∞∞∞
I stirred in the bed when I heard a soft knocking on the door. It was firm but soft as if a little hand was doing a hard knock and frustrated it wasn't loud enough. Lily I guessed. I hollered I would need a moment and to wait patiently. I did my morning stuff quickly in a bucket, which was awkward. I missed flushing toilets, it was extremely high on my to do list for my new manor. I imagined how hard it would be to explain to the builders what I wanted.
Dressed for the day I opened the door and saw Lily with Lady Bella behind her. They wore light summer yellow dresses that matched and went down to their shoes. Their hair was styled the same and they both had lily flowers pinned to their dresses. It was super adorable. I may be a macho kinda guy, but these were the moments that I got mushy.
“You two look perfect, absolutely the best!” I exclaimed with animated hands of excitement. Lily nudged Bella with her elbow. She reached into her bust and removed a piece of paper. I immediately wanted to see where the paper came from. I guess it was easier to store stuff in one's boobs in a one piece dress.
Before I accepted it I said. “You must have talked with Lady Rain and her daughter about last night?”
Lady Bella quickly took the paper, folded it neatly and inserted it back in her bust. I reached for it and she smacked my hand down. “No, you mischievous man. Out with it, I have three sisters who call Lady Rain mom. Which was it and what happened?” A stern face matched a finger that was pointed at my nose.
“I was set up I swear. I fell asleep after our wonderful lengthy talk. Lady Rain woke me up and informed me I should not be in your room. I then went to a room she guided me to. When I got in bed, I found a naked woman who resembled her mother. I promptly threw her out beside a surprised Lady Rain, and then told them I was going to be marrying you. That I choose you and no one else mattered.” I said with emotions because I have some of those. On occasions.
It was the right thing to say. Lily jumped onto my right leg in a hug, and Bella tackled me. The lady began passionately kissing me and I meant to interrupt her due to Lily's proximity when someone else beat me to it.
“Ewe, gross. No reason to clog the air up with your pretend love, you only met a day ago. He got stabbed yesterday, and then I was able to surprise him in his bed. Both times he was either with or recently by you. You cannot protect him, you cannot love him the way I will. You are inferior and weak. He needs strength, a fellow griffin rider.” The audacious sister from last night said while dramatically picking her nail with a knife.
“By the gods Una 'The Fearless',” Bella said with seething anger between clenched teeth. She punctuated the fearless with a hiss. “You have bullied me my whole life. Be happy for me, and grateful for this weak, loving, caring, delicate body of mine is leaving this manor.” There it was, the truth of the matter. The strong preyed on the weak, and this was no different. I was disgusted.
The two sisters couldn't be any different. Rider Una was fit, extremely so for a woman. She had brown hair with brown eyes, with visible scars from fighting. Her nose was crooked and swollen from breaking. Her eyes were hard and uncaring. She looked like she wanted to vomit at the emotions we displayed, and punch her sister for daring to talk back to her.
I did what any man would or should do in such a situation where two girls fought over you. I picked the one I wanted. I pushed Bella against the wall embracing her in a fierce kiss. I reached into her bra as I continued to kiss her. I grabbed the paper and unfolded it, with lips still locked. I then slammed the paper against the wall leaving her gasping for breath, pulled out my knife, cut my finger and signed the paper with my blood. I was expecting defeat in Una's face instead I saw it was red with passion.
“That was fucking hot. Like, my pussy is super wet. Take me like that anytime you want, you hung stud. I see your desire trying to escape your pants. And before you try to scold me talking like that in front of the little one, save it, I don't care. You will be mine eventually but you won this round, Bella. Congratulations on getting married, I look forward to being your sister wife.” And with that Una did an about face and stormed off. To jump off a balcony headfirst I hoped.
“Well, I have never won before...” Bella was stunned.
“Um, Bella I think the bigger news is we are a family now!” Lily said and gave her a hug. “You’re going to love Fernlan, Velia, and Pipi. I am so happy for you, I promised you will love it. I am so happy I may cry.”
“So may I. If you would excuse us, dear husband. I am going to straighten out our appearances and become more presentable. Also, need to tell some important people the good news.” Bella said and kissed my cheek. She then grabbed Lily by the hand and they skipped away. Leaving me standing there uncertain what to do. Of course, my stomach rumbled and grumbled telling me to feed it and that I was a dumb ass for waiting.
I searched my way down the lavish hallways and the ornate staircase. I followed my nose until I found the kitchen. Which I was promptly removed from by the head cooking lady. I guess I could have called her a chef, but they did so much more than cook here. I was lead to the eating area and found the Duke and some nobles. There was roaring laughter. “And then he says... Get this... I blame the dark for sticking it in the wrong hole.”
The laughter grows as the Duke slams his good hand down on the table and then I am spotted.
“There he is, the man of the day. I heard you had a run in with Una last night. Still got your balls or did she take them?” the Duke asked me. Apparently, he knew his daughter well.
“Firmly on my body good sir. Though I am taking one of your daughters north with me, she and I have decided to get married. Here is the document, signed it in my blood, hope that is not an issue.” I said this to grins.
“You are very lucky to have caught the eye of one of my daughters, I bet they see a lot of me in you. A charismatic warrior, who kills the Horde with glee. Well out with it man, no more suspense hand me the paper.” I did so and the Duke suddenly got somber. Gone was the joyous mood and laughter. “Her mother would be so proud of her. Lady Margaret, her mother was my first wife. The true love I told you of earlier. She tried for a half a decade to give me a child. With no lack of effort, I assure you. She died giving birth to Bella, my one true love transferred her soul to that little precious girl. She is all grown up now though, at two years over the legal age of sixteen. Bella is able to make her own decisions. While I am sad to see her go, I welcome you to the family.” Duke Riza said. He got up and shook my hand then left the table.
Derfran broke the silence that followed. “He lost sons to the war, everyone that could fight, did so defending humanity. He nourished, schooled, and trained them to replace him one day. The amount of love he gave all of them paled to how much he doted on Bella. Her siblings were jealous and she had a rough time growing up in the manor. We will work on softening the blow to his heart. It will do him some good to see her settled well in a good home with you. He will probably visit often.”
I scrunched my face in frustration. “So yeah, about that list of professionals I need. Let’s add a full team of builders Derfran. I can afford it and you can make it happen with your connections easier than I can. Maybe two teams, actually, yes. Two, make it happen because I leave tomorrow and if the Duke comes to visit you know what he will find? His daughter sleeping on pine straw in a half shed with only three walls. Yeah, Fernlan is a potty pit of a village right now. We will invest some effort into fixing it up.”
Additional silence followed my words. A steaming plate of eggs and biscuits arrived and I devoured them. The once happy joyous group departed to start the day. Meanwhile, I asked for seconds and thirds.
∞∞∞
I was lost with what to do, every minute of my time had been spent with a driven purpose and a goal on Vin so far. I found myself alone, and bored. I figured I could browse the local market, so I went shopping. I had to ask a few guards the same question along the way after getting turned around. Frustrated at
the city layout, I finally found the damn place. It was right on the border wall between the slums and the upper city.
There were two entrances. Double the guards on the slum side. I was patted down and had to place my weapons on a rack. I was given a tag that would return my items to me. Next, I went to the market bank teller. I verified my identity by the paperwork of my title from the Duke, which was accepted without issue. The clerk checked a sheet of paper from the palace. Then proceeded to give me chips with a number on one side and a unique image on the other side. It was explained to me, to stop pickpockets and protect consumers and sellers the chips were used in place of real coins. Chips could not be turned in besides by a merchant or redeemed by the original owner, and all chip transactions were tracked. So if something shady was going on it was eventually caught. Not perfect, but it added a nice layer of protection for all parties. It was a hassle, but I had to deal with it seeing as how the treasury held my funds at the moment. Not to mention, I had not been robbed yet, but who knew when someone would manage to lift a coin purse of mine.
The market was fairly quiet, it was still early morning. Some stalls were not open with just a shuttered stand. Others were in the process of setting up shop. My first stop was for food. It was an ugly river fish on a stick, and it was nasty. It probably ate human shit for all I knew. I tossed it to a stray dog... well it looked more like a small wolf. No more of mystery fish for today, the last thing I needed was the shits. I found a bookseller who was open. This guy had so many books they looked ready to collapse on top of him. Two of my wives mentioned enjoying to read, and I myself wanted to learn more of the lore and history of Vin.
“Good day Sir, may I interest you in story or two. Maybe a loose telling of history, or a mystery.” He made his sells pitch choosing to rhyme. He was an older man with thin hair that covered a balding head. His big smile revealed nasty crooked teeth. That was something I found I tended to avoid noticing on people. It seemed the people of Vin were aware of how awful their teeth were and tried to hide them. Or I was oblivious and impulsively found other flaws or perks to focus on. I would probably need to figure out something for myself, I had been picking the gunk off my teeth for the last few days.
The man waved at me to catch me from my dental distraction. “Ah yes, the books. Is everything handwritten or is there a printing press?” I asked as I thumbed through a few books.
“Brown or earth mages can copy an original book quickly with a spell. The catalyst is the blood of tree worms. Common in the tropics far, far, north of here. It used to be easily obtained and traded for southern items like our hardwoods. Now it is quite expensive. While good for my short term business I am afraid I will have to go back to other types of earth spells. But let’s not talk of current sad times, these books are our salvation of escape to better places. Where magic, adventure, and mystic prevail. You got any children, I bet you do, some great kids’ books in here to keep them up late at night.” He said reverting to salesmanship.
“Are there many booksellers in Lakeland?” I asked.
“You are looking at the only one left. I bought the last of the stock of my competitors when the war progressed further and further south. They fled to the cold oceans far south. Afraid Lakeland would fall to the Horde. I got their books at a great bargain and now they are worth far more if I can find the right buyer. Which you Sir, seem like a man of learning, how about these books on the history of Vin? Less common, harder to find copies. Not the originals but nearly as good and a great price. Three silver for this advanced version.” He said pushing the sale again. I was intrigued.
“What other spells can you do with Earth magic?”
“It is not my place to say Sir. Unless you’d wish to help a man out with some money for food.”
I handed him a marker worth a silver coin.
“Official name is Earth Mage Zack of Isles Blue. It is a slow week so a silver shall help mightily. Thank you. My spells, well obviously copy of text. Yet while that one is too expensive to do, books are selling for less than the cost to make them at the moment. Eventually, it will balance out but my whole supply would cost thirty to forty gold to make and I would be lucky to get twenty five.” He paused in his explanation and dug around for a book. He set the ‘Understanding Magics’ book on the counter. Satisfied with his display he continued
“All mage types get a non-catalyst spell, for brown mages, it is plant or tree growth. I simply discharge my aura into the tree or plant and it either grows or if fully grown increases the maturation cycle. Every evening if I have no books to copy I travel down to the fields. For a few coppers I help the smelon trees speed up their fruit cycle.
“Making paper requires a catalyst of thinly crushed tree bark and a tiny bit of aura. As for other spells, I can change elevation or shape the earth to make mud buildings, but the catalyst is a burrow mole claws or goblin heart. Both love the underground. The problem with mud buildings is you should still add an exterior like stone or wood to prevent water damage. I can remove roots of felled trees, squirrel tails which are common enough are the catalyst. They lift right out of the soil, barely any aura expended for what it would take hours by a normal man. These stone walls were used with labor and Earth magic. Moving, then merging marble is exhausting and painfully slow. The catalyst is common enough, crushed ant chitin. It is also needed in great quantities, which while not the hardest to get is time consuming. The paste of termites lets me meld wood together to form seamless walls of one piece. That is one of the easier ones.” Zack wanted to keep going when I stopped him.
I handed him the paper of my title. “Read this do not say anything about it out loud please.”
“Okay, this is interesting, not sure why you showed it to me, congratulations I guess.” Zack said as he extended the paper back to me.
“Thirty gold for every book, another thirty for an entire year of work, crummy room and shitty food included. Best I can do. You go with me to Fernlan north of here. Your books stay in a designated library, for everyone's pleasure. You retain the right to make copies if able at your leisure. I will be in the palace if you need time to think about the matter.” I made Zack an offer. I didn't have an Earth mage on my requested personnel list, and I am sure the builders could use him. If not I could. I legit was the boss of a rundown mud covered village. A guy who moved Earth was a great find, the books were a bonus. Also, I may die next time I went out, the books would stay behind and could really change some lives.
“Thirty five for the books. Forty for the year, half upfront second half at the end of the year an option to extend my contract at the same rate.” I think he expected me to counter back but I was willing to pay a hundred for the books. That is the great part of never mentioning money first. He mentioned his collection at thirty to forty gold and I suddenly got a bargain.
“Deal. So first time using these markers. Duke said I have a large bank account here.” I handed him the bag of markers and he picked out how much I owed.
“Works great! Look forward to helping you build up your village, I don't look forward to being sacked below a griffin for numerous hours.” Zack said.
“I will take my leave, but rumor has it some man has calmed the griffins in Lakeland and Fernlan, some new lord I heard. Pleasure doing business with you, we leave tomorrow morning. Have all your books ready to go to at the roost by tonight in case they need to run more than one trip. I am buying a lot of things. I look forward to working with you.” I took the history book he had mentioned earlier, gave the man a nod, and continued into the market.
My feet clumped and clapped on the clean tiled floor. The talk with Zack had taken enough time that more shops were open. I suddenly felt alone and did not like it. I was out of my element when viewing most things. I knew I could not rely on luck for all my transactions seeing as how I had no idea what was worth how much. I went to the market front and asked the guard for someone to fetch my new wife. He said his daughter could do it, she worked in tips.
I gave the man a whole silver and with that, the little girl took off for the palace. I found a chair in front of a tea shop, bought a drink from the vendor and opened the book.
The book began by explaining how massive and expansive Vin was. The numerous oceans, the single landmass broken into three pieces, separate in most parts but a few connections between all three.
“Since when do you get to take a lazy day?” Lydia asked from the air. She landed in front of the market. A lot of the men screamed in fright. I saw the guard tighten as if the griffin was going to eat his face off. I gently rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Be calm good people of Lakeland. The Duke will announce soon enough that men no longer need fear the spell of hate that gnawed at all the griffin's hearts. They still get agitated like women do with men, but no more attacks.” I called out to the crowd and seeing Lydia not attacking men close to her proved my words true.
“I will return today, I feel the cubs shifting, in a few days they will be born strong thanks to you. I will send the Fernlan pride south as soon as I arrive, they should be well rested and non-fatigued from the big meal of two days ago. I will have them bring those who wish to leave Fernlan. I also promise to only eat some of, and not all of that yummy war boar. Of course at your approval my Earl. Yes, we griffins have excellent hearing.” Lydia said and I laughed. Griffins and war boar. Like humans and bacon... To do list...
Bella and the little girl who was sent to fetch her climbed off Lydia's back. As soon as they were away Lydia jumped into the air and flew north. I waved goodbye to her but she never looked back.
“My dear Bella, I desired your company to view the market's wares. Will you join me?”
I extended my right arm elbow out and she linked arms with me.
“Certainly my husband. There is this bookseller I love to visit here, he is right over here. Oh, he is closed up at the moment. Oh well, I was hoping to get a book for my spare time in Fernlan.” Bella said with a grin and a skip.
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