The Dead King

Marin walked out of the town hall of Heroca in deep thought about how he would propose moving everyone into his castle. It would not be unreasonable for everyone to turn down this request from a mysterious masked man who had just made himself known yesterday.

However, with Loid backing him up, and the fact he had just saved the lives of the townsfolk, it could turn in his favor.

As he walked back onto the snow covered main street of the city, he noticed the chaos from earlier had left a lasting mark. There was blood splattered on the ground in some areas, dying the snow red. Villagers hobbled about, trying to salvage what was left from their burnt houses.

Marin’s eyes fell upon a mid-aged woman with short black hair and cateye glasses. She was panicking in front of a burned building.

“Gone!” She yelled. “All gone. I had some really rare samples in there!” She brought her hands up into her hair, trying not to let herself spiral out of control.

Marin started to approach her from behind.

“Ugh, my hellroot, my Fontwell samples, destroyed! I-” She heard Marin’s footsteps in the snow, and she turned around to see him.

“You know where The Fontwell Span is?” She immediately asked him.

“I’m not familiar with that land,” he said back.

She shook her head with a sarcastic grin. “It’s on the other side of the continent. Do you know how many months it took to-” She looked over to a man. “Bob. Bob! I need more fontwell samples now!”

“You’re going to have to get them yourself!” Bob yelled in anger. “My shop has burned down!”

“Yeah? What hasn’t?!” She shook her head quickly, her black hair whisking side to side. Her glasses were fixed on a long hooked nose.

“And you,” she redirected to King Marin. “I’m not sure who you even are. You show up yesterday wearing that black mask you have on and the next day we are all raided. Coincidence? I think NOT.” Her words were fierce and snappy. It was almost humorous seeing them come out of a little frail lady.

Bob got closer to the two of them. “He saved us, Cheryl. Remember? He killed that raid leader and put all the flames out. He had nothing to do with it.”

“I can assure you ma’am, I had nothing to do with the attack. I am very sorry you lost all your ingredients. Are you an apothecary?” Marin tried.

She looked taken aback from the question. She almost seemed disgusted he made that inference. “An apothecary of sorts,” she admitted. “I like to experiment with new potions. I’ve been studying plants and fungi for decades.”

She turned back to look at her house. “And I lost all my stuff. Ugh, the years it took me to…” Her voice trailed off as she marched into the pile of ash that used to be her house.

Bob stuck his hand out to shake Marin’s hand.

“My name is Bob Galrus. I ran the general goods store and handled imports for the town. My whole family lives here and works with me.”

“Your family, are they all okay?” Marin asked with concern.

“Thankfully yes.” Bob was a stout man with thin lips and beady eyes. He had a solid grip for a hand shake. Marin was worried that his grip was strong enough to feel his undead hands squish together.

Bob Galrus continued. “And I have to thank you so much for saving us. Material possessions don’t matter. It sucks a lot has burned down, but you saved my family and for that, I’m eternally grateful.”

He looked over to the apothecary woman.

“You’ll have to forgive Cheryl for that accusation. That was very wrong. She’s just lashing out after losing so much. As far as items go, she’s probably lost the most. She’s spent most of her life collecting reagents.”

“Perhaps I could assist her in restoring her collection,” Marin offered.

Bob gave a thin smile. “Lord knows how much stuff she had.” He turned again to look at the king.

“Why are you wearing that thing on your face anyways?” Bob asked.

“I am quite hideous, I’m afraid.”

“Ah, come on. I’ve seen some bad off people. Surely you can’t be any worse than what I’ve seen.”

“It’s not something I’m willing to prove.”

“Alright, alright,” Bob had his hands in the air, backing off. “I’ll leave ya alone about it. Just saying, it makes you look mighty suspicious, that’s all.”

In the distance, the two could hear sobbing. Another woman had lost her husband, and his body was being taken away.

“It’s so horrendous what has happened,” Bob noted, watching the scene in the distance.

Bob’s family came around, and they were all introduced to the king. Marin tried being as polite and respectful as possible. He knew the mask and the fact that all his skin was concealed was a bit disturbing, and for that he did everything he could to show he had good intent.

The citizens were all talking among each other trying to figure out what they would do. They all met at main street besides the town hall.

Helva Yoren, the mayor, was talking with her husband Harrel. Some of the other older villagers were talking with them too.

Loid approached Marin after he too had talked with several people.

“Sullivan, I’ve talked with my wife,” he started. “She’s on board.”

With that statement, Marin had new found hope. Perhaps this was all in his grasp after all.

“That’s excellent to hear. Let’s see how many others would like that offer as well,” Marin said quietly back.

At this point, Marin walked up the steps of town hall. He readied himself for a speech. Some villagers were taking notice of him now.

“Attention, everyone.” Marin demanded. They all stopped talking and looked at him.

Marin suddenly had a rush of memory from before he had died. He gave speeches like this all time. He had denizens of his castle just like this at one point, and he couldn’t remember a single one of them. He had to put that into the back of his mind for now. He currently had the attention of the whole town.

“What happened here today was a tragedy. Many have lost everything, some have lost family members.” Marin looked down a bit in sadness, he wanted to think of someone he had lost in his past life, but was even more sad to realize not a single soul came to mind.

“And from what the mayor, Ms. Yoren, has told most of you,” he continued, “there is no money to rebuild. This small village… has been… destroyed.” He spaced the words out to let them sink in.

“You will all have to move. Leave the mountains.” He stated. There was some panic, and talking among themselves.

“But I offer a different option.” They ignored him. They were all still talking and looking around frantically. Marin looked over at Helva who was quietly supporting him.

At that moment, King Marin took out his pouch of gold, and dumped the coins. They all clanged loudly as they poured out of the pouch.

Everyone stopped talking, and looked at the scene.

“I am the King of Nocturne. My name is Sullivan Marin. I have enough wealth to share among you all. I am offering you all a chance to join my kingdom and live in the castle further up the mountain.”

There was dead silence. No one moved, no one said a word.

“I understand that this is very shocking. And I would not blame you all for not trusting me. I understand that I have just showed up only yesterday, and I know that this mask covering my face does not sit well with many of you.”

“But I must ask that you look past that. I have been cursed with a face that unfortunately requires this mask. It is a burden I bear.”

Marin threw the pouch down to the pile of gold coins on the ground.

“This gold here is a show of faith that I am not deceiving you all. Perhaps it was fate that I have arrived at this time. Some of you have seen that I am indeed an elemental. An ice one. As your king I pledge to protect you and treat you fair. You may all live in the castle and I will pay you handsomely for your work in the kingdom. Are there any questions?”

All the townsfolk started talking madly among themselves. Marin watched the reception from his speech, and it was not looking very promising. He waited patiently as everyone talked, waiting for some questions or answers.

No one was acknowledging him yet. As they all continued arguing, Marin looked over at Loid and Helva, who were more beside him than in front of him.

“Hey, you think you can just show up, claim you’re some king and adopt us all after we lost so much?” An old man in the back of the crowd finally said. Everyone stopped talking.

“You sir, what is your name?” Marin demanded in a booming voice.

“Gary Hogright. I am 83 years old, and I have lived in Heroca my entire life, ever since Helva’s grandmother was mayor! Just because we suffered an attack does not mean you can show up and claim our town is forfeit, and take over!”

Some of the townsfolk nodded in agreement.

Helva instantly got up besides Marin.

“And what are you going to do, Gary?” She yelled back. “You retired from being a farmer once the snow fell year round. We had to shift from growing food to taking prospecting deals and importing food to keep this town alive! This place was hardly worth anything before, and it’s certainly not worth much now! What do you expect we all do?!” The mayor demanded.

“We survive, just like we always have,” he responded.

More arguments broke out. Everyone was trying to talk over each other. The villagers of Heroca seemed stubborn. They might even try their best surviving with whats left rather than taking their chances with Marin.

Loid knew it too, but inside he also knew if he would take a stand, maybe others would follow. A trusted villager needed to vouch for the king. Loid approached the center, and got up to break up the chaos.

“Everyone, listen to me!” The talking stopped as Loid took control. Marin noticed right away how he commanded the entire village and they stopped talking. He seemed to be a very respected man in the community.

“I’m taking his offer!”

“What?!” Someone yelled out.

“That’s right. I’ve gone up to the castle. I know most of you know one thing or another about the place. I know a few of you have visited it. But King Marin here knows the castle up there as if he has lived there his entire life. There is stuff in that castle that absolutely proves his claims.

He is legit! And what he says is true. Need I even remind you all that not only did he save my life, but he saved all of yours as well! You at least owe him something, if not treating him with some respect and dignity, and taking his offer seriously.”

Marin was completely moved by Loid. No emotion showed in front of his cold black mask, but deep in the king’s heart and mind he was really proud of the innkeeper, and new connections of trust and admiration were forming.

“I’m going too! And so is Phil!” Rocko finally belted out from the crowd. Everyone looked over at them.

Loid smiled.

Marin took back over. “I want to remind you all that I am making no claims to your lives. You are free to do as you wish. Stay here, move, join me, it is up to you. I can assure you all my intentions are pure. If at anytime you do not feel I am a suitable king, you may leave. You are not locked into this.”

The sun started to set as all the townspeople worked to re-situate themselves. The cold air was harsh, and at night, it got even colder. Everyone had to put aside selfishness and allow those who lost their houses to be lodged with those who still had theirs. The town hall was also opened up as a place to sleep. People worked as the sun went down dragging beds, belongings, and food to different houses. They all debated among themselves about Marin’s offer.

The King sat in the town hall with Loid, his wife, Phil and Rocko, and Helva and Harrel Yoren. A fire burned in the center of the building, providing warmth to everyone there. Other villagers had set up sleeping mats in the rooms to the left and right of the hall.

“We’re not staying here, we are going with you,” Helva said to the King.

Harrel nodded in agreement. “We don’t have much of a choice.”

“I am quite honored to hear that,” Marin stated. “With you two on board, hopefully we can sway much of the village. I am extremely thankful that you would take a chance on me.”

“You saved all of our lives. And if this all works out as you intend, we will all be happy we took you up on the deal. I just hope that you will still respect that I was mayor of Heroca, and not demote me too much,” she stated in a joking manner, grinning a bit.

“On the contrary, your experience and occupation will be greatly needed. I wouldn’t insult your intelligence and status by giving you a modest job. I will need you to help lead and guide the citizens as you do now, as well as help me file proper paperwork instilling Nocturne as a kingdom again,” Marin explained.

“That, I can more than help you with,” she replied.

“And Harrel,” Marin started. “I understand you dealt with the town’s financial work.”

“Yes sir, I’m an accountant. I was in charge of all contracts the town took to bring in money, as well as collecting taxes and managing the village finances.” He proudly stated.

“Then you are also quite valuable,” Marin noted.

The king had noticed Harrel dressed in finer clothing than the other villagers. He wore a fine suit and tie, as well as dawning a top hat on his head. As neat as his clothes was his fine pencil thin black mustache that almost curled at both ends.

Regardless what character traits Marin could think he had, his demeanor hinted at a well educated background.

It was discussed earlier that Marin would give everyone a few days to make their decision. Many of the families needed time to decide if this was a lifestyle change they were willing to take up. Tomorrow, the majority of the villagers would decide the fate of the town. It was a big deal.

Rocko and Phil had already snuggled into their sleeping mats and were dozing off. Marin looked over at Loid’s face, which was staring at the fire, the orange colors dancing upon him. He could tell that Loid was thinking about a lot.

In truth, Loid was thinking about how he almost lost his wife. If he had not arrived sooner, the raiders could’ve burned down the entire village and slaughtered everyone. Marin or Loid could not get it out of the leader why he had attacked in the first place, but the raiders had no qualms about killing people.

Many villagers spent the night in mourning over those who had died. Marin thought back to when he saw that woman in anguish in the distance as her deceased husband was taken from her.

“Why our village?” Loid said in a whispered voice, almost to himself.

Sherry held his hand. “We’re all safe now, that’s what matters.” She gripped it tight. “And we have the new King here to thank.”

“It just... doesn’t make sense that such a strong elemental would waste his time with a poor, quiet village in the mountains.” Loid said back.

“My thoughts exactly,” Marin added. “I was quite curious and tried twice to get an answer from him. He was determined not to reveal that to us.”

“Well…” Helva started, staring into the fire. “...Ah, no. Never mind. Really hard to say.” She looked like she might’ve had an idea, but shrugged it off quick and dismissed it.

“We have a big day tomorrow. What are the plans, your highness?” Sherry asked. She didn’t seem to be entirely enthused about having a new king, but she was grateful, and did everything she could to show respect.

Marin debated whether he would tell Sherry to not use such formalities as highness, but he let it go for now.

“Everyone who is on board will start to move what little belongings they have left to the castle. I will have a few people head down the mountain to purchase food and bring it up. It will be that way until I can establish a proper supply network to the castle.

I will start work on having the castle restored and be made into a proper living space again.” Marin paused for a second, looking into the fire.

“Also, I will need to be vigilant in case of a second attack. We don’t know why they attacked, but their mission failed. I am hoping that they were an independent group raiding for their own selfish means, but if not, and there is something we do not know about, I must be ready.” Marin explained.

“You seem pretty confident in your abilities to protect us,” Harrel noticed.

“…It would take some prominent individuals to give me trouble.”

“I didn’t see what happened after you intervened in that fight, Marin, but you seemed to have taken care of him quickly.” Loid stated.

“Yeah, he was being difficult. Looking back at it all, I could’ve subdued him for interrogation. But I was quite upset with the whole situation, and was not sure if there were stronger threats around. I could have handled it all better,” Marin sadly explained.

They all talked for a while later, but as the night became late, everyone laid down for bed. Marin was starting to come to the conclusion that he could no longer sleep, and declined a bed, explaining that sometimes he would rather sleep in a chair.

They were all puzzled over this statement, but Marin had already left an impression that he was not a normal person to begin with, so they all just accepted that there would be some unusual things about him. They all bid goodnight, and Marin sat in a chair as others retreated to bedrooms.

Marin sat in front of the dying embers of the fire for an hour or two before getting up and walking around. Thoughts of how the next days, weeks, and months would play out occupied his mind. He also continued to try his hardest to remember details of his life 200 years ago. He knew he was king, he knew he had several hundred denizens of his kingdom, but could not for the life of him remember a single one.

Quite possibly the most frustrating thing he was dealing with, was the lack of memories from his past life. He pondered if maybe he had done something to his own kingdom and didn’t remember it. Perhaps he had gone out of his right mind and killed everyone. Could it be possible? Why couldn’t he remember anything? It also bewildered Marin that despite forgetting everyone and the events of his old life, he remembered he had gone to Arkana to study as a wizard.

Wait, Loid brought up Arkana, didn’t he? I remembered that part of my life because it was brought up. Maybe, just maybe, memories will make themselves known as I see or hear about related topics.

On a side note, his ability to speak, ration, and use his elemental skills were seemingly unhindered. Skills that were second nature to him were retained.

How odd.

Marin opened the doors of the town hall and walked outside. The glow from the snow on the ground lit the surroundings enough to see comfortably. All the smoke from the buildings had finally subsided.

Houses that were still intact had some lights on in them. He walked down main street for a while, until he noticed a man sitting on the porch of a burned down building, feet on the stair below him. He was hunched over, looking quite sullen.

When he saw Marin, the man sat up a bit and rested his wrists on his legs.

“How’s the night treating you?” King Marin asked the man. He had a bald head, and a bushy gray mustache. He was a bulkier man with hairy arms, shown from rolled up sleeves of his coat. Marin guessed that he was somewhere in his fifties.

“Oh, it’s you,” the man noticed. “The King.” His voice brought quite sadness with it.

“You know who I am, but I have not been introduced to you yet.”

“I’m Bronson. Bronson Chrisler. I… I lost my son earlier today, King Marin.”

Behind the black mask, Marin felt great sorrow for him. He was almost relieved he had the mask on right now, as he didn’t want to show such emotion.

“I could not imagine the pain you bare right now.” Marin got closer, and leaned along what was left of a support beam besides the porch stairs.

Bronson rubbed his bald head, trying his hardest not to become emotional either.

“Are you really serious about all this? Do you really have a large fortune to burn on us all? Is that something you really want to do?”

“I wouldn’t say I am burning it. Rather, investing. You all seem to be good people, and that’s something I’m looking for. When I showed up during the raid, I saw you all fighting for your families and homes fiercely. I could only wish that I had denizens that felt the same way about my kingdom.”

Bronson grunted. “Your kingdom… You really claim to be the true heir to Nocturne, eh? You’ve left your castle alone for quite a long time, I’m afraid. Better late than never, though.”

“Certain circumstances have… kept me unable to rule.”

Bronson made a sarcastic noise, as if that response didn’t mean much to him. “Well, Loid seems to really trust you. I don’t know what you said or did to him for that to happen, but that counts for something. He’s been my bartender for the ten years he’s lived here. Great guy, a war veteran.”

Bronson didn’t seem too keen on joining Marin. They talked for a while later, and he did thank Marin again for saving the village. After a while, he got up to go enter a house.

“I hope you get some sleep, King Marin. I can only see your eyes, but they look tired,” he pointed out.

Marin waved goodbye as he entered a warm, cozy house. The cold wind blew outside, but Marin felt no temperature. He started to walk back towards town hall.

When he returned to the tallest building in the burned down village, he looked up at the roof.

A pillar of ice started rising beneath his feet. It pushed him up a good distance.

He took a step, and a new pillar of ice shot up to meet his elevated foot. This continued each time he took a step, rising higher and higher until he stepped onto the roof. All the ice pillars that had formed to support each footstep shattered away as they were no longer needed.

The cold wind rippled Marin’s deluxe royal robes. A crescent moon adorned the night sky, a few clouds rolling by. He looked down at his gold cross necklace once again. He grabbed it to study it closer. The gold shined dimly in the moonlight.

Tomorrow would be a new day.