Void Ascension (ZnT/GW)

[HecateGW]

Chapter Three, Part Five: Sowing the Seeds


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As I logged on to Guild Wars, I decided that it would not hurt to do a little grinding for some of the so-called valuable items that I had promised my reluctant business partner, Osmond.


For the next two weeks, I had Setsuna grind away in the Nightfall campaign in order to get more skill points as I had a feeling that I would need the extra abilities for the Ranger class when I changed my profession as a result of becoming a Weh no Su.


Normally, any character could change their secondary professions for a fee of 500 gold for each change. However, on receiving the blessing/title of Weh no Su, I could freely change my secondary profession to any of the available classes that I needed. On the downside, Setsuna would never benefit from the primary attribute of the other classes except her assassin primary attribute of Critical Strikes, which allows for a much greater chance to make a critical hit.


Once I was satisfied by my haul, I left the Nightfall campaign and headed for the world of Void Ascension.


I appeared once more where I had last left Setsuna. Right in front of Professor Colbert's office.


Now, my problem was that I had the items that would be provided to Osmond as part of our agreement and I really did want to speak with Jean and see if he could give me a different point of view on the Tristain Magical Academy.


"Oh well, NPC's always wait until the player is ready for them, anyway," I shrugged as I had Setsuna search for Osmond in the winding passages that lead to his office.


Once there, I made sure that I was not being followed by keeping an eye at all times on my radar targeting and moved away or stayed still until the person or persons would pass and I was out of their zone of notice.


Of particular note, I saw that the one marked as Guiche was stalking up and down a hallway near the Water Tower area.


"Poor fool. Don't pity him though as he did bring it on himself. Maybe I can goad him into some kind of fight later on and see just how well LHoG stacks up in combat."


Once I arrived within extreme range of my detection display, I noticed three people inside Osmond's office.


Two I recognized as Osmond and Jean, but the third was only named Suspicious Secretary.


"Heh. Knowing tropes and cliches, that Suspicious Secretary might be some kind of intermediate boss," I spoke to myself as I approached the door and activated the knock function when the command presented itself.


"You may enter, Setsuna," came the old pervert's voice as he thought that he would get the drop on me by calling out my character's name.


Inside the office, Osmond was sitting behind his desk while Colbert and the Suspicious Secretary were on sitting on either side of his desk.


"Hello, Headmaster. I hope I am not interrupting your peeping," I said with a grin.


At my verbal jab, the green-haired secretary snorted while Professor Colbert palmed his face with one hand as he muttered about 'inappropriate' and other such things.


Osmond, on the other hand, only coughed into his fist as he tried to regain his wits with a much louder voice, "Setsuna, I was just discussing your person with my colleagues here. Oh, and before I forget, Miss Longueville, this is Setsuna, the Familiar of Louise Valliere. Setsuna, this is Miss Longueville, my personal secretary and -"


"Your constant target of peeping," I interrupted with a hint of laughter in my voice.


Again, Osmond only coughed into his fist as Miss Longueville's left eyebrow rose and she gave me a smile that seemed to give off some kind of gratitude. Meanwhile, Colbert's other hand joined his first in palming his face as he groaned and muttered about, "At this rate, the Academy shall be known more for its perverted headmaster than anything else."


"Maybe not just its perverted headmaster, Jean. If I remember correctly, you were able to enjoy two handfuls of myself last night," I grinned widely as I wanted to see just how far I could get the AI behind these NPC's to react in such human-like ways.


At that, Colbert's body froze in shock at the reminder and his neck began to grow red in embarrassment as Miss Longueville turned to give Colbert an accusatory look, "Handfuls, Professor Colbert?"


"Oh yes, he was so....eager to 'help' me that he buried his head between my breasts when we had just met."


"Wha- you....I was only trying to help-"


"Me by grabbing hold of my chest and then forcing me down to the floor?"


"Yes! I mean no!"


Before I could go any further, Osmond burst out in a bellyache laugh as he appeared to genuinely enjoy the teasing of the red-faced Colbert and Miss Longueville's deadpan stares at Colbert.


"Sorry, Jean. I have to admit that the accusations are refreshing when it is against someone else," said Osmond as h wiped away a few tears leaking from his eyes.


"Easy for you to say, Headmaster."


Once the laughter had more or less died down, I addressed Osmond as I already had my first shipment ready.


"Now that the fun is over, I do have some pressing business with the Headmaster and it involves some matters of a personal nature, if that is not too much of a bother."


"Of course not, of course not. Jean, Miss Longueville? If you would give Setsuna and I some privacy, please?"


"Very well."


"Yes, Headmaster."


Once the two had left the room, I turn to addressed the still amused Headmaster once Professor Colbert and Miss Longueville left the range of my targeting radar.


"Osmond, I have what you need, however, I will have to make several trips as I could not carry everything in one pass. Where would be an acceptable location to bring those items?"


"That was rather quick."


"I do not believe in wasting time. After all, time is money."


"Hmmmm....I do have chest in this room that can carry some of the items."


"Do you have something that you can write with."


"Oh? Something I can write with? Do not mean something that you can write with?"


"I prefer not to do the writing as it is a rather distinctive style that may lead to implicating me as your source."


"Ah, how forgetful of me. Now let met get that quill."


In the end, I was amused as I saw just how high Osmond's eyebrows were raised to the point that they almost disappeared in his hairline.


"900 items? When you said that you would get me some items, I thought that you meant some."


"Well, we never did specify any hard numbers other than the vials of dye. If you would prefer that I provide less...."


"No, no, this is quite fine. I do believe that there are some sheds hidden underneath the Tower of Earth that require a very specific set of keys."

You have gained 1 set of Hidden Shed Keys!

Click to shrink...

"Thank you Osmond. Now, can I see that list to make sure it is correct?"


The list was written as follows:

Inventory:


Armor:

100 Mesmer Armor Sets:


20 Courtly

20 Performer

20 Enchanter

20 Sunspear

20 Vabbian


100 Elementalist Armor Sets:


20 Flameforged

20 Canthan

20 Vabbian

20 Ancient

20 Stoneforged



Weapons:

Staffs:

200 Elementalist Staffs:


50 Air

50 Earth

50 Fire

50 Water


200 Mesmer Staffs:


50 Arcane

50 Jeweled

50 Hypnotic

50 Illusory


200 Ritualist Staffs:


50 Channeling

50 Communing

50 Lotus

50 Restoration



100 Vials of Dye:


15 Black

15 Blue

15 Green

15 Red

15 Silver

15 White

10 Purple



Total Items: 900

Click to shrink...

"Well, it looks just fine. I will have your shipment there within the hour. Good doing business with you, Osmond."


"You as well, Setsuna. Take care not to be seen."


"I will do that."


------


Comments, Constructive Criticisms, and Suggestions on anything I have written. I might not get back to you soon, but I will try to respond and change what I have written when I have enough time and am not too lazy

Author's Note: This one was a real pain to write as I made over 15 different versions and I was not truly satisfied with any of them. Hopefully, number 16 is better than the rest.



ZnT/Guild Wars Crossover with PC-Controlled Assassin.

 

[HecateGW]

Chapter Three, Part Six: Sowing the Seeds


------


After exiting the Headmaster's office, I had Setsuna begin her walk towards the Tower of Earth. Once again, I kept a careful eye on the targeting radar just in case anyone followed her.


"I guess my vigilance has paid off as Malicorne and four Noble Mooks are trying to discretely follow me. Hmmm....maybe I can finally see just how well my AOE skills work on mob control," I spoke quietly to myself as I directed Setsuna towards one of the side gardens that did not have anyone else occupying it.


While Setsuna was walking towards the intended fighting area, I began to make plans for the skillset I would use in this upcoming battle.


"Huh. Now that's weird. I thought I could only have a max total of 8 skills preloaded at any time. 16 instead of 8, huh?" I said in some puzzlement.


After taking a few seconds to let that information sink in, I began to give off a rather toothy smile as I imagined just the sheer number of skill combinations I could pull of as I currently had Setsuna with her primary class as Assassin and secondary class as Ranger.


Now, for those not familiar with the class, the Rangers specialized in Expertise, Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, and Wildnerness Survival.


Long story short, the Ranger is all about mixing up what some might call Archer and Druid skills with infinite arrows and enchantments for those arrows.


"Traps are a go. Let's see how much they like getting some Dust and Smoke Trap combinations with a little Choking Gas to go with my arrows."


For my first eight skills, I had my standard fare of three Shadow Step skills and their variants to jump around the fighing zone or close the distance, a three chain combo of Critical Strikes for melee in case these magicians are nothing more than glass cannons, and two Elite Assassin skills.


For my second set of eight skills, I had two Traps to take away their numbers advantage, three Preparation skills for enhancing the arrows, and three Elite Ranger skills.


"So that the old pervert doesn't get surprised about this impromptu fight, you had better come on out 'less he hears of it through the rumor mill," I said as I took out Chuchu the mouse Familiar from my inventory and left him with some of the Cake behind a tree. "Don't worry buddy. You can have all that Cake and enjoy it while Sets takes care of business."


"Trees to the left, bushes mostly to the center in organized rows, some kind of flowers that line the wall of the castle/academy, but not too many obstacles to try any kind of Benny Hill chase scene. Traps should be set here, here, and over here. Time to get my Preparations on standby for my arrows," I surmised as the five nobles that had been tracking my character had stopped just before coming into view of the entrance that lead to this side garden. Meanwhile, Chuchu was eating the cake while making appreciate noises that almost sounded like a human's voice while on helium.


"Heh. Really enjoying that Cake I take it?"


At my question, Chuchu merely looked up at me with frosting lining his mouth and nodded his head so fast that I was reminded of those bobblehead dolls.


I made certain to walk at least twenty meters away from the castle as I was not certain if Osmond would cancel our deal if his Familiar was caught in the crossfire and I wouldn't get the chance to create my own personal army.


"Probably planning how to physically assault my character, show her the error of her ways in some long-winded speech that would probably do more damage than the actual fighting, and spare her out of the 'kindness' of their hearts considering these are noble teenagers and I bet Malicorne in particular has quite the grudge after what happened in Alviss Dining Hall. Sheesh, I should just skip the pre-battle speeches and have some fun," I said as I was beginning to get a little impatient as I did want to see what the magic users of this extension were capable of in comparison to the likes of the war-like Charr or the cruel Unseen Ones.


The only thing I could see was the text of their speech that appeared above their heads which talked about 'showing the Familiar her place' and 'sampling foreign delicacies' and other such hormonal driven talk among magically-empowered idiots.


Tired of waiting after another minute, I decided to take matters into my own hands.


"Hey! Yeah, you hiding near the door over there! Come on out!"


For a few seconds there was no sound, but the targeting radar revealed that they had still not moved and all talking had ceased as the text bubbles were no longer there.


'Fine, if it takes insults. So be it'.


"You inbred, goat-f***ing sons of diseased whores! If you're all done swallowing each other seeds and taking each other from behind, then come on out and I'll show you a real good time with my arrows shoved up your asses! Bet you'd all like it and scream my name in absolute pleasure as I make you all my b**ches!"


That got a response in the form of Malicorne charging out the door a second later with his lackeys jogging at a more sedate pace. The fat idiot was screaming while his face was absolutely red and not paying any attention to the surroundings.


"WHORE! I will ravage you again and again until you can only beg for death! I was going to be merciful, but now I find that any mercy shall be granted only after you have satisfied myself and my peers for the next three months! Then, I am going to take your bitch of a Master and make her beg, as well! Once she has-


"RENEGADE INTERRUPT!"


I had timed my shout when he was about to step into the Dust Trap, which normally caused blindness and a set amount of earth damage for every five seconds of being in the general vicinity of said trap.


Combat had now engaged as the strange runes appeared on the upper, left corner of my screen that seemed related to the LHoG achievement.


During this time, the LHoG runes went into full effect as the world surrounding Setsuna seemed to enter almost like a bullet time event straight out of the Matrix or Max Payne.


"Weird, but useful. Looks like I can even target general areas of the body, like the Fallout games. Time to have some fun!"


While Malicorne screamed in a high-pitched voice as he was feeling the effects of the dust getting in his eyes and getting his face peppered by a repeated spray of small rocks, his fellow nobles looked on in a stunned manner. I immediately activated the Preparation skill, Choking Gas, that would act as an AOE spell interrupter when used in conjunction with my arrows.


To the far left, Noble Mook #1 had recovered the fastest and was in the process of raising his wand in some kind of offensive gesture towards Setsuna.


"Say hello to my little friends," I said in my best Scarface accent as I unleashed my first strike against unlucky Mook #1 who went down with an arrow sticking out of his wandhand. Except, his hand no longer held a wand because of said arrow poking through his palm and two of his fellows, Mook #2 and Mook#3, were choking on the gas too much to do anything useful in this fight. In rapid succession, I had Setsuna launch two arrows at Mook #2's thighs with brutally accurate, but less than lethal strikes and he stumbled onto the grass as he whimpered in pain. Meanwhile, two arrows were shot at Mook #3's buttcheeks as he tried to run away while coughing and he fell down clutching his rear.


"Surprise butt sex!"


That left Mook #4 who looked on with shock as the numbers advantage had been nullified in five seconds flat.


As Mook #4 looked up at where the sound of the voice came from, he saw that I was a mere five paces away with my arrow pointing straight at his crotch.


"I know what you're thinkin': Did she fire six arrows or seven cuz surely she couldn't carry more than seven? To be honest, I couldn't tell you just how many in all this excitement. But you'd best be warned that this a finely crafted recurved bow made by the finest bowmakers of the Canthan Imperial Court and it will shoot straight through whatever fleshy bits it hits. So, you've gotta ask yourself one question: Do ya' feel lucky, b**ch? Well, do ya'?"


In response, Mook #4 dropped his wand, raised his hands in surrender, and what appeared to be a suspicious stain began to grow on his pants.


Barely a second later, I noticed three new contacts on my targeting radar appear on extreme range approaching my location as the bullet-time effect changed rapidly back to real-time. I began to hear the moaning and whimpering of the five nobles around me in various states of bleeding or paralysis.


"Sorry fellas, I got no healing spells on me. You're just gonna have ta drag yourselves back to the local doc'."


It was then that I noticed the names on the radar: Louise, Kirche, and Tabitha.


I took one more look around and realized that I had no clear way out of this area without having some kind of semi-plausible alibi.


"Well....shit."


------


Comments, Constructive Criticisms, and Suggestions are welcome and encouraged.


Author's Note: Explanations are going to be coming in some roundabout and vague ways in order to avoid the truth. For now.


Edit: Changed the scene with the 'deadly success' to another descriptive that fits better with the context of Setsuna's actions.


Thanks goes to Seonor for pointing out that little mistake.


ZnT/Guild War Crossover with PC-Controlled Assassin.

 

[HecateGW]

Chapter Three, Part Seven: Sowing the Seeds


------


As I surveyed the scene before my character, I thought through at least a dozen alibis ranging from the somewhat plausible to the outright insane.


'It was the Elves?'


'Wouldn't work as there are arrows and no sign of 'Firstborn' magic despite not even knowing what are the effects of that kind of magic.'


'Some random insane hunter went nuts on the nobles?'


'As if their noble pride would allow them to accept that a mere commoner could do such a thing to the all-powerful, yeah right, nobles and their Founder-given magic.'


'Leeroy Jenkins?'


'....'


'Wrong MMO.'


'Godzilla?'


'....'


'....'


'Why would I even think of a kaiju and would they even know what a kaiju is?'


While I was busy thinking of more and more ridiculous alibis, I had forgotten that Setsuna was still pointing her bow and arrow straight at Noble Mook #4 who was beginning to break out in a cold sweat.


"M-m-miss?"


"Hmmm?"


"I-if I co-could be so bold?"


"Hmmm?"


"C-Could you stop pointing that arrow at my manhood?"


"Hmmm?"


"Please?"


It was then that I began to notice the predicament my target was in and I decided that some mischief couldn't hurt before the three girls arrived on the scene.


"Sorry, I couldn't hear yo~u?"


"By the F-Founder, I will be your loyal v-vassal if you will just sp-spare me andmymanhood!"


"Hmmmm. Loyal vassal?"


"Y-yes. I will be your loyal v-vassal if you will spare me."


"And what would you have to offer that I do not already have?"


"I-I could provide you with access to some of the manuscripts that m-my great granduncle made. They are useless to m-me and my fa-family, but could be of great worth in the right h-hands."


"And what is your granduncle's name if I am to possibly accept your loyalty and these manuscripts?"


"Niccolo Machiavelli."


At the name of one of the most famous Renaissance politicians and writers of my own world, I could only think of word:


'Score!'


"And why would you offer these works if they are from you families? I would presume that they would hold some sentimental value if not priceless value in the right hands?"


"I-I could not a-agree more, but U-uncle Niccolo was ca-cast out of the family for ha-having ma-married a commoner."


"I see."


"...."


"Hmmmm."


"M-my lady?"


Funny. It appeared that I had finally come onto some kind of alibi and it came from one of the in-game title jokes that my clan members had always teased me about when it had been my turn to lead the guild as leader of both the guild and the alliance.


'Incognito Princess of the Jade Throne and all that teasing should help me now. Maybe.'


Before he could go any further, I had Setsuna put away her bow and arrow back into the inventory.


'Time to use the Royal/Imperial We and see if this idiot will actually buy it. Maybe even add in some Russel Crowe Gladitor badassness. Heh, should be fun even if he doesn't. Besides it's just a game, right? Right.'


"If We are to be on speaking terms, We would have you know that We are Setsuna of Cantha, otherwise known as the Incognito Princess of the Jade Throne, Slayer of Shiro Tagachi, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal to the true Emperor of Cantha."


"Princess?!"


"Yes, Princess. We know that your person would have need of Our legitimacy to be proven. BEHOLD!"


While we had been talking, I had Setsuna switch out one of her Range skills for Frozen Soil, a Ritual that summoned a Spirit.


Then, I activated Frozen Soil and watched as his pale face had somehow gotten even more pale.


Unfortunately, I had forgotten to keep an eye on my ever trusted radar as the three mages who had been approaching much earlier in the fight, had been standing where Malicorne and his four Noble Mooks had been standing before the 'duel' had begun.


Thus, it was with surprise that I heard a familiar voice coming from the entrance.


"F-Familiar?!"


'Huh, that sounded an awful lot like Louise.'


------


Helpful Feedback is encouraged, especially comments, constructive criticisms, and suggestions.


Author's Note: I know that that was a bit evil to leave the cliffhanger there, but I just want to build a little bit of anticipation.


Edit: Changed the last few lines in order to remove the ambiguity and hopefully show what was really happening in the summoning of the Spirit.


A little hint:

Spoiler

Osmond's Familiar, Chuchu is still there and has heard every word of my so-called confession of what I had supposedly denied much earlier during our bargaining session

ZnT/Guild Wars Crossover with PC Controlled Assassin.

 

[HecateGW]

Chapter Three, Part Eight: Sowing the Seeds

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"Now this a rather interesting predicament," I drawled as I realized that I had just exposed my so-called background story that I had just made up merely three hours ago.

"F-Familiar? What is the meaning of all this talk about princess and commander?!"

"We would be willing to entertain your questions, Miss Valliere, provided that We could have these bleeding and paralyzed gentlemen receive proper care. After all, We understand the desires and wants of all young men and they should not be punished too severely, with the exception of the fat little blond that is still crying like a little girl."

At pointing out Malicorne, Louise turned her head and looked at the rather pitiful sight of the once brash noble who was now curled up into a fetal position as the effects of the trap continued to do its job of blinding the fool.

Behind Louise, Kirche and Tabitha approached the scene carefully and I noticed that Tabitha had her staff in a ready position without her ever present book in her hands.

"Before any of you come any closer, We would strongly recommend that these three pincushions be given any and all healing available to deal with their pain. In Our generosity, we shall provide up to one hundred gold for the treatment of these three injured by Our arrows for their physical, mental, and emotional pains."

At my mention of one hundred gold, the three nobles in question stopped their pitiful mewls and moans on hearing the sheer amount dedicated to each of their treatments.

'Heh. If their jaws dropped any further, they would resemble some of those early morning cartoons I always watched as a kid.'

I had learned in the library that the standard healing treatment of a commoner was 1 copper coin. The standard treatment of a minor noble was 1 silver coin. The standard treatment of any royal family members of non-life threatning wounds was 1 gold coin.

In this case, I had essentially given them the equivalent of access to the five-star hospital treatment for their brutal, but less than lethal injuries.

"In addition, We have determined that any leftover sum is to be handed over to each of these three gentlemen as a sign that We hold no lasting grudge and We are willing to overlook this attack on Our person," I said as I continued to use my most authoritative tone. "Are we in agreement gentlemen?"

On my question, the Noble Mooks numbers 1, 2, and 3 all nodded their heads as they continued their speechless stares on Setsuna. In response, I removed the one hundred gold and had it appear before the nearest one with the arrows still sticking out of his rear end.

I could read what Kirche said as the gold seemingly appeared out of thin air,"What do you think Tabitha? Want to bet on Line class?"

"Square," came the quiet, one word response.

I noticed that Louise looked a bit faint and her face had changed colors throughout my conversation. On the other hand, Kirche appeared thoughtful with a finger on her chin and Tabitha continued her battle ready stance that looked deceptively open.

"Then it is settled. We do recall that the nobles of this esteemed institution have the ability to fly of their own accord? If so, then We strongly suggest gentlemen that you leave for the healer's wing before We decide to be less generous in Our offer."

After a bit of stumbling and tripping, the three Noble Mooks levitated/limped back towards the Academy with the one hundred gold I had dropped before them.

"M-my Lady-er....I mean, your Highness?"

"We have not yet accepted your Oath of Loyalty and as such addressing Our person as My Lady is satisfactory by Canthan Imperial Etiquette. Please, speak your mind as We would know what you would have Our person know."

"My L-Lady, I-I do not know wh-what is the standard Oath of L-Loyalty according to Canthan Imperial E-Etiquette."

"Are you certain that you would become Our vassal? We warn you now that the task of being Our vassal can be both laborius and painful. We would give you fair warning that Our tasks for your person would neither be easy nor rapid. However, We also know and understand the meaning of fair compensation. Your person would have Our protection and Our resources at your disposal as We see fit given the varying circumstances. Do you understand?"

"I...." on hearing my vague description of the benefits and drawbacks of declaring loyalty, the young noble standing before Setsuna appeared to have shored up his courage or stupidity and declared his determination in a much more confident and stutter free voice.

"My Lady, I am Giovanni di Bernardo Luigi de' Medici the Earth Mover and I am the Second Son of Bernardo di Lorenzo de' Medici and Lucrezia Maria Romola de' Medici from the realm of Florence, our Duchy. My word was given that I would be your vassal my Lady, even under threat of violence. However, my Lady has proven to be more than generous in the treatment of my fellows who assaulted my Lady on the orders of Malicorne the Stronzo. I am ashamed to admit that I followed blindly when I should have taken the time to think things over, that all was not right with that culo and his petty scheming-"

'Oy vey. If words actually gave off damage numbers, I would be dead a dozen times over with how much he like to talk. Time to nip this one in the bud and get myself a new meatshield.'

"Enough, Giovanni. We have heard your story and We know that mistakes are a part of life. We trust that such foolhardiness will not happen under Our service?"

"No, my Lady."

After a few seconds in thought, I remembered one particular oath that sounded rather nice.

'I really hope that no one hears that I ripped off J.R.R. Tolkien and the scene of Pippin with the Steward with a few adjustments taken.'

"Then repeat kneel and repeat after Us: Here do I swear fealty and service to Cantha."

In response to my order, Giovanni kneeled and repeated after Setsuna:

"Here do I swear fealty and service to Cantha."

"And to the Lady and Princess of the realm."

"And to the Lady and Princess of the realm."

"To speak and to be silent."

"To speak and to be silent."

"To do and to let be."

"To do and to let be."

"To come and to go."

"To come and to go."

As I absentmindedly repeated the oath by Pippin, I noticed that Louise appeared to be twitching in place with her face frozen in what some might have called the 'I must scream but I have no mouth' kind of expression.

"In need or plenty, in peace or war, in living or dying."

"In need or plenty, in peace or war, in living or dying."

"From this hour henceforth."

"From this hour henceforth."

"Until my Lady release me, or death take me, or the world end."

"Until my Lady release me, or death take me, or the world end."

"So say I, Giovanni son of Bernardo of Florence of the Medici."

"So say I, Giovanni son of Bernardo of Florence of the Medici."

"And now you no longer need to repeat Our words as We must now fulfill Our end of the Oath of Loyalty."

"And this do We hear, Setsuna daughter of Kisu, Lady of Cantha, Princess of the Jade Throne, and I will not forget it, nor fail to reward that which is given: fealty with love, valour with honor, oath-breaking with vengeance."

Once more, I looked at Louise and could barely hold back a snort of laughter at seeing her appear as though her mind had been broken from the sheer information overload that had built up over the day.

Achievement Unlocked:

Il Prince Is Now Ours Achieved
The Fake Princess Rises Achieved

Click to shrink...

"Rise, Giovanni and know that your first order from your liege is to clean yourself so that your personage may be presentable before Us. Once finished the rest of the day is to be given to yourself to do as you please without any other incidents, agreed?"

Rising to stand, Giovanni blushed slightly at the reminder of his accident and nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes, your Highness. It shall be done. Anything else, your Highness?"

"Tomorrow, you may have the day off as well as We realize that it is the Day of the Void and We realize the significance such an event. We would make certain that you shall have a sign of Our faith of you, Giovanni."

At that, I removed one of my Elementalist Elite Stoneforged Armor sets and 500 gold. I nearly laughed at the comical expression of Giovanni as he saw the clothing/armor and large amounts of gold and muttered some words like 'royal purple' and 'high-quality armor' and 'more than a year's allowance' and other such things before he straightened up and addressed Setsuna once again.

"Thank you, your Highness for sparing my life and for this most generous gift. But what of Malicorne, your Highness?"

"I trust you know of the leviation spell?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Then, bring him to a healer and spend only what is necessary to deal with his injuries and the warning that We would have words with his person in the morning for his less than thoughtful conduct," I finished frostily.

On hearing my orders, Giovanni shivered as he heard the frigid tone.

"It shall be done, your Highness."

Once Giovanni and Malicorne were gone, I turned to address the three nobles still present.

"It would seem that some answers would need to be forthcoming. We believe that they would be best handled in the Headmaster's office."

------

Feedback is encouraged, especially comments, constructive criticisms, and suggestions.

Author's Note: Definitely influenced by Lord of the Rings on the swearing of the Oath. Now I have begun the establishment of my first Mook!

Some may notice that Giovanni's parents are from real life figures of history. The father is obscure whereas the mother is more well known in the Italian states era as the mother of some Cardinals and I think a Pope or two down the line?

I know that it is rather boring and more of a filler, but the next snippet or two will reveal more of the improvised background that the player has made up and still thinks that this is a really enjoyable, if somewhat realistic game.

Edit: Added changes to make it more obvious that Louise is currently experiencing BSOD due to mental overcapacity.

ZnT/Guild Wars Crossover with PC-Controlled Assassin.

 

[HecateGW]

Chapter Three, Part Nine: Sowing the Seeds

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"Before We travel to the Headmaster's office, We strongly advise that you three should leave first as We must finish what We have started," I said in a more neutral tone as I wanted the characters to leave so that I could contact the liason and Familiar still hiding behind the tree.

"Oh? And you would command us to leave now," asked Kirche in a sing-song voice as she appeared to have be the unofficial voice of the three.

Louise continued to look shell-shocked whereas Tabitha was just....Tabitha.

"No. We do not command any of your persons, but only advise you as We stated earlier before," I responded to the redhead. "We say this because this field is littered with numerous traps that need to be disassembled or dispelled and, if done improperly, could cause much harm to any unsuspecting individuals. We find that We have no desire to duel any other Tristain males for the day as this, so-called fight, has been most unsatisfying."

"Ha, ha, ha. I most certainly agree that Tristain men leave much to be desired on the battlefield and off it, in more ways than one. Come along Tabitha. And you as well Ze~ro!"

At the title of Zero, Louise snapped out of her self-induced daze and whipped her head around so fast to face Kirche that I actually thought she might have given herself some whiplash.

"Zero! This coming from Kirche the bedwarmer!"

"Of course I am a bedwarmer! I am a Fire ma~ge after all," Kirche taunted as she and Tabitha walked back into the castle.

"Come back here and face me like a proper mage!"

And so, Louise ran off to pursue Kirche and Setsuna was left in the clearing. For about a minute, I kept a careful eye on the targeting radar as I did not want another slip-up like what happened earlier. Once Kirche, Tabitha, and Louise had left the extreme range of the radar, I immediately walked around the clearing to make sure that all the traps had already expired. What I had not informed them was that all Ranger traps have a time limit before they disappear permanently.

"Heh. They didn't ask and I didn't tell," I talked to myself as I approached the position of Chuchu the Familiar.

"You can come on out now. All the traps are gone, the idiot males are gone, and I am pleased that you have held up your end of the bargain by not peeping on the girls protected under our agreement."

At my call, Chuchu the mouse Familiar slowly emerged from a nook in the tree it had hid inside during the course of the one-sided fight and looked at Setsuna as though awaiting further orders.

"You can direct messages to your Master, correct?"

In response, the Familiar squeaked and nodded its head.

"Is he listening right now?"

Again, another nod and squeak from the mouse.

"Very well. I do not need to tell you that you will have visitors soon. As you may have noticed, I only engaged these students of yours in brutal, but less-than-lethal methods and I have provided the needed funds to pay for any healing."

A cautious nod came in response.

"However, I believe you may have heard my titles as I spoke to Giovannia, correct?"

A much faster nod in response.

'Now, how to do damage control....screw it. I'm just going to continue making things up as I go along and see just how much I can convince the ol' pervert that I am some kind of foreign royal.'

"I know that I once denied being royalty. In that sense, I was only attempting to gauge your reaction and see if you were trustworthy. Thus far, you have shown yourself to be both honorable and reasonable, when not engaging in panty peeping."

At my mention of panty peeping, Chuchu merely rolled around in squeaky laughter as though it were enjoying some kind of inside joke through its connection with Old Osmond.

Once that laughter had died down, I continued, "When I said that I was known as the Incognito Princess of the Jade Throne, I meant it. So, you should not have any worries of any of my loyal officers coming to my rescue if they find that I am in danger. Also, I trust that you have some kind of cover story already in place?"

At my question, Chuchu shook its head in the negative.

*sigh* "I do apologize for having rushed matters to such an extent that you would not have had enough time to prepare. One thing is certain that my cover story should have: I am a foreign royal who is currently seeking to not draw more attention than necessary or to protect myself and those I consider under my protection. Other than that, I do not mind any additions to the story. Once we are in your office, please start your first question by rubbing your beard if you will follow my lead."

After a few seconds of contemplation and giving Osmond time to digest all that I had said, I decided that taking up Osmond's earlier offer wouldn't be too bad.

"One last thing. If you could get me into contact with Erzherzog Herwald as I believe that I may need to expedite some of my plans."

A final nod and Chuchu approached my character. Once he was close enough, I placed the familiar mouse back into the inventory and checked the surroundings one last time before re-entering the castle.

"We're off to see the Wizard! The wonderful Wizard of Oz," I sang as I walked down the hallways without much care if other people saw Setsuna sing at all.

On arriving before the door, I quickly checked the radar and saw that there were three people inside the office.

'Hmmm....looks like Louise, Kirche, and Tabitha are the only students and Osmond, Colbert, and Longueville are the only adult staff members. Let's see just how much bs they will swallow whole.' I thought to myself as I was not certain if Osmond had any kind of scrying device now that I thought about Osmond's confession of knowing of Ludwig in the capital even though his mouse had been in my inventory at the time.

Before I could have Setsuna knock on the door, I heard Osmond's voice call out, "Enter, your Highness."

And enter I did.

Once the door had closed behind Setsuna, I took a good look at the people in the room. Colbert appeared as though he were frowning in a rather intense manner, Longueville had a slightly vapid, polite smile plastered to her face, Kirche looked amused, Tabitha looked calm as always, Louise looked like she had just swallowed something bitter, and Osmond had his wise wizard look.

On the other hand, Louise appeared rather irate at my character and appeared to be clenching her fists at her sides and I nearly squealed at how cute she looked.

"I believe there are questions many in this room have for our honored guest," Osmond said as he gestured to one of the cushioned seats in the room.

Texting Setsuna to nod in reply, I had her approach the seat and texted her to sit down, "Yes, there are indeed many questions and some cannot be answered for a variety of reasons that shall be made known."

As part of our hurried planning, Osmond gave the signal that the questioning was about to begin when he rubbed his awesome beard in an absent-minded manner.

"First of all, I would like to apologize to all present as I had been contacted by her Highness earlier in order to avoid a political fallout between the nations of Cantha and Tristain for what may have appeared to have been a kidnapping."

"Second, before any questions are asked of our esteemed guest, I would recommend that we listen to her story," spoke the Headmaster as he gestured to Setsuna with a nod of his head and the others in the room took their seats to listen.

"We thank you, Headmaster Osmond for your hospitality and grace in handling this delicate matter on such short notice."

"Your welcome, your Highness."

"For the time being, in order to facilitate efficiency, there is no need to address myself as your Highness as Setsuna will do and I will not engage in the royal form of We as this is not any kind of formal event that necessitates such....overt displays of social or political rankings."

"My tale begins on the Monastary of Shing Jea Island. It was under the tutelage of Master Togo, my uncle, that I learned everything I know of today."

As I weaved my tale, I could not help but stop and try to keep from laughing at the sheer absurdity of the so-called story of the Incognito Princess of the Jade Throne. Another reason for my near laughter was the fact that my so-called Master, Louise Valliere, continued to shoot looks of barely-concealed contempt at my character, despite the obvious display of respect given by the Headmaster in both action and words.

'If only the others could hear this, they would probably laugh their assess off at how far out this is. Wonder if Louise will blow her top with all that pent up anger just building up. Heh. Should be amusing.'

"On the completion of my training, I learned of a terrible plague that had come upon our fair land of Cantha that was unnatural as it warped everything it touched into a grotesque mockery of its original form whether it was once a human, animal, plant, and anything else that was within its corrupting reach. Out of a sense of duty and personal honor, I dealt with the plague on the island and eventually tracked its source to the Betrayer," I spat out that last word in mock hatred.

"The Betrayer who is also known as Shiro Tagachi. He was responsible for having assassinated one of our beloved Emperors for whatever foolish reasons and bringing about a great calamity on our land of petrification. Through dark magics, he came back to bring much pain and grief to our land."

When I had mentioned that one of the Emperors had been killed, Louise had gasped aloud and had a hand covering her mouth as though she could not imagine bringing harm to a member of the ruling family. Although, she continued to give some rather dark looks at Setsuna and I noticed how Colbert was beginning to shoot worried glances at Louise.

On the other hand, I noted an almost satisfactory look appear on Miss Longueville's face before it disappeared back under her vapid, polite smile.

The rest of my audience merely kept relatively neutral faces as I told the adventures of Setsuna and her fellow guild members.

Long story short, I recounted the story line of Factions that pretty much followed the basic formula of many RPG's and MMORPG's of leveling up, taking on quests and sidequests, and eventually slaying the big bad villain.

"In the end, the Betrayer was no match for my blades as I struck a final time and sent his spirit back into the afterlife where it belonged."

Silence greeted my story and it was interrupted by Headmaster Osmond.

"That is certainly quite the tale, Setsuna. Now, we must come to the issue of the Familiar."

"If I am correct, the Familiar summoning was not done with malicious intent?"

"I can assure you Setsuna that no ill will was used in the sacred rite of passage that is the Familiar Ceremeony and you were not intended to be brought to our land through such unorthodox means."

"If that is the case, then I see no problem in remaining as the Familiar with conditions."

On the word conditions, Louise appeared to almost say something but closed her mouth and shot Setsuna a nasty glare.

'Time for negotiations to begin.'

------

Hoping some feedback comes, especially constructive criticisms, comments, and suggestions.

Author's Note: I had originally intended to put the actual negotiation part here, but I realized that I needed to do a bit more research on RL Renaissance and see if I could use some of the terminology in the next segment in order to add a bit of recognition that Setsuna and the player are in the Renaissance and not the Middle Ages as some other authors tend to do.

Edit: Made some changes to, hopefully, streamline a scene in Three, Part Ten. Might have worked, might not. If it doesn't sound good, please let me know.

ZnT/Guild Wars crossover with PC-Controlled Assassin.

 

[HecateGW]

Chapter Three, Part Ten: Sowing the Seeds

------

Originally, I had intended to start the conversation by politely greeting the various people present in the room, but, the decision was taken out of my hands by what appeared to be a tomato attached to a human body by the sheer amount of redness that had suddenly appeared on her face.

'Wonder if she would mimic a steam kettle if I goaded her enough like a lot of the older Western cartoons. Heh, only one way to find out.'

"You, you you!"

"Me, me, me," I responded in a dry voice to Louise as she appeared a bit angry.

"You acted like the perfect Familiar! I allowed you the opportunity to have a meal in the Alviss Dining Hall! I even went so far as to protect your reputation and, and, grrrr...."

While the accusations were flying from her mouth, I text commanded Setsuna to take on a bored posture in order to show just how much her words had an affect on Setsuna. That is to say, none at all.

After a few seconds of nonsensible sounds and growling coming from the pink-haired loli, I decided to take the conversation back under my control before she could start a rant that would probably bore me to death.

*sigh* "Can you blame me for my supposed deception, young Louise? Besides, if you don't stop growling and frothing at the mouth I might think that you have rabies or something similar and I have no desire to get bitten right now."

"Deception! Rabies! Frothing! You will not insult me, Louise of the House of Valliere, with such, such, such common words from your lying mouth. How can I ever forgive such trickery of my person when I was so gra-"

"I apologize for the interruption, but please note that I appeared in a new land, surrounded by an unknown, potentially hostile number of beings surrounding myself, and I was separated from the rest of my Guild."

"Hostile! We are nobles and nobles never strike unjustly against commo-"

"Like that time one of your fellow nobles nearly struck the poor maid whom I doubt you would have bothered to learn the name of had I not informed you."

"Of course, I would not know the name of all the commoners! They live to serve the nobles and the nobles live to guide and prote-"

"You really believe that? Considering the way you so-called nobles treated the staff as nothing more than furniture, I hardly think many other nobles share your views."

"I DO believe it and I will tell you that no one who calls themself a Tristain noble would ever willingly harm a commoner unless they deserv-"

"Blah, blah, blah. Right now you should just open your eyes and take a good long look at your fellow nobles and see if they are actually practicing what you preach. I can believe the older generation would follow such ideals, but after seeing the younger generation of nobles at this academy? I hardly think so."

"STOP INTERR-"

"That is enough Ms. Valliere," came the soft, but surprisingly stern voice of Professor Colbert as he placed a hand on the shoulder of Louise.

While the hand and voice of the bald badass calmed Louise enough that she stopped arguing, the same could not be said of the other people in the room. Both Tabitha and Miss Longueville raised an eyebrow in a somewhat eery synchronization, while Headmaster Osmond's face appeared to be holding back a smile.

I also noticed that Kirche seemed to be fanning herself with her hand as she seemed to take in the form of Jean that made him shift slightly in place, as Headmaster Osmond had suddenly been taken by a coughing fit that sounded suspiciously like covered up laughter at the expense of his slightly, red-behind-the-ears subordinate.

I had Setsuna lean closer to the one known as Tabitha and asked quietly, "Is your friend Kirche always like this?"

"Yes," came the curt response.

"Must never be boring around her, I take it," I continued quietly as Headmaster continued to cough and Miss Longueville helpfully began to slap his back with some rather forceful strikes that had the old man coughing much louder.

"Yes," came another curt response.

"Do you always speak with such efficiency?"

"Yes."

"I suppose it does tend to stop needless talk from the more annoying people who attend this school, am I right?'

"Yes."

And that was the end of my somewhat, one-sided conversation with the other, more quiet loli in the room.

Once the furor had died down, Louise took a number of calming breaths as Colbert spoke a few soothing words into her ear. Fortunately for me, all text spoken aloud from NPC's in both regular gaming and in the cinematics always had a text bubble that I could read and it said something along the lines of 'act befitting as your status as both a noble and a Valliere', 'do not stoop the level of a commoner and argue like one of the street rats' and a few other nonsensical pieces of advice that were probably only meant to calm the recipient than anything else.

After a few seconds of silence, I decide to take the lead in the conversation once more in the hopes of seeing more fascinating interaction with such life-like dialogue responses from the script that appeared to adapt to the player.

"May I speak now?"

"Please, Setsuna, continue and do try not to provoke Louise anymore," Colbert stated in a controlled voice that would have sounded more like an order than an actual request. Unfortunately for him, it had no effect on Setsuna and even less on me.

"I cannot make such a promise as both Louise and I hardly know each other and our respective cultures with enough depth to avoid any provocations," I responded in a more polite tone of voice than the one I had been using on Louise earlier. Then, I took on a more teasing tone, "Besides, she was the one who offered to whip me and I believe that some people in my own culture might take that as a sign of sexual inter~est or even a first step in courtship if Louise likes to have relationships in th~at manner."

"Oh Setsuna, you must share this knowledge of whipping and pleasure as Founder knows that Louise needs to let off some steam," Kirche interjected before Colbert or Louise could get a word in. As for Colbert, he took on a more embarrassed look, whereas, Louise looked absolutely mortified and tried to sink into her chair.

On this scene, I had a rather mischievous idea pop up.

"If you like to hear it Kirche, I could share the wonderful piece of music you and Tabitha must have surely overheard, but not in its entirety. It goes like this-"

"Whipping aside, we must get back to the discussion at hand," interrupted Osmond as he wiped away some drool from his mouth.

'Heh. Old pervert.'

"Very well, Headmaster. Kirche, if you are willing to meet with me tomorrow, I could share with you an equally delightful song called I Got It From Agnes by the very same one who wrote the Masochism Tango," I said as I texted Setsuna to grin widely.

In response, Kirche gave an equally wide grin and said, "Of course I am willing. We shall meet in the Vestri Court and we shall show Tristain nobles how to have some real fun."

While I thought it was impossible, the face of Louise appeared to be going even whiter where Colbert's face was turning even more red.

Of note, Miss Longueville looked like she was breathing a little heavier than she had been earlier, as it added a delightful bounce to her chest, and, if I looked closely enough, her pupils looked slightly dilated, which I was able to notice thanks to the very realistic graphics.

'Guess the old man ain't the only pervert here.'

After allowing about ten seconds for the more easily provoked girl to settle down somewhat, I turned towards the Headmaster.

"Now, in all seriousness, I would like to begin the negotations regarding my status as I understand that the Familiar Summoning is a sacred rite in both your culture and your religion. However, my culture highly values personal freedoms, especially among the higher ranks. Adding the fact that I am the leader of my own guild of warriors and various fighters, they might not look too fondly on my departure from their ranks."

"I can see that that does present a rather interesting problem as it would appear that we are at an impasse. However, I think that we may have rushed to attempting negotations so soon when emotions are too high and not all present may be capable of adapting properly to the stress in such short notice. So, I propose a two day recess and all present shall return here after having enough time to re-orient and prepare for a serious undertaking that is present. Agreed?"

"Yes, Headmaster," stated Miss Longueville.

"Of course, Old Osmond," said Jean.

"Yes," came the simultaneous reply from Louise, Kirche, and Tabitha. In the case of Louise and Kirche, Louise looked surprised then glared at Kirche, who, in turn, merely smirked back at the other girl and mimed the motion of a whip with her hand, which elicited a small blush from the smaller girl who continued to glare.

"That sounds agreeable," I said after everyone else had spoken.

"Very well. We shall all gather back in my office two days hence."

At that, the five other occupants left with Kirche and Louise continuing their silent, but amusing staring match.

I made certain to have Setsuna wait until all the others had left and the door had closed with a resounding thud.

"If you like, Headmaster. I would not mind sharing the song I promised to share with Kirche at a later date."

*drool* "Yes, of course. Now off with you as I do have some paperwork to sort through and it will not write itself."

After checking the radar and finding that there was no one in the way of my intended path, I left for one of the secluded gardens in order to open up the 'teleportation' ability of my character and pulled down the list of known towns, outpost, villages, and so on. On that list, was the name of Tristania, the capital of the nation of Tristain and the location of where I would secretly meet with Ludwig and see if he was already gathering his secret band of miscreants and lowlifes or whatever a Germanian does in the capital city.

"Time to go!"

------

Hoping some feedback comes so that I can continue to improve my writing.

Author's Note: I know I said that negotiations would happen, but I just let the flow of the conversation and the feel of the characters take me to what I think would have been the more natural outcome of rushing things too quickly, from the perspective of the in-game characters as most of the more stressful events have occurred in only one day.

Maybe, the negotations might come a few snippets later, after meeting with Ludwig and his band of miscreants.


ZnT/Guild Wars Crossover with PC-Controlled Assassin.

 

[HecateGW]

Chapter Three, Side Story

Louise Snippet I

------

And so Louise traveled through the halls of the Tristain Academy of Magic, chasing after her rival and throwing insult after insult about the debauchery of Germanians, the von Zerbsts' questionable mating practices, and anything and everything to keep from freezing up in a manner that would be most unbefitting of a Valliere.

That, that, that!

How dare that Familar make claims that she is some kind of Princess!

And a commander and general of legions and armies?!

Impossible!

As if a Valliere, let alone a Founder-blessed noble would ever do such a lowly act as to bind a member of any Royal Family, let alone any honorable, high-ranking authority in the military!

After all, the holiest of rituals, the Sprintime Summoning Ritual, could never be wrong as it always summoned only what complements the mage.

Setsuna is only a commoner and a summoned one at that and I will show her the proper place as I am the noble and she is the Familiar.

In the back of her mind, a smaller voice tried to warn her about the political and social implications of binding a person of higher status as dictated by the Founder Brimir, the laws of Tristain, her respect of the Royal Family of Tristain, and her fear of her Mother.

At that last thought, all thoughts in Louise momentarily stopped at the sheer terror of her Mother. Not mother, but Mother with a capital M. Outside of her mind, Louise physically paled and stopped all movement for a time as she only uttered three words:

"Rule of steel."

Stopped until she heard an all too familiar taunt, "Oh is Louise the Zero showing that she has zero control over her own body? Shall I have to whip you like you secretly des~ire?"

"ZERBST!!!"

In response, the red-haired girl merely continued to walk quickly in the direction of the Headmaster's office as Louise had to jog in pursuit due to her smaller strides.

If I ever discover that Zerbst had a hand in corrupting my Familiar, I will, I will, will....

Unfortunately for Louise, another, more suppressed and lecherous voice whispered into her mind at the wrong moment about whips and other things she had read in some of those books that she had once borrowed from sister Eleanores' collection.

In response, her mental thought process nearly underwent another brain freeze until she reminded herself that she was already engaged and she certainly had no desire to whip or be whipped.

After all, the color of her face was its normal color and was not attempting to emulate the color of a red dawn rising.

Any further thoughts halted when she finally found herself standing before the office of the Headmaster and she took a moment to recompose herself.

The Headmaster will sort this all out and everything will go back to the way things were before my Familiar went crazy.

After all, what's the worst that could happen?

------

Author's Note: This scene takes place just after Louise chases Kirche in Chapter Three, Part Nine. It will not be the last of the side stories and we might actually see the POV's of other characters in other scenes if I am unable to effectively use the first person POV to show what is going on in the background.

Or I might just write another side story or three to show how the other characters are thinking, reacting, and/or planning with regards to Setsuna.

 

[HecateGW]

Chapter Three, Side Story

Louise Snippet II

------

Once she had entered the safety of one of the most respected nobles of the Academy, if not Tristain, Louise felt a calm wash over her as she believed that all would be right with the world.

There, she saw the Headmaster give her a polite nod and gestured her to a seat in the far corner where there were some refreshments. In response, she gave a polite nod in return as was only proper and proceeded to walk over towards the area in question.

Unfortunately, Kirche and Tabitha were already there. While she had no quarrel with the blue-haired girl, she could not say the same with the red-headed Germanian and could only wonder how the two ever became friends.

Once again, Louise took a calming breath, approached the table, and pointedly ignored the von Zerbst sitting on the other side of the small, circular table.

As she poured herself some wine and placed a few pieces of unleavened bread, she was drawn inward to her own thoughts as she thought about how she would deal with her Familiar.

The Headmaster, as a fellow noble, would fully understand the situation I am in and will rule in my favor as I am clearly the wronged party here.

Then, I can show that pesky Familiar who is the Master in this relationship!

Once again, that long-suppressed voice whispered in her mind about whipping sessions and hearing her Familiar's voice cry out 'Master' and 'more' in pleasure-laced tones.

Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!

I am the Master of my Familiar, I am the Master of my own mind, and I am the Master of my own life!

I will not be ruled by such debased thoughts like that Germanian whore who sits beside me because I am a Valliere!

Besides, I already have an intended.

On the last thought, she blushed as she began to imagine the calm, collected, and smiling face of none other than Jacques Wardes, the man who she was to wed.

Before her mind could travel down the more naughty dreams involving Wardes, the door opened and she saw both Professor Colbert and Miss Longueville enter.

When she made eye contact with Professor Colbert, she gave a polite nod, but did not stand up as that would have been improper of a lady of her social standing, despite the higher authority that the Mage Teacher represented. In turn, the good Professor smiled and gave a simple greeting before he unloaded all the papers he had onto the Headmasters' desk.

Miss Longueville did not stop to make any pleasantries as she walked over to the Headmaster and whispered a few things in the mans' ear.

HA!

I see that the Headmster was wise to bring along witnesses who shall testify that my Familiar has been an unruly and undeserving creature that deserves nothing more than to be whi- whi-, er, punished!

Then, I shall prove that the third daughter of the Valliere family is a real noble and not some failure to be cast aside!

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Everything is going according to plan!

"Enter, your Highness."

"Gurk," came a strangled noise from Louise' mouth as she froze in place.

------

Author's Note: This scene takes place inside the Headmasters' office, while Setsuna is busy talking to the Familiar of Osmond in the garden, and Louise is left to her own thoughts.

Also, darn you ninjas for jumping ahead and taking my idea for this snip on the last few lines!
Just kidding!

Anyway, hope that you all like this new method of showing other character thoughts of certain scenes that may not properly convey how they are reacting when seen from the players POV only.

 

[HecateGW]

Chapter Three, Part Eleven: Sowing the Seeds

------

I nearly took off for Tristania, the capital of this small nation when I realized that I had already promised Headmaster Osmond that I would deliver the goods within the hour.

When I typed in the text command to check the in-game time, I realized that I only had ten minutes left.

"Surely the old man would be lenient enough to give me some leeway? Eh, whatever, I'll just get it done now before I forget," I spoke quietly as I had Setsuna walk up and down the hallway and keeping a close eye on the radar to see if I had anymore surprise visitors like Malicorne and his band of fools.

"Well. Maybe not all fools as I did get my first mook," I said as I absentmindedly had Setsuna sit down on the ground in one of the hallways adjacent to the other hallway with the Headmasters' office.

"Maybe I should call him my First Prime?"

*snort* "As if he would respond to the command of Jaffa Kree!"

"Or, I could refer to him as my Padawan?"

"...."

"I'm not exactly Jedi material and all that."

"Oh! He shall be Number Two!"

"...."

"...."

"I knew I shouldn't have watched the Austin Powers movie marathon at two in the morning."

"I'll think about this later," I said as I took Setsuna out of the seated position and prepared to leave with one last check on my inventory and seeing that the first delivery of items were there, as well as, the Familiar mouse of the old man.

Once I had gotten Setsuna beyond the visual range of Louise, Kirche, Tabitha, Miss Longueville, Professor Colbert, and anyone else, I had Setsuna use her Shadow Step techniques carefully. I made certain to keep a very close eye on the targetting radar as I moved quickly towards the hidden sheds within the foundation of the Earth Tower.

Fortunately, the radar not only provided a constant visual watch on anyone or anything around Setsuna (with the exception of invisible characters as Osmond showed earlier), the radar also had a handy navigation pointer that, well, pointed the way to my intended goal.

Hidden Sheds are Unlocked!

Click to shrink...

"Well of course they are," I said to no one in particular as I unloaded all of my inventory into the hidden shed as per the agreement I had with the Headmaster.

While I continued to keep an eye out for anyone following my character, I moved back and forth between the main game, Factions, and to the add-on, Void Ascension, as I carried all of the items I had promised to Osmond in exchange for all the things I had asked for.

In the end, I completed the task in only five minutes of game time, whereas in the real world it had taken me a good thirty minutes as I had to wait for the loading screens every time I moved from Factions to Void Ascension and back. Also, I made certain to keep track of only the inventory I had planned to give away and I had no intention of accidentally dropping any of the more valuable items that had the same name, but were enchanted to have special features.

On the last run back towards Ascension, I changed Setsuna's secondary profession to that of the Warrior as I had a feeling I might need it in the future.

"Done and done."

Achievement Unlocked:

The Transporter Quest Unlocked

Click to shrink...

As soon as I had said the words, a message had popped up about a new quest unlocked.

"Hmmm....now that's rather interesting. Guess I could make a play at being Jason Statham what with the name not being so subtle and all."

I checked the game time again as soon as Setsuna was outside of the hidden shed and found that I only had a minute to spare.

I decided to wait and see if there were any penalties, traps, or special magical effects that would happen if I had not made the one hour deadline.

Much to my disappointment, nothing flashy or awesome occurred.

So, I proceeded to leave for the Headmasters' office by using a zig zag route and the occasional Shadow Step to move about and confuse any potential stalkers just in case there were any other mages with similar abilities like Osmond.

Along the way, I noticed the name of Miss Longueville linger around the school vault as it had been part of the general academy map found in the library I had explored the first night.

"Well, given that her title had been Suspicious Secretary, she might just be some kind of serial murder or even a Robin Hood kind of character," I whispered to myself as I continued towards the door of the Headmaster.

"Enter, your Highness."

At the greeting, I had Setsuna enter the door and wait until the door had closed shut.

Once the door had closed, I immediately began to talk before the Headmaster could get a word in.

"Room secure? From eavesdropping and scrying I mean."

"But of course, your Highness."

"No need to keep referring me to my title. In private, just Setsuna will do."

"Very well, Setsuna. And why have you returned so quickly?"

"The delivery is complete and I trust that they will not be linked back to my person?"

"Yes. I must confess, however, that I had not expected you to complete the transfer of all the items on the inventory list so quickly. I see that the magic of your line is rather powerful to be able to use such a quiet, efficient, and powerful teleportation spell," Osmond said in a rather probing manner as he tried to use his 'Wise Sage' stare on Setsuna.

"If you're trying to get some information about how it works, then you will be very disappointed as this type of magic cannot be learned only inherited," I deadpanned in response.

Besides, it was true as no MMO characters within Guild Wars ever learned any kind of teleportation spell that could travel between different worlds, let alone different continents, save for the game mechanics.

"Never hurts to try."

"True. Now, before I leave, have you contacted your Germanian connection? The one called Herwald?"

"Ah yes. I have already sent out a message that should have a response by tomorrow. I am curious as to why you have decided to take up my offer."

"Let's just say that I need some more protection and even if you believe that I am royalty, I have no way of transporting other people with me to prove my claim. So, I need to gain some kind of title here that would help legitimize my person somewhat and I can see that Germania has the easiest route of all the countries."

"Hmmm....that does make some sense. Well, off with you, as I do have paperwork to do," he said as he made a shooing motion.

"See you later Headmaster," I said as I had Setsuna leave the office and head towards one of the side gardens before opening up the menu and transporting Setsuna to the capital of Tristain, Tristania.

After a few seconds of the loading screen, Setsuna appeared on the furthest edge of the capital city, just on the outskirts of one of the neighboring forests and the radar showed only a few people milling about at extreme range.

It was there that I had Setsuna change her outfit back to the Shining Blade uniform I had her wear during the meeting with Ludwig.

"Time to see Ludwig and see what he's doing right now," I said knowing that I was far too early for the appointed date, but I just wanted to see if had any side quests for my character.

Just as I was about to enter the capital itself, I heard a feminine scream emerge from one of the alleyways that led to the merchant district.

"THIEF! THIEF!"

"You alright miss," I asked as I had Setsuna run up to the brown-haired girl.

"Three men wearing grey cloaks have stolen the money that I was going to use to pay our taxes as we are due by the end of the day! If we can't pay, then we will lose our Inn!"

"Not to worry, I will take back what those thieves stole."

Achievement Unlocked:

Saving the Charming Fairy Inn Quest Opened

Click to shrink...

And so, the chase began as the navigator pointer showed the way towards the three suspects that were moving in three separate directions. On the titles of the three, they were known as the Three Grey Fools.

The first Grey Fool was found only ten seconds worth of running distance away as he was busy panting and leaning against a wall, behind some crates. Before he could even register my presence, I had Setsuna launch a Disrupting Chop from the Warrior skill set unarmed and watched as the man dropped like a sack of bricks as the strike connected with the man's neck with a resounding smacking sound.

"One down, two to go."

Once I checked to make sure that he was out cold, I retrieved the 1/3 Bag of Coins after searching his body and finding it inside his inventory and little else other than some rusted knives, dirty used clothing, and a couple of cheap wine bottles.

Thirty seconds later, I encountered the second Grey Fool who had been in more shape than his counterpart, but not fast enough as I caught up to him. As he turned the corner, he caught sight of my character.

In his panic, he tried to run faster as he kept his eyes on me. Problem was that he kept his eyes on my character and not on the boxes in front of him. What resulted was the second Grey Fool tripping over said boxes and knocking himself out.

"Damn it! I knew it said fool, but I thought you idiots would have provided me with at least some challenge!"

And so, I retrieved another item called 1/3 Bag of Coins from the inventory of the second of the three Fools.

The third Grey Fool had stopped moving according to the navigator arrow and I became suspicious that a trap was being set.

"Maybe you will be lucky number three."

As I rounded the corner to a dead-end, I caught sight of the third Grey Fool, holding a knife to the neck of a struggling, little boy with his mouth covered by the mans' other hand.

"Stay back and the boy wont get hurt."

After pausing for only a second to assess the situation, I continued to walk towards the scruffy looking man.

"I said, STAY BACK, or the boy gets it."

"Go ahead. I don't care as long as I get the quest done."

At my matter-of-fact tone, both the boy and the Fool looked strangely at Setsuna as if they could not believe what she had just said. As a result, the boy began to struggle even harder and the man began to tighten his grip on said boy.
"Quest? I don't know what you're talking about but you had bett- urk!"

When he had started to panic, the Grey Fool had begun waved around his knife away from the boy's neck as he tried to warn Setsuna again. At that moment, I activated Crippling Dagger and watched as the flying projectile strike the Fool right between the eyes.

"BOOM! Headshot!"

In response, the boy ran away as he screamed like that kid from the Home Alone movie series when he had put on some of the aftershave.

"Ha! At least you were entertaining enough," I said to the corpse as I began to search his inventory for the final quest item.

And so, I retrieved the final 1/3 Bag of Coins which combined with the other two 1/3 pieces to form the Bag of Coins.

"Real inventive there with the names," I dryly stated as I made my way back towards the brown-haired girl.

Fortunately enough, there hadn't been too many people noticing the entire chase and most of the people would look away as soon as my character walked passed them.

Once I had made eye contact with the brown-haired girl, she made a sigh of relief and ran up to my character.
"Did you get them? Are you hurt?"

"Yes, they were pretty easy to deal with and I believe that this is the Bag of Coins they took? And no, I am not hurt."

*sigh* "Yes. Thank you so much for your help. I don't know what to say or do, but if you are ever in town, please visit the Charming Fairy Inn and tell them that you know Jessica, that's my name, and they should treat you well."

"Your welcome, Jessica. You know what? Why don't I escort you to your location so that you wont have to worry about being robbed again, alright?"

At my request, Jessica bit her lip and frowned slightly, but after some thought, she nodded her head and said, "I wouldn't mind the help. May I know the name of my savior?"

"Gozen is my name and it's nice to meet you, Jessica."

"You as well, Gozen. You must be strong like Matilda to have been able to take down those three so quickly."

"Let's just say that I have a bit of talent for dealing with scum like them."

And so, we continued idle chatter as we continued our walk towards the location of the tax collector site and I learned of some other troubles that had befallen the inn recently.

'Interesting, since I haven't received any confirmation that the quest is done, I suppose there's more to do. Maybe it might actually be entertaining.'

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Any feedback, especially the helpful kind, is appreciated and enouraged.

Authors' Note: Normally, the corrupt noble that collects the taxes in this area would be dealt with in the OTL in the undercover mission, but I am jumpstarting that and we shall see a bit of fallout in the coming snippets.


ZnT/Guild Wars Crossover with PC-Controlled Assassin.

 

[HecateGW]

Chapter Three, Sidestory

Unknown Boy Snippet

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As fast as he could run, he moved blindly in any direction away from the hooded crazy woman wearing the chest-revealing, black and green clothing.

While he had stopped screaming a few moments ago in favor of concentrating on his run, he could not help but go back to that terrifying moment.

"Go ahead. I don't care as long as I get the quest done," came the rather cold-sounding response to the grey-cloaked mans' threats.

In what the child would remember in his middle-aged years, he would look back to this moment and realize that he had experienced his own life flashing before his eyes. However, as he was only a child not older than ten years of age, he could not fully comprehend where all these strange and rapidly changing thoughts and memories were coming from.

In that moment, the young child remembered the most vivid memory of the tales from his family about the abuse and horrible treatment of nobles against everyone else and how they could escape the law with only a small fine to pay. Up until that moment, he had thought that such tales were only myths and meant to scare his other, younger siblings into obeying their parents. Now, he knew better as no non-noble would ever be caught wearing some clothing so finely crafted.

Just as he began to struggle in earnest against the hold of the filthy, smelling man, he heard the man start to say something when he saw only a blurry object move rapidly from the strange woman towards the man restraining him.

"BOOM. Headshot!"

In fight or flight mode, the boy made a very quick decision and chose the second of the two.

And now, here he was continuing his run from the very scary noblewoman.

It did not occur to him that the woman had not chased after him and had not ever attacked or threatened him directly, but as a child, he did not know any better.

And he would have continued his run had he not found himself lifted off the ground by the back of his favorite shirt. Once he had stopped and opened his eyes, he realized that he was looking into the face of a knight of the realm as the man was dressed in full regalia of a Tristain Knight. There was no chance he could escape from death this time as his shoulders drooped in resignation from knowing the reputation of the knights' fighting prowess and skills.

"Go 'head and finish it. Don't care anymore," he said in a defeated tone.

"Child. You were running in a panic I have only seen in the most frightened of new recruits. Tell me what has happened that made you so afraid," spoke the firm, but calm voice of the frowning knight.

"I don't care. Y-You're just like that d-d-devil woman," came a slightly more confident voice as he had not been skewered by the knight just yet.

"Devil woman? I assure you that no true knight in service of Tristain would ever willingly harm any loyal subject of Her Royal Majesty," the knight spoke assuringly as the man wiped the frown from his face and gave him a friendly smile.

And so the knight put him down and patted his shoulder in a friendly manner for a few seconds and kneeled down to look at him in the eye while continuing to give him a friendly smile.

"My name is Jean-Jacques Francis de Wardes, Captain of the Gryphon Knights. Upon my honor, you can tell me everything and I will see that you are safe from this 'devil woman' that has you so frightened."

And so, with his adrenaline having run its course, he told Captain Wardes everything he had seen and heard during the incident.

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Authors' Note: This scene takes place just after the boy has run away and has stopped screaming in order to conserve his breathing for his running.

This is just another change from the OTL and we shall see whether or not Reconquista will become a bit more interested in the affairs of Tristain much earlier.