RepresentingAll_Pauls

  (Five minutes before Aric arrives in the lobby of Duval's office.)

  Duval was hurrying to his office with four of his in tow. His mind was all over the pce as he was struggling to come up with solutions to all of his problems. The biggest one is the Dark Elf. He needed to get rid of her, and even if he did the proper paperwork to have the right to make a w to exile her. He wasn't sure if he could get the votes to succeed, now that two of his allies were on the fence. He originally made the first measure to prevent her from entering the capital because she could go through the Royal Scribes easily. There were fewer articles and cuses for that document to be approved compared to the second measure, which he scribbled up in a hurry, once she was already inside the pace. The first measure didn't have any nguage within the document to kick her out. He just needed to stop her from entering, and the second measure would take longer to enforce due to it being a kingdom-wide expulsion. It would take more time to get the other domains to implement it, as they weren't in the capital.

  Then there was the second biggest problem. Terenthiel gave him a ultimatum. He was heading back to the Holy Alliance to speak with the High King and the Prophet. And if Duval doesn't resolve to get rid of the Dark Elf and this hasn't gotten the Crown Prince married to Princess Hilda Stoneworthh, he will decre war on the Fiafyr Kingdom and the alliance will start invading from the south. And if the Kingdom of Marn catches wind of the possible war. They might try to invade from the north.

  Everything he's sacrificed to get this peace treaty done is now crumbling. From wasting most of Aric's money on turning the Minor Nobles to his side to making a trade deal that sent most of his agricultural goods down into the Alliance for practically no money and having his allies pay the bill by buying his goods at a higher price to offset the money he's losing. All he's gained is a small boost in the treasury to help bribe the Merchant's Guild, who in turn helped him get the merchants in the Alliance to sell his products.

  But, now, the Merchant's Guild wants their money back, and the Alliance merchants are starting to give away their goods to the church as a donation to the Divine Three. This means he's losing money on both ends, and his people are now starting to question his leadership. And, now, he has no money and has no choice but to borrow the money from the bank, and he'll be in debt. And he was doing all of this to bring peace between the two factions. It was up to him to prevent war from happening, for he was the only one keeping the two factions from tearing each other apart. But now, with everything falling apart, he was running out of ideas, and he needed his most loyal friend to help him out, Sebastian. The only other Lord he trusted to help him was Viscount Octavius Bckwood, who wasn't in the capital at the moment. He was the Minister of Agriculture, and he was busy surveying the crops throughout the kingdom.

  He was just about to reach the door to his office when a royal aide came running up to him.

  "Your Excellency... Count Sebastian is in your office waiting for you," the aide said.

  "Thank you," Duval said, as the aide opened the door for him and let him in. When he entered the lobby of his office, he spotted Clinton, Duval's head aide. He had a worried look on his face.

  "Your Excellency?... Are you all right?" Clinton asked.

  "Of course, I'm not all right! How would you feel if everything you've ever worked for was coming crashing down in front of you?" Duval barked back at him.

  "I don't know what to say," Clinton answered.

  Duval saw Clinton back down, and it made him feel bad because Clinton was there every step of the way to creating the peace treaty.

  The Marquess sighed, "I'm a little hot-headed today. Sorry, I'm just stressed out... I wish I could just take a break, but we are on a time limit."

  "It's fine... We need to work hard. We can't lose everything. Not when we've come so far," Clinton said.

  "I'm not giving up," Duval stated, as he walked into his office and saw Sebastian standing by his desk.

  "Do you wish to have me join, Your Excellency? Or would you prefer me to wait outside?" Clinton asked.

  "I'm running low on ideas... So, I'll need you in here, Clinton," Duval said.

  "Understood," Clinton replied.

  Duval and Clinton entered the room, and Clinton started closing the door. The Head Aide looked out to his second in charge and said, "We are not to be disturbed by anyone. You make sure the door stays closed."

  "Yes, sir," replied an aide as Clinton closed the door shut.

  Duval's office was massive. He had a desk and behind the desk was a massive window facing south that showed the entire capital. To his left was a firepce with a small table in front of it with four chairs and a couch. In the middle of the room was a small dining table that had six chairs and on the other side was a long couch that ran across the room.

  Sebastian was the first to speak as Duval went to his whiskey cabinet.

  "This was a most terrible day indeed," Sebastian commented with a stoic face.

  "You don't think I don't know Sebastian!... It wasn't you that everyone was gring at when we left the council chambers... You weren't the one they were pointing their fingers at," Duval snapped, as he grabbed a whiskey bottle and gss, and took a seat at his desk.

  "No... But this was the first time you have been thoroughly out-maneuvered within the Chamber of Major Lords... Sure, Aric's tongue gets annoying, but he never has the votes to be anything more than a fly that refuses to be swatted. You have been at this game a lot longer than I, and I expected better," Sebastian said, as he took a seat across from Duval.

  "Sebastian... I normally appreciate your bluntness... But everything you are saying isn't going to change what happened out there!... Terenthiel has given me a ultimatum... We need to deliver on ridding the Dark Elf and marrying Hilda to Quinus within a month... I don't have time to be lectured on getting completely blindsided!" Duval excimed.

  Sebastian showed no emotions when Duval yelled at him. He just wanted to know one thing, "So, how do we move forward from here?"

  Duval took a big gulp of his whiskey and cringed as the Golden liquid burned the back of his throat.

  "I'm not sure, Sebastian," Duval said, as he pced his gss on his desk.

  "The first step is to have your aides write down a report. The report needs to be a record of today's meeting. So we can find something we might have missed," Sebastian suggested.

  "No... That's not going to help us... First, we need to find someone within The Temple of Bance who could reassure us that the Idol will light up for Hilda... I'm not worried about the Dark Elf because she's not going to get a response from the goddess," Duval replied.

  Sebastian didn't react while Clinton was worried.

  "You wish to rig the test," Clinton asked.

  "If we want a peaceful future for our country, then yes... I'm not proud to admit it, but we must cheat. But not until we find a cleric or priestess that could manipute the results," Duval answered.

  "And what if the High Priestess herself, Lady Astra, finds out that we were behind the false idol lighting up?" Sebastian asked.

  "Then we will deal with the repercussions!... Am I the only one trying to come up with ideas!?... Do you have anything better!?... No! Then I'm right to cheat... We must do this and get rid of that Dark Elf!... She's probably corrupted Prince Quinus, so we can't trust the royals. If we can get rid of her and marry off the Princess, then Prince Quinus will fall back in line," Duval said, as he smmed his fist against his desk.

  "You are asking us to find a cleric or priestess who will be willing to take a bribe, and they need to be high up in the creed to have access to Iyomelka's Idol. An Idol that not even the High Priestess, Lady Astra, can get to light up," Sebastian stated.

  Duval put down his gss and looked at Sebastian with a look of pure annoyance. He's been belittled all goddess damn day, and he was sick of it.

  "Well... Do you have any other ideas, Sebastian?... Because If you do, please let us know," Duval demanded.

  "No... Not with the temple... Maybe there's a way to hire an adventurer willing and strong enough to kill her?" Sebastian suggested.

  "The problem with that is... Prince Quinus is a skilled knight in his own right. He's survived the Tomb of The Horde, he's sughtered the infamous Bck Roses, and the Dark Elf will heal him... You saw what happened to that padin when we ran into the garden. The Crown Prince destroyed him when we were a hundred feet away. He was in front of that elf before the padin could touch her, and if it wasn't for their freakish ability to regenerate, he would have been killed," Duval said as he took another swig of his whiskey and smmed his gss onto the table.

  "Then we need to create a proper emergency measure to expel her," Sebastian suggested.

  "But the Crown Prince doesn't look like he's going to comply with the measure," Clinton interrupted.

  "That's not our problem. He is a prince, and he's not the one making the decisions. The Prime Minister is... I am the one making the decisions! And he will comply!... But the real problem is how many more of my ministers will turn on me... Thaddeus and Eamon went against me at the session, and I don't know if I can convince them to come back. The longer we take, the more of the Major Houses will show up to watch me get humiliated again. It will not happen! Do you hear me!? It will not happen!" Duval said as he finished off the gss of whiskey and stood up. His ponytail was coming undone as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

  Sebastian watched Duval pace around the room, "So we are at the mercy of the fates... Maybe we should join the Crown Prince and—"

  "GODDESS BE DAMNED! NO!... That's guaranteeing war! AND I WILL HAVE NONE OF IT!" Duval yelled.

  Sebastian sat back and looked at Clinton, "Then maybe the Duke is the key..."

  "Pfft!... Aric is probably ughing at me right this—"

  KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

  Clinton looked worried, and Duval gnced at the door with irritation. Sebastian, still with his stoic face, turned to the door as well.

  "I'm sorry, Your Excellency. I'll discipline them properly for not following your orders," Clinton said as he hurried over to the door. When he opened it slightly in anger, instead of seeing one of the aides, he saw the Duke standing there with the Viscount next to him. Clinton noticed the two guards and his three aides standing behind them.

  Clinton hesitated and didn't know what to do. He thought it was one of his coworkers and was ready to tell them off, but it was the Duke, showing off his patented smirk.

  "Well, are you going to let us in or are you just going to stand there and stare at us like a dumbfounded child?" Aric asked with a hint of amusement.

  "Ummm..." Clinton looked back at the Prime Minister.

  "What are you doing, Clinton!? Tell them off and shut the door!" Duval said in anger.

  Clinton opened the door all the way, and Duval was surprised.

  "Well, well, well... I know you don't like me, but to order your poor secretary to be rude... What a sad state of affairs this is..." Aric said as he stepped into the room with William close behind.

  Duval was still shocked by the Duke's audacity to come here. He's been on the butt end of Aric's jokes for the st twenty years, and Duval couldn't understand how he's managed to stay so calm and collected after everything he's done to strip the Duke of his power.

  "Duke, Aric... What a... surprise... You are not supposed to be here," Duval said after collecting his thoughts.

  Aric looked at Sebastian, who was still sitting in his chair, and then at Duval, with his just-shuffled hair. He kept silent and noticed the whiskey sitting on top of the cabinet in the corner. He smiled and walked over to it. He picked it up and poured a gss for himself.

  "This day has turned out to be more interesting than I thought..." Aric took a sip of the whiskey and made his way over to the couch.

  'Well?... This whiskey is pretty damn good... Duval has better taste than I thought,' Aric thought as he swirled his gss while gncing at the Prime Minister.

  "So, you've come to rub it in, Aric?... You've come to see me in my lowest moment so you can gloat about how right you were... Fine!... I hope you enjoy seeing me like this because this will be the st time—"

  "Oh, please, Duval!... I know we've never been on good terms, ever since my failed assassination attempt on my nephew... But I've survived my punishment and I renewed my vow of fealty and loyalty to the crown... But the reason why I've come is not for that... Even though I will keep this day etched in my mind for the rest of my days until I become the next Prime Minister... Also, your hair is a mess," Aric said with a smile.

  Duval gred at him while fixing his hair.

  "We have a simir enemy, Duval... One that makes me realize that I can't take down alone... So, I'm here to put aside our differences in order to defeat her," Aric said with a straight face.

  Duval had a skeptical look and sat back down in his chair.

  "Why should I believe you, Aric?... She could be the one to finally put you at such a disadvantage that your influence will be lost forever..." Duval said.

  Aric smirked and finished the rest of the whiskey. He sighed and got comfortable.

  "After all these years, you still don't know who I am?... Sure, we have different ideas on how to create a stronger Fiafyr... With you trying to prevent war with our neighbors at all coasts. Where I think that raising an army and conquering the kingdoms that are a threat to our Kingdom's safety, and starting to create an empire on Agon... But we are both loyal to our kingdom and want for it to live on throughout the centuries after we are gone..." Aric said.

  Duval looked away from the Duke and gnced out the window.

  'I hate it when he sounds reasonable... He could be pying me as a fool... I need to test him,' Duval thought.

  "And yet, you still have these goals of creating a human empire?... You know the stories of the—"

  "This mystical crap again?... I told you before, Duval... Those stories of human empires of old being destroyed by an unknown force to keep humanity from rising again are a myth and haven't been written by our forefathers... It's in history books written by the damn High Elves, Demons, and Angels... Haah... Sorry, for cutting you off... It's second nature for me to do so since we've always been at each other's throats since you became the Prime Minister... And you know that the human kingdoms are being threatened on all sides, not just the western coasts of Agon," Aric said.

  Duval wasn't expecting the Duke to apologize to him after cutting him off. He's never heard him apologize before.

  "But I can't support a partnership with a man that has an ambition to create an empire... Why should I trust a man with such grandiose ideas, that could spell the end for us all?" Duval asked.

  "Well?... My ambitions are to eliminate the Alliance and the Kingdom of Marn... And if I gain control of Parliament, I might be able to accomplish it before I die... Sure, I want a human empire that the other kingdoms and races won't really care about unless we invade the dwarves or cross the sea... But how do you think all those other races and kingdoms will react when the Crown Prince with a Dark Elven bride begins to conquer all of Agon with speed, strength, and precision which we've never seen before in the history of all time on Tertius?... Yes... I would begin to believe your fears about a force to be reckoned with that would destroy Fiafyr... Because she's the only one who has the power to make Quinus immortal on the battlefield and create an army of loyal golems. An army that can be repced instantly... And she's also an extremely powerful mage... So, if you wish to continue living without the fear of death or the possibility of Rya coming for our heads in the night, then we should work together..." Aric said.

  Duval shifted uncomfortably in his seat while trying to keep up his stoic demeanor. He didn't fully trust that Aric wouldn't try to use this opportunity to destroy him and his allies in Parliament while they joined forces. But Duval was worried that if he didn't join forces with Aric then the Dark Elven would destroy everything that he holds dear.

  "You have my attention, Aric... What are the conditions of our... Partnership?" Duval asked as he leaned back in his leather chair.

  "It's simple... Once the Dark Elf is out of the picture, then we can go back to our petty squabbles... Until then, we will pretend to be best friends and support each other's goals. But if you double-cross me and betray me, then I will take everything that you love and crush it. Just like what the Dark Elf did to my son, Marcus," Aric said.

  Sebastian, who normally doesn't show too much emotion, was confused. "But it was the Crown Prince who ordered his man to kill your son, Marcus," Sebastian said.

  "I know that, Sebastian... But that damn Dark Elf is the reason why the Crown Prince was able to get away with murder and get my son, Marcus killed..."

  "And if she chose your son... Wouldn't you be using her for your own gains?" Sebastian countered.

  Aric sat back on the leather couch, "If she sided with my son instead of my nephew, then yes, I would have used her to help me... But that's not the case now, is it?... I'm willing to put my ambitions aside and work with you, Duval. Because I am a reasonable man. And I don't wish for our Kingdom to fall. So, are you willing to do the same? Are you willing to put aside our differences and work together to defeat our enemy?"

  Duval wasn't expecting such an honest response. He expected Aric to try to deceive him into agreeing. But Aric's honesty and frankness actually made him reconsider his decision not to ally with Aric until the threat of the Dark Elf was dealt with.

  "What does working together mean exactly? If we're going to work together, then I need specifics, Aric..."

  Aric smiled at the Prime Minister. He knew he had won him over, and all he needed to do now was reel him in. "It means that we both have access to the other's resources, information, and men. So, we can use each other to our full advantage... I'm sure you were thinking about rigging the Idol to light up for Hilda by finding someone within the temple that will help us, correct?"

  Duval was startled and shocked. But he kept his composure as he sat back in his chair, "You are a very intelligent man, Aric... That's true, and I was indeed thinking about getting a few priests to light the Idol if they can."

  Sebastian sighed, and Aric took notice. "Well, your friend's reaction tells me you don't know who to use within the Temple. Is that correct, Sebastian?"

  "Correct, unfortunately, I haven't had any contact with the Temple's inner workings. I have a few contacts, but not enough to guarantee a positive result," Sebastian said as he frowned.

  "Lucky for you, we know a cleric who's been inside the Temple and knows where all the bodies are buried..."

  "You're telling me that you have bckmail information on the High Priestess?" Sebastian asked with wide eyes.

  Aric grimaced and shook his head, "No... That woman is as clean as they come... And she's very hard to get to... But what we do have is a Cleric, who can give us all the dirt we need on a few priests and a few priestesses... High up on the food chain to be there for the ceremony... Luckily for us, one of William's people found out that if the Goddess's Idol comes in contact with an ether crystal, it lights up."

  Duval, Sebastian, and Clinton were stunned by this news, "So, you are telling me that the Idol can light up, just by touching an Ether Crystal? Why wasn't this known about before?" Duval asked.

  William ughed, "You think getting pure ether crystal is as easy as going down to the market and buying one? The only way to get ether crystals is through the byrinths. You've been stuck in an office for the past ten years, and have forgotten what it's like to have to work for everything you have, Duval."

  Duval gred at the man, "How dare you question me!"

  Aric sighed, "William... Please sheath your insults... We're here to make allies, not enemies. Now, Duval, the reason why we kept this information to ourselves was to use it to further my son's gains within the court. To have him kneel before the Idol and have him touch the Idol to light up."

  "So you are telling me that the Idol will light up by touching it?" Sebastian asked.

  "Well... Sort of," Aric said with a frown, "You tell them, William... It was your alchemist who made the discovery."

  Everyone turned to the Viscount, and he grinned, "Well, if you are wondering how we have a cleric on the inside. That's because he's from the Temple of Bance from Silverhaven Coast... And after running into the poor Cleric who seemed to have a bad stroke of luck in a casino. I was able to save him from losing all of the donations the Church received that week. The Cleric was a simple-minded fellow, and I was able to get the information I needed. And he allowed me and my Alchemist to have exclusive access to the Idol—"

  "William?... Quit gloating and get to the point," Aric said, irritated, and cut off William's long-winded story.

  "Ah, sorry, Aric," William said, looking a little embarrassed, "Well, you see, the ether crystal was absorbed into the statue. It surprised us at first, but we found out that if you touch the Idol, it glows where you touched it... We couldn't figure out how to get it to light up by praying to it like what happened with Rianna... But?... If we have someone on the inside to pce a big enough ether crystal on the backside of the Idol, then when the ceremony happens. We have that same person touch the backside of the Idol to light up, making Hilda seem like the goddess's chosen."

  Sebastian and Duval were both stunned and amazed by this revetion, "That's brilliant, William!... I take back everything bad I said about you!" Duval excimed.

  Sebastian was a little uncomfortable with the idea of rigging the Idol. It felt wrong to do something like that. "Is it even possible to pce a crystal big enough inside the Idol without anyone noticing?"

  Aric looked at Sebastian with a smirk, "You don't seem to appreciate what I'm offering, Sebastian... I'm the only one who has an ether crystal that is the size of a six-sided dice... Something that would cost nearly 200 thousand gold on a good day... Unless you know of a better source to find a rge enough crystal for the ritual?"

  Sebastian frowned and shook his head, "The only Labyrinth I know that has ether crystals in it is The Labyrinth of the Lost Souls up north."

  "Those ones are impure, and once you've completed the Fiafyrian Trials of Adulthood with the Keeper, you can't grab another one of those crystals. I know because I've tried," Aric said with a frown.

  "So they do turn into dust if you try to pick another one... That byrinth is a weird one," Duval said, nodding.

  "Yeah... It also refuses to let in anyone who doesn't have a strong mana vein, so I can use commoners to harvest the impure ether crystals... I would have loved to have an Alchemist get a good look at them... The damn Eternal just eats those stupid things for some odd reason," Aric compined, "It was such a waste of a good experiment. And all for the Keeper to give me a worthless, second-rate, fortune-telling prophecy to guide me into adulthood... Sorry, I've been lost in the past more often... Now that my son is gone... Anyway, Duval..." The Duke looked at Duval, "I want something in return... And you can't refuse..."

  Duval gulped and said, "And that is?"

  "We need a backup pn just in case this ritual to receive the Goddess's favor fails on us... I need your wife, Isabel, to start showing up to my wife's and daughters' parties... The same for you, Sebastian... I need Alexandria to do the same..."

  Duval's worries were repced with bafflement. He thought that the Duke was going to ask for something unreasonable.

  "I have to ask... Why do you need our wives at these parties?" Sebastian asked curiously.

  "My wife, Leandra, is a key to driving a wedge into my nephew's retionship with the Dark Elf. She has the Princess's ear, and if the Ladies of the Court side with Hilda over Quinus' infidelity. It would cause rge amounts of peer pressure that might cause Quinus to lose the support of his own people and the nobility," Aric expined, "Remember, Rya is a Dark Elf. Once they have chosen a life partner, any signs of affection to other females will be seen as adultery in Dark Elves' eyes. She might try to kill him, but I don't see him not surviving after everything that has happened. We need to get him to indulge in his desire to have more women before his wedding. If not, the Dark Elf will be a thorn in our side, and we don't need any more trouble than what is already on the horizon."

  Duval looked at Aric to see if he was trying to pull a fast one on him. But this was the most pleasant talk he'd ever had with the Duke. Aric was normally a cold and calcuting man, but not this time. Duval knew that the Duke's son died, but the Duke was acting strangely nice.

  "I have the feeling that there is more that you are not telling me, Aric... Are you hiding anything from me?"

  Aric smiled, "Oh, course I'm keeping some things from you... I'm sure you're keeping things from me... It's only natural... We aren't friends and I don't expect you to fully trust me after everything I've done in the past... I just need you to do your job as Prime Minister and not let this arranged marriage fail."

  Duval weighed his options, and he couldn't deny it any longer. He needed Aric's cunning mind to ensure this arranged marriage didn't go to hell. He used his influence in the Major Families to support him.

  "Alright... I will agree to your conditions, but don't try anything funny... Or else," Duval said, threatening Aric.

  The Duke could only smirk, "It's not the first time you threaten me, Duval. And I can tell you right now. That's the weakest one you've said yet."

  Duval didn't like how Aric could see through his threats.

  "You can't bme me. You have been a Cockroach that I never seem to get rid of... But let's put aside our differences for the sake of the Kingdom."

  Aric got up, "I'm gd that you can see things my way, Prime Minister... I'll grab the ether crystal from my vault and have it delivered to William's cleric... And don't be surprised to receive a tea party invitation soon... Gentlemen, have a nice day."

  With that, Aric left the room and closed the door behind him. Duval had a bad feeling in his stomach. He had the feeling that Aric had another pn up his sleeve, but sometimes you make a deal with the devil you know rather than the one you don't know.

  Duval wanted to talk to Sebastian but William was still standing in the room with a cocky smile on his face.

  "What is it, William? What do you want?" Duval said, tired of his games.

  William chuckled, "Oh, it's nothing much... I was wondering if you had any surplus crops you wish to sell through my ports?... I promise to only pce a 30% tariff on the goods."

  Duval, Sebastian, and Clinton all gred at the Viscount.

  "Still too high?... How about a 25% tariff?"

  The three men continued to gre at the viscount.

  "You people are no fun. I'll charge you a 20% tariff, and I'll let you use the new warehouse that I built for free."

  "How about you leave, William... Just because we have a ceasefire with Duke Aric doesn't mean we will allow you to take advantage of us." Duval said.

  William just shrugged his shoulders, "And here I was giving you a friendly discount... Well, if that's how you feel, then I'm sure my offer will be better received by the other Nobles on the council."

  And just like that, William walked out the door and closed the door behind him.

  Clinton sighed, "I don't know what the Duke sees in that man."

  "One who sees the Duke as the true heir of Fiafyr... He's the biggest con man on the continent, Clinton. Don't forget that." Duval said.

  "And he has more connections to the bck market than the rest of the nobles combined," Sebastian said, sighing.

  "So, are we going to go along with this?" Clinton asked.

  Duval nodded, "For now, we will py along. The Duke has the Ether Crystal, and if we want the alliance to agree to the peace treaty, then we need that crystal. We can't risk a war against the Divine Three... We just need to keep an eye out for any schemes from Duke Aric. He has his eyes set on the crown."

  Duval then turned to the window that overlooks the city, "Clinton, send a letter to the Princess, and inform her that we will give her an allowance to use as she sees fit... And have my butler send her Private maid, Dori over to the pace... She'll need clearance as well."

  Clinton wrote in his notebook, "Right away, sir."

  "And you're sure about this?" Clinton said.

  Duval nodded, "The Princess will have her freedom... And I hope she can convince the Crown Prince to marry her before Terenthiel comes back... I hope this will prevent the war from happening."

  With that, Clinton ran off to get the letters sent. Duval was hoping he was doing the right thing, but he couldn't let a war happen.

  Sebastian sighed and got up, "I'll reach out to Octavius. I'll give him a rundown of everything that has happened... Do you need anything else from me?"

  Duval slowly turned to look at Sebastian, who was standing in front of his desk. He sighed and shook his head slowly.

  "I just need a miracle at the moment, Sebastian."

  Sebastian nodded and left the office. Duval looked out the window to calm his thoughts. But sadly he couldn't do that because something in the air told him that he should let things be.

  "I'm going fucking crazy... I need another drink," Duval mumbled to himself.

  ***

  Meanwhile, in the sky high above the capital, floating in the clouds was a very annoyed Goddess.