As Drake skimmed the rest of his roster, he was relieved to see actual dudes on it. If Dickcheese had spent his time as a manor lord building his own personal harem, he wasn’t sure how he could deal with that. He definitely hadn’t wanted to ask.
Still... the balance skewed female. There were thirty-three women and, once he subtracted the zarovians (who were all male) only eighteen men.
Why such a vast difference? Did men tend to die at a younger age? Were they more prone to “hold my beer” moments that got them stupidly killed? The odd gender skew was something he would ask about, but it wasn’t critical he know now.
He also learned another interesting fact. Including his steward, Lydia, he actually had five battle maids. It was odd he’d only met Lydia, Emily, and Olivia so far. The other two were named “Valentia” and “Nicole”.
What had the other two battle maids been doing since he arrived? Was it possible they were still out on some mission from Dickcheese? He’d ask Lydia later.
Next, the people who lived here had a wide variety of interesting rarities. While few of them were related to battle—one of the cooks, Meryl, had a rarity called season, which likely made for that delicious meat—everyone who served in his manor did have a magic power (or rarity) of some sort. That might be a common requirement.
Finally, judging from this list, most of his people’s rarities were rather innocuous, with names like illumination, soft step, detoxify, and cleanse. A cursory comparison of names suggested the most powerful rarities in his manor absolutely belonged to the battle maids.
Lydia’s rarity was flutterstep, as she’d told him, and Emily’s was called rend soul. Olivia’s rarity was chainfire, which sounded overpowered and bad to use inside.
Their ages were also close to what he’d estimated. Lydia was 24, Emily was 21, and Olivia was 18. Zuri was 44, which actually made her a little younger than his mom... but just a little. Of course, this assumed fantasy world years were close to those on Earth. He’d ask.
His two missing maids had equally cool-sounding powers, and he also had names for them now. Valentia, 28, had a rarity called flashfreeze. Nicole, 26, had a rarity called penumbra. Both sounded pretty badass, though the roster offered no explanation of what any rarity did.
If the last steward really had been decided through a maid battle, the fact that Lydia had beaten out all these other maids in a battle suggested she was even better at fighting than she let on. He remained glad to have her in his corner.
Lydia and Emily had chosen to stay and serve the manor. Hopefully, most of these other people would stay as well. Lord Dickcheese might have been overconfident and pompous, but he also had some truly overpowered protectors. He simply hadn’t trusted them.
Because he had decided to play the manor lord game on hard mode, Drake would have to trust his people if he wanted to survive, and if he led well... they’d eventually trust him. Leading well was how he would keep his people safe. That, and lying his ass off.
When Lydia arrived not long after, she no longer wore her maid outfit. She now wore a suit of dark-colored patterned armor that looked thin and flexible, with a bunch of visibly interlocking pieces that did a good job of providing visible all-around protection.
It didn’t cover her full body like a suit of chainmail, but all her vital locations were covered, including her torso and extremities. The armor also looked unisex... no bikini plate or armored thigh highs here. He suspected the armor might be some type of special magical leather, but he wasn’t an expert on normal armor, let alone fantasy world armor.
It obviously wasn’t as heavy as the metal stuff the zarovians wore, so it was likely light armor. She’d also brought a suit of the same armor for him, and he was glad she hadn’t saddled him with a full suit of mail. From his brief and bruising experience in the SCA, he knew most armor got heavy as the day wore on.
The moment Lydia arrived Emily hurried out, probably to change into her own armor. Drake, unfortunately, didn’t have the first idea of how to strap on armor. When Lydia offered to help him, however, he was relieved. It even fit over his old clothes from Earth.
He slipped the chestplate on over his head, then held his arms out to either side as she efficiently slipped on extra pieces and tightened straps. Lydia was obviously an expert at getting this armor on and off, as it wasn’t something someone just put on themselves. Even medieval knights had needed squires to help them into and out of armor.
Fortunately, he didn’t need any help with the leg armor or the waist armor, which protected his privates. He was perfectly capable of putting those pieces on after only a cursory demonstration from Lydia as to how the straps and pieces worked. She only had to help him with boots, which went on loose and had to be snapped tight using an odd clasp.
Soon Lydia rose and stepped back. “Please make sure it fits comfortably. We have a number of suits, and I judged your size from visual observation rather than measurements.”
Drake pushed off the bench without issue, then took a few experimental steps. This armor fit so well he had no trouble at all. He could feel the tightness of the straps, but they didn’t seem to be cutting off any circulation.
The armor was also far lighter than he expected. It was flexible while still feeling solid. Plus it was all black, dark blue, or dark gray, which meant it look really fucking cool on him.
He’d get lots of appreciative looks at an anime convention, not that he’d ever been to one. Other than that one time. He still had traumas to unpack.
“This is nice armor,” he said. “How tough is this stuff? Compared to silverweave?”
“Silverweave can deflect glancing strikes and soften crushing blows, while feathersteel will easily stop or absorb both. Even a direct spear thrust should be arrested before fully penetrating your body. Arrows, as well, should not penetrate.”
“So why don’t we wear this stuff all the time?”
“It is heavy, it gets sweaty, and magic can tear it apart. Silverweave is far better for protecting against magical attacks, however, I believe all rarities among Lord Westin’s bodyguards to be physical. Therefore, feathersteel is the best armor for this journey.”
“Can this armor stop a crossbow bolt?”
“Painful but survivable. Had I the option, I would feel more comfortable putting you in ferrocite, which protects against both physical and magical attacks. But such armor is heavy, and since speed is required for this journey, I cannot have you falling behind.”
Drake chuckled. “I’ll try and keep up.”
Given he’d spent his days hauling around heavy bags on a construction site and boxed or jogged on the weekends, he felt like he’d do all right. Even so, he suspected everyone else in his “hunting party” was going to be more fit and used to travel than he was.
“Time to go?” he asked.
“The vero should be ready to guide us by now, and Sachi awaits us in the sub-basement.”
“Why there?”
“It is directly beneath the kitchens, lord. From there we can access a tunnel that will allow us to emerge inside the woods beyond the manor grounds. We use it for covert entry and exit, though it can only be opened and closed from the inside.”
“That’s smart.” It also sounded like one hell of a weak point if anyone inside the manor decided to betray him, which would be possible without the blood pact. That was one of many things they’d have to account for in the new, slavery-free procedures. “Before we go, I have two questions. I’ve reviewed our roster, and there’s a few things I don’t understand.”
“I will answer lord, but please, be quick. We do need to be off.”
“First question. When you set aside the zarovians, our manor staff skews heavily female. Like almost two to one. Are women more likely to work at manors?”
“Women are more likely to be inducted into manor blood pacts, yes.”
“Do you know why?”
“Because of our rarities, lord.”
That was what he’d suspected from the details on the roster. “So women tend to get rarities more often? Or rarities women get tend to be more powerful?”
“Both.”
Drake frowned. “Anyone know why?”
“I do not know if I have ever heard a particular reason, lord. I only that it has always been that way.”
In other words, the Eidolons tended to give women more powerful rarities for reasons that remained their own. It was still hard for him to accept that the gods here were real, with real agendas and plots and designs. Perhaps the Eidolons were all female as well?
“So who leads your world? Do you have a king? A queen? A president?”
“We have the noble court, and below them, we have a governing council composed of manor lords. You are now part of that council. So you, in part, lead our realm.”
Drake groaned. “So I have to handle international politics as well? That’s right behind pulling out my own teeth on my list of things I can’t wait to do.”
“You may rest easy, lord. It is unlikely you will be called to a vote any time soon. Manor lords are usually engaged with their own affairs, and it is rare for all of them to agree to travel to the capitol for a vote.”
“And what is this capitol city? Is it big?”
“Korhaurbauten, lord. And compared to our manor and towns, it is enormous.”
Whatever name Lydia had just said, Drake wasn’t about to repeat it. “Great. That’s great.” And now he had another question. “How many manor lords are there?”
“Nine.”
“So did they get nine rings too?”
She eyed him curiously. “Why would they get rings?”
He idly checked the strap on his wrist plate. “No reason. Last question. I didn’t see a butler on the roster. Why don’t I have a butler? I’ve always wanted a butler.”
Lydia’s amusement vanished. She looked away. And as she did so, Drake realized he might have plowed right into another sore spot.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No.” She took a breath. “You could not have known.”
“Did something happen to the butler?”
“Yes. Our head butler, Samuel, served at Gloomwood Manor for almost thirty years. Last week, he displeased Lord Dickcheese, and so our lord ordered us to take him to the ritual room. There, he was tortured and then executed.”
Drake finally knew the identity of the bloody skeleton he’d seen in the torture room. Fuck Dickcheese. Drake hadn’t even gotten to know his butler... and this was a firm reminder of why he’d ensured his people could never be compelled to hurt each other again.
Scrapping the blood pact made his new job more difficult, but it also ensured Lydia would never again be forced to hurt someone she didn’t want to hurt. If a future Lord Gloomwood tried to torture someone to death, his thralls could murder the shit out of him. Since that person would likely have murdered him as well, Drake was happy about that.
While ending the compulsion of the blood pact was risky, he’d made the right decision. He wasn’t about to forget that. “I’m sorry I never got to meet him.”
“As am I. I suspect he would have liked you, lord. Now, you said you had two questions?”
Drake struggled to remember. “Emily told me about how zarovians are a matriarchy, and all their males follow the females. So why isn’t the commander of our zarovian army a female? Any idea?”
“Not a one, lord. I’ve always thought having a female zarovian as your blood thrall would be more efficient than bringing each male zarovian under that same thrall, but Dickcheese did not allow us to make such suggestions. I did not dare.”
“That’s fair, Lydia. So, I have one more request.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t ever let me do anything stupid while I’m a manor lord. If you think I’m going to make a mistake, you tell me right then, even if it might embarrass me. I can survive people knowing I made a bad call. I can’t survive getting killed because I made a stupid mistake.”
“I will. I will protect you, lord. We all will.”
As he evaluated her fierce expression, Drake believed her.
Author's Note: Next week, I'll be moving to my standard schedule of five posts per week. I'll try and keep that up, but may slow down if I start getting burned out. Thanks to everyone who's commented and favorited chapters so far. You folks are awesome!
If you'd like to read ahead, my Patreon currently has ten advance chapters. You can also check out some cool character art for free.
If you'd like to chat (or have questions/comments) the best way to get in touch with me is on Discord.
This weekend, the story will be launching on Royal Road, and after it catches up there, I'll continue to post free chapters on both sites at the same time (9:07 am EST) M-F.
As Drake skimmed the rest of his roster, he was relieved to see actual dudes on it. If Dickcheese had spent his time as a manor lord building his own personal harem, he wasn’t sure how he could deal with that. He definitely hadn’t wanted to ask.
Still... the balance skewed female. There were thirty-three women and, once he subtracted the zarovians (who were all male) only eighteen men.
Why such a vast difference? Did men tend to die at a younger age? Were they more prone to “hold my beer” moments that got them stupidly killed? The odd gender skew was something he would ask about, but it wasn’t critical he know now.
He also learned another interesting fact. Including his steward, Lydia, he actually had five battle maids. It was odd he’d only met Lydia, Emily, and Olivia so far. The other two were named “Valentia” and “Nicole”.
What had the other two battle maids been doing since he arrived? Was it possible they were still out on some mission from Dickcheese? He’d ask Lydia later.
Next, the people who lived here had a wide variety of interesting rarities. While few of them were related to battle—one of the cooks, Meryl, had a rarity called season, which likely made for that delicious meat—everyone who served in his manor did have a magic power (or rarity) of some sort. That might be a common requirement.
Finally, judging from this list, most of his people’s rarities were rather innocuous, with names like illumination, soft step, detoxify, and cleanse. A cursory comparison of names suggested the most powerful rarities in his manor absolutely belonged to the battle maids.
Lydia’s rarity was flutterstep, as she’d told him, and Emily’s was called rend soul. Olivia’s rarity was chainfire, which sounded overpowered and bad to use inside.
Their ages were also close to what he’d estimated. Lydia was 24, Emily was 21, and Olivia was 18. Zuri was 44, which actually made her a little younger than his mom... but just a little. Of course, this assumed fantasy world years were close to those on Earth. He’d ask.
His two missing maids had equally cool-sounding powers, and he also had names for them now. Valentia, 28, had a rarity called flashfreeze. Nicole, 26, had a rarity called penumbra. Both sounded pretty badass, though the roster offered no explanation of what any rarity did.
If the last steward really had been decided through a maid battle, the fact that Lydia had beaten out all these other maids in a battle suggested she was even better at fighting than she let on. He remained glad to have her in his corner.
Lydia and Emily had chosen to stay and serve the manor. Hopefully, most of these other people would stay as well. Lord Dickcheese might have been overconfident and pompous, but he also had some truly overpowered protectors. He simply hadn’t trusted them.
Because he had decided to play the manor lord game on hard mode, Drake would have to trust his people if he wanted to survive, and if he led well... they’d eventually trust him. Leading well was how he would keep his people safe. That, and lying his ass off.
When Lydia arrived not long after, she no longer wore her maid outfit. She now wore a suit of dark-colored patterned armor that looked thin and flexible, with a bunch of visibly interlocking pieces that did a good job of providing visible all-around protection.
It didn’t cover her full body like a suit of chainmail, but all her vital locations were covered, including her torso and extremities. The armor also looked unisex... no bikini plate or armored thigh highs here. He suspected the armor might be some type of special magical leather, but he wasn’t an expert on normal armor, let alone fantasy world armor.
It obviously wasn’t as heavy as the metal stuff the zarovians wore, so it was likely light armor. She’d also brought a suit of the same armor for him, and he was glad she hadn’t saddled him with a full suit of mail. From his brief and bruising experience in the SCA, he knew most armor got heavy as the day wore on.
The moment Lydia arrived Emily hurried out, probably to change into her own armor. Drake, unfortunately, didn’t have the first idea of how to strap on armor. When Lydia offered to help him, however, he was relieved. It even fit over his old clothes from Earth.
He slipped the chestplate on over his head, then held his arms out to either side as she efficiently slipped on extra pieces and tightened straps. Lydia was obviously an expert at getting this armor on and off, as it wasn’t something someone just put on themselves. Even medieval knights had needed squires to help them into and out of armor.
Fortunately, he didn’t need any help with the leg armor or the waist armor, which protected his privates. He was perfectly capable of putting those pieces on after only a cursory demonstration from Lydia as to how the straps and pieces worked. She only had to help him with boots, which went on loose and had to be snapped tight using an odd clasp.
Soon Lydia rose and stepped back. “Please make sure it fits comfortably. We have a number of suits, and I judged your size from visual observation rather than measurements.”
Drake pushed off the bench without issue, then took a few experimental steps. This armor fit so well he had no trouble at all. He could feel the tightness of the straps, but they didn’t seem to be cutting off any circulation.
The armor was also far lighter than he expected. It was flexible while still feeling solid. Plus it was all black, dark blue, or dark gray, which meant it look really fucking cool on him.
He’d get lots of appreciative looks at an anime convention, not that he’d ever been to one. Other than that one time. He still had traumas to unpack.
“This is nice armor,” he said. “How tough is this stuff? Compared to silverweave?”
“Silverweave can deflect glancing strikes and soften crushing blows, while feathersteel will easily stop or absorb both. Even a direct spear thrust should be arrested before fully penetrating your body. Arrows, as well, should not penetrate.”
“So why don’t we wear this stuff all the time?”
“It is heavy, it gets sweaty, and magic can tear it apart. Silverweave is far better for protecting against magical attacks, however, I believe all rarities among Lord Westin’s bodyguards to be physical. Therefore, feathersteel is the best armor for this journey.”
“Can this armor stop a crossbow bolt?”
“Painful but survivable. Had I the option, I would feel more comfortable putting you in ferrocite, which protects against both physical and magical attacks. But such armor is heavy, and since speed is required for this journey, I cannot have you falling behind.”
Drake chuckled. “I’ll try and keep up.”
Given he’d spent his days hauling around heavy bags on a construction site and boxed or jogged on the weekends, he felt like he’d do all right. Even so, he suspected everyone else in his “hunting party” was going to be more fit and used to travel than he was.
“Time to go?” he asked.
“The vero should be ready to guide us by now, and Sachi awaits us in the sub-basement.”
“Why there?”
“It is directly beneath the kitchens, lord. From there we can access a tunnel that will allow us to emerge inside the woods beyond the manor grounds. We use it for covert entry and exit, though it can only be opened and closed from the inside.”
“That’s smart.” It also sounded like one hell of a weak point if anyone inside the manor decided to betray him, which would be possible without the blood pact. That was one of many things they’d have to account for in the new, slavery-free procedures. “Before we go, I have two questions. I’ve reviewed our roster, and there’s a few things I don’t understand.”
“I will answer lord, but please, be quick. We do need to be off.”
“First question. When you set aside the zarovians, our manor staff skews heavily female. Like almost two to one. Are women more likely to work at manors?”
“Women are more likely to be inducted into manor blood pacts, yes.”
“Do you know why?”
“Because of our rarities, lord.”
That was what he’d suspected from the details on the roster. “So women tend to get rarities more often? Or rarities women get tend to be more powerful?”
“Both.”
Drake frowned. “Anyone know why?”
“I do not know if I have ever heard a particular reason, lord. I only that it has always been that way.”
In other words, the Eidolons tended to give women more powerful rarities for reasons that remained their own. It was still hard for him to accept that the gods here were real, with real agendas and plots and designs. Perhaps the Eidolons were all female as well?
“So who leads your world? Do you have a king? A queen? A president?”
“We have the noble court, and below them, we have a governing council composed of manor lords. You are now part of that council. So you, in part, lead our realm.”
Drake groaned. “So I have to handle international politics as well? That’s right behind pulling out my own teeth on my list of things I can’t wait to do.”
“You may rest easy, lord. It is unlikely you will be called to a vote any time soon. Manor lords are usually engaged with their own affairs, and it is rare for all of them to agree to travel to the capitol for a vote.”
“And what is this capitol city? Is it big?”
“Korhaurbauten, lord. And compared to our manor and towns, it is enormous.”
Whatever name Lydia had just said, Drake wasn’t about to repeat it. “Great. That’s great.” And now he had another question. “How many manor lords are there?”
“Nine.”
“So did they get nine rings too?”
She eyed him curiously. “Why would they get rings?”
He idly checked the strap on his wrist plate. “No reason. Last question. I didn’t see a butler on the roster. Why don’t I have a butler? I’ve always wanted a butler.”
Lydia’s amusement vanished. She looked away. And as she did so, Drake realized he might have plowed right into another sore spot.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No.” She took a breath. “You could not have known.”
“Did something happen to the butler?”
“Yes. Our head butler, Samuel, served at Gloomwood Manor for almost thirty years. Last week, he displeased Lord Dickcheese, and so our lord ordered us to take him to the ritual room. There, he was tortured and then executed.”
Drake finally knew the identity of the bloody skeleton he’d seen in the torture room. Fuck Dickcheese. Drake hadn’t even gotten to know his butler... and this was a firm reminder of why he’d ensured his people could never be compelled to hurt each other again.
Scrapping the blood pact made his new job more difficult, but it also ensured Lydia would never again be forced to hurt someone she didn’t want to hurt. If a future Lord Gloomwood tried to torture someone to death, his thralls could murder the shit out of him. Since that person would likely have murdered him as well, Drake was happy about that.
While ending the compulsion of the blood pact was risky, he’d made the right decision. He wasn’t about to forget that. “I’m sorry I never got to meet him.”
“As am I. I suspect he would have liked you, lord. Now, you said you had two questions?”
Drake struggled to remember. “Emily told me about how zarovians are a matriarchy, and all their males follow the females. So why isn’t the commander of our zarovian army a female? Any idea?”
“Not a one, lord. I’ve always thought having a female zarovian as your blood thrall would be more efficient than bringing each male zarovian under that same thrall, but Dickcheese did not allow us to make such suggestions. I did not dare.”
“That’s fair, Lydia. So, I have one more request.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t ever let me do anything stupid while I’m a manor lord. If you think I’m going to make a mistake, you tell me right then, even if it might embarrass me. I can survive people knowing I made a bad call. I can’t survive getting killed because I made a stupid mistake.”
“I will. I will protect you, lord. We all will.”
As he evaluated her fierce expression, Drake believed her.
Author's Note: Next week, I'll be moving to my standard schedule of five posts per week. I'll try and keep that up, but may slow down if I start getting burned out. Thanks to everyone who's commented and favorited chapters so far. You folks are awesome!
If you'd like to read ahead, my Patreon currently has ten advance chapters. You can also check out some cool character art for free.
If you'd like to chat (or have questions/comments) the best way to get in touch with me is on Discord.
This weekend, the story will be launching on Royal Road, and after it catches up there, I'll continue to post free chapters on both sites at the same time (9:07 am EST) M-F.
