Maid with Necromancy

Brix- 15

Brix, in his official capacity, observed Billups making a fool out of himself.

"How does it feel to bring shame to your kingdom by being one of the first two eliminated in the Ascendant Games?" Asked a Local reporter, not even evolved, throwing a blunt strike to gain professional experience.

"I was cheated. You saw it dump me in the middle of the woods naked to face those gold-furred hyperweasels. Then, when I got back to camp hauling their corpses, those bumpkins had the temerity to ask me to get working on a shelter!"

Alpat certainly didn't send its best to this competition. But Billups was just a special kind of stupid. The third son of a minor noble, picked for favors rather than skill, because surely it would be easy to defeat what comes out of the twin cities.

"And which bumpkins are you referring to?" The newsman asked snidely.

This time, the boy realized he'd taken the bait and shut up.

"What are your opinions on this, master Brix?" He asked, trying a new target

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The pivot was expected. Inwardly, Brix rolled his eyes while outwardly, a calm, relaxed smile graced his face. Now cue the slightly disappointed sigh. "Shame? We'll be lucky this year if the evolved kingdoms notice. Sadly, Alpat and many other kingdoms declined the cost to receive the projection of the games due to the cost set by the queen's court."

It really was disappointing. Only the Broken Isles paid the fee. A few dungeon towns and cities skipped the cost, and the dungeon clubs that tapped into such things when possible. Restricting information in or out wasn't unexpected from this isolated little dictatorship. The charter could only do so much. Shaping media was only part of the goal today.

"And you feel like this will harm the event?" The man pressed, anxiously ready to get his quote.

The social skill the man used was an annoying buzz demanding honesty.

"It's not my place to say. My report will influence future participation from my kingdom. While Billups here wasn't prepared for the unknown aspects, Alpat competitor Owlsley Wurrick is shining."

"She's in Lady Night's tribe. Do you think they'll become friends?"

The scrying from the Games focused more on action and drama than development. That woman, though, the way she'd forced him to act in their little spar. It was almost like he was back at his old job of training little elites instead of this lousy side trip.

"I think they already are." That was one woman to watch. The charter will be in play here, too; it won't take too many strings to maintain a connection to the promising young woman. "I guarantee it."