Instead, Jace spent some time looking for gifts for the girls. Instead of the normal type, he figured he’d buy something somewhat useful. He went to the Central Market and found the player auction area.
The player auction area, sometimes called the Player Auction House, was a series of vendors where players could post items for sale or buy items other players had posted for sale. Normally, that only included items from your own faction, in this case, the good faction. Things from other factions could be bought as well, but only from the Black Market and at a 20% mark-up, unless you had a high thieves guild faction.
Sifting through the items was time consuming but he found two items he liked. The first was a magical quiver which would produce puncturing arrows. They’d allow Charlena to ignore up to 2 points of armor with her bow. He thought she’d appreciate that.
The second item was a magical bracelet which increased the magic damage of wand attacks by 2 points. It was gold, set with three pearls and looked kind of fancy. It would definitely be useful and hopefully nice enough that Diana will like it.
Though he was looking for gifts, he’d been keeping an eye out for the Glasses of Revelation. He’d found two pairs, but the price was more than he had anticipated. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice. Those glasses would be the only fool proof way to reveal secret doors. Without them, they’d spend an hour just searching a single room. He purchased the two pairs of glasses and then went to look for Mika’s gift.
The gift for Mika was more complicated and he had to go to the thieves guild. The Japanese girl loved being a samurai or ninja. He found a ninja hood in the Black Market that reduced the cost of Vanish by 1 mana. It would allow her to get more critical hits or allow her to save a little more mana for additional healing. Plus, she’d look like a ninja too.
He also found a collar that was obviously meant for a familiar or pet. It was a collar but resembled a black bow or bowtie. It gave the wearer 1 point of Defense and 1 resistance magic, fire, acid, ice, and lightning. For a low level item, it seemed powerful but Jace guessed that was because it was only usable by pets or familiars.
The Black Market also yielded one more pair of glasses and even though these were more than the others, he had to buy them. That gave him three pairs. One of them wouldn’t get glasses which would cut their chances of finding the Help Desk.
Disappointed at not finding another pair of the magical glasses, he decided not to buy something for the princess until consulting the girls. Hopefully, they could give him some insight into what a princess might want.
With the girls’ gifts in hand, he went to the Noble District. He passed the guards with no problems and went directly to Tiebaut’s house. The same house he’d broken into just days ago and which now belonged to him.
He went to the front door and, retrieving his keyring, opened the door and went inside his new manor.
Chapter 42
Several people were lined up inside the foyer to greet him. The first was a portly, male halfling just inside the door, dressed in what Jace could only think of as butler regalia. He had a receding hairline and the hair he did have was cut short. Despite this, his sideburns came down low enough that they could almost be called mutton chops. The halfling smiled at Jace as he opened the door and inclined his head.
Just past the halfling was an older male gnome with a bald head and large gnomish spectacles that made his eyes appear twice as large. The gnome was dressed in a brightly colored suit that looked like something a tacky man might wear to an Easter party.
Across from the butler was a human woman who appeared to be the cook, though she was surprisingly slender for a cook. The woman was dressed in a white dress which had a stained apron over it.
Opposite the gnome was a female halfling who looked like a match for the butler. She was round, with an unruly mop of brown hair. She was dressed in a short tunic and breeches and, as was the tradition with many halflings, wore no shoes. Judging by the grass and dirt stains, Jace guessed she might be the gardener or groundskeeper.
The final person was a young, attractive blond woman with a very large chest who was dressed in a stereotypical, if very anachronistic, French maid style outfit. The outfit wasn’t from the medieval period but Jace knew the developers had thrown things like this into the game, just for the fun of it. Given her curvaceous figure and vacant expression, Jace wondered if she’d provided other “services” that just being a maid for the previous Baronet.
The halfling inclined his head, which seemed to be a signal for the others to do the same. “Sir Dedrurrurth, we’ve been expecting you.”
“Hello...” Jace said, and then looked at the halfling expectantly.
“Forgive me, milord,” the butler looked apologetic. “I am Fimipp Wisesworn, your butler and head of household. Allow me to introduce the staff.”
Fimipp gestured to the gnome next to him. “This is Mr. Kithkorn Lockwire, your clerk.”
Kithkorn inclined his head again. “Milord.”
“Across from me,” the halfling gestured to the slender human woman, “is your chef, Mrs. Finnja Swail.”
Finnja also inclined her head. When she spoke, her voice was much lower than Jace would have expected from so slender a woman. “Milord.”
“And next to her is your groundskeeper, Miss Wathi Bladne.”
“Just Wathi, milord,” the halfling inclined.
“And finally,” the butler said, and he noticed a tone of disapproval in the butler’s voice. “Your maid, Miss Yvette Haley.”
“Just Yvette,” giggled the maid.
“Nice to meet you all,” Jace told them. He remembered Luna, who was peeking inside, sniffing. “This is my familiar, Luna.”
“Such a pretty kitty,” Yvette cooed.
“Will she require a home to be built on the grounds?” his butler asked.
Jace looked down to Luna. Mentally, he asked her to shrink down in the house, and she did so. His servants all started, except for Fimipp. The halfling simple nodded. “Very good, milord. Does Miss Luna have any special dietary requirements?”
“Fish!” Luna sent mentally, though it came through more like a yell.
“If you could make sure that she has all the fresh fish she can eat,” Jace replied. “She really loves fish.”
“Very good sir,” the halfling nodded.
Jace stood there awkwardly for a moment, unsure what to do or say next. Luckily, Fimipp seemed to sense this and turned to the others. “Off to your duties everyone. I’m sure if Sir Dedrurrurth wishes to discuss your individual duties with you, he will summon you to his study.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it,” Yvette giggled. “Being summoned, that is.”
Fimipp made a gesture and the rest of the staff rolled their eyes at the buxom woman and turned to leave. When they had started to walk away, he turned back to Jace. “What do you require, milord?”
“I… uh…” Jace started but momentarily forgot why he was here. Then he remembered. “I need to pick out an outfit to get married in.”
The slightest expression of surprise passed over the butler’s face, but he recovered so quickly Jace wondered if he had been mistaken. “Of course, milord. If you will follow me, I will show you to the master bedroom.”
Jace had nearly said he already knew where it was but stopped himself just in time. There was no point in revealing he’d broken into the house. Though technically, he wasn’t sure he could be charged with breaking into his house before it was actually his house. But it was still best to keep that part of his life to himself.
Yvette suddenly popped out from one of the side rooms. “I can show him the master bedroom.”
“I wouldn’t dream of taking you away from your cleaning duties,” Fimipp told her and he gave her a stern look. “Off with you!”
The young maid winked at Jace but went back into the room she’d emerged from. It was a small living or entertaining room, if Jace remembered from his night time tour of the manor.
Up
stairs, Fimipp opened the doors to the master bedroom. Jace was careful not to go right to the closets, but instead let the butler walk around the room and explain everything. When he was done, Jace explained that he was getting married and had been invited to the princess’ birthday on Weeksend. He then went through several outfits that Fimipp set out. Tiebaut appeared to have spent vast sums of money on clothing that made him appear much higher in status than he was, giving Jace many options.
He settled on silk ruffled shirts under velvet coats. One of the jackets was trimmed in red, the other in green. With those, he would wear black breeches and high, leather boots that were polished so well he could see his reflection.
Putting both in his inventory, he turned to Fimipp. He could choose which outfit to wear for the wedding later. Right now, there was something else he needed to ask the halfling to do. “I’m getting married tonight and I assume some of these rooms up here are bedrooms, correct?”
Fimipp nodded. “This is correct, milord. Shall I have one prepared? And may I say, congratulations, milord.”
“How many are there?” he asked.
“Besides the master bedroom,” the butler replied. “There are three guest bedrooms.”
“Perfect,” Jace smiled. “Prepare them all.”
“All, milord?” the halfling merely raised an eyebrow.
“If everything goes well, I’m marrying three women tonight.”
“I see, milord. Shall I have Mrs. Swail prepare a wedding feast?” he asked.
When he thought about it, the answer was apparent. The girls would want to check out the house as soon as they got married. But he doubted any of them would have time for a sit down meal. Then an idea struck him. “No. Can you ask her if she can prepare some plates of little desserts, the kind you’d have at a party?”
“Of course, milord. Are there any desserts in particular you wish?”
Jace considered that for a moment. He really didn’t know any fancy desserts, at least, not ones in the game. “Tell her to use her best judgement.”
“And where will Miss Luna be staying?” the butler asked.
Looking down at Luna who just looked innocently back at him. “I suspect she will sleep wherever she wishes. She should be given free rein in the house.” Thinking again, he amended his comment. “Within reason. I’d keep the larder locked.”
“Very good, milord. Is there anything else?”
Thinking about it, Jace shook his head. “Not for the moment. I’m not sure what time we’ll be back, but it will probably be after dinner time.”
“We shall be ready, milord.”
“Excellent,” Jace told the halfling. “I need to get going so I can see what the girls have gotten.”
He started to leave but then suddenly remembered his gifts. Spinning to face the butler, he smiled. “How are you at wrapping presents?”
Fimipp just raised an eyebrow. “I am manageable, milord. Do you have gifts you wish to have wrapped?”
Jace produces the items he’d picked up for the girls and handed them to the halfling. “Yes, can you wrap these?”
The butler simply nodded. “Of course, milord.”
“Just label them what they are,” he told the butler, so I know what to give to whom.
“As you wish, milord.”
“Thank you, Fimipp,” he told the halfling. “I’ll be back later.”
“Yes, milord.”
Jace and Luna left the house then, with the cat reverting back to giant shape. She really enjoyed being in the larger form. He didn’t blame her. If Jace could have magically changed his size back in the real world, he would be 6’ 8” all the time as well.
He went to the patents office next and inquired about getting his soon-to-be wives access to the Noble District. It was surprisingly simple. He just needed to bring the marriage certificates and rings would be made for them. The man did warn that if they became divorced, her ring would stop granting access but Jace had known as much.
They would be open until 8pm, so if they got married shortly after Charlena logged in, they should be able to get the rings done tonight.
He thanked the man and then left to go find Mika and Diana. As he left the patents office, he checked the time. By habit he equipped the gnomish timepiece, glanced at the time. It was 5pm, Charlena would be logging in soon. He was about to unequip it when he stopped. Technically, he owned the timepiece now, it wasn’t stolen property from Tiebaut any longer. It was his. Smiling, he left it on.
“Let’s go find the girls and see if they’re done shopping,” he said to Luna.
The huge cat didn’t bother looking at him, she just continued walking next to him. “Yes.”
Chapter 43
It took a while to find the girls and, in the end, he had to ask Luna to track them. He found them in a pink building with a large window that displayed elegant gowns. A sign of thread and needle hung from the outside with the words, the Velvet Door in pink and powder blue. The two girls were coming out of the shop. When they saw Jace they smiled and waved.
“Find something to wear?” Jace asked.
“Oh yes, dear one,” Diana replied. “We both found very nice gowns for tonight and for Saturday.”
“Weeksend,” Jace corrected. “It’s called Weeksend in the game.”
Diana dismissed him with a gesture. “Whatever it’s called, we have dresses for it.”
Mika was nearly vibrating with excitement. “Let’s show him!”
“Show him?” the older woman looked aghast. “Absolutely not! He’d technically not even supposed to see us on the wedding day until the ceremony. At the bare minimum, we should at least keep the dresses as a surprise.”
Mika looked crestfallen.
Noticing the energy drain from the other girl, Diana rolled her eyes. “You can at least show him the party dress.”
At Diana’s words, Mika beamed and in a moment’s notice she was wearing a beautiful green velvet gown. The gown had an embroidered golden corset and golden embroidery on the sleeves, collars, and the hem of the dress. It looked stunning on her. She looked to him for his approval.
“Wow!” he managed. “You look amazing.”
Mika beamed and did a small pirouette as he admired the view. When she finished, the dress disappeared, replaced by her normal gear. She looked at Diana. “Show him yours now!”
The older woman tsked. “Oh, I think I’ll wait and surprise him. Besides, isn’t it time we go find his third wife?”
Jace saw a shadow of something pass over Mika’s face when Diana talked about a third wife but then he was checking his timepiece. “You're right. It’s almost six. We need to get to the gate where we left her.”
The three of them and the giant tabby cat arrived at the gate moments before Charlena appeared. One minute they were searching the people at the gate for any sign of her and the next she appeared.
“Hi guys,” she said, as she appeared. “What’s going on?”
Jace had tried to explain but Diana cut him off. She explained the invitation, their opportunity, and the only way to get in was for all of them to marry him. After she finished speaking, they looked to Charlena for her reaction.
“What?” Charlena said when she saw everyone’s eyes on her. “Yeah. Of course, I’ll marry him. I mean, it’s just game marriage. It’s not like it’s real.”
Whatever he had been expecting, her reaction wasn’t it. Apparently, the other girls thought the same. Jace understood that to Charlena, this was all just a game she played. While it was the only life he, Diana, and Mika had known for months, this was just a few hours a day for the redhead. She had a real life to go back to when she logged out.
“That’s very pragmatic,” Diana said, breaking the silence. Jace wasn’t quite sure, but the older woman’s tone had changed. Maybe for her, this was real life. Being dead, it was the only life she’d ever get. The same with Mika.
“Are you going to buy a gown like us?” Mika asked. If she had taken offense to Charlena’s
words, it wasn’t detectable in her tone.
Charlena brightened. “You bought gowns?”
“Yes,” Mika said. “Jace gave us money.”
The redhead looked at Jace. “Well, if Jace is buying, why not?”
“You’ll need to make it quick,” Jace told her. “The patents office closes at 8pm.”
“Patents office?” Charlena asked.
“It’s where we’ll get your signet rings so you can enter the Noble District,” he told them.
“Well then,” she said. “Speed shopping time.”
Charlena wasn’t kidding either. They practically ran to the Luxury District and she found two gowns she liked in the second shop. Once they’d bought them, the group headed down to the Temple District to Diana’s temple.
Chykela’s temple was a large, stone building that reminded Jace of the old Greek pantheon. In fact, almost all of the temples he’d seen in the game were the same. The only ones that were different were the temples devoted to the non-human gods and goddesses.
“Now what?” Jace asked as they entered the temple.
“One minute,” Diana told them. “Let me go talk to one of the high priests. But we may want to switch into our wedding clothes, so we’re ready to go as soon as they are.”
With that, Diana turned and hurried away, disappearing into one of the many corridors that lead away from the entrance chamber. Jace looked from Mika to Charlena and they all shrugged about the same time.
In moments, the three of them were dressed in their wedding garb. He hadn’t been allowed to see Charlena’s dress either. Diana had insisted. When he’d tried to come into the store, she’d stopped him with a stern look. He and Luna had been forced to wait out in the street while the women shopped for a dress for her. This was the first time he was seeing them in their gowns.
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