Kylie had no idea why Derek seemed so happy, when they met for dinner; but he was excited about something, and seemed barely able to contain himself as he ordered the giant crab to go wait in the corner, after taking his seat.

She sat beside him, looking around... the devil lacking his helmet for once, and seeming more pale rather than his usual grey-blue; if you didn't know he wasn't, you might assume he was a human; while his daughter seemed... pained. She was sweating, and still had a visible burn. Kylie wished she had any of her healing magic left for the day; as much as she loved Derek, Terra looked like she needed it more.

Lord Rockson seemed even paler than he had before, as he settled in before them in his blue silk suit; but happy, just as much as Derek, as if he had some great news for them... and once everyone was seated, a pair of serving-women stepped out, pushing a cart; and starting to set wineglasses and plates of food before everyone.

He looked around at the group, and gave a low chuckle. "Well, my friends. I must say... I'm glad the last two groups of adventurers were unable to figure out what was going on, and moved on. Without your particular blend of skills and magic, things would have gone terribly. The apothecary had a potion that he thought might work for the..... memories of months of agony issue... but it isn't a fraction as good as what you gave us, young lady. We didn't know the withering spell, or anything of the sort. Before we begin, I'd like to give you some numbers here, help you understand what you did."

He coughed. "The Rockdale academy hosts students from surrounding towns, so that some of their children can grow up in a high-magic area, and help supplement the strength of their villages. Aside from them, we have about fifteen hundred residents. Out of them, three hundred and fifty-six were infected, thirty some odd of them women. We didn't know it, but the number was growing by the day. And if not for you, either the thing would have taken the whole town and ruled it... or all of them would have died. We did lose over seventy souls, and it was a terrible tragedy. But it could have been worse. So much worse. Over two hundred men and women going back to their families already thanks to you, and while there are others still struggling, they may yet recover. And with your word of some rogue magician experimenting on fungus in multiple places... the Baron has sent a detachment of knights and Rangers to resolve the problem. I'm sure there are more than just the two problems... but now they will be found and dealt with before becoming threats to the kingdom. So. Thank you."

He looked around at the four. "And I don't just have empty thanks. After discussing your deeds... and the long history of service by the Xius family... the Baron spoke with the king. You are now Lady Xius, and a parcel of land including your hometown and the surrounding villages that, from what I've heard, your mother is already largely responsible for keeping safe, are now the rightful property of your family. You may begin taxing and acquiring revenue as you wish, and you will be required to contribute either knights or rangers of adequate skill to the royal army."

He smiled. "To that end, as there are no known high-magic areas within the territory... and Rockdale has an unfortunate excess of capable women who either lost their husbands or will be unable to find one for years to come... I asked for volunteers amongst our female rangers-in-training. Two of them will be accompanying you, as your vassals, and bring with them sufficient funding to establish a homestead in your lands, and seven more will be following in a few weeks; they have family matters to attend to. As you are only required to have ten of them, rounding up a final candidate should be easy enough. This means you will also be getting a piece of Regalia, that belonged to the lord who once ruled the region."

He glanced at Derek and Kylie. "As for you two, as Imperial citizens, what I can reward you is limited. Officially, the Empire is still just a renegade province, and we're still supposed to refer to the Emperor as 'Baron North Reach'. Unofficially, we all know full well the Empire has been both larger and stronger than the Kingdom for longer than most of us have been alive. I can't offer titles or lands to you two, but I can offer a selection of your choice from my armory here, in addition to the funds already paid."

And when he turned to Praxius, he gave a more lopsided grin. "Your mixed allegiance is a bit of a different matter, but I trust the reward given your family is acceptable? If you needed an excuse to stay in your daughter's lands, her having need of one additional competent warrior might just fill that."

Kylie wasn't too concerned about it. She doubted anything in the armory would be comparable to the Holy Slayer, or the armor of the fallen Paladin she now bore. The devil certainly seemed interested, however. "Now. All that being said. Aside from our priestess, who was restored by dint of being there for healing rituals she herself restored, two of you still bear painful injuries, and we have finally run out of critical cases. Our apothecary has produced a new batch of healing potions with a shipment received this morning." He set a tray on the table; a pair of deep blood-red vials rested on it.

"A minor thing, barely worthy of note compared to everything else. Still. Take them, with my gratitude."

While Terra didn't seem rushed, Derek practically yanked the stopper off the vial and swallowed it in a single gulp; before laying back in his chair with a relaxed sigh. Kylie looked him over. The after-effects of the terrible injury seemed to be gone in moments. They would definitely need to get more healing potions the next time they stopped at a place that had them; her healing magic was robust, but not unlimited.

Kylie smiled, and took Derek's hand. He met her gaze, and gave a squeeze. He already looked more like his old self. "Well, love. Seems as if we'll be ready to head out in the morning."

He nodded. "Of course. We'll want to stop back by here later, in a few weeks... there's a gift for you that isn't quite ready to pickup yet... but I've got another surprise for tomorrow night. Something that should help us tremendously going forward."

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Kylie blinked. "...And what would that be, exactly?"

A bottle containing a clear fluid with tiny flecks of blue emerged from a pocket. "This. I'll show you once we're on the road, don't want to startle the locals. Its going to be amazing. After I take it, I suspect you'll want to as well; heck, maybe even Terra. I already tested it to make sure it works. Its the next step of my research."

He smiled. "Its going to augment the blood of the dragon that I put in me with the scale. Based on my results, I'll be halfway to turning myself into a dragon!"

***

Terra gave a low sigh. She wasn't really looking forward to any of this. Apparently now the whole party was going to be considered nobility, as far as the Kingdom was concerned. Which... would still mean nothing to the Empire, if she decided to go to the academy after all.

When they'd gone by the armory; the young couple departing for their bedroom for the evening after choosing their rewards; Lord Rockson had taken her to the top of his tower; to the most secure room in the keep. Inside, there were a circle of eight chairs; three of which had rings resting on them. As the nobleman walked up to one of the rings, he glanced back at her. "Regalia is meant to stay with the one protecting the realm. Unless you plan to end your adventuring career now, I'd recommend leaving it with your mother, or some other qualified regent."

Terra shook her head. "I'm honestly not sure about taking it. Made with the power of demons, bound to the lands... I've heard the Emperor destroyed his, back in the day."

He gave a low chuckle. "The source is unfortunate. But... the good they have done is undeniable. The king's father used them, long ago, to eradicate the elven menace; something that had been thought impossible for centuries. They refer to that whole time-span as the centuries of shame... but some of its victims are still alive. My father called them the centuries of terror; still does, possibly, wherever he went." He studied one of the rings. It wasn't ornamented; just a simple, silver band, with the royal crest marked on it.

"There are four types of regalia. One for the king, one for the barons, one for the lords, and one for the knights; and no, not enough is out there to give every knight one. Someday in the months to come, a group of royal guards will deliver to your home the regalia for the lady of your lands, as well as some number for your knights; most likely two. All of them do the same thing... just at different levels of power. They, quite simply... make you a better version of yourself, for a time. Stronger, tougher, faster. For spellcasters, they can understand and wield more powerful magic. The warriors who wore the Baron's regalia during the war against the elves could move from one side to the other of a battlefield in the blink of an eye, and kill an elite, highly trained and magically armed elven warrior as if it were slaughtering a cow. Our own baron could do the same. They can also send messages to other bearers of the regalia, meaning anything that happens where one of our nobles sees it... can be relayed to their baron, who can inform the king."

He holds it up. "However. They will also cripple your growth, and bring it to a standstill, if you keep it on all the time, or even just during your everyday battles. For the most elite warriors of humanity, they also make you so much stronger than the local magic, that it will start to leak from your flesh. You don't need to worry about that, yet, but.... this knight version is potent. It will help, should you desperately need it... but avoid using it if at all possible."

Terra knew most of this from her lessons from her mother. The Knight of Ruin had held such a regalia, and used it only twice during all of their adventures with her grandfather. "I'm familiar, lord. My grandfather far more than myself, but I've heard the stories."

A nod. "Good. I would advise carrying this one with you, and giving the Lord's regalia to your mother; but they will belong to you, once they arrive. For now, take this. And use it with caution. I will introduce you to your new vassals, and you can get some rest for your journey."

***

Hearing that they'd both been chosen was a bit of a surprise. Serra and Marie weren't the best out of the rangers; Marie had dabbled too much in spellcasting, and fallen behind in her martial studies, while Serra had seemed to over-focus on her swordsmanship; both of them were merely mediocre with a bow, while the goal of a proper ranger was to be skilled with a variety of weapons, and to know just enough nature magic to be useful in their work; the sort of spell that let you blend into the forest as you moved was considered mandatory for a graduate ranger; as such, they still had work to do on their archery before they could be considered true rangers.

When they'd realized that there were now at least a hundred more available women than men in Rockdale, they'd both begun plotting to leave already... only a few men liked the massive, powerful sort of build that the twins shared, and over the years they'd narrowed it down to three that they themselves liked as well; and while one was still alive, the other two had passed on... and however much Trey might have liked the idea of them sharing him, the idea didn't appeal to either sister. The fact the two blonds had the same taste in men only made it more problematic; they might end up fighting each other over the giant idiot.

As Serra stepped into the room, she gave a brief bow to the head ranger; the perpetually hooded grey figure looming over the two from his podium. She had no idea what he really looked like, and probably only his wife knew. "I understand the two of you requested assignment elsewhere."

Serra nodded. "Of course, sir. Don't get me wrong, I've loved Rockdale since our parents sent us here for the school so long ago, but with the recent... population situation, I'd prefer to go elsewhere... and while Sorendale would appeal so we could get to know our family better, the idea of helping establish a new Ranger tower out there... I didn't expect to get the chance, but I'm glad for it."

He sighed. "Well. Whoever gets assigned out there will need to be able to train new upcoming rangers. And while neither of you is perfect, Marie already helps teach the new recruits magic, and you already help with swords. Also..." He stepped closer. "You two are the toughest of my trainees. Period. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were half-orcs instead of half-elves, or that someone had somehow introduced a goddess-damned mountain into your bloodline. Your new Lady isn't likely to be settling down for a time, but probably wandering off on adventures and getting into trouble. And to be perfectly blunt about it, if I was going to send anyone into harm's way, I would want to send someone I thought could survive just about anything."

"So. Don't screw it up. Val's going to be your boss out there; depending on what the Lady does, she might beat you there."

Serra nodded thoughtfully. Valerie was the best archer from the previous year, and almost as good as Serra and Marie at their specialties, but.... she'd just lost her husband, and was recovering from being infected. So... likely thankful for being saved, and eager to leave a place with such bad memories.

"We're ready for this, sir."

Marie gave a laugh. "Been ready for it for a while, honestly. A little adventuring sounds fun!"

The ranger slowly shook his head. "Try to be a bit more serious than that. Come. Lets introduce you to your new Lady. Try not to make a mess of things."