Chapter 25: Strange New Worlds

I self-edit and admit editing isn’t my greatest skill. I apologize in advance for anything I missed.

One week.

Kendra had been sailing non-stop at full sail for a whole week and had finally reached her destination at mid-morning on the seventh day. It was a dreary, gray day with a dreary gray sky to match her mood.

She lashed her tiny little airship to the bollards in the Gralden docks like the docking posts had done her a great personal wrong. She took a deep breath to calm herself but was only partially successful. She was starting to get really pissed off at that dragon for making her come all the way out to Gralden just to confirm his story.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t the real reason.

If he really was innocent...

She suppressed a growl of frustration and then headed down the small dock towards the city. However, instead of finding a dock master waiting for her, she found quite another sort of fellow.

He looked to be in his mid-twenties, although he was sporting a full beard. A longsword was fastened at his side and he wore chainmail from head to toe, partially concealed by a surcoat which carried the emblem of a gold coin. He was also huge; several inches over six feet and — even taking into account the extra bulk added by the chainmail — it looked like he could wrestle an ox and win.

“Kendra the dragon huntress?” The man asked as she approached.

“Who wants to know?”

“Heinrich, captain of Lord Borden’s guard.” He said standing slightly straighter at that pronouncement.

She shrugged. “My name is indeed Kendra, and my blade has tasted dragon’s blood before.”

“Then Lord Borden formally requests the honor of your presence.” Heinrich said; coming from a lord, that wasn’t a request.

“How did he know I was coming?”

“I do not know.” The man replied. “Follow me.”

She frowned slightly at his terse manner, but followed a few paces behind him regardless. It wasn’t wise to keep a lord waiting.

He led her through the city towards the wealthier district. The entire town was set at the base of a mountain and the ground sloped upwards slightly. It seemed the higher up you went in the city, the wealthier and nicer the buildings. She didn’t see abject poverty anywhere, but the run-down wattle-and-daub buildings lower down certainly contrasted with the glamourous stone buildings higher up. The top of the town wasn’t more than a few stories higher in elevation than the bottom though. There was an ornate mansion that looked like a Lord’s residence not far from the small docks.

That’s where Heinrich led her.

She followed him through a series of halls which were tastefully but lavishly decorated, finally stopping before a large wooden door. The door was carved with several ornate designs and inlaid with gold, yet somehow not ostentatious. Heinrich knocked once and then opened the door, stepping aside for her to enter and then closing the door behind her.

She were standing in what looked like a large office with several large and expensive looking paintings lining the walls. Gold candlesticks also lined the room, although they weren’t currently lit. Through the many windows, Kendra had an excellent panoramic view of the town.

Looking out one of the windows with his back to her was a man she could only assume was Lord Borden. He turned after a moment and regarded her. He was tall, over six feet and possessed an imposing presence. Kendra got the impression he was a man of great intelligence and cunning. Making him look even more so was the perfectly tailored suit that was cut in a subtly aggressive way. He had expensive taste, as the suit was made with gold and silver inlays. It looked expensive and clearly showed the man’s status, but also managed to avoid looking pretentious or tacky.

“Kendra the Dragon huntress.” He said with a thoughtful expression.

“How did you know I was coming?” She asked.

“Someone portalled a letter.” He said, nodding towards a piece of paper on his ornate desk. It wasn’t large and looked like it had been tightly rolled at some point.

Most castles and major cities in the Ten Kingdoms — including Gralden apparently — had a small portal through which things could be sent to other city’s portals. The portal apertures where very small, rarely more than two or three inches wide so they didn’t pose a security risk, but letters could be sent if you had enough coin. This enabled almost instantaneous communication across the Ten Kingdoms, but was obscenely expensive to use. Each portal required a skilled, knowledgeable mage to operate and target, and they were expensive to keep employed. Even Lords used them rarely because of the expense.

“I imagine that’s not something you see every day, even as a Lord.” She commented.

“True, which makes it more curious.” He inclined his head slightly towards the letter. “Read it.”

Kendra stepped forward and glanced at the letter. It was quite short:

My Dear Lord Borden,

I, Elder Goman of Arcanum, would humbly request that you take an audience with one Kendra the dragon huntress who will be visiting your city in about a week. She seeks information about a young, steel grey dragon that I believe you have met, and can bring word of your daughter, Beth.

Although Kendra is not in my employ nor does she speak for me, I would ask that you grant her an audience, share with her freely, and tell her nothing but the honest truth without addition or omission. Doing so would place me in your debt.

Humbly yours, Elder Goman

Lord Borden indicated a chair in front of his desk, which she took. The man himself sat down in a large chair behind the his mahogany desk.

“So, what news do you have of my daughter?”

“She’s healthy, happily married, and appears to get along extremely well with her fellow wives.” Kendra said, trying to be vague so as not to give too much away, while still giving enough information to satisfy a father wanting news of his daughter.

Lord Borden set his jaw.

He hadn’t exactly looked upset before, but now mouth was a thin line as he pulled his hands up and steepled them together. Kendra couldn’t tell what he wasn’t irritated by, but it didn’t seem to be her.

“Fellow wives?” He said after a moment.

She nodded.

“He took another wife?”

She nodded again.

He eyed her. “You said fellow ‘wives’ plural, not fellow ‘wife’. How many does he have?”

“Four-- no, sorry three.” Kendra corrected herself after remembering the redhead wasn’t one.

Lord Borden took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

It wasn’t a relaxing breath though, nor a calming one. It was the deep breath of someone who’d just made a decision. Whatever that decision was, she doubted that it boded well for Ethan or any of his wives not named Beth.

Which included Taloni...

Kendra leaned forward in her seat slightly and locked eyes with him. “Lord Borden, one of Ethan’s wives is a Fey girl named Taloni. If anything were to happen to her — anything at all — I would be...” she paused for effect. “ ... displeased.”

She let that hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “Further, if anything ever happened to separate Taloni from Ethan, or to make her upset or unhappy in any way, I would also be ... displeased.”

Lord Borden looked at her for several seconds before replying. “That is quite a statement to make to a Lord.”

“It is.” She replied matter-of-factly.

“Hmm.” Lord Borden leaned back in his chair, the picture of perfect relaxation as he considered her. “Why would a former Aldmiri be so protective of a Fey girl?”

Kendra resisted reacting, but barely. “Not many know the name Aldmiri. How do you?”

“I own The Bank.” He replied simply.

She nodded, supposing that he couldn’t have risen to his high status without learning a few things.

“We have a problem Kendra.” He stated. “I will not suffer my daughter to share a husband, yet you would not suffer me to rectify the situation.”

“I would not, leastways as it concerns Taloni.” She confirmed.

In the back of her mind, she wasn’t sure he’d let him harm Alana either. The wood elf seemed very kind and she was sure that the chocolate-haired brunette would be devastated if she were forced to separate from Ethan.

“Why? What makes this Fey so special?”

“Why are you so dead set against your daughter sharing a husband?” Kendra countered.

“If you had children, you would understand.”

“Pretend for a moment that Taloni is as dear to me as Beth is to you, and then you will understand.”

Lord Borden made a thoughtful sound, but his face still looked hard. “I would not wish to make an enemy of an Aldmiri, even a former one, but I will not tolerate my daughter sharing a husband.”

“I would not wish to make an enemy of a lord, but I will not tolerate any harm coming to Taloni, nor her being forced to separate from Ethan.”

“That does not change my position.”

“Then we’re at an impasse.”

He nodded and they regarded each other for a moment, each sizing the other up.

“I admire your dedication.” Lord Borden said, and he seemed sincere. He glanced at the letter on the desk. “Out of respect for the prestigious Elder Goman, I shall honor his request. However, know this: you shall be safe from me until the first rays of light fall Illuminar’s temple in Gralden tomorrow morning. After that...” He paused. “ ... after that I would not be found in this city.”

“Fair enough.” Kendra nodded.

She was pretty sure he was telling the truth. Lord Borden had a reputation as an impeccably honest man. Not one man in the Ten Kingdoms had ever claimed that he’d broken an oath or not made good on his word. She would be safe in Gralden until dawn tomorrow. But afterward...

“Now, what do you wish to know?” Lord Borden said. He was surprisingly calm for someone who’d just made an enemy of a former Aldmiri. Most would be quaking in their boots ... if they knew who the Aldmiri were.

“Everything you know of Ethan Ejder, and what happened concerning him while he was in Gralden.”

“Very well.” Lord Borden replied, then he began to confirm every detail of the dragon’s story with his own.

Ethan sat down on the starboard steps leading up to the Argo’s quarterdeck where Anthiel asked him to, more than a little curious as to what he would see. His wives and Rachel had insisted on not seeing their dresses for the last week, wanting him to wait for a big reveal when they were done. Now at last they were, and he had no idea what they would look like.

Not even a hint? He asked Alana.

If you tell me to give you one I will, but I think you’ll like the surprise. His wood elven wife replied.

Okay then, keep your secrets. He said with a chuckle as he waited.

“And now, fresh from the Argo’s lower decks, we have our lovely ladies.” Anthiel announced after peeking down through the door to the lower deck on the starboard side of the ship. Ethan himself was sitting on the starboard set of stairs leading up to the quarterdeck, so his beautiful wives plus Rachel were waiting to unveil their new dresses directly below him. The high elf moved so she was to Ethan’s right side along the Argo’s railing.

“And now, here they come.” Anthiel said. “First up is a lovely elven woman who’s heart is a large as the southern sea and warm as its beaches: Alana Ejder.”

Alana came out and he gave a slow whistle.

She was wearing the same green dress as always, but something about it looked slightly different. It took him a moment to realize that she’d subtly altered the color in places so the leaf pattern stood out slightly more. It was beautiful, made even more so by the radiant smile the wood elf was wearing. The smile made her dimples even more adorable than usual. Her long, chocolate brown hair was up in a simple bun that was very elegant. A small lock from her temples on either side of her face cascaded down, framing it perfectly. Her pointed ears fit her perfectly and she had a slightly wild look about her that made his heart soar and his cock stir.

Alana did a slow pirouette so he could admire the dress from all sides before moving to stand next to Anthiel. The high elf was leaning against the railing, and was tall enough and standing just right so that she completely blocked his first wife from view.

“And now,” Anthiel continued once Alana was out of sight. “The Lord’s daughter who wouldn’t let death keep her from her husband, Elizabeth Ejder.”

Beth came out wearing a royal blue dress that seemed to make her flawless pale skin shine. It was a perfect color for her, and a perfect cut too. It was a bit longer than Alana’s dress, falling to below the knee but not slipping into formal evening wear either.

The dress was cut so to make it look like her legs ended at her waist, which had the side effect of making her already long legs look even longer and more shapely. The top had a V-neck which didn’t show much cleavage, but didn’t leave you in doubt that she was a woman. The thin straps also showed off her shoulders, which was a beautiful sight.

He grinned seductively at her.

She pirouetted and grinned back at before taking place near Alana, hidden behind Anthiel.

“And now, the Fey girl with a heart of gold, Taloni Ejder.”

His Fey bride burst onto the scene, flying out and spinning round in the air like a dancer for several seconds before landing with a curtsey. Her dress was a gorgeous lilac color that perfectly matched her eyes. The ‘skirt’ portion was a bit shorter than the others, and she had spun fast enough that it had flown up until it formed a circle of flowing lilac fabric. Her modesty had been protected by a pair of lilac shorts which hugged her legs and came down to just above her knees. That was probably a good idea, otherwise she might be exposed if she flew above someone.

The dress was a halter top which came up to the bottom of her shoulder blades in the back, leaving room for her wings to spring from between them. There was just enough skin showing on the side to ignite the imagination but kept everything well covered. That plus her bare shoulders and cute smile ... He gave her a slightly hungry look.

Taloni blushed as she looked at him, then joined his other wives.

“And now, you know and love her as a powerful mage and--” Anthiel winked at Ethan. “-- a wise redhead: Rachel Delmar.”

Rachel glided out looking absolutely stunning.

Seriously, drop dead gorgeous.

The dress was no less beautiful than he remembered, and possibly more. The red color matched her hair perfectly and it hugged her figure without crossing the line into slinky. The redhead was rather more amply endowed than the other women, but certainly not ‘large’; in the realm of a full C cup. She gave Ethan a nervous but beautiful smile. He would’ve been tempted to propose on the spot if he thought the redhead would accept.

He wolf whistled.

She blushed.

Anthiel walked over to him, leaned down and whispered into his ear. “I thought it would be most appropriate to introduce them in the order of marriage.”

He raised his eyebrow.

She gave him a knowing smile, then slipped past him to go back up to the quarterdeck. He looked past her to the four beautiful women gathered mere yards away.

“Damn.” He said. “You all are hot.”

Rachel grinned and then snapped her fingers, a bit of fire blazing between them for a moment.

Everyone laughed.

“Let me look at all of you.” He said as he gazed at them.

All of them, including Rachel, twirled slowly to model for him. It was a lovely sight. Not just beautiful, not just sexy, not just arousing; incredibly lovely.

He sighed. “Damn, I’m a lucky man.”

“We’re the lucky ones, right girls?” Alana replied.

They all nodded, even Rachel.

“You are so good to us Master.” Taloni said skipping forward to kiss him tenderly on the lips.

“Yes you are Dominus.” Beth replied, kissing him after the Fey.

“They are absolutely right sir.” Alana said, kissing him after Beth had finished.

Rachel’s foot twitched forward, then stopped right as Ethan and his wives all glanced at her. Somehow, there seemed to be an unspoken assumption that she would be next — confirmed by her almost starting forward — even as she didn’t move any more.

“Well, that’s not awkward.” Ethan said.

Rachel half-smiled.

“Captain.” Serif said to him, thankfully breaking the awkwardness and saving them all the trouble of extricating themselves from it. “When you are done, we should continue your training on the longsword.”

He sighed.

Serif had begun training him in the longsword the day after the girls started on their dresses, saying he needed to learn the weapon to better fight against it. He wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t fun starting from scratch again after getting so comfortable with the spear. That said, it was fun learning to use a real longsword; it was a childhood dream come true.

He nodded to Serif and then turned to his wives. “Well ladies, I need to thank you all for being wonderful and then get my ass kicked in a sword match.”

“We should be thanking you Master.” The Fey piped up.

“Agreed.” Beth smiled, going slightly pink.

“I concur, and I have an idea how we could thank him for being so wonderful...” Alana said, then added telepathically. ... sir.

He grinned.

Thwang! Kunk!

Selene set the crossbow down, rather pleased at her most recent bullseye.

“Well done Miss Dawson.” Mr. Abromowitz said.

The nervous fellow had calmed slightly in the past week, at least around her. Around the other four men he was still as nervous a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Each of the other men had taken to the crossbow just as well as she had, or better. They all had the look of hardened military vets who’d seen more combat than seemed possible given the lack of an active war going on.

The room looked like most other firing ranges, and was made of concrete like everything else in this place. There were a dozen firing lanes, though only five were occupied. Downrange there were five archery targets in lieu of paper targets, which the crossbow bolts would simply rip to shreds. All the targets had a crossbow bolt in or near the bullseye.

“Okay, again on my mark.” Mr. Abromowitz said.

Selene let her hands drop loosely to her side as the crossbow similarly fell, suspended by a strap that went over her shoulder.

“Mark!”

As fast as she could, Selene swung the crossbow down and inserted her foot into the foot loop at the front. Then she grabbed the string with both hands and using the form she’d been taught, pulled it up until it caught on the release latch. Quick as a flash, she nocked a bolt into the string, raised it, took a moment to aim properly, and fired.

Thwang! Kunk!

“Another bullseye.” She heard Smithbond say from behind her as he started slowly clapping; she hadn’t heard him come in. “Well done. You’ll make a wonderful addition to the team.”

She gave him a look.

“Now, let’s get you and everyone else briefed. The portal is finally being airlifted here and should be operational in a day or two. You’ll leave as soon as it’s ready.”

Rachel watched Ethan and his wives disappear into the captain’s cabin with a sigh. She knew exactly what was coming, and everyone on the Argo would hear it. Well, they’d hear Taloni anyway. That girl had a set of pipes and was very vocal about how much she enjoyed ... it. Hoping to distract herself, the redhead wandered up onto the quarterdeck where Anthiel was tuning some type of stringed instrument.

“You know, most fishermen pull when the fish bites.” The high elf said casually.

“Huh?”

The high elf glanced down to where the captain’s cabin was below them.

“Oh, I’m not interested.” The redhead lied.

Anthiel made a thoughtful sound, looking completely unconvinced. “So, what brings you up here on this fine morning?”

“Boredom.” Rachel shrugged. “There’s not much to do right now.”

“There should be soon.” The high elf replied. “We should be crossing into the wood elves’ land any minute now.”

“I’ve heard they’re very protective of their borders. Is that true?”

Anthiel got a mischievous smile. “Wait a few minutes and you’ll see.”

She was right.

Not five minutes later — just as the noises from the captain’s cabin were getting to the point where she wanted to retreat far away to the ship’s bow — an airship started descending towards them. It was small, perhaps a bit larger than Kendra’s canoe-sized airship, but it looked sleek and fast. There was an artfulness to how the bow curved and the subtle patterns on the wood. Clearly, this was as much a work of art as it was a scout ship.

Anthiel grabbed the sword that she kept near the ship’s wheel and used the butt end of the scabbard to bang loudly on the deck below her. The moaning and groaning suddenly ceased.

“We have visitors.” The high elf called loudly.

Rachel heard the bed creak and what sounded like a scramble.

Anthiel looked up at her and winked. “Sometimes, you’ve got to keep them on their toes.”

Rachel chuckled, sharing an amused grin with the high elf.

Moments later, Ethan came barreling up the stairs to the quarter deck looking slightly annoyed. “What’s going on?”

Anthiel gesture upwards. “Wood elven border patrol. They’ll drop to our level and ask about our business.”

Ethan gave frustrated but resigned sigh, then activated his disguise gem so he looked like a human.

“Actually, you might want to keep that off.” Rachel suggested.

“Oh?”

“They invited a dragon, so I assume the scouts know you’re coming. It’s better if we don’t look like we’re hiding something.”

“Fair point.” He nodded, and then clicked the gem off again.

Rachel heard the captain’s cabin door open again, and moments later three very beautiful and slightly frustrated looking women came up the stairs to the quarterdeck. Alana and Beth’s hair was mussed and wild, in a look that the redhead had grown to associate with them having just slept with Ethan. Taloni’s hair looked perfect though, probably because of her Fey heritage.

As the scout ship got lower, Rachel turned to Ethan. “Remember, it’s an honor culture. So be very deferent to avoid giving offense.”

“I remember.” He sighed.

The crew had spent a significant amount time talking about this over dinner the previous few nights. Alana and Beth had offered some advice, but the teen mage had offered the most because of her greater experience. She’d never done a diplomatic meeting with the wood elves before, but she had seen several so she had an idea how to speak to them properly.

“Hail, and welcome to the great kingdom of the wood elves!” One of the two scouts called when they had dropped to the Argo’s level, though perhaps a dozen yards off the quarterdeck. He was quite young, while the other look quite old, especially considering he was an elf.

“Hail, it’s an honor to be here.” Ethan replied somewhat awkwardly.

“What is your business in our fair lands?” The scout called, and Rachel could see he had his hand on a bow.

“We were invited to come see the king of the wood elves.” Ethan replied.

Rachel nudged him.

“We’ve heard that he’s ... um, that he’s a most magnificent king and we’d like ... uh, we’re honored by the invitation.”

“We were told of your coming.” The scout called. “We are honored to receive a prophet of Illuminar — blessed be He.”

“I’m not a prophet of Illuminar.” Ethan called back.

She got the feeling that he was going to repeat that phrase an awful lot.

“I apologize for the mistake honored dragon.” The scout called back with a bow. “The king has given orders that you should be received at the capital palace. I shall grant you a flag-pass. Stand fast for delivery.”

The scout stood and lifted what looked like a blunted spear with cloth wrapped around it. He stood, gauged the distance, and then gave it a measured throw. It flew through the air in a high arc to land on the quarterdeck at Ethan’s feet.

“Honored Dragon, affix that to your upper mast and no sentry shall waylay you until you reach the capital. Look for that flag at the docks, and you will discover a berth suited to your ship. A delegation from the King will await your arrival.”

“I will, thanks.” Ethan replied.

“May Illuminar — blessed be He — fill your sails and grant you fine weather.”

“And the same to you.” Ethan called back.

The wood elf gave him a respectful bow, and then his airship shot upwards like someone had turned all the ballast logs on at once. Ethan reached down to pick up the cloth-wrapped spear. There were two small strings holding the cloth to the shaft and he untied them. The flag had a few different shapes in what appeared to be deliberate patterns.

“I’ll take it.” Anthiel offered. “It must be attached on the upper mast so it lays flat and can be seen from above.”

“Clever.” He nodded. “How long until we reach the capital?”

“Probably around noon tomorrow if the wind holds.” The high elf replied.

“What would’ve happened if they didn’t want to let us through?” Beth asked.

“The scout would’ve tailed us, reporting our position to their fleet and directing them to our location. Inside of an hour, we would’ve had a dozen larger airships converge on the Argo.” Anthiel replied.

“But how?” Beth asked. “How would they able to communicate?”

“Did you notice that one of the scouts was young, and the other looked old, even for a wood elf?”

The blonde nodded.

“The oldest, and longest married military veterans are assigned to scouting duty so that they can use telepathy to communicate with their wife, who will be on the flagship of the main fleet.”

“Wow, they use the...” Ethan trailed off. “I can’t decide if that’s brilliant or heartless.”

“I’ll go with brilliant.” Rachel offered. “The position of senior scout is a high honor in the wood elven navy. Plus the scout can spend his off-duty time with his wife while he’s deployed.”

“I hadn’t considered that.” He conceded.

“Speaking of spending time with wives...” Alana said with a sensual smile.

Beth nodded. “We were in the middle of something...”

Taloni nearly dragged Ethan back down the stairs into the captain’s cabin.

Rachel turned back towards the railing, trying to ignore what was probably going on right beneath her feet.

“You know, I could have you married in two minutes if you wanted to join them; I know he wouldn’t object.” Anthiel said casually.

Rachel pointedly stared in the opposite direction.

“I’m sure his other wives wouldn’t mind either; especially Alana.” The pilot added.

At that, Rachel turned and gave her a confused look. “Huh?”

The high elf just smiled and went back to tuning her instrument, which left Rachel a bit confused as to what she meant.

Kendra kept an eye out for this “Garthildur” and his traveling caravan of merchants as her tiny canoe-sized airship sailed over the rolling plains to the west of Gralden.

Lord Borden had answered her every question concerning Ethan before she’d left town. If his reputation was anything to go by, every word he spoke was true. She was pleased to learn that Alana had an uncle that traveled nearby, because if anyone was going to give her dirt on Ethan, it would be Alana’s family. She assumed he would have no way of knowing that Ethan had eventually married her, and so he might still be quite cross with him.

At least, that’s what she hoped.

It took half a day of westward travel, but she finally spotted what looked like a traveling caravan on the horizon and she adjusted course to pursue it. Not long afterwards, she adjusted her sails to bring the ship to a dead stop about a quarter mile in front of the caravan; no sense spooking anyone. She landed her airship, hopped out, and waited.

“Hail traveler!” The man leading the caravan called from his horse when he was closer.

In contrast to Alana’s sun-kissed fair skin, this man’s dark grey skin marked his clearly as a dark elf. His hair was almost white like all dark elves. He looked barely middle-aged and seemed quite fit. He was wearing simple pants and shirt made from a rough fabric, and had a short sword belted around his waist.

His hand was on the pommel.

Looking at the man’s face, Kendra got the distinct impression that she shouldn’t take this man lightly. His eyes were bright and spoke of cunning and intellect. He looked relaxed, but judging from his seat he was also a fighter and looked ready to move at a moment’s notice.

“Hail.” Kendra called back. “I seek a word with Garthildur Trade-Captain, if he be among you.”

“I am he.” The dark elf replied, then turned on his horse and waved for the caravan to stop, which it did. “Of what would you like to speak?”