholas,” Tholm finally said, with a displeased tone.

Given that he’d given explicit orders to keep his presence under wraps, it was a risk Nick had been aware of. But discovering the werewolves alone was enough to alert him, and learning that House Hone had Prestige-tier assassins at their command and was using them to control the local minor houses was something else entirely.

Nick laid out the situation in plain words, not bothering to hide anything now that Tholm was here. If the man wanted to, he could probably erase any trace of his presence from everyone’s minds, except perhaps Samuel, who might have the discipline and mental strength to resist the intrusion, even if at great personal cost.

That could be solved by killing him, though, so Nick wasn’t too worried.

By the time he finished recounting the events of the past day, ending with the revelations of the forces approaching Long Reach and their plans to take over the town by deposing the watch captain, Tholm’s expression had lost its sharpness and was now thoughtful.

After a moment of thought, he nodded. “Yes, I see why you decided to break cover and call me. I would still think you were perfectly capable of handling yourself more subtly, and maybe inform me later, but the situation is quite urgent.”

Nick subtly relaxed. Tholm had been quite mercurial lately, and it was becoming harder to predict how he would react, but it seemed that he’d read the situation correctly.

“Now then, what to do with you…” Tholm turned back to Samuel, whose eyes were wide with recognition. He seemed to know exactly who had taken him captive, and probably why.

Tholm’s rivalry with Hone had only recently escalated into violence, but tension between the two Archmages had always existed. Any Prestige-tier warrior working for House Hone would know who their most dangerous enemies were.

“This might take a while. Nicholas, go back out and make sure the werewolves are properly controlled. I don't want an outbreak to spread through the town,” he finally said.

Nick pouted, as he’d been very curious about what methods Tholm planned to use to crack Samuel, but decided he’d already tested his luck enough for the night. He then filed out, wiggling his fingers at the struggling knights, who were watching the entire scene in horror through the destroyed entrance.

“Come on, you two,” he said, gesturing for Terence and Monte to follow him.

There was a moment of confusion as Terence clearly thought he, too, would become a victim of the frighteningly powerful mage who had flipped the script, but Tholm simply waved him off, though not before giving Nick a meaningful look that made it clear it’d be his responsibility to look after him.

Nobody stopped them as they moved, since Terence’s presence clearly indicated they were guests of the house, though a few people gave them curious looks, especially since it was Nick leading the way, down the much faster path too.

They stepped out into the streets of Long Reach just a few minutes later, compared to the almost fifteen it had taken them to reach the lord’s solar with Samuel leading the way.

“Is my uncle going to be all right?" Terence finally found the strength to ask.

Nick hummed, then shrugged his shoulders. “If he’s not stupid enough to needlessly antagonize my mentor, he probably will.”

Terence groaned in despair. Clearly, he didn’t have much trust in his uncle.