It took little over an hour for all the guests, and then some, to trickle in. Apricot and I had a blast watching the reactions of the drivers who parked on the lowest level. Quite a few of the guests had fun with it too, and went down to see it for themselves. But, Amelia just stood there and refused to watch the live screen I set up.

We mingled for a little after that, Lan had actually struck up a conversation with Oliver who knew a bit of Frera. But, he was really bad at it, so they just soon stuck to using my translation spell.

Lan was a bit evasive about himself, but was happy to talk about his homeland and Magic with the Court Wizard. And, they were totally geeking out about their shared element after just a few minutes together.

About ten minutes before the sun was about to set, I sent a message to the guests who had already scattered throughout the garden that dinner would be served shortly. Once everyone had gathered and taken their seats, I addressed the crowd.

"Greetings everyone, and welcome to The Garden!" Thousands of fireflies wink into existence at the same time as I speak. "I'd like to thank everyone once again for coming tonight. Even if it was just for the chocolate." I smile and get the expected laughs. "Alright, I don't want to bore you with a long speech, so let's eat." They cheer at this.

I open my inventory and dozens upon dozens of platters fly out to the gathered tables and, once there, the contents split off to load up everyone's plates. Everyone came for the chocolates, and would be snacking on them all night. So, I kept the meal simple and light. Beef Medallions in mushroom sauce, accompanied by a baby greens salad and some roasted veggies.

Since Lan had struck up a conversation with Oliver, I invited him to sit at the head table with us Vivian and Faye. I had asked Amelia's parents and Charlie to sit with us too, but they chose to sit at their own table with a bunch of merchant friends.

"Thank you uncle Sorrel, dinner was wonderful." Princess Faye says with an expectant look on her face.

"You are very welcome." I smile at the little girl, who's still carrying her dolly with her everywhere. "And, if I'm reading your face right, I think you must be ready for dessert." I laugh when her eyes light up.

"Dessert, dessert." A call goes up from the crowd.

"Dessert it is then." I stand and repeat the flying food trick, only this time with hundreds of individual plates. "Chocolate lava cake, with vanilla ice-cream and a drizzle of caramel. Enjoy." Oohs and ahhs fill the tables as people cut into the treats and release their gooey insides.

"You do like putting on a show, don't you?" Lan says after eating a spoonful.

"Really? Whatever gave you that Idea?" I look pointedly around at the glowing garden.

"Ha-ha. I like you." A sad look flashes over his face. "I wish I could hang around longer and get to know you all better."

"Sounds like there's a story there. Care to share it?" I'm interested, but every man deserves his privacy.

"Bad blood back home." He says simply. "I'm afraid it will follow me, and was looking for a place to lay low. But, something tells me that Larendath is going to be making waves and drawing more attention in the near future."

"That is unfortunate." I sigh sadly. "I'd offer to shelter you, but if we met anywhere but my garden, you could kick my ass."

"For now maybe." He laughs. "Though, I have a feeling that won't be true for long. Not if some of the things that Oliver told me are true. But, I'm only considered a mid-tier talent in Freraskir. The ones who might come after me would be much more powerful, and I would not bring that trouble down on your heads."

"Well." I sigh out. "At least you can enjoy the party while you're here." I paste a smile on my face. "The night's still young and there's plenty of entertainment to go around. I'd like to see your reaction to my Rune games."

I can see Marcus perk his head up from the next table over at my mention of Rune games. I thought Abigail would be sitting with him, but she's at her aunt's table surrounded by artists. I'll have to give Kyle, or the caterer a bonus, whoever arranged the seating did a great job.  At least, everyone seems to enjoy the company they've been stuck with.

...

"Before you all run off to explore, and play the new games." I say once most everyone has finished eating. "I have a couple more surprises in store. If everyone could move back near the house."

They do so, and I clear away the tables to make room for the rides. Then with more flair, and a stupid amount of magic. I have the stone of the courtyard split and flip itself over in two spots to reveal the carousel and sky wheel that I hid underground.

Their lights and music come on, and they start moving as the tracks for the train unroll themselves in front of it. "These are the carousel and sky wheel, and this little train is for those who would like to tour the garden." I explain to the astonished crowd. "That's all." My laughter breaks them from their spell and quickly drift over to investigate.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"You know most mages would get at least a little winded by moving that much stone." Lan teases me. "Are you sure about my being able to beat you in a fight?"

"I cheated." I say with a shit-eating grin. "They were on giant pivots. I just had to give them a little push, and then slow them to a stop before fusing the stone back together."

"Hah!" He snorts out a laugh. "Downplay your achievement all you want, I still know that you used a ton of magic there."

"Sorrel says he's all about finesse." Amelia laughs at my embarrassment. "But, our man knows how to throw around some power." The look of pride in her eyes at that statement makes me even more embarrassed.

"I believe it." He nods. "Now, what's this about Rune games?"

The rest of the evening went well. Everyone loved the rune games so much that I had to make a few more copies of them to alleviate the lines. Pac-man and Warlords seemed to be the big winners of the evening, and I only wish that I'd had more time to finish off Worms.

The pool table and board games weren't ignored either. I actually had so many people ask about them, that I ended up making a stack of the Games book that I gave to Florence the other day.

Just as I suspected, the party didn't really wind down until nearly dawn. Charlie stayed over again, and he had a little company this time in the form of one of his fellow merchants. I was able to convince Lan to spend another day here too, and set him up in another of the guest rooms.

***

[Morning. Well... Afternoon, I suppose.] Lan greets me when I stumble into the kitchen. The girls still asleep in bed.

I brew some strong tea, and make some toast before replying. [I hate parties.] Is the first thing I grumble.

[But, you sure do know how to throw a good one.] He says in good humor.

[Too much running around, and keeping drunken idiots from hurting themselves.] I say after washing down a mouthful of carbs. [At least it's over with, and I only have to dread the next time I need to throw one.]

[Just remember, the next one has to be even better, or they'll think you're not trying.] He chuckles at the look that crosses my face.

[Joy.] I mumble into my tea, waiting for the caffeine to kick in. Only to have something else snap me awake. [Shit! You know that trouble you were afraid of following you? It's here.] I let him see the three intruders that just crossed into the garden. Two of which are staring at a third that has a strange Rune in his hands.

[Are you sure it's working?] One of the two asks.

[It led here, but the signal's weak and I don't know, spread out, I guess.] The man in the middle replies confused.

[Do we intrude further? Whoever's in charge here hasn't noticed us yet, but they will soon.] The third and weakest one says.

[Shut up fool! This joke of a country doesn't have anyone who could stand up to you, let alone the three of us.] The first one sneers at his companion.

[A blood tracker! When did they get my blood?] Lan starts panicking.

[Stop!] I command him. [I'll deal with them.] I say with a smile as a stupid plan pops into my head. [I just need you to bleed on these flowers.] I make a pot and grow some daisies in front of him.

[What? That's not going to do anything. I need to run, there's no way you can fight all three of them. Those two are at least as strong as I am.]

[Who said I was going to fight. My house is warded against well... damned near everything I could think of. Which is why their tracker isn't working properly.] I push the pot closer. [I'm going to go out there and tell them the truth. That you crashed my party last night and that your blood is now watering my flowers.]

[I can't ask you to do this.] He starts to get up to run away, but I just smack him with Blackthorne, knocking him back on his ass.

[See, now I can tell them we fought.] I reach down and grab his wrist. Holding his hand over the flowers, I use magic to cut through his tough skin. [And, that I made you bleed. And, don't underestimate me in my own garden.] I growl before stalking out the front door to greet the intruders.

[Are you three with the one from last night?] I say calmly while hefting three boulders into the air behind me. [Does everyone from your country think that they can just wander into my garden whenever they please?]

[You saw Thoellan?] The first one says with a sneer at my display.

[That's what he called himself after I made him teach me this language.] I sneer right back at him.

[Shut up little mage!] He spits back at me. [Tell us wher- hurk!] I throw a boulder at the disrespectful little shit.

[You dare tell me what to do in my own REALM!] I roar and don't just take control of the surrounding Mana, I make it mine. All of it, all through-out the garden.

[Fuck!] The weak one curses and falls to his knees. The other two aren't far behind either as I press on them with my will.

[Attack you idiots, he can't take all three of us.] The first one says which only makes me laugh.

[Do you really think you can fight my entire garden?] I lift into the air, a corona of lightning surrounding me as roots rip out of the ground to grab the trio. Branches and leaves, and whole plants block their attempts to harm me.

[Yield! Turn over the entire contents of your inventories and I'll consider letting you live, if only so you can return home and warn others to stay away. I have better things to do than deal with more vermin like you.] I give them my ultimatum.

Three of the ballista hidden in flowers then fire right between their feet, peppering the intruders with countless splinters and clumps of dirt. [Or, do you want to end up watering my flowers with your blood like your kinsman?]

[Hold! Hold. We yield.] The mage that was holding the tracker looks up to see dozens of ballista pointed at him and his men. [The King's brother is dead, that's all we came for.] He says to his compatriots while directing their attention to the siege weapons.

[Do as he says, I'll make sure we get reimbursed once we get back.] The first speaker and obvious leader orders as his face blanches. He then starts off-loading so much stuff that I don't even try to catalog it, just float it away from them so it doesn't block my firing angles.

It takes a minute for them to finish, and I say. [Is that everything? Don't lie to me, now.] A wicked smile splits my face, like I'm hoping they do.

[Fuck!] The weakest one curses again and materializes a very large crate full of gold and gems.

[What the fuck were you carrying all that around for?  You idiot!] The leader smacks him on the back of his head before turning around to address me. [My inventory is empty.]

[Mine too.] - [Mine is now.] The others add, the weak one in a sour tone.

[Pleasure doing business with you! Now get the fuck out of my yard. And, I don't want to see anyone else from wherever the fuck you came from. Ever again.] I punctuate my words by revealing ten times the number of siege weapons, each and every last one pointing at the intruders. The fuckers nearly piss themselves and run off as fast as they can, the ballistae tracking their movements until they're out of sight down the road.

Meanwhile, I'm flat on my back, panting while trying to catch my breath. "Holy shit! -Haaah- I can't -haah- believe that fucking worked. Hahahaha!" As soon as my breathing calms down I start laughing my ass off.

*** End Book Two ***