Sophia shook her head, her anger coming back. “No... This isn’t your fault. You healed him. He was looking better, able to eat, and he had the energy to get out of bed, but he wasn’t even grateful.” Sophia’s voice cracked and tears began to fall, “He yelled at me and Mother. Blamed us for listening to lies. He’d never have been able to yell without you, and yet he refused to believe in you, and continued to believe in Apoc.”
Doc swallowed, her raw emotion making him feel her pain. “Belief is hard. Leaving a long-held belief is even harder. I don’t blame him for doubting.”
“Your wedding!” Sophia said suddenly. “That was when he turned sickly.”
“Your mother mentioned that.”
“He came home with a new pamphlet from the church,” Sophia said hotly. “Maybe you cannot prove it, but I believe. I’ll talk to Mother. Thank you, Doc.” She stepped forward and held out her hand. “If I can do anything to hurt them, please do not hesitate. Come to me.”
Doc took her hand gently. “I won’t try to talk you out of what you want to do. I will say one thing, though: please don’t let it consume you. Your mother still loves you and needs you.”
Sophia gave him a strained, wet smile. “I know. I just want them to pay for what they’ve done to my father. Not helping him before and letting him suffer... and now, snuffing his life out like he was worth less than a bug.”
“He was loved by you and your mother,” Doc said. “A man can ask for nothing greater in life than to be loved back by those he loves.”
Sophia nodded, released his hand, and turned on her heel. Her clawed feet scored the wood as she marched out of the building.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Doc was still thinking about what he’d learned when he entered the only jewelry shop in town. The jingle of the door brought his focus back to what he was doing.
“Ah, a returning customer,” the rotund man smiled. “What can I do for you today, sir? Maybe a necklace for your wife?”
“Need a ring,” Doc said. “Gold band, diamond. Similar to the one I bought before.”
“Ah, a replacement,” the jeweler nodded. “I believe I have an identical one.”
Doc didn’t see the need to correct the man. “Do you have another six?”
“Six?” he asked in surprise.
“Yeah, six. I like to be prepared.”
“No. However, I can get them made. It will take me awhile to manage it, though.”
“Okay. I’ll take the one now and the other five when you have them done. How long?”
“A month.”
“Can you have them sent to the Lily as you finish them?”
“Of course, sir,” the jeweler smiled broadly. “Is that all you need?”
“No, I need one more,” Doc said. Looking at the display cases, he smiled. “What metal is that?”
“Ah, I brought that with me. It’s mythrium. Mr. Suez was admiring it just the other day. He’s one of the few who could afford it. The gems set in that piece are not common stones, either. They are pieces of soul stone that the soulsmith deemed unusable and were sold off at auction. It’s ready to hold an enchantment, not that anyone here in town can manage that.”
“Cost?” Doc asked, not looking up.
“For that ring? It’d run at least five hundred.”
“Five-twenty, if you include the other rings,” Doc said, pulling his eyes off the ring.
The jeweler looked at him with wide eyes before he started laughing. “Ah, very good. You nearly had me going.”
Doc frowned. “I’m serious.”
“I’ll agree if you pay upfront,” the jeweler said, clearly thinking he had stopped Doc’s foolishness.
“Okay,” Doc said, pulling out his checkbook.
The fat man waited with the air of someone who was getting tired of an old joke. When Doc handed him the check, he put it into the black box on the counter. A moment later, a receipt kicked out of the box and the jeweler grabbed it to check it.
“Uh... y-yes. One moment,” the jeweler stammered as he put the receipt in front of Doc and began to gather the two rings.
“Oh, and if you want mythrium, there’s a mine producing some, along with gold and other minerals. You should talk to the smelters.”
Placing the expensive ring into a velvet-lined box, the shopkeeper handed it to Doc. “I’ve heard rumors, but hadn’t thought they were real.”
“Real. I own the mine,” Doc said with a false smile. “Let Suez know that he can talk to me if he really wants the ring.”
“Yes, of course,” the man said slowly. “Umm... you’re still at the Lily, correct?”
“Should be. I have partial interest in it,” Doc said, taking the second box when it was offered to him. “Have a good day.”
Pocketing the ring boxes, Doc walked away from the shop. He’d gone a few feet before he noticed either Spot or Fido keeping pace with him from across the street. Doc gave the deputy a nod, and went to Sigmund’s shop.
~*~*~
Entering the milliner’s, Doc stepped aside and held the door for the older woman who was leaving. “Good day, ma’am,” Doc told her.
“Good day,” she replied. The heavy scent of roses nearly choked Doc when she went past him.
Doc held the door open a few seconds longer once she was gone, hoping it would diminish the smell. Closing it, he found Sigmund standing on the counter, watching him. “How are you today, Sigmund?”
“Good. Better. The hats talk a little less, but they’re still happy.”
“They might stop talking altogether once I get your blood cleansed completely.”
Sigmund nodded sadly. “Yes. Talking began when the world tilted.”
“How does it feel now?”
“Not level, but better,” Sigmund replied. “More healing?”
“If you don’t mind coming over to the Lily. You still love your hats, which is good.”
“Hats are still best. Yes. Healing, please?”
“Head on over and I’ll meet you there. I just thought of another stop I should make today.”
“Yes. Posy is there?”
“Of course.”
Sigmund rubbed at the side of his large nose. “Giving her hat, okay?”
“A new hat?” Doc asked.
“Wait,” Sigmund ran into the back.
Doc waited for the gnome to come back.
“Here,” Sigmund said, coming out of the back at speed.
Doc looked at the small bonnet, decorated with ribbons and artificial flowers. “She’ll love it,” Doc said, “but I can’t let you give it to her.”
Sigmund had puffed up with pride at the first part, but slumped when Doc continued. “Yes. Too much gift?”
“Yes. I’ll buy it, instead,” Doc said. “Is that okay?”
Sigmund blinked, his head coming back up to look at Doc. “Yes?”
“Okay. How much?”
~*~*~
Doc still had a smile on his face when he entered Blackbeard’s. “Afternoon,” Doc greeted the dwarf.
“Holyday,” Blackbeard nodded, “back for more?”
“Similar, but different,” Doc said. “Considering how often I seem to get into trouble, I thought it would be wise to see about upgrading my weaponry.”
“Not a bad idea,” Blackbeard nodded. “Did you have something in mind?”
“A slightly higher caliber to start with, and engraved?”
“Of course. Did you have specific engravings you wanted?”
“I’m not even sure what can be engraved or enchanted,” Doc said.
“Enchanting is for things other than weapons,” Blackbeard said. “No one in town I know of can do that. Well, technically, I might be able to, but since I don’t have a license on that front, it’d be a stiff fine if I did.”
“Huh. What would you suggest for a pistol and rifle?”
“I’d go with a simple force engraving for the rifle. Turn it into something that can match an unengraved Express or surpass it.
For the pistol, there are a lot of options that would be useful, depending on what you want or like.”
“Give me an example, please?”
“Caustic makes wounds harder to heal. There’s explosive, which is dangerous to everyone, but useful when faced against a large number. Stunning is good, and can still kill if the bullet hits. Even if you only graze the target, they lock up for a couple of seconds.”
“Stunning,” Doc said. “That’s more my style. I’ll take the force one for the rifle, too.”
“I can do that. Which set would you like?”
“Do you have a larger caliber for the Westchest 73 that shares ammo with a pistol?”
Blackbeard laughed. “Did you talk to the mail delivery?”
“No, why?” Doc asked.
“Just got in the latest Mustang line— the Mustang Wilds. It’s .44-40, which coincides with the Westchest 73’s original caliber. In fact, I’ve got two of the rare ‘One of One Thousand’ models in. They’re said to be more accurate. It’d take me three days to engrave them both.”
Doc’s lips twitched when he heard the ‘One of One Thousand’— there’d been a similar rifle back in his old world. “Three days it is. How much?”
“With the engraving? Normally, I’d say three-fifty, but since you’re part of the clan, three hundred.”
Doc whistled softly. “That much more expensive than the ones we talked about before?”
“The unengraved 73 cost me a hundred by itself. They’re going to be rare and only get more rare.”
“Yeah,” Doc nodded, recalling an auction of a similar rifle had fetched over two-hundred thousand. “I’m fairly sure I can cover it. I haven’t found out what I have in the bank since getting back.”
“You can pay me in three days if you can’t pay now,” Blackbeard said. “Clan helps clan.”
“Let’s write the check and see what happens,” Doc said.
Blackbeard took the check and put it into the black box. A moment later, the receipt kicked out and he handed it to Doc. “Three days. I can have them sent to you.”
“No, I’ll come get them. Can I sell my old guns back to you?”
Blackbeard grinned. “Of course.”
Doc laughed. “Hopefully at decent prices?”
“Mostly,” Blackbeard laughed.
~*~*~
Doc smiled at Fiala and Sonya when they entered the private dining room. “Ladies, things went well?”
“I hope so,” Sonya said. “I did as Fiala asked, but she said the final decision was yours.”
“She answered my questions at Henrick’s,” Fiala said. “She only wants to be beside you and help you.”
“Okay,” Doc said and he pulled out a small black box. “Sonya Redblade, will you join me and Fiala in marriage?”
Sonya’s eyes sparkled and she stepped forward. “Yes.”
Doc pulled the ring free of the box. “Then this is for you.”
Sonya held her hand out, and Doc slid the gold and diamond ring onto her finger. She was trembling as she held her hand up to look at the ring. “I’m not dreaming, right?”
Fiala giggled softly and touched Sonya’s shoulder. “No, you aren’t dreaming. Did you want to thank him?”
Sonya’s nostrils flared and she ran at Doc, hitting him in the chest hard and sending them tumbling, much like Fiala had when he proposed to her. Doc grunted from both the impact— which was hard, as Sonya wasn’t a soft woman— and from his lips being claimed with passion.
“Goodness,” Fiala said. “Is that what we looked like?”
Doc only vaguely heard her as he kissed the impassioned dwarf. It had been hot and forceful, but turned soft and sweet as Sonya slowed her assault to savor it. Doc was appreciative of her turning the kiss into something sensual, letting him learn what she liked.
Fiala stood off to the side, watching them with a small twinge of worry spiking in her heart. Her thoughts spiraled as she questioned if he would still want her now that he had Sonya. She was lost in the thought when Doc and Sonya stopped kissing.
“Fiala?” Doc asked, seeing her contracted brow, her bottom lip being chewed, and her hands clutching her dress tightly.
Blinking, she looked up to see him looking at her with concern and Sonya getting to her feet. “...Doc?”
“I felt a bit of jealousy and pain when you did the same with him,” Sonya said, moving over to put her arm around Fiala’s waist. “He still loves you. Don’t let your mind tell you otherwise.”
Doc picked the chair up as he got back to his feet. “Of course I do.” Taking a single step over to her, Doc pulled her gently into his arms and kissed her softly. “You are my wife. I will love you for as long as you let me do so, Fiala,” he said once their kiss ended.
Fiala’s face was crimson and she lowered her head to rest against his chest. “I’m sorry. I don’t know where that came from.”
“I’ll kiss you as often as you need to remind you of my love,” Doc said softly.
Fiala’s lips twitched. “Except for tomorrow. Tomorrow is Sonya’s day.”
Sonya put her arms around both of their waists. “It’ll be different and we’ll probably have moments of disagreement, but I wouldn’t want anything other than this.”
Fiala licked her lips, then bent and kissed the dwarf soundly. Sonya was surprised, but returned the kiss. Doc wondered if Luck had an inkling this was all going to happen when she sent him here.
“I… am intrigued,” Sonya said when the kiss broke. “I hadn’t considered us being intimate before… that kiss makes me want to explore that option.”
“Good. Doc will be happy with that.”
When both women looked his way, Doc gave them a smile. “Wouldn’t tell you not to, but it’s not mandatory. Rosa will be entirely thrilled if you are interested in that.”
“The dryad?” Sonya checked, and Doc nodded. “I’m a little afraid of meeting her, actually. Dryads have long been friends to the elves, but they’re not as friendly to dwarves.”
“She’s looking forward to meeting you,” Fiala said.
“Oh?”
“I thought about you a lot when I was near her,” Fiala explained. “She can read thoughts if she’s close enough.”
“Oh...” Sonya looked at Doc.
“I thought about you, too,” Doc admitted. “Rosa will be fine. She only wants to help me with my task. She’ll accept any who are also doing so.”
Sonya nodded and smoothed her dress. “I’ll do my best, Doc, Fiala.”
“It’s all I’ll ask,” Doc told her. He pulled some paperwork out of his back pocket. “We do need to fill these out for tomorrow.”
Sonya took a seat to Doc’s left. “We should get started, then.”
A knock on the door stopped them from going any further. Ayla opened the door and took in the scene. “Am I interrupting?”
“Not at all. Come on in,” Doc said. “Lia will be here soon, since we have things to discuss. Oh, and I spent some money.” He took the receipts and passed them to her when she sat across from him.
Ayla nodded as she took the receipts and put them into her folder. “I’ll balance them out later. As of right now, unless you tried to buy another piece of property, you shouldn’t have to worry.”
“No. The most expensive thing I bought was a ring,” Doc said, not thinking.
Fiala and Sonya both looked at the ring on Sonya’s finger, bringing it to Ayla’s attention. Ayla’s face went blank, but her brow furrowed after a second. “That isn’t that expensive, Doc.”
“Huh? Oh no, not that ring. That is the exact same as Fiala’s. I want them to be equal to each other. No, it was this one.” Doc pulled the other ring box from his jacket and set it on the table. “Five hundred dollars for that one.”
All three women blinked at the price, and Ayla opened the box gingerly. Eyes growing wide, she stared at it before Fiala cleared her throat. Ayla blinked at her, then turned the box so the others could see it.
“Mythrium?”
Sonya said. “That would explain part of the cost. But the stones… soul stones?”
“Chips of them, yes,” Doc answered. “I was told it’s ready for enchanting, but no one in town knows how.”
“Enchanting the mythrium would be hard enough,” Sonya said. “The soul stones… I’m not sure anyone short of a soulsmith could work them.”
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