Chapter 082. Vol 3 - Meaty Kebabs:

It took some time before Anton found the Graterious Mercenary Guild, even with Verona and Kal's heads bobbing wildly about searching desperately alongside him. They followed Virgil's directions but it still took them asking the seller of, what appeared to be, Porswea's answer to Earth's fast food. The small store, located outside a larger building that appeared to be a home for the relatively poor of Porswea, sold a sort of kebab, with layers of an unknown types of meat with cooked pieces of vegetables on a thin wooden stick. The owner wasn't very helpful until they bought one, which Verona devoured in a matter of seconds, but then he gave them directions. Anton wasn't worried about the cost of the information, it was nothing compared to what they had on them.

They found the building situated in another large plaza, a ring of large buildings forming part of the defining edge of the plaza. The people walking the streets changed every time they arrived at a new area in Porswea. Now the people looked very similar to those near the armoury district. Armoured men and women soldiers roamed about the stone streets. It made sense for all those well armed and armoured people to gather here, where they could find employment with one of the many mercenary guilds Porswea had to offer. While most of the buildings, all with a board with the golden coin surrounded by iron chains, appeared non-descript one caught his attention immediately.

Red. A bright red building, in the midst of the more conservative colours, drew everyone's attention. Quite a few people roamed out the front as many people were entering and exiting. These looked nothing like the other mercenaries walking around them. Those people were scraggly and dirty, their weapons and armour were old and kept in poor condition. They hurled abuse at each other and at passers by. Many had red faces and trouble standing straight. They didn't look like a guild of professional fighters and mercenaries, rather a motley crew of bandits that had been, somewhat, colour coordinated.

Anton nodded towards the red building as he squeezed Kal's side. "I know that you haven't been to many cities before, but is that the Red Company?"

Kal nodded. "Yeah. They're the people that had the...drawing."

"That's no good." Verona grumbled. "Thankfully we aren't going there. We're heading to that one."

Verona pointed to a building nearly opposite that of the Red Company. It was the same shape and size but lacked the garish red. Instead, more of a soft grey. The people outside looked a lot more professional and better equipped. Anton shrugged and moved them through the crowds, keeping both very close, towards the building.

What Anton had not yet seen in Porswea were any mages. He had been told they wore garish and bright robes but he hadn't seen one through the streets and none in the mercenary district. A mercenary guild or company would probably pay big to have them on their side, yet he couldn't see any. Perhaps the government could pay even more than the mercenaries could, or fighting for money was beneath them. Duchess Belinda was the only mage he had met so far and she was, by her own admission, not a very powerful mage. Regardless he didn't want to fight her. He didn't want to fight even a middling mage before learning a few more ways to use his magic. He couldn't block a bolt or arrow with his magic yet and relied on destroying the enemy before they could get him. He had no idea if he would be killed in a few seconds with a battle with an actual mage or if he could block their magic with his. The different forms of magic that he could use were quite limited and chances to experiment were few and far between, the consequences of being caught without any mana would be catastrophic. As it stood currently he was quite vulnerable.

The men and women posted outside the mercenary building barely gave them a glance as they entered. Once inside a different smell filled his nose. Gone was the smell of too many unwashed bodies and the general stench of humanity, replaced by the smell of beer and cooking food. The Graterious Mercenary Guild, on the inside, looked more like a pub than a place were fighters would gather. Hundreds of people sat a dozens of large wooden tables. There appeared to be no distinction between men and women, or even from the colour of their skin as they ate, laughed and drank. A whole range of skin tones were on display, from as light as Verona to some darker than the Seocurian body that Kal showed them. Most were eating some sort of food, almost all had some sort of mug in their hand. Judging from the look in their eyes it was some sort of alcohol, a lot of stronger than beer. As the smells of food filled his nose his stomach began to rumble. They were chatting and laughing like a roaring party, it seemed a strange place to find such diversity and acceptance. The more he thought about it the more the setup made sense.

"I...I didn't know what to expect." Verona mumbled as she gently freed herself from Anton's hand. "I suppose this is alright."

"The Red Company is like a drunk house compared to this." Kal said softly. “I never went near one but I could always here them from miles away. Same with the mercenaries themselves. They're pretty easy to find, even when they're in the wilds.”

They moved to the side so they were not obscuring the entrance, a mumbled thanks of a passing mercenary.

"Where do we go?" Verona asked aloud.

The main area was filled with the mercenaries happily eating and drinking. To one side sat a flight of stairs, leading somewhere to a level above. That didn't appear to be the right place. Directly infront of them was something akin to the counter in the armour shop except this was built into the far wall. A pair of nearly identical twins stood on the other side and were dealing with a long line of armoured mercenaries. The twins wore the same clothes, a tight fitting grey and blue shirt, that contrasted heavily against their short blonde hair, with some pleated cuffs on their wrists. Everything below the waist was obscured but he was sure those clothes were the same colour and style too.

"Pretty sure that's where we need to go." Anton said as they were already moving towards the lines of waiting mercenaries.

They moved through the crowds of seated mercenaries, barely receiving more than a second glance that was mainly directed at Verona's silver hair, and stood at the end of the line. Over a minute passed and they did not move an inch forward. Verona quickly became agitated while Kal stood motionless. When he focused on Kal he could hear the tiniest whisper of her mantra being repeated over and over again. He gently held her hand which calmed her a little.

Finally they moved, but only a single person forward. Verona looked around the line and grumbled. "There's...twelve more people before we reach the front. This is going to take ages."

Anton peered around and nodded. "I know. But we don't have that much of a choice if we want to get there soon."

Verona smiled but he felt her irritation. He held her hand as well. Verona said nothing more but picked idly at his finger nails. Another few minutes passed in relative peace. A few more people joined the line behind them who quickly shared Verona's level of growing impatience.

This must be related to that big job Virgil was talking about. Everyone will be wanting to get in on it, and the guild would need to make sure they're good enough and not just going to be a drain on their business.

Anton looked down at their clothes, and then to the mercenaries around them. Compared to those around them they looked like a bunch of countryside hicks. None had paid them any real attention, for better or for worse.

I just know they're going to bring up the clothes thing again. And they should too. How are they supposed to know that we can do what we do just by looking at us?

Anton turned to the right side of the large room. The backs of mercenaries obscured the wall but from what he could see there were dozens of pieces of paper pinned all over the wall. Some looked very cheap and old while others were clearly very new and expensive, judging by the intricacy of the words.

"I guess that's the job board." Anton said quietly.

Verona glanced at him and then to the wall. "Yeah. Oh, there's a person there that looks like those really slow people at the front too. Doesn't look like they're having much fun either."

Anton bobbed his head around, Verona's height afforded her a different angle, to find this person. Sure enough a young man, wearing the same style of clothes at the receptionists, was speaking rapidly to nearly all the mercenaries gathered. Their arms were waving and pointing at a sheet of paper, then explaining what the job was. It was a little difficult to hear over the dull roar coming from behind but the jobs seemed simple enough: bodyguard duty, extermination of some beasts or monsters that have gotten out of hand and caravan protection. Anton didn't know how much the jobs would pay but it appeared to be relatively standardised judging by the calm way the mercenaries were listening in.

Verona tilted her head. "Why do they need that person to explain what the jobs are?

"I don't know how many people here can read." Anton replied, he received a sheepish look from Verona. "But I don't think it's a common thing to be able to do. That soldier that we keep meeting could read but I don't know about the rest of them."

"Oh...well, it's a good thing that I have you then." Verona squeezed his hand. "Because I still have trouble reading words. Not as bad as I used to, but..."

The line moved forward again. Now it was Kal's turn to become impatient. It seemed that this place needed to bring in more staff for today. A noise, coming down the stairs, caught Anton's idle attention. A large armoured man trundled down the stairs, a thin young woman wearing light causal clothes walking close behind. She didn't wear any armour but looked rather flushed, so too did the man.

"Guess this place offers all kinds of services." Anton mumbled quietly. Kal nodded.

The armoured man stopped and looked up the stairs. The young woman moved to this side as another woman, this one almost as equally large and armoured as the man, came down. She too looked a little flushed as a young man followed her.

"All kinds of service." Kal said quietly. Through her hand he felt her laugh. It would be very rude to do so when they were looking.

The line moved forward and now there was only one person in front of them. He lost track of the armoured pair but he watched the pair of suspected escorts open a door to the side of the counter and enter. They nearly bumped into another young woman exiting the door, this one holding a tray of steaming hot food.

Is that a good idea? Keeping those two professions close to each other? I'm sure that the escorts aren't waiting in the kitchen. At least, I hope so.

With the last person in front of them gone one of the twins waved them over.

"About bloody time." Verona grumbled in a barely audible whisper.

It took a moment for Anton to register that the person on the other side was a man. While his face was largely androgynous he had a small amount of stubble on his chin. As they neared the counter Anton looked at the other twin, still serving a mercenary. That twin was undoubtedly a woman, though it was a little less obvious when compared to Kal and especially Verona.

"Hello." The man said as they reached the counter. Once again Verona was irritated by her lack of height and glared angrily over the top. "How can I help?"

Anton rested his hands on the counter, while Kal kept very close to him and her hands by her side. She did not need a click from her claws touching the counter to give her away. "Hello. We were told that there was a big job coming up, about reclaiming a fort to the north from some goblins, and we would like to sign up."

The man looked between all three of them. Verona sighed dramatically as his attention rested on her silver hair. She raised both her hands just as he was about to speak. "What ever you are going to say, you can hold it in. We've probably heard it already. And in answer to your next question, yes we can fight. Very well in fact. So we're going to sign up for the job."

Verona's small outburst caught the man a little off guard. He straightened his shirt as recovered his train of thought.

"Well...You must understand that, because of the nature and reward of this job, we have had to turn quite a few people away as they are...not suited to be part of this guild. Most are snapped up by the Red Company anyway, but..." The man shrugged. His eyes darted to the side where the other twin was glaring angrily at him. He coughed again. "So, you wish to join the guild for this job?"

"Yep." Verona replied curtly.

"If I may ask, where did you hear about this job and from whom?"

Guess we're about to see if Virgil's a liar or not.

"A man by the name of Virgil." Anton replied, the man kept a straight face and allowed him to continue. "We have just travelled with him from the far east of Graterious, from a town called Soulthor, to here. He told us about it."

The man slowly nodded. "That explains a bit. Virgil and the rest of his gang have already been through and told some interesting tales." He looked between the three of them again. "I guess you must be them."

"Good or bad tales?" Verona asked, a hint of worry in her voice. If he told them everything, and these people were fanatics opposed to the Old Gods...

"Interesting ones." He replied. "But we do not discriminate here based on your beliefs, so long as you are a good fighter and a decent person. Your...beliefs, are not a concern to us. And neither should it be."

Finally somewhere a little progressive in this world. I guess being a mercenary guild means that you would get all sorts of people and you couldn't be too prejudiced if you wanted to be successful. I shouldn't be reading too much into it though.

Verona breathed a sigh of relief.

"So long as you don't try and ram your beliefs down someone's throat there won't be a problem."

"Well." Verona idly scratched at her hair. "They may have to see it, but that's all I'm going to do."

"Thank you." He looked honestly relieved. "We don't need any more preachers coming in here and disrupting everything. Those Holy Father people are really annoying. Shouting and hurling abuse at everyone."

"Haven't seen any of them in Porswea." Anton said.

"They aren't that popular but they're around." The man clapped his hands. "So, if you are who you say you are, we would be delighted to have you with us. Now it's just a matter of sorting out your credentials."

"Isn't there something like a fee?" Anton asked.

"Normally there would be, just a small one to keep out the truly useless, but we are willing to trust Virgil's word that you have some skill."

He left the counter and proceeded through an open door and left their sight. Kal pulled on his sleeve.

"Is this good or bad?" The fear of the unknown was clear in her voice. "I only have my daggers with me and I don't know how well I'll be able to fight with this mask on."

"I hope that it's a good thing." Anton replied. "Hopefully he's just going to get some paper work. Just stay close to the both of us."

"I'll have to get you to do mine." Verona said glumly. "Once we get some real down time I'll get one of you two, or both, to teach me how to read and write properly."

The man returned a few minutes later with three small metal plates. He handed one to each of them. Each had their name, the name of the guild alongside, and an emblem of a birds claw striking a human skull. They already knew their names and who was who. Anton realised he was making a face and decided to direct his mental energy somewhere else. He looked at the emblem next to his name.

"Charming image." Anton said as he held the plate in the palm of his hand. "What sort of message are you trying to send?"

The man shrugged. "The founder decided on that emblem when the guild was formed and it's stayed that way ever since."

"What's the Red Company's emblem?" Verona asked. "Is it just a red square?"

Verona was very surprised when he nodded. She looked up at Anton. "We need to do a lot better than that."

Anton nodded, much to the man's confusion. "We will." He looked up at the male twin. "So how do we sign up for this job?"

The man pointed to the board on the wall. "Over there someone will be able to direct you to sign up and what the job entails. Present them with the iron plate and they will know that you are part of the guild and can join up. Good luck and don't get killed."

They returned the nod and moved to the side as another person moved forward. Verona tossed the metal plate up in her hand. "So, what do we do with these? Just put them in a pocket? I don't have a necklace to hang it off. And I don't need any more weight on my front."

Anton looked at his own metal plate. It was a cheap piece of iron with just his first name. They didn't know he had a last name so it would be strange for that to be there. The same with Verona and Kal, now they had a last name as well now they were married to him. It would be very weird if they knew that as well. As a piece of identification it was a little lacking. Most importantly there was no real way for someone to know if the plate actually belonged to them. However, in a world without photographs it was the best they could reasonably do. Perhaps there could be magic involved for more important things and people, but so far he had seen nothing of the sort. Everything in Porswea was still done by hand and muscle.

"Let's go find out what we are supposed to do and go back to the Inn." Kal said as she placed the plate underneath a fold of cloth hidden by her chest armour. "I want to get out of these clothes."

Anton nodded and gave her hand a squeeze. Strangely, and judging by the way her clawed fingers scratched at his palm, she seemed rather playful right now.

"The moment we are done here." Anton whispered into her ear. Kal chuckled and squeezed his hand. Not to be outdone, Verona linked her arm with Anton and pulled him along. Verona forced a way through the crowd and emerged at the front, Anton and Kal close behind. Verona grumbled as she retreated and rested her body against his.

She looked up, annoyance clear on her face. "I can't find the one we need. I really need to get better with my reading. I'll just struggle on my own."

Verona looked back at the wall and sighed. There were far more pieces of paper than Anton first thought. Nearly every free part of the wall had been filled with requests, many simply laid over one another with no real care for placement. It looked a bit of a mess.

It all seems to be relatively simple stuff. Kill or protect...by killing. And for a decent amount of money too. Though with so much gold on us, and living off the land without needing money, I don't think I really understand how much people need to make to live in this world. There's another thought. Unless we can get a business going here we may need to do quite a few more of these jobs to keep a steady income going to Atros, so we can keep buying things and freeing Beast-kin slaves. I think we'll try and sort that out when we come back. First we need to rescue Kal's mother and begin a way to rescue the rest of her people. We've got enough money to get us started.

"So where's this big job?" Anton asked aloud. “We're looking for something to do with taking back a fort.”

The Guild worker, who looked suspiciously similar to the twins at the counter, ripped off a small piece of paper and handed it to a group of mercenaries. They huddled together and moved back to the main room, all the while checking over their weapons and armour. They looked like they were getting ready to go. Anton wondered what they would be fighting.

The worker moved to another group of mercenaries and pointed to the largest piece of paper on the board. It was considerably larger than all the others, though the writing was crisp and clean instead of some of the more ornate and extravagant pieces of paper. Anton studied the large piece of paper. It appeared to be the one they wanted.

"Pretty sure it's that big one." Anton pulled Kal close as a mercenary stopped beside her.

"So how do we sign up?" Kal asked.

"Only one way to find out." Verona said. She lent forward and waved at the Guild worker. He turned, gave a nod of acknowledgement, and continued speaking rapidly with the other mercenaries. "There we go." Verona had a cheeky smile. "Now he knows that we need help. He'll know what to do."

They waited for only half a minute before the man was done with the mercenaries, this group left empty handed, and he moved to them.

"Yes?" He asked as he approached. "How can I help?"

The man was short of breath and a little flushed, though for different reasons compared to those that came down the stairs. Verona nudged Anton's side. Apparently she wanted him to do the talking despite calling the man over.

"We were told that this is the place to sign up to the job to retake a fort a days ride north of here?" Anton asked.

The man nodded. "Yes. We've been having that question a lot over these past few days. Are you...members of the guild?"

All three nodded as Verona was the first to pull out her metal identification plate. The man took them, inspected them quickly before giving a nod, and moved to the large piece of paper. He pulled out a very fine piece of charcoal and put three small dashes along the bottom of the sheet of paper. There were already hundreds of them.

"Thank you for signing up." The man said as he returned the plates. "We're trying to get everyone we can for this to guarantee success. We were expecting a few more but they're being put off by the numbers of goblins."

"What sort of reward are we looking at?" Anton asked.

"The reward is five hundred silver per person." The man replied, much to Kal's shock. He picked up on her surprise even with her mask still on. "The Guild itself isn't offering that, but Lord Cassius is topping it up to that amount. Killing Goblins wouldn't net you that sort of reward, ever. However he doesn't want the fort to become a goblin nest and infect the surrounding area. It'll cost far more to dislodge them if they get dug in. Lord Cassius doesn't want that when there's a good chance that war could be breaking out soon."

Anton nodded. "That's what we've been hearing for a little while now."

The man shrugged. "If you kill and brutalise someone's family something bad is going to happen to you, even if it's not in the best interests of the empire."

Anton nodded again. It might seem a little strange to ask the man outright. He filed the question to be asked at a later date. Perhaps on the trip they'll meet some mercenaries that are willing to talk to pass the time.

"Where and when do we gather for this job?" Verona asked.

When the man looked at her he paid her hair almost no attention. "Everyone needs to be assembled at the Guild before the middle of the day. We then depart for our destination and will arrive some time the next afternoon. We will begin precursory operations upon arrival. Make sure that you're ready and rested."

"That sounds like you're coming with us?" Anton asked.

"Indeed. I will be the representative of the guild with the main forces." A sheepish smile crawled over his face. "I ask you, and everyone, not to do anything stupid during the mission. It'll make everyone's life more difficult."

"We won't be doing that." Anton replied. "So, be back here tomorrow at midday?" The man nodded again. "We'll see you then."

He gave a slight nod before returning to his duties. Anton turned Kal around and gently pushed her forward, standing right behind her in case anyone bumped into her, and Verona quick darted in front as they walked away from the job wall. They moved to one of the empty tables on the far side of the main room so they would not be in anyone's way.

Verona lent on a chair as she looked around for anyone listening in. "So what now?"

Anton and Kal moved alongside her, with Kal in the middle. "We've only got a few more things to do before we can head back to the Inn."

Kal chuckled and shook her head but didn't say anything. Verona sighed and stretched out her back. "I know that I would like some of that beer they've got floating around here." Anton looked to some of the groups of mercenaries and their relatively lavish food. "It smells pretty good. My father once gave me some, when my mother wasn't looking, and it was really good. But I don't think it's really...a..." Verona trailed off as she frowned deeply, her eyes pointed towards the entrance. A laugh tried to overtake her face as she desperately fought it back. "By all the Old Gods, what the fuck is that?"

Anton followed her gaze and was astonished at the sight. Six people had just entered the Guild but these looked like no mercenary he had seen before. The young three men and three women dressed, what could be called, provocatively. The men only wore leather pants, leaving their relatively well muscled and hairless chests exposed for all to see. Quite a few small scars adorned their chests but to Anton something appeared a little off about the scars. They looked real but were a little too neat, it was the only way he could describe his feeling. Overall they were quite handsome men, their faces square and strong with a thick head of hair. It seemed strange that, amongst all the other mercenaries who were armoured to the hilt, that they would deliberately expose so much of themselves to danger. At least they had a sword at their side, but had no shield. They seemed poorly prepared for combat.

The women, however, made Anton sigh on the inside. They wore something similar to what Anton would have called sexy armour. Armour that had no practical use in battle. Overall they wore less than the men; a pair of very short leather shorts with an oversized belt that showed off a significant portion of their rear, and a cropped leather armour chest piece, which cut off just underneath their quite large breasts and two of which had a window in the armour to expose yet more flesh. The only other things they wore were a pair of small boots, a suspicious amount of padding at the back to give them pseudo-high heels, and some small leather gloves. They too had short swords at their waists, and one even had a shield. Their brown hair was quite long, a few curls ran throughout, and immaculately maintained, something that none of the other female mercenaries had. None of it looked even remotely practical if they were actual fighters. In fact they looked more like they belonged in some sort of sexy role play scene rather than combat.

Anton was unimpressed by their attire and doubly so by their attitude. Each was soaking up the attention they were being afforded, a well hidden sneer tried to grow on their faces because they knew they had just become the center of attention. A surprising number of male mercenaries were turned away from looking by their female compatriots, though a few of them took the moment to get a look as well.

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Kal pulled on Anton's sleeve. "Is that what you were talking about in the armoury district? These sort of people? Dressed like..."

Anton nodded. "Yeah. It....Look at it. You can tell right away that it affords no real protection and is just meant to entice your eyes. Like a lure...And it seems to be doing a pretty good job at it too. I don't think it's meant to be used in actual combat though. Maybe something kinky upstairs. Why are they here anyway?"

"If they're here for any sort of combat they're going to get themselves killed." Verona grumbled as she shook her head. "One poisoned arrow right between the tits doesn't sound like a good way to go. And they don't have either of your abilities either to fix that."

"A horrific way to die." Kal added, though she refused to elaborate.

Anton shook his head and rose off the table. "Indeed. Personally it doesn't matter to me and I don't really care to hang around to find out what they're after. Let's go."

Both rose up and moved so Kal was in the middle as they moved to the door.

"I thought Virgil said this was a good Guild." Kal said quietly to him. "They look like they belong with the Red Company."

"I can imagine what they're hired for then." Anton whispered back, eliciting a chuckle from Kal. "Though not why they're here right now, or why they haven't moved from the door. Best we don't get involved with them and just slip past."

"Right." Both girls replied in unison.

They moved silently through the guild, making every effort not to attract the six's attention. However that was a little difficult as everyone else quickly stopped paying them attention and the scantily dressed mercenaries had not moved from the door. It also didn't help Anton's cause that one of them had silver hair and the other a white green mask. They stood out like a sore thumb against the dirtier and darker mercenaries.

One of the men perked up as they approached, his eyes glued onto Verona's silver hair. His eyes kept glancing down at her chest, something that made Anton annoyed at how brazen it was. His chest puffed out as he turned to face her.

"Hey there." He said loudly when they were a few meters from the door. "You seem pretty cute. How about we go for a drink little lady?"

Before Anton could speak Verona cut him off. "No way in hell." Verona snapped back at him. "Can you please move from the door? We want to leave."

He seemed stunned by Verona's words, so too did his companions. Verona flashed Anton an apologetic smile as they stopped barely a meter from the door. It took a moment before the man recovered.

"Could you please move?" Anton asked, his voice devoid of emotion. He did not have the time or the energy to deal with these fools.

"How dare you talk to him like that!" one of the women snarled. "You dare talk-"

"Shut up." Anton said loudly, some of the roar from the other mercenaries faded away. They were the center of attention now. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't care what you're doing or what you think you're doing, but you're baring the door and stopping us from leaving and other people from entering. So, could you please move to the side and let us pass?"

Anton tried to keep as calm as possible but that was hard given the way they looked at him. Although he could easily rend them into dust and ash at a moments notice that would ruin everything they had worked towards so far. It might be impossible to make it Seocuria if he let his desires get the better of him. He tired his best to remain calm and patient, but that often evaporated when dealing with stubborn fools.

"And who the fuck are you?" The second man asked, backed up by the furious nodding of the second woman. His rather impressive chest puffed out as he moved forward in a clear act of intimidation, though to Anton it looked more like a frog puffing itself up when threatened. Anton forced himself to keep a straight face.

What am I watching play out in front of me? Six idiots with an ego problem? Why am I watching this? Whatever, we don't have time for this.

"Could you please move?" Anton asked again. Now there was little noise coming from behind. Everyone wanted to see how this was going to play out.

As the seconds dragged out there was no movement from the six. Anton's patience was nearing its end. It was the way they looked at them at irked him so much, though he couldn't really say why.

"Sure. We'll move." The first man said as he stepped forward, his hand raised towards Verona. "But first how about a you-"

"What's wrong with your breath?" Verona asked, just as his hand tried to reach her shoulder and as Anton grabbed his wrist tight. It stunned all of them so Verona asked again. Still no answer. Anton threw the hand away as the mercenary glared at him. Verona shook her head as her hand moved to her waist, and her blade. "It smells kind of familiar. Although, as men, you breath shouldn't smell of that stuff...Not that I have a problem with men who enjoy their own kind..."

All six had turned to a curious mixture of rage and disbelief. The three men looked to each other as they stepped back and reached for their weapons. Right now Anton, Verona and Kal looked thoroughly weak and vulnerable. An easy target. They were about to learn how wrong they were.

Verona and Kal reached for their weapons as Anton readied six lightning bolts. Not strong enough to kill them but to stun and give them the fright of their lives. Anton raised his hand and readied to let loose when something hard and cold grabbed his shoulder. Though it was covered in metal and leather Anton could feel the fingers grabbing down hard on his shoulder. He had been so distracted by the six idiots that he hadn't kept a watch on his surroundings or who could sneak up on them. Verona and Kal snarled as they all turned to face the owner of the hand. Anton was surprised to see a large mercenary, the same one that came down the stairs with the escort, holding onto his shoulder, his slightly weathered face held a bitter smile. The female mercenary was a few paces behind him with a large green metalled mace resting on her shoulder and a wicked smile on her face.

"Whatever you three are thinking of doing, I wouldn't." He spoke with a soft but deep and authoritative voice.

"It was never our intention." Anton replied. He kept the magic bubbling away and created a new lightning bolt to be directed at the new mercenary at a moments notice. "We have been incredibly polite and tried to settle this peacefully, but they couldn't just move to the side like decent people. How hard is that?"

"Oh, I didn't think you were in the wrong. Everyone heard it. But it probably wasn't the best idea to point out what they do for a living." He directed his last words at Verona. Verona said nothing and kept her eyes focused on his, and the metal gauntlet still holding onto Anton's shoulder.

"And you six idiots shouldn't be picking fights with people you're going to lose to." Their hands continued to hover over their swords as they judged their chances. For whatever reason they had yet to choose to give up and walk away, even though that was the easiest thing to do, but doing that would harm their ego.

The woman with the mace stepped forward and waved the weapon about. "Not being cooperative with you, babe?"

"No. No they are not." Now that they were on near equal numbers the six did not seem so brave. When the male mercenary moved to his blade the six finally relented and moved away from the door, mumbling a few curses, and allowing passage to well over a dozen angry mercenaries waiting outside. The man finally relinquished his grip of Anton's shoulder as they watched the six storm towards the job wall.

"Those idiots are always a pain." The mercenary grumbled.

"Then why let them be a part of the Guild?" Verona asked. "I heard this Guild was meant to be one of the better ones."

"They don't look like they do much fighting." Anton added, Kal nodding alongside him.

"No they don't." The male mercenary looked back at the six, now forcing their way through the crowd. "But they always make the guild a bit of money with the jobs they do. Don't often see them heading over there. Usually they head around the back...The Graterious Mercenary Guild has many types of jobs available. They just fill a very specific requirement."

I'm guessing it's a sex thing. None of them are what you could call unattractive. Though their attitude leaves a lot to be desired. You're not paying them for conversation.

"They must be desperate if they're actually thinking of fighting instead of some role play." The female mercenary added. "With those weapons and that armour...Wonder what they've managed to fuck up."

"True." He turned to Anton. "You three had best be on your way before those idiots try something."

"We were just trying to leave this whole time. Peacefully." Verona grumbled loudly. "And that seemed to be their problem. What is their problem anyway?"

"No idea. But they're always trying something, though I've never seen one with a sword that actually planned to use it before." The mercenary shook his head. "You three joining up to retake the fort to the north?"

Anton gave a small nod.

Both mercenaries cracked a smile. "Well, we'll see you tomorrow then." A wry smile overcame his face. "Try not get into any more fights before then, okay?"

He did not wait for an answer as he turned around, linked arms with the female mercenary, and moved back into the Guild. With the event over everyone returned to their drinks and food.

Anton took a moment before Verona pulled on his sleeve. "We didn't do anything wrong. Did we?"

Anton shook his head as he held Verona's hand. "No. We were being as polite as possible after they wouldn't move and tried to hit on you, which still annoys me." Verona flushed the tiniest amount at hearing his annoyance at someone making a pass at her. "And they wanted to keep it going. I'm sure they wanted money in the end." Anton spied some of the six glaring at them. He smiled and waved as he turned away and led them out of the building. As he turned away he heard a burst of laughter; the other mercenaries were laughing at, not with, the six, each of whom were looking rather embarrassed. They wouldn't forget this for a while. "Bunch of weird bullies. We haven't seen the last of them. Especially if they sign up as well."

Both girls nodded as they all moved back onto the street.

---[]---

Once outside, and back into the bustle of the streets of Porswea, Anton moved to the side of the building and away from the throngs of armoured mercenaries. Verona, still holding his arm, looked up at him while Kal tilted her face.

"Now.” Anton began. “I would love nothing more than to head back to the Inn and push you both down but I want to make sure that we've done everything we can before we have some fun.”

"What about writing back to Atros?" Verona asked. "We didn't do it the other night and they might be getting a little worried."

Anton looked up at the sky. It was late afternoon, judging by how low the sun had sunk in the east. Seeing the sun set in reverse to Earth always reminded him that he was in a different world. Not that Verona and Kal, a Blood Berserker and a half breed Beast-kin, didn't do that every day he woke up next to them.

Anton shook his head and focused his thoughts. "Yes, we need to do that. But we've always done it once the sun has set...though that might be a little earlier that before, as it'll be dark there while it's still light here."

"There..." Kal squeezed his arm. "You wanted to find about the magic academy here. So you can find out more about our magic."

Anton nodded. "Yes. Good thinking Kal. We may need to buy some more food to get that information thought. Something to fill our stomachs too. We didn't get a chance in there."

"That'll be good." Verona licked her lips in readiness.

Anton smirked as he pinched her cheek, Verona grunting as he tugged on it. "And maybe this time we can share the food?"

"Why didn't you buy three then?" Verona asked. She tried her best to smile but she looked ridiculous with her stretched cheeks. Anton relented and Verona gave her face a quick massage as she chuckled. "But that's given me an idea."

"Me pinching your cheek?"

Verona laughed. "Not that...Anyway, I was thinking about those special metal barrels you had Jonathan make. Hand cannons, I'm pretty sure you called them. The blue powder is supposed to come from Graterious, so, while we are here..."

"Yep. Dragon's Breath. Another good idea. We'll do both at the same time." Anton began walking back into the busy streets with both on his arms. "Do we go back to that food stall?"

"I can't eat...outside." Kal grumbled unhappily. "It's too risky for me."

This time Verona grumbled. "I hate that's a thing we have to go through."

Anton gave Kal a light hug which made her a little happier. "One day that will change. I'll make sure it does."

Kal said nothing and rubbed the side of her cloth covered head on his shoulder. "I'll be fine."

"I...Okay." Anton wasn't going to try and push the issue, especially when the consequence of discovery was the end of her life as she new it.

They walked in silence through the bustling streets, filled with people of all ages and social classes, always being very careful not to bump into anyone, until they found the food stall again. The wry man and woman, who Anton believed were man and wife, were making the kebabs at a tremendous rate to feed the small crowd gathered around their stall.

"Why are there so many people?" Verona asked as they stopped to the side of the crowd. "There weren't this many before."

"No. But look at their clothes." Anton nodded towards the crowd. "Most of them are pretty dirty and look tired. I think they're workers that have just finished for the day."

Anton looked to the other food stalls. Some where far busier than this one but all had the same tired and dirty men and women surrounding them.

Kal spluttered once. "I'm surprised you can't smell them. It smells pretty bad."

Anton and Verona took a deep sniff of the air but he couldn't smell the stink that she was talking about. He could smell a mixture of sweat, dirt and soot. Perhaps that was truly offensive to a Beast-kin's sense of smell.

Very quickly a large gap emerged in the crowd which wasn't immediately filled, it appeared this part of the rush was over. Anton moved Kal between them for protection and moved forward. The man glanced up as he saw them approach, his eyes moved from Verona's silver hair to Kal's green mask, finally a smile crawled over his weathered and sooty face.

"Well, well. Back for some more information?" He asked teasingly while continuing to work on cooking the meat over the steady fire. "Or are you actually interested in our food this time?"

"Both, actually." Anton replied. "You seem like you would know a few things around here."

The woman laughed as she shook her head, a cackle escaping her lips. He glared at her before looking back to them. "Don't listen to her. She wouldn't know her arse from her leg."

"At least I know my way to this spot." she smiled at him. "Hasn't taken me thirty winters to still not get it."

The man laughed before he gave her a kiss, which she returned. The whole exchange was a little odd to watch.

"Alright. How many do you want?"

The man made it very clear who was to move first, probably from being too helpful in the past and the other person not holding up their end of the bargain.

"Two today." Anton replied. "Two of your very best."

The man nodded as he continued to cook at a rapid pace. When he looked up a frown grew on his face. "You wanted to ask me something, so hurry up and pay. I can see more customers coming."

Anton looked in the direction his head jerked towards. Coming down the busy street was another swarm of dirty and tired workers. They began to peel off to the stalls but many more were coming.

"Right." Anton coughed. He reached into one of his hidden purses and withdrew twenty copper coins. The man took the coins without a second glance. Anton guessed that it was time to start asking questions. "Do you know of something called Dragon's Breath?"

The man nodded as he received payment from a dirty worker.

"That I do. Blue powder that the travelling artists troupes use. Very exciting stuff when it burns and flashes bright. When they're in town business is always good. Something about seeing all that fire and swinging and prancing about seems to make people hungry. So that's good for me."

"Any idea where they make it?"

He puffed out his cheeks and slowly and loudly exhaled. "I know the troupes don't make it. Some of their suppliers complained about there only being so much and they have to travel quite a way to get it."

"But it's in Graterious?"

"Yes. Far to the south west of here." He handed over a steaming and scrumptious looking kebab.

Anton gave it to Verona who devoured it like a starving fox. Anton shook his head and turned back to the man. "What's the name of this place?"

"Oh...it was something like Karatin. No, that's not right. Kuronoe. No..."

As he continued guessing at the name Anton had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew the name of the city where the Dragon's Breath powder was made. It had already been given to them.

"Is it called Koumore?"

He snapped his fingers. "That's it. Can't ever get the names right. But if you already knew the name, why bother asking?"

"I just wanted to double check." Anton replied. "We didn't want to head all that way and find out it was the wrong place. It seems to be some distance away."

Kal tugged on his sleeve and moved her mask millimetres from his face. "That's where that old woman that saw through..."

Anton nodded. "Yes. I think that also explains why she told using to get on the boat first and get that done. Don't want to be sailing around with hundreds of barrels of that stuff on board with us."

Kal shook her head. She knew how dangerous the powder was. One day the whole world would know what too.

"Is that all you've got to ask?" The man presented the second kebab.

Anton caught out the corner of his eye Verona looking desperately at him. He was going to ask where all the food went but the answer was obvious. He took the food and had a few good mouthfuls. The meat burst with succulent juices, from what animal he could not tell, and the vegetables were cooked to perfection. It was little wonder that Verona wanted to devour this. And it was such a shame that Kal could not enjoy this. With half the kebab gone he passed the remains to Verona who, after giving a hurried thanks, quickly tore into it. He felt Kal's jealousy through her body, they would need to order some special food for her when they got back to the Inn. Perhaps a little pampering as well.

"I've just got a second thing to ask. Now, I've heard there is a magic academy in Porswea."

"Yep. There sure is." He looked up and flashed a toothy smile. "I suppose you're going to ask where it is next?" Anton nodded, a little distracted by the sound of the carnivore next to him. "If you head towards one of the main plazas, you'll find all those signs hanging down? You want a blue board with a white staff with a green ball on top. Don't know why that's the sign they chose for the academy but that's what they chose." He stopped preparing food and looked them over again. "But it won't do you any good. They won't let you through the gates dressed like that."

"What should we wear then?" Kal asked.

The man frowned as he looked into her white and green mask. There was no way that he could have guessed Kal's true identity, at least that's what Anton hoped.

"They wear these great flowing robes, brightest colours you'll ever see. And a massive ego to match."

"You got that right." his wife said loudly. "Little pricks, all of them. Doesn't matter their age neither. They keep thinking they can just get things off people for free because they can use a little magic. Just a bunch of spoiled bullies." Several of the waiting crowd murmured in agreement. "Though it doesn't mean you can't jab them with a knife if they get too close." This time the crowd laughed, so too did both of the stall owners.

Obviously something's happened with a mage that's become quite a story. Nevertheless it only reinforces what Alfred said about mages needing good armour and staying away from the front lines. At least I should have the first of those covered soon.

"I'm sure we'll manage." Anton said. "Do you know if they sell books on magic outside the academy?"

The man shook his head. "It used to be so, but not any more. Lord Cassius is hoarding all the knowledge on magic. He thinks there's going to be a war soon, and only those loyal to him have access. Keeps them loyal too. So, no. Not unless you're willing to risk the black market. But that would be a death trap for people like you."

"Alright. Well, thanks for the information." Anton gave them a quick nod. "You both have a good day now."

They gave a quick wave back as the next wave of dirty workers had finally meandered to their stall. Anton nodded for them to follow. Verona ripped the last of the meat off the small stick and looked for somewhere to put both sticks. Things like public waste services were...lacking, in Porswea, so she decided on placing them on the ground next to a building instead of dropping it on the street.

“That's a bugger.” Verona said as they resumed their previous arrangement. “Thought we might be able to get some answers. Well...solutions to our problems.”

“If we do well on this job I'm sure we'll get the chance.” Anton patted Verona's hand. “It'll be good to have some information about our powers...How...How are you holding up on your side.”

Verona took a moment before answering. “It's okay. Right now I don't feel anything like that but when I'm in the thick of fighting it can get a little bad. I think I'm getting better at controlling it.” She shook her head. “Time will tell, but I'll let you know if it gets really bad, like to the south of that ridge.”

Anton nodded and held her hand tight. He never wanted to have to strike someone he loved again. They said nothing more as they travelled through the busy streets and back to the Inn.

---[]---

When they arrived back at the Inn they were treated to an interesting, and quite dangerous, sight. The receptionist woman, who Anton suspected might be the owner of the Inn, glared angrily at them the moment they entered as two people, their skin dyed blue, stood beside her. Their faces held a hidden shame as they refused to look anyone in the eye.

"You three have some explaining to do." She snapped the moment they were in sight. "You had better give me a good excuse not to call the city watch and have you strung up on the outer wall."

Her voice was breaking near the end but it did nothing to diminish her anger. Anton said nothing as they approached, those lounging in the main room all turned their gaze to the noise, and stopped a few meters away. The woman's confidence diminished ever so slightly but it returned almost instantly.

"What's the problem?" Anton asked nonchalantly, fully aware of what those two had done.

She glared at all three of them, for playing this game out in public. "I don't know what you did...You did something that turned my workers blue. And struck them with lightning, nearly killing them. Explain!"

"How could I have done that?" Anton asked, trying to be as innocent as possible. "We've only just returned."

She glanced at the Verona and Kal, who said nothing, and looked back to him.

"Unless." Verona began. "They decided to touch our belongings. Those bags are magically enchanted, a spell has been cast on the bags to make someone who shouldn't be trying to go through somebody else's stuff skin turn blue and give them a bit of lightning to scare them off."

Now it was Verona's turn to glare at the two blue people. "So...Why did you try and go through something that doesn't belong to you?"

As Verona barred her teeth, and they looked at her silver hair, the two began to pale and shake.

"Well?" The owner asked the pair. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I..." one spoke up before lowering their head in shame.

The owner quickly understood the implication. Panic began to take over her body as she looked back towards Anton. He said nothing and kept his face blank.

"My...My deepest apologies." She said hurriedly as she bowed deeply, not caring about what that meant for her hair or dress. "I accused you of something terrible. Something no one should be accused of."

"Is all our stuff still there?" Verona asked.

The owner nodded furiously, so too did the two in blue.

"That's good to know." Anton continued. "We're going to retire to our room for the night. I trust that this will be the end of this? We won't be hearing of this again?"

"It...It will be the last." The owner blurted out. "Your stay with us will be free of charge and everything you have paid for will be refunded."

Anton waved her down, much to her confusion. "That's very kind of you but that won't be necessary." Verona looked up with an odd expression on her face. "We just wish to spend our time here peacefully and without interruption. And I'm sure that you don't want this to go any further, for your sake."

"I can guarantee that from now on." She added hurriedly, her head bowed low.

"Good." Anton smiled at both girls, Verona smiled back and it was, as ever, hard to guess what Kal was thinking underneath that mask. "I would have a long talk to those two about their future job prospects if they wish to turn to theft. The blue will fade over the next few days. That will give them plenty of time to think about their choices in life."

"I will be sure to teach them a lesson they won't forget."

"But." One of the blue workers slipped out before he was silenced by a single angry glare. He immediately shrunk in size and presence.

Is she their mother? That would make a little sense, but it's not really my problem any more. I guess they're going to get the shit beaten out of them.

Anton began to walk, the girls by his side, and passed through in utter silence. Only when the woman thought they were out of earshot did she begin speaking again in hushed whispers. Just as they reached the door to their room Anton heard a slap, two of them, coming down the corridor, followed by cries and many, many more slaps. Their cries didn't stop the assaults on their bodies. Anton wondered what the other people in the lounge were thinking as they were watching the punishment unfold infront of them.

"Guess they got what they got what they deserved for trying to steal our belongings." Kal said quietly.

She reached out and held his hand as they pushed the open door. They were greeted by the room in exactly the same state in which they had left it. There was no evidence that someone had tried to rummage through their belongings, apart from the fact that the bags had moved position. Thankfully their weapons had not been touched either, at least they hadn't been moved. Perhaps trying to take that was what made the two blue.

"For a thief they got off easily." Verona mumbled as she closed the door, quickly moving some furniture to bar passage. "I don't like the idea of theives."

Kal huffed as she removed her mask. Her tanned face was a little flushed and sweaty from being trapped behind that mask for so long. Anton raised a brow, to which Kal flashed a toothy smile, her canine shaped teeth gently biting on her lips, before sternly glaring at Verona.

"You do remember that I was a thief?" Kal asked, all emotion gone from her voice. Anton saw Kal's behind, just where the tail attached to her body, wiggle ever so slightly. Kal was in an oddly playful mood today and was having a rare dig at Verona.

Verona snapped around. A genuine concern lay on her face that she had offended Kal, but when she saw Anton's smile it vanished. She giggled as she skipped towards and then crashed into them both.

"You..." Verona, her head still buried in Anton's chest, tapped Kal's chest armour. "Stole to survive, not to get rich. Those two idiots just wanted to make some easy coin. And who knows what might have happened if they got into the bags."

"I've stolen clothes before." Kal smiled. "Are you saying that's bad?"

They both chuckled as Verona began to unwind the cloth wrapping of both of Kal's hands. Kal quickly removed the cloth and let it fall free to the ground, her fur covered hands once again exposed to the light and air. Verona held up the hand with her ring and picked up Kal's. As she entwined their fingers she looked at Anton, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Anton, both of your new wives are having an argument." Her free hand began to undo the clips on the side of her armour. "As our husband, shouldn't you do something about that?"

Anton chuckled, moved behind Verona and wrapped his hands around her waist. When she looked up the smile on her face had only grown in size.

"You just want to get out of what you said by distracting us with the lure of sex." Anton said flatly, much to Kal's amusement.

"So what if I am?"

Anton kissed Verona before picking her up and throwing her onto the bed. Surprise covered her face as flew through the air, her hands tucked close to her body like a cute little fox. Kal laughed at the sight of Verona bouncing across the bed before she joined her. This time it was Kal's arms and legs flailing wildly in the air as she fell through the air. When she landed, and Verona crawled to her, she pouted dramatically, throwing her head away from both of them. She quickly relented as Anton joined them and began to kiss her deeply, pushing her down alongside Verona.

---[]---

Anton sat at a table, the communication pen and some spare paper laid out in front of him, while Verona and Kal took a gentle and relaxing bath. While it had been a long and exhausting session, their first time as a married...group, a time they all wanted to make truly memorable, seeing their shapely and dishevelled bodies slide into the water made him excited for more. However while that was undoubtedly more satisfying than what he was currently doing writing back to Atros was more important.

Verona, her wet silver hair allowed to wander freely in the bath as the water reached up to her chin, looked backwards at him as she idly splashed at the water. "Don't be too long." Verona purred in the most seductive voice she could muster. "Your new wives want your company. Now."

"I won't be too long." Anton replied. "Or, why don't you two join me here for a few minutes before we all go for a dip together."

The glanced at each other before Kal gave a tiny nod and began to walk out of the bath, her wet tail leaving the water several paces after her. Verona let out a tiny sigh, as the decision had been made for her. They each grabbed a soft white towel, one belonging to the Inn, and wrapped it around their bodies. It successfully covered some of their body though it left their shapely legs exposed and only accentuated the alluring curves of their bodies, the water running down their skin as they moved. Kal's claws clacked lightly as she crossed the floor to collect a chair for them and moved one either side of Anton. They leaned in close to see what he was about to write. Unfortunately the towel didn't do a great job of hiding either of their cleavage's. Anton found himself becoming lost in the sight of the pale milk and red swirls on one side and the soft mocha on the other, even though he knew exactly what they were like in every conceivable way. It was different, and utterly delicious, to see their firm bodies wrapped up tightly by the white towels. He forced himself to focus on the task at hand. He could push them down again later.

"So." Kal began, her green horizontal cat slit eyes staring deep into his own as she played with the green and white ring on her beast-kin hand. "Are you going to say anything about what you seen in Graterious. And done here as well?"

Anton smiled and rubbed both on their heads. They appeared to like it, eliciting similar sounds produced just a short while ago.

"I don't think so." Anton replied, both girls cocked their heads in response. "Not all of it at least. I was planning on proposing to the both of you when we got back and I had the rings. And I still want to do that, properly ask you. For now I think we leave it a secret."

Kal nodded while Verona hugged his arm tight, pressing her inordinate breasts against him. She freed one hand and gently held his short bearded cheek. "You don't need to propose to us again. I think I'll fall over the next time you say that. I don't want a big fancy thing like Sam and Jeff had. I want to be with you, the both of you. We've all said yes, that we'll be with you 'till the day we die. And that's..." Verona blushed and smiled wildly, in an attempt to hide it. "That's what I want."

"I never thought I would live to see a day like this." Kal too leaned onto his arm. It was becoming very difficult to concentrate with two sweet smelling and soft bodies pressed against him. "So I will be with you no matter what, even without the ring. Even though it's beautiful." Now it was Kal's turn to flush. "I made a promise that I would follow you to hell. And I mean it."

"When did this happen, again?" Verona asked, not in a teasing way judging by the pressure being exerted on his leg.

"When Kal first went to Maxill with me." Anton replied, knowing full well that the answer was not going to placate her.

"Oh. So before she joined your harem." She squeezed down even harder on his leg. "Before any of this she promised to follow you anywhere."

"That's right. She did." Anton replied. He freed his hand from Kal, a lingering touch from her fingers, and began to tickle Verona's thigh. Immediately she burst into laughter as she desperately tried to palm him away. Both girls were ticklish but Verona was unbelievably so. A few short seconds passed before Verona threw her hands up in submission as his hands reached her waist.

"Okay. Okay." she gasped between short breaths. The look on her face was different to most nights but one that Anton still enjoyed. "I already knew that. I was just teasing."

Anton smiled and tickled Verona's waist. She nearly fell off the chair before she grabbed Anton's arm. "Bloody hell." She laughed out. "Can't you spare little me and attack Kal instead?"

Kal looked rather nervous. She found the noises she made when she was being tickled weird, though they were very similar to what she normally made every night.

"Maybe later." Anton hauled Verona back onto her seat properly and gave Kal's leg a small squeeze. "But we do need to get on with this. It's been a few days and I'm sure they'll be getting worried."

"I certainly hope they are." Verona mumbled, moving closer to get a better look and resting more of her soft body against him.

"Here we go." Anton mumbled as he readied the pen.

Hello. This is Anton. Are you getting this?

"Is that what you've been saying each time?" Verona asked.

Anton nodded. Verona opened her mouth but shut it as words began to flow through the hovering pen.

Hello. This is Bertram. We were all starting to get rather worried as we hadn't heard anything for a few days. Are you alright?

We are doing fine. We have arrived in Porswea without too many incidents, and hopefully will be continuing onto Seocuria in a few days time at the most. How are things back home?

"I like that we call it home." Kal murmured as she rubbed her cheek and soft beast-kin ear on his arm.

Not much of note has happened. A few goblins strayed too close to Atros and they were dealt with. Everyone is settling in quite well and construction is proceeding even faster than I thought possible. We've got many empty houses now, ready for many more people. We haven't heard anything from Duchess Belinda for some time. The last thing we heard she was being summoned to the capital of the Qaiviel Kingdom. Sounded like it had something to do with you three helping them against the Clansmen and Orcs. None of it sounded good.

"That doesn't sound good." Verona said quietly, Kal nodded in agreement. Anton felt the same way. They couldn't afford to lose an ally or, by some action of theirs, inadvertently set off some religious fanatics. Unfortunately there was little they could do from Graterious though.

I don't think there's a lot we can do without making everything worse. Do keep trying to talk to them though. How are Jonathan and his kids going?

It took a little while before the response came.

Good. They are producing lots of weapons and armour now. They're having success with infusing simple weapons with magic. I think Joclyn has made a small hammer with her lightning magic and Shawn is not far behind. I don't know if the weapons will do anything special but when we have some more made we'll give them a go and let you know as soon as we know what they do. The other smiths are very interested in seeing what they are capable of.

That's very good to hear. We all wish everyone the best of luck with everything they're doing. I hope the Goblins do not encroach any further. Make sure your son doesn't try and attack the nest and bring them down upon you without us there. Good luck and we'll contact you next time we can.

Anton laid down the pen and breathed a sigh of relief. News of Goblins moving close enough to Atros for them to fight them off was a little worrying. He hoped it had nothing to do with the crystal fissure. Anton doubted it. Atros had been attacked by thousands of Goblins unrelated to that fissure and there were so many crawling around the crystal fissure that it would have overwhelmed Atros even with everything they had there. More than likely even if they were there. It meant the remains of the Kar Kingdom were still alive and changing, and not necessarily to their benefit.

The news that no one had tried anything stupid with Jonathan's children was heartening, so was them trying to make special weapons. And of their burgeoning successes. Hearing of Duchess Belinda in such a manner was not. There was a good chance that something terrible could happen to her because she hired three heretics to save her kingdom from the depredations of the Deweth Clansmen and Orc Invasion. It made Anton feel quite ill, that there was nothing they could do to help even though he wanted to. He hoped that Belinda was strong and smart enough to get out of this unharmed. She seemed smart enough, when she was properly directed and motivated.

"There's not a lot we can do about Duchess Belinda." Anton said as he rolled up the paper. "If we do try anything it'll only make things worse."

"Besides." Verona nestled herself closer to Anton, pressing ever more of her voluptuous flesh into him. "We can't turn and head back, even if we wanted to. There's no way of getting over that crystal chasm. We need that boat."

Anton nodded as he squeezed Kal's waist. "We've also got someone to rescue before we can head back. And find a way to keep them flowing out of Seocuria and back home."

"You have an idea?" Verona asked.

"Maybe. I'll need to think a little bit more on it first." Anton stood up and dragged both up with him. They weren't quite ready for it and clung to his body and off the floor, all three breaking into a cheeky smile. "Now. One of you, with silver hair, told me to hurry up so I can take care of my new wives."

Verona flushed as she gently placed her foot on the ground. Kal followed a second later, her claws emitting the tiniest click on the wooden floor.

"That...That did happen."

As Verona reached up to kiss him another pair of hands, very soft ones, grabbed his face and turned him to the left. Kal's lips smashed into his own as her tongue invaded his mouth. Verona huffed and tired to worm her way between them with no success. Finally Anton parted, both his and Kal's faces deeply flushed, and turned his attention to Verona. She was like a giddy little girl as he kissed her, picked her up in his arms and took her to the bed. The night that followed was long, arduous, and filled with a newfound lust for one another. A night they would not forget for some time.