Charlena’s gown was white in what Jace could only describe as a fairy tale style. It had a low, square necklace, a tight bodice but got bell shaped at the hips, spreading out several feet. That and the puffy, short sleeves made him think he should be fitting her for a glass slipper.
Mika’s gown was almost the opposite. It was white as well but had a high “V” neckline and was very form fitting. The dress hugged her shape like a second skin until it got down to the knees. There, it spread out, but not nearly as much as Charlena’s.
The two girls looked at each other appraisingly and then looked to Jace.
“Wow,” Jace said, trying to find the right words. “You two look stunning.”
That seemed to be the right thing to say, as both girls smiled radiantly.
Then Diana returned and Jace's mouth hung open. The wedding gown looked more like negligee. It was tight fitting enough to make Jace wonder if it were actually painted on. The fabric was sheer but had flowers embroidered into it that hid the most intimate parts. To say the neckline was low-cut was an understatement. It was a “V” that stretched down to her belly button, with the sheer fabric straining to contain her ample bosom.
Dian struck a sexy pose and glanced at Jace with bedroom eyes. “I take it by the huge puddle of drool on the floor that you approve?”
Jace snapped his mouth shut and nodded, not trusting himself to speak at that moment. The dress had obviously been created to be an attention getter and Jace was having a difficult time keeping his eyes off her. Luckily, the person who had come with her spoke up.
“I am high priestess Ortelia Bradly,” the woman said. Her glowing eyes marked her as a half-angel nephilim. “And I would be happy to perform your ceremony Sir Dedrurrurth. Do you have the donations to the temple ready?”
Jace nodded and fished into his inventory. He brought out 40,000 gold in trade bars and handed the box to her. He found it oddly reminiscent of Tiebaut handing over the gold for the tiara. He resisted the urge to glance around the room to see if there were any hidden guardsman.
“Thank you, milord,” the high priestess said. “If you’ll follow me, we will perform the ceremony.
The group was taken to a large circular chamber with a twenty-five-foot-tall statue of the goddess standing inside a large, circular pool of water. Candles were floating on bowls or boats of some sort, casting flickering shadows across the room.
The high priestess took a few minutes to summarize the ceremony, which seemed very straightforward.
Ortelia stood in front of the goddess statue, just outside of the pool and the four of them formed a semi-circle around the high priestess. She gave a little speech about the goddess, love, and marriage. It was a little verbose and Jace considered just telling her to say, “Man and Wife!” but realized the girls would have killed him.
Finally, they got to the vows. They were very similar to the vows he’d heard on the vidstreams when people got married with maybe a little extra goddess stuff thrown in. They all repeated various parts when the priestess got to them and then, before he knew it, she was pronouncing them all married.
“You may kiss your spouses,” the priestess said.
Before Jace could do anything, he heard Diana say, “Age before beauty, dear ones.” The next thing he knew, Diana had pressed her lips, crushing his mouth into hers. And it was then he realized that there was something to be said for years of experience.
But then it was over and Charlena shoved her way to him and, giving the older woman a scornful look, kissed Jace just a fiercely. When she released him, she backed up and barely suppressed a glare as Mika came up to him.
She looked between the other two girls and planted a small, sweet kiss on his lips before retreating.
“Congratulations!” the high priestess said. “I’m afraid other duties call, but my clerk will see to your marriage certificates.” The woman gestured to a robed acolyte in the back.
They thanked the nephilim priestess and she quickly disappeared through one of the doors just as a man in similar robes appeared.
The newcomer smiled at them. He was attractive and young and was dressed in the robes of a priest. “I’m Brocton Clapham, clerk of the temple. I will be filling out your marriage certificates.”
The man sat down on a bench near the wall and motioned them to come to him. “Sorry, this is easier if I’m sitting down.”
“Sir Dedrurrurth,” he said. “It is customary sometimes to take a new last name or a new name entirely upon being wed. How do you wish to have your name recorded? And bear in mind, this will be legally binding, and you will be known by this name henceforth.”
Jace almost laughed. The clerk was describing a character name change but in game terms. That must be part of the cost of the ceremony. Finally, he could get rid of Dedrurrurth. He was tired of being called by a kobold name. He wanted to hear people call him by his real name. “Jace Burton.”
“Jace Burton,” the clerk repeated. “Very good, milord.”
“Lady Mizzlethain-galliegarde,” he said. “What name shall I record on the official document.”
“Diana,” she responded and then hesitated for a moment before winking at Jace. “Diana Burton.”
“Diana Burton,” he repeated and then looked at Charlena.
Charlena was looking at Diana, who Jace knew she admired, with narrowed eyes. Then she nodded and looked back at the clerk. “Fine, since we’re using real names. Charlena.” She looked pointedly at Diana. “Charlena Burton.”
“Mika Burton,” Mika blurted out before the man could ask her. She looked around at everyone and smiled broadly. “It’s like we are sisters now.”
Momentarily taken off guard, the clerk quickly recovered. “Mika Burton, got it.”
Her comment took the other girls off guard as well. Diana just raised an eyebrow. Charlena glanced at the girl and then her expression softened a bit.
After a few minutes, the papers were finished, and the clerk handed them each a copy. Once they had the papers, they wasted no time and made a beeline to the patent office to get their rings.
When they reached the gate to the Noble District, the guards addressed Jace by his new name. He found it amusing that they would magically know his name, but that was game logic. “Sir Jace Burton, how may we help you, milord.”
“I was just married,” he told the guard. “And my wives would like to get their signet rings.”
He held out the marriage certificate and after glancing at it, the man backed. “Milord, I will have two of my men escort you to the patents office right away.”
The newlyweds followed the guards and thirty minutes later they all were wearing matching signet rings.
“So,” Charlena said, admiring her new ring. “Can we finally see your fancy new house now?”
They all chuckled and Jace nodded. “Absolutely. Let’s go to our new home.”
Chapter 44
The servants were all gathered again when Jace and the girls arrived, and he introduced all of them to his new wives. New wives. He had a hard time wrapping his head around the idea, even if it was just an in-game marriage.
As he had requested, Mrs. Swail had created numerous platters of desserts. Jace counted eight platters in all and guessed the poor woman must have been cooking since he’d left the manor earlier. Among the dishes, Jace saw fritters, something that looked like funnel cake, and several types of cookies. There were other things he wasn’t sure about, but which looked equally delicious.
The servants started to leave but Jace asked them to stay and enjoy the desserts. They all seemed surprised and Fimipp tried to tell him about protocol. He just kept insisting and, in the end, had to pull rank until they all joined in.
He also found out he had a wine cellar and they brought up many bottles of wine and mead to share among them. After about an hour, everyone had relaxed and Jace asked Fimipp about the presents. The butler retrieved the now tastefully wrapped packages and handed them to Jace.
“What ar
e those?” Charlena asked, finishing her wine.
“Wedding gifts,” he told her. “They’re on the practical side, but hopefully you’ll like them.”
He looked to the halfling as he held up the largest of the gifts and the butler mouthed, “Quiver.”
“This is for you Charlena,” he said and handed it to her.
She smiled broadly and took the package. She wasted no time and ripped into the package. “A quiver?”
“It allows your arrows to bypass two points of Defense,” he told her.
“Nice!” she said, and the item disappeared into her inventory. She stood up and, after swaying a bit, walked over, and kissed him full on the mouth. “Thanks, Jace!”
He could tell she was intoxicated, at least in-game she was. The moment she logged off, she’d be sober, but the game would make her feel the effects of the alcohol until then. She backed away and went back to slump in her chair. Pouring herself another drink, she raised the glass to Jace. “Cheers!”
The smallest package was easy, and he gestured at his wrist as he looked at the halfling. The butler nodded. “This is for you, Diana.”
Diana smiled and sauntered up to Jace. She took the offered package pouted. “A present for me. I didn’t get you anything. Hmm. Maybe I can give you something later. After all, it is the wedding night.”
Jace wasn’t sure if he went pale or if the color rushed to his face but he was momentarily unable to formulate a response. “I… uh…”
Charlena and Mika had both perked up at her words and were glaring at both Jace and Diana. Diana waited for an answer for what seemed an eternity before she burst out in laughter. “Oh darling, you’re so easy. No, I think I’d have a fight on my hands, even if you did say yes.”
The older woman winked at him, turned, and walked back to her chair. Mika and Charlena both watched Diana the entire way and Jace half expected one of them to lunge at her. When she got back to her seat, she opened up her package to reveal the bracelet. “Very pretty. I assume it has some functional use too.”
Jace swallowed. His mouth had gone dry as his mind had briefly entertained the idea of being with the raven-haired woman. The thoughts had come unbidden and as he looked at Charlena and Mika, he felt guilty for even having them.
He cleared his throat. “Yes… uh… it increases your wand damage.”
Diana looked pleased and slipped the bracelet on. “That will certainly come in handy. Very thoughtful, Jace. And stylish.”
Lastly, he took the remaining package and offered it towards Mika. “This is yours. I hope you like it.”
Mika walked forward and took the package. She performed a small bow. “Thank you, Jace Burton.”
Then she opened it up and turned it around in her hands until she saw what it was, then a huge grin formed on her face. “It is a ninja mask!”
Jace nodded. “It’ll reduce the cost of your Vanish ability by 1 mana. Then you can do some serious ninja strikes.”
She bolted forward and threw her arms around him. “Thank you Jace! It is perfect!”
Mika, who was still wearing her wedding dress, put the hood on and assumed what looked like a martial arts stance. “I am ninja!”
The group chuckled and Charlena, who had just down another glass of wine or mead, laughed. “Ninja Brides from VEIL! Sounds like a B-movie vidstream.”
Jace laughed at the imaginary as well and bet if he searched hard enough in the archives, he’d find a ninja brides vidstream. “Yes, but it would probably be Ninja Brides from Outer Space!”
The buzzed women laughed, especially Charlena, who he knew also liked the older vidstreams from the late 20th century. She laughed and then added. “Or Undead Ninja Brides!”
At first, Diana’s laugh surprised him, but he remembered she’d been 90-something years old when she died. Despite the 25-year-old body she now had, Jace realized she’d actually lived in the late 20th century. It was a sobering thought and made her previous “offer” seem a bit creepy.
Jace looked at the servants, who were all in chairs and couches on the opposite side of the room. They weren’t laughing, but Jace understood that the constraints of the AI program wouldn’t allow them to understand references to the outside world. At least they were eating and drinking.
As the laughter died down, Jace called Luna over to him. “And this is for you. It will make you harder for enemies to hit you.”
He placed the bow collar on the cat who just looked at him. Then she used her rear leg to scratch at her neck before trotting back to the bowl of sardines Mrs. Swail had set out for her.
“She’s secretly very thankful,” Jace said as he watched the cat go and the girls burst out laughing. He smirked. Apparently, he was hilarious when everyone was drunk.
A sudden thought popped into his head as he remembered the werebear from earlier. He turned back to the girls. “I almost forgot! We may have some trouble in Whitecliff very soon.”
The girls perked up and from the corner of his eye, he saw the servants become more attentive as well.
“I was talking with someone earlier,” Jace told them. “He said the dragon wiped out Crossroads. They think it's heading here next.”
He heard gasps from some of the servants and the girls sat up. Charlena focused on him. “As in, Crossroads is gone?”
Jace nodded. “Just like Skystead. My guess is, it’s been systematically wiping out the outlying towns and villages to reduce spawn points. Now, it’s coming here. Even if it doesn’t wipe out the city, my guess is, it will start by taking out the graveyard.”
“Can it wipe out the city?” Diana asked. “I mean, there are hundreds of soldiers and… wizards and stuff.”
Shrugging, Jace took a sip of his mead. “I really don’t know. But that acid breath is insanely potent. What would they do if it just flew high above the city and rained down acid until there was nothing left?”
“It would do that?” Mika asked.
“If I wanted to wipe out Whitecliff,” he told them. “It’s what I would do. I’d keep out of spell range and just rain acid down. Let’s face it, if the person is smart, and he seems to be, he already realizes that the dragon is only really vulnerable when it’s on the ground. So why would it land or even come in close enough.”
He thought about it. “For that matter, he could just fly around grabbing huge stones and drop them on the city without any risk to himself. It’s a raid level boss. I don’t know what can stop it.”
“That’s terrifying,” Diana said. “When is it supposed to be here?”
“Early next week,” he replied. “As far as I know. And it could start off by laying waste to the palace.”
“The palace?” Charlena exclaimed, a little too loudly. “Isn’t that where the help-thingamabob is?”
“The Help Desk,” Jace nodded. “It is. That means, we might not get another chance at this. Saturday, er, Weeksend, might well be our one and only chance to contact support unless we want to go to a different capital and try to get into their palace.”
“A different capital?” Mika asked. “There is more than one Help Desk?”
“Yes. Supposedly, there was one in each capital. But we’d run into a similar problem there as we originally had here.”
“Getting into the palace,” Diana offered.
“Exactly,” he told them. “And we have a decent amount of money, but I think even knighthoods cost about a million gold.”
“Then we will find the Help Desk at the party,” Mika declared.
Jace chuckled. “We’d better.”
“Then what?” Diana said. “What happens once we find the Help Desk? I assume things don’t just magically get fixed.”
“You’re right. They’ll log a ticket. I’ll give them all the specifics and hopefully, with the information I can provide, they’ll be able to find the bug and identify the people who were affected. They should be able to put you back into regular game characters with all of your assets.”
“That would be nice,”
Diana mused. She looked around at the manor. “I am totally buying myself a noble title and getting a manor. And a vineyard. You all will be welcome of course. Party at my house!”
The group chuckled or smiled, and the conversation died down.
“Oh shoot,” Charlena said suddenly as she tried to stand, fell back into her chair, and then pushed herself up. “What time is it?”
“10pm,” he told her after checking his timepiece.
“I have to go,” she slurred. “I have work tomorrow. I’m taking a half day so I can go identify you tomorrow at 5pm. I’m not sure how long it will take me there but it’s a two-hour train ride back plus the walk to and from the station, so figure three plus hours. I should be able to log in around 9pm or so to tell you the good news.”
She had been slowly moving towards Jace as she spoke and then collapsed into his lap. She smiled up at him, her cheeks flushed. “I’ll give you a proper wedding kiss when you wake up.”
It looked like Charlena might kiss him but then suddenly she was gone and Jace was left with his arms out in an awkward pose. He dropped his arms to his sides.
Jace turned to the servants. “Thanks for being a part of the party, but if any of you need to go to bed, please don’t feel obligated to stay.”
Several of the servants looked relieved and even the ones who didn’t stood up. They thanked him and said their goodnights before disappearing back towards the kitchen. As Yvette went past him, she stopped and whispered. “If you want your room cleaned later tonight or early this morning, there is a bell on the side of your bed. I will be up to tend to your needs at any time of the day.”
Jace must have blushed because he heard Diana snickering. “Let me guess, the maid wanted to...clean your chambers?”
He nodded. Even though he hadn’t drunk as much as Charlena, he was still feeling buzzed and thoughts of the busty maid were still lingering in his mind. Part of him still had a hard time with the difference between how things had been in the real world versus now.
In reality, he had been average looking at best and awkward around girls. Plus, being a nerd didn’t exactly endear you to women either. The idea of being married to three beautiful women and having an attractive maid practically throw herself at him was a foreign concept.
Veil Online - Book 2: An Epic LitRPG Adventure Page 28
