The Distinguished Mr. Rose Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Dawn of the First Day

Read chapter 42 of The Distinguished Mr. Rose by QuiteTheSlacker on NovelPedia.

Chapter 42: Dawn of the First Day Later that morning, the players gradually began to wake up and made their way out of the barracks. The somber memorial of before still hung fresh in their mind, but there was very little a good night’s sleep couldn’t fix. It was the dawn of a new day; their life in the fortress had begun. One problem, though—they weren’t entirely sure what to do. The mission notice required them to help the paladins, yet just the previous day the players were ignored as if they didn’t exist. Perhaps they could pick up a broom and start sweeping; however, even that might provoke annoyance if done unprompted. They would just get in the way. Such were their worries, but as they gathered onto the courtyard and prepared themselves for an awkward encounter, they were met with something quite surprising. Tolerance. Of course, the paladins weren’t going to become all jolly and welcoming over the course of a single night, but there was a clear difference in the way the players were treated now. The people passing by tipped their heads, greeted them cordially, and even took a moment to answer the occasional question. They were no longer so blatantly hostile. The players were taken aback and scratched their heads, curious over what could have caused such a change. They would continue to wonder as a certain gentleman stepped forth, stretched his limbs, and faced the two shining suns with a pleasant grin and a happy little whistle. >[Congratulations! You have convinced the leading commander, Ogier of the Twelve Peers, that the players hold great promise in the demonic war to come. As a result, reputation within Roncevaux Fortress will increase, and new facilities and supplies will be made available to your people]< >[1000 points have been added to your contribution total: You are currently in first place!]< Indeed, Lucius’s conversation with the good Ogier was very beneficial. It was a shame the gentleman couldn’t get his usual sleep, but that was just fine. He could go for a week without shutting his eyes if needed—like that time he had to trudge through the Antarctic while being chased by the European Union. Apparently a fellow couldn’t go on a journey of wanderlust without obtaining something called ‘permission’ or ‘clearance’. He never understood why. “Morning, Lucius…” Mili walked up beside him and let out a wide yawn. “Huh, looks like they aren’t treating us like dirt anymore. Wonder what happened?” The rest of his party came out as well. Harper looked like she just dragged herself out of bed, hair disheveled and firefighting uniform wrinkled, while Marco looked as dapper as usual. “Can’t say I'm against it,” the old mobster said, looking around him. “Maybe they’re less on edge now that the battle’s over.” Harper crossed her arms and didn’t seem as convinced. “I don’t know, Marco. You don’t rebound after something like that so quickly. Looks more to me that they were ordered to treat us better.” “By that bearded guy?” Mili said. “That’s crazy. Dude looked like he was going to strangle us when we first got here.” Lucius watched idly by as they discussed new and increasingly more outlandish theories amongst each other, when suddenly the sound of a familiar horn rang from above. There, the Hippogriff Express descended, and Ruggiero rushed out from the barracks with a stern expression. “Sir Ruggiero, whatever is the matter?” the gentleman asked him. The commotion began to draw attention from both player and paladin alike, but the Peer reassured them that nothing was wrong and wore a composed front. When he turned toward Lucius, however, he was anything but. “Forgive me, Sir Lucius, but I must ask you to watch over the others for a spell,” Ruggiero said, leaning in and whispering in his ear. “Something quite troubling was regaled to me the prior night. I must make my way back to the capital and demand answers with haste.” Ah, yes. The matter over the clergy’s supposed fraud. Lucius didn’t blame the man for wishing to disc