The heavily armored elf drew his mace and stepped towards the middle of the room. He tapped a metal hexagon in the floor, which rang like a bell.

  “The human Luke will present itself now,” Captain Zuki intoned.

  Luke took a deep breath and stepped forward. He was suddenly glad for his high memory stat, he had to get this next part perfectly right, otherwise the lord wouldn’t be expected to give him a return gift.

  He stood directly in front of the Captain and said, “War Machine Luke Moore is here to present himself to his Lord Edobar Falodun. He has passed the first threshold and is ready to serve.”

  The elf sneered as Luke spoke in English, but the expression fell off his face as the speakers in Luke’s suit repeated everything in Elvish.

  Captain Zuki quickly recovered and said, “May we all serve his honor. Present your gift.”

  Luke held out the metal box he had bought in the marketplace earlier. He hoped it was nice enough, he was running on fumes since Kalibutan days were twice as long as Earth days. Kruro had let him sleep for five hours, but woke him up to have him clean his armor.

  Captain Zuki opened the box and inspected the flower. He grunted and then closed it again. He turned and marched over to the lord, twitching his hand behind him as he went.

  Luke frowned. That was a trap. Captain Zuki clearly intended for him to interpret the motion as an invitation to follow, but Kruro had warned him that this presentation had clear rules. Luke wasn’t to move until he got a specific invitation.

  Lord Edobar accepted the box with a disinterested look. That changed when he opened the box. A small smile graced his lips and he stared at the rose with his one eye. “It seems that Cormac wanted his protege to succeed today. A metal flower artifact. Metal for the soul of the elves, an artifact for my position, and the shape of something growing for my personal quirks. A well thought out gift.”

  Luke bowed his head. He fought to keep a wide grin off his face. The elf thought this was all according to plan, but that was just the artifact that appeared. It could have been a fart gun and Luke still would have presented it.

  “Seer, come, tell the court about this artifact,” Lord Edobar said and held out the box.

  Seer Theobaldine walked up and peered into the box without touching it. He stared for a few moments and then said, “This is a Frenzied Rose. It is a fairly rare artifact, but not incredibly strong. In exchange for your blood, it will enhance your strength and corporal magical pathways. It would be a perfect artifact for a warrior with high level skills, however it has a hidden cost. The longer it is used, the more rage filled and reckless the user gets.”

  Lord Edobar’s eye grew wide. He held the box further away from himself. Luke was starting to regret giving the lord the rose after he saw what it did to Vanessa. He was more glad than ever that he had forced her to give it up.

  Theobaldine glanced back to Luke and then to Cormac. He seemed to be deciding something. After a moment he said, “There is one more thing, my lord. The effects of this artifact are enough to cross the Ihaza barrier. With prolonged usage in combat, it will unlock the Berserker class.”

  Lord Edobar smiled and drew the box in close. He examined it again and flipped the box closed. “A class granting artifact is a grand gift. Admittedly a class that isn’t much in demand, but still, I am well pleased. Luke, you may approach.”

  Luke took a step forward but Captain Zuki stuck out his hand and firmly said, “None may approach my lord armed. Remove your fighting machine.”

  Biting back a sigh, Luke knelt down and opened up the leaves of his mech’s torso. He climbed out as dignified as he could. Thankfully, he had expected this was a possibility and had gotten dressed in the Kalibutan version of formal wear. Funnily enough, that had meant a run back to Earth. The warehouse they were purchasing still had plenty of clothing sized for a human, so he bought flowing golden robes with silver trim.

  He stood and smoothed out his robes and took another dignified step forward.

  Captain Zuki threw out his hand again and pointed at Luke’s right leg. “All machines must stay.”

  Luke looked down at his prosthetic leg. “It isn’t a weapon, I need it to walk.”

  Zuki shook his head. “As the captain of the guard, I decree that it is a weapon. Remove it.”

  It took all of Luke’s willpower not to throw up his hands and yell bullshit. Was this asshole expecting him to hop over there? The look on the knife-ear’s face said yes. He knew exactly how humiliating it would be and wanted exactly that.

  Despite knowing that he needed to do it, Luke almost turned and walked away. The only thing that kept him there was the thought of a gift. Kruro had said that the gift the lord would give him was supposed to match the quality of the gift he was given. And Lord Edobar had just spent the last few minutes praising the gift Luke had given him.

  Luke looked at the lord, hoping he would countermand his guard, but the tall elf stood there silently. With clenched teeth, Luke reached down and removed his prosthetic. He let it fall to the ground with a clang.

  Then he turned to Lord Edobar and slowly hopped forward. If this had been last month, Luke might have wobbled a bit, but his stats were high enough that he was able to hop forward with grace and surety.

  It was still humiliating. Captain Zuki had gained an enemy for life.

  Once he was a few feet in front of the raised dais, Luke carefully bent down. He caught himself with his hands and knelt on his one knee. Then he put both fists on the ground.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Then he said, “??? ? ???? ?ζ? Luke. ? ? ? ??? ?ζ? ??? ?? ????.”

  If he pronounced everything correctly, that meant, “Lord Edobar Falodun, Luke greets you. I pledge myself to your service and honor.”

  Lord Edobar clapped his hands and said something in Elvish to the group. There was a scattered polite laughter. Then he looked at Luke and said something else. Luke was pretty sure he recognized the word for rise.

  Carefully, Luke stood back up. He occasionally hopped around his apartment when he was alone, but standing here on one leg in front of everyone was making his face red with anger.

  In accentless English, Lord Edobar said, “Welcome to my service, Luke of Machines. You may don your leg and your suit of armor.”

  Luke gave him a curt nod and hopped back to his leg. He felt everyone’s eyes on him as he silently moved across the room. He grit his teeth and bent down and grabbed his leg.

  Once his leg was back on and he was back in his suit, Luke said, “Luke of Machines greets Lord Edobar.”

  “Lord Edobar greets Luke of Machines. I have a gift prepared for you, but I must admit, it feels inadequate now. House Attendant, give him the bottle while I think of an appropriate addition to his reward.”

  The same elf that had invited him here walked up to Luke and presented a small bottle with a red liquid inside. It had Elvish writing along the outside of the bottle, but Luke didn’t need to translate it. He knew what this was. A greater healing potion. One strong enough to restore even lost limbs. He could have his leg back.

  Luke swayed in place as a wave of emotion hit him like a truck. He could be whole again. After five long years of pain and loss, he could drink this today and have his leg back by the end of the week. Tears dripped down his face and he was glad his visor was down.

  He carefully took the bottle from the attendant and placed it in his hip compartment, nestled in his first aid kit so it couldn’t possibly break. The glass was stronger than steel on Earth, but he was taking no chances.

  Lord Edobar snapped his fingers, “I have just the thing. Approach, Luke of Machines.”

  Luke walked forward, still wearing his suit. Now that he had completed the presentation, he was allowed to get close with it.

  Once Luke was close, the bedazzled elf snapped his fingers. A hazy barrier snapped up around him and Luke, cutting off the rest of the room.

  Lord Edobar said in English, “Relax. They can’t hear us anymore. Zuki hates it when I do this, so I’m cutting him off as punishment for his stunt with the leg.”

  Some of Luke’s tension dissipated, but he was still in front of the most important man this side of the portal. “Then I thank you, Lord Edobar. I must say, I’m not fond of Captain Zuki at the moment.”

  The elf smirked and turned away. He stared out the window to the forest far below. They were high above even the giant trees with their grasping branches. Lord Edobar said, “They fear it, you know. Elves, mostly, but the orcs and dwarves flinch when they see it for the first time.”

  “Hate what, my lord?”

  “My eye. Or lack thereof. Disabilities make them very uncomfortable. They would all like to believe they are immortal, that a healing potion fixes every injury. My eyepatch reminds them that isn’t true. A simple Green Wyvern took my eye and because of the soul poison it wields, no healing magic can restore it.

  “People react differently to fear. Most try to distance themselves. There is a reason a Platinum Lord was assigned to this backwater posting. Others offer false pity, reducing me to my disability. Lastly, many react in anger. They hate my very existence and work hard to eliminate me from this world.”

  Lord Edobar turned back to Luke and said, “I say all this to let you know I understand the gravity of what I will be saying next. Don’t use that potion I gave you. It’s important you don’t regain your leg.”

  Luke blinked slowly. He was just getting used to the idea that he could have his leg back. That he wouldn’t have to save up the four million dollars that greater healing potions cost on the open market. Now this elf wants him to give up on his dream of becoming whole when it was finally in reach?

  “May I ask why?” Luke asked, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice.

  “Of course. It has to do with your class. No one else on my court recognizes the name War Machine, but I do. About a hundred and thirty years ago, I saw your class in action.”

  Luke did a quick mental calculation. Kalibutan years were 3.2 times as long as Earth years. Lord Edobar was over 416 years old. He didn’t look a day over fifty.

  The elf continued, “It was during the Silverblood war. A real war, not a Malamon like you have heard about recently. A gnome chosen on our side had the class, she was a force to be reckoned with. Where she drove, death followed. The buffs from her class made her the strongest on the field, and a tactical genius to boot.

  “The Riverfork Alliance wanted her dead, naturally. They sent assassins while she was at the war council, one of the few times she wasn’t protected by layers of steel. They assumed that without her machine, she wouldn’t have a buff. They were wrong. She had a mechanical hand, which was enough for the class to give her a buff no matter where she went. She literally punched the assassin’s heads off.”

  Luke winced at the imagery. Still, it was a revelation. Clearly, this gnome had figured out how to get Machine Bond to work with a prosthetic. Luke had tried it a few times since he had gotten the class, but it hadn’t worked. Maybe the skill needed to be at a higher level. Luke said, “So, you want me to bond with my mechanical leg so I always have my class buffs? Why can’t I just wear a mechanical gauntlet everywhere, or something?”

  “I do not know the specifics, but I believe it’s a requirement of the way your class works. If you heal your leg, you will only have your buffs while wearing that suit.”

  “Is that such a bad thing? I don’t need buffs when I’m not at work. I’m not at war, I’m culling monsters. Come to think of it, why do you even care?”

  Lord Edobar gestured towards the blurry crowd on the other side of the privacy barrier. “Partly because you are a player in my court’s political maneuverings now. I would hate for you to die because you accepted my invitation to present yourself at court. The larger reason I want you to survive is because I know more about your class than you think I do.” He stepped forward and looked Luke in the eyes. “I know War Machine is a platinum class. That fact alone can get you killed or elevated to the aristocracy. If you help me out, I’ll ensure it’s the latter.”

  Luke’s eyes narrowed. “Are you threatening me?”

  Lord Edobar laughed, a high, tinkling sound. “No, no. Your class is the source of the threat, not me.” He walked up to Luke and tapped the metal over his stomach. “Monsters aren’t the only ones that drop a core when they die. Your platinum core is worth a lot to the right people looking for a sacrifice for their next threshold. If anyone else but me finds out, they will gut you. However, if I elevate you to a member of my court, you would be untouchable.”

  “And all I need to do for this protection is to complete a task for you. Why do I feel like this task will be dangerous too?”

  Lord Edobar smiled widely and said, “Ah, I knew you were a smart one.”

  Luke smiled back from underneath his helmet. The elf thought he had all the cards here, but Luke recognized an opportunity. Lord Edobar was clearly desperate, jumping straight to threats before he even outlined what he wanted. It was also conspicuous that he hadn't offered any money. Even his gift of a greater healing potion hadn't cost the Lord anything, they made them here. Perversely, by threatening his life, Lord Edobar was showing him just how vulnerable he was. And Luke was going to exploit that.

  Today’s chapter title comes from The Last Airbender (2010). Or at least my notes say that’s where the quote comes from. I’m pretty sure no such movie exists.

  Do you want to see how the blackmail/negotiation goes?