After dragging me from the restaurant Logan releases me and I follow him as he walks though the street. Quite a few people in town recognize him, and bow to him as he passes. He seems like a pretty good guy, and doesn’t ignore a single one.
He even stops when he sees an old man that struggles as he bows. He stands the man up straight and pats him on the back. After saying a few words to him quietly the old man smiles with a tear in his eye. We then continue down the street.
Logan: “Not much of a talker, are you?”
“I have learned its best to keep my mouth shut till I find out what others intentions are before opening my mouth and making matters worse.”
Logan laughs and puts an arm around my shoulder causing several of the people on the street to begin whispering to one another.
Logan: “Don’t worry about them, you get used to it after a while. So how did you meet my sister anyway? Did you run into each other while adventuring?”
“Well kind of, but I am not an adventurer.”
Logan: “Really? I thought she said you were the one that recovered her armor for her from the dungeon after she lost it.”
“Well it’s complicated.”
Logan: “That’s alright we got all night!”
He then turns off the street holding a door for me as we enter a building. The inside the building looks to be a rather fancy bar, the entire room pretty much instantly stands and bows once they see Logan enter.
Logan: “At ease gentlemen! I am here just as a patron tonight.”
The men all shout what sounds like some kind of battle cry in unison then return to their own business. Logan heads for a table in the comer where there are two well-built middle aged men sit. After pulling a chair and instructing me to sit he sits in another.
Man 1: “Congratulations on Leona boy. I knew you had it in you.”
Logan: “Well thanks, but it was touch and go for a while, if that hero from Livinston didn’t owe me a favor we might not have made it. Did you hear about the dragon?”
Man 2: “Those heroes are practically monsters themselves. Absorbing power from a crystal…”
Logan: “Well Korta is off our backs now, so it was worth it.”
Man 1: “What we going to do about training the troops now? Without Leona doesn’t that put us in quite a bind?”
Logan: “With Mother and Ben, I was able to enter into an agreement with Duscae, they are going to let us train there. That should get us by for a while, at least until that dungeon in Tobes has a chance to mature.”
Man 2: “Enough about all that, who’s your scrawny friend here?”
Logan: “My apologies. This here is the man of the hour. The man Belinda brought home to meet the family.”
Man 1: “I will be damned. I would have figured she would have gone for the adventurer type.”
Man 2: “Hard to believe little Lindy already old enough to be bringing a man home…”
Logan: “He says he is not an adventurer, but Belinda told me he was able to recover the armor she lost in the Ancient Kobold Stronghold. As a matter of fact he was just about to tell me the story about it.”
“It’s not really that great of a story…”
Man 1: “Nonsense, tell us about it.”
“It was more like luck. I was following in behind a group of adventurers, and managed to find it that’s all.”
Man 2: “Well he is modest, that right there proves he isn’t an adventurer.”
The two men and Logan laugh, then one of the men orders drinks for the four of us.
Man 1: “So when do we get to meet this mystery woman of yours Logan?”
Logan: “Shhh, Alright… Promise me you won’t tell Belinda ok? I want it to be a surprise.”
“Alright…”
Logan: “She is supposed to arrive in the capital tomorrow she promised she would be at the get together Belinda had me set up.”
Man 2: “Alright then can’t wait to meet her.”
Man 1: “So youngin, if you’re not an adventurer what do you do for a living?”
“I have been helping Belinda get Tobes up and growing.”
Logan: “Yea get this, Belinda told me when she left the town in his hands while she went to train. When she got back he had done started construction on a brothel there in Tobes. She was so mad…”
Man 1: “Now that a man that knows priorities.”
Logan: “That’s not even the best part. You remember old man Garrison’s number 2 right?”
Man 2: “That spit fire of a girl?”
Logan: “She was the one that went to go run it.”
Man 1: “Belinda is running all the commerce in Tobes isn’t she? The poor girl I bet she has hell dealing with her.”
Man 2: “I wouldn’t be surprised if she never forgives you for that one young man. By the way I don’t think I caught your name yet. My names Melrose, but everyone just calls me Mel
Man 1: “I’m Traeresgolthran. My mother was an elf, but don’t worry. Nobody else can pronounce it either. You can call me Trae, but most people just call me old man on account I am on the wrong side of 200 years old.”
“They just call me Two-Twelve. 200? I didn’t know anyone could get that old.”
Trae: “You have never heard about the elves? I know they are uncommon in this area, but I never knew anyone that hasn’t heard about them. My mother was already 400 years old when I was born and still a young lass, but being only half I think I probably got at least another good 100 years ahead of me.”
Logan: “Well what’s it matter. You haven’t even started drinking yet!” –He slaps me on the back.-
Logan, Mel, and Trae talk quite a bit while drinking, which is ok because it means I don’t have to do much. Late in the evening I have two full mugs and a half empty one next to me. When Mel orders another round I wave to the waitress and tell her no, and slide my mugs over to them, they have had enough to drink that they don’t even notice and begin drinking.
From their conversations I learn Mel and Trae are both top generals in the Gowen army. Both men have been close to Logan since he was born, Trae was the one that trained him. Trae has been with the kingdom since its founding over 150 years ago. Apparently Leona used to be the capital until a revolt happened and the Gowen’s took over the kingdom. Logan is the 4th generation Gowen he has watched over.
Even though they are drinking way more than me I still manage to get pretty drunk by the time I receive a message from Belinda.
Belinda: “Are you ok? Where are you?”
“Well gentlemen… It’s been a pleasure, but Belinda’s looking for me.”
Logan: “Aww don’t worry about sis, she will get over it.”
“I have something I need to take care of tomorrow as well, so am heading back.”
Logan: “Fine, fine. You can find your way back right?”
“I should be able to manage…”
Even after stumbling out of the bar I notice the group orders another round, apparently they already forgot I left as they order one for me as well. It takes over two hours before I reach the inn because I get lost and Belinda has to come find me.
Luckily I was in a pretty prominent neighborhood so the buildings where pretty distinguishable. On the way back to the inn she asks me a few questions, but I can’t remember what they are. I can’t even remember if I answered them or not. Once making it to the inn Belinda has to help me get ready for bed, I then quickly fall sleep.
I wake up the next morning with quite a headache and Belinda is already up and ready.
Belinda: “How are you feeling? I am sorry about my brother… It wasn’t too bad was it?”
“We ran into a pair of other guys and they ended up doing the most of the talking so I was able to bow out of most of the conversations, but I did manage to learn a lot about Gowen.”
Belinda: “Here drink this… It tastes horrible but my brother swears by it. It should help with the headache. He dropped it off a little bit ago when he came by to apologize for letting you leave without knowing your way around town.”
The cup she hands me is full of a thick green colored liquid. It smells horrid but luckily the cup is very small. I quickly kick it back swallowing it in one large gulp. She was right about the taste, it causes my stomach to do flips and I feel like I am going to vomit, but as the nausea goes away so does the headache.
Belinda: “When I went out this morning it seems like quite a few people are talking about you.”
“Me? What did I do?”
Belinda: “You went out drinking, and hanging out with the first prince of the kingdom, of course they are going to wonder who you are.”
“It’s not going to cause us any problems is it?”
Belinda: “No things should settle down in a few days… But you are going to meet with Queen here pretty quick are you sure you are ok?”
“Oh, I feel fine now. Your brother’s drink really seemed to do the trick.”
Belinda: “Well I am glad… He told me he a business proposition for you. He said he wanted to discuss it with you last night, but after running into Mel and Trae he couldn’t bring it up. He said it could wait till tomorrow evening.”
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“You know of the place Queen wanted to meet at right? We probably should head that way.”
Belinda: “I might at least put on a shirt if I was you… Are you sure you’re ok?”
I look around finding my shirt then putting it on. “Yea…” I then get up casting [Clean] on myself, then put on my boots. After double checking everything Belinda and I set out.
“So what exactly is this place we are going to?”
Belinda: “It’s actually designed for the kind of thing you are doing, It’s a trading hall designed with several isolated rooms were you can do to have business discussions or trade agreement done in private. There are even people that the can serve as a legal witness on matters that require such things.”
“Sounds awfully complicated, I thought we were just going to sit down, and sign something saying she won’t attack me if I don’t attack her. You know that kind of thing.”
Belinda: “Well I don’t know how things work with dungeon cores, but human treaties and such are never that simple. If you’re not sure, just to be certain, don’t sign until you read and re-read everything making sure what is written can’t be interpreted in a different way.”
“I guess I will be careful. I have been meaning to ask you, on the specifications for the beastkin, why did you want a cow? Are you planning on using her as a front line fighter? I heard humans often interpret the animal with the beastkin like strong like a cow or bear, or fast like a rabbit or a cat, but in truth it doesn’t work like that.”
The conversation oddly causes Belinda to blush as she says. “It’s nothing like that I just figured… You know all the girls are so beautiful… And well a cow… Just isn’t…”
“Is that why you wanted her to look older as well? Does it even work that way?”
Belinda: “I don’t know…I just…” –Belinda stops walking. - “We are here…”
The large stone building we enter is decorated with fancy tapestries and a large scale that appears to be made of gold or bronze, and it is polished to a mirror like shine. The central room is just a massive hallway leading to smaller disjoined rooms that appear to be made with walls at least three times thicker than normal walls.
We have to head up to a counter and register to use one of the rooms, but with Belinda’s status it proves to be very simple. It even allows us to bypass a form that has to be filled out. We instead just have to give our names, and the name of the other party.
After we are done registering we are lead to one of the disjoined rooms where we can wait for Queen to arrive. Inside the room there is a large round table big enough for pretty much anything, there are chairs lining it all the way around it.
There is even more comfortable seating around the outside edge of the room. The walls are covered with thick tapestries meant to reduce sound from carrying. You could probably scream at the top of your lungs, and the sounds wouldn’t even leave the room.
It is roughly an hour before the scheduled meeting time, so Belinda sit down and talk while we wait. I tell her about what I heard from Mel, Trae, and Logan the night before. The scheduled meeting time comes and goes without any sign of Queen, and after another thirty more minutes we begin to grow worried and impatient.
Belinda: “You don’t think this was just a trick to get us away from the dungeon do you?”
“Surely not… Queen doesn’t seem to be the type to do something like that. She seems more like the type that would hit you straight on.”
Belinda: “That doesn’t really make me feel much better given the fact we are in this soundproof room, and didn’t bring any kind of defense.”
“Well she isn’t even 2 months old… even if she tried to hit us head on she can’t be more then level 2 or 3 tops…”
Belinda: “You can gain a lot of levels in two months…”
“Dungeon cores can’t we don’t gain xp like humans we level up at a speed based on the size of the dungeon.”
While we are debating the topic the door beings to open, the woman to enter is a beautiful mature looking beastkin woman with dark medium length hair, from the top of her head two stubby horns are visible along with long narrow floppy ears.
She has a long slender tail with a tuft of fur at the end. Out of what I am sure is pure irony she is wearing a leather choker with several bells attached. She is wearing simple clothing in which her ripped muscles can be seen, reminding me very much of Madam Erin’s without the grotesqueness of it.
The only fat on her body are two large voluptuous breasts that seem to strain the buttons of her shirt as it tries to hold them in. This seems to cause Belinda quite displeasure.
After entering the room, Queen enters the room decked out in her complete mythril dress, with two mythril blades hanging from her hips. She walks up to me extending a hand for me to shake.
Queen: “I heard it is customary in human transactions to start with a hand shake, and sorry I am late. It took me quite a bit to make it through town.”
After I shake her hand Belinda steps forward and says. “I can see why. Is that really pure mythril? You could buy an entire district in the city with the gold it would take to buy that armor… That doesn’t even include the swords as well.”
Queen: “Ah you must be the Gowen girl Belinda, correct? And yes it is mythril. A gift from Elder Dyson… I never tire of saying that. I hear I got Two-Twelve to thank for that?”
Queen then extends her hand to Belinda. After Belinda shakes her hand Queen and the beastkin head to the table. Queen hands the beastkin a large rolled up parchment and the beastkin spreads it across the table placing some paper weights on the corners.
Queen: “It is a pleasure to finally be able to meet you both formally, but unfortunately I have another task to attend to. If we could get started right away I would be most appreciative. Besides I believe we will be able to talk in greater detail very soon.”
I walk over to the table and look at the parchment. For being such a big piece there isn’t really much on it. It essentially states by accepting I agree to not cause any harm to Queen or her dungeon without consent or will suffer a 100,000xp penalty.
It even goes on to say in the event you do have to face the penalty it will not drop you below 1000xp, but any xp earned above that amount will then be forfeited till the penalty has been paid in full, there is even a clause for interest…
The contract repeats itself back with the same exact wording concerning me and my dungeon. I read it twice like Belinda said, then once more just to make sure but nothing I see looks out of place or sketchy. With a thumb print from both me and Queen, and a written signature the parchment glows binding the contract, and splitting into two identical copies.
Queen: “Now we don’t have to worry about each other just down the road from one another, and we are practically family, so I look forward to future.”
Queen then moves to the Beastkin and has her step forward.
Queen: “This young lady here I named Bell, you can change it if you like when you bind her to your dungeon, but I followed you specifications, and figured you chose a cow for strength, so I gave her a strong body type I hope that is ok.”
“I know you can control age, and sex, but I didn’t know you could even control body type.”
Queen: “Of course, you can make as many specifications as you want, although it is hard to do a lot because you have to be conscious of all of it at the summoning, but something simple as base looks and body type is simple enough.”
“That is good to know…”
Queen: “I also left her command to strictly cover my dungeon’s personal secrets, so you shouldn’t have a problem once you bind her to your dungeon. Again I am sorry for the rush, but I am going to have to speak with you a length some other time.”
She quickly shakes Belinda and my hands again then departs. The beast kin then approaches us with a lightly bowed head and speaks in a soft shy voice that betrays her muscular body.
Bell: “I… I will be in your care from now on…”
Belinda: “This isn’t what I expected, but I guess we will have to make do.”
Bell: “I…I am sorry… I am not to your liking… If it is something I can do… Please tell me…”
Belinda: “No… I am sorry I didn’t mean it that way… I just… I promise it’s not you.”
“Well what should we do now? It is still pretty early.”
Belinda: “I would like to show you around the capital, but what do we do with Bell?”
“No offence to Bell, but she is still one of Queen’s monsters until we get home and bind her to our dungeon, so I think for now it would be best to have her wait for us at the inn.”
Bell: “I… I understand…”
We take Bell back to the inn setting her up in a room, but it makes Belinda feel bad so she calls Amy to keep her company. She then drags my into the city showing me around. We spend the rest of the day traveling from shop to shop looking at all sorts of things.
It all begins to run together after a while, but Belinda seems to be enjoying herself a great deal so I don’t say anything, and I let her have her fun. Once the sun begins to set she drags me across a bridge and up a large hill that overlooks the city.
The area looks like some kind of resting area, and I see quite a few people in male and female pairs walking, talking, and just loitering around. Belinda drags me to a bench at the peak of the hill but there is already two people sitting on it.
The man is whispering into the female’s ear causing her to blush and giggle.
Belinda: “Excuse me, do you mind if we use this bench this evening.”
Man: “Buzz off lady we were here first.”
Belinda: “Excuse me, but its Princess, not lady.”
The man and woman both quickly turn to look at her, they then bow get up bowing lightly and saying sorry before retreating… Belinda then pulls me on the bench. I have never seen her use her title as a princess like that before.
The pair was only using half of the bench, and once we sit down Belinda swings her legs over mine wrapping her arms around me, and placing her head on my shoulder looking out over the city. We are barely using half the bench as well so why we couldn’t just share it is beyond me.
Belinda doesn’t say anything for a while as the sun sets over the city. The light reflecting over the water from the river we passed over coming here, as the sun sets making for a pretty good view. Even after the sun sets and the small lights in the city begin to light up seemingly dancing in the reflection of the water Belinda doesn’t say anything and just holds me.
For some reason that feeling Cassandra taught me about seems to begin to swell up in me, and this surely isn’t “The right time” but I don’t want the feeling to fade either so I hold it in at a level I am comfortable with which causes my cheeks to flush a bit in the lights of the city.
Belinda: “I am glad we got to see this together, I have dreamed of this exact moment since I was a little girl. I love you Two-Twelve.”
Belinda then leans up giving me a kiss, and I find it hard to hold the feeling back as I kiss her back. As our lips finally part I start to get the feeling back under control, but then Belinda pushes forward again kissing my yet again.
When I begin to kiss her back she pushes her tongue against my lips until she manages to push it past my lips, intertwining her tongue around mine something strange happens.
I mean I have had an erection before, When Listel was grinding her hips against me, when Cassandra was sitting in my lap while I held ahold of her, and even once when I was in bed with Belinda and she rubbed her leg across it, but never have it gotten one without some kind of direct physical stimulation.
The erection even seems to fuel the feeling in my body that has long since past the point I was trying to hold it back at. This causes me to unconsciously reach up taking ahold of Belinda’s breast over her clothes causing Belinda to lightly gasp.
Belinda doesn’t pull away but she raises her hand, and intertwines her fingers around the hand that was holding her breast then her tongue retreats back to her mouth. Breathing heavily our lips part, and Belinda says while giggling.
Belinda: “We better stop right there. –She then leans forward whispering in my ear. - “I did enjoy it though, but it’s just not exactly the right time or place now is it?”
She then stands up brushing her hands over her clothes straightening them up. She then extends her hand to me pulling me from the bench. She wraps her arm around mine and places her head on my shoulder as we begin walking back to the inn.
On the way back I think about what happened. She said it wasn’t the right time, but this time added place as well. Well place has never been a problem before, and we were sitting right out there in the open so I won’t worry about it too much.
The right time is still getting me though. I don’t know when the right time is supposed to be. At least I found out she didn’t get upset with me, and simply told me it wasn’t the right time… As long as I don’t push my luck with it I should be able to eventually figure it out.
Once reaching the inn Belinda goes to tell Bell and Amy that we made it back so Amy can go home, and I go to our room getting ready for bed. After I am ready I crawl in bed a wait for a while but Belinda still hasn’t come back. I decide she will come to bed when she is ready so I go to sleep.
Conversation in the other room
Belinda: “Oh Bell already went to sleep?”
Amy: “Yea she said they had a long trip to get here. What is the deal with her anyway? You kind of just threw it on me without saying what was going on, and I couldn’t really get a straight answer from her.”
Belinda: “Well it’s kind of hard to explain, but it’s kind of a dungeon thing. I don’t know how much Two-Twelve would be comfortable about you knowing, so we have to just leave it at that.”
Amy: “He isn’t going to eat her or something is he?”
Belinda: “Of course not I told you a dozen times he isn’t like that…”
Amy: “Well I heard the dungeon has quit taking prisoners.”
Belinda: “Can you really blame him after what happened to Thirty-seven?”
Amy: “Well I can understand him being upset about it, but what will happen if he gets really mad. Is he going to go homicidal on the whole town?”
Belinda: “You’re killing the mood. I was in such a good one until talking with you…”
Amy: “Well sorry… What happened to put you in such a good mood to begin with?”
Belinda: “You know “The Bench” at the park on top of the hill.”
Amy: “Of course.”
Belinda: “I took Two-Twelve there. We watched the sunset, we started kissing and he...He grabbed...My breast...”
Amy: “That’s it? You still haven’t done it with him yet?”
Belinda: “No… I have been waiting for him to be ready, but he still hasn’t tried it…But tonight… He has never been that forward before… I think if I would have let him who knows what he was going to do there on the bench… With the sunset, and the mood I was tempted to let him, but that would have been bad… But tonight… Tonight could finally be it.”
Amy: “Then what are you doing in here?”
Belinda: “I’m trying to prepare myself…”
Amy: “Don’t think about it just do it.”
Belinda: “Alright, I will! Amy goodnight!”
Belinda then gets up heading out of the room. She stands outside the door for a second, slaps her face, takes a deep breath, and enters the room…
Two-Twelve however is already fast asleep in the bed, and Belinda drops to her knees… After a while she picks herself up then gets ready for bed, after crawling in bed she pokes Two-Twelve a few times but he doesn’t moves so she sighs and goes to sleep.