We're coming to the end of this particular story arc, and the normal lighthearted misadventures will resume shortly
Married Life
Chapter Twenty Four: Everything Old Is New Again
Cow Girl smiled to herself as she pulled the old hand-cart down the familiar lane leading into town. Spring was in the air, the warmth of the sun already chasing away the chill of winter as life started to return to the countryside. The call of birds and the hum of insects filled the air, reminding everyone that summer would soon be upon them. Glancing to her right, she looked at her husband: he had deliberately shortened his long stride to keep pace with the cart, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Even so close to home, he was ever vigilante.
"Why don't you go on ahead." she suggested, keeping her voice light and merry, "You wouldn't want some freshly minted Porcelain ranked Adventurer to take all the goblin related quests."
Goblin Slayer grunted in response, tilting his head slightly to the side.
"It's OK, Orcbolg." High Elf Archer assured him from her place beside Cow Girl, her bow slung over her back as she helped pull the cart, "We'll be fine."
"Very well." Their husband nodded, "I will see you at the Guild Hall."
With that, he turned and strode off down the road, his long legs quickly putting him far ahead, and he vanished around the next bend.
"So," Cow Girl did her best to sound jovial and non judgemental, "about last night..."
"I think Sword Maiden is in love with me." the Elf looked straight ahead, "She all but said she'd like to take me away from you."
"Well, I can't fault her taste in women." the farmer smiled, "But if she upsets you like that again, I'll scratch her eyes out, Gold ranked Adventurer or not."
"Is it wrong that I'd kind of like to see that?" The Ranger managed a faint smile.
The two slipped into silence for a while, until High Elf Archer found her voice again.
"There's going to be... trouble, when word gets out about Godfrey and my...relationship to him." She looked down at the road, "People are going to talk."
"I'm in a polygamous relationship with a man many consider little more than a violent psychopath, a 2,000-year old Elf and the sweetest woman in the world." Cow Girl laughed, "People are already taking. It's nothing I can't handle."
"I'm not sure Guild Girl feels the same."
"She's dealing with it in her own way, as am I. I'm sure she doesn't hold it against you, but she still needs to get her head around it. We all do. Gods, you managed to get another woman pregnant: that's a lot to take in. Not to mention the question of if you'd be able to do it again..."
"You'd consider carrying my child?"
"I'd be lying if I said it was something I'd even considered a possibility before yesterday, but I can't see why it's any different from having Goblin Slayers: I love you both, and having a physical manifestation of that love would be... interesting."
"And you call me the kinky one?"
"I will keep saying it as many times as I have to: we love each other and nothing is going to change that." the redhead assured her wife, "Do I need to stop this cart, take you into the bushes and have my wicked way with you to prove that?"
"A tempting offer, but no. Not right now." High Elf Archer actually blushed at the idea, "You said yourself that your uncle has business in town today, and I wouldn't want to be responsible for giving him a heart attack."
"There's the playful imp I fell in love with." Cow Girl placed one hand over the Rangers, "Come on: you now how grumpy Lizard Priest gets whe the cheese delivery is late."
Reassured in their relationship, the two women continued down the road into town.
The Guild Hall fell silent as Goblin Slayer stepped through the door. That itself wasn't uncommon, but what was was the fact that everyone seemed to be more interested to see if he was alone or if he had company. Once it became clearer that he did not, the general hubbub of conversion continued.
"Appologies, Goblin Slayer." Inspector stood behind the desk, a somewhat fixed smile upon her face, "Female Knight said that you were expecting...visitors."
"I see." his voice was soft.
"It's just not that often that we see three Gold ranked Adventurers pass through town." the young womans eyes darted around the room, "It got people talking..."
That was understandable, given just how much attention Thunder Warriors visit had gotten, and he was only a single Gold ranked Adventurer, and not even an overlay well known one at that. Lord Paladín and Mage had fought in the War of the Dragon King, had survived the Fields of Fire and come out as legends. It was understandable that news of their passing would be a topic of much discussion, especially given that they were travelling in the company of Sword Maiden, a third Gold ranked Adventurer and Archbishop in the Church of the Supreme God of Law and Order.
Compared to them, Minotaur Blacksmith probably wasn't even worth mentioning, being only a Sapphire.
"I see." Goblin Slayer repeated, "Are there any goblin quests today?"
"Just the one." Inspector placed the paperwork on the desk, but kept her hand on it, stopping him from simply taking it, "I have to ask: is there anything going on that the Guild should know about?"
Goblin Slayer looked her in the eye, trying to read her: Guild Girl had said that her colleague had a remarkable poker face, and he could well believe it, and he wasn't able to tell if her enquiry was personal or professional in nature. He could well understand both, given how unheard of it was for Adventurers like Lord Paladín and Mage to travel to the Frontier without good reason, and certainly not without the Guild being made aware first. That meant that they were operating independently, and that was something that the Guild always paid special attention to: their power and authority stemmed from the fact that they and they alone regulated the payment and ranking of the countless Adventurers in the Kingdom, collecting their dues from the agreed upon rewards and ensuring that records were kept.
Before the founding of the Guild, Adventurers had been independent, free to take whatever quests they liked and demanding whatever they wanted in return. This had led to many unscrupulous individuals and groups effectively holding towns to ransom, refusing to deal with a threat unless an exorbitant fee was paid. The formation of the Adventurers Guild, under a Royal Charter, had put a stop to that, as they had the power to call in the Army to deal with any Adventurers who broke the rules and refused to accept their due sanction. And as powerful as any Adventurer may become, they were a mouse before the lion that was the State.
But Lord Paladín and Mage were no normal Adventurers: one headed the largest and most prestigious Order of Knights in the Kingdom, while the other sat upon the Sorcerers Council, making him one of the most powerful and influential practitioners of magic on the entire continent. Between them the wielded enough power to rival that of the Guild itself, and any move against them would have political consequences at the very least, meaning that the Guild might hesitate to censure them. If they began to operate outside of the Guild, and were able to do so without facing any consequences, people might begin to question what good was it after all?
"No, nothing at all." Goblin Slayer shook his head.
Inspector nodded, her ability to tell when anyone was lying to her or otherwise withholding the truth allowing her to see that he was telling her the truth as best he knew it, and that was good enough for her.
"There's a village to the south-east of here that's suffered a number of goblin raids." she explained, releasing the Quest details to him, "They've all been dealt with, including once by you, according to our records, but they've apparently decided to get proactive and want someone to clear out the old mine the goblins always use as their nest and collapse it once and for all."
"I see." Goblin Slayer examined the document, then quickly placed it down, "Does Priestess know?"
"No, she hasn't been in yet today." Inspector shook her head, confused, then reexamined the particulars of the quest, and the light of realisation bloomed behind her eyes, "Oh my..."
"Yes." Goblin Slayer nodded, "That's the old mine where I first met her: where two of her original party died and the third was taken by the goblins."
To Be Continued...