Eostia: Harem Quest

by EostianScribe

The Gods have given mortals the power of The Gamer as a pass time. A hobby. A means to compete and relax. One goddess, however, sees it as a means of salvation; starting with one world. As such, she rolls the dice... (Harem, Citrus and Eventual Dark Content Warning)

52. Act II-Ch XXVIII: Totally Rad

[ - Author's Note - ]

Well here we are. We are off to meet Maia, another canon character (Those who know the Visual Novel likely know who it is), see a bit more of what Victor (Van Bludhorn) is up to... And meet another few characters we haven't seen in awhile.

The Best Ken Banners Poll is ongoing and I have a little announcement at the end of the story; it's not overly impactful for the FFDotNet version and more so the AO3 version. Speaking of, the story now has over one thousand comments and over five hundred thousand views on FFDotNet, which is amazing. I thank you all who read this and more so those who leave a comment. Regardless, without further ado...

Let's get going!

[ - Act II - Chapter XXVIII: Totally Rad - ]

Rad was center to the Merchant's and Banker's Guilds of Arcodia back when the kingdom existed after splintering from the Unitum Imperium. Like many kingdoms in the region Verlangen ended it and imposed his will on the pieces he forged into his empire and he raided both guilds of much of their wealth before forcing them to supply his armies and whims. When Casta of the Seven Shield Maidens founded Rad after the Overlord's fall she resorted both guilds to at least some of their former power.

More interested in magecraft as opposed to statescraft she nonetheless knew she needed to install good rule. As such she turned Rad into a Federation led by a ruler called the Archon. Under the Archon was the Advisory Council comprised of the leaders of the major guilds. While this amount has changed over the years, among these guilds are the Merchant's Guild, Banker's Guild, Crafter's Guild, Hammermen's Guild, Adventurer's Guild, Spellcaster's Guild and recently the Printer's Guild. Furthermore, Casta founded the Academy for the Magically Gifted Youth, often called the Gifted School; the second of the three great magical academies.

Despite not having sea access, Rad's somewhat central position in Eostia and it's border with the Rycall Republic have kept the coins flowing along with a vast array of natural and produced goods. No where else in the realm is it as easy to start a business or sell an idea then in Rad.

Under the family line of House Guildford and it's line of Archons the Federation has flourished to the wealthiest of the Seven Shield Kingdoms with it's creed to bring wealth, freedom and opportunity to the people.

~Dominic James Pencraft, The Eostia Historia

[-]

Celestine would remain at Whitewell for a time as we left to go east and then north east to the Federation of Rad. She gave us the usual well wishes, of course, and when only her Dawn Templar guard were allowed to see she gave me a warm hug which I returned... Even if I struggled to keep my hands at waist level only...

Woman's a bombshell, don't blame me for wanting to cop a feel; lesser men would have.

Once in Rad's territory you could see rolling hills to one side and flat, if slightly sloping plains, on the other with a forest in the distance. Towns dotted the road along the way and none looked impoverished. Of course every town has it's homeless and uncared for (Sadly) but the bulk seemed to be well off. After a few days we arrived at the capital of the Federation, Aurum Forum City; literally Gold Market City.

The city sure lived up to the name; the city walls were gold washed to shine like the precious metal (They didn't actually paint the walls with gold, it just looked like gold) with the towers having red roofs to them. The city bore double walls, as it was built pre-Myghter Accords with a river fed moat around the outer walls. Fortress Rad was in the distance and... hoo boy, it was a star shaped fortress with double walls. The outer walls were some fifty feet tall and the inner ones were seventy five feet tall. On top of the near the end of each point of the inner walls was a set of towers that stuck up twenty five feet over them and were large enough to host serious siege weaponry. That said the fortress wasn't our destination; we had two others within Aurum Forum; the first being the local military district. Maia and her mercenary band, the Ruby Roses, boasted a barracks given to them by House Guildford for their use given her position as one of the Seven Shield Princesses.

We entered into the city via the front gate and it was bustling with people going to and fro. Carts (Horse and person drawn) were pulled about loaded with goods of all kinds. Stalls had sellers screaming out their high end wares for all to hear. Shops walls were clean and colorful, each with their own creative banners that were colored in and bore the names of their shops on them. It was rather impressive, really.

We would pass through a checkpoint into a walled off section of the city, the military district, before riding towards one of the barracks close to the entrance. It didn't take long to find it; the six sided ruby containing a dagger jammed into a purple rose used as the Ruby Rose's emblem was set over the one that Maia would be waiting for us at. It looked like a small fort really; sizable enough for a moderate band, crenelations on the top and white washed... Although... Ummm...

There was a line of training dummies right outside of the barracks and one of them had a pair of panties on it's head... For some reason... Pink and silky, if you needed to know...

We dismounted after our arrival... And unlike our other arrivals... We had no one waiting for us... I knew Maia was a more... How shall I say, casual, sort but I didn't think she would be rude. I looked to Miria then Cress, gave a shrug and stepped forth to knock on the barrack's double doors...

Only for them to burst open after the second step as the doors were pulled in and a figure was ejected out of the building like a punted football, lifting up in a not graceful arc into the air before planting face and chest first into the ground, skidding until he was ten feet from me.

...

The fuck!?

The man groaned and started to stand up and... and...

I knew nothing of this guy and he was already a character... Hoo boy...

He stood some five foot five or so and wore a... red... midriff (Unfortunately) baring shirt with gold, ruffled trim on it's underside and down the middle, white sleeves with a second set over the first that fell to the elbows with gold, ruffled ends and white and purple strips going down the length and gold colored cuffs over the wrists. White and purple vertically striped, puffy pants were on his legs and were tucked into ankle high, gold colored boots with pointed ends that curled back. Ending the look was a weird, ruffled collar that wrapped around his neck and stuck out a few inches like a weird collar of some kind. He bore a childish face complete with baby fat, short, well kept blonde hair with sideburns, brown eyes and... and... and...

Uggghhhhhhh...

A gut. A gut that hung out over his pant's waist band. I mean... I mean... The rest of his body seemed fit...ish... But he had a huge gut... And he just left it hanging out there. I mean who was he, a Walmart shopper?

No, really, who in the name of the seven holy fucks is this dork!?

(-)

Name: Michel Pantielle
Title: Portly Noble Rogue
Class: Ninja
Level: 28
Alignment: Neutral
Reputation: 21
Status: Healthy, Upset, Lusting

Known Traits
[So Tiny!] You were born with a small penis. Well, someone had to draw the... short end of the stick. Penis size is reduced by 33%. All sexual stats are reduced by 25% when your penis is involved.
[Acrofatic] Despite your body type, you are more agile then most would expect. +5% to Agi and Dex

[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass] You are easy to underestimate. +5% to all stats when underestimated by a foe.

Hailing from the Pantielles, a House of Minor Lords who oversees southern Rad, he lived a life of luxury and leisure. To find some excitement he learned the arts of thievery, stealth and infiltration. He has stolen from many of Rad's other noble houses and has never been caught; mostly because no one can believe he has any skills worthy of note.

(-)

"And stay out!" A voice cried out, looking out of the barracks with an exasperated look on her face; and a familiar one in the form of Maia. "Huh? Oh, James! You're here!" She let off walking outside stepping over our way with a big, goofy grin. The man stood up and turned to her and started to... half run/half skip to her, arms wide.

"But Maiiiiiiia! I just want to take you into my embrace and-"

Annnnnnd as soon as he was in arm's reach she set a hand on his head and shoved him to the side. My head turned to track his arc through the air (Not as high or far as before) before his face planted to the dirt a second time.

O...kay...

Maia's stride never broke before stopping before me with a grin and a wave as I looked to her. "Sorry for not having a bigger greeting set up. We had a bit of a smuggling issue to handle last night so we had a hard time getting up in time for the crack of noon. And then Mibel showed up..."

"My name is Michel!" The man said spitting out dirt on his hands and knees.

"So yeah, never mind that! You're all here now!" She let off with a grin before pointing to the doors with her thumb. "Come on in, buddy! Let's get you all sorted out before we do some work." She said, turning on her foot as we followed her in (We could grab luggage later... Or so I thought; our guard decided to do it for us. I made sure to drop a silver to each for that) and stepped in seeing a number of women within. Unlike the Knights of the Blossoming Moon, Knights of Iris or Dawn Templars the Rudy Roses didn't have a standardized uniform or armor of any type; they were more of a 'ragtag bunch of misfits' outfit, really. "Let's get you meeting the girls, yeah?"

"Maiiiiiiiia!" The whiny, screeching voice of Michel let off as he rushed towards the open door. "I, Michel Pantielle, will have your hand in-"

Bang.

Maia shut and locked the doors non-nonchalantly as she turned back to look at us, hands on her hips...

BANG!

Annnnnd shuddered under an impact from the outside; Mibel, I mean, Michel slamming face first into it I was sure.

"All right girls! Our client is here!" Maia let off cheerfully. The entrance hall seemed to be a mixture of a dining hall and a place to relax. I could see a chess board set up on a table off to one side of the room and a dart board on a wall. Supplies for a bowling game could be seen tucked into the corner. The place wasn't well organized but it wasn't a mess either; a hint of controlled chaos. The inside of the building was white washed and the Ruby Rose's Emblem hung on the walls here and there. If I was to give an opinion on the atmosphere here it would be... relaxed. I liked it.

"About time..." One of the women let off, standing up and wandering over with a sigh before she looked up to me... And recognition hit us both. "What are you doing here!?" She let off, crossing her arms under her bust as she frowned.

Hoo boy...

She was a six foot tall dark elf woman in appearance but was, in fact, a half dark elven woman with large B or small C-Cup Breasts. She bore long, mid-back length blonde hair that half covered her left eye, both of which were blue. She wore a thin, black collar with gold pendants hanging off it, a black cloth around her breasts tied in the front between them, a cropped, blue backed with the sleeves falling to the elbows with white cuffs. Tan pants were around on her legs, brown boots with laces going up the front that stopped under the knees and a wide, brown belt with two sheathes hanging off it, each barring a short sword with a long handle with brass D-Guards.

"You guys... know each other?" Maia let off as she looked from me to her then back again as I sighed.

"Hi Auntie..." I let off with a wave of one hand.

"Don't call me that!" She shrieked out. And no, I wasn't joking.

She really was my aunt.

(-)

Name: Terra Reinclive
Title: Blade of the Night
Class: Assassin
Level: 27
Alignment: Neutral
Reputation: 17
Status: Healthy, Annoyed, Surprised

Romance Rating: N/A
Corruption Rating: 31

Known Traits
[Silent But Violent] If attacking from stealth double your crit chance

[Dual Strike] You are exceptional at using two weapons at the same time. +5% Dex and Agi while using two weapons at once.
[Shadowborne] You are one with the shadows. +2 Stealth when your cast in a shadow

Daughter of former Mungale Baron Xander Noxdecus and his head maid Sora Reinclive she ended up having a falling out with her mother during her upbringing. She would leave the Barony of Mungale and ply her trade as an adventurer and mercenary before being invited into the Ruby Roses.

(-)

"Wait, wait, wait... How can she be your aunt?" Maia asked, her head snapping back and forth as I sighed. "What?"

"She's the daughter of our head maid, a dark elf, and my grandfather, Xander Noxdecus." I said, looking to the confused redhead. "So she's my mother's half sister and, thus, my aunt."

"...Huh. I mean, yeah, I knew she was a half elf, but I didn't know she was related to nobility..." Maia said as Terra winced at her. "That's pretty cool!"

"I'm as much a noble as you are..." Terra huffed out to Maia, looking away and down to her left as she spoke. In fairness she wasn't in the line of succession for Mungale.

"I... Don't understand the full scope of it, but she and her mother are... not on good terms." I added to Maia. "And I haven't seen her in years; since I was boy really."

"I've only heard of her myself... I never met her until now." Miria said as she stepped besides me, sighing herself.

"And you are?" Terra let off with a huff.

"Miria Noxdecus, adopted daughter of Merlin and Saxon Noxdecus... And, uhh, I guess your niece." My sister said as Terra's eye twitched. "Nice to meet you auntie!"

"Oh shut up..."

"Try not to mind her too much..." Someone quipped up moving in front of Aunt Terra and walking closer. "She's always been a grouchy bitch."

"Hey!" Terra let off with her hands moving to her hips as I looked to this girl; a Catalan.

Because we haven't seen enough of that recently. "I am Esmerie Foretverte. It means Emerald of the Green Forest. I like forests, so the rest should be clear." It kind of was...

She was short; five two at most. She bore short, neck length grass colored hair matching her ears and her eyes, with a lock of hair hanging between them. Unlike some Catalans her face bore no markings of any sort. She wore a top that was mostly black with gold trim and green cups over C-Cup breasts that showed off her chest and cleavage, had a small, triangular cut out under her breasts with the point down and bared the top of her hips. A black, leather belt with some gold sections held up a green loincloth. A few, gold colored bands were around her thighs; one high up on her left, two at mid-level on her right. Matching, wide, gold colored bracelets were on each wrist with bands around her upper arms. A gold colored and black gorget was around her neck and held up a free, gold trimmed cape and she had a gold colored band around her head. Short, green boots with golden trim ended the look.

(-)

Name: Esmerie Foretverte
Title: The Emerald Tempest
Class: Wizard
Level: 26
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 32
Status: Healthy, Calm, Amused

Romance Rating: 87
Corruption Rating: 12

Known Traits
[?]
[Wand Master] You prefer magic with a wand to other weapons. +4 to Mag and +2 to Mnc when using a wand of any sort.
[Elementalist] You prefer casting the elements of nature over any other. +4% Mag when casting Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, Ice or Lightning type spells. -4% Mag when casting Arcane, Darkness or Holy type spells.
[?]

Growing up in Ala Aenea City no one is quite sure how the young, Catalan girl ended up in a basket in front of an orphanage as a baby beyond that's how and where she was found. When Wendy Foretverte visited one day she tested all the children for magical potential and found Esmerie's to be exceptional and adopted her to grant her a magical education. She operates as a mercenary with the Ruby Roses as both their main mage and to gain experience.

(-)

"You are far too blunt, Es." Terra told the cat girl as the mage shrugged.

"You gotta love her honesty though!" A cheerful voice said as another of the members walked closer and she was...

Um... she was...

...

I didn't know what the fuck I was looking at. This was becoming a weird day...

She was a young, five foot nine woman with a hairstyle she stole from Esmerie despite the different color; neck length, bangs between yellow eyes, maybe a bit neater. She wore a classic, metal bikini type armor; steel gauntlets with a thicker plate over the forearm, armored, thigh high boots, pauldrons, a gorget around the neck, small plates around the hips, a larger one over the groin, two rounded plates cupping D-Cup breasts with a piece under them and some black, leather parts to help hold things in place. A heavy looking warhammer was at her back; no straps holding it in place so I assumed a spell of some sort.

That said she was not a normal woman. She bore silver colored hair and light gray skin. She looked like a living statue.

"Are... you some sort of golem?" I let off, looking her over confused... And she let off a sad huff and shook her head in that way of someone who had been asked that questions (Or ones like it) far too often.

"No, no... I am... I was human..." She said, hands moving to her hips. "I'm a... chimera."

"...What dumb ass is responsible and is he still breathing?" I let off as she blinked.

"Ummm... Why would you want to know if she is still breathing?" She replied, adding a correction to my presumption.

"So I can make her stop." She smiled at that, although a one that didn't fully reach her eyes, as she shook her head.

"Sorry... I don't know the name of the mage but the one who ordered it is... a Duchess..." She said as I winced, getting the message. Whoever did this was too powerful to mess with.

"I see... I apologize if I came off rude. That said I am not a fan of transmutation magics; doubly so when they're used on the unwilling... Um, miss...?"

"Shara. Most call me Shara the Stoneheart." She said with a smile.

(-)

Name: Shara the Stoneheart
Title: The Girl of Stone
Class: Barbarian
Level: 24
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 41
Status: Healthy - Transformed, Relaxed, Pleased

Romance Rating: 91
Corruption Rating: 14

Known Traits
[Transmutation: Gargoyle Skin Fusion] You have been fused with the skin of seven gargoyles. +14 to Con. +5 to Str and End. +30 Resistance to Slashing Weapons. +20 Resistance to Piercing and Blunt Weapons. +6 to Magical Resistance. -5 to Dex, Agi and Acc.

[Natural Target] All foes would rather target you then an ally. +2 Con & Str for each ally your foes ignore in favor of you
[Intimidate] To anyone weaker then you you are frightening. -5% to all foes stats under level 20 and at least one level lower then you.
[?]

A slave since age twelve in the Duchy of Anvil and owned by House Bludhorn she spent four years enduring the sexual advances of their guests before she was given to a mage for a transmutation experiment; seeing if skin claimed from gargoyles could be fused with a human. While it worked it had a surprising side effect; neutralizing the effect her slave collar had on her. Because of that she was able to escape to an Una Vertias church. She was hidden for a time before escaping to Sual, reluctantly becoming an adventure to pay her way further east and eventually joining the Ruby Roses.

(-)

"You were fused with stone? I was under the impression you couldn't fuse a person and an unliving object." Aeris quipped as Shara shook her head.

"Not stone; gargoyle skin... A lot of it." The woman replied. "I'm about sixty five pounds heavier then I look because of how dense my skin is." She said with a chuckle. A brief moment of using my magical senses also told me something interesting but not unexpected; that armor of hers wasn't mana armor. It was a classic type of fantasy, steel, metal bikini without any magic to it at all. Then again her body's natural toughness meant she could stride into battle naked and be protected about as well as if she wore a suit of armor...

"Aye, I can vouch for that..." One more woman stepped up; also short at some four foot elven but she looked like a dwarf to me. She had bright red locks of hair that were curled into drills that flowed to waist length and soft, blue eyes to go with them. She wore a tight, green shirt hugging D-Cup breasts with brown panels with yellow trim on the sides and puff sleeves tucked into brown, leather bracers. On her lower half was a set of brown shorts, also with yellow trim and a belt holding them up. Brown, thigh high boots were on each leg with gold colored trim on the top, A simple, leather band was around her right thigh while over her shoulders was a brown cape with yellow trim. She had no weapons on her at that moment. "Conleth Jarnhjarta. If you need a scout or some wild game, I'm your dwarf!"

(-)

Name: Conleth Jarnhjarta
Title: Dwarven Huntress
Class: Ranger
Level: 24
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 33
Status: Healthy, Joyful, Excited

Romance Rating: 89
Corruption Rating: 4

Known Traits
[Wildhood] You can survive in the wild with ease; building fires, setting traps for food, foraging for berries and more. -15% hunger and thirst in the wild

[?]
[Precision Strike] You strike where you want on a person; usually the vitals. +4 to Dex and Acc.

Bastard daughter of a nobleman and dwarven bar wench she knows little of her father beyond his name and position. Despite the distance he made sure to send coin to her mother to ensure she was well cared for. She had never seemed to be bothered by this but does want him to notice her. As such she honed her skills as a ranger and joined a notable mercenary outfit; the Ruby Roses.

(-)

"Pleasure..." I replied with a slight bow. There were others, of course, who introduced themselves and I made sure to introduce our party as well. Maia grinned and slapped a hand onto my shoulder with a grin.

"Okay everyone, we've got stuff to do tomorrow and then we're riding out! So... Let's hit the pub!" She called out as I looked at her.

"Umm, Maia..? It's midday." I pointed out.

"Great! More time for drinking!" She answered with a grin as I sighed.

Well... This is gonna be... different then the others, that's for sure...

[-]

Aurum Forum City, Capital of the Federation of Rad
The Lake's Treasures Restaurant
Early Afternoon

"I'm surprised that Anvil is having yet another uprising..." The location was called Fork Lane a section of Aurum Forum City located between the merchant's district, specifically the end with the higher end shops that only the rich and noble could afford to shop at, and the garden district; a small area of well kept trees, flowers and fields of grass for people to relax and play at. The eatery in question was the Lake's Treasures; a two story structure built on a slight rise allowing the second story balcony to overlook the park of the garden and walkways. The building's outside was painted well with a dark blue foundation and lighter blue walls. Inside the building the walls were made of wooden planks as were the walls, mimicking a luxury ship that would be upon the Great Sererus Lake from which much of the food cooked and sold was imported from. Given the cost of importing fish over such a distance and the enchanted boxes needed to keep them fresh the food there was expensive, to the point even the nobility ate there as a special occasion. "Given the consequences your mother imposes on the peasantry I'm surprised they act up at all."

The man speaking was Aram Stolzerlowe; Baron of Alcanth, a slave state directly connected to the Federation of Rad to it's south. He stood at five foot nine and bore a well groomed, short beard of red hair matching the short, quaffed and well cared for hair on his head. Grey eyes looked over the red wine in his glass as he swirled it softly with an amused smile. He wore an expensive, white jacket with a set of buttons holding it together going down the right side. Over the left side of his chest was the shield emblem of his house.

The knight's shield was shaped with cut out, top corners and a flat top. It's edges was a very thick, dark gray with off-black circles set in the center of the outline as if they were rivets. The inside was cut into quarters with a light gray upper left and lower right and a white upper right and lower left. Both of the gray sections bore a golden lion on it's hind legs, roaring and outlined in yellow, facing to the outside of the shield. The white sections, meanwhile, bore a winged sword in the same color and outline, points aimed downwards.

"People can be stupid." Victor Van Bludhorn let off with a huff across from him with a huff as they waited for their food to arrive, kicking his feet under the table under him in boredom. "Mother will deal with them, I'm sure. Stupid peasants, why do we need them?" The man next to him sighed softly.

"To do work like farming and building, M'lord." The man said. He stood six foot two. He was lean and bore a thin, pencil mustache matching in color to his short, slicked back hair. Dark blue eyes looked to Victor with a passive, neutral look. He wore a deep, red jacket with brass double buttons going down it a set of black pants tucked into dark red boots.

"Oh, right." Victor said after a moment. "Thanks Mister Sombra."

"Minister Sombra, M'lord."

Aram felt his eye twitch, inwardly thanking whatever gods were out there that Victor was not the heir of Anvil. He was planning to speak with Alundra on some matters but the issues at Anvil dictated her return to her seat of power. As he understood it their prized gladiatrix slave was in northwest Alcanth a day's ride away with most of his guard and preparing to enter Longroad; Minister Sully Sombra wanted to hire a series of mercenaries to both help scout and guard their convoy. Victor felt it was a waste of money but Sombra heard rumors that the so called 'Freebirds' were growing bolder in Longroad and wanted to be careful. Given the defeat they were served in Anvil sometime ago Sombra could only assume one of two outcomes; the Freebirds would be hesitant to attack them and risk another humiliating defeat or they would attack with all they had in order to claim revenge.

Sully Sombra would prefer the first but would make sure he was well prepared for the second.

"Huh?" Victor let off as he saw someone walk out onto the balcony of the Lake's Treasures and smiled, waving. "Michel! It's been awhile!"

"Oh! Victor." Indeed, walking out towards a table was Michel Pantielle although he turned to walk to them instead. "It has been awhile. May I join you?"

"I see no harm." Aram let off, trying not to look at the man's gut. In his opinion the fact the man just... let it all hang out like that was obscene but he had little ability to demand he cover up. House Pantielle was relatively young, for a house of nobility anyway, but over the last two hundred years gained exceptional wealth due to a combination of smart investments, calculated risks and shrewd deals; one of their best outfits was to buy items from a territory that was in demand by another but wouldn't be sold or sold at a large mark up due to political rivalries; most between the trio of the Conservatives, Traditionalists and Liberalists who all disliked each other to one degree or another (With most of the dislike going towards the Traditionalists, to be fair). In spite of their status as minor lords they were richer then many ruling lords; even his own house.

"How have you been!" Victor let off, waving over a waitress with two, odd cloth coverings over hair buns placed on the top sides of her head who would give Michel a menu only for him to wave her off and rattle off an order before sending her away with a wave of his hand, not even looking at her. "Are you still wooing that Shield Princess?" Normally wooing a common mercenary would have been beneath a man of Michel's social standing but Maia had earned her place as one of the seven and while not well liked by the nobility at large they acknowledged she had something to offer a man of nobility such as Michel.

Mostly her womb and sexual organs to breed a strong, combat able son or daughter; although some would start seeking a good groom or bride for the child of that union to breed out the... eccentricities the woman had.

"I tried..." Michel let off with a sigh. "I brought chocolate and flowers and then tried to give her a ring, but she refused and then I told her how I would teach her how to behave... And then she kicked me out of her building..." He pouted deeper as Aram let off a sigh. The fat lad had fell in love with Maia for... some reason and while he was sure the feelings were honest the boy's own... eccentricities kept him from getting anywhere with her. To be fair he didn't blame her...

"Oh... Have you tried using a whip on her?" Victor suggested as Aram and Sombra turned to look at him in surprise; that was hardly romantic!

...

It was hardly romantic unless you lived in Classa, really.

"Yeah..." Michel replied, making the two men snap their heads to look at him now. "But she just whipped me and threw me away..." He let off and sighed deeper. "And worse, when she threw me out this time some... guy showed up..."

"Guy? Who? A rival suitor?" Victor asked as the waitress came back to them, setting their food down (Or appetizer in the case of Michel) before them and taking a moment to refill their wine glasses. No one addressed her, thanked her or stopped talking; rather they kept speaking and moved limbs around her like she just happened to be there and none noticed or cared when she went off to clean the wine rack.

"Ughh, I dunno... I never got a name... I think he's a noble; he had the shield crest of one." Michel let off as Victor gave off a 'huh'. "A blue one with a white unicorn and some yellow and white stars on it..."

"Huh... I'm sure I saw one like that before..." Victor said as he started to eat, chewing on a piece of lake trout before tapping his chin with the fork. "Huuuu, where have I seen it..?" He spoke even as he ate, a hint of food nearly spilling out of his lips. Unlike the Bludhorn lad Sombra finished chewing and swallowed before speaking as Victor started to drink his wine.

"Hmmm... Ah, yes, I am aware of it, mostly due to recent events." He said with a nod. "It's the emblem of House Noxdecus." He let off before recalling an incident he heard about just a little too late...

Thankfully Victor turned his head when he spat out his drink and ended up spraying it over Michel's face in a long spit take instead of his own. The fat lad cried out and flailed, nearly tossing a shrimp he was about to eat before shaking his head out. Finally Victor looked to Sombra once more. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"

"Victor, settle down." Sombra said sternly. "You are making a scene." Victor didn't seem bothered that everyone on the balcony and many of the people in the restaurant proper was looking to them; save the waitress cleaning the wine rack who winced but kept to her work. Not that they paid her any mind.

"But... Grrrrrrrr..." Victor let off, banging his fist softly on the table. He stayed silent until the rest of the floor started to stop paying them heed. "He embarrassed me!" Victor hissed out. "In front of Jamaica!"

'As if you need help with that.' Sombra thought to himself, sighing gently. "Indeed, indeed. But you must calm down. That sort of anger is unbecoming of a man of your station." He said, trying to calm the matter.

"Right... I get it..." Victor let off, picking up another bite of food with his fork. "Rather then be mad... I should be even!"

"... Get even?" Michel posited as he finished wiping his face with a cloth.

"Right, that." He said with a grin. "Let's kill him!" He said cheerfully as Aram let off a muffled cry, nearly choking on his own meal before forcing himself to swallow it, gasping for breath before sipping his wine deeply "Let's find him and-"

"IfI may remind you Victor-" The baron began giving him a stern glare. "-we are in public and a noble like yourself openly talking of such is cause for concern to those who might be listening in on us and cause your mother much political trouble." Victor went pale and swung his head about to see if anyone was paying attention to them.

No one was. He sighed softly; if he caused an issue for his mother...

The healers knew how to deal with wounds left by barbed whips... Without leaving scars. "I know, but stilllllll... Ugh, why is he even here!?"

"You're unaware?" Aram said before starting to eat once more. After Victor shook his head and he swallowed he spoke once more. "He has devised a means of instant, long range communications." He let off as both Victor and Michel looked to him with surprise. "However to make it work across Eostia he needs to install several 'boosters' to enhance the range. In fact he's meant to be putting one in Rad and then in Longroad."

"Hmmmmm..." Victor let off as he rubbed his chin, starting to eat his food once more.

"Indeed... I am aware the Good Duchess and her close allies are... concerned about how this will tip the balance of power towards the Liberalists in Eostia as well as the Noxdecus holdings of Mungale away from our allies in Elddale." Sombra said, sipping his own drink. "My understanding is each of the Shield Princesses are providing escort in their region; it's likely that's why he's meeting with Maia as that will be her duty soon."

"Grrrr... Stupid bastard... Taking my Maia away from me..." Michel let off with a huff and a pout. "It would be nice to kill him..."

"Gah... We should..." Victor said looking to Sombra with a grin. "In fact we're going to!"

"Err... is that wise?" Aram let off, blinking at Victor as Michel paled. Political rival or not, assassination was a hell of a thing to conspire to... And risked damning them all if something went wrong.

"Normally I would reign him in..." Sombra said as he swirled his wine glass in thought. "...But if there's a chance he could make another thing like his 'voxlux' then the power balance will shift away from the Traditionalists further and further..."

"I don't disagree with that..." Aram said, giving him a glare. "But failure in such dirty business is always an option; doubly so with such an extreme measure.."

"Come on..." Victor whined softly.

"Uhhh... I-I know I suggested it, kinda, but I'm with Aram..." Michel let off nervously. "D-don't get me wrong, but, umm, well... killing is kind of extreme..."

"No! We should do it!" Victor barked out softly, keeping his voice down to avoid being overheard, before looking to the Minister. "Can't we? Can't we?"

"Hmm... I know the cat's paw to use. Reliable but disposable." Sombra let off with a grin. "A bit of poison should do it. And should worse comes to worse, blades. That said we'll need serious numbers in that case as he'll be guarded by Maia... Still... I imagine Alundra herself would encourage it. We just need the right middle man."

"I will disavow any knowledge of this conversation so you know." Aram said with a huff. "I will not speak of it but I will not assist either." He said as Michel nodded rapidly in agreement.

"Not to worry... You are innocent for all intents and purposes. But where to do the deed..." Sombra let off.

"If Maia's taking him along then she'll likely be the one deciding where they stop..." Victor let off tapping his chin before looking to Michel. "Surely you'll know where she'll want to stop."

"W-w-w-well, yeah, but..."

"Come on, tell us!"

"I-I don't-"

"You can use that slave when you come visit next."

"..."

"I made sure her hair is still dyed red."

"..."

"Pleeeeeeeease, pretty please..."

"O-okay, fine..."

After a moment Michel began to explain Maia's favorite eateries in Longroad, naming one she talked about as he viewed her (Read: Stalked her) from a bush one day (As well as several other days) as Sombra began outlining their plan. The table kept their voices low to avoid being overheard. Finally, after twenty minutes the bill came and was paid for... Without a tip. The waitress huffed but moved to set the coin away... And once sure she was alone took out a pencil and folded sheet and started to write onto it; several paragraphs already written on it.

Almost no one knew that the twin, cloth covered hair buns braided on her head also covered her ears; her sensitive Catalan ears as her headband held false, human looking ears to fool people. Once her break came she would go to a nearby general store and pretend to browse goods by one wall with a crack in it... Before slipping her folded sheet into a crack between the bricks. Sure, she was a well paid waitress but nobility could be so stingy with their tips... Why not make some extra coin passing on gossip and what she overhears?

A half hour later a halfling would work his way between a slot between walls, collecting five such letters and leaving to another building; a store operated by a well off merchant with his home atop of it on the second and third story. Both he and the merchant moved to the roof and then to an aviary built atop of it. Once the door of the fence was opened a large hawk stepped out, accepting a large, strip of beef as an offering as a leather harness was set to it's back. The five letters and several others collected over the last two days from across Rad and other states were set inside of a satchel that was then tied to the harness. Meal done and a few words to the bird of prey and it would fly off into the sky; flying to the northwest to the next territory over...

[-]

In spite of what I was worried about Maia didn't keep us drinking all day; although for a good couple of hours still. At least it came with food; to be specific the food choice was called Sosu-yaki; a combination of Eastern cooking and traditional grill fired barbeque that resembled Korean Barbeque. One difference was the meat was scored along it's length before being marinated then basted as it cooked. I rather liked it, all in all. Maia did her best to keep everyone happy and talking and both Conleth and Shara were more then happy to join in with Maia's singing and games and dragged the rest of the bar in with them. Esmerie was a little too calm to enjoy it in the same way but she seemed to be amused by it all. Terra, however was being... Difficult.

I wasn't fully sure what her problems and issues were but she was family so I decided to extend a proverbial olive branch and talk to her in a mature, level headed manner.

She told me to 'fuck off'. In those words. And here I though Mir'Mokria was going to be the most complicated family drama we'd have to deal with. Oddly enough Makoto offered to attempt a rapport with her and it seemed to mostly work. At least Makoto was tolerated by her. Other members of the Roses were along as well, but acted less like bodyguards and more like girls out for a good time. That wasn't to say they didn't do their jobs, however. Conleth, to start with, had her weapons with her; a collapsible crossbow with a quiver of bolts attached to her thigh strap and a one handed axe. In addition anytime someone walked in all the Roses watched them for quite awhile and they made sure I would be in their line of sight. It was interesting.

Once done (And sure everyone was sober enough to walk) we went shopping and checked stores for various goods. I found a good deal on some spell stones, including one the size of a large marble, so snatched them up. On the weapons front I didn't find something of note that was better in terms of rapiers or throwing knifes but I did find a new parrying dagger that bore a small spell stone in it's pommel which I might have been able to use. For four gold, it was a steal.

After awhile Maia decided to take us to, of all places, the Red Light District to 'browse'. Not to 'shop' but just to look and browse because, as she put it, there were some weird services found here. And... Well... there was.

For starters there was a brothel for women where, for a fee, you could be gangbanged by goblins. No, that is not a joke. I'm only half surprised but wish it was a joke.

(I would change my opinion on it a bit down the line. I would learn that while they were paid to gang fuck women in the case of a pregnancy they would accept any goblin babies being left at their back door, no questions asked. It was a smart way to breed, I suppose, and one that didn't require rape. And they were paid to do it too.)

There was also BDSM brothels (With one or both genders, and one claiming to have a real Classa Mistress. Yes, really), a brothel for glory holes, a club that was like a strip club but where the strippers fucked each other (And audience members, for a fee), a brothel of feminine males that was clearly aimed towards other men (Complete with one of their people asking if Cress wanted to work there. Miria had to hold him back from doing something stupid) as well as another one full of feminine men, but at least aimed to women. I'd later learn there used to be a brothel with a troll that you could pay to have sex with but he was forced to stop due to causing too many injuries. Not because he was too rough but because some women tried to ride 'troll mountain' and, well, their bodies couldn't take it. He got a job in construction, apparently.

Which brought me to another point of Aurum Forum City; it was a real melting pot. Humans were the most common sight but dwarves, halflings and elves were all semi-common and now and then you could spot the odd Aberrant, Catalan and human from the Sunkissed Continent. Hell, I even saw a wood elf as well. Wood elves, for the unaware, bore slightly dusky skin with a slight reddish tinge and dark hair; black and browns mostly, but dark greens, blues and reds were also possible. To put into perspective why this is a surprise; they hail from the northern continent, mostly stick to large forests (Hence why they're called wood elves as well as forest or leaf elves) and almost never leave them, let alone travel across an ocean.

Eventually we ended up in a hole-in-the-wall type of shop Esmerie was aware of; it was one part general store, one part pawn shop and one part 'ask no questions where I got this' shop. That was where I found a nice, helpful book of all things; A Study and Report on Hybrid Magic: Current Practice and Theory by Grand Magus Victoria Oxwell. Given that knowledge of how hybrid magic works is rather restricted at the moment this was a very valuable find. It wasn't a thick book; half as thick as others I studied from, but what I could see from a casual flip through would be invaluable to me. It cost me twenty one gold but it was worth the cost.

In the end I enjoyed the time on the town and found something of real worth. Terra rebuffed another attempt to talk to her so I decided to retire and do some work; starting with traits.

While I lost a possibly good or even great one I now had a total of eighty Universal Trait Points so it was time to browse. While I had been mostly using stat boosting traits I felt like I should branch out; it was important to get my Class Upgrade sooner rather then later but I didn't want over invest in it. I hadn't thought of it until recently but with the various things I've had to do focusing on pure stats could gimp me in certain ways. A little diversity would be good; it's why I chose to be a Spell Blade to start with.

I browsed for a bit and finally chose two; one for twenty five points and one for twenty that I felt would work well for me

Best Seen and Not Heard
Your sneaking skill is boosted by your Agi Stat as well

Arts and Crafts
You can make any sort of art or object easier. +5% Value, Durability & Damage from any items you craft

As I had Agility as a Secondary Stat and I was still relying on leather armor this would help me sneak about when needed. After all, stealth was a requirement in Arafe, Pulca and the Ungla'pul (Although we were caught in that last one) and could be useful in the future. If nothing else being able to get the drop on someone could be handy. As for the second I would be crafting things in the future. I also checked with Olivia before buying it; it would also improve other things about an object I make from now on. It was perfect.

Speaking of projects I started on a new one; making a new spell with help from my new book. Well, making is inaccurate as I think adapting is a better phrase for it. Dark Flare has proven to be a useful attack spell and adapting it into Shadowblaze Weapon was very useful but I wanted to see the results of another type of hybrid spell; in this case Holy/Fire. According to Victoria Oxwell in her book each spell combination tended to, but not always, had a certain trait to it. Darkness/Fire, as I well knew, ruined shields and ate them for breakfast, Darkness/Lightning bore heavy piercing effect and could punch through shields or armor, Water/Lightning created something akin to a laser, Fire/Water created scalding steams, Darkness/Water created liquid, oily blasts that would weaken targets hit and so on.

She did note, however, that some of these were mere theory and that she was sure much more could be done with combinations; even saying she thought a Darkness/Fire spell could be made that caused painful burning to the target without causing any physical damage. Horrifying and interesting at the same time.

Holy/Fire, by contrast, was something that could be very useful; it was in many ways just Fire Plus as it was burning damage but hotter and more damaging to the target, however it was possible, in theory, to make the spell do damage only to your target. You could, once more in theory, smash a Holy/Fire spell into two people and have one take damage and the other be perfectly fine.

In theory. In practice... Well, won't know until we try.

Very, very carefully...

Regardless; my plan was to use Dark Flare as a base for the spell and swap Darkness for Holy. This was... harder then it sounded. To explain; making Blazing Weapon into Shadowblaze Weapon was like figuring out how to build an attachment to a house; I took Blazing Weapon and carefully added something to it. Not that simple but quite doable. Replacing the Darkness part of Dark Flare with Holy would be more akin to cutting out the whole first floor, building a new one, adjusting the foundations before pulling it all back together without having everything collapse, ensure everything was in place for stairs, support walls and so on...

Doable, but much more complex and would take a lot more time... But hey, if it was easy someone would have done it already. And if I could pull it off, well... It could be something that would be a feather in my cap, if nothing else. For the time being I just focused on the basics of the outline; the board strokes of what it would and should be. The real challenges, as usual, would be in the fine details.

The things I do to myself...

I would return to work on them after dinner (And after another rebuke by Terra leading me to think I'd need to give her space and try another angle at some point), trying to get the basics in place. Even that was a bit of a pain in the ass... If I was to put in another way even this was like planning to pull a car's engine out and replace it with another; only this one was longer then the original half but thinner by half as well and trying to make it just fit. Again, if it were easy...

I wasn't sure how long I worked until I heard a knock and replied with a simple 'come in', seeing Maia walk in through the door, shutting it behind her. "Ah, here's where you holed up in. ... What are you doing?"

"Do you want the complicated answer full of magical terms or the simple one with simple words?" I replied with.

"I'll take simple please." She let off without waiting a moment. I pushed my new book aside and set down the pencil I was writing with onto the scroll I was writing on.

"Short version is I'm taking a spell and changing the properties into something else; replacing part of it with something else."

"Oh, sounds easy enough." She replied, moving to lean her rump into the desk I was working at as I leaned back in my chair to look up at her as she crossed her arms under her bust; an easy grin on her face.

"Oh, you'd think that... But no, not that easy." I replied, sighing. "How do I put this without using magical terminology... It's like... Hmmm..." I said, thinking for a moment. "It's like... Hmmm... It's like taking a sailing ship and ripping out it's back half and then trying to combine it with the back half of another ship of a different type and size. You're trying to get things to... Line up and work together without leaking like a broken bucket the moment it hits water."

"Oh... Now that sounds hard." She said as I sighed.

"Tell me about it. Right now I just started so I'm working on a basic framework on how I'll do it. I'll save you the details but in short I'm just trying to figure out how I'll get everything to play nice and not blow my own face off the first time I test it."

"Ahhh, yeah. That sounds like it'd suck." Maia said, chuckling as she rubbed the back of her head with one hand.

"Anyway, enough about that for now." I said, finally moving to stand, pushing the chair under the desk before looking to her. "What brings you by that I can help with?" I asked her.

"Oh, right." She let off, holding a hand flat and horizontal, palm up, banging the bottom of her other hand into it balled into a fist. "I came to fuck you." She let off as I let off a sigh.

"You know, this isn't the first time a woman has come to me looking for sex..." I began looking to her. "But you might have given me the single most blase invite to sex I've ever gotten so far."

"Oh, thank you!" She let off with a grin. "...Blase is a complement, right?"

"Depending on which way you look at it..." I said as she shrugged, grabbed her leotard and just yanked it to her hips.

"Right, right, come on, this pussy ain't gonna fuck itself!" She let off. If I was an anime character I would have sweatdropped but I shrugged and made sure the door was nice and shut before undressing as well. I mean... Damn... At the risk of sounding rude; Maia's a fine piece of ass. Although given what I know about the woman she would call herself a fine piece of ass... So...

She dropped her clothing haphazardly onto the floor by the desk while, in contrast, I folded my own semi-neatly and set them on the end of the desk. I'd barley turned about before she grabbed me by the back of my neck and pulled into a firm kiss. I was caught off guard, of course, but recovered quickly enough to grab her by the hips, stepping into her as she moaned into my lips. Arms full of woman now I gently took hold of her rump, squeezing it but also gently pushing her back by stepping forth, moving us to the bed.

My plan was to gently push her down to the bed and carry on with the making out but Maia had much different plans; breaking the kiss and squatting to grab me and pulling me into a fireman's carry and, with a grunt, flung me onto my back to the bed; not roughly but with no gentleness either. Before I could recover she half jumped/half crawled over top of me; a very bare of hair pussy right in front of my face as she set her lips to my cock and, despite not being hard, sucked into into her mouth as deep as she could. Her hands set themselves to my thighs, so she was just using her mouth for it.

Needless to say, with her bare and moist sex over my lips I decided to repay the favor rather quickly; my hands grabbing her ass and guiding her hips down to make access a bit easier for me. Once in range I gave her lower lips a firm kiss, sucking one side into my lips and suckling it before starting to lick firmly, wedging the tip in between her folds with each stroke. She moaned softly over me as I made sure to start dragging it over her clit as well as it started to peek out of it's hood.

On the other side of me Maia moaned deeper as I fully hardened and felt her rocking down over my cock, back and forth; she didn't bottom out with each push down but came close each and every time. Hell, she did bottom out now and then; the tip of her nose bumping my balls now and then. I adjusted myself to move my lips to her clit and sucked on it firmly, her legs quivering around my head in surprise no doubt before calming as she sucked harder. Her ass was very soft and pliable under my hands as I worked, nipping her clit gently as she moaned into my cock once more.

After a long enough moment I decided to retake some of the initiative as I gave her clit a harder then normal suck and nip before rolling us over to be over top of her, getting a muffled, surprised cry from her as I adjusted to settle over her, moving a hand to set two fingers to her slit and press them inside of her. At the same time I rolled my hips down into her mouth, gently face fucking her her as she moaned into me. I did my best to be mindful not to hurt her but I imagined she could take a lot more then your usual girl. I groaned myself as I worked, pushing up now to look at her sex as I added a third finger to her sex and quickly rocking them into her pussy.

She moaned under me for a long moment as I moved my thumb to press on her clit softly as I got ready to get to the main event... And I wasn't the only one who was ready; before I could move into position she grabbed my hips and shoved me off to the side as I landed on my back with a soft yelp. She rolled with me, moving atop me, hands on my hips as she lifted herself up with her arms to bring her legs over before kneeling, taking my cock as she readied to take me in a reverse cowgirl.

"He, he, he... Ever since Prim let it slip you two banged I wanted a taste for myself..." She let off, setting her sex to my cocktip as I set my hands to her hips. I woulda taken you at Mungale, buuuuuuuuut Prim had dibs..."

"You're a horny woman, huh?" I let off, rubbing her hips softly as she chuckled.

"Nothin' wrong with it." She replied with a grin, looking over her shoulder to me. "But now I have dibs..." She said as she... just sat down onto me, not giving herself a moment to adjust and merely dropping her ass onto my pelvis and hug my cock tightly as we both groaned out. "Yeah... Fuck yeah, the size is just perfect... Big enough to stretch and fill, but not so big to be uncomfortable..."

"So you're a connoisseur of cock then?" I said teasingly, giving her ass a firm, playful swat before she started to rock up and down on my cock as we both groaned out.

"Oiy, don't use those big, weird words on, ughh, me..." She let off, hands set to my thighs as she slapped her hips up and down onto me as I groaned out.

"A connoisseur is, mrmmm... An expert, someone knowledgeable..." I let off as she groaned over top me as I panted as she squeezed down hard.

"Oiy, don't explain them either!" She let off, moving her hips faster and harder; as if it would keep me from talking. To be fair, between the sight of her ass swaying and jiggling, her sex squeezing down hard on me and her rough motions it was difficult to reply to that as I focused on holding on, ramming back up as best as I could. I half rocked up into her and half held on as she rode me, letting the mating dance carry on for sometime. Despite my best efforts I would cum first as I groaned harder as I pushed cum up into her as she kept going a moment more before joining me in my peak. "Ohhhh, fuck yeah..." She let off, quivering as she came over me, her sex squeezing harder unto me. As she did I took a moment to cast a soft healing spell on myself before I leaned up and grabbed her arms near the elbows and pulled back as she yelped.

With my grip and the element of surprise I pulled her onto her back and rose up between her legs. "Sorry, but this time I want to see those tits you're eager to off as we fuck." I said; starting to rock into her, my hands gripping her large, heavy mounds from underneath as I slammed my hips into her.

"O-one time!" She let off, moaning under me as her head leaned back, hands gripping my forearms. "That was one time!"

"And you, fuck, did it like it was the first thing on your mind..." I replied, leaning over and latching my mouth to a nipple, suckling hard on her breast as my tongue flattened to her nipple and rubbed it back and forth; like sandpaper on a raised lump on wood. She groaned out deeper, her legs wrapping about my hips. As she did I adjusted my legs a bit to reposition which changed the angle of my hips and on my next thrust I felt a hint of something in her... And when I brushed it she shivered and moaned hard.

Ah ha! A weak point!

I made sure to rub into that point again and again with my cock head. Once I had an idea of it's location I would adjust myself to strike it firmer. The effect was awesome on her; she gripped me harder, back arching as she moaned deeper under me. "Fuuuuuuuck..." She let off, shivering harder as I moved my mouth to her other breast; trying to suck as much of the massive mammary into my lips as my tongue poked and prodded her sensitive nub. "It's too much..."

For me it sounds like just enough!

She moaned harder under me as I worked my hips faster; faster then even I expected really. It occurred to me that of my Sexual Stats the highest was Rapid because I managed to find a trait that raised my Endurance based on it. That meant it was higher then the rest to a disproportionate level meaning I could go fast. I'd need to remember to tone it down with most people, but given how Maia could take it I gave it.

"Ohhh, fuuuuck yeeeaaaaaah!" She let off as she wrapped her arms around my neck before she came and came hard on my cock as I kept going. I wanted to make it last as long as possible but I could only last half a minute before I followed and came, thrusting down into her harder and groaned as I shot a nice, heavy load into her. I slowly pulled out and moved to lay next to her panting a bit.

"Whew... If Prim's first time was like that then yeah, I can see how you might spoil her for other her men; not that'd stray. Heh." Maia let off, moving to half lay atop of me, head resting on my shoulder.

"I'm sure I'm not the greatest lover Eostia's ever seen." I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling he closer as she shrugged.

"Pffffft... The difference the best lover and good enough depends on the woman being loved." She said with a chuckle. "Trust me; to Prim you're number one." She said as I chuckled, rubbing the back of my head with my other hand.

"Heh... Thanks." I replied.

"And you're top ten in my books... Maybe even top five!" She said as I raised my eyebrow at her. "Disappointed?"

"More... surprised, I guess."

"Heh. You'll make Prim happy. And another girl or two, if things go that way."

[Fucked List]

Banged Maia, The Red Wolf=100xp x 20 First Time Shield Princess Bonus=2000xp
+20% Dark Horse of Eostia Bonus
Gain 2400xp Total

[-]

Unknown Location, Following Afternoon
Barony of Longroad
Hidden Cave Base of the Freebirds

"Right, let's begin." The room was likely a former war room in one of the barracks buildings the cave bore. Fully repaired it wasn't well furnished. A few open crates that bore loose and odd objects, another on it's side, propped up on on a barrel with a series of boxes inside that housed several letters and sheets of paper; mostly reports from their various sources in Longroad and neighboring territories. They had been able to contact several people who sympathized with them and their aims. Mostly merchants, smiths, members of some of the guilds of Rad, various commoners of all walks of life, guards and soldiers... And through various means they had created an ad hoc spy network, relaying various bits of information to them. This allowed the Freebirds to know when slave convoys passed through Longroad, an idea of the size of it's guard and disposition as well as knowledge of slave camps in Alcanth, Xenera, Maros and Albia.

Through work over the past few years their reach gave them bits and pieces of information in every slave state in the Seven Shields Alliance, even if some of them where still mostly unknowns to them like Elddale, Jerius, Hol'canna... and Anvil, as well as the Bludhorn dynasty that uncovered two of their spies as they were setting up their network in the region... With Anaya paying one of the worst prices of them all.

Lolek sat on the chair at the head of the repaired table with raised cushion on the seat to lift him closer to the level of his non-halfling comrades; his main lieutenants.

Anaya sat to his left; his main scout leader and tracker. The now one-eyed woman was sent to Anvil as she was reliable and could handle things if she and her people had to remain in the wilds for a time... He knew well she was affected by the lost of her eye but her aim had returned to something close to her normal. While he wanted to give her more time to recover she was too important to them and he needed her. That said he'd have to keep an eye on her mental well being, but all that said as an archer and assassin few could match her. Her stealth and ability to search out danger and targets alike would always be a plus.

Celous was on his right; their main healer (Something they lacked, sadly) he was one of their most important spell casters thanks to his defensive spells, healing and various summons. He might have been their most educated member too; having gained an education in the Academia Coronatorum in both historical, alchemy and magical knowledge. This made him one of their best logistical officers as well; if the Freebirds could be said to have officers. In addition as a member of the Una Verias Church he had access to places the rest of them couldn't reach.

Next to Anaya was one Zajac Manderville; formerly a scion of a Balanar merchant and slaver he stole away over ten years past with as many slaves as he could smuggle. He lost all but four of them and was one of the ones to lay the foundations of what the Freebirds would be. An able spellcaster in his own right his real value came in the form of coinage; he knew how markets worked and when they took goods and coin from their slaves raids he would be the one to invest them to ensure the Freebirds had a source of steady income to work with. He stood at five foot eight and wore well made clothes; a deep blue sleeveless shirt, dark brown pants tucked into black boots and a red cape with deeper red trim. His face bore a short goatee that matched his slicked back, platinum blonde hair and a set of brown eyes over a slightly hawkish nose.

And next to Celous was one Cameo Tacetnox who stood out among them all. She stood at six foot even and bore a set of black armor with dull, silver toned trim; a breast plate and hip guards in prominent view, along with pauldrons that pointed out slightly with sections that hung down over the biceps, gauntlets and armored boots. However around her legs were loose, black pants that tucked into the boots and around her arms likewise sleeves that were tucked into her gauntlets. A skirt, matching the black and dull silver colors, hung down to the floor as a knee length cape flowed behind her under the pauldrons with it's top wrapping around her neck like a loose scarf. Her hood was down, showing off boyishly short, black hair and bright blue eyes. Her helm sat on the table before her; a rounded thing colored like the rest of her armor but decorated save the face plate; a solid sheet of black metal with dull, silver patterns over where the cheeks and forehead would be. A spell stone placed inside of it and out of view made the inside transparent meaning her view was unobstructed and could even allow her to see as easily in the dark as in the light. Other enchantments were on her armor as well; it gave no sound as she moved and could cast an illusion to render the user nearly invisible; although far less so when moving and it would out right fail when moving quickly.

Cameo was a curious one; a heavily armed and armored knight who was exceptional at stealth she was a former member of the Una Vertias Church Military and could have been a member of the Sancta Gloria but declined and resigned from her post to help slaves alongside a ragtag bunch of misfit outlaws. She was trained as a member of a holy order but employed darkness magic along side the use of a claymore sword, colored to match her armor. She brought both military knowledge, tactics and discipline to them and was their best front line fighter. Where she got her armor with all it's high end enchantments was unknown to them as she didn't wish to speak of it beyond 'a friend'. She was, in short, a heavily armed and armored mystery.

Lolek smiled to everyone for a moment before beginning. "At current our strength is growing, as you know. More importantly the seeds we planted in Anvil were not fully uprooted and remain. Indeed, we've gotten a message from them not long ago; they managed to spark unrest in their west based on the fact that they drag orphans into slave pens. Supposedly this has drawn Alundra herself back to Anvil to manage the situation."

"Which leaves the rest of her convoy vulnerable to us." Zajac let off with a nod and a stroke of his chin and the hair there. "And the slave gladiators are now vulnerable to us as a target for liberation... Although we must assume they are still well guarded."

"There is a few matter of concern about assaulting such a convoy, however." Cameo began, her voice soft but clear in the room. "Does any of her sons lead the convoy now... And is the one who maimed Anaya being transported?" The maimed woman in question flinched and had her one eye narrow at the thought, one hand moving to rub the patch over her now empty socket.

"We're awaiting word still; however Kaiden Van Bludhorn is accounted for in Anvil." Zajac said, looking to her. "Victor is unaccounted for, as is Alexander."

"If it's Victor with the convoy we've little to fear; at least from him personally." Anaya said, keeping her anger from her voice as she lowered her hand from her eye patch. "There's a rumor he fought in a duel with another nobleman in Ferra and lost in seconds. That said... Their slave gladiator is an honest, physical monster; although I'm unsure if it's by choice or not. She is collared by Alundra after all."

"Anaya, I won't force you to-"

"No." The blonde cut the halfling off with a shake of her head. "No. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared of her but she needs to be accounted for..." She said, sighing as she pinched her nose. "Her size and strength is comparable to an ogre. I punched her with everything I had and she didn't even feel it. Without a weapon or magic of any sort she's functionally invincible; at least to anyone normal. We'd need another giant of a man or woman to match that kind of power."

"While making contacts I had to watch her in the arena as well." Celous said with a shudder. "She's also fast; not blindingly so but much faster then you'd expect of her size and stature. The question is this; do we try and free her or just kill her from the start before she can respond."

"...I am loathe to not at least try and free her, but even I must admit that as a threat she is considerable." Lolek replied, crossing his arms with a frown. "We'll need to decide when the time comes. As long as she bears the collar she will resist us to her best efforts; unwilling as it may be. The situation could well require we-" His words were cut off as a knock sounded on the door. "Enter." He called out as the door opened and a leather armored man walked in; a hawk on his shoulder.

"Mail call, boss." He said, holding a satchel in his hand as Lolek smiled.

"Ah, thank you. Our mailman has been well compensated?" He asked the man as he gave the leather satchel to Celous and nodded.

"Indeed. I've a rabbit and some beef all for him."

"Good, good. See to it; we'll have something to send back soon." Lolek said with a wave as the man nodded, turning to leave as Celous pulled letters out of it and started to read. "Well, anything of interest?"

"Hmm... Well Houses Onglave and Highreign has been buying up slaves in various Delconna auctions." He began as Cameo frowned at him.

"House Onglave is an abolitionist house, why would they buy slaves? And isn't Classa some weird sort of 'voluntary' or 'slavery as a job' thing state?" She asked in confusion.

"You haven't heard?" Celous asked as he saw both her and Anaya give worried looks to him. "House Rongera ended slavery in Delconna; or rather they are in the process of doing so." He explained as they gave him a surprised look; Lolek was well abreast of the situation he was sure and Zajac's contacts likely told him much the same. "It caused a stir among the Council of Bratty and Snotty Children; the Traditionalists in particular. However Delconna is still in financial decline and slaves are still worth coin before the practice ends. Houses Onglave and Highreign buys the slaves, at an inflated rate, and can both free the slaves, prevent them from being sold to someone in Balanar or another slave state and fill House Rongera's coffers to gain them as an ally. It's a political move; at least partially."

"So... Is it a good deed done for political bonus or a political bonus from a good deed done?" Cameo asked looking to Lolek.

"I don't know; the majority of the lords could care less and those few who are honest are chained by their realm's responsibilities." The halfling leader replied with a sigh as Celous started to look at another letter. "We must be careful in anything to do with the lords of the land; far too many are petty."

"We've a brief report on the ongoing audits of House Blitzhaus as well; they're a slave county aiming to become a duchy." The healer began on the next one, adding the last bit for the unaware. "If something dirty turns up that would tank his chances but nothing yet had surfaced. It seems-" He said, looking over to Zajac. "-that your father is assisting him in getting everything in order."

"Tch. He and the bastard were always close." The merchant said with a scoff. "Two pickles in a jar them; and rather as sour as they come as well."

"House Insidiae is... being House Insidiae." Celous said with a huff in regards to the rulers of Xenera. There was a reason both that house and that barony was the butt of many jokes. He moved to the next letter. "Hmmm, this is more interesting. A member of House Pugnator and Stark Angelus were arguing over the subject of slavery. It seems Pugnator wants to be more restrictive on who can be a slave and why."

"Hmm, interesting. Can we do something with this?" Zajac asked, looking to their leader.

"Maybe. Pugnator has always been more... liberalist with their slavery." Lolek said with a thoughtful frown. "At least they're less harsh. Houses have been pushed to abolition for various reasons. Let's make sure to keep an eye on this one; there must be a way to encourage that."

"Hmm... This is new. Victor Van Bludhorn was at a lunch in Radwith Anvil's minister, Aram Stolzerlowe and Michel Pantielle." Celous let off as he read the next report. "They're planning to kill another lord via assassination. The exact details are unknown, but it mentions a location they think the target will be based on his escort. Seems the man who embarrassed Victor is the target and Sombra agreed because he suspects it will benefit their allies. This might also mean Victor is with our slave convoy."

"Nobility being nobility, huh?" Anaya said as Zajac scoffed and shook his head.

"No. I don't know what this is but this is different." The merchant said as everyone looked to him. "There's a near unspoken rule about assassination among the nobility; don't. If you're found out then everyone will vote to remove you from your post to start with. The one who ordered it is done for and the House will be reduced to a Minor House at best. Proof will be hard to come by, but enough suspicion alone can cause major issues; even a dismissal from a post. So long as those suspicions can be founded and depending on the Council's mood that week."

"Tsk. Still nobility being nobility if you ask me." Anaya let off. "I don't see a reason to be involved."

"Let us not jump to such conclusions." Cameo replied in a soft but firm tone of voice, lifting a hand up. "The enemy of my enemy can be an ally. The targeted lord may enjoy the warning at least and we could petition support if we perform a rescue."

"Agreed." Lolek said with a nod. "We must consider that; if nothing else saving this lord could do harm to Bludhorn. Tell me, Celous, does this letter mention the target's name?"

"Yes; could be a minor house or one distant from here as I don't recognize it off hand beyond a recent rumor." The scholar replied, adjusting his glasses. "James of one House Noxdecus."

"Wh-what!?" Lolek let off, slapping his hands to the table and leaning over, lifting his body up to stand on his chair; everyone looking to him surprise. "James Noxdecus!?"

"Err... Yes, that's the name." Celous said, blinking. "I think the name came up in the rumors of the last council meeting I got but I know very little about him."

"You act as if he is of import. Or at least you know him." Cameo said, with a slight tilt of her head as she spoke to their leader.

"Of course I know him!" Lolek barked out at them, moving a hand before him and clenching it. "After all... He's the one who freed me and gave me a chance to live a free life!"

"Wait, wait... He's the one who broke you out!?" Anaya let off in shock. They all knew the story; he was locked in a cage with several dark elves and another halfling awaiting their sale or resale when a shadowed figure knocked out the guards and freed them. He sent the dark elves away in one direction and took Lolek and the other, female halfling away, smuggling them to a neighboring territory. The girl stayed with her savior and Lolek took to the road... And was nearly recaptured by slave hunters.

It was only good luck and fortune that Celous had been in the region and called the town guard, forcing the hunters away and took him into the church for a time and smuggled him to a further away state. He finally got a semblance of an education as they met Zajac and began the foundations of what would become the Freebirds. "Indeed, he did. If it wasn't for him I'd likely be in a mine or on a farm, breaking my back day in and day out for men with whips and scorn." He said softly. "Before we parted I told him that should we cross paths I would help him with what he needed. He may not yet know it, but he is in need and I will help him." The halfling said looking to his gathered comrades. "I cannot ask any of you to join me in this given how it's personal so don't feel-"

"Don't act so noble." Cameo said, smiling softly as she stood. "Depending on the plan you may not have the strength alone to fight off what comes. I will come as well."

"As shall I." Celous said with a grin, standing up as well. "After all if something does happen someone will have to patch the lordling up."

"And you'll need someone to scout things out." Anaya said, rising slower but still moving to her feet. "I can be ready and out in five minutes; the rest of you need to make other preparations. I can get a lay of the land while you catch up."

"I suppose I should stay back and keep watch over things while everyone is gone..." Zajac said as he stood up as well. "But fuck it; if you guys are going no sense leaving me behind sitting around and being dull. Besides; I think I heard the name Noxdecus before. Ought to go and figure out where."

"Thank you. Like I said, I can't ask but I'm more then glad for the help." Lolek said with a smile. "Right. Anaya, as you said rush out as soon as you can, once Celous fully briefs us on what the report says. The rest of us need to organize things here for a bit; we'll rush out come the morning. We've a good lord to save, and I intent to repay a debt. Everyone... Go free!"

[-]

Come the morning our first stop was the Central Guild of the Adventurer's Guild to place the booster. It was the usual thing, but a bit larger in scope because of who we were dealing with. The guild was one of the oldest in Eostia; when Rad was founded and Casta of the Burning Will formed what would become House Guildford by marrying a notable bureaucrat and telling him 'by the way, you now run this shit show for me now and until you die of a ripe old age, have fun dear'. For the record; the modern House Guildford doesn't trace their lineage directly to her; said bureaucrat had a total of three other wives and over two thousand years the lines from those three women spread, re-converged, merged into one then spread once more. Thankfully cousin marriages within House Guildford was limited to second cousins. At most.

The Guildford House Banner boasted eight rings on it; interlocked in a three by two by three pattern from up to down, each one it's own color. Going from left to right and top to down you had the green ring for the Banker's Guild, red for the Adventurer's Guild, yellow for the Merchant's Guild, White for the Jeweler's Guild, gray for the Hammermen's Guild, Orange for the Paper Maker's Guild, purple for the Spellcaster's Guild and Blue for the Historian's Guild. Other guilds have popped up over time like the Printer's Guild, the Playwright's Guild, the Miner's Guild and the Dye Maker's Guild but none have a ring on the Guildford Banner.

We arrived at the Central Guild at the end of the main street of the city which rounded into a large circle; Guild Street where all the original guilds were based. In the middle of this large circle was a large pedestal with a life sized, bronze statue of a woman on it. The statue was some five foot six and the woman had long, flowing, waist length hair and long bangs framing a pretty, if haughty face. In her hand she bore a staff that's shaft was twisted like a solid, straight piece of rope and capped with an orb held in what looked like the beak of an owl attached to a head that looked forwards. Her body was clad in bikini armor with a short loincloth in the front, open toed boots and a circlet with a crescent moon over her forehead; the bands on the circlet attached to the ends of the moon with it's open side facing upwards. Under her, attached to the pedestal was a brass plaque.

Knowledge is one of the greatest powers
you can gain. From teachers, from books
and life itself we learn, we grow, we gain
wisdom from our errors and find skill
from practice. Always seek new knowledge
and plant seeds for others to harvest someday.

Casta of the Burning Will
Founder of Rad

It was quite the center piece of this round street, I have to say. Either way we would soon park before a large building; like a wide, squat keep that was white washed. Over the front, double doors was a circular emblem. The founding guilds all bore one like it; a ring banner with a background color inside it and an emblem. In this case it was a red ring with a darker outline. The inside was yellow and bore a spear aiming upwards, a pair of axes crossed over it and a pair of swords crossed over them, all of them red with darker red outlines.

Maia joined my usual group as we went in; Shara and Conleth joining us as well, although with Terra declining with Esmerie staying with her. We called ahead so we were expected as I looked around. The place resembled a bank more then other guilds with desks at two sides of the rooms with counters in front of them. A stair way was at the back and you could see people at the counters talking about... Whatever. There was no place to stop and eat, drink and no boards for jobs; it was just business. Likely there was a local branch that resembled a normal guild building, if I had to guess.

"Ahh, you're already here? Bit early." I heard as someone started to walk over my way, heels clacking on the floor. She was an older woman; thirties I'd say. Maybe a very well aged forties. And she was gorgeous; some five foot six with maybe Double D-Cup breasts and wide hips. A pretty face with blue eyes looked out to me with rounded, gold rimmed glasses framing them with blonde bangs on either side of her face. The rest of her silky hair was tied back into a bun on the back of her head with a wrap of braided hair around it.

Her body was clad in a white blouse with bright, aqua colored buttons and a bow around her neck. Her waist had an aqua colored corset with gold colored cords and trim with a black, miniskirt under it with slits down both sides but held together with clasps. Pantyhose over her legs hugged the limbs well and fitted into a set of aqua colored, heeled shoes. "Finally. A pleasure to meet you person M'Lord. Emera Lippen, Central Guild's President, at your service."

(-)

Name: Emera Lippen
Title: Adventurer's Guild President
Class: Sage
Level: 45
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 55
Status: Healthy, Relaxed, Controlled Excitement

Romance Rating: 103
Corruption Rating: 12

Known Traits
[Aura of Command] You inspire those around you with you presence. +2% to Stats of all allies within thirty feet of you.

[Light of the World] You are well aligned to the Holy element. +5% to Mag and Mnc when using Holy Spells. -5% to Mag and Mnc when using Darkness Spells.

[?]
[Brainy Blonde] You are well educated and intelligent. +10% faster when calculating in any math problem. +15% to reading speed. +15% to writing speed.

A love child of House Guildford's Fredrick and a lady knight named Xena Lippen she was well cared for as a child and it's considered that acknowledging her as his own offspring cost Fredrick the Throne of Rad. Given a good education and magical tutor she rose to become the magical advisor of Geofu for a time. Upon her return to Rad she joined the Adventurer's Guild as an administrator and rose up it's leadership until she became it's President.

(-)

"Pleasure is mine." I said as I shook her hand. She looked to Makoto who was holding the booster for us as she smiled.

"Ah, and this must be the device itself. I must say, the voxlux has been so useful. The other guilds have been pestering me to help them get on this project as they want to keep in touch with their various branches as well. Contacting our western most branches so fast and clearly has been very useful."

"Well once we're done in Rad we'll be working on the east too." I replied with a grin. "And as long as they're Eostian House Noxdecus is willing to sell voxluxs for use. Between your own guild and the High Crown we can afford to sell them for a decent price. We've plenty in stock at the moment and we're always making more."

"Wonderful, wonderful." She said, clasping her hands together. "And with Maia with you your journey should be safe... and eventful." She said giggling as she started to turn. "Come. Let's install this thing, shall we?" She said leading us to the stairs and I must say...

That ass...

Skirts should not hug an ass so lovingly.

Sadly I had no time to seduce her. ... Well, this is Eostia; it's more likely she'd seduce me. And then brag to her girlfriends about it.

This place is weird.

Regardless we got to the roof and quickly found a good spot; the stairwell had a small extension near the center of the roof to house the door so we set the booster to it. Once secure and I was sure it wouldn't move I looked to her and gave a nod.

[(⸜∕ ) Place Booster in Federation of Rad]

And another one done! Once down I moved over to Maia. "Right. With that done we can head off to Longroad; unless there is anything else to go over."

"Great." She let off, grinning. "It's going in northern Longroad, right?" She said as I nodded.

"Yeah; Degon City." Degon wasn't Longroad's capital and was a smaller city but an important transport hub for the other Engold heirs trade going eastwards as well as from Steel Lock going west in addition to the usual north and south bound trade; slave trade included. It was well guarded and anything further north was less patrolled.

"Then we're stoppin' at the Ham! Woo-hoo!" She let off as I blinked at her.

"Ummm... The Ham?"

"He he he... One of the best places to eat..." She let off with a wide grin. "Long as you can stand something made by a guy who doesn't act like cream needs to be smeared on everything you eat."

"Sounds fine to me." I replied with a shrug. A few goodbyes to Emera we moved back to the carriages and we were off. Soon we were out of the city and on our way... Although lacking the usual cavalry; the Ruby Roses only had two women on horseback joining our own; the rest rode in a wagon with a wooden roof on it and bundled up, cloth covers tucked on all four sides of the wagon in case of weather.

What a bunch... I kinda liked them, to be honest.

Either way the next stop was Longroad... And 'The Ham'.

Whatever that was.

[ - Author's Note - ]

Whew... That was a fun one.

And yeah, Maia got onto the Noxdecus pole pretty quick, huh? I think Maia is one of the least loved of the main Kuroinu girls but writing her is fun and I have a few things planned for this part of the story. In addition we see the Freebirds once more and what most people guessed about Lolek is true; he was the other halfling James freed from Elddale and hasn't forgotten what happened.

On another note I got a subscription to a site called Holara. It is an AI based website where you type in various traits for an image (Such as hair color and style, clothing type, background setting, so on and so on) and it will generate an image for you. In fact aside from Terra and Michel every character image used for the AO3 version of this chapter was generated by Holara. No joke.

It does have limits; it sucks at making weapons and sometimes it has moments where an arm has two forearms and hands or someone has three legs, but most of the time you get something good along the lines of what you want; mostly. It's imperfect (Very imperfect, to be frank) but I've generated a lot of images with it and I've saved many for use. I think Cameo is one of the best images it's made for me so far. I love it! One of the hardest things when it comes to reference images is finding what I want. Now I can, with some limits and issues, make what I want or need. Again, it sucks at making weapons; telling it to make a battle axe can result in, as an example, a giant ninja star on a handle that was forged by a blind man.

That said it ought to be a useful tool for the fic.

Once more the Best Banners of Ken Poll is still up at strawpoll (DOT COM)/polls/w4nWDJQ5WgA and I would love to see what you think. As always leave a comment or critique, tell me what you enjoyed, what you didn't enjoy and what you thought over all.

So next time... Assassins, Freebirds and Food! Oh my!

~~Eostian Scribe