Chapter 1. Part 8.

Visit the Royals.

Following the advice of Bob, Mark gets a room at an Inn near the adventurer's guild hall. He then goes to the castle gate. Not expecting or even trying to get in at this time, he simply delivers a letter. “It is for Princess Finalla, from her friend in the monster infested forest.” He tells them.

As Bob warned, “Anything dealing with the Royals is likely to be wrapped in 3 layers of bureaucracy and 6 layers of court etiquette. Best you take the slow approach, and enjoy yourself while going through the motions. Dont stand around at the gate.”

The letter was a hallmark card, with a forest landscape printed on it. he hopped the printed image would impress them, as any painting that small with so much detail would have been next to impossible. The message he kept simple. “I have arrived, as you invited me. I look forward to seeing you again.” No doubt a mysterious letter would be carefully examined before it was passed onto the Princess.

The guards were formal, all very normal. They took the letter and asked where a reply might be sent. Mark gave them the name of the Inn he was at, thanked them, then walked off to tour the town.

He passed several hours seeing the sights, before returning to the Inn.

When he arrived, there was a fancy carriage and two knights waiting outside. Inside was a cat girl and a human both dressed in formal clothes with a royal crest on them, waiting at the bar. They had been sent to escort him to the palace. The Innkeeper points his way “I believe that is the young man in question.”

Mark tries to stay cool, but he is really geeking out over the cat girl. She is just so cute.

They ride to the castle. The carriage is not very comfortable. The cat girl and her companion make small talk with Mark, keeping things polite and rather pointless. He feels increasingly uncomfortable, as he tries not to blurt out a dozen dumb questions.

When Mark gets out of the carriage, the Princess's Guard Captain, is there to greet him. They exchange pleasantries on their way into the palace. Then Captain Gallant asks, “I hope you will do me the honor of a friendly sparring match, after your meeting with his highness.”

Mark replies “Im not sure if I will be much of a challenge, but ok.”

The formal audience with the king Ardenne von Flameglave takes place in the fancy throne room. There are lots of attendants and a bunch of nobles to witness the meeting. Mark is 1000% nervous. The chancellor announces to all, who has come before the throne and why. Introducing him as “the young monster hunter, who now dwells in his grand father's forest. A true blood descendant of the great adventurer Goodberry Crane. Who is here today to be honoured for his rescue of Princess Finalla.”

Captain Gallant is asked to step forward and recount the incident in detail. He tells a good story. True and exciting. It makes Mark sound very heroic, while taking any blame for the failure of the guards on himself. Mark is suddenly worried that Gallant may be in trouble for failing in his duties.

Next, Mark is called forward. The king offers his formal thanks and asks if the hero would like anything as a reward. Mark answers without thinking, “Im fine, just dont be mad at the captain, he did the best he could, its just those creatures are really tough.”

The king laughs at the simple honesty in Mark's words. Everyone applauds after the king is done laughing. The Princess smiles from her seat near he father. Also next to the king is the queen. Behind both of them are very impressive looking knights, the King's Shield and Queen's Blade, guard captains, very much like Sir Gallant.

The king next says “Well then, I shall simply affirm that you are the heir to master Crane. All his lands are yours and so is his title, if you want it.”

“Thank you.” says Mark, having no idea what this title was and not wanting to say too much.

After that the Chancellor called the gathering to a close.

But things were far from done for the day. He is then escorted in to the king's office, for an informal meeting. There only a handful of court officers are present, along with the king and princess. He takes this opportunity to present some gifts, to the royal family. Things he brought from Earth.

The king seems friendly enough, but Mark stays on his guard, making sure to be polite and formal.

The king asks a lot about grandpa, as he knew him many years ago. Although he had made a declaration about Mark being the hero's heir, he now wanted to see if it was really true.

Mark answers honestly, talking about growing up with grandpa, never realizing what an amazing man he was, until he was gone. The truth of character is easy for the king to detect. He is soon convinced that his daughter's assessment of this young man is spot on.

“Now before I let you some alone time with my daughter, I hear you have a sparing match with her guard captain.” the king says with a smile, “Id very much like to see that.”

A Friendly Duel.

The duel takes place in the castle's training area. A small group of nobles is gathered with the king to watch from the balcony. Curious warriors and other royal house staff watch from the ground floor.

“Dont expect too much. Im no great swordsman, yet.” Mark says

The master at arms introduces the combatants and states the rules. Magic is allowed, but it must be used on self or single target. No area effect spells allowed. It is a friendly fight, that must end if either combatant is seriously injured or says “Yield”.

Mark decides to fight without magic. His enchanted equipment being a sizable advantage already.

Captain Gallant is not a spell caster, but does have some good magical equipment also. More importantly he has many years of experience, including duels against all sorts of opponents.

The fight is exciting. Mark does well, but it soon becomes clear that Gallant is more skilled.

Soon Mark is pressed onto the defensive, taking several hits, that his armor easily absorbs. He pushes for an attack, but is disarmed. With his sword gone, he yields.

Everyone applauds. The princess seems happy. The king smiles but seems a bit disappointed.

“He did well for a boy, yet not so well for a hero.”

Gallaant is happy with the match, having gained a better understanding of Mark. “Combat is a kind of conversation.” He says “Thanks for talking with me.”

Just as the Captain is starting to go into teacher mode and give Mark a few pointers, along comes the Princess. “You boys can talk shop later. Now Id like to take a walk in the garden with my hero.”

So Gallant slips into the background as he resumes his roll as guardian.

Mark is nervous, maybe more so with her than he was at the start of the duel.

Finalla detects this, being skilled at reading people. “What has you feeling flustered?” she asks.

He answers quite honestly, “I haven't been on many dates, well any dates really.”

She asks “What is a date?”

Thus begins a conversation about social customs. Mark tries to keep it neutral, not going to much into the romantic stuff. While Finalla grasps quickly what he is saying, she counters with a polite explanation about her kingdom's traditions of dating, among the nobility.

The Princess is amused and she cant resist teasing him a bit. For her social interaction is as essential as sword play is for a warrior. Although she could cut him down quickly with words, she has no desire to do so. Instead, she uses he skill to put Mark at ease, so he will talk more openly with her.

Finalla asks him about his homeland. He tells her lots of stuff, while trying not to be obvious that he comes from another world. Of course that is exactly what she gathers from what he says. But she plays along, never pressing a point so much that he feels uncomfortable.

After the walk in the garden, Mark is escorted, by the cat-girl, to one of the fancy guest rooms to freshen up, before dinner. He considers trying to strike up a conversation with the cat-girl. But all he really wants to do is take a nap.

Meanwhile.

The Princess talks privately with the her father.

“What is your opinion of the boy now?” he asks. She gives a spot on analysis of Mark.

“Will he help us?” king asks next.

“If we treat him well, I expect he will.” she answers.

“Then he shall be your project.” king says “Help to train him and build his loyalty.”

Note – mostly we will avoid showing things that happen away from the main character's view.

Later that evening.

A knock at the door wakes Mark. “what? Where am I?” he mutters in confusion.
The door opens and the cat-girl maid walks in, carrying a set of formal clothes. “It is time to get you ready for dinner.” she says with a smile “Off with the old, on with the new.”

Mark looks confused. “Ummm, I cant strip while your here.” he says.

The cat-girl shrugs and sets the new clothing on a chair. She then departs.

Dinner is a very fancy event, held in the small dining hall. There are only 40 people at the table. Which is a large U shaped arrangement. Mark is given a place of honour, right beside the Princess. He smiles a lot and wishes he was some place else. Waves of fear wash over him each time someone tries to talk to him. Thus his answers seem slow and rather cryptic or standoffish. Although he does not know it, this only serves to strengthen the impression that he is indeed related to the hero Goodberry Crane.

A few days in the Capital.

The next morning, the Princess takes Mark out for a tour of the town. Captain Gallant and cat-girl come along, a few steps behind. Finalla talks a lot about the kingdom and its history. They see the sights, do some shopping and have lunch. A lot of people recognize the Princes. She is quite popular and visits the town regularly.

In their wanderings, they drop in at the adventurers guild. It is an impressive hall. A place of business rather than a tavern with a notice board. There are tables and chairs off to one side, but there is no food or drink being served. The main focus of the hall is a long counter with several staff members behind it. To the right is a stair way with a sign Guild Offices. To the left is a stair way with a sign Adventure Company Offices.

In the afternoon the chief wizard Merreddon wants a word with Mark. He wants to know if the boy is as powerful as the legendary hero was. The old wizard having known Master Crane, some 40 years ago. So they talk a bit and then go to the magic practice area. The chief wizard puts Mark through some tests, and is impressed.

All casters need to use words and gestures to shape magic into a spell. Only the most skilled can cast a few quick spells, not requiring elaborate gestures and several seconds of chanting. Everything Mark casts is a quick spell. Also he seems to have endless reserves of mana, being able to cast rapidly and repeatedly without getting tired.

In the background an old noble woman keeps an eye on them.

In the evening there is a another formal dinner, then a ball. Lots of nobles show up for the ball, everyone decked out in fancy clothes. Fortunately Finalla had helped Mark get some new clothes that morning. “The loaner set from last night simply would not do”, she insisted.

For Mark the social gathering is just as uncomfortable as the previous one. A lot of people talk about him, but very few talk to him. They mostly see him as a passing fad, a new pet adventurer the princess had adopted. But no one comes right out and says anything impolite to him.

“I can keep my head down and try to slip out as soon as possible.” he thinks “But that is how the old me would handle this, like a coward. I would try to avoid embarrassment at any cost. No more.” He takes a drink to stiffen his resolve, then loudly asks the Princess for the next dance.

He had been watching people dance, but really had no idea how to do it. They just seemed to shuffle around in slow circles. So as the music starts, he casts several quick spells, illusions, to bring a light mist of colours and sweet smells, swirling around them as they dance.

The old woman who has been watching, remembers the fine times she danced like that with the legendary hero Crane, who even used levitation so they were literally dancing on air.

After the dance, Mark escorts the Princess to the balcony, for some quiet conversation.

Romance seems to be blooming. Or is it just her manipulation?

Meanwhile.

The chief wizard and king talk off in a corner. “Bending the laws of nature to what you imagine, is the core of magic. That boy does it so easily, it is almost frightening.” the old wizards reports. “It is critical that we keep him as a friend to the kingdom, at all costs.”