He Who Wears the Crown
Once again, things were peaceful in Welindar. Lupin had successfully won over the city, leaving the Pack high and dry, and Noah spent the next several months putting his experience to good use and helping Lupin improve the quality of life for the people and develop new sources of economic wealth. There were numerous untapped resources, and he was implementing measures to harvest them without destructive industrialization or cruel working conditions.
He developed special fertilizer to help crops grow abundantly and nourish the soil, used magic to locate deposits of ore and valuable minerals, improved living conditions and health and safety standards, and even gave his sexual wellness lecture. The profits of these endeavors went into funding social programs, infrastructure projects, and other common goods.
Unbound by greed, Noah put the needs and well-being of the many above the desires of the few. With everything he fixed and improved, he left behind knowledge and warnings about how assets were to be appropriately and responsibly utilized for future generations so that what fixed problems in the present wouldn't be allowed to cause problems in the future.
He had lived in numerous societies that evolved past wealth inequality, blind consumerism, and environmental defilement, as well as countless worlds that had fallen prey to these evils. Though he could not force people to make the right choices or change their thought processes, he could, at the very least, give them the means to improve themselves. With every project he worked on, Shannon and Valia were there by his side, helping wherever they could.
Much of the winter was spent outside Welindar, fighting the Profane and searching for the main base. Though Carthace's prison was gone, new fiends were still being produced, and it was an ongoing fight to cull their numbers. Both tasks required armies, but to operate large numbers of troops left them restricted to the territories claimed by Uther. Going out further would trigger retaliation from unconquered beastman tribes and states. Lupin had halted expansion to fight the Profane, and there weren't enough men to fight a war on two fronts. Doing so would just drive up Pack recruitment and produce even more fiends. That said, there was plenty of action to keep them occupied.
On one frosty day in early spring, Noah, Valia, Shannon, and a small army of soldiers and knights were attacking a Profane hideout, where they had tracked down one of the specimens from Noah's lab. Dradam, the ghoul encased in bone armor, was fighting for his life in the ruins of the old dwarven fortress. Noah and Valia had cornered him in what was once a mead hall while knights and soldiers were battling fiends outside.
A blizzard was raging, having initially concealed their approach, but now making battle difficult. Blood steamed as it met the air, and the snow-laden wind smothered all shouts of combat. Shannon was perched atop a crumbled rampart, raining arrows. Fortunately, these fiends were still vulnerable to Noah's poison, but many newer ones weren't.
Noah and Valia attacked Dradam from opposite sides inside the great hall, rending bone and hacking through flesh. Sunlight streamed through holes in the walls and ceiling, and though the winter storm dimmed the luminance, it was still enough to char the ghoul's white exoskeleton. His great power came at a significant cost, and between the sunlight and the two warriors chipping away at his defenses, he was running out of space and options. Whenever Dradam tried to retreat, Noah would hurl a throwing knife, burying the blade in the ghoul's healing wounds. Upon impact, the explosive material in the handle, created with alchemy, would detonate, gouging open Dradam's armor.
Snarling in fury from one such blast, Dradam charged, swinging his one good arm. Valia blocked the hit on Noah's behalf, fending Dradam off with her magical strength while he zoomed around and attacked the monster's damaged side. Targeting the wounded shoulder, Noah bypassed the armor and drove his sword down into Dradam's ribcage, piercing his heart and lungs. Noah twisted the blade and yanked it to the side like pulling a lever, using his sword to rip the ghoul open from the inside.
Vomiting blood and badly wounded, Dradam tried to knock him away with a swing of his arm, but Noah dodged the attack and retreated just before Valia kicked Dradam in the back with enough force to send him crashing through a brick wall and into the storm outside. Exposed to the sun, the ghoul howled in pain and rolled around in the snow as if wrapped in flames. Still, he could not extinguish the smoldering ruin creeping along his body as his armor turned to ash.
"It's a real shame about my lab," said Noah, approaching the writhing ghoul. "Without it, I have no reason to keep you alive." A swing of his blade separated the head from the neck, and the painful convulsing stopped.
A few fiends remained, and he and Valia worked together to finish them off and end the battle. Next, they scoured the base for information. Unfortunately, the Pack and Profane had become more focused on covering their tracks and destroying anything that could be of use, including their magical tech, meaning Noah couldn't rebuild his lab. He still had all of his curse research data and notes written down, including his counter spell and how to make the anti-fiend poison, so the destruction of the lab wasn't a complete setback, but without the tech for computing, his progress had ground to a halt. At this point, solving his curse without the lab was like trying to perform quantum physics with an abacus.
After searching the base, they made the long journey back to Welindar. However, when they arrived, they found Lupin despondent, sitting on the throne with bleak eyes, inconsolable. Beside him was Nell, worried and heartbroken for him.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Noah asked as he, Valia, and Shannon approached.
It took a moment for Lupin to answer, and his voice was as dry as sand when he spoke. "I just received a letter from Colbrand. My father is dead. He was assassinated."
Noah was stoic, but Valia gasped beside him. "The king has been slain? What happened? Who did it?"
"It was the Profane. A fiend killed her way into the palace and... ripped my father's heart out of his chest." Lupin slowly got to his feet but was unsteady, having lost his strength to grief. "I have to hurry and return home. General Delta is keeping everything together until I can assume the throne, but it won't be long until the nobles make their move, if they haven't already."
"It's too late and too dangerous to embark now. For all you know, this could be a trap by the Profane to lure you out of the city and kill you," said Noah.
"I agree, Your Highness," said Nell. "Please, at least wait until morning."
"The document is official. I'd recognize Berholm's handwriting anywhere. Lord Noah, while I'm gone, I have a dire request. I'm leaving you in charge of Welindar."
Noah wanted to refuse and question Lupin's reasoning, but he already knew how the prince would answer. He and Valia were the only gold-rank knights in the city and knew the terrain and the people. Even if Lupin could pull a high-ranking official from the front line, they lacked the experience and rapport. Lupin had earned the respect of the people, and if he installed some iron-fisted general as regent in his absence, everything would fall apart. As for selecting a non-military figure, such as one of his beastman delegates, no one was loyal to Uther, beloved by the public, and had the backbone to oppose the Pack and Profane.
On the other hand, Noah had ample political, military, and leadership experience, and his many social and economic programs earned him the people's respect. The last thing Noah wanted was to be shackled to Welindar and heaped with responsibility while Valon waited to be found. Looking at Valia, it was clear she shared his concerns, but neither of them could simply refuse, not while the Profane was still a threat to Uther and Sylphtoria.
"Very well. As a temporary measure, I will take command of Welindar in your absence. Still, I insist that you wait until morning to depart. Now is not the time for you to be traveling."
"Very well. I suppose I need time to plan and think things through. There are many preparations to be made."
