Chapter 44: Isekai Life & Silver Queen

“Where are the others?” Katriana asked immediately, “Where’s Calliope? Voss, Yua?” She looked around, squinting into the dark. “Where’s your horse, for that matter? How did you get here?”

Ashryn as usual gave a fairly serene reply. “I’m sure Theodore will give us an explanation if you just give him a moment,” she said, nuzzling her nose against my cheek, “Do you want to introduce us to your friend, my love?”

“Oh, yeah,” I said, breaking out of my love-induced trance. I switched which arm I was holding Ashryn with, so I could gesture at my newer companion. “This is Raszil, he’s a cleric who joined us in Rhymer’s Cross. He’s a good guy, and we’ve been through some, you know, excitement together.”

“Charmed, Lady Ashryn,” the gnome said, give her a little bow, “And you as well, Princess Katriana. Theodore has spoken so warmly of you both, I’m happy to finally make your acquaintance.”

Ashryn gave him a laugh that practically sparkled. I realized then how deeply I missed her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Raszil.”

Katriana took hold of my sleeve. “It’s nice to meet you, sir,” she said to the little cleric before turning to me. “You told him about us?” she asked in a hushed voice.

“Actually, he figured it out all on his own,” I said, putting up my one free hand defensively, “Though he only put it in vague terms.”

“Well, I am very bright,” he said, stamping his feet, “No doubt your lovely sister and betrothed are the meat and mead of your soul, but they are not for mine. But if it’s all right with your two fine ladies, my Prince, I would very much appreciate a seat and some refreshments.”

“Oh, right!” Katraina said, shaking her head, “Come along, you two.”

While we walked the rest of the way to the house, Katriana explained that Ashryn had gotten “a funny feeling” about me and insisted she and Katriana spent time that night sitting outside, which was how they came to be right there to greet me. Enna had begged off, saying that she was going to leave her two ladies to be eaten alive by bugs on their own, and Bekkar was already asleep.

I received not quite as warm a welcome from Ricard and Mia when Katriana and Ashryn ushered us into the manor. No kissing or forceful hugs, although Ricard tried his best to shake my hand off. Katriana and Ashryn were full of questions- what had happened, where were Calliope, Voss and Yua, where had we been- but I tried my best to put them off until I had a chair to sit on and a glass of wine to sip. Travelling by griffon was fast and relatively easy, but after clinging to Barador’s back all day before walking for a couple hours, I was pretty damn tired. The lord of the house took us into his library, and bid us to seat ourselves on some comfy chairs they kept here for Mia’s reading.

Once our honourable guests had provided these things, I gave a little, happy sigh. I was in the centre of a long sofa, with Katirana and Ashryn on either side of me. Raszil had a chair of his own, and Mia and Ricard sat in the nearby loveseat. “Okay, hit me with your questions,” I said, “I’ll do my best to answer them.”

“First of all, where are the others?” Katriana asked impatiently, “Nothing terrible happened to them, did it?”

“We parted in the Misty Kingdom,” I explained, “Right now they are guests of the Mist King, though they are only relatively safe. Things are ... complicated, there.”

And of course nothing would do at that point but relate the story of our journey north ad the situation with the goblins and elves, for the second time in two days. I did keep to myself the details of why betrothal to Kythaela, though, there was no need to drop that bomb quite yet.

Mia was actually the first to interject. “So you’re saying there are two reasons why towns are disappearing,” she asked, “The goblins you defeated, and these would-be storm elves?”

“We can’t say for sure if the goblins terrorized anyone but Rhymer’s Cross, and we’re still looking into the storm elves,” I explained, “But it seems that way, yes. It’s hardly the most definitive news I could offer at this point, but we’re doing the best we can with the tools we have. There could be a third party involved, but I hope you’ll agree that’s unlikely.”

Ricard himself started thinking, mumbling something about, “What if there is a conspiracy...” But Mia gave me a firm nod. “Good. I think that’s good enough for a partial reward, at least,” she said, elbowing her husband in the chest, “I have something to give you before you head back out, some things that might prove useful, so make sure you don’t disappear on us.”

I nodded in response. She probably meant handing me a magic item or two, to help me along ... but I’d have to be careful not to discard our entire payment in my greed for magic items. We’d still need gold for getting around, and I didn’t really know what Kythaela’s dowry would entail. “Thank you,” I replied, “Anything you might give to help would be gratefully received.”

Mia nodded, and stood up. “Come along, Ricard. These children probably want time to themselves, you know.”

“Ah, right,” he said giving me a downright lewd wink as he rose to follow after his wife, “Of course they do, no doubt that have a lot to catch up on. Goodnight, Theodore and company. Mr. Raszil, pleasure to meet you.”

While they were headed off, I turned to Katriana. “So ... where’s Enna?”

“Probably sleeping,” Katriana replied, making a face, “While she wasn’t the brightest student, we managed to get her to learn the basics of reading. But she kept losing focus, I doubt she’ll ever be much of a reader for pleasure.”

“She doesn’t have to be,” I allowed, “As long as she can read street signs and write notes, that’s probably a massive improvement in her lifestyle already.” I’ve played 2nd and 3rd edition Barbarians before, I knew how surprisingly debilitating being illiterate could be, “But what does that have to do with her sleeping?”

“Well, it’s just that, she’s been bored out of her mind ever since,” Ashryn replied, “I think she really regrets not going with you all, and when she finds out about
what happened to Calliope...”

Ah, right, that makes sense. I didn’t even think about it, to be honest, Enna was doing the task I asked her to do, so in the thick of everything I didn’t wast time lamenting the loss of her skills or her bravery? Could she have save Calliope’s life? No one could possibly know ... but the knowledge would grate on her just the same.

“Anyway, I’m sure you’re tired as well, and we should-” Katriana began to continue, as she rose from the couch, and I grasped her wrist to prevent her from leaving.

“No, there’s something we need to do,” I told her, “And I want it done tonight.”

I followed Katriana in slipping off the couch, gently taking Ashryn’s hands in mine. “It’s time,” I said simply, “Raszil is going to conduct the ritual. We’re going to be married.”

The elven girl just seemed confused, shaking her head as if in denial. “What? Now? I don’t understand, Theodore.”

“I found someone I have to marry,” I explained, “To save her from the ridiculous laws of the mist elves. I wouldn’t be doing it before you both could meet her, except that it’s a life and death matter.”

Complex emotions warred on Katriana’s face. After all, she was the one who demanded that I not get involved with another woman without her assent. But Ashryn giggled with glee and leapt up into my arms.

“You came all this way to keep your promise to me?” she said, before peppering my face with eager kisses. She gave me one last one right on her lips, where I could enjoy the feeling of her soft lips,
before she settled back down. “You’re amazing, Theodore,” she complimented breathlessly, “I can’t believe how lucky I am, to have you work so hard to just to keep your word with me.”

“Well, I love you, Ashryn,” I said, feeling a little awkward, “I want to keep my promises, to both you and Katriana. When keeping one promise became impossible given the situation, keeping all the others was even more important.”