A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

"I suppose before I start making use of people, I should probably make myself more presentable," he mused.

He took to the village, after a brief patrol. It seemed that things were quietening down somewhat in the forest – he didn't see quite as many monsters as he previously had. He wasn't sure if that was because he'd simply gone too far the night before, or whether things truly were improving.

He had to grimace as the very notion of improvement passed through his head – he felt it in his bones, things would not be so easy.

In the predawn chill, he passed the camps of the soldiers. He thought things to be rather rowdy for so early in the morning. He could hear loud and angry shouts coming from there, as soldiers conversed with each other. Intermingling all that were the even louder commands of officers, striving to get everyone in order before the day started.

Beam watched on with a grim look in his eyes and clenched his fist. 'To have a hundred men,' he mused, for the first time in his life recognizing the power of such a position and its utility. He had often thought that it would be useless to have underlings, if he himself was not strong.

With such thoughts in his mind, he quietly made his way through his village. There was a fog hanging in the air that day. Though the winter solstice had yet to officially come to pass, with the greyness of the sky, it certainly felt like winter already.

He had purposely not gone to see Nila before he met with Greeves. He expected that she will not have slept well last night and he strove to pay her what consideration he could. He made a quiet apology in his head, promising to inform her once he had actual new information to give her.

For the second time in a matter of days, as he knocked, there was no one to answer the door. Yet again, the door was open. He reached for the handle and allowed the door to swing wide. This time, though, he was not troubled by a quiet house. Instead, he saw Loriel, sitting on the bottom of the stairs, her head in her hands and a distant look in her eye.

Hearing Beam's boots upon the floor, she looked up. "Beam," she said, in a voice uncharacteristically devoid of emotion. She seemed exhausted. Beam recalled that the soldiers had been growing increasingly aggressive as of late, especially toward the ladies of the night that Greeves had been sending their way.

"Trouble?" Beam asked, seeing her.

She forced a smile and shook her head. "I'm fine – Greeves isn't doing so good though," she said, taking care not to burden Beam any more than necessary. "I heard about the little girl. I asked around as I was working, but I haven't found anything yet…" she murmured, sounding deeply apologetic.

"Ah, I see," Beam couldn't hide his disappointment.

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "You're pushing yourself far too much, aren't you? How long did you manage to sleep for last night?"

He grimaced at the probing question and scratched the back of her head to avoid it. She stood up and went to him as he looked away, taking his hand in hers.

"I've seen you struggle for the longest time, Beam," she said quietly. "I know your courage, better than you think. It's times like this that change people… It dyes them colours that they can never wash out. Be careful. Don't allow them to corrupt you."

Caught off guard by the sudden display of warmth, Beam widened his eyes. He recalled the curse that he had been burdened with. "I fear it is me who is more likely to corrupt them," he murmured.

But she shook her head. "If only we would be so lucky," she said with a smile.

An awkward silence elapsed, as Beam nodded towards Greeves' office. "Is now a good time for me to go in?"

She cleared her throat. "It's probably a bad time… But I think Greeves might appreciate the distraction. If you act surprised, I'm sure he'd even thank you for it," Loriel said, an unusually devious look on her tired face.

Not quite understanding exactly what he would be distracting the merchant from, Beam thanked her for the advice and moved across the dining room, towards Greeves' office door. He heard voices in quiet discussion inside. He glanced towards Loriel. She gave him a comforting smile and a nod, and then he pulled open the door.

Three heads turned to him, one considerably more relaxed than the other two.

Beam could see Greeves' face lose its colour – as did Judas' behind him, as though Beam had just done the one thing he shouldn't have done.

With the sound of chainmail clinking, Lombard arose from his chair to take a look at the unexpected visitor. He regarded him for a moment with narrowed eyes, before posing a comment. "I suppose peasants do not deem it necessary to knock, perhaps?"

"Apologies. I did not expect there to be nobility inside such a lowly establishment," Beam said. He saw Greeves' eyebrow twitch as he made the statement. Lombard looked at him, apparently sensing that there was humour bred into his otherwise polite remark.

"Where did you find this one?" He asked Greeves. "It seems this dog has no respect for you."

Greeves awkwardly moved to explain. "He's a problem, certainly, but he has his uses."

That Lombard seemed to latch onto. An intense intelligence sparkled in those pale blue eyes, as though he was seeing through something. "And what kind of uses could outweigh such unpredictability…? Mm…"

There were several tense moments of silence as the Captain merely continued to stare at Beam.

Eventually, he licked his dry lips and spoke. "That will be all, merchant. I have said my piece. It would seem the Gods have determined a fitting conclusion to our meeting." He left, and Beam hurried to get out of the way.