Chapter 42 : The Fake Actor

Sarah’s birthday party was held the following Saturday at Chloé’s place. Her apartment was larger than Sarah’s and, more importantly, had a living room spacious enough to accommodate around ten people without forcing everyone to remain standing. By the time Aldric arrived with Emma, several guests were already there. Some were Sarah’s coworkers, while others were friends or acquaintances of Chloé or Julien.

Aldric held Sarah’s gift in one hand and carried Dawnbringer on his back.

“Why did you bring your sword?”

“Julien asked me to bring it.”

“Julien asked you to come to a birthday party with your sword, and did he explain why?”

“No.”

“I don’t know whether I should be curious or worried.”

“I don’t believe there is any reason to worry.”

“That’s probably exactly what Julien was hoping you’d say.”

Before Aldric could ask what she meant, the door opened and Chloé appeared with a broad smile.

“I’ve been waiting for you!”

A large table covered with food stood against one wall, several drinks had been set out in the kitchen, and music was playing from a speaker near the television. Sarah was standing in the middle of the room, talking to two people Aldric had not met yet.

“You came!”

“Of course,” Emma replied.

Aldric handed Sarah the package.

“Happy birthday.”

“Thank you. But I told you that you didn’t have to get me anything.”

“That information contradicted several other social rules.”

“Okay… We’ll talk about that later.”

She placed the package with the other gifts before another guest called to her from the kitchen.

Emma took off her jacket and looked around.

“You okay?”

“Yes.”

Aldric spotted Julien near the window, who waved when he noticed him.

“Aldric! Come look at this.”

Aldric turned to Emma.

“I’ll be back.”

Emma smiled.

“Go ahead.”

He crossed the living room. Julien was holding his phone in one hand and showing Maxime a picture of a medieval fortress.

“Tell him,” Julien said. “That wall is bad, right?”

Maxime sighed.

“It’s not a real fortress. It’s a reconstruction for a game.”

“Exactly. We need an expert opinion.”

“The main gate is too exposed.”

“I knew it.”

Maxime raised an eyebrow.

“Why?”

Aldric took the phone and enlarged the image.

“An attacker could approach with a battering ram without coming under fire from multiple angles. At the very least, the entrance should be redesigned or a curved passage should be added.”

Julien turned to Maxime.

“There.”

Maxime looked at the screen.

“For once, I agree.”

“The towers are also too far apart to provide adequate support.”

Julien smiled.

“I love it when you do this.”

Emma watched the scene from the other side of the living room. Aldric was talking with Julien and Maxime without looking for her, waiting for her to step in, or seeming concerned that she was busy talking with Chloé.

When they had first met this group, Aldric had still needed her to interpret certain jokes or help keep some conversations going. Tonight, he already had his own topics to discuss with Julien and Maxime.

Chloé followed her gaze.

“He adapts quickly. Julien is going to end up kidnapping him for strategy game nights.”

“That’s possible.”

“And Maxime is going to lose his mind trying to figure out how Aldric knows so much.”

Emma picked up a drink.

“That’s possible too.”

Julien led Aldric toward the kitchen to introduce him to several new guests. Two men and a woman were talking near the counter. The woman looked at Aldric, then at the sword.

“Wait. You’re the famous Aldric?”

Aldric nodded.

“Yep, that’s him,” Julien said.

The young woman looked at Dawnbringer.

“Is that a real sword?”

“Yes.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

One of the men stepped closer.

“Is it actually sharp?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t bother trying to catch him out. He never breaks character,” Julien said.

“I am not portraying a character.”

“See?”

The young woman burst out laughing, and Aldric frowned.

“That response proves nothing.”

“Exactly,” Julien replied.

Aldric looked at Maxime, who had just joined them.

“Why does his logic work?”

Maxime smiled.

“Because it’s impossible to disprove.”

“I’m Laura,” the woman said.

“Pleasure to meet you.”

The first man raised a hand.

“Thomas.”

The second did the same.

“Nicolas.”

Thomas looked at the scar on Aldric’s cheek as Emma and Chloé joined the group. His gaze settled on the mark running across Aldric’s face.

“And is that part of the character too?”

“No.”

“How did you get it?”

“An opponent struck me across the face with a blade during a fight.”

“Seriously?” Laura asked.

“What kind of fight?” Nicolas asked.

“A battle.”

Thomas gave a small laugh.

“Of course.”

“Why is that information amusing?”

Laura turned to Julien.

“Is he really always like this?”

Julien put a hand on Aldric’s shoulder.

“Always.”

“I can confirm that you have become far too comfortable touching me.”

Julien immediately removed his hand.

“Sorry, Commander.”

The questions then began to come one after another. They were almost identical to the ones Aldric had been asked when he first met the group, but this time, he was no longer unsettled by the fact that no one believed him.

Laura eventually pointed at the sword on his back.

“Do you sleep with it?”

“No.”

“Do you take it everywhere?”

“Almost.”

“Do you actually know how to use it?” Thomas asked.

“Yes.”

“How good are you?”

“That question does not have a precise answer.”

“How many people could you beat?” Nicolas asked.

Emma raised a hand.

“Bad question.”

“That would depend on their skill level, the terrain, their equipment, and their coordination.”

Julien burst out laughing.

“Let’s say ten normal people.”

“Armed?”

“No.”

“Then they would not pose a serious threat.”

Laura looked at Julien.

“He’s really good.”

“I told you.”

Aldric looked at Emma.

“I still don’t know whether that is a compliment.”

“Take it as one.”

“And before you became a mover, what exactly did you do?” Laura asked.

“I was a knight.”

Thomas smiled.

“Of course.”

“Then a commander.”

“Commander of what?”

“The royal army.”

“This is where you’re supposed to ask him how large the army was,” Julien said.

“Okay. How large?”

“During the final campaign, more than a hundred thousand men were under my direct command.”

Julien smiled.

“There. That’s exactly why I wanted you to ask him.”

“And who were you fighting?”

Aldric immediately remembered the advice Emma had given him before his first meeting with the group: don’t start with the Demon King. This time, however, several hours had already passed since he had met these people.

“Primarily the Demon King’s armies during the final years.”

The conversation continued. Aldric spoke about a campaign near a mountainous border, a siege that had lasted several weeks, and the difficulties involved in maintaining supplies for an army of that size. The more precise his answers became, the more convinced Thomas and Laura seemed that he had created an extraordinarily detailed fictional world.

Maxime, however, gradually grew quieter. When they had first met, he had already noticed that some of Aldric’s answers seemed too structured to be improvised, but he had eventually concluded that Aldric probably possessed extensive knowledge of military history and used it to build his character. Tonight, he decided to test that theory.

He waited until Laura and Thomas had moved away before approaching Aldric.

“I have a question.”

“I’m listening.”

Julien moved closer.

“This sounds like a trap.”

“You’ve mentioned sieges several times. When an army was besieging a major fortress, how did you prevent the defenders from launching sorties to destroy the siege engines?”

“Several methods. The simplest was to build temporary defenses around the machines and keep units close enough to respond quickly.”

“What about lines of circumvallation?”

“I am unfamiliar with the term.”

“Fortifications built by the besieging army around the city to prevent sorties.”

“We used something similar, mainly when a siege was expected to last a long time. However, if you mean a continuous line surrounding the entire fortress, that method would rarely have been worthwhile in my kingdom because of magic. A continuous line became too vulnerable if the defenders had several mages capable of attacking distant positions simultaneously. We preferred to build multiple fortified positions connected by obstacles and patrols.”

“Are you improvising? You know that kind of problem obviously didn’t exist in real medieval sieges,” Maxime said.

“I assume not.”

“What about tunnels?”

“More dangerous.”

“Why?”

“Because certain underground creatures could be used by the defenders.”

Julien burst out laughing.

“He did it again.”

“What kind of creatures?”

“It depended on the region. Some armies used rock worms. The northern kingdoms occasionally employed armored moles.”

Julien put a hand over his face.

“Armored moles.”

“They are considerably more dangerous than they appear.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I participated in several sieges.”

Julien burst out laughing, but Maxime didn’t really share his amusement. Aldric noticed his expression and turned toward him.

“Does that answer not satisfy you?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“You answer very quickly.”

“I lived through these situations.”

“The problem is, when someone invents a story, they usually think about the important things. Battles, kings, heroes… You talk about muddy roads, quantities of food, problems with rotating troops, how long it takes to dig a trench, or even how an army organizes its latrines.”

Julien frowned.

“He talked to you about latrines?”

“At the café.”

“They are important,” Aldric said.

“Exactly.”

“Are you actually starting to believe he comes from another world?” Julien asked.

Maxime shook his head.

“You hesitated.”

“No.”

Julien turned to Aldric.

“He hesitated.”

“Would you like me to provide more information?”

“Absolutely not…”

Julien burst out laughing again, but the conversation was interrupted when Chloé announced that Sarah was about to open her gifts. Everyone gathered in the living room and settled around her, while several packages waited on a small table.

Sarah started by opening Chloé’s gift, a scarf accompanied by a mug that read “I’m Not Getting Older, I’m Increasing in Value,” which made her laugh.

“Seriously?”

“I saw it and thought of you.”

“I don’t know whether I should thank you or be offended.”

Julien had given her a game that he clearly seemed more interested in trying himself, while Maxime gave her a notebook with a pen.

Aldric looked at the package he had chosen as he waited for his turn. Despite all of Emma’s explanations, he still had some doubts about his choice. Sarah eventually picked up his gift and looked at the wrapping before turning toward him.

“This one is from Aldric?”

“Yes.”

Sarah placed the package on her lap.

“Emma told me you took choosing my gift very seriously.”

“You told her that?”

“Only that you spent a lot of time looking.”

“Was that information necessary?”

“Absolutely.”

Sarah smiled.

“Now I’m even more curious to see what you chose.”

She began removing the wrapping paper. When she saw the book’s cover, her smile changed.

“What is it?” Julien asked.

“A book I’ve wanted to read for a long time.”

“Nice choice,” Chloé said.

“I am glad the choice was appropriate.”

She held the book in her hands.

“Seriously, thank you. I’m really happy with it.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’ll probably start it tonight.”

“You’re going to read on your birthday?” Julien asked.

“Yes.”

“Terrible…”

The music was turned up slightly, several guests started eating, and Julien eventually managed to convince a few people to play a game. Aldric spent almost an hour with Julien and Maxime, then talked with Chloé in the kitchen before Sarah came over to ask him several questions about the books that existed in his world.

As the evening went on, Emma noticed that she had barely needed to step into any of his conversations. Aldric no longer waited for her to bring him into a group or help him understand every interaction. He approached people on his own, answered their questions, and kept conversations going himself.

Later, when several guests began to leave, Emma found herself standing near the window. From there, she watched Julien explaining something to Aldric with broad gestures. Aldric listened with his usual seriousness before making a comment that caused Julien to burst out laughing.

Sarah came over to join her. She followed Emma’s gaze toward Aldric, then turned to look at her. A smile appeared on her face.

“Okay.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You clearly just realized something.”

Sarah’s smile widened.

“Maybe.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” Sarah repeated.

Emma narrowed her eyes.

“You’re annoying when you do that.”

“I know.”

Sarah walked away before Emma could press her any further. Emma watched her for a moment, then found her attention drifting back toward Aldric, who was still talking with the others.

She shook her head. Emma still had no idea what Sarah thought she had figured out, but she had the unpleasant feeling that her friend wasn’t going to leave it at that.