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)

92. Act III-Ch XIX: Forged in Paper & Ink

[ - Author's Note - ]

Well, new chapter. With the war over there's no real action here, at least of the combat sort. It's mostly people talking and talking people.

That being said we just finished a war so time to slow things down a tad.

So rather then prattle let's get on with things.

[ - Act III - Chapter XIX: Forged in Paper & Ink - ]

One of the most notable developments that would help Eostia gain it's current levels of wealth and prosperity was the fall of the Rycall Empire to civil war. Previously all lake based trade in Eostia was always a risky gamble as the Empire would sponsor pirates to harass and raid shipping lanes heading to and from Eostia. The idea of declaring war and even conquering Rycall had been passed around but instead the High Throne opted to sponsor a uprising. At the time they thought it would be mere distraction to the Empire so more focus could be places on Dominious who was banging drums across the river; even if they didn't cross at the time.

The uprising would take it's Eostian given advantage and run with it, managing to get a full, peasant revolt in full swing. House Silversail caught on and all but emptied their armory of quality arms and armor and gave it to the rebels, trained their commanders and kept what would be a three months long uprising normally into a three year long campaign which saw the empire toppled.

Both the High Throne and House Silversail would help Rycall transition into a more peaceful kingdom but it was from the County of Pulca that the rebel leadership would find the most inspiration. Rycall would be a kingdom for only fourteen months as it's first and last king created laws, rights and what customs would be followed before overseeing the first election and abdicating his position and crown shortly thereafter.

The reduction of piracy was the most notable change that benefited Eostia but as the peace was secured and the new Rycall Republic showcased it could be trusted there was less need to maintain southern strong points and keep troops deployed to the border. New trade opportunities opened up as did new routes in addition to the fact that ships could be bought and sold between nations while the navies of both nations could coordinate and share information. All of a sudden an old foe had become a best friend.

~Dominic James Pencraft, Sererus: A Collection of History and Powers

[-]

For the place of the treaty talks we opted to use the library within the manor. It made sense; it bore enough room for everyone to be seated and talk, almost all the reference material that would be needed could be found there that wasn't brought, we had maps there, drinks and food could be brought in with ease and more. It was comfortable and relaxing so there was no reason not to use it. Come the morning after Olga and the Garanians got their first taste of ice cream we all sat down and started to talk treaty.

And by we... yes, that included me... damnit.

It was... as boring as you'd think. To put simply a topic would come up, everyone would talk and give input, someone would write what would go into the treaty and read it aloud, someone would object, more talking would follow, concessions made, the words would be re-written and re-read, someone else would object so more talking would follow; rinse and repeat until everyone was satisfied or there was only one or two dissenters who were told to shut up.

I did my best to pay attention while staying silent but, as it happens, I was dragged into the conversation no matter what I wanted to do. For the moment the talks were focused on reparations for, ya know, the seven centuries of war. The Garanians admitted that was fair but the question was, well, how much was enough and how much was too much.

The Liberalists and Royalists were firmly on the side of erring on the side of lower reparations while the Conservatives and Traditionalists wanted harsher ones. The argument for lower payments was simple; Garan needed to rebuild to be stable so harsh and oppressive payments could cause a resentment that will keep a peace from settling in as well as seed and fester a hatred that could be reaped in the future. I myself was very firm on the point because I came from a world where harsh reparations were forced on a certain nation and I well recalled the story of an aspiring art student turned solider turned politician who got very angry over his nation being treated unfairly and eventually got in a position to try and redress those complaints with other nations... violently.

Needless to say I wanted to avoid a repeat of how that ended up.

The Traditionalists (Well, just Angelus really...) wanted the harsher reparations as a punishment and as a means of ensuring they couldn't rise up for another strike and to 'put them in their place'. The Conservatives (Plus Pugnator) were in the same boat, if on the other side of it; they wanted much the same but less extreme.

It was the Monetarists who, having sat the bulk of the talk out, stepped in; agreeing with the Liberalist/Royalist side but stating it would benefit all of Eostia if they could, instead, have Garan sign into the Alliance Trade Agreements. The ATA was an agreement where a nation could have free trade with Eostia on all goods (Save weapons, armor and common magical knowledge which have a tariff attached) and allow for Eostians to build businesses in the nation and vice versa. The Liberalists and Royalists jumped on straight away and the Conservatives joined just after. Stark and her daughter tried to argue the point further but were shut down and, after some more talking, Olga agreed.

Three rewrites later that was decided upon as well as what writing to use for it.

That also meant that trade agreements were taken care of and so the next order of business was borders; there was some discussion over them but while some talk of pushing Eostia's border's north was made no one really felt like expanding their borders and, really, Celestine would shut that down regardless as the overall borders of the Alliance was her wheelhouse.

(In case your wondering why no one, doubly Angelus and Pugnator, didn't make more of a push to get more land it was simple; that would benefit very few states, almost all of which were Traditionalists and the other factions would quickly both object and push against it. Outnumbered two to eight before Celestine even said a word they knew it wouldn't happen but had to at least put in an effort so they could look at their allies, shrug and say 'we tried'.)

Come lunch it was decided we should take a break and I welcomed it, grabbing Makoto and opting to head into Argon for some errands I needed to run. I didn't don my armor for it, more for the sake of one of the places I was going to...

What I hadn't expected was to pass Olga and Rubin as I was leaving who asked where I was going and once they learned it was to town asked if they could come along. I had no problem with it, of course, although I did worry about what people's reaction to them would be... With luck them being with me would lessen any worries.

Oh, and four Dawn Templars were tagging along. Just in case, I guess.

There was, indeed, a mixed reaction once we entered Argon; I was getting looks of high respect and the Garanians a look of mixed worry. I offered greetings to a few people as we passed and made a point to stay friendly as we stopped at the Creamy Dream. "Hey Regina!" I called out as said brunette turned from her work to look at me and wave; dumping ice cream into a container to keep it chilled.

"Hey, my boss the her...ro..." She let off as she noticed my company. "... Well, you've certainly... made friends from foes..."

"That's a good way to look at it." I said with a chuckle as I looked to Olga. "This is Regina Brown; I helped set up her ice cream shop here." I said as Olga's eyes looked to me for a moment and there was a hint of them perking up. "Mostly ice cream cones. I own the building so she more or less works for me. She's a good hard worker."

"Helps having a smart boss; putting a scoop of ice cream into hot chocolate turned out to be a good idea, what with winter setting in." She said as she moved to the counter as one of her workers fluttered about (If eyeing the dark elves) as she looked to me. "Can I get ya anything?"

"I'm good, but I'm sure Olga and Rubin wouldn't mind a little." I said; I knew that softening Olga's image in town would be an idea and having her lick ice cream as we moved about would be one way to go about it. Olga, indeed, would step forwards and look through the glass to the ice cream containers.

"...Do you have grape?' She asked after a moment.

"I have a grape and lemon mix." Regina replied as she pointed to a bucket of purple mixed with yellow.

"That will work."

"One scoop or two?"

"Two."

[-]

Olga was a bit surprised when her ice cream came in a cone as opposed to a bowl but once she realized the cone was edible she understood the point. Rubin, of course, got two scoops as well; strawberry and blueberry. Makoto also got her own... and the Dawn Templar escort... on my dime, of course.

Next stop was Unicorn Game Works as I checked up on things; the enchanting boxes for the wooden chess boards were now in use and the boards were being made. The spell glass ones would take longer; Louis would need a couple days to make and deliver the blocks for enchanting. I did promise Olga a glass one before she left, of course.

Then we had the center of why I came into town; the Adventurer's Guild, something that perked Rubin up. I did explain that while it was smaller then some branches Argon's Guild was an example of the average one as we walked in. There were a few people about but it was a bit slower then usual; most of the guys went off to the war and were yet to return, after all. Of course there was someone always there...

"Well, well, our most famous member returns!" Kara Greenbay, the administrator of the local Guild branch, let off as I walked to the desk before looking to who was with me. "...And with very interesting new company." She said as Rubin paused to look over the job's board while Olga looked to the viewer orb with a long blink. "You've been busy, huh?"

"The joys and sorrows of lordship." I replied with a shrug as Olga came over to stand by me. "I'm just glad it's over. I'm sure Queen Olga needs no introduction; Olga , this is Kara Greenbay. She manages this branch of the Adventurer's Guild and we've worked together quite often."

"A pleasure to meet you." Kara said with a slight bow and a smile before looking back at me. "One moment." She said before turning and moving to a cupboard and reaching up to get something; a trio of letters that she brought back. "I'm surprised you came to pick them up yourself."

"I haven't really been in town for awhile and the last times I was home I didn't have the time to visit." I said, taking the letters and smiling as I set them to a pouch. "Not to mention there's a good chance I'll have a hard time running my own errands soon."

"Ahh, the price of fame..." She said before Rubin moved over to set her hands on the counter. "Ummm, hello..."

"Right..." I let off before Rubin could speak. "This is Rubin Drakepyre; her House rules one of Garan's territories. She's been curious about the Guild system."

"Indeed." Rubin barked out, although not in a bellowing voice. "I have thought we can use a similar system and would like to know more." Kara gave off a slightly shocked chuckle but stayed smiling and nodded.

"And perhaps as they speak you can explain... this..." Olga said, gesturing to the viewer as I sighed and as she walked closer I followed.

"Well, not much to explain." I replied as I looked to her; the program on at the moment was an old play, Ode to the Half Elf. "The Guild is fairly powerful an entity and hires quite a few able people; one of whom managed to work out a hint of how my voxlux boosters worked and managed to make a smaller one with various channels. By attuning the viewer to one you see what's being broadcast or was recorded earlier... like a few of the last battles..." You could see a hint of a wince as she realized her defeat was recorded and viewed by all of Eostia. "It's still new; there's plays, there's news, a few other things..."

One of those 'things' was... well... a television show... No, really... 'Arnold the Adventurer' was the name of it and it was called a 'serialized play' that could be called 'Dora the Explorer' meets 'Private Snafu'. No, really. It followed the tales of Arnold the Adventurer as he faced down jobs you'd find in the guild; everything from hunting down herbs, animals and such to how to track down bandits, fight goblins and so forth. Arnold, while young, was wise and observant as opposed to his counterpart, Benny the Basher who was the... average, thoughtless dimwit who only survives because of sheer luck, toughness or because of Arnold. Despite the tone it was devised as to be educational and teach newer members of the guild what to do and what not to do.

It was... oddly fun.

(In case you were wondering; it was shot in forests in and around Rad by hiring hopeful actors who were unable to get with a troupe. Goblins were played by halflings under an illusion spell, ogres and orcs played by taller men under the same and trolls... Well, it was clear they were pure illusion. Yes, CGI was already a thing... minus the 'C' part. Everything was rough around the edges and back home it would be considered a fan film that somehow got a modest special effects budget.)

"They did not consult you on it?" She asked as I shook my head.

"No, I didn't learn until after I toured Eostia to install the first batch and after returning home." I said with a sigh. "That said; I was able to make better ones then they could so I made an arrangement with them." Between that and my new games workshop I was raking in the cash; like, there was over eighty more platinum waiting for me when I returned from Mooncast.

"I'm surprised they didn't seek your expertise first." She said as I shrugged.

"Well enchanters have a reputation in Eostia." I began as I turned to fully face her. "To explain let's start with your Annihilation Stream; how willing would you be to part with it's knowledge to anyone who asked?"

"I would teach it to a chosen heir. Or my child, should I ever have one. Perhaps Chloe, had she the talent for such magics." I nodded as she replied to me.

"Not many, right?" I said as I moved to explain. "Spell casters in Eostia can be like that with a lot of their own custom spells and it can take years or longer for unique and powerful spells to become wider known and there can be dozens of spells that do the same thing as various people come up with the same idea or copy others to different levels of effect. Enchanters, meanwhile, sometimes never share their best enchantments with some of the most well known taking many of their secrets to the grave. Some take open offense to being asked to share their secrets. There are exceptions, of course, but that's the reputation; we are secretive about our best enchantments, take them to the grave and tend to not share them, even with heirs or partners."

"There are not books or such written down?" She asked blinking in surprise.

"Not enough. A few, notable ones do but only recently has there been a way to make them wide spread so most tend to be in private collections or libraries." I said with a sigh. "As such there's some... distrust until you know what sort of enchanter you're dealing with."

"So; what sort are you?" She asked as I looked back to her with a serious look.

"I'm aware of one attempt by rivals to copy the voxlux." I told her as I spoke. "And there are other problems that makes sharing such details inadvisable." She narrowed her eyes but nodded; my guess was Celestine briefed her on some of them.

Mostly the Black Storm.

"Then it is less greed and more wisdom to guard such secrets." She said as I nodded.

"When the chance comes I do plan on writing down the bulk of my secrets, but that's not for sometime." I replied as I looked over to see Rubin nodding as Kara lectured her before looking as Olga looked to the viewer.

"So... this... what is it..? This play?" She asked as I smiled and started to explain.

[-]

After explaining the tale of the play (A half elf rejected by both parents and finding a place with a batch of militia in a small town before fending off an attack of Aberrant. It was a popular one, mostly to younger men) we left the Guild. That was my errands done so I asked Olga what she wanted to see in town and the answer was the stores.

Not that we had grand shopping here. Still Rubin was the one who enjoyed the local blacksmith at the Elegant Iron (Not that she used non-arcane weapons; she still thought the weapons were of good quality) before visiting the tailor shop, Needle Point. I explained to them that I the owner was my preferred tailor. Once inside I would see Agana Bellspring, said owner, humming a bit as she set new gambeson armor on a dummy (Cloth, if you needed to know) before she saw me... and my company. "Ara, if it isn't my favorite customer." She chirped as she looked over the dark elves around me. "And with... interesting company to boot."

"Hey Agana." I said as I quickly made introductions as Olga looked about. "Most of Agana's customers are the locals; so tunics, worker clothing and so forth but she does maintain a selection of finer clothing." Olga nodded once and looked right at the high elf tailor.

"Indeed... I've never over-cared for fashion but I have indulged in our traditional styles and... wait..." She let off as she moved to a mannequin. She looked over an outfit set to the feminine, wooden model; a blue loincloth and matching top that was a pair of cups with a thin, connecting bronze chain in the front and band around the back with another for the neck. A series of soft gold designs was set to it and set to a shelf before it was a set of stockings and bridal gauntlets with matching colors. "Odd... These look rather like our Nidavellir styles that we brought to Garan; if in a brighter color hue."

Agana seemed a bit taken aback then stiffened for... some reason; rather then ask I shrugged. "I know such outfits are common from the United Elven Kingdoms and some of the southern, desert kingdoms have likewise styles; if preferring loose, thin pants as opposed to loincloths."

"Really?" Olga let off as she looked to me and I shrug.

"A lot of styles can be summed up as someone seeing what they like somewhere and adding their own twist or flair to it." I told her. "Hell, Eostia's styles are a melting pot of just about everyth-"

"Here's the new enchanted gambeson boss!" I heard a chirp as someone walked out of the back room; a folded up batch of red gambeson in her arms. That Agana had a new set of hands wasn't odd by itself; I knew she was looking since the last one left to start her own shop. What stood out was she was a dark elf.

Some five six, toned body in a black leotard (Thong backed, of course) for clothing and knee high, matching boots with a hint of heel to them she bore some smaller D-Cups with rosy red eyes and silver hair to the middle of her hips in long, loose waves. She smiled moving to the armor racks before looking over to us... and nearly tripping in shock. "Bahhhhh..."

"She is Garanian, isn't she?" Rubin asked as Agana laughed nervously.

(-)

Name: Lenivy Krovat
Title: Deserting Conscript of Garan
Class: Tailor/Solider
Level: 9
Alignment: Neutral
Reputation: 67
Status: Health, Shocked, Worried

Romance Rating: 89
Corruption Rating: 21

Known Traits
[?]
[Needle & Thread] You know how to sew, stitch and more in the making and repairing of clothing. +2 Durability to all clothing you make.
[?]

Hailing from a small town in Highdagger Peaks she was dragged into the Garanian army as a conscript and trained as a basic solider she prefers the life of a tailor and merchant. She would leave her unit to have a nap away from the abandoned lumber mill they were using as a base only to return and find her unit destroyed with the mill. Knowing what awaited her if she returned she opted to flee into Eostia; staying in western Feoh for a time she opted to move to Mungale, preferring the life of a smaller place.

(-)

"... It does not matter..." Olga said she sighed. "Just more proof Garan needs changes..."

"... I... did not expect her to say that..." The dark elf tailor let off.

"Things have changed since you... left? Deserted?" Olga let off as the woman squirmed for a moment.

"Deserted. Conscript." She said as Olga nodded.

"Have you a name..?"

"... Lenivy Krovat."

"Lenivy." Olga began with a nod. "I would hope you'll return someday; if only to visit family. For now, perhaps you can show me the wares." Both Lenivy and Agana sighed in relief as the former nodded.

"Sure, let me set these away first." Rubin stayed near me as Olga moved to follow the dark elf tailor as Agana sighed in relief.

"When did you hire her?" I asked the high elf as she smiled and blushed slightly.

"Ahhh, I met her as I took a trip to Lancefort pre-war to check on some silks I needed." She replied. "I needed a new pair of hands, she was looking for work beyond simple Guild jobs and had the right skills so I offered her a chance. She knows a bit of magic, even if she can't cast. It helps with the enchanted gambeson."

Enchanted gambeson is what she ended up calling the gambeson/mage robe hybrid we came up with way back when; in both standard and leather. It was considered a... specialized armor type; any physical based combatants could get normal gambeson for cheaper and any magical combatant could get mage robe for cheaper. It required that you were able at both to get the most of it.

Not that there wasn't a reason not to pick up enchanted gambeson over normal gambeson or mage robe; it gave additional protection to the physical and magical threats. "Hurmph. Whatever..." Rubin let off as she huffed. "Problems came about. Solutions will... take time..."

They always do...

[-]

To my surprise Olga would try on a few dresses and buy three of them (All in darker colors... because Garan) without any issues save glares from Roddy 'Rowdy' Rams and his Rowdy Boys (Hey remember them! I nearly forgot...) and then we'd leave for the manor for... more talking...

...yay...

With previous topics covered Celestine brought it to a question of slavery in Garan; while nearly all humans were rescued from Garan not all of them were and she wanted them back. Olga agreed on the condition that the slavery of dark elves were barred from Garan (And I noted I got a small, semi-sly look from Chloe at that).

Needless to say Angelus was not happy about that and protested... with zero support. Moreover to ensure no shenanigans Celestine would announce a royal decree that the sale, transport and capture of all dark elves and half dark elves was to be ended in Eostia, effective, to quote a man who helped bring down a famous wall, 'immediately, without delay' much to Stark and Strider's dismay as she argued that Celestine was overstepping her authority.

Celestine's counter was she had the right to overrule the territories in certain regards as it came to making treaties with foreign nations and if she had an issue then Stark could bring it up in the next Council. Stark declined but mentioned that House Blitzhaus would be highly unhappy with it... and oh lord would they!

Something to note was that Arnold argued in the last (Proper) Council that Elddale should be made a duchy in part due to their finances... and no small amount of that came from the breeding and selling of dark elves. Politics and their efforts in the war would all but ensure they got their desired promotion but one of their biggest revenue streams being cut out from under them would make it a bittersweet victory.

More bitter then sweet.

That part didn't take overlong and so we moved onto the next topic; the Legion.

Obviously Eostia did not want the Legion coming down... but also understood that Garan was no longer in full control of that. In the end, after a lot of back and forth (Covering the same damn thing, ughhhh...) the agreement was to share intel on what they were doing; both the Alliance and the territories as the territories were the ones to be first to react once they were found south of the border.

After that... little details... and details... and details...

So many fucking details...

We called an end before dinner and as we waited I opted to head to my room to read only for Mokria to ask me to come with him to the training room and there was Miika, training foil in hand and thrusting and poking at a dummy... and on a whim I used Observe once more...

(-)

Name : Miika
Title : Young Catalan Blade
Class : Swordswoman
Level : 1
Alignment : Friendly
Reputation : 35
Status : Healthy, Nervous, Joyful

Romance Rating : 75
Corruption Rating : 1

Known Traits
[?]

[Raised to Fight] You've trained to fight for all your life. +5% Physical Damage.

Youngest child of Mokria she was being groomed to be both an able hunter and future wife of a clansman. She was playing with a small lizard when she overheard a plot of her tribe to kill her father and gave him a warning and ended up needing to flee with tribe with him and out of the Savannah.

(-)

Well, well... I guess it makes sense. Either way as we walked closer she took noticed and stopped to smile, waving to us and moving to walk over. "Someone's working on the blade?" I said as she giggled and turned to me and pausing her practice.

"I like it... The tribes use spears, bows and axes a lot... But nothing like this; it's fun."

"It can be; but remember the real ones are weapons; meant to cause harm." I said; being a little stern as I moved to grab a normal training foil and taking it hand. "A weapon isn't a privilege; it's a responsibility."

"Well spoken. And I assume you have understood what I had wished." Her father said as he crossed his arms. "She has chosen her weapon. But it is one I am not versed in. I would like you to train and spar with her. Give her some insight." I nodded and gave a smile.

"Well; she can't learn the magical side of my style, but as I said before I can still show her a few things." I replied as I gestured for Miika to follow. We would go to the sparring area without bothering with the shields; there would be nothing too destructive. "So, you've practiced on the dummy a lot, right?" I asked as she nodded. "Right. I'll be gentle but let's see how you handle something that fights back a little."

I was, of course, going to take it easy on her but I wouldn't let her get a hit in; my old teachers (This world and my last) did the same as a means of showcasing the skill gap. It made that first hit I landed so memorable.

"Right." I let off, once she was across from me. "Come at me." I let off as she grit her teeth and charged... and started with a swing. "I told you; use your wrist with those slices." I let off, easily deflecting it and the follow up thrust. To her credit she started a decent attacking pattern; Sora had taught her what she could and well but we'd need a proper teacher for her. Still, she was showing talent.

Oh, it was sloppy, to be sure, but that's how everyone starts. I didn't just defend, of course, I gave small pointers and tips as she attempted to hit me. Finally, a bit frustrated, she pulled back and over-committed to an attack. Rather then block or deflect I side stepped and watched her go past before giving her rump a soft smack with the foil in my hand. She yelped in a cute manner and dropped her foil to cover her butt before glaring at me as I chuckled. She picked her foil back up and moved to attack once more.

With cute anger fueling her she charged once more and stabbed at me as I deflected her strikes, not moving from my spot as I smiled to her. "There you go... You learn by doing; even if you've a long way to go." I told her as she huffed and struggled to land a hit... to no effect. Her father, of course, watched over it with a critical eye and would give his own, calm input now and then.

In my opinion it was best to give encouragement and criticism in mostly equal measure to a novice; encouragement to push them to keep improving and innovating and criticism so they know what they need to work on. I do say mostly equal as sometimes you'll need one more then the other.

Someone entered the room and I spared a glance, Chloe. She moved closer as I turned to her; using Ring of Alarm to keep tabs on Miika as she tried to strike while I was distracted... and with my spell it was easy to keep deflecting her attacks as I looked to Chloe. "Hello there, can I help you?"

"Maybe." She said, looking to me as I fended off the most adorable assailant ever with me looking to her before she looked back to me. "I heard you met a deserter in town; do you remember her name?"

"Lenivy... Krovat..." I said as she took a deep sigh. "Problem?"

"...She was a part of Bronka's unit." She said, looking to me as I slapped away a slice from Miika. "The one in the Lumber Mill that I sent out. I thought she was dead, to be honest. Given the current situation of things I wanted to go speak with her and get her perspective."

"Well, she's working in the Needle Point tailor shop now." I told her as I deflected Miika to the side as she stumbled behind me before she moved to attack from my other side as I tossed my foil to my other hand to resume my deflecting. "I can have you escorted over if I'm unavailable but I can show you over if you want."

"That would be good, yes." She said with a nod as I smiled back. "Tomorrow then?"

"Sounds good." I said and with a twist of the hand and flick of the wrist I disarmed my young opponent, sending her foil up before I caught it in my other hand; giving it only a glance as I caught it, turned it in my hand and held it out to Miika... who pouted in a very cute manner at me as I chuckled. "You'll get there, Miika. It just takes practice, practice and more practice."

"I know..." She let off as she took back the foil as I ruffled her hair.

She was a cute young one...

[-]

So...

There was more talking...

So much talking...

Look, I know it's important. I know it was to make sure there would be as few issues going forwards as possible... I know it was for the sake of a long, lasting peace...

It's still boring. More so when you had to pay attention...

As expected House Angelus was the main anchor slowing things down but not the only one; Pugnator and Kubutomushi both had issues they wanted hammered out as well, as did Hawkeye now and then. Additionally while more amicable the representatives of the Liberalist and Monetarist factions and the Seven Kingdoms all had other things they wanted carefully hashed out. And that was on our side of things; many of Olga's advisors balked now and then and demanded more hashing out, as did Olga herself now and then.

On another note some of those traveling to observe or be on hand were starting to arrive; including Olga's carriage with additional aides. Camps were popping up around Argon, the manor and everywhere in between. Normally there would be an expectation of hospitality from us but given the size of the manor we couldn't manage that. Hindsight being what it was I think that's one more reason as to why Celestine quickly agreed with Olga's choice of venue for the treaty talks; to minimize the noise by the houses if they could sit in on it.

After lunch I would walk into town with Chole (With Makoto, Riri, Aeris and Kelly Conners in escort as opposed to the Dawn Templars) as we walked to the Needle Point. Lenivy was surprised to see her old commander and more surprised that she both remembered her and was glad she was alive. Agana told her to take a break to talk with Chloe and we went off to the Creamy Dream for mugs of hot chocolate with scoops of vanilla ice cream in them. We let them have a table to themselves and relaxed as they had a nice, long talk.

And then we left... and guess who was waiting for us!

Iiiiiiiiit's Rowdy! I just rolled my eyes at him as he and his Rowdy Boys (And yes, still had some girls in it) as I moved to walk back to the manor... and of course he stepped into my path. Well then... guess this is a problem that wants for solving, no matter my opinion on it. "Can I help you, Rowdy? Or are you just being dumber then normal today?"

"Lord James Noxdecus." He said as I rolled my eyes once more as he grinned at me, speaking 'lord' like it was a dirty insult. "The big, dragonborne war hero is finally-"

"If you're looking to just be a pain just say so and stop wasting my damn time." I cut him off as he frowned. "Because I only have so much time before I have to go back to partake in peace talks... wait... On second thought, no, waste my time... You're slightly less boring." I replied with a deadpan look. I can't recall his level when I left for the war but I know he was under double digits when I was still under double digits. With Observe I could tell he upgraded to a Warlord and was stronger now at... level twenty four. Yeaaaaaah...

"Are you getting arrogant on me, you noble bastard!?" He let off, stepping in closer to me. Another note was he had swapped from half leather armor to proper chain mail with a half breast plate with pauldrons, gauntlets and armored boots. His pants were black and might have covered chain as well. At the very least a steel skull cap hung by his hip.

"One; I'm not a bastard, I know who my father is." I shot back as he frowned. "Two; you're from House Ram of Pulca, minor nobility yourself." (As a side note; Pulca's nobility was... well, the Count Elect appointed who helped them run the place so he was just a City Noble. Yeah...) "And three; I've been told I'm too humble, so maybe I can direct arrogance to someone deserving of it." I knew my friends and Chloe (Who, really, I considered a friend too, really) were standing behind me as Rowdy's gang did with him. He had ten guys behind him.

We could so take them. "Really? Think you're so tough?" He said, looking me over as I tapped my foot. "Didn't even bother bringing a weapon, war hero."

Yes, I left the Shining Gemini and the Dragon's Claw at home, with my armor save the circlet. I had no reason to worry right now and was more in need of being presentable then anything else. I yawned in reply. "Uh huh. You seem to forget I'm a mage. A rather talented one, I'd say. I don't need a weapon to humble you, so think twice before-"

And then he punched me. In the face. I didn't flinch as my circlet's shield blocked it and made him shake his hand out. I held out my hand the moment I heard steel slide; a wave calming Makoto and Riri before they drew weapons. "Are you that stupid? Aside from assaulting a noble you well know the price of starting a fight."

"Anyone else and the guards would just turn a blind eye." He said, still smirking as he tried to goad me into a fight. It quickly occurred to me he knew my circlet was mana armor and pulled his punch enough to just annoy me. "But you wouldn't lower yourself to the commoner's level like I would, right?" He said as he chuckled at me. I snorted and rolled my eyes before moving to pull my circlet off and, with a soft toss, threw it to Riri who caught it as he blinked at me.

So I was right. He didn't expect me to react like that; he wanted to embarrass me by making me look like I would use my position now I was 'the big hero'. "I'll give you one warning, Roddy." I said sternly as he glared to me as I used his real name as opposed to his nickname. "Swing once more and you'll wish it was the guards." I said as he shook a bit, clearly angered. "So, walk away and play ni-"

He swung for my face. This time I caught his mailed fist in my bare one, turned his hand so his wrist was face up before I lifted my arm and bent his hand back as he cried out; armored or not his joints can't take something like that with ease. "Play nice." I said sternly as he gasped and hissed in pain before swinging his other fist at me.

I popped Reflex Boost, stepped to his side as I let his hand go to set mine to his chest before lashing back with a foot to the back of his knee, tripping him as I all but threw him down to the ground hard. "Oooof!" He let off as he laid there for a moment as I stepped back. He groaned and blinked as I overlooked the damage. I didn't go easy on him; I threw him down with authority and made his body bounce somewhat. Finally he rolled over and clambered to his feet, stepping back, turning about and glaring to me with a nasty glare as I tilted my head to one side. Surely after that he was ready to call it a-

He charged once more. I resisted the urge to sigh. This time he came in with a hard haymaker. Without my circlet that would hurt...

So I dodged, slipped behind him and grabbed him around the waist before lifting him and his metal armor up before leaning back and slamming his shoulders down in a German Suplex, planting him like a radish. He groaned as I got back up as he twitched, legs hanging over his head as he stood on his shoulders in an uncomfortable position. Finally he fell to the side as I sighed while he struggled to get back up. "Can I assume you're done now?" I let off as he tried to rise, fell to his hands and knees, clambered towards his massive, six-four teammate (Observe told me he was a Brawler named Terry 'Titan' Tremor at level twenty four as well) and was helped up to his feet by the huge man. "Because I think you've had enough for one-"

"Titan! Get him!" Rowdy barked out as I sighed, shoulders slumping. Really?

Really?

Really!?

(It was worth noting a lot of locals came out to watch what was happening; Rowdy and his lot were always a batch of troublemakers so seeing him get tossed about was a moment of joy for a lot of people. That I was the one doing it was the cherry on the cake.)

Terry jerked a bit and looked to me, then Rowdy, to me, back to Rowdy before pointing to me as his boss sneered. "I said get him!" I sighed.

Dear lord...

The big man gulped, smacked his hands to his cheeks trice before stepping to the side and pulled out some brass knuckles before lifting a leg up and stomping it down before assuming a sumo styled stance as I sighed once more. Right...

Time to plant the exclamation mark in place.

Terry roared out and charged at me; the man had a lot more weight to put behind him as he pulled his fist back. To his credit he knew how to fist fight so faked a haymaker before firing off two jabs I dodged before he lashed out with a straight. I popped Reflex Boost once more along with Adrenaline Rush coupled with Physical Burst and caught his arm with both hands, turning into a judo styled throw... but rather then just slam him into the ground I threw him at Rowdy.

Rowdy, not being a complete idiot or wholly incapable, dodged as Terry crashed to the ground where he was. "And that should settle things." I said as I clapped my hands together; as if dusting them off as Titan groaned on the ground. "Try and learn something from this." I said as I looked to my friend's. "Let's go." I said as I started to walk as they followed, ready for... sigh, more talk-

And the sound of steel drawing made me sighed and turn to see Rowdy draw live steel. Yup.

Now it was serious as he held his sword up. "It's not over until I say it's-"

His words wavered as my eyes glowed green as I let off a weak, wind based Dragon's Breath which knocked him and his off his feet as he landed on the ground once more. I kept them glowing but turned them silver with arcane energy as he groaned, sat up and looked to me as fear finally came to his face. "Walk away, Rowdy before I take that sword and sheathe it up your ass." I said sternly as all of his buddies but Terry scampered off. He looked about as Terry starting to scamper back as well, gulped and finally stood and left, Terry following once he was back on his feet. Sighing I let the glow leave my eyes and turned to walk back to the manor, taking my circlet back and putting it on once more.

Jackass.

[-]

"You shouldn't have taken the bait." My father said sternly in his office as I sighed and nodded. Peace talks were done for the day and while I told him about the incident in town it wasn't until now we could talk about it. "Honestly... I'm not sure why you'd do that..."

"I know, I know..." I said, waving my hands a bit. "But he's always been a troublemaker and wanted to do more the goad me; he wanted me to put myself over him." I replied calmly. "Maybe it wasn't the smartest move, but I wasn't acting fully irrationally. He didn't want to be confronted; he wanted me to just walk away to paint me as putting myself over him and, well, lord over him. Honestly; I expected him to back down and not start a fight. I underestimated how stubborn he'd be..."

"That's understandable but you're also representing both Mungale and Eostia." He said sternly as he lifted a hand, one finger extended. "That means you need to put your best foot forwards; even if he had it coming..." I sighed but nodded; the scolding wasn't fully unwarranted.

(As a side note I didn't really suffer a reputation hit from it; the locals were glad the Rowdy Boys were humiliated, most visiting lords were glad an 'uppity Adventurer' was put in his place, the Garanians saw it as an unfortunate case of someone needing to apply a strong hand to a fool and most of the military forces around thought it was great I was willing to enforce order personally in spite of my new position as a hero. Where the hit did come from was at the Guild who didn't like their members scuffling (They could accept it, but didn't like it. Even so we were all banned from guild jobs until the new year) and I was expected to be the 'more behaved one' so there was more disappointment in me, a hit from rival Houses who saw it as 'bullying' on my part (Despite being guilty of the same and worse) and the mayor... because I paid Rowdy more attention then her... yeesh...)

"Regardless let's deal with this later." He said as I nodded to him. "We need to talk about something related; like it or not. You now have two engagements now and that... complicates matters." He said as I took in a breath and nodded. I knew this chat was coming sooner or later... if anything it was overdue. "The fact is this; Kaguya is, in the grand scheme, a non-issue. While her order might complicate matters somewhat she rules no lands or peoples." I nodded of course and took no offense on her behalf; he didn't say that as an insult (Even if it could be taken as such), rather as a matter of fact in regarding to an important matter to nobility; succession. "And both you and Prim are only children, barring adoption, and you are both the heirs apparent. That means someone will need to move and relinquish their title and adopt a position besides the other..."

"Right..." I said as I took a breath. "I have a feeling I know which way this is going but I need a reminder... Who's behind Prim on the Succession List of Ur?"

"Karlia vul Dersa." He said as I sighed.

"I was afraid of that..." Karlia vul Dersa wasn't... a bad person per chance and had some good qualities; she was an abolitionist with the ideals of serving the people, thought uplifting the common folk was the ideal way of doing things and was pious winning her brownie points with the religious crowd... There was two problems though... she wasn't... the sharpest knife in the drawer (She was maybe five IQ points away from being a bimbo...) and she was a Unionist...

Unionists were sort of a... sixth political faction that some minor nobles ascribed to as well as some of the educated upper but non-noble classes... and my old world would know it as Communism...

Yeaaaaaaaah... Considering the amount of problems that ideology had caused my old world (Remember the Berlin Wall! Fun fact, it was meant to keep people in) it was best to not have a territory adopt it, let alone one of the Seven Kingdoms lest economic instability take hold.

(I have no idea how she ended up on the Succession List for Ur, let alone directly behind Prim. And yes, I would look into it and come up with the answer of 'no fucking clue'. My guess was that her father, a sound man, was second in line and with his passing she was just put in his place with little forethought before her ideals became commonly known and no one adjusted the list later on... Grand Duke Samuel would, before year's end, see to restructuring that once things settled post-war and take her off it. Thank goodness for that.)

"Even if... she wasn't the fact is that Prim is too important to Ur as a kingdom and it's people as a symbol to be brought to rule Mungale, no matter how comfortable she would be in the role." He explained as he sighed. "And because you've become... well, an accomplished hero and enchanter there's expectations you'll be rising up in the world... meaning you'll become at worst Prim's consort (Translation; married to Prim but with no ruling authority) and more then likely the next Grand Duke while Cress rises to the position of Heir of Mungale."

I took in a deep breath... I had long accepted I'd be a Baron of Mungale... and being a small, rural barony I was fine with that. And now there was a greater then fair chance Mungale would become a county (While there was no rule stating a barony could skip the rank of county and go straight to duchy the reality is we didn't have the economy for it and it was frowned upon) and now there was a greater then probable chance that I'd be a Grand Duke, ruling the largest of the Seven Great Kingdoms... yikes...

If my luck kept up I'd be the next High King... and, yes, I wanted to do more then just clap Celestine's cheeks so the chances of that were higher then zero.

"I think Cress can handle it, although he needs to toughen up a fair bit more first. But he is on the right track." I replied as Merlin nodded. "Honestly; the issue is I'm not ready to rule more then Mungale... and I can imagine the headaches Blitzhaus would give me once the engagement is announced..."

To make that thought clearer; Victor was attempting to court Prim and wasn't shy about it, despite her rejections and I knew her father would have rejected him outright regardless. He would flip his shit once he learned of it but he wasn't my main worry... that was Channer...

I knew he was getting jealous of my accomplishments, although I think how bad it was is still obscure from me but showcasing I was a dragonborne would make it worse. On top of that when I revealed it I did it by slaying a very dangerous corpse golem the size of a giant! That would be a... memorable moment...

(It would be more then that; the Historian's Guild would team up with the Adventurer's Guild to begin a 'Lecture Series' based on the Garan War for the viewer, which was more or less a documentary... and they'd invent the concept of an opening title sequence... guess what the capstone of that was?)

Throwing an engagement to not one but two of the Shield Princesses on top of that? More over those two?

Prim was regarded by many as the most beautiful human woman in Eostia and second most only to Celestine overall. Obviously beauty is subjective and all that but she was, of the seven, the biggest... well, for lack of a better term, 'prize' as a bride. That being said most people wouldn't be too surprised by this; our friendship was well known, as is the fact I saved her twice. Most people wouldn't be overly shocked by that arrangement.

Going back to the prize term, however, Kaguya was a prize no one thought could be won due to her religion and devotion to her god. By all outside accounts I would have, somehow, awed her so much she set all of that aside; assuming she didn't want to tell the full tale. Or they assumed her god said 'better go hop onto that D'. Moreover, most of those who disagreed with Prim as the most beautiful human woman were in Thorn and named Kaguya as such... and even those that preferred Prim would gush over the priestess' backside.

In short I was about to be considered the biggest Chad in Eostia for the past thousand years... Fucking hell, I wasn't ready for this... "Agreed... I'm aware Arnold was hoping Prim would be wooed by Victor but he won't overly worry about that failure... at least until the cat's out of the bag." Merlin told me. "Recent events will offer us protection from direct reprisal and it would look poor on him regardless, but we know everything he'll do will be indirect."

"So... business as usual then?"

"Indeed." He said with a nod. "Beyond that Mungale will be seeing an uptick in business for... various reasons, because of you. And not just your war deeds; between the voxlux and your game's shop there's quite a few lords and merchants approaching me about setting up shop in Argon. To the point we might need to expand the city walls if it keeps up." That was surprising; there was still room to build inside the city but if he's already talking expansion...

"Wait, that much?"

"I think it's a case of everyone sees Mungale on the rise and want to get in before the boom starts." He said with a chuckle. "Being that it's winter that means it'll be a trickle for now, but I imagine things will explode come spring. That means we're going to have to go over... a fair bit of planning and business." He said as I sighed.

More talking...

...yay...

[-]

"It's a quaint little city, I have to say. It's like a smaller Colt Ridge, really." Valora let off as she looked about, arm wrapped about the man's arm beside her as she smiled. "It's relaxing in a way, don't ya think?" She asked looking to the man finally.

"Y-yeah, it is..." Myrddin let off a bit nervously not exactly sure... what he should be doing with this higher class woman; much higher class then an orphaned merc like him. Then there was her clothing; a set of tight, black leather pants and a green top that was cropped under the breasts with long sleeves showing only a hint of her generous cleavage with her House Emblem over the left side with a set of knee high, brown boots. While simple the quality and craftsmanship in her clothing was clear and what she wore was worth more then every coin he had ever handled.

Yes, it covered more then her bikini-like Mana Armor... and yet the well fitted clothing made her look ever better then the skimpy armor did! "It does sort of remind me of where I grew up, anyway..." He added as she looked back to him once more... as he tried to ignore the two armed knights trailing them as bodyguards.

"Oh? How did you come to learn magic then; did the Church notice you?" Valora asked him as he shook his head.

"Ahh, n-no... A retired wizard lived near my home." He told her as he opted to look forwards for a moment. "He said he used to be a wizard for one of Arndale's minor houses, House Veradan."

"Oh, yeah..." Valora let off, sighing as she leaned into him. "Sad what happened to them..." House Veradan watched over the southwestern quarter of Arndale and was regarded as a reasonable house but neither exceptional nor lacking; she heard them referred to as 'depressingly average, if below so'. Some sixteen years previous their youngest child, Bertha, seemed to bear exceptional magical talent so her family called up a talented mage to teach her. When she turned sixteen she opted to do a magical experiment using knowledge she smuggled from her teacher's library; teleportation magic.

Valora's knowledge on how teleportation magic worked was limited beyond 'very hard' and 'limited to only magus level mages and higher'. Exactly what happened still wasn't known but Bertha's experiment exploded in her face with enough force to destroy their manor, it's grounds, it's walls and everything within a mile of it, leaving a crater with bubbling lava that would cool into a hardened stone.

"Yeah, he... was the one who taught Bertha..." Valora was surprised at that as he sighed. "He said he was looking high and low for his book on teleportation magic when he felt the explosion... He thinks she summoned molten lava from a volcano somewhere and it just... exploded, although he admits he doesn't know how or why it exploded... like it was under intense pressure before it appeared... He said he wanted to teach one more student before he was too old to do so..."

"What was he like? I mean I heard there was a wizard but... they don't talk much about him." She asked as she looked to him as he rubbed the back of his head with his free hand.

"He was... pretty wise and friendly... he smiled a lot, at least while I was watching." Myrddin told her as he looked up a bit. "It took a couple years before he told me about Bertha and it was with a haunted look... He said he knew she was too ambitious, wanting to do too much, too soon... I think he took my learning slowly because of it; she was a prodigy, he said, able to cast Cinder Storm at age thirteen." Valora nearly gawked at him; Cinder Storm was one of the strongest fire spells known that sent darts of burning mana at a massive area of a field. The amount of darts varied but it started at hundreds and with powerful casters it could reach thousands. "Yeah; supposedly it was weak for that spell, but she still did it... Hells, I can barley cast it now and I'd wipe all my mana doing it..."

"It's still impressive... Ooooh, that's the place James mentioned, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Myrddin let off before Valora tugged on his arm, almost forcibly, as she led him to a building labeled 'The Creamy Dream' and he realized what it was. James had mentioned it as well; a former maid turned entrepreneur wanted to make a shop based his creation, ice cream. He funded the place and owned it, but the woman, he was told, more or less ran the show herself. Pulled inside he gulped a bit, glad the escorting knights opted to wait outside of the shop... but also that he only had so much money, even after the bonuses Eostia paid out to them! "Ahhh, Valora I-"

"Relax... I'll buy..." She cooed as she pulled him close to her, chest to chest with a smile that melted his knees and made him quiver as she cupped his cheek. "You're my payment."

"Buuuh..." He let off, unsure of how to respond. He knew that as nobility she wanted for little, but still...

What was his life now?

[-]

Northwest Onyxcloak
Near Blackshard Border
Barren Valley Pass

"I'm surprised you found anything given how much the dark elves supposedly tore down."

"As did I. I think Nightsong held onto the records for reference. Not that they used them; I swear there was three inches of dust on the boxes." Vult snorted as Keane replied to him as they walked down the pass. Hicks was scouting for them and, thus far, only reported a clear path free of Legion. They traveled light; two dozen men only with what they needed as speed was what was required of the task at hand.

The Barren Valley Pass was well known to a small selection of Eostian, elven scouts; it was a trail cut deep though taller hills that wasn't that narrow but blocked the view from above from passing gargoyles. It wasn't well known and even their elven scouts in the Black Dogs only stumbled over it four years ago. Where it led was an old, hidden Imperium era fortress called Arce Silens or Fortress Silent; not built in a normal manner but into a cave, hidden from view. Supposedly it was home to the Ordo Hastae Aureae; the Golden Order of the Spear. It was the base for a holy order of templars who supported the Imperium until it's fall and then found themselves facing the newly founded Northlands Kingdom early in the Age of Conflict. The kingdom knew there was a base there, just not where exactly and it wasn't until centuries later that Joanna would, reportedly, rediscover it with her fellow Shield Maidens.

It would be a hidden base they would use and they only trusted the location to a handful of others. While the location of their hidden base was only rumored those rumors also stated they kept artifacts of the Brazen Emperor hidden away within... and perhaps it was the resting place of Gottes Verlangen himself!

"Oiy! Boss!" They heard, seeing Hicks before them, waving at them with a grin. "Get over here! You won't believe it!" Vult and Keane shared a look before picking up their pace as Hicks moved around a rock that cornered the bend in the trail. They turned around the bend to see behind and they saw it; a massive boulder standing before the mouth of a cave. It seemed like the boulder was once closer to the cave's mouth but something had clawed at it and pulled it back; a long, wide divot showed where it was dragged back. It was not a small boulder either; it was the size of modest sailing ship and how anyone could move it was unknown to them... He was sure it was broken off from the hill higher up but-

Then he saw them; claw marks... Deep claw marks from what seemed to be a bear but the sheer size of them made it clear it was no normal bear... it must have been an ungodly huge bear... likely the Blood Bear...

This was cemented as they walked into the wide mouth of the cave; easily large enough for Belyy Klyk to slip in despite his giant size... Shed fur was everywhere matching the hue of the now dead spawnborne as was the bones of... well, lots of things... and set in the corner like it was a bed given the amount of fur covering them... but the real eye catching thing was what was before them...

A castle...

They built as castle within the cave!

Forty foot tall walls that was twenty feet from the cave's ceiling with gates set into fifty foot towers with another three towers on each side. Rusted parts of what was likely siege weapons hung off the edge of the walls. The walls still stood but the gate was gone; not even rotted wood left as they walked to the keep with it's own gate no more but light within. Once inside old, primitive enchantments remained on unshaped spell stones that provided light to see by. "I wonder if the stones were added by Joanna and her crew?" Keane asked idly as they entered the entrance hall.

"You sure those old records say they're here?" Hicks asked and Keane adjusted his glasses.

"Yes; the records are from old, Arblade spies who managed to eavesdrop on Joanna and her Maidens after burying the emperor. They know for a fact they buried him in the cellar of Fortress Silent. They just didn't know where it was and searched the new empire up and down for it..."

"Given the boulder in front they must have sealed it behind them, intending to leave it abandoned for all time..." Vult replied with a grin. "And given the claws the Blood Bear pried it back and used it as a lair... Ha, never thought I'd be glad for that oversized magical project." He let off as they searched the first floor of the keep. It took half an hour but they finally found the cellar's entrance; hidden by a half collapsed wall. Once they pulled the fallen bricks out they descended and found themselves in a large storage room. Bits of rusted metal that was once weapons littered parts of the floor and it was clear if anything of value was once there it had been removed...

"So... it's supposed to be here?" Hicks let off; the lights were a bit dim but bright enough to see about well enough... and no sight of anything like a tomb, coffin or other item to hide a body in.

"It's here... but it's buried..." Keane said as he looked about before frowning. "Boss, can you break the floor here?" He said, pointing ahead of him.

"Sure thing." Vult said with a grin as he drew his massive blade from his back and walked forwards. His weapon would glow with a combat art before he slammed it down; the cracking of stone sounding as it broke apart. He would swing twice more, shattering the stone well before stepping back as Keane moved in. He would kneel and lift the stone, grunting as he tossed them aside before finally reaching what was under it; bare dirt and soil. He took a breath in as he set his hand to the earth and shut his eyes.

"I'm going to use an earth spell that I learned from mining prospectors." Keane explained as he focused. "It should locate solid objects within the dirt underground. Please be silent..."

"Fingers crossed..." Hicks let off as Keane focused. The men around him shuffled and one coughed but they gave him the quiet he needed, knowing it was important to their boss of nothing else...

"... There..." Keane let off, standing and walking forwards, moving to the back of the room... Soon he would cast a spell; forming a beam of light as he started to draw a large circle; eight feet around. The spell only scored the stone softly but that was his aim. "It's under here."

"Stand back." Vult let off as he grinned and strode forwards. Grinning his Combat Art would be used as he slammed his weapon down; cracking the floor once more. Soon he'd move about, breaking the edge of the circle and breaking it apart. Once done he'd do the same to the inside of the circle to shatter the stone into pieces. Once done his men would move it, tossing the stone aside and exposing the soil before shovels were drawn.

Soon soil was dug out, spadeful by spadeful as they worked. Two feet down something was hit and dug around; a large stone. The stone was tossed aside and digging continued until the first one reached three feet down and hit metal. Vult grinned as his men worked harder and faster with proof of what was there. Soon it was exposed and then dug around to expose it further. It was not a normal casket; it was bronze, circular and six feet around. "Don't bother pulling it out; it'll be filled with sand." Vult let off as Keane grinned.

"Step back." The mage said as he started to cast and, once everyone was clear he cast a spell to blast the dirt and soil off of the casket. Soon it was uncovered fully; it was simple, bare and unadorned bronze save one set of carved words set to the lid.

Here lies the Tyrant Gottes Verlangen

Allow him to be forgotten
so that nevermore his memory
can darken the land or it's people

Vult chuckled as he looked over it and saw a bolt locking it down.

One strike with his blade unlocked it as he forced the lid to lift up and open on it's crusted hinge, shunting it open fully and exposing a mass of sand within. "Keane." He said as he stepped back before his mage used another wind spell; aiming it to catch the sand and pulling it up and out of the container, obscuring the casket and it's contents for a long moment until the whole thing was emptied of sand. Once it was Vult looked inside; noting the bronze casket was two inches thick on the sides.

Inside was a mummified corpse wearing rusted metal with it's arms pulled behind it. Rusted chains bound his arms and legs and his withered head, covered in black hair and a black beard, looked like it was twisted in fear before death. He expected to find something...

And yet the first thing to catch his eye beyond the corpse was not what he expected but something else he hoped would be found... It was a blade driven through the corpse... "So it's true... Verlangen dropped his blade in the heat of battle and Joanna drove it into him to finish him off... pinning him to the ground before he was bound... but I didn't know they left it in him."

"So, that's it then?" Hicks let off with wide eyes. "The Fang of Bahamut..."

"Legends say that in his deal to release Dagon into death he found the corpse of Bahamut and forged the Dragon King's fang into a sword..." Vult said as he grabbed the handle of the weapon and pulled it free as he grinned. The blade was pure and utter white and cut to have a flat, back end and was shaped in a narrow, four foot long triangle that widened to just over half a foot where blade met handle but it bore a long point that carried on down as a guard three quarters of a foot from the last fifth of the handle.

Where fang and black, wrapped handle met was orichalcum along a foot and a half of the blade's back and the bottom of the fang, securing it in place. Indeed, the handle, pommel and backing were some of the first, successful forgings of orichalcum recorded, at least by humans. Said pommel bore a diamond shaped, red spell stone which bore early enchantments that likely kept the wrap of the blade intact... among other things, he was sure. "Heh..." Vult let off as he grinned, flicking his thumb over the blade's edge; razor sharp... "I'm holding a piece of true history here... He used this blade... The emperor forged, reforged and reforged once more this blade... This sword forged an empire and held it together..." He turned it in his hand and felt his grin widen. He couldn't let anyone know he had this... Not until the time was right... Sure it wasn't what he was looking for but it was beyond an amazing find... and when the time was right to use it he-

"The fuck!?" Hicks let off as he reached in and grabbed something else... Picking it up he turned it over; a strange, black, horn shaped thing with bronze wrapped about the wide end. It was hollow and still bore loose sand in it and covering parts of it. "What is this?"

"That?" Vult said; if it was possible he'd grin wider. "That's an insurance policy."

[-]

Two more days of back and forth talking... Talking, talking and more talking... more talking then I ever wanted to sit in on let alone be a part of.

But like all things it came to an end; the treaty was done and written to the satisfaction of most gathered. Scribes would write down the agreed on wording on two documents and, with a spell, would copy it to another as a third, written in the dark elf script, was made. By the time lunch was done the copies were written down and both Celestine and Olga gave them one last read over as all the observers on both sides watched on as the sheets sat on a table in the library.

Across the kingdom boosters projected the image of what was going on in the library over cities. Viewers did the same inside Guilds, manors and more. This was that sort of moment; the one where you would know where you were when it happened... and unlike any such moment before it was shared across a nation as Sora held the voxlux to record it all...

Finally Celestine set the sheet down and exchanged brief words with Olga before taking hold of a quill. She would write her name on all three of the treaty sheets and passed the quill to Olga who did the same.

All of Eostia watched as seven centuries of war was ended, formally, in seven seconds in the form of the now signed Treaty of Mungale. I let off a breath I didn't know I was holding as I gave a clap and smile, triggering everyone to join me in it; even House Angelus. Soon we would, one by one, come forth and add our own names (With myself pushed to the front of the line, of course) to a section for all observers. Once the quill was set done and ink was dry it was done.

(Something I wasn't aware of was that people were using voxluxs to record the reactions of crowds gathered to watch the signings with much fanfare and celebration. What I wasn't aware of at the time was that boosters were installed in the occupied cities in Garan (I shouldn't have been surprised but somehow I was) and they were celebrating as well. Once the Guild learned they'd get copies of those videos and those would be played on repeat.)

Everyone shook hands and finally it felt like the pressure was released. Dinner was grand that day and filling with lobster and steak (Very expensive to import to Mungale, I might add. The old man went all out), salads, seconds of a few things, ice cream (At my suggestion some grape flavored scoops were made for Olga) and lots and lots of wine including a bottle that was given to my parents as a wedding gift. It was gifted to them by House Galeraven and was two hundred years old to start with.

My opinion was that while wine was supposed to get better and more flavorful with age there had to be a point where there was diminishing returns for that. What was the difference in taste between two year old, two decades old or two centuries old wine? I have no idea; I'm not a wine snob.

Good wine though.

After a long party I finally opted to go to my room and retire, stripping to a tunic and pants and relaxed as I opted to make a choice I'd been mulling over for a bit now; my sub class selection.

I narrowed it down to Engineer, Priest and Paladin and after a lot of consideration and some talk with Olivia I made a selection... because as it turns out there would be a refund on a trait once it was no longer needed. And thus I made my choice.

[What's A Paladin?]
You Are! You gain all the traits, skills and equipment that the Paladin class has access to

It took awhile and I was heavily considering Engineer but I opted for the stronger defensive and healing spells, additional Combat Art selection and weapon selection (That I liked Paladin as a class didn't hurt either...) but the thing that pushed me over the edge to make this choice was once I made it my Axe Crazy trait was removed as it was now redundant as axes of all types were something Paladins had as a primary weapon selection. It was returned to me as Regular Trait Points; fifteen in total giving me fifty one... forty of which I dropped on another trait right away.

[Gunslinger]
You have the ability to use pistols as a Secondary Weapon

While the extra building and crafting skills Engineer would have given me could have been helpful the reality was one) I was competent enough at building, repairing or refitting things as it stood and two) if it was beyond my ability I could pay and outsource the problem. I felt it was better to focus more towards spellcraft and combat as opposed to 'build things better'.

That said taking Gunslinger meant I'd have both brand new capabilities and brand new problems to deal with; the first of which was getting a gun. I hated to say it but Mungale was anything but a Mecca for gun shows or gunsmiths; I've seen maybe one firearm in Mungale and it was an old, broken flintlock. No, I'd need a proper revolver. Then I would need to secure ammo for said gun; that would be less troublesome. Then I would need to train with it in two manners; the proper way and the off hand way. Yes; I planned to use it in my left, non-dominant hand so I could use my sword in tandem with it. That would be tricky but when I went trait seeking I found one called, and I am not joking, I Am Not Left Handed for fifteen TP which would help with that.

Of course I'd also need to enchant the weapon but, ya know, that was kinda my thing.

The clear option of where to get one, then, was Steel Lock as they were the home of all kinds of firearms. I mean the towns and cities in the place looked more like the old west more then anything else. Once things settled down I can just zip over on a Cloud Rider, do some shopping and make a purchase.

(I would later call up Brandy Mignite, the Duchess of Steel Lock, and asked about where to go gun shopping and where to train as well as my plans to work enchantments onto it. She was more then pleased to talk and somehow managed to talk me into commissioning one from one of her preferred gunsmiths who could get a hold of spell stones of up to grade two for the right price. More over she talked me into (With, I hate to say it, very little arm twisting) a mythril revolver with a grade two spell stone as the stocks on the grip (Yes, if you have a revolver with panels on the sides of the grip their proper name was 'stocks'. I honestly thought it was just the back end of a rifle. I wondered if it was the proper name in my old world too) with a six shot cylinder. She also promised to send me a book on firearm enchantments with quick load enchantments. I could have kissed her... again. Between materials, smiting, shipping, one thousand rounds of ammo (Because I just couldn't go to the local general store to get more, so best to stock up upfront) I would spend a hefty fifty platinum (I paid fifty five; the extra five as a tip and request for extra quality) so it was expensive as hell but it could damn well be worth it.)

Opting to steady my nerves for a bit I broke out the old flute and started to play a soft, slow and easy tune as sat by the window... at least until a knock sounded on my door causing me to make a sour note as I jumped in surprise.

Wondering who was at my door this time (And expecting female and a bit horny) I stood and walked over...

[-]

Rubin Drakepyre was a warrior.

Yes, she was of a High House, a spellcaster, a leader and many other things but she preferred to think of herself as a warrior first and foremost... and that was an image that had taken a beating recently.

Facing James at that mountain so long ago was exciting in that she found a new rival; even if the situation dictated she retreat. Still, once she found him on the field of battle once more her blood boiled with excitement as they clashed once more...

Now...? Now her perspective had changed somewhat as the boil turned to a simmer. Bronka's earlier determination to slay him was once seen by her as noble; attempting to conquer and vanquish a hated rival. Now it was easy to see that the Nightsong's hatred and desire for vengeance led her down a path of self-destruction; so much so that her slain sister must have wept for her. More over she was forced to look at her own motives and reasons to fight and found she fought... for the sake of fighting...

In the wake of their troubles, in the wake of Laborborne opting to fight them she was forced to ask if there was something better to fight for... a new reason worth her might...

But in the end she was still a warrior... and her now friendly rival had bested her in nearly every contest thus far save a few spars... spars she lost more then won...

Even in Battle Fleet and Chess she could not best him... And it burned at her... her pride, cracked and battered as it was now, demanded she gain a victory... and then came up with a means by overhearing then speaking with the Dawn Templars about some... interesting parts of Eostian culture... And that led her to his room.

If she couldn't best him with sword and blade then she'd best him sex and breast.

If she couldn't defeat him in the fields of war then she'd defeat him in bed in the sheets.

If she couldn't win in board games then she's be victorious in bedroom games.

She would defeat him in the very arena of the Eostians!

And thus as the door opened she knew she had to make the opening strike before he was aware of the contest he was in. "Rubin? How can I he-"

And thus she lunged to him with a firm kiss.

[-]

I wasn't expecting to see Rubin at my door, although she was hardly the last person I'd expect; we had been getting along so far once the fighting between the sides had ended.

Even if I had expected her at my door I didn't expect her to lunge at me with a kiss, forceful enough to stumble me back as she kicked the door shut with her heel as my arms pinwheeled, caught fully off guard. Once the kiss broke I was able to recover, somewhat as my hands gripped her hips. "Well, I didn't take you for a lustful one!" I let off as she backed me up to my desk.

"I am told this is a common custom in Eostia..." She replied, her voice oddly husky as she smiled. "So I shall indulge..." She let off before clapping a hand to my ass and kissing me once more, and fiercely; it's as if she was being more then just lustful. That being said I had no reason to think she'd hurt me.

...

Okay, she had reasons, but if she were to indulge in them she'd prefer a fair fight, not a sexual ambush in my own bedroom. My hands moved to her hips then reached around to cup her rather firm backside as she pressed her tongue to my lips to invade my mouth. I managed to get my hands under her loincloth to grab her skin directly as we groaned into the other's mouth before she moved to strip my tunic off. I let her but once done I countered by pulling off the top of her own outfit, tossing it aside and grabbing her generous breasts right after; hefting them up and squeezing as her hands quickly moved to explore my chest. Kissing, of course, resumed.

She would make a go for my pants which made me opt to pushing her bottoms down as I pushed back; shoving her back towards the bed; my steps becoming awkward as my pants went down where as she was able to just step out of hers (Save a slight stumble over her panties) before she grabbed me around the torso, turned and half suplexed me to the bed before tearing my pants and boxers off fully.

She was being very aggressive about it... I didn't know why, but hey, whatever... that's how she is. She moved over me and set her lips to my cock and, while I was semi-stiff, sucked me into her mouth as I grabbed her hips and moved her over me and, with hands moving to her ass, pulled her down to me to kiss at her lower lips.

She moaned and moved her lips down further; I had no idea what level if any sexual experience she had but as I hardened fully in her mouth and felt a hand stroke my cock's base I had to admit she at least had enthusiasm. I managed to lock onto her clit and started to suckle on it as I set my fingers to her pussy and opened it over me.

Her hips squirmed as she shivered over me as I started to press two fingers up into her sex, slowly pumping them as she moaned around me, vibrating my cock and making me moan into her clit in turn. I used the thumb on the hand not driving into her to help spread her lower lips a little more to make it a little bit easier to drive into. She humped down into me and I up into her and before long, despite holding back I'd finally come up into her lips and a second later she's splash her own climax onto my lips. She pulled my cock free of her lips and pushed up on all fours which also pulled her hips from me before crawling forwards and letting me watch that firm backside sway over me before straddling my hips and lining up my cock with her sex as she readied to go into a reverse cowgirl.

She would drop down onto me as she shivered before started to rock her hips down onto me as I held onto her hips, groaning as I rocked up. I didn't know how much she did this kinda thing but she was clearly no virgin (I'd later learn that taking male lovers as concubines wasn't unheard of for the High Houses of Garan and House Drakepyre was doubly known for it after battles) as she clapped her ass down onto me hard as I groaned out loudly under her. I braced my feet a bit and started to rock back as she came down, doing my best to match her rutting pattern as best as I could given she was on top and, thus, in control.

Not that I minded as I rocked my hips up a bit harder. "Well, you like riding don't you?" I teased as she looked back.

"I do, ahhh, prefer to be the aggressor in all thiiings!" She let off, surprised as I moved to grab her wrists and pulled her back, catching her to my chest and rolling us to the side as I rocked into her, spoon fucking her as I kissed her ear. "Damn you! I was meant to be on top!"

"We're making love, not war." I replied, grunting into her as my hand gives her ass a firm smack before squeezing it as she moaned out as she shivered next to me. She moaned deeper and squeezed on me as she rocked her hips back at me.

"I am a Drakepyre; everything can be combat for us!" She let off, reaching back to wrap an arm around my neck to thrust herself onto my cock with a loud moan. Despite her claim she would cum on my cock as I followed right after; my balls forcing sperm up my penis and into her waiting pussy. I rubbed her hip as I took a moment to recover...

Only for her to roll, push me onto my back and mount me once more, dropping her sex onto my cock, hands onto my chest as she started to rock down as she moaned out. My hands quickly found to cup her breasts, squeezing; surprised at how quickly she jumped back onto my dick as we panted as we rutted. Still I was able to keep going as well as I gave those nice, dusky breasts of her a good squeezed before pressing down on her nipples with my thumbs as I rocked up to try and match her.

She moved to not just drop down but rocked her hips forwards and back as she moaned out and arched her back over me as we worked one another. This time I would cum first with her following right after as she slumped over me as we panted for a long, long moment.

I opted to be the one to carry things on; pulling her down and rolling her over to a missionary position and started to rock into her, starting things once more.

[-]

Top of Mungale Manor's Central Tower

"To peace."

"To peace." The clink of two glasses, one with white wine and one with red, clinked together as the holder of the former smiled and the latter maintained a more controlled look. Sighing, said latter woman sipped her drink then looked off to the small city in the distance and the camps before it. "To think I would be glad to be done with this war..." Olga let off with a sigh.

"Ara, I've waited for seven centuries for this..." Celestine replied with a sigh after sipping her own drink. "You'll be the busier one, I'm sure, but I'll have my hands full as well." She said with her own sigh. "Things will needs be considered."

"I've still a war with the legion and a nation to overhaul." Olga said as she leaned into the edge of the tower. Both had noted the massive spell stone in the top of the tower but paid it no mind; although both were curious about it. "I'm sure it won't be that difficult for you."

"Perhaps, but it'll still be a delicate act..." Celestine replied as she leaned over the crenelation and set her glass down as she looked into the distance. "For all the problems the war caused it gave everyone an enemy to unite against; I imagine some nobles will opt to spite at their peers eventually. The northern Slave States will lose some of their pull as they are no longer the shield of the rest which will cause more friction. The freedom of all dark elves in Eostia will cause the Traditionalists across the realm no ends of frustration... But that's not what worries me; I've dealt with these people long enough I am confident that I can manage them, even the most childish."

"Then what worries you?"

"The other nations around us." Celestine replied as Olga sipped her own drink. "Dominious, Balanar and Nyaru has always counted on Eostia being distracted, wanting to slice off parts of our territory. The Threat of Garan made them unwilling to cause too much damage to us directly but they've been more then willing to use the divided attention to make a go at our friends or allies. With Eostia no longer distracted they may worry what we can do if they opt to act out once more; more so Dominious."

"Hmmm..." Olga let off as Celestine stood up fully and sipped her drink once more.

"And then there's another nation we need to consider; Zenith." Celestine said with a frown. "The Empire of Merchants prefers to make coin then make war but it's Primus is no fan of ours. If he isn't assisting the Black Storm with funding then there's a chance someone under him is; even if I have a lack of proof for it and little more then rumors and speculation."

Thanks in part to a Cloud Rider she was able to smuggle voxluxs and a booster into the Plutocracy giving her a clearer ear inside of the small yet powerful island. While her ambassadors only had so many means to listen in on things within their halls of power her spies were able to get more intel thanks to her friend's invention and learned that the Primus himself had been meeting with two rather middling merchants...

The brothers Mortadella...

Indeed, after playing sutler for the Black Dogs for awhile they would head to the Great Atlas River and travel to Zenith; her trackers losing contact with them but new ones catching up with them in the capital of Aerarium City and on their second day there they reported to Primus Achelous Chrysos himself. What the meeting was about she was unaware of but while the Mortadella's were successful merchants they were, in the grand scheme of things, seemingly unimportant and more so to the higher echelons of power within that nation. What she did know was a sailing ship was transferred to the pigmen by the Primus' order; a not insignificant investment.

Razon Beardsley was connected to the Mortadella's who were, in turn, connected to both Vult's Black Dogs and the Primus of Zenith. There was a connection there and while there was no solid proof beyond the one black letter to indicate that it was more then just trade and mercantilism she could see a connection.

Beardsley as a contact to the Cloaked Crowns and arranging for movements in the shadows to undermine Eostia from within.

Chrysos offering the funding and provisions to help supply the saboteurs and possibly an opposing army in addition to a ship for transport and supply.

Vult and his Black Dogs could provide the men-at-arms to do the front line grunt work to topple Eostia if they were hired to do so.

The pieces were being moved on the board against her and her nation... but she was starting to see past the fog to get some of the details... More over the board itself had been tilted by recent events and to her favor.

Beardsley's fall and failure exposed the Crown's involvement but more importantly exposed the Mortadella's to her and her Blackwatch notice which granted them ample intelligence opportunities. The end of the war with Garan coupled with the discovery and correction of Olga's condition would further undermine their foes. More over with the war over more of her attention and efforts could be focused on hunting down the Crowns or, at bare minimum, blunt their efforts.

Even so there was plenty of questions to be answered; what was the strength and capabilities of the Crowns and their positions inside Eostia? Would Vult take a contract to face Eostia or would he rather find his fortunes elsewhere? Would the Primus limit his support to just the monetary or would he find a more direct means to get involved? What would the Church do if they saw the Storm or Crowns making a move? And what about their neighbors?

She frowned in thought; now that she thought about it the Dominious Civil War and Nyaru's more recent movements drawing both their concerns and Rycall's was interesting timing... Was it luck or did someone, such as the Primus, have a finger pressed on the scale of politics? It wouldn't be the first time that Zenith had used their immense wealth of soft power to destabilize things to their benefit... Some encouragement to make one side of the Dominious war to pick a fight, a nudge to Nyaru to try and claim Aladon once more and draw Rycall's ire, Justical to storm Balanar once more... So long as they could account for Camafran they could mostly isolate Eostia from both ally and threat...

Once more Garan was a factor, a changed one at that, to account for... "And that looming shadow that plans to darken both of our lands wishes to descend upon us..." Olga let off with a frown. "We do have our work cut out for us."

"Yes, but chin up." Celestine said with a calm smile... even from there she could see happy citizens inside the walls of Argon City, cheerfully dancing and partying in the open. "We have advantages and hope... We can carry our nations onwards."

"Let us hope, indeed..."

[-]

Well this is a new sex position... and I'm not fully sure how we ended up in it...

So we went from missionary (And came), to having one of Rubin's legs on my shoulder (And came), doggy style (Came, yes) and then her seat in my lap back facing me then front facing me (Came and came) before... this.

In short we both had feet on the bed along with our palms, legs mixed together as we rocked our hips together; like one of those lesbian porn videos with a double ended dildo; save we had no dildo and just my dick.

I mean... it worked, and it did feel nice, if... different... We clapped our pelvises together (Well, more rammed, really) as she shivered and groaned as I groaned and panted as we worked to pleasure one another. I still didn't get why she was so aggressive beyond, ya know, Rubin, but whatever. Even so we rocked to one another, groaning together until one of us came... and, sadly, it was me as I shot my next load up into her as I shivered while she lasted another five thrusts before I felt her clench onto me as I huffed and fell back onto my ass, shivering a bit as I tried to recover...

"Whoa!"

She gave me no chance, despite panting and huff herself as she shoved me onto my back with my head hitting the pillow as she mounted me once more. Despite flagging a bit my cock was hard enough to work though her lips before dropping back down onto my lap once more. "I can... still go..." She panted out as she slammed down on me as I grit my teeth as she seemed to be trying to fuck me into submission, or at least into exhaustion.

She rocked her hips in a circle as she moved up and down, my eyes rolling back (And hers as well, I noted with some trouble) as she slammed down harder and harder, as if using the last of her energy to get past some invisible goal. She was slamming down faster and faster with my hands holding onto her hips as I squirmed under her, panting more and more before I finally came once more-

-and my body opted to tap out as I just passed out...

[Fucked List]

Banged Rubin Drakepyre=100XP x 5 First Time Bonus=500XP
+20% Rising Star of Eostia Bonus
Gain 600XP in Total

[-]

One last climax and she collapsed onto of him... passed out under her as, with a groan, rolled off him to his side as she shuddered, pleasured rolling up and down her spine as she lifted a fist up into the air. "I did it... I defeated... James... Noxdecus... at some...thing..."

And then she passed out herself, fist smacking her own chest as she fell asleep.

[-]

After one of the most... aggressive moments of sex I've had in a long time and a surprisingly good rest it was time to bid good bye to our Garanian guests; Olga's carriage was being loaded (With special care being given to the three ice cream makers... and spell glass chess board) as was the other carriage she was using. Olga watched over the loading before finally turning back towards us; Chloe, Rubin (Who seemed kinda smug for... some reason...), Tsarina and Viktur flanking her before speaking to Celestine flanked by myself, Claudia, Alicia and Prim with the rest of the Shields behind us and the collected observers behind them. I didn't mind being pushed up front like this and I knew why, but it wasn't my first choice of where to be. "My mother once told me there would be a century where it feels like weeks happen and weeks that feels like a century has happened." Olga said as she faced us and tapped her staff to the ground once. "...More has happened in my life these past few weeks then the century before it... For both ill and good. Thankfully I can forge the ill to a new form to better Garan; even if it will take time."

"Indeed. And with luck we can be of some help in that." Celestine replied with a smile in return. "With time both our lands and peoples can heal and better themselves. With luck old hurts will mend into new friendships." She said with a smile as Olga nodded then looked to me.

"... It is difficult to say what we are." She began. "We were enemies, and more respectful then many of those I had before. We have spoken on a respectful level, more then some I had with my own people. I am unsure what to label it."

"How about friendship?" I said with a smile and stepping in with my hand extended for a shake. "I would, at least hope, we've gotten that far." She blinked at me for a moment and stared before giving a single, soft chuckle and moved her staff to her other hand and reached out to shake mine... and I used the shake to pull her to me into a hug with my other hand as she gave a brief, shocked looked (With her people looking shocked at what I pulled save Chloe who just sighed) and she gave a brief smile as she patted my shoulder once and moved to step back.

"Friendship with a human, even if dragonborne? Feels... less of a mere novelty then it should." She said, returning to a mildly aloof posture. "Very well then. Until next time... Friend... As well as the rest of you." She said setting her staff in her right hand once more and tapping it to the ground before turning to board her carriage. Soon her aides would join her; Chloe being the only one to pause and give a wave to me as I waved back. Once she entered the vehicle moved to leave the grounds of Mungale Manor and would head to the north.

The sheets that the Treaty of Mungale was written on was set to a board with protective glass over them after the ink dried and two were given to Garan (Common writing and Garanian writing) and one for Esotia and soon it would be brought to the capital with copies issues to each state. Celestine sighed and stepped forwards and turned to everyone with a smile. "And now with this event done we've one last to do. We will bring all the local lords to the Skyguard Palace within the capital city. It is time for a long overdue victory party to celebrate the war's end."

A cheer when up as I sighed...

One last party ahead of me, I guess...

Mere minutes later a light snowfall would begin as the first snow fell onto Mungale... a promise at new beginnings, I could hope...

[ - Author's Note - ]

So there we are... a few things in Argon, including a return of Rowdy who hasn't really been seen since Act One (And he's still the same charmer) a little bit with Miika, the Treaty is signed, James has a sub class and Rubin finally defeated James... in a sense of the word...

Oh, and Vult's doing some classic dungeon diving! That's neat! I'm sure nothing bad will come of it!

So next chapter we have the last, proper chapter of Act Three... and well... a few things shall come up, we'll say.

Until next time!

~Eostian Scribe