System Change

“Hah! Braxi!” The king let out a big belly laugh at Derek’s words.

“Ugh…” Braxton sighed. “Why did you have to call me that in front of him?”

“Because it’s your name,” Derek said. “And I’m never going to call you anything else.”

Braxton placed his hand on his forehead and rubbed it. “Why did she have to be home?” he asked almost silently to nobody.

“Oh, so Mr. Hunt here met your… fling,” Darius said.

“Stop calling her that!” Braxton removed his hand from his head and looked up at his brother. The man seemed genuinely angry. Derek even felt a bit of his aura slip out. “We’ve been together for decades. Gretchen is not a fling.”

“If you say so,” Darius said and waved Braxton’s words away. “I don’t know why you couldn’t have found someone of better… quality.”

Derek watched as Braxton’s hands balled up into fists and the man struggled to keep control. “Darius…” he muttered through his teeth. “King or not, if you weren’t my brother, I’d have you beneath my hammer. Say another word about Gretchen and I won’t care that you’re my brother. We’ve been over this countless times. And this time… in front of a guest.”

“Relax, brother,” Darius said, not taking his brother’s threat seriously.

But Derek wasn’t so sure. He hadn’t known the dwarven assassin for long, but seeing him like he was… he would definitely take his words seriously.“Besides,” the king continued. “With the strength that Mr. Hunt is said to have, I’m sure he understands exactly where I’m coming from. You are of the royal family of Vallum. Your partner need not be a noble, but she must have some status. Why not Amber? She would be perfect for you, and I happen to know that she would be very receptive.”

“I already told you no, and don’t care if she’s the daughter of one of our best smiths,” Braxton said. “I love Gretchen and there is nothing that will change that.”

Derek was beginning to feel a bit awkward being the third wheel in the brothers’ spat. But, at the same time, what Darius had said to him didn’t sit right with Derek.

“You’re wrong,” Derek said.

“What?” Braxton turned and looked at Derek with fire in his eyes.

“Not you,” Derek said. “Your brother. He is dead wrong. Who cares about status in a world like this? That’s how you get pathetic nobles—and I’ve seen plenty of pathetic nobles. What matters, as we previously just agreed on, is strength. From what I can tell, not many have more than you. I don’t know why you let any of that stand in your way. You love Gretchen? Marry her. Who can stop you?” What he was saying may upset the king and cause a problem with the crafting of the armor, but he really didn’t want to hold his tongue on the matter.

“If there’s one thing that I’ve learned while being here, it’s that your bloodline doesn’t mean shit,” Derek said. “If I wanted to, I think I could become the king of the dwarves pretty quickly.”

“What did you say?” Darius asked, his smile gone.

“I don’t have a drop of noble blood in me. I don’t have a drop of dwarven blood in me. But, with strength, I could become king. It’s as simple as that. I already pretty much single-handedly changed the royal family of an entire kingdom, and I’m even stronger now than I was then,” Derek said. “So why would something as simple as being with someone you love matter when you have the strength?

“The way I see it,” Derek continued. “The only reasons that Braxton hasn’t gone further is because of his role in the Assassin’s Guild and his respect towards his brother, which I can understand. But really, you don’t have any right to tell him what he can and can’t do.”

“You…” Darius said, but then frowned. Beside Derek, Braxton had relaxed and his rage had turned into a small smile on his face.

“Who’s stronger?” Derek asked. “Between the two of you brothers? The king who sits on his throne ruling all day? Or the man who puts and has put his life on the line countless times as an assassin?”

“Took the words right out of my mouth!” Braxton said gleefully and took a step towards Derek before patting him on his back. “And I will marry her,” he said. “I’m just waiting for the time to be right. Waiting until I can step down from all the killing and all the political scheming. Just got to leave things in good hands is all.”

“What?” Darius looked at his brother and asked.

“Been meaning to tell you for some time now, brother,” Braxton said. “I guess there’s no time like the present.” He shrugged. “I’m looking for a replacement Guild Leader for my branch of the guild. Even got a couple good candidates. Soon as one of them takes over, I’m done. Done with the guild, done with being your sword… I’m just… done. Gonna retire with my lovely. Sit around the fireplace and drink the world’s best brew.”

“I…” the king was at a loss for words. “You… you’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Course I am!” Braxton said. “As serious as my friend is when someone threatens his friends. And you can ask him, that’s pretty damn serious. I’d say that you could ask the old Guild Leader of the Cydarian Branch, Maven, but he’s a bit dead right now because Derek was serious.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Maven is dead?” Darius asked.

“Yup,” Braxton said. “It’s not something we’re going to go around advertising, but one of the leaders is dead, and I’m marrying Gretchen. There are two facts for you right there. And soon, this leader will be gone. That’s a third fact.”

“I…” Darius leaned back in his throne. “I see…” he said. “There really is no changing your mind on that, then?”

“No way in hell,” Braxton said. “I swear it on the King’s Brew.”

“Hmm…” Darius frowned, then scratched his chin—his face changing to that of a more thoughtful expression. “Then Braxus… I must finally meet this Gretchen.”

“You… want to meet her?” Braxton asked, his brow furrowing. “Why?”

“Because I thought this was a phase, and apparently, it is not,” Darius said. He then looked at Derek. “And Mr. Hunt’s words are not wrong. As much as I dislike hearing them, they are not wrong. You are my only sibling, and… marrying a commoner amongst commoners will not change that fact. But, I must make sure that it is truly love. So, I must meet the woman whom my brother Braxus… uhem… Braxi… is so smitten with… personally.”

“You are serious?” Braxton asked, ignoring the fact that even his own brother was now calling him Braxi.

“Of course I am serious,” Darius said. “And don’t worry, no harm will come to her.”

“I would never worry about that with you,” Braxton said.

“So…” Derek cut in. “I’m still getting the armor, right?”

“Of course,” Darius said. “We have already made the deal. I will not renege on such a thing—especially a deal that my brother has deemed so important. As long as you and your people meet the conditions set forth, you will have your armor.”

“Thank you,” Derek said.

“Today has been a great day!” Braxton said once Darius and Derek were finished speaking. “Being here with my good friend, Derek, and my favorite brother finally becoming just a little less elitist. It truly is a great day to be alive.”

“I am your only brother!” Darius cut in with a laugh.

“As far as we know,” Braxton said. “Who knows what our old man got up to in the day? Half the city could be our siblings, as far as we know.”

“They aren’t,” Darius replied.

“What?” Braxton asked.

“We have no siblings in the city…” Darius said. “I… checked… long ago.”

“Oh…” Braxton said, sort of speechless.

Derek was the same. He couldn’t believe that the king would actually do something like that. Just how big of a philanderer was their father? He thought.

“Then I guess you’re still my favorite brother,” Braxton finally said again after breaking out of his previous stupor. “You know what this calls for, right? A successful deal between my brother and my friend, along with my brother changing his ways?”

“A drink?” Derek asked. If there was a way to get his hands on some of the King’s Brew that Braxton had been talking up so much, now was the time.

“A drink!” Braxton shouted. “Of course! But not just any drink, we need some of the King’s Brew!” He then looked sheepishly at his brother on the thrones. “And uh… about the King’s Brew…”

“You’ve already drank the last of what I gave you?” The king looked at his brother in slight shock. “How? Do you just sit around drinking all day? Drinking nothing but my brew until it is gone?”

“Of course not!” Braxton said. “I don’t always sit. Sometimes I walk around. Sometimes I fight.”

“But you always drink my brew…” Darius said.

“Well… when I have it,” Braxton replied. “At least I can walk around and drink it. Some other brews require you to sit, unless you want to have a very bad day.”

“Other brews?” Darius asked. “What other brews? Have you found something new and not informed me of it?”

“May…be,” Braxton teased. “It’s not like I tell you everything. Some things are better kept secret.”

“Like a new brew?” the king scoffed.

“Exactly!” Braxton said. “Besides, I’m not sure if the person I got the brew from is comfortable with me sharing its existence.”

“And when has that ever stopped you?”

“When has the person I received it from ever been able to hand my ass to me?” Braxton asked back, then he looked over at Derek.

“What?” Derek shrugged. “You can do what you want with the jug of it. I just want to try some of this other stuff.”

“It seems that it is your lucky day, brother!” Braxton said, then took out the special jug used to hold the Wyvern’s Brew. “A trade! The Wyvern’s Brew for some King’s Brew!”

Darius eyed the jug and instinctively licked his lips. Everyone could see him fighting his impulses when he saw it. Finally, he said, “Fine! A jug for a jug.” He flicked his wrist, and a jug appeared in his hand as well.

“Oh, no.” Braxton shook his head. “You have plenty of the brew, but there is only a very small amount of the Wyvern’s Brew.”

“Is it that good? Is it better?” Darius asked with wide eyes.

“Does it matter if it isn’t?” Braxton asked. “Even if it is a little worse, would not a small amount of something you’ve never tried before be worth a large amount of something that you have a large supply of?”

“Large?” Darius asked. “You know that we do not have a large supply of the King’s Brew. It is very difficult to make. The supply is very limited.”

“But can one sip of the King’s Brew last as long as you want it to?” Braxton asked with a smile. “Because this can.”

“No, it can’t,” Darius said. “That’s not possible.”

“Actually,” Derek said. “It really can. But you have to be extremely careful with it.” He looked at Braxton and asked, “Are you sure you should give the king of an entire country some without knowing what happens? You didn’t exactly get to find out what happens if things go wrong.”

“We’re both here. He’ll be fine,” Braxton said, waving off Derek’s worries. “Besides… you’re really going to enjoy his brew.”

“If you say so, I’m not going to stop you,” Derek said with a shake of his head. “But if things go wrong, that’s on you, not me.”

“How bad could it be?” the king asked. “Give it to me. I’ll take the risk.”

“Us first,” Braxton said.

“Fine!” Darius waved his hand, and four more jugs appeared.

Braxton did a little fist pump in victory and walked up to the throne. He collected the five jugs of King’s Brew and walked back to Derek—handing him two of them. Derek wanted to object and say that he deserved three instead of two, but he didn’t. Two would work for the time being. He didn’t know how the drink would be, after all.

“What about me?” Silvi, who had been quiet most of the time, asked.

Realizing that she was still there, Braxton sighed, then handed her a jug. She didn’t look satisfied with just one, but it seemed that the man couldn’t force herself to give her another.

“And me?” Darius asked from atop the throne.

“Prepare you Greater Meditation skill,” Braxton told his brother in a serious tone.

“Meditation? Why?”

“Just do it or you don’t get any,” Braxton said.

“Fine,” the king said, then closed his eyes. He opened them again and moved slowly. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Finally, a cup appeared in Braxton’s hand and he poured a small amount of the brew in it before putting the brew away. A potion then appeared in his other hand and he moved beside his brother and handed him the cup.

“That’s all?” Darius asked.

“Drink,” Braxton said. “And be prepared. Don’t lose control of your meditation.”

“I think you’re making too big of a deal about this,” the king said.

“I can always take the cup back, little brother,” Braxton said. Then, said, “Drink!”

“Fine… okay,” Darius said, and turned the cup up and poured the liquid in his mouth before swallowing slowly. After that, Derek and Braxton watched the man carefully. It would be a shame for the Kingdom of Vallum to lose a king on such a good day.