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The feast had been arranged so fast it appeared to almost have been conjured. Upon first look the rock platform had appeared flat to Cire’s party. However, when they emerged from under the waterfall, drenched and sopping wet for the second time, the naga were bustling around laying out food on a square shaped rock raised up in the middle of the stone.

Black scaled males without lanterns, but with the same colorful hair as the females, continually dove into the water and returned with various pieces of crockery. An odd assortment of mismatched bowls, serving dishes, and plates held a similar bizarre selection of edibles. Some held fillets from large fish while others held strings of aquatic plants. One especially curved bowl had a roiling mass of living beetles.

All of the previous violence and dramatic tension seemed to have dissipated. Pockets of females were grouped up conversing in the whistling hiss of ancient elvish. While the hissing was still discordant to the party’s ears there was a rhythmic beauty to the sound. Unlike with many languages, the various discussions didn’t step on each other, but wove together. The effect produced a strange choral music to the background noise of the lake cavern. The humans, gnome, and dwarf were transfixed. The quiet that spawned upon being noticed after their exit shocked them from their enchantment.

Gliding over to them a violet shaded naga with her hair tied back with cordage stopped and bowed. Alana wore a simple dark red mushroom leather tunic that contained several pockets. Most curiously, she had a pair of round spectacles perched neatly on her nose. The magnification of the lens drew even more attention to her bright lavender eyes. She looked over Nic and Andre as if she surveying the days catch, let her eyes linger on Stout with interest, and then nodded to Maisy.

“Onginnan, I Alana. I beon schaewen ye symbel beon bittan.”

It took Maisy a bit to puzzle out what she was saying, but Alana’s associated hand gesture’s directing them to the food made it much easier. Maisy nodded and the group made their way over to the table. The bookish naga handed each of them a plate. Maisy received a delicate piece of porcelain with elegant spiral patterns worked under the glaze. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Nicolas and Andreas both got dried irregular shaped pieces of mushroom to hold their food. Stout got a stone platter with spiral etchings similar to the porcelain.Then Alana slipped away and back into the crowd leaving them to eye the food dubiously.

Taking the lead before any of the men could do something rash, Maisy started placing small bits of every dish onto her plate, beetles included. It didn’t escape her notice that only the female naga were eating, small portions at that.

“It won’t be easy to mingle, but we won’t have to wait long, dears. Remember, we are guests and they have provided food. It is safe to interact with our hosts. However, you could as easily insult them with a hand gesture that is out of place or by refusing what they offer. I suggest we stick together and demonstrate our goodwill.” She popped several of the juicy black shelled bugs into her mouth and started chewing.

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Cool and refreshing would be how Cire would describe the feeling of the black mist. He was about to make a comment in that vein when he felt a surge of power shock his feet. The multicolored light contained in the seal was now crawling up from the mossy floor and enveloping him all over again. Cire felt like a live wire and full to bursting all at the same time. He wanted to throw up while running as fast as he could. In the end, he went with the puking.

By the time the four house members had ceased being sick they were all either sitting or laying on the floor of the grotto. Durg’s loud groans punctuated the small space. He was holding his head in his hands.

“Soiled me beard, boyo. This better have been worth it.”

Through the throbbing headache, Cire took a quick glance at his notifications. He had leveled up by completing the naga quest so there were a few things to sort through, but he had ample reason to get back to them later. When he found the notification he was looking for he gave it a once over before dismissing it.

Your trait Scion of the Chimera’s Mane has evolved. You have bound a settlement within your territory and received a blessing from their deity, Hera, Queen of the Gods. This blessing has added an additional bonus to this traits effect. This bonus has been applied to all house members and will increase as the level of the settlement increases. As ruler your bonus will be unique. Current bonus level – 1 (Camp). If the settlement is abandoned, razed, or conquered this bonus will be lost.

Effect: 10% bonus to all actions within the area. You may summon a Territorial Keep once per month.

Description: Territorial Keep – A sturdy, defensible structure that provides your inherent territorial bonus’s regardless of location when deployed. The size and shape of the keep will adapt to the terrain when summoned. Allows the use of settlement and territorial edicts within the range of this effect. At level 1 the keep’s effects project up to a 1 mile radius. The keep will last a single week or until it is dismissed.

“It was, clearly. At least for you and Selene. Neither of you had to get married, so I don’t want to hear anymore complaints. I’m sure you’ve had worse hangovers, it’s not that bad.”

Standing up, Selene went to the waterfall and washed off her hands and face. Then she pulled her fingers through her long black hair and pulled it back. She was about to walk through, but she stopped herself. Turning around, Selene moved over to Kalani and crouched down locking eyes with the naga. Selene stayed there eye to eye, gauging her up close.

Carefully, Selene reached out her hand and brushed Kalani’s hair back behind her ear. The long tapered ear of an elf. Selene’s light blue eyes flicked back and forth. She didn’t know what to say, and anything she did, Kalani probably wouldn’t understand. Asking Cire to translate would bring about questions she wasn’t ready for. Instead of searching for words, the elf took action. She leaned in and kissed each of Kalani’s cheeks tenderly.

Kalani smiled back as Selene approached and when she felt the elf’s gentle caress. She leaned back and kissed each of Selene’s cheeks respectively. Then she turned to Cire and asked a question he was clearly meant to translate, not answer himself.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“It isss an honor, sssissster. What isss your name and place within our houssse?”

Not looking to Cire as he conveyed the naga’s words, Selene politely kept eye contact.

“I am Selene, an heir. As is Durg, the dwarf over there who was complaining. Thank you for the potions earlier.”

“You are mossst welcome. They were worth far more to you than me. I have gained much in return, even if the elixsssersss were only a small part of it.”

Cire felt ill at ease translating the conversation between the two women. It felt like he was watching an intimate moment through a peephole. Selene thankfully read his face and spared him too much further conversation.

“You say that, but I wouldn’t be too sure. Cire has a tendency to find more trouble than he can handle. Your a good example of that though. I will take Durg with me and rejoin the others so that you two can have a more private conversation.”

Selene exaggeratedly winked at Cire before she hefted Durg to his feet. For his part Durg grinned and gave Kalani a short wave before the two ducked out through the waterfall. Selene’s parting words before she left tormented Cire.

“Make sure you translate all of that, I’ll know if you don’t.”

Maisy had lost track of Andreas. She knew he was a free man and could make his own decisions, but she still felt responsible to manage the situation. After getting food he had approached a pair of naga with turquoise coloring, he was whisked away before she could get a word in edgewise. Nic and Stout stayed with her near the waterfall taking polite bites of food. She would have enjoyed their distaste of the deliciously prepared cuisine, knowing it clashed with their human and gnome palates, if she wasn’t so concerned about the other human.

Splashing sounded behind her and Maisy turned to spot Durg and Selene returning to them. Her dwarven cousin saw the food and made a beeline for it. He didn’t even wait for a plate before grabbing handfuls of quivering raw fish and chomping it down. Selene abruptly halted as she cleared the waterfalls spray, her wet clothes an afterthought.

Sonorous waves of melodic elvish speech ebbed and flowed through the cavern like a symphony with a backdrop of rushing water. Selene could understand broken bits and pieces of what the naga were saying, but there was a heavy amount of cognitive dissonance for her to overcome. Plenty of species spoke different languages. Common itself was a mishmash of dwarfish, elvish, gnomish, and some human dialects. Therefore, it was baffling to her that the entire naga population spoke ancient elvish so fluently. It was undoubtedly evidence that this tribe had been hidden away from the world for a very long time. She needed to learn more.

“Maisy, have you been able to figure out anything more about how they got stuck down here?”

Giving her an assessing look, Maisy smiled while crunching on a bit of slimy aquatic vegetables.

“Nothing confirmed, not yet at least. They have been diving into the water a lot. When they were bringing out the food they were getting it from somewhere in the lake,” She sifted through her plate and handed Selene a Water Apple, it was probably the most agreeable thing for elven taste buds besides the fish, if it had been cooked. Selene popped it in her mouth without question.

“So, their naga, they have a deep affinity for the water element. Your intimating something more, what?”

“I think that the Mistfall Lake still has plenty of secrets we have yet to see. Kalani was clearly educated in the ways of creatures and people, just with woefully out of date information. If this is all there is,” She made a sweeping gesture to indicate the expansive underground lake, the stony islands, and the waterfall. “That shouldn’t be the case. It would have to be an incredibly impressive oral tradition, but even so, I don’t think that’s what is responsible. We should ask Cire about it when he comes back to the hamlet tomorrow.”

“It is his wedding night, he should stay with Kalani. I wasn’t thinking about that. It didn’t feel like a wedding. How much longer do we need to stick around? The waterfall cleaned me off some and it’s oddly warm in this cavern, but that doesn’t mean I want to stand around in sopping wet clothing for the rest of the night.”

“Probably not too much longer, but we can get those clothes taken care of. One of the elders saw to my robes. Let’s find her and I am sure she can wick the water from yours.”

Scanning the back wall she spotted Aanya’s familiar scarlet bulb and gray hair crowded with the other older members of the tribe. Maisy lead Selene over to the naga and through a series of hand gestures communicated their need. The assembled naga seemed amused that their guests didn’t like to be wet, but that didn’t stop them from drying her off. A large puddle grew under Selene until she felt cleaner than having had a bath.

“That’s convenient. Do you think we could work out a washing service with them? I don’t think I have ever seen Durg clean.”

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Relaxing on the soft cushion of moss in the grotto, Kalani and Cire took each other in. This was truly their first private moment since they had met. Both had recently experienced vast transitions that neither had settled into. It wasn’t exactly awkward, but neither knew how to interact with the other. During their first conversation they had both been acting, now they didn’t know how to act.

Kalani for her part overcame her hesitation first. She had been with her fair share of males, even taken a spouse, but she knew that marriage outside of her tribe had radically different expectations. Besides, if Cire made her angry she couldn’t kill him and find another, he was unique. She had to strike an even balance with her new husband. Her tongue flickered to taste his scent, it was becoming more familiar. An open ended question would give her a good place to start.

“I would like to know more about you husssband. What do you think of my tribe?”

For his part, Cire was conflicted. He had never had a chance to tell Kalani about his vampiric side. Maisy might have informed her during the negotiations, it seemed like a pertinent piece of information for a prospective spouse, but she also may have expected Cire to tell her. He wanted to blurt it out, but thought better of that strategy. There was nothing he could do about it now, so it was probably best to ease in.

“I got to the valley above these caves a few months ago. I came from a far away realm, not unlike many of the fae I have been told. Generally, I have been trying to get my feet under me,” He smiled sheepishly. “I’ve been trying to figure things out as I go. I made some friends who have been helping me along the way. You met Selene and Durg. We all found the territory stone together. To be straight with you, I have only been the territorial lord for a few days now, I’m just muddling through. Until we had our first conversation no one had ever called me ‘Lord’ before. It feels weird, like something I haven’t earned. I would prefer you call me Cire, at least when we don’t need put on airs.”

As he talked he could see Kalani visibly relax, her tail seemed to slump into the moss. He knew that she had just taken over her position as leader of her people. Maisy had filled him in, along with the others, regarding the lantern naga tribes particular form of royal ascension. That lead him naturally to her question.

“So far I think your tribe is remarkable, but I have seen very little. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be trapped down here. I doubt it has been a comfortable life. But your about to change a lot of that. I suppose I am too for that matter,” He smiled warmly. “What are your plans for your tribe? You must have assumed the throne with purpose.”

Winding her tail through the moss Kalani curled the tip of it around Cire as he sat cross-legged, the naga equivalent of holding hands.

“I must consssolidate my posssition of courssse, but for asss long asss I can remember our tribe has only Sssought two thingsss: freedom and Sssurvival. Now we can grow and rebuild what we once were. Long ago my people ruled another territory clossse to this one. We have no memory of it, but we have talesss.” She grinned at her accidental pun, showing off her long tapered fangs and patted his thigh with her tail. “Perhapsss we will return Sssomeday. However, we have much work before any of that.”

Cire lightly rested his hand on Kalani’s scaled skin, which was surprisingly warm to the touch. He hadn’t really focused on how she had felt against him during the ceremony, but now it was unavoidable. Kalani’s scales were smooth and had an almost silken feel under his palm. He didn’t know when she had healed from after the fight, but he wouldn’t be surprised if she had taken a potion.

They stayed like that for a while, simply being with each other. Each thinking about the long journeys ahead of them and how the person across from them fit in. After a good amount of time Cire chuckled.

“I don’t think anyone is going to come get us, we’re in charge. We should probably go out and meet with the tribe before people start getting funny ideas.”