Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 147: Roads to Lordship

In the middle of the secluded garden Ogras was grinning as he deftly dodged an enraged Emma MacHale, who was currently trying to clobber him with a champagne bottle.

“A coffin? A COFFIN? What kind of asshole moves someone in something so ominous as a coffin? That wasn’t what we agreed upon! I’ll shove this bottle up your ass,” she screamed as she threw the bottle with full force at a laughing Ogras.

“I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable, and the casket was nicely padded inside. I am a gentleman, after all,” Ogras said with a smile as he snatched the bottle out of the air, careful to not let it break.

Zac was quite surprised at Emma’s personality. It seemed the person he’d seen in interviews and on the stage of the auction was another role she played, just like in the movies. Her real personality was far more coarse.

He was also quite relieved that it seemed that what Ogras did was not an abduction, though the exact details hadn’t been quite agreed upon. Zac didn’t want to have a falling out with the demon, but if Ogras truly had started kidnapping women he would have no choice but to do something drastic, as he couldn’t accept such behavior. It would be on a completely different scale compared to just messing around at the auction.

Emily giggled as she heard the exchange, which made the movie star look their way, immediately focusing on Zac.

“You! You let this horned mongrel just knock me out and carry me around in that god damn casket? What? Why are you just standing there gaping, you pervert? Are you the kind of guy who just finishes by himself in the corner?”

“Urh,” Zac only managed to get out, not ready to become the target of Emma’s vitriol. “I only found out Ogras had, uh, brought you here, after Julia Lombard told me.”

“Jules told you? Where is she?” the starlet said, quickly calming down.

“Do you two know each other? She was quite angry. Angry enough to jump through the teleporter to come here,” Zac couldn’t help asking.

“She did?” she asked, her mouth slightly curving upward before refocusing at the demon. “You can’t hurt her, or I won’t cooperate anymore. And you never told me you lived in the god damn jungle.”

“Hi! I’m Emily, I’m a huuge fan! You’re in Port Atwood. It’s an island in the middle of nowhere!” Emily chimed in, clearly excited to meet a movie star.

“Hi pretty,” Emma said, clearly more amenable to the excited teenager. “You should stay away from those two, something is wrong with their heads.”

Emily only giggled in response.

“Emily, tell Emma a bit about Port Atwood. Ogras, come with me,” Zac said with a sigh.

He needed to understand what the hell was going on. Soon the two stood some distance away while Emily peppered the movie star about questions about her old life, and Emma had turned back into the gentle personality you saw on TV back in the day.

“So you created a huge mess. You were seen with that casket before you came back here. And now we got a government official on the island,” Zac said with an angry glare. “I don’t even want to imagine the kind of riot you’ve caused in New Washington. You better have a god damn good reason for all this.”

“Well, the casket was sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing,” Ogras shrugged drawing another baleful glare from Zac.

“I was only planning on visiting Ms. MacHale for the dinner I promised, but things turned out this way.”

“She’s not a prisoner. And no forcing her to do anything,” Zac said with an even stare.

“Bah, why would I do something like that? The chase is half the fun,” Ogras spat back. “Besides, that’s not why I brought her here.”

“Explain,” Zac said, still annoyed.

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t understand how those useless bureaucrats are creating a Lord while you, the top spot on your Ladder, is fighting tooth and nail for the same privilege? Well, Emma MacHale solved that puzzle for me yesterday,” Ogras began.

“The first clue came from Ricky, the poor sap you left with me. I asked him about the government’s plans after he spilled everything about their group. We missed one of them by the way, so watch your back. The Red Mercenaries had done some nasty work for the government before it seemed, even killed a Ranker who actively spoke against The New World Government.”

Zac didn’t much care about the last man who was still alive, but he was more concerned about the fact the Red Mercenaries did Government wetwork.

“So the government was behind the attack?” Zac asked with a frown.

“No, it seems they truly only did it to stuff their pockets a bit. Birds die for food, men die for money,” the demon answered with a shrug.

“I was more interested about what he told me about the government’s quests. He swore that there were no quests like defending New Washington from beasts to become a Lord. He did, however, mention that he had heard about a contribution Crystal, and that Emma MacHale was quite high on it.”

Zac was quite intrigued by now, completely having forgotten about the fact that a storm might be brewing in New Washington by now. He only nodded for the demon to continue the narration.

“While I was walking through the Bazaar I was listening for any gossip, and it turned out that MacHale wasn’t the only star the Government employed. There were actually many of them visiting various towns, shaking hands and kissing babies so to speak. All while promoting the Government.

“At first I thought it was just promotion to gain legitimacy before the Auction and get more to sign up for their little alliance. But I was proven wrong. I found out where MacHale was staying later on and went to visit her. Partly to find out more and partly, uh, for personal interests,” Ogras said, drawing an eye-roll from Zac.

“I invited myself into her domicile, and after she had calmed down a bit we had a nice talk. I found out a lot of interesting things. Such as why they held their Auction, and why there were stars travelling town to town with government escorts. The Government needs the fame,” Ogras said with a grin.

“What?” Zac couldn’t help but blurt out.

“It’s their Lord quest. They need to generate enough renown, and someone among them will be promoted to a Lord. They are using the stars as mouthpieces to spread the plans of the Government and improve their renown. The Auction was partly held to gather a lot of forces, and gain a lot of renown in one fell swoop. Those who improve the fame of the Government would get contribution points, and Emma was one of those,” Ogras said.

“That still doesn’t explain why you kidnapped her,” Zac said.

“She asked me to,” Ogras said with a shrug. “When I told her who you were she immediately requested sanctuary. In the beginning, she was doing the work willingly, but after she learned some things she wanted out. However, they didn’t allow her to leave. The government was essentially keeping her a captive to generate fame since she was one of their top earners.”

“Does it even matter if you snatched her? They still have the same amount of fame as before, even though she isn’t there anymore?”

“Well, according to Emma the fame was attached to those who contributed somehow. I don’t truly understand it since I’ve never heard of a quest like this before,” Ogras said with some hesitation. “But if those people defected or died, then the Government would lose progress on their quest.”

Zac suddenly remembered the demonʼs words outside the teleportation building in New Washington and got a bad feeling.

“You didn’t…?” Zac said with a sinking feeling.

“Well, a few people in New Washington had untimely deaths during the night. But that was also a request from Ms. MacHale. She is quite ruthless. Though we only killed a few degenerates who used their status for disgusting things,” Ogras said with a sinister glint in his eyes.

“You know this might set me at a straight collision course with the government?” Zac said angrily.

Zac wondered if he would ever be able to return to New Washington or their alliance towns without a cover. If the government made Zac an accomplice for what seemed to be a murder-spree and a kidnapping there was no knowing what they might do. Perhaps his good name was being dragged through the mud as they spoke.

“You already were. Someone like you can’t coexist with a group like that. Better prepare yourself mentally and clear this wave quickly. They might be gunning for your sister as we speak,” Ogras retorted.

Zac could only frown in response, knowing that the demon might be right on the nose with that remark. The government wanted to create a unified power, and people like himself might be considered a thorn in their side, even though Zac had no designs on their alliance. Perhaps they would have found some other excuse to create trouble for him even if Ogras didn’t go berserk in the town.

“You still haven’t properly explained why you went through all this trouble?”

“For my, uh our, interests of course,” Ogras said. “The Auction brought far more fame than the government expected, and they were extremely close to finishing their quest. It was to the point that they would probably achieve it before you. We couldn’t allow that to happen. Becoming the first Lord of a world should bring great benefits to that Lord’s town and the Lord himself.”

“So you did that all for me, you say?” Zac asked skeptically.

“Remember, our fates are tied together on this little island,” Ogras said. “Your prosperity is my prosperity.”

Zac went over the information over for some time. He wasn’t really comfortable with the fact that the demon had gone off on a murder-spree in a human town without saying anything. What he said was true; their fates were tied together, and Ogras’ actions would impact Zac.

At the same time he had to admit he felt it was for the best. The government’s actions sounded quite shady, and more importantly he didn’t want to cede the advantage of being the first Lord. He got the Creator’s shipyard from being the first to close an Incursion, so he felt that becoming the first Lord might give a huge advantage as well.

“In the future, consult me first about stuff like this. If we’re going to have a working cooperation you can’t go rogue at every turn. That doesn’t only go for your nightly activities, but also your actions in the Auction,” Zac said with an even stare.

“Yes, mother,” Ogras said while rolling his eyes. “Well, you did show passable ruthlessness with the poison, so I guess I won’t need to take all matters into my own hands in the future. But don’t go squeamish on me. Remember, your actions doesn’t only impact yourself, but all your subjects and your family. A moment of softness can lead to a lifetime of suffering.”

“Ok ok. Also, the government official is your responsibility. She came here because of your actions, so you solve the aftermath. Find out if she is part of this all, but don’t kill her,” Zac said.

Overall he had a pretty decent impression of Julia, but if she jumped through the portal to control the Government’s asset then she would likely become a problem.

“All these rules,” Ogras said with a roll of his eyes, though Zac knew he acknowledged the request.

“I told you, you can’t hurt Jules,” Emma suddenly said, having snuck up on them. “If you do I’ll start preaching again here, giving the government a large boost in reputation.”

“I told you, as long as she doesn’t start breaking the rules she’ll be fine,” Zac said.

“Good. Now tell me, where will I stay? The demon promised me a Mansion.”