After our first encounter with Percival at the second gate of the manor, the pompous elf began leading us around to the area to meet what we assumed was his brother. Though this brief journey into the grounds was more insufferable than I would imagine.
We had been traveling in this stone hallway for a while now. I assumed that Percival was leading us the long way so that we would not have to travel through the manor itself to get to our location. We were supposed to meet with a man called 'Master Blois'. Based on our escort's reaction and own words, Percival was actually the brother of this individual.
Not much is known to me about the Blois, as this family was not prominent in the story or any of the major side quests within Infinity Unleashed. The same could be said about the Angea, more specifically Lady Ana or Feno Angea. With the latter holding the title of Lord, one would assume that he would be relevant to the game in all playthroughs.
It could also be that I had yet to encounter these individuals in our own playthrough since we kind of strayed from the story for extended periods of time. Though if I had met someone as talkative as Percival was now, then I am sure that I would remember them.
"My men and I just arrived from the outskirts of Theoscryan. Bandits are beginning to step out of line, so Father dispatched me in order to put them back in their place. Haha! You should've seen my valor in combat. Twenty of the finest soldiers in all of Astana put down a hundred bandits before the night was done. Most of them were mighty beastmen, but they stood no chance against us. Not a single man was lost on our side! Hahaha!", Percival boasts, shaking his fists with righteous zeal.
For the last ten minutes, Percival has been flexing his many accomplishments over the last few weeks in this world. Insufferable as he may be, I could not help but thank him for unknowingly enlightening me more about this world.
If Percival's boasting could be trusted, then apparently there has been an uptick of violence with specific groups of beastmen and demi-humans. Though they usually just pillage nearby villages, this recent attack on Theoscryan was the largest city hit thus far.
A coalition of one hundred beastmen was defeated by Percival and his men, but as he arrogantly declared, it only took twenty men alongside himself. So either there weren't any particularly strong beastmen present in that raid, or Percival is over-exaggerating to flirt with Claire.
"Oh, Master Percival, how impressive. Your men must truly be powerful," Claire responds.
Her tone indicated to me that she was playing along with the male, appealing to his ego. Considering that his smile stretched to a cartoonish appearance, I could assume that it worked. I became more interested in the scenario but couldn't appeal directly to him. So, I decided to use Bonner as my proxy, bumping him in his back to gather his attention.
"What?", he responds dryly and loudly.
I had desired for him to speak in a hushed manner so that our conversation would not disturb the others, but that was not going to happen. Bonner's voice was so deep at that moment that it alerted Percival and his entourage.
"Hey-Hey. Is there something that matters, Commoner? I assume that you could, at the very least, keep up. Even a dog could do that."
His attention now turned as everyone in attendance gazed in our direction. His actions placed us in an awkward situation, one that we now had to diffuse.
'"Good one, Bud. There is nothing wrong here. My comrade merely tripped on something and bumped into me.", Bonner responds.
"The demi-human?"
"Yes. My Foxel comrade here."
"Ah, I see. Careless mistakes. Common with Commoners but expected with those Conscripted Forces. After all, they fail to defeat a mere hundred beastmen."
Now, what he was saying had caught my attention even more. So the beastmen raid on Theoscyran was also met in battle by the Conscripted Forces. Not only that, but the beastman managed to defeat them, which raises even more questions.
Did Percival really stumble across only a hundred beastmen in that raid, or were there even more of them before they arrived? How many men did the Conscripted Forces have compared to their opposition for their own battle? How many did they manage to defeat? Or were they thoroughly trounced in combat? All good questions that I could not ask just yet. After all, I had to hold my tongue.
"They lost? How many members of the Conscripted Forces engaged them beforehand? And who was their commander?", Claire asks, speaking up to gather his focus back on her.
Thankfully, he appeared more interested in our patron, and she was able to get his attention successfully. Good shit on the question as well. Either she's also capable of mind reading, or we must work at a similar wavelength.
"If I recall… a hundred and…"
"Thirty. A hundred and thirty, Young Master.", the dark-haired elf spoke.
Percival seemed to accept his words as a fact, repeating the number with a beaming smile. He seemed very sure of himself even though he couldn't recall the number of people they had in his little story. He's trying to flex but has terrible storytelling skills.
It's nothing more than hot air coming from him. However, the fact that the other elf essentially corrected him without any repercussions was actually quite interesting. I do not think that he gave us a name just yet, but I do find him suspicious or, at the very least, noteworthy.
"There were one hundred and thirty men of the Conscripted Forces, and they could not even break through the formation of a ragtag army of one hundred Beastmen. They can not even achieve something in a day that twenty-one men did in mere hours.", Percival says.
"Perhaps their leadership was inadequate or the Beastmen were stronger than you give them credit for, Master Percival.", Claire says.
"Or your strength and skill as a commander must be rather impressive.", Bonner chimes in as well.
Clearly, Bonner's input was music to the pompous blonde's ears as his smug smile once again reappeared on his face. His hand flowed through his dangling bangs before tossing them aside. He would then gesture for the group to follow his lead once more.
"Hmm. Indeed-Indeed! I was quite splendid in combat! My battle prowess was quite remarkable. We arrived in the nick of time to safeguard the citizens of Theoscryan. We pierced their defenses in one swoop and captured their leader residing in the town's city hall. The Conscripted Forces' commander was-"
"Captain Leon Silvers from the First Corps.", the dark-haired elf says once more.
"Former Captain Silvers, that is. A blunder of that magnitude will likely cost him that rank. If it were up to me, that is.", Percival says, turning back slightly to peek at us, " I do not believe that he could make up for that misstep in his lifetime. That is what happens when you allow backwood pretenders to play as generals. "
The lanky male's boastful laughter echoed down the hallway. I made my eyes useful, though, as I studied the passage carefully. There was mostly this solid-colored banner draping down the hallway; no matter what turn, Percival led us down.
Strange white symbols were etched into the fabric, and two golden stripes raced down the edges of the banner. The color matched the dark blue that lined Percival's guard's garbs. The flooring was actually hard stone, with a red rug running the entire length of the hallway as well. There were notably various weapons mounted in various sections on the walls.
I am assuming that this setup somehow aided in arming the units occupying the walkways during an attack. The architect of this facility likely saw it as an easy way to allow the unprepared guards to prepare themselves. It was a practical design, if I do say so. Thinking back to the name Percival and his assistant listed, I found it to be as unfamiliar as the others before it.
Leon Silvers wasn't an essential character within the world of Infinity Unleashed, and if Percival were to be taken at his word, then he would not be worth much note here, either. However, I think keeping that name with the others is wise. Perhaps the Silvers clan would be something of note. I won't know until we gather more information.
After several minutes of walking, Percival finally led us to a place of note. The area was significantly less guarded in numbers, but the guards here were obviously different. Standing before a glass opening were three elven individuals. While the other guards had bronze armaments plastered on their bodies, these people were overall taller and slimmer build with longer ears. They had silver armaments instead.
Compared to their previous counterparts, these guards had a distinctive silver headband that made them stand out. As we approached, they made a path towards a door and offered no questions. No doubt, these men recognized Percival on sight.
"See to it that my brother's guests and I are undisturbed during this meeting, Geraint. I will be counting on you," Percival says to the dark-haired elf.
Responding to being given a direct order, the man I now know as Geraint lowered his head in respect. He stood aside as the guards who accompanied us opened the door for their superior with steadfast dedication. A cool breeze would flood the previously stuffy room and breathe much-needed new life into the building. I would inhale to get the most out of it, but in that, I could faintly detect something different.
"A person?", I muttered softly.
Percival's words fell on deaf ears as I closed my eyes to better hone in on the origin of the scent. Frankly, it was more… distinct than the others. It was unique from the others, but the appearance of the breeze helped amplify it to gather my attention. My hands would travel to my goatee out of instinct as I stroked it while the thoughts raced in my mind. I had not smelled something like that before since our arrival in this new and strange world. It was…
"Commoner-Commoner- Demi-human!"
I found myself staggering at the sound of a voice. My eyes flew open to see my comrades and Percival entering the doorway that led outside. While spacing out, it appeared that I was beginning to hold the progression back. I could feel the scorching eyes of our escort land upon me as he faced me. Claire's teasing expression betrayed the previous calm and collected expression that occupied her face. It made me feel silly at that moment.
"It is good to see that you are accompanying us once more.", the young woman says.
"Yes. It would be in your best interest to keep whatever…few wits you have about you. My brother has graciously allowed someone of your status to enter this building, so show some gratitude.", the annoying blonde says.
His words struck a nerve with me, and I had nearly spoken up to call him an unkind word. The eyes of Bonner and Q urging me not to respond to the foolishness leaking from that fool's mouth likely helped as well. Fortunately for Percival, I am quite a disciplined individual. I would have told him about himself if I had been a lesser man. Without a moment of lag, I joined them, all into the light and comfort of the sun.