Take a Seat

John took a seat, looking through his character sheet and getting a refresher on all of his abilities. Lord Brighon, despite telling John he wanted to talk, had been silent for several minutes just sitting across from John, so John decided he would take the time to take another look through his build. While a few of his passive skills had worked in prison, he had not been able to read through his skills or check anything beyond his most basic stats, leading to him actually forgetting a few things he had unlocked before getting locked up. For example, he had forgotten that he had been able to upgrade his Observe before he got arrested, as it was one of the skills that had never worked while he was incarcerated. He enjoyed being able to read more into his targets, especially the little bits of sass that Gaia would occasionally throw into the sheets.

“You’re not exactly what I expected,” Lord Brighton said, breaking John’s concentration

“What did you expect?” John asked, crossing his arms as he closed out his character sheet.

Lord Brighton shrugged. “Well, if I am to be completely honest, I expected someone taller and stronger looking, with a bit more scars and a well-worn warrior look. After all, you managed to fight my daughter to a stalemate in single combat,”

‘And here I thought I was losing that entire time. Guess I was doing better than I thought.’

“Survive and thrive a bit in prison despite the… unorthodox practices-”

“****. The word you are looking for is ****.”

“Yes, well…” Lord Brighton rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish look on his face. “That, and the fact your fellow inmates weren’t exactly the kindest to you while you were incarcerated.”

“Yeah, they still think I am the reason Lifthrasir got away. Trust me, had I been in the same room with him, he would have been found burnt to a crisp through both lightning and fire if I got my way.” John flexed his hand, feeling the mana teeming just below his fingertips begging to be utilized into a rune or two. It felt amazing, as the suppressors in prison had always left him feeling a bit weighted down and heavy, like his mana was trapped within him. Now though… oh, how good it felt to be a mage again.

“Good. I like that attitude in a bounty hunter,” Lord Brighton said with a small grin. Then, however, his face slowly turned a bit more grim and serious. “However… I didn’t ask you to stay behind just to talk about how you are… unexpected in stature.”

“I assume you want to put me through the wringer? Make sure I am loyal and worthy enough to fight alongside your daughter?” John asked with a bit of snark in his tone.

“No. I am sure that if you are untrustworthy or if you try anything nefarious, that Naoto will quickly put a bullet between your eyes and feed you to one of her personas,” he said humorlessly. “No, I want you to make sure you know who you are going after.”

“Did… the target change in the five seconds it took you to say that?” John asked. “‘Cause if not, I am pretty sure I am aware of who Lifthrasir is.”

“And I don’t think you know just how dangerous and crafty that elf is,” Lord Brighton said with a bit of a growl. He straightened his posture before walking over to one of the walls and pulling off a newspaper clipping from the New York Times. “He’s a man with no regard for the safety of others or the sanctity of life. His crimes stretch both from the Abyss to the mundane world, and he has a hand in almost every major criminal organization here in the US, or at least that is what we’ve come to expect at this point.”

John walked over to Lord Brighton, glancing at the paper in his hands. It was a report on a robbery of a major bank that resulted in the deaths of many people and police officers. The picture showed the front of the bank, or what was left of it as half the entryway was nothing but debris and rubble. The headline read “12 dead, 37 injured in bank heist. Perpetrators still at large.”

“I’ve had legions of knights chasing after the man,” Lord Brighton said, grief infecting his voice as his hand began to shake. “I’ve lost so many people… so many friends… so many young knights I’ve seen grow up... My…” His voice cracked, and John could see the patter of tears hitting the paper. “My wife.”

John’s eyes went wide. “He… he killed your wife? Moira’s mom?”

Lord Brighton nodded. “In this bank heist no less. She was visiting a mundane friend of hers at the bank, as they planned to go to lunch together and catch up. I was with some knights of the Order investigating a **** den that we believed was Lifthrasir’s. However, we learned that it was a ploy set up to distract us while he made his real move at the bank. By the time we got there, it was too late. We couldn’t save…” Lord Brighton took a deep breath, and let it out with a shudder. “Moira was only two at the time, and she doesn’t remember it. However, I found both her and her mother in the manager’s office, away from the explosion. My wife’s body was covered in burns produced by fire magic, and her last act had been to use her shield of faith and her body to protect our daughter.”

Lord Brighton took another breath before putting the paper back and turning to face John. “Lifthrasir is cunning, Jonathan Newman. Cunning and cruel. I do not want you to underestimate him in the slightest and always be as prepared as you can be.”

John gave a small nod, and Lord Brighton continued speaking, “I have no doubt in my mind that Lifthrasir is after something big here. I’ve had theories that he’s been planning something and that he is getting closer to that something. Based on your testimony and how invested he was in getting you to join his guild, I think you are a key component of this plan. What the plan is or what your part is, I don’t know. But what I do know is that Lifthrasir will do anything he can to finish this plan, and we will need every advantage we can take to capture him.”

“Lord Brighton…” John said quietly, “I… I can’t understand what it was like to lose your wife to Lifthrasir. But… I can assure you that with every fiber of my being, every drop of mana in me, I will capture Lifthrasir, and you will have your vengeance against him.”

Lord Brigton nodded and signaled for John to rejoin the party. However, just as John opened the door, he called out to him.

“Johnathan?” John turned, seeing that Lord Brighton hadn’t moved an inch and was still staring at the article on the wall.

“Sir?”

“That bastard has taken the lives of my friends. He took the lives of my predecessors. He has even taken the life of my wife. Please… whatever you do… even if it means letting him go…” Lord Brighton turned to look at John, years of exhaustion and guilt and grief in his saddened expression.

“Please don’t let him take my daughter.”

_________________________________________________________________________________

“Have fun with my father?”

John nearly jumped out of his skin as Moira appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Granted, that was probably due to John paying more attention to the words that Lord Brighton had spoken to him rather than his surroundings. John had never really considered what Lifthrasir’s game was in all this, as he had just figured the man to be a slimy power-grabber who ran at the first sign of trouble. But the man had apparently been on the run from Moira’s father for decades, and seemed to be doing something big. Something that, for some reason, involved John. The only question on John’s mind now was why.

John looked over to Moira and offered her a small smile. “Of course. We had the fun guy talk, ya know. Talked about sports, the weather, barbeque… man stuff.”

“Uh huh. Because that sounds like my father,” Moira said with an incredulous grin. “The leader of the Golden Rose wanted to just take some time to talk with you about stereotypical manly things. Let me guess, he also wanted to talk about hunting and pickup trucks too?”

“Well, we figured we would save those topics for next time,” John replied before looking around the hallway. “Where are the others?”

“Naoto went to show them where they could get armored up. Talia’s leather armor was decent, but it looked a little damaged, and I figured she could borrow some of the armor of the guild while her’s gets repaired.”

“I would have never figured you guys to have leather armor,” John said as he started walking alongside the paladin. “You guys seem to be more into plate and chain rather than leather.”

“You’d be surprised how diverse our arsenal is,” Moira said, opening a door to some stairs. “Yes, we prefer to use plate armor and go charging in full ****, but we do have archers who prefer leather. Plus, when we work alongside mundane forces-”

“Wait, really?”

Moira nodded. “Not on an official basis, but if we know that a bunch of cops are going to try and do a **** bust that we know has Abyssal fighters, we tend to step in and take over. We have a good deal of S.W.A.T. outfits as well as some guns for keeping the illusion up long enough to clear out the cops before they get hurt.”

“Do you know how to use guns? Like in the event that the criminals decide they wanna fight back.”

Moira looked around suspiciously before leaning in close. “Technically I’m not supposed to. But a few years ago I decided that I wanted to be a bit of a rebel and went out to a gun range on my own. I’m not a great shot, but it was fun nonetheless.”

John laughed, causing Moira to have a puzzled look. “S-sorry, Moira. It’s just… it’s a touch funny that most people’s teenage rebellion is going emo or goth, or going out drinking. You instead decided that the best way to be a rebel was to go fire off an AR-15!”

Moira gave a small giggle. “I guess it is a little funny. But seriously, it was fun! I got to feel like a real teen for once instead of just the Warden of a holy order. It was… nice.” A wistful smile took over her features as she stared off into space. “I don’t get to do that anymore, so I consider it to be a nice memory for when I’m put in charge of the Order one day.”

“Sounds intimidating,” John said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I couldn’t imagine having the knowledge that I would one day be in charge of an entire holy order. Plus, I don’t think I’m qualified for the job.”

“Well, technically no,” Moira said with a small chuckle. “For one, the leader of the Golden Rose is generally the current Warden and keeper of the blessing of the Golden Rose. Secondly, you do tend to have a bit of a… free-er lifestyle than what is approved of by the Order.”

“Wait, if the Warden is in charge, why is your dad calling the shots?”

“Well, I’m not quite ready to handle the responsibilities of running the whole Order, or at least our American branch. My dad took over running the Order after my mom died, and when I am fully ready, I can go to my dad and tell him that I am ready to run things.”

“And that’s it? You just say “Hey Dad, I’m in charge,” and that’s that?”

“Well, there’s a ceremony involved as well as a few other things but… yeah. That’s the basics.”

“How do you decide that you are ready?” John asked as they rounded a corner. “Like what is the deciding factor?”

“I don’t really know,” Moira said quietly. “I just… I guess I’ll know when I know. Like I’ll just feel like I’m ready to be the Warden that my mom was, or her mom or her mom’s mom.”

“Sounds rough.” Then, just before they were about to go through another door, John had an idea. “Say, Moira… You said you want to be able to feel like a normal girl, right?”

Moira nodded.

“Well, how about then that you and I go get some food sometime? Just the two of us.”

“John, you’re already dating two other girls,” she said deadpan.

“I know, I know. But listen, it will be a great chance for you to get that real authentic normal experience, and it would be fun! Plus, nothing has to come of it. It can just be two friends grabbing a bite to eat and having a fun day together!”

Moira stayed silent for a few moments, clearly thinking it over. John watched as she looked back at the way they came, the door they were about to open, and then back at John. He watched as her gaze swept up and down his body, and he could see a bit of a blush come across her features. Then, with a small nod, she gave him a smile and said, “I would like that, John.”

John smiled, grabbing the door handle and opening it wide just as he said,