“Never tried to swing Peace over to your side?” Alburet asked.
“No,” the Dark Lord said, looking slightly revolted. “She’s more like a daughter to me. I might as well take my own many-generations-distant relations to bed first.”
“This conversation is really weird to have with breakfast,” Fluff said.
“I apologize,” the Dark Lord said when he felt how uncomfortable Fluff was with the topic. “Please, enjoy the food.”
Once everyone was done eating, the Dark Lord led them to a small library. When they were all comfortable and had coffee in hand, his mood turned serious.
“Thank you for coming to speak with me,” the Dark Lord started. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked you to come here today.”
“Probably a bit understated, but roughly,” Alburet said.
“I know that the King is going to move on Stein soon. Please inform him that I shall be sending aid.”
“That’s it?” Alburet asked.
“I wish to keep the rest a surprise. Pleasant, but still a surprise.”
“This isn’t another gag at my expense, like naming me Ambassador without letting me know?”
“It isn’t, but you have to admit, that was a good one,” the Dark Lord grinned.
Forehead wrinkling, Alburet blinked at the phrasing and delivery. “What was that?”
“Are ya okay, master?” Stacia asked, feeling the inner turmoil Alburet was suddenly feeling.
“Al?” Karen questioned.
“Al, what is it?” Fluff asked, her hand meeting his.
Blinking, Alburet shook his head as their concern drove the distress from him. “Sorry, I don’t know… it was just…”
“I seem to have caused a problem,” the Dark Lord said. “I’m sorry for that.”
“It’s... fine,” Alburet said, setting aside his mostly untouched coffee. “You just reminded me of someone for a moment.”
“We are sorry for that,” Mother said. “It seemed to be unpleasant.”
“Just thinking of a friend,” Alburet said. Clearing his throat, Alburet changed the topic deliberately. “You know you didn’t have to call me out here just to ask me to deliver a message to the King.”
“I know, but none of my other Champions treat me the same way you do. It’s probably because you are Two-souled, but you treat me with less reverence and with more friendship. It’s almost like talking to my brother… before Stein happened.”
“You two are making up now, I thought?” Karen said.
“We are, but it will still be some time before we’re back to where we had been.”
“Family is like that sometimes,” Alburet said, getting to his feet. “Thank you for having us over. I did want to check in with the family today, and we have a dinner to attend tonight.”
“Of course,” the Dark Lord rose and offered his hand to Alburet. “You have done so much for my children. I shall be indebted to you for many years.”
“No, you won’t,” Alburet said with a strained smile.
“Thank you for having us,” Fluff said as she pulled the page from her sketchbook and gave it to Mother.
“Oh my. Thank you, dear one,” Mother beamed as she gave Fluff a hug.
“What was that?” the Dark Lord asked suspiciously.
“Just a portrait of you,” Mother grinned as she spun and bolted from the room.
“What!? Wait, get back here!” the Dark Lord said and ran after her.
The four of them stood there, a little shocked. The emotional state of the Dark Lord and Mother had decidedly sexual tones, apparently at odds with what had just transpired.
“No offense, Stacia, but your family is weird,” Karen said.
“I come by it honestly, ya have to admit,” Stacia snickered. “Shall we be headin’ over to Progress to see Almira, Grim, and Stew?”
“Yes,” Alburet said as they pulled out their Homestones.
~*~*~
The Dead Sands Inn was bustling when they arrived. Heading to the bar, Alburet saw a Succubus other than Tabitha behind the bar. “Where is Stewart?”
“He is out hunting with Almira, Grimgar, Gwenevar, and Palim,” the Succubus replied. “He did tell me to message him if you showed up. Please, give me a moment.”
“We’ll find a place,” Alburet said.
“I see one,” Karen said, moving off toward an empty table.
“I’ll bring some drinks over in just a moment,” the Succubus replied.
About thirty minutes after they had arrived, Stewart and his companions entered the inn. Seeing the group, the party headed over to join them. The two groups were introduced, and the Succubus working the bar had more drinks delivered to the table by the time everyone was seated.
“It is an honor to meet you, Lord Darkhand,” Palim said. “We’d heard you were friends with the other members of our group, but we didn’t expect to meet you before the march on Stein.”
“Just call me Alburet,” Alburet told the Priest.
“Palim speaks for me, as well,” Gwenevar said. “It is an honor to meet you, Alburet. It is also an honor to meet your wives. Since we’re being informal, might I ask you ladies how you manage to handle him?”
Karen snickered, “With difficulty.”
“Hey!” Alburet frowned.
“We don’t handle him. He loves us and listens to us,” Fluff said.
“Thank you, Fluff,” Alburet said.
“I’m curious what brings you to the inn today?” Stewart said, changing the topic.
“Taking the day off and wanting to see our family,” Alburet was glad to get the topic derailed.
“We’ll get dinner starte—” Stewart began.
“Nay,” Stacia told him. “We have dinner plans already. Sorry, Unca.”
“If you have a minute or three for a private talk?” Alburet asked. “Just the family. Sorry, no offense to either of you,” he apologized to Palim and Gwenevar.
“We can speak in the back,” Stewart said, looking puzzled as he stood up.
“It’s fine,” the other two said. “We’ll be here when you’re done.”
Making their way to the private dining room, Alburet waited for the door to shut before he spoke up. “Tomorrow, the march to Stein will begin. Once the King’s forces reach the prison, he’ll be opening a portal to the capital for any volunteers who want to join in the fight. I wanted you to know beforehand.”
“I will nay ask ya to nay go,” Stacia was quick to add, “but I worry for ya all.”
Almira went to Stacia and hugged her. “Thank you, Stacia. We are going to go and help. We’ve talked and we all agreed on this course. We’ll do our best to stay safe, so don’t worry for us.”
Sniffling, Stacia hugged her back, “I will do me best.”
“Who’s been running your shops while you’ve been hunting?” Alburet asked Grimgar softly, not wanting to interrupt the moment the women were having.
“Some of Waltrim’s and Illos’s wives,” Grimgar replied back. “Gerald approved when we asked him.”
“You’re taking the other two with you?” Alburet asked.
“Gwen and Pal are good people,” Grimgar nodded. “The High Priest vetted them himself.”
“I could see Palim is a Priest, but what class is Gwenevar?”
“Necromancer.”
“Are you sure you can’t stay for dinner?” Stewart asked again after Almira stepped away from Stacia.
“We’re having dinner with the new Lord of Stormguard, Rolland Magiblood,” Karen said.
“That is our loss,” Stewart sighed. “Very well. Please stay safe until we meet again.”
“You, too,” Alburet said.
“Where ye be off to now?” Grimgar asked when they began to say their goodbyes.
“Going to see Marian, then stop in and see Wilbur and Erin,” Alburet said.
“Seeing everyone one more time beforehand,” Almira nodded. “Maybe we should finish this level and take tomorrow to do the same.�
��
“Aye,” Grimgar nodded.
“We can do that,” Stewart agreed. “Let’s go let our friends know that we’ll be resting tomorrow, and see about finishing the last bit of this level off.”
They all said goodbye one more time, and headed back to the manor. “We should let them know we’re coming over,” Alburet said.
“Aye. I will send the messages as we go,” Stacia said.
“Master, did breakfast go well?” Tiny asked, coming toward them.
“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t summon you guys, but today is the day off and we’ve been fine.”
“Are you going back out now?” Tiny asked.
“Going to see family. Did you want to come along?”
“It is my job to be your shield,” Tiny said, motioning to Knitoc. “I feel better being there to protect you.”
“Fair enough, Tiny.”
“Road trip, is it?” Bob said, landing near them. He was still dressed in a suit, and the others couldn’t help but chuckle at him. “What? It’s comfortable.”
“It looks like Loralee wins,” Karen whispered to Fluff, who nodded with a smile.
“It looks very good on you, Bob,” Fluff smiled.
Straightening the jacket, Bob grinned, “It does, doesn’t it?”
Everyone smiled, agreeing with him and thinking back to his near panic over having to wear a suit a little over a month before.
Chapter Thirty
Stepping out of the carriage at the address they had been given, they saw that they had arrived at a manor half the size of their own. The walls were just above six feet in height and looked like they were more for decoration than defense.
“It’s a good fit for them,” Alburet said. “Very reserved.”
The sound of another carriage arriving made them turn to see who was coming, and they saw a few carriages, not just one. “Jones, Theron, Gerald, and Carter?” Fluff asked, surprised.
“Didn’t know it was going to be so well attended,” Karen said.
As if her words were a summoning charm, the sound of even more carriages arriving announced three more coming through the gate, filling the small courtyard to near capacity.
“The Ambassadors,” Alburet said.
“I see Rolland is stretching his wings,” Ioaniss chuckled. “I didn’t expect the Ambassadors.”
“He be the one who will open the way for our people,” Ambassador Hammerhand smiled. “We’d be poor allies iffin we did nay accept his invitation.”
“Lady Magiblood’s invitation was quite eloquent,” Ambassador Woodbinder said.
“Food was mentioned,” Ambassador Wildmane grinned.
“Told ya we would be seein’ ya later,” Erin giggled at her sister.
“Aye, but ya could have said instead of bein’ coy about it,” Stacia sighed.
“She likes her little secrets,” Wilbur smiled indulgently.
“Shh, later,” Erin said pointedly before acting as if she hadn’t just shut him down.
“More people than I expected,” Gerald admitted. “But all of them are the best kind of people.”
Ioaniss frowned, “I had thought there would be one more… oh, well. We’ll just have to—” The clop of horses cut Ioaniss off. He turned to see a dark carriage just entering the yard. “Ah, fashionably late it is.”
Vladimir got out once his carriage came to a stop. “Glad to see I’m not too late.”
“You’re just on time,” Rolland said as he opened the doors to the manor. “Welcome to the newly created House Magiblood. I can only hope that the future will bring you all back here in just as good of spirits as you are now.”
“We welcome you as Lords and Ladies, but more importantly, as friends,” Kim said from beside Rolland. The smile on her face was filled with happiness as she met the eyes of each guest for a moment. “Please, be welcome in our new home.”
Following their hosts inside, they were taken to a dining room that was just large enough to fit them all. Loralee and her assistants brought forth the five-course meal with the same timing they had the previous night. The Ambassadors were a little shocked to have Succubi serve them, but they didn’t complain once they had taken their first bites.
When dessert— chocolate cake with buttercream frosting— was finished, they all moved to an interior courtyard, which had chairs already set out for them. The few staff that Rolland had hired served them coffee, brandy, or drinks the guest requested, just as the sun began to set.
“Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day,” Rolland said. “We did want to thank each of you for your help. Thank you for coming to our housewarming.”
“We’ve been waiting for you to tell us where the gifts should go,” Alburet coughed into his fist.
Light laughter followed the blank expression on Rolland’s face. Kim shook her head, “We honestly forgot.”
“Here and now seems like the best time, then,” Ioaniss said, standing up. “I’ll go first. This is for you,” he smiled, handing over a scroll.
Kim accepted, but was puzzled as to why he had handed it to her. Opening it, her mouth dropped open while Ioaniss took his seat. “Truly?”
“Yes. The King feels it is the least we can do, considering the danger to Lord Magiblood.”
Rolland took the scroll from Kim, his shock just as evident. “Oh… We shall do our best.”
“What is it?” Karen asked.
“We’ve been granted the lands that used to belong to House Gilden,” Rolland said, looking to Wilbur with a wince.
“I have more than enough land to deal with as it is,” Wilbur said. “The only piece I would have been interested in, my brother already destroyed. I would have asked for the manor in the city, but…”
“That piece of property is being held until after Stein is dealt with,” Ioaniss told Wilbur.
“I’ll go next,” Vladimir said. “Lord and Lady Magiblood, I have cleared House Gilden’s box and have made it yours. All maintenance fees have been waived until your grandchildren come of age.”
“I don’t—” Rolland began before Vladimir held up a hand to cut him off.
“I’m not done yet, please,” Vladimir said as he handed a small box to Kim. “This is a gift for the Lady of the House.”
Kim opened it to find a set of bracelets. Each had a gem inset shaped like a half heart, made of ruby. “This is… a Heartstone?”
“Indeed,” Vladimir said. “I see you’ve heard of them. I hoped to help make some things easier for the two of you.”
“What’s a Heartstone?” Alburet asked Stacia softly.
“A Heartstone connects the life of two people,” Vladimir said, having seen the blank expressions of the Two-souled. “Their lives will be tied together as long as they both wear them. It’s double-edged, but it also means that they will always be able to help support each other. The two wearing them must both deeply love each other, or they don’t work.”
“Thank you,” Kim said with her eyes misting up, taking Rolland’s hand.
“I will go next, if no one objects,” Wilbur said, getting to his feet. “You asked about staff. Tomorrow, I have a dozen trusted servants coming to work for you. Their first year’s salary has already been paid. Erin will be with them to make introductions, so things go smoothly.”
“Thank you,” Rolland said. “Finding the two we’ve already hired was difficult as it was. We couldn’t ask old friends to be our servants, after all.”
“We be glad to help. After all, ya be doin’ so much for us,” Erin smiled. “I be bringin’ them by at noon, iffin tha’ be fine, Kim?”
“Perfectly fine,” Kim replied. “By then, we’ll know if things have worked out.”
“Aye.”
“Fluff, if you want to go next?” Alburet said.
Getting to her feet, Fluff looked a little nervous as she pulled out her sketchbook. “I drew up a design for you. If you like it, I’ll finish it so you can use it.” Opening the book, she handed it over to Rolland.
Rolla
nd studied it for a long moment before he showed it to Kim. “What do you think?”
“I love it,” Kim said.
“Please finish it. It is a fine gift,” Rolland smiled.
Fluff took the book back and began to pull out colored pencils. “I’ll have this finished in just a few minutes.”
Gamer for Love (Alpha World Book 8) Page 28
