Making Connections
- Thread starter Hiver
- Start date
47
Galkir shook his head. "I'm sorry, Atreus. It is good of you to offer, but as bad as things are becoming here, Skyrim is my home. I'm not leaving for some far-away land. I have friends here. Family."
"They could come as well." Sheila explained.
He shook his head again.
I sighed at that. "Very well, Galkir."
We asked all the branch leaders. None of them accepted. I... guess I wouldn't either.
"I take it that it is time for you to leave again, then?" he asked.
I nodded at that. "Yes. This time we are going to be gone for the normal three months. So this might be your only chance to get out."
He smiled slightly and shook his head. "Worst case, I can cross the border to Cyrodiil."
Sheila was not happy with Ren and me when we got back and found out what happened. She agreed that we could take a flight if we kept low profile.
Apparently getting into a fight with one of the local dragons didn't count as low profile. At least Ren didn't get seriously burned, though it did take half a hour or so for us to heal the burn on her tail.
We also sent a message to Ajani, hiring several couriers to track them down and hand over a message to explain that we wouldn't be back for a while and the time when we expected to return again, as well as to tell them that the branch in Whiterun have been moved to a different location until things calm down then so they would have to send messages to Riften or Morthal.
Seriously, how hard could it possibly be to track down Ajani? He was a giant white feline. He kind of stood out.
"Well, take care."
With none of them wanting to come... there was no reason to stick around in Skyrim any longer. Meeting up with Ajani and Alexis would make it worth it, but we had no idea where they were.
My scrying is good, but it's not that good. Not without blood or hair or something to use as a tracker and I had neither. And I would eat my armor if they didn't have protection against that stuff anyway, I know I did at all times.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Masagos." I said as I walked into one of the libraries beneath the Nexus, spotting the Dragon in mortal form.
Of course, in his case Mortal form was a bit different from mine.
"Atregos." the Dragon turned Gnome answered. "Just back from Skyrim?"
I nodded. "Indeed. Turned out to be much less useful than I thought." I walked up to sit down on one of the chairs, pulling a scroll from my satchel before throwing it over to him. He quickly caught it.
"The latest from Skyrim?"
"Not much, just a ward spell and a recipe for mead."
He looked at me in surprise at that. "Mead?"
"We are trading for all kinds of knowledge, not just magical. Even if it's not useful to us, it could be used as currency for future trades."
The Dragon in Gnome form shrugged before he unrolled it, stroking his thin and long beard. "I suppose."
You may suppose as much as you like, I know I'm right.
"Anything to report from the research teams?"
He shook his head. "Nothing specific, work continues as planned. No breakthroughs, but at the very least we were able to figure out the enchantments from Skyrim."
"The Soul issue?"
He looked up from the scroll and nodded. "Enchantments there are definitely necromantic. The soul of a creature is captured in a soulgem and then channeled through the item to cause the effect in question to take effect. If it's a weapon or other item that needs to have active effects, such as a sword that lights on fire, the soul is trapped in the weapon and then slowly released to activate the effect. When it comes to permanent, such as armor that use passive effects, the soul is permanently trapped in the object until it is destroyed."
I couldn't help but stare at him. "That's... horrible."
Masagos shrugged. "It is. But if there is any consolation, all we have examined so far have contained smaller souls from animals and they are not aware. They are simple used for energy until released or the item is destroyed. The souls themselves are not actually harmed by the process. Just temporarily trapped."
Even so, that tripped several of my 'oh the fuck no, that's evil' wires.
It was one thing to kill a creature and eat it. It was another to kill it and trap it's fucking soul in a gem to use to make a ring glow in the dark or something.
"Anything else?"
He frowned in thought and then shook his head. "No. How soon do you plan on leaving for Caldeum? We need to get the package ready."
I sighed. "In a week or so. I really prefer not to Walk any more often than that if I can help it."
"It is that tiring?"
"Worse."
AN// A big crate of Grey Rook to thanks. No wait, the other way around.
"They could come as well." Sheila explained.
He shook his head again.
I sighed at that. "Very well, Galkir."
We asked all the branch leaders. None of them accepted. I... guess I wouldn't either.
"I take it that it is time for you to leave again, then?" he asked.
I nodded at that. "Yes. This time we are going to be gone for the normal three months. So this might be your only chance to get out."
He smiled slightly and shook his head. "Worst case, I can cross the border to Cyrodiil."
Sheila was not happy with Ren and me when we got back and found out what happened. She agreed that we could take a flight if we kept low profile.
Apparently getting into a fight with one of the local dragons didn't count as low profile. At least Ren didn't get seriously burned, though it did take half a hour or so for us to heal the burn on her tail.
We also sent a message to Ajani, hiring several couriers to track them down and hand over a message to explain that we wouldn't be back for a while and the time when we expected to return again, as well as to tell them that the branch in Whiterun have been moved to a different location until things calm down then so they would have to send messages to Riften or Morthal.
Seriously, how hard could it possibly be to track down Ajani? He was a giant white feline. He kind of stood out.
"Well, take care."
With none of them wanting to come... there was no reason to stick around in Skyrim any longer. Meeting up with Ajani and Alexis would make it worth it, but we had no idea where they were.
My scrying is good, but it's not that good. Not without blood or hair or something to use as a tracker and I had neither. And I would eat my armor if they didn't have protection against that stuff anyway, I know I did at all times.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Masagos." I said as I walked into one of the libraries beneath the Nexus, spotting the Dragon in mortal form.
Of course, in his case Mortal form was a bit different from mine.
"Atregos." the Dragon turned Gnome answered. "Just back from Skyrim?"
I nodded. "Indeed. Turned out to be much less useful than I thought." I walked up to sit down on one of the chairs, pulling a scroll from my satchel before throwing it over to him. He quickly caught it.
"The latest from Skyrim?"
"Not much, just a ward spell and a recipe for mead."
He looked at me in surprise at that. "Mead?"
"We are trading for all kinds of knowledge, not just magical. Even if it's not useful to us, it could be used as currency for future trades."
The Dragon in Gnome form shrugged before he unrolled it, stroking his thin and long beard. "I suppose."
You may suppose as much as you like, I know I'm right.
"Anything to report from the research teams?"
He shook his head. "Nothing specific, work continues as planned. No breakthroughs, but at the very least we were able to figure out the enchantments from Skyrim."
"The Soul issue?"
He looked up from the scroll and nodded. "Enchantments there are definitely necromantic. The soul of a creature is captured in a soulgem and then channeled through the item to cause the effect in question to take effect. If it's a weapon or other item that needs to have active effects, such as a sword that lights on fire, the soul is trapped in the weapon and then slowly released to activate the effect. When it comes to permanent, such as armor that use passive effects, the soul is permanently trapped in the object until it is destroyed."
I couldn't help but stare at him. "That's... horrible."
Masagos shrugged. "It is. But if there is any consolation, all we have examined so far have contained smaller souls from animals and they are not aware. They are simple used for energy until released or the item is destroyed. The souls themselves are not actually harmed by the process. Just temporarily trapped."
Even so, that tripped several of my 'oh the fuck no, that's evil' wires.
It was one thing to kill a creature and eat it. It was another to kill it and trap it's fucking soul in a gem to use to make a ring glow in the dark or something.
"Anything else?"
He frowned in thought and then shook his head. "No. How soon do you plan on leaving for Caldeum? We need to get the package ready."
I sighed. "In a week or so. I really prefer not to Walk any more often than that if I can help it."
"It is that tiring?"
"Worse."
AN// A big crate of Grey Rook to thanks. No wait, the other way around.
WinterKnight
Keeper of the Shinies
- Location
- Higher than sky high
Silly Atreus, don't you know that you only need one Skyrim messenger? They will always find you, anywhere. Anywhere. In their goddamn loincloth, no less.
pheonix89
Wants to be Seven Of Nine
- Location
- North American Plaguelands
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Most translation effects would fail at the Draconic tongue of Nirn. It's not a language so much as it is the source code for reality that happens to be used as a language.
48
"And next?" Sheila asked as she wrote down a note in the small book, resting it on the armrest of the couch.
I was sitting next to her, Ren resting her head in my lap as I stroked her long dark hair.
"Caldeum." Ren mumbled and stirred. "A bit higher?"
I couldn't help but grin as I scratched softly just above her ear. "Yeah, I think Caldeum is the next that is awaiting a pickup in about two weeks."
If the branch in Meereen was the most profitable in gold, the branch in Caldeum was the one that brought in the most actual value.
There had never been a pickup there that didn't bring in more knowledge than we were able to drop off at the same time and most of it useful... if some a bit evil.
I didn't know what Musa did, but his talents had clearly been woefully wasted playing guard for an adventurous noble.
His talents clearly laid more in the direction of finding and trading knowledge as well as administration, rather than swinging his sword around... even if his sword swinging skills were also quite impressive.
Sheila nodded and wrote that down. "In about two weeks, Caldeum then." she said. "Next is Meereen again, followed by Skyrim." she continued, quickly spacing the times out one month apart.
She had grown tired of me keeping the times in my head and had set out to get an actual schedule laid out.
I didn't really see the point, but I also didn't see the point in arguing about it, she was probably right anyway. If we ever ended up with more than three branches, things could get complicated. Possibly less if I was able to recruit Alexis, that would stop me from needing to do everything myself.
"How much time between?" Ren asked and rolled onto her back, looking up at Sheila.
Sheila glanced at her before putting the book in her lap. "I'm counting each trip as taking about a week, giving Atreus a couple of days after each 'leg' of the journey to recover, that should give us about three weeks between each one for anything else." she explained before she frowned. "...I will probably not be able to come with on all those pickups either. Honestly, I think Margret is starting to get quite annoyed at me."
...Not too surprised. Working with enchanting in a clothing store didn't exactly synergize with leaving the universe for a week every month.
"You don't need to work there." Ren said and shifted to sit up. "Even without us, you have enough money from Azure Imports. You don't need to work at all."
Sheila sighed. "I know, but I like it."
That was a common argument between them. Ren didn't really get why Sheila wanted to work enchanting clothes of fabric or ready outfits.
I did. It was helping her friend and gave her some normality that didn't involve dragons.
Deciding that I didn't feel like dealing with that argument this morning, I cut it off at the pass. "You should add a visit to Lion's Arch in there somewhere soon. They have the most fascinating magic we really should look into."
Not to mention their technology which was the most advanced I'd seen so far. Sure, some was magitech about equal to the Gnomes here, but some was just plain old technology. I was really looking forward to what they had there.
Sheila nodded. "Add that the week after Caldeum? This time I want to come along and see the place."
I smiled. "Put it sometime you think you can get away, there's no rush for that one."
She hmm-ed. "If I skip Caldeum and Meereen, I should be able to talk Marge into giving me the time off for it."
"So what's next?" Ren asked, shifting to leaning across to peek into the book. "We should at least have one week of relaxing a month."
"Two." I corrected her. "While I'm no longer actively managing the researchers, I do have work to do on my own. I'm still trying to get that boat working."
Sheila nodded again. "Two weeks minimum here, then." before there was a knock on the door.
I let my head fall back against the couch for a second.
Damn it. That never boded well.
Letting out a sigh, I got up to open the door, Ren letting out a grumbled protest as her pillow disappeared.
"Venir!" I said in surprise. She didn't visit us very often, it was always we that came to her place. It was just more practical, not only was it much, much nicer and in a nicer part of town, it was also larger.
The Draenei grinned at me, brushing down her green dress. "Hello, Atreus." She tilted her head slightly and continued, "I didn't know you had started to walk around with your shirt off?"
I cleared my throat and looked around. "It 'is' early morning." I said before I grimaced slightly. "...besides, Sheila likes it."
Ren didn't care much.
Well, at least they were fully dressed so it wasn't a problem getting a visitor.
Venir grinned playfully. "I can see why. You've muscled up quite nicely since I saw you like this last."
...And there is the blush I had been trying to avoid. Damn it.
I rolled my eyes and stepped aside, letting her inside. "Better not say stuff like that when Gerald can hear you."
"Venir, if you are done embarrassing Atreus, come in here and say hi." Sheila called out.
Venir grinned. "Hey you two." she said as she dropped down to sit on the couch, crossing her legs as she sat down next to Ren. "So what are you up to?"
Sheila held up the book. "Finally forcing the lizards to make an actual schedule instead of just mostly making things up as they go along."
I couldn't help but grin at Ren's adorable pout at that as I moved to sit down on Sheila's armrest, the rest of the couch mostly taken over by now. "I had it under control."
"Sure you did." Sheila said with a grin, patting my knee.
...Thank you, love. Very convincing.
Venir shook her head and reached into her satchel to pull out a scroll. "Well, I have something that might make you want to redo that a bit. Sorry, Atreus."
Ren tilted her head and took the scroll she was offered to unroll it. "What is it?"
"It's the report from the teams I had investigating for a suitable site for the third plantation. They found it and the land has been purchased. As soon as you three sign the papers, the land is yours and we can get started on construction." she said with a grin, "But before you hire an architect, you might want to visit the place. The next ship for Pandaria leaves in two weeks."
I met Sheila's eyes before she looked back down on her book. "Shift Lion's arch to sometime next month? I'll have to call in a favor with Marge, but..."
I nodded.
Oh yeah.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
I was sitting next to her, Ren resting her head in my lap as I stroked her long dark hair.
"Caldeum." Ren mumbled and stirred. "A bit higher?"
I couldn't help but grin as I scratched softly just above her ear. "Yeah, I think Caldeum is the next that is awaiting a pickup in about two weeks."
If the branch in Meereen was the most profitable in gold, the branch in Caldeum was the one that brought in the most actual value.
There had never been a pickup there that didn't bring in more knowledge than we were able to drop off at the same time and most of it useful... if some a bit evil.
I didn't know what Musa did, but his talents had clearly been woefully wasted playing guard for an adventurous noble.
His talents clearly laid more in the direction of finding and trading knowledge as well as administration, rather than swinging his sword around... even if his sword swinging skills were also quite impressive.
Sheila nodded and wrote that down. "In about two weeks, Caldeum then." she said. "Next is Meereen again, followed by Skyrim." she continued, quickly spacing the times out one month apart.
She had grown tired of me keeping the times in my head and had set out to get an actual schedule laid out.
I didn't really see the point, but I also didn't see the point in arguing about it, she was probably right anyway. If we ever ended up with more than three branches, things could get complicated. Possibly less if I was able to recruit Alexis, that would stop me from needing to do everything myself.
"How much time between?" Ren asked and rolled onto her back, looking up at Sheila.
Sheila glanced at her before putting the book in her lap. "I'm counting each trip as taking about a week, giving Atreus a couple of days after each 'leg' of the journey to recover, that should give us about three weeks between each one for anything else." she explained before she frowned. "...I will probably not be able to come with on all those pickups either. Honestly, I think Margret is starting to get quite annoyed at me."
...Not too surprised. Working with enchanting in a clothing store didn't exactly synergize with leaving the universe for a week every month.
"You don't need to work there." Ren said and shifted to sit up. "Even without us, you have enough money from Azure Imports. You don't need to work at all."
Sheila sighed. "I know, but I like it."
That was a common argument between them. Ren didn't really get why Sheila wanted to work enchanting clothes of fabric or ready outfits.
I did. It was helping her friend and gave her some normality that didn't involve dragons.
Deciding that I didn't feel like dealing with that argument this morning, I cut it off at the pass. "You should add a visit to Lion's Arch in there somewhere soon. They have the most fascinating magic we really should look into."
Not to mention their technology which was the most advanced I'd seen so far. Sure, some was magitech about equal to the Gnomes here, but some was just plain old technology. I was really looking forward to what they had there.
Sheila nodded. "Add that the week after Caldeum? This time I want to come along and see the place."
I smiled. "Put it sometime you think you can get away, there's no rush for that one."
She hmm-ed. "If I skip Caldeum and Meereen, I should be able to talk Marge into giving me the time off for it."
"So what's next?" Ren asked, shifting to leaning across to peek into the book. "We should at least have one week of relaxing a month."
"Two." I corrected her. "While I'm no longer actively managing the researchers, I do have work to do on my own. I'm still trying to get that boat working."
Sheila nodded again. "Two weeks minimum here, then." before there was a knock on the door.
I let my head fall back against the couch for a second.
Damn it. That never boded well.
Letting out a sigh, I got up to open the door, Ren letting out a grumbled protest as her pillow disappeared.
"Venir!" I said in surprise. She didn't visit us very often, it was always we that came to her place. It was just more practical, not only was it much, much nicer and in a nicer part of town, it was also larger.
The Draenei grinned at me, brushing down her green dress. "Hello, Atreus." She tilted her head slightly and continued, "I didn't know you had started to walk around with your shirt off?"
I cleared my throat and looked around. "It 'is' early morning." I said before I grimaced slightly. "...besides, Sheila likes it."
Ren didn't care much.
Well, at least they were fully dressed so it wasn't a problem getting a visitor.
Venir grinned playfully. "I can see why. You've muscled up quite nicely since I saw you like this last."
...And there is the blush I had been trying to avoid. Damn it.
I rolled my eyes and stepped aside, letting her inside. "Better not say stuff like that when Gerald can hear you."
"Venir, if you are done embarrassing Atreus, come in here and say hi." Sheila called out.
Venir grinned. "Hey you two." she said as she dropped down to sit on the couch, crossing her legs as she sat down next to Ren. "So what are you up to?"
Sheila held up the book. "Finally forcing the lizards to make an actual schedule instead of just mostly making things up as they go along."
I couldn't help but grin at Ren's adorable pout at that as I moved to sit down on Sheila's armrest, the rest of the couch mostly taken over by now. "I had it under control."
"Sure you did." Sheila said with a grin, patting my knee.
...Thank you, love. Very convincing.
Venir shook her head and reached into her satchel to pull out a scroll. "Well, I have something that might make you want to redo that a bit. Sorry, Atreus."
Ren tilted her head and took the scroll she was offered to unroll it. "What is it?"
"It's the report from the teams I had investigating for a suitable site for the third plantation. They found it and the land has been purchased. As soon as you three sign the papers, the land is yours and we can get started on construction." she said with a grin, "But before you hire an architect, you might want to visit the place. The next ship for Pandaria leaves in two weeks."
I met Sheila's eyes before she looked back down on her book. "Shift Lion's arch to sometime next month? I'll have to call in a favor with Marge, but..."
I nodded.
Oh yeah.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
YAY! Guild Wars! I was actually about to ask about that just after reading this chapter, because you seemed to be getting into a routine. Routines make sense, but they're not much fun to read about unless you'd planned on punctuating your time in the worlds with world events that muck things up. Like the Civil War in Skyrim, except we didn't actually hear anything interesting about that; just that you were visiting way more often.
But anyways, yeah. It's about time you got back to exploring, and I happen to be pumped about Guild Wars.
But anyways, yeah. It's about time you got back to exploring, and I happen to be pumped about Guild Wars.
49
I stepped through the portal into the chamber set aside for the portal stone in the branch in Caldeum. The stone-covered floor of the small chamber was smooth, polished.
The branch here was most likely our most successful one. Didn't hurt that it was put up in the small but expensive mansion left behind by Lord Olander, either.
I believed that this room used to be a storage room, but I had to admit, it had likely been fancied up a bit since. I kind of doubted that a storage room warranted that kind of light fixtures.
"Looks familiar." Ren said and stretched as she followed me through, letting the portal close behind us.
I shrugged. "Keeping the portal out of sight makes sense." I said and headed towards the door, unlocking it.
Ren was back in her light blue illusion dress over her armor, as usual on these excursions, and I had to admit that she looked great in it.
Though, then again... she looked great in just her armor. Or out of it, too...
Okay, so maybe it wasn't the illusion that did it.
"You are staring." She said with a smile.
I couldn't help but grin. "Can you blame me?"
She smiled, pressed close and nuzzled softly at my cheek before pulling back and moving to exit through the door. Not sure if something that graceful could be called walking.
Growl.
She was getting better at that. If I didn't know better, I could have sworn that Sheila was giving her lessons.
Following her through the door, I looked around the familiar entrance hall. It looked similar to the first time I saw the place, if with better security. Guards, four of them. Heavily armored and armed, shields and swords.
Looked like normal steel, but even without trying to detect them, I could tell that they were heavily enchanted.
Nothing obvious like glowing, Cross was better than that. But you could tell by the way they were standing if you knew what to look for.
Heavy, thick shields held like they were made from thin leather and bent saplings instead of half an inch of metal. Armor that didn't click like it should when they moved.
Swords just a bit larger, thicker and wider than could really be swung effectively by a man using two hands, but with hilts made for one hand.
A woman approached as if called by a silent signal, exiting through one of the other doors. Young, tall. Mid twenties, blonde hair, cropped short. Wearing what looked like an expensive but practical dress of a cut I didn't recognize. Not a local from her complexion.
"Lord Atreus." She said and bowed slightly. "We have been expecting you. I am Arriana, I'm here to show you and your companion to Lord Adasi."
I nodded. "Please."
Either she didn't know what I was or she was quite good at hiding her nerves. It was rather common for people who knew what we were to be nervous. I didn't detect anything but the normal slight nervosity of meeting what passed for an unknown superior.
Very good or didn't know, then.
She bowed again and then took a step back before turning to lead the way up the stairs.
Ren tilted her head at me before taking the lead up the stairs, leaving me to take up the rear.
We headed down the hallway to another double door which Arriana stopped by before opening for us, leading us into a large office.
It was richly decorated. Light stones, sandstone walls behind tapestries and bookshelves filled with books and scrolls.
A window out over the central garden of the mansion, the sun was setting in the distance, just peeking above the roof of the other end of the garden.
The desk, however, was lit up brighter by purple glowing crystals I recognized. A present from the last time I visited. Draenei made, converting ambient magic to stay afloat and convert the rest to light.
"Lord Adasi." Arriana said and bowed slightly. "Lord Atreus and companion."
Musa Adasi got up from behind his desk and rounded it with a smile. "Atreus. Welcome back to Caldeum."
I couldn't help but smile back. A year away from running around in the desert killing zombies had done the dark skinned man good. His hair was still cut short, but even in the short time in the last three months since the last check in, his clothes had gotten more expensive and, if anything, he had put on a couple of kilos.
I supposed that sitting around behind a desk with lots of expensive food did take its toll, no matter how much you could try to stave it off.
"Musa. Good to see you again." I answered with a smile, taking his hand for a firm handshake. "Every time I stop by, things seem to be going better and better for you."
He grinned and answered; "Business is good."
"This is Ren." I said as I dropped the handshake. "You remember I told you about her?"
Musa nodded and turned to her. "The elusive second consort. A pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Ren." he said and smiled as he bowed, taking her hand and giving the back of her hand a small kiss.
She raised an eyebrow but tolerated it. A year ago, she might have fed him his own ears for something like that, but Sheila and Venir had pulled us both to enough functions for her to have learned how these things worked by now.
"A pleasure. I have heard of you as well, Lord Adasi." she answered.
He smiled and let her hand drop, turning to me. "I trust Lady Stark is doing fine?"
I nodded. "She is simply busy with other matters and for some reason, they think I'm incapable of handling these matters on my own."
"You do have a tendency to end up in trouble." Ren said with a smile. "At least like this, we can help get you out of them."
Musa grinned. "Lady Ren has a point." He turned to walk over to his desk and continued; "Arriana, if you would be so kind as to get us a kettle of tea. One of the exotic blends, I think. If I remember right, Lord Atreus enjoys them."
I nodded. I was always interested in new kinds of tea.
"Please." I said and walked over to dig four heavy, hand-written books from my satchel, putting them on his desk. "The latest delivery."
He nodded. "We have a good collection for you in return. It's not quite ready yet, we are still working on compiling the last transcripts. It should be done in two or three days."
"That's is acceptable." Ren answered and walked over to pick up a bottle of amber liquid from one of his cabinets before sniffing at it, quickly pulling back at the smell and putting it back down. "We're planning to stay for at least that long."
I could Walk again as soon as my mana had recharged, but it was tiring enough doing it twice a week. Any faster and I might be outright knocked out. I preferred to keep at least a week between Walks, but I couldn't just spend a week hanging out here.
He nodded. "I suspected as much. Your old chamber is still kept as you wished it."
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
The branch here was most likely our most successful one. Didn't hurt that it was put up in the small but expensive mansion left behind by Lord Olander, either.
I believed that this room used to be a storage room, but I had to admit, it had likely been fancied up a bit since. I kind of doubted that a storage room warranted that kind of light fixtures.
"Looks familiar." Ren said and stretched as she followed me through, letting the portal close behind us.
I shrugged. "Keeping the portal out of sight makes sense." I said and headed towards the door, unlocking it.
Ren was back in her light blue illusion dress over her armor, as usual on these excursions, and I had to admit that she looked great in it.
Though, then again... she looked great in just her armor. Or out of it, too...
Okay, so maybe it wasn't the illusion that did it.
"You are staring." She said with a smile.
I couldn't help but grin. "Can you blame me?"
She smiled, pressed close and nuzzled softly at my cheek before pulling back and moving to exit through the door. Not sure if something that graceful could be called walking.
Growl.
She was getting better at that. If I didn't know better, I could have sworn that Sheila was giving her lessons.
Following her through the door, I looked around the familiar entrance hall. It looked similar to the first time I saw the place, if with better security. Guards, four of them. Heavily armored and armed, shields and swords.
Looked like normal steel, but even without trying to detect them, I could tell that they were heavily enchanted.
Nothing obvious like glowing, Cross was better than that. But you could tell by the way they were standing if you knew what to look for.
Heavy, thick shields held like they were made from thin leather and bent saplings instead of half an inch of metal. Armor that didn't click like it should when they moved.
Swords just a bit larger, thicker and wider than could really be swung effectively by a man using two hands, but with hilts made for one hand.
A woman approached as if called by a silent signal, exiting through one of the other doors. Young, tall. Mid twenties, blonde hair, cropped short. Wearing what looked like an expensive but practical dress of a cut I didn't recognize. Not a local from her complexion.
"Lord Atreus." She said and bowed slightly. "We have been expecting you. I am Arriana, I'm here to show you and your companion to Lord Adasi."
I nodded. "Please."
Either she didn't know what I was or she was quite good at hiding her nerves. It was rather common for people who knew what we were to be nervous. I didn't detect anything but the normal slight nervosity of meeting what passed for an unknown superior.
Very good or didn't know, then.
She bowed again and then took a step back before turning to lead the way up the stairs.
Ren tilted her head at me before taking the lead up the stairs, leaving me to take up the rear.
We headed down the hallway to another double door which Arriana stopped by before opening for us, leading us into a large office.
It was richly decorated. Light stones, sandstone walls behind tapestries and bookshelves filled with books and scrolls.
A window out over the central garden of the mansion, the sun was setting in the distance, just peeking above the roof of the other end of the garden.
The desk, however, was lit up brighter by purple glowing crystals I recognized. A present from the last time I visited. Draenei made, converting ambient magic to stay afloat and convert the rest to light.
"Lord Adasi." Arriana said and bowed slightly. "Lord Atreus and companion."
Musa Adasi got up from behind his desk and rounded it with a smile. "Atreus. Welcome back to Caldeum."
I couldn't help but smile back. A year away from running around in the desert killing zombies had done the dark skinned man good. His hair was still cut short, but even in the short time in the last three months since the last check in, his clothes had gotten more expensive and, if anything, he had put on a couple of kilos.
I supposed that sitting around behind a desk with lots of expensive food did take its toll, no matter how much you could try to stave it off.
"Musa. Good to see you again." I answered with a smile, taking his hand for a firm handshake. "Every time I stop by, things seem to be going better and better for you."
He grinned and answered; "Business is good."
"This is Ren." I said as I dropped the handshake. "You remember I told you about her?"
Musa nodded and turned to her. "The elusive second consort. A pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Ren." he said and smiled as he bowed, taking her hand and giving the back of her hand a small kiss.
She raised an eyebrow but tolerated it. A year ago, she might have fed him his own ears for something like that, but Sheila and Venir had pulled us both to enough functions for her to have learned how these things worked by now.
"A pleasure. I have heard of you as well, Lord Adasi." she answered.
He smiled and let her hand drop, turning to me. "I trust Lady Stark is doing fine?"
I nodded. "She is simply busy with other matters and for some reason, they think I'm incapable of handling these matters on my own."
"You do have a tendency to end up in trouble." Ren said with a smile. "At least like this, we can help get you out of them."
Musa grinned. "Lady Ren has a point." He turned to walk over to his desk and continued; "Arriana, if you would be so kind as to get us a kettle of tea. One of the exotic blends, I think. If I remember right, Lord Atreus enjoys them."
I nodded. I was always interested in new kinds of tea.
"Please." I said and walked over to dig four heavy, hand-written books from my satchel, putting them on his desk. "The latest delivery."
He nodded. "We have a good collection for you in return. It's not quite ready yet, we are still working on compiling the last transcripts. It should be done in two or three days."
"That's is acceptable." Ren answered and walked over to pick up a bottle of amber liquid from one of his cabinets before sniffing at it, quickly pulling back at the smell and putting it back down. "We're planning to stay for at least that long."
I could Walk again as soon as my mana had recharged, but it was tiring enough doing it twice a week. Any faster and I might be outright knocked out. I preferred to keep at least a week between Walks, but I couldn't just spend a week hanging out here.
He nodded. "I suspected as much. Your old chamber is still kept as you wished it."
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
tarrangar
Fat arctic chicken
Am I the only one who began to hope Atregos will meet a D&D Dragon after his comment about him not understanding this obsession with money in part due to being a Dragon?
WinterKnight
Keeper of the Shinies
- Location
- Higher than sky high
That, or Smaug.
50
The Bazaar was as busy as I remembered from my last visit here. People all around, peddling their wares. Everything from cheap pottery to the finest silk to prostitutes.
It was also as loud and smelly as I remembered it being.
I might not be a big fan of crowds, but Ren disliked them even more so I made sure to stick close to her side, shielding her from the worst of it... the best I could, at least.
She was currently examining a small hand crossbow, turning it over in her hands as the merchant did an admittedly rather good effort not to look at her cleavage.
I'm not sure I would have managed as well.
The crossbow on its own was a interesting specimen. Instead of a string for the small bow, it had two faint blue lines of light that reached to the end of the small bolt.
"And this works?" Ren asked him as she ran her hand through the beam of light.
He nodded quickly. "Of course, My Lady." he said and stepped to the side, motioning for a small target set up in the back of his stand. "You are welcome to try it. I believe you will find that the quality is supreme, made by a master craftsman."
Ren frowned slightly and then took aim, pulling the trigger. The bolt flew fast and true, burying itself to the feathers into the tightly packed straw target.
The blue beams of light had worked like a bow string, but now that the bolt was gone, they snapped back to where they started as the bolt holder rotated, bringing another small bolt up.
Huh.
"It takes only moments to refire." The merchant explained with a smile. "It is capable of holding ten bolts at once. Perfect for bird hunting or target practice or even to defend oneself."
That was interesting.
Better than Venir's old crossbow, those you needed to 'pump' to bring the string back, though it was not as powerful.
Ren slowly nodded and glanced back at me before turning back to him. "I'll take one. Could be useful."
"That would be fifty gold, my lady."
"It's worth no more than thirty."
"Do you have a full-sized crossbow with the same mechanism?" I interrupted before he could counter.
The merchant blinked in surprise before he nodded, said; "I do." and moved to pull a full-sized crossbow from beneath the counter. Made from polished wood and bronze, it was functional and clearly high quality but without being overly complicated by carvings like Ren's, which was covered with carvings of angels.
Picking it up, I turned it over before giving it a try, putting a bolt in the target, watching the mechanism cycle.
Nodding, I put it down on the counter of the stall again. "Price?"
"Two hundred gold."
I raised my eyebrow at that and glanced at Ren before I shook my head. "My wife is correct. That is more than they are worth. You get two twenty for both. And you throw in twenty bolts to each."
"Two fifty."
"Two twenty-five."
"Two thirty-five and you are stealing food from the mouths of my children!"
"Two thirty. They are likely too fat anyway with your prices."
He glared at me for a second before he nodded. "You, sir, are a robber baron." He reached beneath the counter to pull out bound stacks of bolts that fit both.
"Not so lucky." I chuckled. "Then I could probably afford your original prices."
The merchant grinned and scooped the money off the counter as I piled it up. Luckily, the local currency was not actually a bunch of gold coins. Anything larger than a hundred of the tiny gold coins was a small platinum coin instead.
"You wanted a crossbow?" Ren asked as we left the stand and started back towards the branch through the market, stopping by an alley to let me stuff the crossbows and bolts into my expanded satchel.
I grinned and closed my satchel. "Not really. It's for Venir, it's better than her old one. I think she will like it."
Ren nodded and tilted her head. "I think she will. Perhaps she can teach me how to properly use mine. I don't really have a weapon other than my magic in this form. Never needed one, but it could be useful." she said softly and leaned against me, letting me put my arms around her.
"I happen to like you in this form."
She smiled playfully. "You like me in all forms."
...So very true.
Ren sighed softly against my shoulder and said; "I wish we could have 'played' last night."
Smiling softly, I nuzzled at her hair. "Yeah. Me too... but you know the rule. All three of us."
She gave me a small, annoyed look. "...Can we talk to her about that? Please? I don't think that rule is completely fair for either of us, specially if we are going to be traveling alone like this more often."
I sighed and squeezed her closer for a moment before I answered. "You can ask her, but she is my lead consort."
Ren frowned and nodded. "I know and I will follow her lead as is her right. But I can still try to convince her to change her mind."
"That you can."
And as usual, it would be up to me to keep things from going from a discussion to an argument. I doubted Sheila would change her mind on that very easily, her reason for it that it reduced jealousy was as valid now as before.
Or at least that was her reason. If it worked, I had no idea.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
It was also as loud and smelly as I remembered it being.
I might not be a big fan of crowds, but Ren disliked them even more so I made sure to stick close to her side, shielding her from the worst of it... the best I could, at least.
She was currently examining a small hand crossbow, turning it over in her hands as the merchant did an admittedly rather good effort not to look at her cleavage.
I'm not sure I would have managed as well.
The crossbow on its own was a interesting specimen. Instead of a string for the small bow, it had two faint blue lines of light that reached to the end of the small bolt.
"And this works?" Ren asked him as she ran her hand through the beam of light.
He nodded quickly. "Of course, My Lady." he said and stepped to the side, motioning for a small target set up in the back of his stand. "You are welcome to try it. I believe you will find that the quality is supreme, made by a master craftsman."
Ren frowned slightly and then took aim, pulling the trigger. The bolt flew fast and true, burying itself to the feathers into the tightly packed straw target.
The blue beams of light had worked like a bow string, but now that the bolt was gone, they snapped back to where they started as the bolt holder rotated, bringing another small bolt up.
Huh.
"It takes only moments to refire." The merchant explained with a smile. "It is capable of holding ten bolts at once. Perfect for bird hunting or target practice or even to defend oneself."
That was interesting.
Better than Venir's old crossbow, those you needed to 'pump' to bring the string back, though it was not as powerful.
Ren slowly nodded and glanced back at me before turning back to him. "I'll take one. Could be useful."
"That would be fifty gold, my lady."
"It's worth no more than thirty."
"Do you have a full-sized crossbow with the same mechanism?" I interrupted before he could counter.
The merchant blinked in surprise before he nodded, said; "I do." and moved to pull a full-sized crossbow from beneath the counter. Made from polished wood and bronze, it was functional and clearly high quality but without being overly complicated by carvings like Ren's, which was covered with carvings of angels.
Picking it up, I turned it over before giving it a try, putting a bolt in the target, watching the mechanism cycle.
Nodding, I put it down on the counter of the stall again. "Price?"
"Two hundred gold."
I raised my eyebrow at that and glanced at Ren before I shook my head. "My wife is correct. That is more than they are worth. You get two twenty for both. And you throw in twenty bolts to each."
"Two fifty."
"Two twenty-five."
"Two thirty-five and you are stealing food from the mouths of my children!"
"Two thirty. They are likely too fat anyway with your prices."
He glared at me for a second before he nodded. "You, sir, are a robber baron." He reached beneath the counter to pull out bound stacks of bolts that fit both.
"Not so lucky." I chuckled. "Then I could probably afford your original prices."
The merchant grinned and scooped the money off the counter as I piled it up. Luckily, the local currency was not actually a bunch of gold coins. Anything larger than a hundred of the tiny gold coins was a small platinum coin instead.
"You wanted a crossbow?" Ren asked as we left the stand and started back towards the branch through the market, stopping by an alley to let me stuff the crossbows and bolts into my expanded satchel.
I grinned and closed my satchel. "Not really. It's for Venir, it's better than her old one. I think she will like it."
Ren nodded and tilted her head. "I think she will. Perhaps she can teach me how to properly use mine. I don't really have a weapon other than my magic in this form. Never needed one, but it could be useful." she said softly and leaned against me, letting me put my arms around her.
"I happen to like you in this form."
She smiled playfully. "You like me in all forms."
...So very true.
Ren sighed softly against my shoulder and said; "I wish we could have 'played' last night."
Smiling softly, I nuzzled at her hair. "Yeah. Me too... but you know the rule. All three of us."
She gave me a small, annoyed look. "...Can we talk to her about that? Please? I don't think that rule is completely fair for either of us, specially if we are going to be traveling alone like this more often."
I sighed and squeezed her closer for a moment before I answered. "You can ask her, but she is my lead consort."
Ren frowned and nodded. "I know and I will follow her lead as is her right. But I can still try to convince her to change her mind."
"That you can."
And as usual, it would be up to me to keep things from going from a discussion to an argument. I doubted Sheila would change her mind on that very easily, her reason for it that it reduced jealousy was as valid now as before.
Or at least that was her reason. If it worked, I had no idea.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Last edited:
Uh, I'm sorry I haven't mentioned it before but this idea that group sex reduces jealously is kinda silly. I'm also not a huge fan of the whole 'primary consort' thing but I guess that's cultural. This very much isn't how human Polyamory works when it works well.
Grey Rook
Genuine Nerd
- Location
- The Quantum Foam
Of course, neither Atreus nor Rengosa are actually human any more.
pheonix89
Wants to be Seven Of Nine
- Location
- North American Plaguelands
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ahem. Dragons.
WinterKnight
Keeper of the Shinies
- Location
- Higher than sky high
I wonder how long it will be before dragons will start challenging Jaina and Sheila after they gain immortality.
And unless they die first, it shouldn't be that hard. Even if they don't become dragons, I can think of about a half-dozen ways from MtG canon off the top of my head, not to mention all the other fantasy Planes.
Edit: Do I grammar? Nah bro, I'm 3kool5that.
And unless they die first, it shouldn't be that hard. Even if they don't become dragons, I can think of about a half-dozen ways from MtG canon off the top of my head, not to mention all the other fantasy Planes.
Edit: Do I grammar? Nah bro, I'm 3kool5that.
Last edited:
51
"Unless something comes up, the next pickup should be in approximately another three months." I said and shook Musa's hand, "Too bad we were unable to meet Marissa, it would have been good seeing her again."
He nodded. "I believe she would have liked to be here as well. Unfortunately, she is leading a team of researchers away from the city."
"Maybe next time." I said with a smile. "Well, we'd better get going."
Ren nodded with a smile of her own. "Perhaps I will join Atreus next time as well. I quite enjoyed this visit."
Other than the climate and the crowds and the smell.
Adjusting my satchel, I pulled out the small portal key stone, channeling my magic to open a portal to the portal stone we left in the desert.
"After you." I said and stepped to the side, letting Ren be the first one through. I gave Musa and Arianna a nod before I turned to follow her, allowing the portal to close behind me.
For all they knew, it was the first step on the journey back to the Headquarters, broken up into several steps for security.
And it was true. I didn't want them to know what I could do.
So while Ren was storing her armor in her satchel, I was weaving the strongest antiscrying ward around the area I could.
"Ready to head back?" I asked as I double checked that her soulstone as safely stored away in my satchel.
She nodded and handed hers over as well before pressing close. "Anytime you are ready." she almost purred up at me.
...If it wasn't uncomfortably hot and the place wasn't covered in sand, we would have ended up late. And that rule. Stupid rule.
Instead I just held her close and started channeling my magic.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Sheila, we are home." Ren said as she walked inside and stretched. "Do you ever get used to using a soulstone?" she asked as she approached the couch, leaving me to carry the satchels inside and close the door.
Sheila looked up from the enchanting diagram she had been working on and smiled. "Hey you two. And... not really. It's as uncomfortable every time." she said before giving Ren a look as the dragoness dropped down to sit on the couch next to her. "...Is that an actual dress this time?"
Ren rolled her eyes. "Of course not. When would I have had time to get changed?" she said and dropped it, revealing her armor.
"Well, at least you were wearing something beneath it this time." Sheila sighed before she smiled as I reached the couch and leaned in for a quick kiss. "Hey you."
"Hello there." I said with a grin. "How did things go?"
She shrugged. "I'm ahead on my work and I'm preparing for next order. Marge already approved my time off to inspect our new land."
"...Do she know why you need time off so often?" I asked and pulled back to head over to the bed to change out of my armor into something a bit less... armored.
Sheila rolled her eyes. "Of course not. As far as she knows, I'm going on trips with my merchant boyfriend. So how was Caldeum? Have fun?"
Ren reached to pull Sheila's work from her lap and put it aside. "Much less than I would have liked. And on that topic, we need to discuss some things."
"...What's on your mind?" Sheila asked with a faint frown.
"Now? You are bringing this up now?" I asked with a sigh, pulling the white shirt on. "We just got home."
"Now." Ren said and gave me a look before turning to Sheila. "I would... like it if you agreed to remove the rule about no sex unless it's all three of us. We are both going to be traveling a lot with Atreus alone."
Sheila frowned and shook her head. "No. That rule is there for a very good reason."
"If one of us was going to get jealous, wouldn't it have happened already?" Ren asked with a frown of her own. "We have been together for over a year now. You said you would try to be a better dragon consort."
Sheila looked over at me. "Atreus?"
I quickly raised my hands and shook my head. "You know I'm staying out of these things, Sheila."
That earned me a raised eyebrow and a look I recognized well. I was not getting away with that answer.
Sighing, I shook my head. "I wouldn't be against it."
There was no way I was taking any sides in that argument because no matter what I did, one of them would get pissed at me.
Sheila slowly nodded and turned back before she suddenly grabbed Ren by the neck with one hand and shifted her weight, pinning her to the couch beneath her as she straddled her waist. "Do you challenge me, Rengosa?" Sheila growled down at her.
I almost started in surprise before it dawned on me what she was doing. Her hand was not actually in position to choke Ren even if her nails dug slightly into her skin, only the thumb was on her throat, the rest was on her shoulder.
She was simulating a weak neck bite.
Ren's eyes went wide and she let out a squeak in surprise as she ended up on her back before she quickly tilted her head to bare her neck, relaxing beneath her. "No, Kazi."
Kazi. Draconic for lead consort. A rather formal version as well, usually used when you'd fucked up and knew it.
"It almost sounded like it." Sheila growled and gave her neck a small, one-handed squeeze before letting go, relaxing slightly. There was a couple of seconds before Sheila spoke up again, softly. "But your argument had some valid points." she finally said before moving closer, whispering something into Ren's ear.
Ren looked surprised for a moment, turning her head to look up at Sheila. "Really?"
She nodded, "Hmhmm. I know all three of us like it. But no further than that, okay? ...Let's just try this at first. We might relax things more in the future if this works. Things are working now, I don't want to risk breaking things. It just feels like this rule is helping me."
Ren quickly nodded in agreement and smiled. "Of course. Thank you, Sheila."
"So... is anyone going to tell me what was just decided?" I finally asked carefully from my place on the bed when it seemed safe enough to speak up.
Sheila sat up and looked thoughtful before she gave me a playful look as she got off Ren to sit down on the couch next to her and crossed her legs. "No. But maybe I can show you tonight."
...That does sound like a lot more fun...
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
He nodded. "I believe she would have liked to be here as well. Unfortunately, she is leading a team of researchers away from the city."
"Maybe next time." I said with a smile. "Well, we'd better get going."
Ren nodded with a smile of her own. "Perhaps I will join Atreus next time as well. I quite enjoyed this visit."
Other than the climate and the crowds and the smell.
Adjusting my satchel, I pulled out the small portal key stone, channeling my magic to open a portal to the portal stone we left in the desert.
"After you." I said and stepped to the side, letting Ren be the first one through. I gave Musa and Arianna a nod before I turned to follow her, allowing the portal to close behind me.
For all they knew, it was the first step on the journey back to the Headquarters, broken up into several steps for security.
And it was true. I didn't want them to know what I could do.
So while Ren was storing her armor in her satchel, I was weaving the strongest antiscrying ward around the area I could.
"Ready to head back?" I asked as I double checked that her soulstone as safely stored away in my satchel.
She nodded and handed hers over as well before pressing close. "Anytime you are ready." she almost purred up at me.
...If it wasn't uncomfortably hot and the place wasn't covered in sand, we would have ended up late. And that rule. Stupid rule.
Instead I just held her close and started channeling my magic.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Sheila, we are home." Ren said as she walked inside and stretched. "Do you ever get used to using a soulstone?" she asked as she approached the couch, leaving me to carry the satchels inside and close the door.
Sheila looked up from the enchanting diagram she had been working on and smiled. "Hey you two. And... not really. It's as uncomfortable every time." she said before giving Ren a look as the dragoness dropped down to sit on the couch next to her. "...Is that an actual dress this time?"
Ren rolled her eyes. "Of course not. When would I have had time to get changed?" she said and dropped it, revealing her armor.
"Well, at least you were wearing something beneath it this time." Sheila sighed before she smiled as I reached the couch and leaned in for a quick kiss. "Hey you."
"Hello there." I said with a grin. "How did things go?"
She shrugged. "I'm ahead on my work and I'm preparing for next order. Marge already approved my time off to inspect our new land."
"...Do she know why you need time off so often?" I asked and pulled back to head over to the bed to change out of my armor into something a bit less... armored.
Sheila rolled her eyes. "Of course not. As far as she knows, I'm going on trips with my merchant boyfriend. So how was Caldeum? Have fun?"
Ren reached to pull Sheila's work from her lap and put it aside. "Much less than I would have liked. And on that topic, we need to discuss some things."
"...What's on your mind?" Sheila asked with a faint frown.
"Now? You are bringing this up now?" I asked with a sigh, pulling the white shirt on. "We just got home."
"Now." Ren said and gave me a look before turning to Sheila. "I would... like it if you agreed to remove the rule about no sex unless it's all three of us. We are both going to be traveling a lot with Atreus alone."
Sheila frowned and shook her head. "No. That rule is there for a very good reason."
"If one of us was going to get jealous, wouldn't it have happened already?" Ren asked with a frown of her own. "We have been together for over a year now. You said you would try to be a better dragon consort."
Sheila looked over at me. "Atreus?"
I quickly raised my hands and shook my head. "You know I'm staying out of these things, Sheila."
That earned me a raised eyebrow and a look I recognized well. I was not getting away with that answer.
Sighing, I shook my head. "I wouldn't be against it."
There was no way I was taking any sides in that argument because no matter what I did, one of them would get pissed at me.
Sheila slowly nodded and turned back before she suddenly grabbed Ren by the neck with one hand and shifted her weight, pinning her to the couch beneath her as she straddled her waist. "Do you challenge me, Rengosa?" Sheila growled down at her.
I almost started in surprise before it dawned on me what she was doing. Her hand was not actually in position to choke Ren even if her nails dug slightly into her skin, only the thumb was on her throat, the rest was on her shoulder.
She was simulating a weak neck bite.
Ren's eyes went wide and she let out a squeak in surprise as she ended up on her back before she quickly tilted her head to bare her neck, relaxing beneath her. "No, Kazi."
Kazi. Draconic for lead consort. A rather formal version as well, usually used when you'd fucked up and knew it.
"It almost sounded like it." Sheila growled and gave her neck a small, one-handed squeeze before letting go, relaxing slightly. There was a couple of seconds before Sheila spoke up again, softly. "But your argument had some valid points." she finally said before moving closer, whispering something into Ren's ear.
Ren looked surprised for a moment, turning her head to look up at Sheila. "Really?"
She nodded, "Hmhmm. I know all three of us like it. But no further than that, okay? ...Let's just try this at first. We might relax things more in the future if this works. Things are working now, I don't want to risk breaking things. It just feels like this rule is helping me."
Ren quickly nodded in agreement and smiled. "Of course. Thank you, Sheila."
"So... is anyone going to tell me what was just decided?" I finally asked carefully from my place on the bed when it seemed safe enough to speak up.
Sheila sat up and looked thoughtful before she gave me a playful look as she got off Ren to sit down on the couch next to her and crossed her legs. "No. But maybe I can show you tonight."
...That does sound like a lot more fun...
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Last edited:
Skelethin
Barebones Writer
Ok, that grab and pin totally shows that Sheila is definitely taking the more... traditional version of Dragon Consort management seriously.
Though how they managed to only do stuff with all three of them there, for a year, I will never know. And at this point, sex is almost less likely to draw jealousy as any other form of spending alone time, if only because they already have a foundation that isn't jealous.
Though how they managed to only do stuff with all three of them there, for a year, I will never know. And at this point, sex is almost less likely to draw jealousy as any other form of spending alone time, if only because they already have a foundation that isn't jealous.
52
A shrill, ringing sound pierced my ears and I groaned, rolling over to slap the gnome-made alarm clock. The sound quickly stopped and I grabbed to peer at it before dropping it off the bed. Way too fucking early.
I did get treated to a rather rare sight, though, as Ren had cuddled up next to Sheila. Not that it lasted long as both had started to stir awake as well.
Sheila lifted Ren's arm off her and struggled to sit up, rubbing her eyes. "What time is it? Was that the clock?"
I nodded and pulled her back down and close. "Yeah. Way too early though."
She let out a small sound of protest when I pulled her back down before she sighed. "Atreus, I need to get going or I'll be late."
"You have to?"
Sheila sighed again and pouted. "Yes... I need to really get ahead with my work. I would love nothing more than to stay in bed, but I really have to go." she said and gave me a quick kiss before sitting up with a giggle.
Raising an eyebrow, I looked over to see Ren deeply asleep once more, the covers pulled up over her head. That didn't take long.
Sheila shook her head and slid out of bed with a grin. "I can tell that neither of you lazy lizards grew up on a farm. My father calls sleeping after the sun is up being a lazy lollygag."
"Well, good thing he isn't here then." I said with a yawn. For more than one reason. The man already disliked me. If he saw this it might turn to attempted murder.
That's when the door slammed open, the sudden bright sunlight almost blinding me as Venir stormed in. "Atreus! We have a massive pro...blem..." she started to exclaim before she trailed off.
We stared at her and she stared back, slowly turning from blue to red before Ren finally looked out from beneath her blanket and broke the trance by sitting up, giving her an annoyed look. "Could you close the door? Too bright."
Venir squeaked and quickly rushed outside, slamming the door behind her again.
Sheila looked down at me in confusion. "What in the world...?"
Sighing, I covered my eyes with my forearm as I relaxed back on the bed. It was way too early for this shit, whatever it was.
XXXXXXXXXX
By the time I had gotten dressed and had my second cup of extra strength tea, Venir had almost stopped blushing.
"I'm sorry!" she said for the third time. "I thought you were up already!" She swallowed and continued; "Awake, I mean! All of you awake! Out of bed!"
I sighed and shook my head. "Venir! Relax, it's fine. What's up with you?"
We were sitting on the couch. Ren, on the other hand, had pulled the bedcovers over herself and was curled up around a pillow, refusing to face the fact that it was in fact time to get up. Sheila had already had to leave for work.
She sighed. "I just... sorry, I forgot what time it was."
"When did you sleep last?"
"...Yesterday? I think?"
"Okay, what's up?" That explained why she was so flustered. She was drop-dead tired.
Venir took a slow, deep breath before she answered. "The last ship from Pandaria with a cargo of tea was hit by a pirate ship. They managed to fight it off and escape when a storm hit the area, but it was heavily damaged and we lost people. Twenty men. Half the cargo was too damaged for sale."
...Shit.
"...We really should have anticipated pirates." I finally said, "How much did we lose?"
"I did anticipate pirates! The ship was armed... and we lost over two hundred thousand gold in lost cargo we needed to reimburse the owners for. Another hundred thousand in tea from the plantations. All of it from saltwater contamination. The rest of the cargo made it... but that was only a couple of crates.
Fuck.
That was the entire profit of three shiploads of cargo, not including the profit from the tea imports.
Putting my cup down I sighed and leaned back in the couch before I threw the damn thing into the fireplace. The cup, not the couch.
"...The ship?" I asked, trying to get a handle on the situation. "How much did this cut into the money reserves?"
"Damaged. But it should be repaired by the time you leave for Pandaria." Venir said. "As for the money... we can't afford another loss like that. Not without needing to sell assets to reimburse the people that import through us. Technically we don't have to reimburse them, but if we want people to keep shipping with us, it's a very good idea."
I frowned. "What can we do about it?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. I need your help figuring that out. We have two more ships out there. If either of them is hit on the way..."
Rubbing my forehead I tired to think. "Okay... let's calm down. We... or rather you... have been running Azure Imports for years. That's how many round trips?"
"...It takes almost three weeks to sail there." She answered. "Uhm... dozens. With three ships."
"So odds is low that we are going to be hit again this soon. We will be fine." I told her. "We just need a way to make this more secure for the future."
She nodded. "I know! I just worry."
I shook my head. "Well... any ideas on how to do that?"
"That's why I'm here! I have been trying to figure out a way all night and I'm coming up with nothing! We can't afford to use more cargo space for guns or hire enough guards to matter. Not every single trip."
"Portal." Ren said sleepily as she joined us on the couch, dropping down to sit sideways across my lap, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself. "Use a portal to transport the goods." she said and leaned her head against my shoulder.
I sighed and put my arms around her. "We thought about that once before. They are good for a couple of people, but not practical for large amounts of goods. Especially not to Stormwind or any of the other cities, they are warded against new portals, remember?"
While portals were relatively easy magically, if you had a keystone, the keyword was 'relatively'. People with that kind of talent didn't want to be tied down playing taxi driver.
Not without their fees becoming more expensive than running the ships in the long run. Especially when you were unable to portal within a city... unless you had the 'key', something the dragonflights rather didn't like the idea of the mortal races knowing that we had.
I shook my head, trying to think of a solution.
Maybe if I managed to get the flying ship prototype ready, but that was way too early to even test yet.
"We will figure something out." I finally said and looked over at Venir, only to see her slumped against the back of the couch, deep asleep.
Heh. I'll give her her crossbow later.
AN// ALL the thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
I did get treated to a rather rare sight, though, as Ren had cuddled up next to Sheila. Not that it lasted long as both had started to stir awake as well.
Sheila lifted Ren's arm off her and struggled to sit up, rubbing her eyes. "What time is it? Was that the clock?"
I nodded and pulled her back down and close. "Yeah. Way too early though."
She let out a small sound of protest when I pulled her back down before she sighed. "Atreus, I need to get going or I'll be late."
"You have to?"
Sheila sighed again and pouted. "Yes... I need to really get ahead with my work. I would love nothing more than to stay in bed, but I really have to go." she said and gave me a quick kiss before sitting up with a giggle.
Raising an eyebrow, I looked over to see Ren deeply asleep once more, the covers pulled up over her head. That didn't take long.
Sheila shook her head and slid out of bed with a grin. "I can tell that neither of you lazy lizards grew up on a farm. My father calls sleeping after the sun is up being a lazy lollygag."
"Well, good thing he isn't here then." I said with a yawn. For more than one reason. The man already disliked me. If he saw this it might turn to attempted murder.
That's when the door slammed open, the sudden bright sunlight almost blinding me as Venir stormed in. "Atreus! We have a massive pro...blem..." she started to exclaim before she trailed off.
We stared at her and she stared back, slowly turning from blue to red before Ren finally looked out from beneath her blanket and broke the trance by sitting up, giving her an annoyed look. "Could you close the door? Too bright."
Venir squeaked and quickly rushed outside, slamming the door behind her again.
Sheila looked down at me in confusion. "What in the world...?"
Sighing, I covered my eyes with my forearm as I relaxed back on the bed. It was way too early for this shit, whatever it was.
XXXXXXXXXX
By the time I had gotten dressed and had my second cup of extra strength tea, Venir had almost stopped blushing.
"I'm sorry!" she said for the third time. "I thought you were up already!" She swallowed and continued; "Awake, I mean! All of you awake! Out of bed!"
I sighed and shook my head. "Venir! Relax, it's fine. What's up with you?"
We were sitting on the couch. Ren, on the other hand, had pulled the bedcovers over herself and was curled up around a pillow, refusing to face the fact that it was in fact time to get up. Sheila had already had to leave for work.
She sighed. "I just... sorry, I forgot what time it was."
"When did you sleep last?"
"...Yesterday? I think?"
"Okay, what's up?" That explained why she was so flustered. She was drop-dead tired.
Venir took a slow, deep breath before she answered. "The last ship from Pandaria with a cargo of tea was hit by a pirate ship. They managed to fight it off and escape when a storm hit the area, but it was heavily damaged and we lost people. Twenty men. Half the cargo was too damaged for sale."
...Shit.
"...We really should have anticipated pirates." I finally said, "How much did we lose?"
"I did anticipate pirates! The ship was armed... and we lost over two hundred thousand gold in lost cargo we needed to reimburse the owners for. Another hundred thousand in tea from the plantations. All of it from saltwater contamination. The rest of the cargo made it... but that was only a couple of crates.
Fuck.
That was the entire profit of three shiploads of cargo, not including the profit from the tea imports.
Putting my cup down I sighed and leaned back in the couch before I threw the damn thing into the fireplace. The cup, not the couch.
"...The ship?" I asked, trying to get a handle on the situation. "How much did this cut into the money reserves?"
"Damaged. But it should be repaired by the time you leave for Pandaria." Venir said. "As for the money... we can't afford another loss like that. Not without needing to sell assets to reimburse the people that import through us. Technically we don't have to reimburse them, but if we want people to keep shipping with us, it's a very good idea."
I frowned. "What can we do about it?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. I need your help figuring that out. We have two more ships out there. If either of them is hit on the way..."
Rubbing my forehead I tired to think. "Okay... let's calm down. We... or rather you... have been running Azure Imports for years. That's how many round trips?"
"...It takes almost three weeks to sail there." She answered. "Uhm... dozens. With three ships."
"So odds is low that we are going to be hit again this soon. We will be fine." I told her. "We just need a way to make this more secure for the future."
She nodded. "I know! I just worry."
I shook my head. "Well... any ideas on how to do that?"
"That's why I'm here! I have been trying to figure out a way all night and I'm coming up with nothing! We can't afford to use more cargo space for guns or hire enough guards to matter. Not every single trip."
"Portal." Ren said sleepily as she joined us on the couch, dropping down to sit sideways across my lap, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself. "Use a portal to transport the goods." she said and leaned her head against my shoulder.
I sighed and put my arms around her. "We thought about that once before. They are good for a couple of people, but not practical for large amounts of goods. Especially not to Stormwind or any of the other cities, they are warded against new portals, remember?"
While portals were relatively easy magically, if you had a keystone, the keyword was 'relatively'. People with that kind of talent didn't want to be tied down playing taxi driver.
Not without their fees becoming more expensive than running the ships in the long run. Especially when you were unable to portal within a city... unless you had the 'key', something the dragonflights rather didn't like the idea of the mortal races knowing that we had.
I shook my head, trying to think of a solution.
Maybe if I managed to get the flying ship prototype ready, but that was way too early to even test yet.
"We will figure something out." I finally said and looked over at Venir, only to see her slumped against the back of the couch, deep asleep.
Heh. I'll give her her crossbow later.
AN// ALL the thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Thought of that but here's a better idea. Set up a storehouse/garrison somewhere outside the limits of the city wards. Portal to there, even if the portal can only carry a little at a time, three weeks of non-stop use can put a dent in things. Better, you can simply move things to the storehouse over time and then sell when you have the inventory for it.
53
I trailed my finger along the gold thread to the final junction in the left fin before I nodded. "Well, the conductors are in place. The enchantments are holding... Time for the second test."
Targos raised an eyebrow, his arms crossed as he leaned against my workbench, watching. "If you believe so."
I rolled my eyes and climbed into the small boat, sitting down in the middle. "I do. I did remove the interfering enchantments. It should be stable now."
A flying carpet was basically a... symphony of enchantments working together to form the whole. Keeping it afloat, keeping it stable, keeping the riders from falling off by accident, propulsion, tilt, yaw, pitch, rigidity...
It was all made easier by the carpet being basically a single more-or-less flat rectangle. A simple geometry.
A boat... not so much. There was a reason they were not commonplace and that all I knew about was basically airships... if magically enchanted.
My first test had been... informative if painful. Somewhere in that symphony was an arsehole playing a kazoo.
Basically, while I got the thing to lift off, it flipped out, wrecked my bookshelf and tossed me four meters down to the floor.
I was pretty sure it was a resonance reaction between the propulsion, lift and safety enchantments caused by the geometry of the ship.
But without testing, I didn't know.
But if it worked, I could try adding them back on, one by one... see where, exactly the fault was. Worst case scenario, I would have to find a different method of propulsion.
With the 'drag' of the enchantments without propulsion... some modifications and perhaps even normal sails could work. Suboptimal, but...
I reached down and touched the side of the boat, commanding it to lift off.
The six meter boat slowly lifted off its supports to float half a meter above them and I looked around, giving it a small rocking.
It moved slightly but didn't tip over or... throw me across the room.
"That seems to have fixed it." I finally said and gave it a command to slowly yaw slightly.
The boat moved like I wanted it to, not that I had much room to move it around.
Targos nodded slowly. "It seems to be. Tilt a bit to the right?" he said as he pushed off the workbench before moving down to check the bottom. "Yes. It does seem that removing those enchantments did solve the major instability problem. Any idea which one caused the problem?"
I shook my head. "No... not yet. I need to re-enchant the entire boat again to find out. I think it might been a triangle reaction." I explained and twisted it back. "Am I aligned?"
"Not quite. You have drifted. One moment." Targos said and gave the boat a small push. "There. Put it down."
I nodded and commanded the boat down before I climbed out. "Well.. that worked."
Flying ships would solve the entire pirate situation for the company. However, I didn't even have a ready prototype yet... and for a full ship?
That would need special construction. Ships were not meant to hang in the air, the damn bottoms would fall out, especially if they were carrying cargo.
At the moment, we had made a decision. We delayed the trip to Pandaria another two weeks until the other two ships returned to port.
It would not only give the 'Mist Angel' time to conduct repairs, but also make it possible for all three ships to sail in a convoy.
That was my idea. Hell, it worked for the Allies in World War Two, it should work here. Three times the guns would make any pirate think twice, even if they were not very big ones on a cargo hauler.
It did make things rather difficult with the pickup in Meereen. It would be delayed over two weeks until we could portal back from Pandaria.
"Any ideas?" I asked and ran my hand through my hair, looking at the boat sitting there.
Targos frowned in thought. "This kind of pure enchanting work is actually not a specialty of mine. I prefer to mix in engineering and runes in projects like this, but I see why you want to do it this way. If you get it working, it would be a rather elegant solution to the problem. Have you looked into the Lich King's Necropolises?"
I snarled at that thought. "I did. A completely different way of doing things. I don't want the souls of the dead bound in the stone, holding it up. Abominations."
I had thought about checking Dalaran as well, it was the largest flying object in the world after all, thus it was the logical pick. Kalecgos shot me down, however. Dalaran didn't really fly, it balanced on the power node of a layline. It could move, but only along laylines or by massively epic scale teleportation.
"I didn't know that." He sighed and shook his head. "I suspected, but..."
"Yeah." I said and crossed my arms. "Well... nothing to it than to start stripping the enchantments off again. Add the propulsion enchantment and see if it tries to kill me again."
He gave me a surprised look. "Tonight?"
"Tonight? What, the time isn't more than..." I started before I actually looked at the gnome-made clock on my workbench. "...nine in the evening."
I promised that I would be home in time to make dinner. Ren would be busy doing some research for Venir on possible defensive spells for the ships and Sheila was busy at work all day, working ahead so she would be able to leave for a couple of weeks.
"My consorts are going to kill me."
Targos looked amused. "Unlikely. But depending on how angry they are, you might be sleeping on your own for a while. I don't know about Sheila, but Rengosa reminds me enough of her mother that you might be in trouble."
I might have liked that couch, but not that much.
Yeah.
Fuck.
I'm such an idiot.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Targos raised an eyebrow, his arms crossed as he leaned against my workbench, watching. "If you believe so."
I rolled my eyes and climbed into the small boat, sitting down in the middle. "I do. I did remove the interfering enchantments. It should be stable now."
A flying carpet was basically a... symphony of enchantments working together to form the whole. Keeping it afloat, keeping it stable, keeping the riders from falling off by accident, propulsion, tilt, yaw, pitch, rigidity...
It was all made easier by the carpet being basically a single more-or-less flat rectangle. A simple geometry.
A boat... not so much. There was a reason they were not commonplace and that all I knew about was basically airships... if magically enchanted.
My first test had been... informative if painful. Somewhere in that symphony was an arsehole playing a kazoo.
Basically, while I got the thing to lift off, it flipped out, wrecked my bookshelf and tossed me four meters down to the floor.
I was pretty sure it was a resonance reaction between the propulsion, lift and safety enchantments caused by the geometry of the ship.
But without testing, I didn't know.
But if it worked, I could try adding them back on, one by one... see where, exactly the fault was. Worst case scenario, I would have to find a different method of propulsion.
With the 'drag' of the enchantments without propulsion... some modifications and perhaps even normal sails could work. Suboptimal, but...
I reached down and touched the side of the boat, commanding it to lift off.
The six meter boat slowly lifted off its supports to float half a meter above them and I looked around, giving it a small rocking.
It moved slightly but didn't tip over or... throw me across the room.
"That seems to have fixed it." I finally said and gave it a command to slowly yaw slightly.
The boat moved like I wanted it to, not that I had much room to move it around.
Targos nodded slowly. "It seems to be. Tilt a bit to the right?" he said as he pushed off the workbench before moving down to check the bottom. "Yes. It does seem that removing those enchantments did solve the major instability problem. Any idea which one caused the problem?"
I shook my head. "No... not yet. I need to re-enchant the entire boat again to find out. I think it might been a triangle reaction." I explained and twisted it back. "Am I aligned?"
"Not quite. You have drifted. One moment." Targos said and gave the boat a small push. "There. Put it down."
I nodded and commanded the boat down before I climbed out. "Well.. that worked."
Flying ships would solve the entire pirate situation for the company. However, I didn't even have a ready prototype yet... and for a full ship?
That would need special construction. Ships were not meant to hang in the air, the damn bottoms would fall out, especially if they were carrying cargo.
At the moment, we had made a decision. We delayed the trip to Pandaria another two weeks until the other two ships returned to port.
It would not only give the 'Mist Angel' time to conduct repairs, but also make it possible for all three ships to sail in a convoy.
That was my idea. Hell, it worked for the Allies in World War Two, it should work here. Three times the guns would make any pirate think twice, even if they were not very big ones on a cargo hauler.
It did make things rather difficult with the pickup in Meereen. It would be delayed over two weeks until we could portal back from Pandaria.
"Any ideas?" I asked and ran my hand through my hair, looking at the boat sitting there.
Targos frowned in thought. "This kind of pure enchanting work is actually not a specialty of mine. I prefer to mix in engineering and runes in projects like this, but I see why you want to do it this way. If you get it working, it would be a rather elegant solution to the problem. Have you looked into the Lich King's Necropolises?"
I snarled at that thought. "I did. A completely different way of doing things. I don't want the souls of the dead bound in the stone, holding it up. Abominations."
I had thought about checking Dalaran as well, it was the largest flying object in the world after all, thus it was the logical pick. Kalecgos shot me down, however. Dalaran didn't really fly, it balanced on the power node of a layline. It could move, but only along laylines or by massively epic scale teleportation.
"I didn't know that." He sighed and shook his head. "I suspected, but..."
"Yeah." I said and crossed my arms. "Well... nothing to it than to start stripping the enchantments off again. Add the propulsion enchantment and see if it tries to kill me again."
He gave me a surprised look. "Tonight?"
"Tonight? What, the time isn't more than..." I started before I actually looked at the gnome-made clock on my workbench. "...nine in the evening."
I promised that I would be home in time to make dinner. Ren would be busy doing some research for Venir on possible defensive spells for the ships and Sheila was busy at work all day, working ahead so she would be able to leave for a couple of weeks.
"My consorts are going to kill me."
Targos looked amused. "Unlikely. But depending on how angry they are, you might be sleeping on your own for a while. I don't know about Sheila, but Rengosa reminds me enough of her mother that you might be in trouble."
I might have liked that couch, but not that much.
Yeah.
Fuck.
I'm such an idiot.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
I wonder if Targos could get the ship working easier if he mixed enchanting techniques from a few different schools of magic? Some ideas:
Going back to Guild Wars, the Asura levitate a huge quantity of their architecture, so that might be worth looking into. Or just commissioning a blueprint for an asura-built flying rig, since I'm sure someone there would like the challenge.
Any D&D world will also have relevant enchantments.
Fairly sure you can do it with magic from Sanctuary, but it's probably old, lost techniques...
If you ever make it to a Final Fantasy world, most of them have airships. I recommend 12 or 14, for a good mix of high fantasy and magitech.
And if you can get a hold of the other two Planeswalkers you met, I'm reasonably certain what you're trying to do can be done with Land magic. Somehow. Probably by creating an Artifact.
Going back to Guild Wars, the Asura levitate a huge quantity of their architecture, so that might be worth looking into. Or just commissioning a blueprint for an asura-built flying rig, since I'm sure someone there would like the challenge.
Any D&D world will also have relevant enchantments.
Fairly sure you can do it with magic from Sanctuary, but it's probably old, lost techniques...
If you ever make it to a Final Fantasy world, most of them have airships. I recommend 12 or 14, for a good mix of high fantasy and magitech.
And if you can get a hold of the other two Planeswalkers you met, I'm reasonably certain what you're trying to do can be done with Land magic. Somehow. Probably by creating an Artifact.
WinterKnight
Keeper of the Shinies
- Location
- Higher than sky high
Nah, they're both mono-White Walkers, but Ajani did say he would show him other planes where he could study land magic. The real solution here is to introduce Atreus to the Izzet.* I'm sure plenty of Izzet members would be willing to help build a flying ship.**
*Survival of this experience is not guaranteed.
**Whether they would actually finish the project without getting bored or ripping a hole in the fabric of space-time is another matter entirely.
"So, what name have you picked for that new airship design?"
"Oh, we talked it out and settled on Event Horizon. Like it?"
". . . find another name."
- Location
- Software
Ok! ... Titanic ? Sounds Majestic!