The Hedge Wizard 3: A LitRPGGameLit Adventure by Alex Maher

Author:Alex Maher [Maher, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2023-05-09T16:00:00+00:00

FIFTY

EXTENSION OF TRUST

Hump sipped his tea, ate his cake, and answered a few more of Countess Daston’s questions. In the end, he left the meeting wrapped in uncertainty. While he tried not show it, the truth was he was nervous. Warlocks were bad enough, but if the being he’d encountered in Bledsbury Dungeon was truly involved, it might be time to quit while he was ahead. Whatever fate befell Sheercliff, it wasn’t his problem. He had enough of his own things to deal with as it was.

“Are you returning to the training grounds?” Countess Daston asked.

Hump shook his head. “The others should be finished up now. I expect they’re waiting for me in the gardens. How much of our conversation can I tell them?”

“I shall leave that up to you. I intend to share the possibility of a riftwalker’s involvement with the rest of the city’s leadership, but not that the information came from you.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll show you out,” she said, leading the way.

She guided him through the estate, telling him of the many paintings, statues, and other ornaments they passed. Hearing about it all, Hump didn’t feel so apprehensive about accepting such precious gifts. Compared to the rest of her estate, it was truly inconsequential. Even walking through the halls, it redefined what Hump thought wealth meant. This was a woman at the top of the world—a sixth circle Chosen of Imira. She had power, wealth, prestige: everything one could dream of.

That does not make her right, Hump thought as they roamed the halls. He didn’t believe in prophecy. Simply because she said something was so did not make it true, and there was no way to prove otherwise. No way to tell if different actions he could take would change the outcome at the end. If he left and the warlocks succeeded in whatever their plan was, that did not mean they succeeded because of him, and it certainly didn’t mean some god decided it would be so.

The gods didn’t care. If they did, they’d come down to the city and do the work themselves.

They reached the entrance hall, and a servant opened the front door. Outside, Hump noticed Vivienne and Graham approaching the estate on foot. They appeared exhausted, faces pale and an odd look to their eyes—particularly Graham’s.

“That was good timing,” Countess Daston said. “How did it go?”

Graham opened his mouth but caught himself, his eyes flicking to Hump. “May I speak freely?”

“Please do so.”

He took a breath. “The interrogation is being conducted by brutes and savages. It is deplorable, sickening, and I will not return.”

Countess Daston sighed. “Duke Malar has placed General Bennet in command of the investigation, Graham. I have spoken to my cousin, and he wants a neutral party in charge for the sake of cooperation amongst the city factions. There is nothing I can do. The prisoners are under his authority.”

“Then my involvement shall remain in the research labs. I was able to test my artifact. It is working. The results for both warlocks were consistent with previous experiments.

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