The carriage moved along the road leading to the royal palace at a sedate pace. The guards escorting the carriage formed a perimeter around it, blocking the doors and leading them from the front.
Inside the carriage, Jin and Renji sat in silence. Not a word had been spoken since they began moving together with the guards and Jin was way too distracted to feel uncomfortable in the silence. The cause of his distraction was one thing.
Spectre had abandoned him...
It was the only logical conclusion he could come to in this scenario. He had been trying to reach out to his 'guardian' since coming here, and there had been no contact at all.
The quest the system gave him was also disturbing. It had a death-penalty as the cost of failure, which meant whatever he would face could kill him if he wasn't careful, and it meant this summons to the palace just became infinitely more dangerous.
He looked out the window and saw that the castle could be seen on the horizon.
The group reached the castle and Jin came down from the carriage. He saw the guards dismount from their horses and move to different posts around the castle wall.
The castle was very large. It had an outer and an inner wall, with a river separating the two. The walls were connected by a draw-bridge which could only be opened by a guard from the inside.
Jin was forced to dismount at the outer wall and was escorted over the drawbridge by the leader of the platoon that brought them here.
"Keep close to me," He said to his subordinates in a tone no one would hear, "I don't think we're getting out of this without a fight"
"What do you think is the problem?" Hiro whispered to Jin
"I don't know." Jin whispered back "All I can say is that I am somehow now an enemy of the state"
"No talking back there!!" A guard shouted
The group quieted down and continued following behind the guards. They were lead through the inner wall, and into the castle proper.
Jin thought the castle was like every typical castle he had heard of in folklore. There were statues of Griffins along the wall and sentries moving around the castle. The walls were white and looked strong enough to stop a point-blank explosion. He was slightly impressed by it all.
The group was lead through corridors and into a large hall. They were told to stand in the center of the hall, while the guards that escorted them moved to the side to stand with the other guards.
In front of them were two golden thrones. One big one and a smaller one.
"I see you have finally arrived, Lord Jin," a voice said from the door to the left of the thrones.
From the door emerged two figures. The male figure had fair skin, long blond hair, and pointed ears, denoting him as an elf. He wore a long royal blue robe with a golden Griffen stitched into the right breast. The crown on his head showed his status as King.
The female figure also wore a royal blue gown, with a golden Griffen stitched into the left breast. She was a human with fair skin, a round face, and long brown hair. She had a smaller crown on her head, showing her status as queen.
While the two walked hand in hand towards the seats, the people present in the hall bowed to them. All, except Jin. He simply inclined his head a little but stayed on his feet.
"What do you think you're doing you scum!! Bow to the king!!" A guard shouted. He began moving forward towards Jin but stopped when the king rose his hand.
"It is quite alright, Peter," The king said to the guard. He then turned back to Jin "Lord Jin, I am grateful you accepted the summons"
"King Roland, Queen Aria. It an honor to meet you" Jin said, "But I didn't have much of a choice with regards to the summons. The fifty or so guards made sure of that"
"Yes, I'm sure they did," The queen said. "Matter of fact, I'm sure they should've beat-"
"Do you know why you've been summoned Jin?" The king asked, speaking over his wife.
"I do not"
"It has come to my attention that you have had a hand in many misgivings against the country"
"And who exactly submitted these reports?" Jin asked
"That is not for you to know" The king replied. "Tell me, what were you doing on the night of two days ago?"
"Is this a trial, your highness?" Jin asked
"Call it what you will Jin, but answer my question first"
Jin narrowed his eyes at the king in irritation. He had just come to this land two days ago, so this had to be something the former inhabitant of his body did.
'What could have possibly happened two days ago to warrant this' Quinn thought
"Answer the question, Jin" the queen chided "We do not have all day"
"I was sick in bed two nights ago," Jin said
"That's very curious," the king leaned forward on his throne, "Because recent information that came to me placed you at the scene of a crime where you, along with the Lord of Gaia, smuggled various precious gems and magic stones out of the country"
"That's not tr-" Jin tried to speak up, but was cut off by the King again
"That isn't all. The information also places you at various crime scenes where you could be seen collaborating with the Lord of Gaia in associating with mercenaries and other criminals of the state. The people behind you Jin, are they, not mercenaries?"
"Yes, they were. But-"
"So not only did you collaborate with these mercenaries, but you also dared to bring them into my court!" The king was now standing on his feet with clenched fists.
"You are an insult to all the other Lords Jin." he continued "Because not only did you do all this, but you were also too greedy to share your ill-begotten fortune with anyone. And that is why the Lord of Gaia, your uncle, was found dead last night at the bottom of a river"
"You have no proof!" Jin shouted. "These are all simply false propaganda"
"We have more than enough proof, Jin." The queen spoke up again. "You are to be taken into custody and await your sentence. Guards, take him away!"
The guards around the hall hoisted their spears up and pointed them at the four people in the room. Renji, Hiro, and Mai readied their weapons and stood around Jin, trying to protect him.
Jin meanwhile simply stood there completely stunned. He hadn't even been here for up to two days, and now he was being framed. What sort of joke was this? Hasn't he been promised power? Strength to take control of his destiny? And where the hell was Spectre!?
< [ Gamers Mind ] had been strengthened due to elevated emotional state >
< [ Gamers Mind ] had been strengthened due to elevated emotional state >
He saw the guards rush the other three with him. they fought as best they could, trying to keep the guards away from him. He even saw Fang bite the finger of a guard clean off. But they couldn't do enough, they were being overwhelmed, being dragged down, and forced to the ground. They were going to die because of him, because of this stupid world, because he was framed
'I Hate this world'
< [Gamers Mind ] is being overloaded >
'I Hate my weakness!'
< [Gamers Mind ] is being overloaded >
'I Hate this damn country!'
.....
< [Gamers Mind ] had been temporarily deactivated>