Before Ravi had even finished his command, streams of brilliant red coursed through the sky towards the Troll that waited for them at the top of the tower.
Simultaneously arrows snicked through the air in both directions, and one of them plinked off of Ashley's shield spell. If it hadn't been for that it would have gone straight through her right eye and out the back of her head.
They're not playing around, they really will try to kill the Night Queen.
There was a part of her that reeled back in anger from the affront of it.
Then they deserve to die.
She barely heard the roar that rose up from her children. She said, "Follow me," to the Spectre and raced directly towards the Arbrachit. She was vaguely aware of the Goblins and Ogres running around her and shielding her, but there was no time to think about them.
She could see Remrag wielding a glittering sword, and slashing his way towards her group.
"Kill the Arbrachit," she said to the Spectre. "Do it now!"
At the same time she launched three fireballs at Remrag, trying to frame them to hit him no matter which way he dodged.
The Spectre whooshed past her, and there was a buzzing sensation of a distant scream from it in the air.
Remrag was fast. He dodged forward and nearly made it away from her volley clean, but one of then caught his shoulder and sent him tumbling off to the side in a flare of flame and smoke.
Without warning her advance was blocked off by clusters of wildmen on all sides. Their strange war cries cut through the night and another blade bounced off of her shoulder. It didn't cut her but the force of it knocked her to the ground. One of the Ogres leapt on top of the man who had attacked her, and he disappeared in a flurry of arms and blades, roaring the whole time.
HP Reduced -4x10; Now 1780
She'd already started losing people.
She caught a glimpse of the Spectre's attack as she pulled herself to her feet again. It was doing something she'd never seen before - a flowing tangle of dark threads spun out of the air around it and homed in on the Arbrachit, spearing inwards on him. But the old Goblin Mage was just as fast, and a sickly green light poured forth from his staff and dissolved the Spectre's threads in mid-air. Then he sent a blast of something towards it that ran straight through the creature.
The Spectre spun in the air, looking blinded or lost.
How are we supposed to kill him?
HP Reduced -2x10; Now 1760
She couldn't afford to hesitate but he was massively above her level. She'd been counting on the Spectre at least not getting knocked out within seconds. She summoned her dead Warrior and sent it at the Arbrachit with orders to kill. It would likely get smashed instantly but it could at least serve as a distraction.
They weren't getting any closer to the old Mage now. She was surrounded on all sides by fighting. One of the wildmen took advantage of a gap to leap inwards at her, screaming with an axe held high.
Something crashed to the group in front of her and it smashed into wildmen and Goblins. She was splattered with gore.
HP Reduced -3x10; Now 1730
It was the boulder from up above. Either Sam had taken out the troll or else it had tried to smoosh her. Either way she clambered up onto the huge rock alone and leapt down the other side, suddenly finding herself face to face with Remrag and a Goblin mage she'd never seen before.
Seven shots left.
Remrag was fast. He whirled his sword around and slashed at her arm. She only blocked it at the last moment with her staff, but the impact was so brutal her hand went numb. She twirled the staff around and fired twice into the face of the mage who was clearly about to cast something at her. He shrieked and fell to one side, but Remrag was on top of her instantly, pushing her to the ground.
-50
Health 1680
He drew a knife from his belt and stabbed hard into her belly. Her remaining shield spell took most of the blow, but he was still levels above her. Her shield shattered and the knife drove into her. The pain was searing, and she screamed.
"Sorry Mistress," Remrag said.
-600
Health 1080
He didn't let up. He drove the knife deeper inside of her and she felt something tear, and blood gushing freely.
I'm fucked.
-600
Health now 480
Something barreled out of the dark and slammed into Remrag, carrying him away into the sea of battle around them.
Red damage numbers were floating past. Going much too fast.
She slapped her hand on the gaping wound in her stomach and cast the heal that was queued up. It flashed blue-white.
+150
Health 630
The knife was still sticking out of her. She tore it away with a lurch.
-75
Health 555
Something bright flickered in the edge of her vision. She instinctively flinched away from it and a bolt of searing red set the ground on fire. Looking up she saw the Arbrachit aiming at her for another cast. He loomed over her, barely past arm's length. Her summoned warrior was nowhere to be seen.
"Rot!" she yelped, and a bolt of gray goo splattered over his arm.
He snarled and pulled back just for a moment, but it was long enough for her to bring her staff around. She fired it again and again - she was close enough to go for headshots, and he jerked backwards with each hit. She ran through her remaining seven shots in a relentless barrage. Flames enveloped the Arbrachit, and he staggered back with each impact, but his health barely budged.
Nowhere near enough.
Even with the DOTs still coming from her Rot spell it wasn't going to be anywhere close. Her staff disappeared. In her other fist she still clenched Remrag's knife.
A huge blocky hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her up into the air. She twirled around intended to cast something at her attacker until she realized it was one of her Ogres.
Her defenders had finally shown up. It couldn't have been more than ten or twelve seconds since she'd leapt away from them over the boulder, but it had felt like long minutes.
"Smash him!" she yelled to the Ogre, pointing at the Arbrachit while she clung to its shoulder. She only realized that she was still bleeding when she looked down and saw a stream of red tricking down the creature's side. She cast her heal on her wound again, barely paying any attention.
+150
Health 705
HP Reduced -2x10; Now 685
She had no idea how many of her people she’d already lost without even noticing. Damage numbers were floating up everywhere around her in the battle. But there was no time to worry about it. The Arbrachit finally wheeled his staff around on her and barked something she couldn't understand.
A tremendous gout of flame shout forward towards her, and a without warning another Ogre slammed into her side, pushing her out of its path. The creature caught most of the impact of the cast and disappeared into a screaming ball of fire. Ashely's whole right side flared with hot agony, and the Ogre carrying her wailed in pain as well.
-500
Health 185
Shit shit shit.
With a roar the Ogre lunged forward and picked the Arbrachit up with its free hand. The huge creature was too fast for him to react. It slammed the Arbrachit into the ground with a bone-shattering crunch, and the old goblin lay face down, not dead but not moving either.
She was going to command the Ogre to step on his head, but instead it let out a deafening shriek as a spell smashed into it, and its chest exploded outward in an eruption of gore. The Ogre dropped to the ground stone dead, and Ashley only barely managed to roll away fast enough to not be crushed under it.
HP Reduced -2x10; Now 165
She quickly cast another heal on herself. She had to be nearing the last of her mana pool by now but couldn't take the time to check.
+150
Health 315
The other Goblin mage was up and casting. Ashley fingered up her AOE spell and flicked the targeting grid wildly back and forth, trying to focus it on the creature. Before she could find the spot a flash of green shot out of the mage's staff, too fast to dodge.
I'm fucked.
But she was surprised when it bounced off of her and deflected up into the sky instead.
"You're welcome!" a voice shouted. It was Sam. She turned her head quickly to look and he was grinning at her wildly. He was pointing a cast at her, through a gap in the fighting. "Shield should hold for a bit!"
She nodded, but there was no time to say anything as two bolts of green arced in towards him, and he slashed them away in a flash of red. She whipped around again, and the mage that had attacked her was already readying his next cast. She brought up the target for her AOE again. This time she was smoother, and even better there was a group of wildmen right beside him.
She cast.
Fire rained from the sky and their screams were like a cool rain. A wave of relief washed through her, hearing it. Grinning, she whirled back to the prostate form of the Arbrachit. There was a cold fire burning inside of her.
That's much more like it.
The Spectre hovered in the air, no longer spinning but still not back in the fight. All she had with her was a knife. She had to at least try. Almost unconsciously she flicked an appraise on the weapon as she moved forwards.
Cursed Knife of Piercing; Level 20 (Limited, Level 11)
Pierces shield spells to level 40
Unavailable: LEVEL 13 REQUIRED
200 HP; DoT (Bleeding) 20/s for 240 seconds
Naturally. I'm too low level to use it the way it was meant.
But she didn't have anything else. She dodged away from a Goblin that slashed at her with his sword and jumped straight on top of the body of the Arbrachit, using her whole weight to try to slam it right into his back where she judged his heart should be.
The old goblin groaned, but the knife skittered aside, nearly slashing her own arm. His shield spell flashed brightly.
Damn it.
Instantly three arrows drove into the dirt beside her, and a fourth bounced off of Sam's spell. She felt the impact but was too focused to worry about it.
She forced herself up. The Arbrachit moaned, and was clearly starting to gain consciousness.
How do I kill you?
She realized that one of the Ogres was still with her, as were two Goblins, they were facing away, fending off the attackers who were still trying to get at her. She vaguely registered that one of them was Gamgrak, her relentless doubter. He seemed to be committed to protecting her right now at least.
A quick glance made it obvious that most of the fighting was concentrated around the entrance to the fort. Ravi's blade swung in a brilliant silver arc and slashed the heads off of two wildmen while she watched. He was clearly being backed up by Sam, who was firing arcs of furiously burning magic to fend of the incoming spells of the Goblin mages.
And getting closer to that crown all the time.
Three more arrows snicked through the air, and Sam's spell evaporated with a flash as one of them sliced a deep cut along her arm. Someone up above was still aiming for her.
-80
Health 235
Well shit. I can't see a choice.
She hoped she wasn't making a disastrous error. The Arbrachit was obviously coming around, and starting to move. She couldn't let him get away. She flung herself against the rock wall of the keep, hoping to stay out of range of arrows from above. She buried one hand into the bleeding wound in her abdomen, pulling it out again slick with bright red blood.
-40
Health 195
Rats, should have got it out first.
She dropped Remrag's knife in the dirt and used her good hand to rummage under her robes and through her rough leather armour, finally getting to the pocket in her jeans.
It was still there.
She pulled it out and flicked an appraise on it just to make sure of the spell word. Then she jammed a bloody thumb on the dim green glow of the sigils on the side of the talisman.
"Solanus!" she said loudly.
For a moment nothing happened and the thought flashed through her mind that she might have broken it by carrying it around in her pocket. It was probably a stupid way to treat a valuable magical weapon.
Then the tip of the talisman started glowing white hot.
She pointed it at the figure of the old Goblin on the ground, who had twisted his head up to look at her now. His face was smashed and torn on one side, and blood ran from his nostrils.
But he smiled a rough Goblin smile at her.
"Mistress," he said.
Then the talisman spat hot fury at him. The light hurt her eyes; it was like a stream of fire directly from the heart of the sun. It roared like a beast, and the Arbrachit was pierced by it. It flowed straight through him, melting the ground beneath him. His shield spell evaporated with a pop. Damage numbers flew upward in a brilliant red stream.
And just like that he was dead. He was a carbonized hulk on the ground, and the talisman kept spewing power while the ground bubbled.
No time like the present.
She turned and aimed it up at the sky for a moment. The entire battlefield was lit up like daytime, and she could see Ravi staring at her open-mouthed.
There were Goblins and wildmen and kobolds between her and the crown. She brought the weapon down on them and they burst into shrieking fire. She brushed past them, barely noticing the flames that singed her on the way.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
-20
Health 175
At the door of the keep a shield spell barred the way, with a Goblin Mage behind it, chanting.
She levelled the surge of power at the door, melting a channel of molten stone along the wall of the keep until reached its target. His shield held for only a moment before it too shattered and the Mage behind it fell screaming and burning to the floor.
Then it was over. The flame from the talisman sputtered out without warning.
But it was enough. There was no sound across the expanse of the courtyard and within the keep itself as she sprinted through the door and bent to pick up the crown.
She held it up.
"I will be taking this," she said loudly. "Does anyone want to challenge me for it?"
She glanced across the faces in the crowd, finally locating Sam.
The Necromancer's face was dark. He looked like he'd had a trick pulled on him.
But when she caught his eye, he shook his head.
"Damn," Ravi said, strolling forward. "That was honestly impressive. I didn't know you had it in you. Really. You've been holding out on us."
He smirked at her and then bowed slightly. Turning to the crowd, he thrust his sword skyward and bellowed at the crowd.
"The Night Queen has taken the Demon King's crown. The battle is over. Will you keep fighting, or will you serve your Mistress now?"
Remrag stumbled forward. He was burned from the Spear of the Sun, and he had gained a nasty slash down the length of his unburned arm, but he threw his sword to the ground.
"It is gone," he said. "We are not bound now. We can serve the Night Queen."
He dropped to his knees, and all around them the forces that had been fighting them only moments before all did the same thing - Goblins, Wildmen, Kobolds, and two shadowy things that Ashely couldn't identify from a distance.
It's a good crowd.
She had stopped paying any attention to the battle numbers that had been flowing up on one side of her field of view, so she had no sense of how badly they had been mauled. Based upon the bodies laying scattered in the courtyard they had paid a significant price.
Leader, Full WarBand - Band Size Increased (94)
HP Increase +49x10; Now 1380
XP+2500; Now 10050
Level 11 Upgrade
Dark Lore +2 now: 6
Dark Tongue +1 now: 8
MP increased now: 600
Tier 1 Class Specialization Now Permitted
She decided she couldn't even be bothered doing the math. She'd netted a good forty creatures, even if at the cost of a big chunk of her previous followers.
That's what I call acceptable losses.
When the mist of XP finally began rising up from the bodies, she felt a tingle of anticipation. Life had been shitty enough for long enough. She could afford to bask in the pleasures of victory for a few moments.
The tendrils of light spun around the battlefield with her at the center. All around, she could see level-ups popping up from creatures throughout the crowd. She could see the looks of satisfaction on their faces when it happened. But the bulk of the XP spiraled in towards her, including a great glowing glob of it that arose from the ruined body of the Arbrachit. When it finally reached her she gasped. It wasn't as intense as a player kill, but it was still a surge of power and pleasure.
She could see XP flowing in at Ravi and at Sam as well, but neither of them levelled up at all.
When the communal experience finally faded she looked down and realized that she was still clutching the drained Spear of the Sun sigil in one hand, and the Demon King's crown in the other.
"Sam, catch!" she barked and threw the dead sigil at him. He looked startled and grabbed it out of the air.
"I want to know about that thing later," she said to him, enjoying his obvious shock when he saw it.
Then she held up the Demon King's crown for the crowd to see. It had two thin bands of gold, above and below a band of dark black. It didn't feel particularly special, and it looked as innocuous as the Night Queen's tiara had done.
While the crowd silently watched, she appraised it.
Artefact: Crown of the Demon King
Legendary Tier, Class 3
But at the bottom of her appraisal was something else. There were an additional three lines of text, in brilliant red.
Crown of the Night Queen - Configuration
Crown of the Demon King: Mount? (Accept/Decline)
3 of 3 Mount Spots Available
Well isn't that interesting.
Did it mean she got the Demon King's power? That didn't sound right, since he and the Night Queen seemed to be opposite figures in the minds of her children. Possibly it was just mountable like a trophy. That at least seemed like a good idea - much better than having the thing sitting in a room waiting for someone to steal it.
But what are the other two spots for?
As usual she didn't have enough information, and nobody she entirely trusted to give her a straight answer even if he did know.
But one way or another she needed to decide what to do with the crown.
She called Sam and Ravi over to confer. She spotted Gravmok, who had apparently survived as well, and waved both him and Remrag over to keep the NPCs happy.
She held up the Demon King's crown. Sam stared at it with a strange expression.
"I'm guessing part of you still wanted this?" she said.
He shrugged.
"It's a powerful item. Lots of buffs. Who wouldn't want it?"
Ravi shook his head.
"We should find a way to secure or destroy it. Or at least keep it away from anyone else. What happened is still raw for a lot of people. If the guilds hear we have this, there's going to be trouble."
Who's we, big guy?
But she kept her mouth shut on that topic.
"I can mount it to my own crown apparently."
Sam's eyes went wide.
"Dangerous idea," he said. "You have any idea what it will do?"
"None, do you?"
"No. But it's..."
"It says it would fill one of three slots in the crown."
Ravi looked like he was trying to remember something.
"The Night Queen's crown. Demon King's crown mounted. Two more spaces..."
"You have an idea?"
He frowned and shook his head.
"Rings a bell. Can't place it. Let me think on it."
"Fair enough," she said, “On it goes for now.”
She flicked the Accept button.
"Wait!" Sam yelped.
But it was too late. The crown flashed and vanished, and Ashley felt something glow warmly on her forehead.
"What happened?" she said. "I can't see it."
Gravmok chuckled and clapped his hands together, then winced. He was nursing slashes all down the length of his left side.
"Good thing," he said. "Mistress looks...”
“Oh shit,” she said weakly. “Something is happening.”
Her head was suddenly swirling, and she felt an electric tingle jolt through her whole body.
Artefact Acquired: Crown of the Demon King [Mounted]
Legendary Tier, Class 3
Level: ??? (Currently Limited: Level 24)
XP+25000; Now 35050
Artefact Upgrade: Crown of the Night Queen
Legendary Tier, Class 3
Level: ??? (Currently Limited: Level 24)
Class Upgrade: Night Queen (Dread Witch), Level 2
Class Upgrade: Night Queen (Dread Witch), Level 3
Allegiance: Chaotic Evil
Now Level 13
Now Level 14
Now Level 15
Now Level 16
Now Level 17
Now Level 18
Now Level 19
Now Level 20
Now Level 21
Now Level 22
HP +4000; Now 5380
MP +2000; Now 2600
Dark Lore +8 now 14
Dark Tongue +10 now 18
UI Level Increase: Now Level 3; Alerts Now Available
UI Level Increase: Now Level 4; Map Now Available
Status Effect: Majesty (Level 1, 20% Increase in Respect and Awe from all NPCs Dark or Light Aligned)
Status Effect: Royal Foresight (Level 1, 20% Chance of Divine Inspiration at Dark Power Sites)
Status Effect: Eye of Authority (All Player Cloaking is Removed Below Level 80)
Status Effect: Royal Library (Royal Library Now Accessible)
Spellmastery (Regal Tier): Honor Guard 30 (Limited, Level 22); 400MP; 20 minute cooldown
Conjures forth four Dark Knights to protect the monarch; 10 minutes
Spellmastery: Silence 30 (Limited, Level 22); 600MP; 20 minute cooldown
Move swiftly and silently undetectable to any creature under level 30; 10 minutes
Spellmastery (Regal Tier): Peasant Cloak 30 (Limited, Level 22); 1000MP; 60 minute cooldown
Conceals the monarch as a lowly peasant to all eyes below level 30; 30 minutes
Spellmastery: Command 40 (Limited, Level 22); 1800MP; 60 minute cooldown
Command the obedience of any creature under level 40; 5 minutes
Spellmastery (Regal Tier): Royal Revive 50 (Limited, Level 22); 2500MP; 60 minute cooldown
Revives a deceased player; 44% chance of effect, Application required within 1 minute of death.
Revives a deceased NPC; 80% chance of effect, Application required within 10 minutes of death.
MOUNT ACQUIRED: Wyvern, Level 40
A few basic stat increases scrolled by as well, but she was already reeling from seeing that much so she barely noted them.
Huh. How about that.
Before she had any time to process all of the text, there was a wild catlike screeching sound from across the courtyard.
Familiar: Rebus
Class Upgrade: Fey Cat, Level 3
Class Upgrade: Fey Cat, Level 4
Class Upgrade: Fey Cat, Level 5
Skill Added: Subtle Eye (Detect Hidden Items to Level 50)
Status Effect Added: Source of Evil II (MP Regeneration 20% Faster)
Skill Added: Master of Beasts (Summon Predators to Level 23)
Something dark and sleek bounded across the rubble at her. For a moment she nearly fired one of her remaining spells at it in panic until she realized it was actually Rebus. He was easily four times bigger than before, and had the powerful lines of a big hunting cat now.
"I feel great!" he yelled, and with a tremendous leap he jumped higher than any of their heads and landed elegantly on all fours beside her. His tail swished around his body and he peered up at her with huge green eyes. He posture reminded Ashley of a cat who'd just caught something small and furry. She gave him an indulgent pat on the head.
Regardless, she was clearly going to need some time and space to work through everything and figure out what to do with it all. Sam and Ravi were now staring at her, looking expectant.
Well they can see my level increases. Who knows what else? Can’t pretend nothing just happened.
“Amazing,” she said. “I won’t complain about that I guess.”
“And?” Sam said intently.
“A couple of new abilities. Let me digest and then consult with you on it, okay?”
Ravi nodded but said nothing. Sam just frowned and shrugged.
"As you say, Mistress. But let us know if we can help. We do have a bit of experience."
"Understood Sam. I just need some time to get my head together right now."
"Fair enough," Ravi said, obviously moving the discussion along. "We're at your disposal of course."
But he was gazing at her thoughtfully as well.
She looked around the courtyard, now empty of about half of the bodies. The ones which had died on her own side side still lay where they fell. She figured they knew what to do with those, so she just ignored them.
What was far more interesting was the figure who stood quietly to one side, watching them all. Ashley felt a little thrill of fear at seeing her suddenly standing there, but she did her best to keep her face neutral.
Am I supposed to be able to see you or not?
Silira didn’t move or acknowledge her gaze when it swept past. If she really thought she was invisible then it might not be smart to point out the mistake.
Let’s just see what her next move is, shall we?
As soon as the tension broke, a gaggle of Goblins surrounded her, jabbering excitedly. She didn’t recognize most of them – they must have been with Remrag’s group. But they were all obviously eager to help her. It was quite a change from not long ago at all, when they'd been doing their best to kill her. She had trouble understanding what it was they wanted to tell her about, but eventually it became clear: there was a room for her upstairs in the keep.
She couldn't imagine caring about that at all. She had spent so many days sleeping in the open, in the rain and cold, so much so that it didn't seem like a priority. But eventually Remrag bellowed enough to shut them all up, and helped to guide her upstairs as well.
"It’s the old leader room," he said. "Very comfortable for Mistress. We want to give you a place to rest after all of this" - he gestured around at the general chaos - "and make sure you know we feel bad."
She was about to tell him not to worry about it for the fifth time, when they threw the door open, and something awoke inside of her that she'd almost forgotten about.
The room had rugs. A huge bed. A fireplace with a couple of creatures already setting up a roaring fire. It was warm, and smelled if not great, at least not offensive.
But most of all there was a bathtub in the far corner. Two muscular goblins moved past them into the room carrying big containers of what appeared to be steaming water and headed straight for it.
"Remrag," she said firmly. "You just earned a special place in my heart. Really. I think I will stay here tonight."
He beamed at her praise, and she did all she could to be polite while he showed her around the amenities. Finally after it had gone on as long as she could stand, she shooed him out with orders to go get his wounds treated. He was still dripping blood all over her floor. Once he did that, she made short work of emptying the rest out as well.
When they were finally gone she was about to fall backwards onto the bed, but taking a quick look down she realized she was literally smeared with mud and blood. Some searching revealed a threadbare but workable robe that she could drape around herself.
Moments later she opened the door to her room just a crack. Two goblins stood outside, clearly on guard duty. With one outstretched arm she dropped everything she owned onto the floor of the hallway with a squelch, and told them to find someone to do her laundry. They nodded eagerly and she didn't bother waiting for any words from them, she just shut the door and nearly dove into the tub.
It was almost too much to be believed. There was no soap, but a rough bristly brush that did an acceptable job of clearing away the worst of the grime. She also did her best to wash her hair, which on its own left a surprising amount of dirt and debris in the water afterwards.
How about we stay here forever?
It was an attractive notion, but impractical. Wheels were in motion and she needed to show up at the Fortress of Amiran with an army in the fairly near future. So far what she had obviously didn’t qualify as a threat to whatever the humans were going to bring to bear at her. But things were looking up at least. She was afraid to follow that line of thought any further. Too many things could still go wrong.
But there was no reason she couldn't tell everyone to sit tight for a day or two. Lots of her people were injured, and everyone was exhausted. She was pretty sure nobody was going to complain about being forced to take a bit of R&R for once. On top of which it would give her a chance to explore whatever abilities she’d apparently just inherited from the Demon King. There was no reason to let anyone else know about most of that for the time being, but she needed to start working on it right away.
On top of it all there was the Silira issue. It definitely seemed possible the woman didn't know Ashley could see her now.
Which brings up an interesting question. Eye of Authority, it said. And suddenly she was standing there in plain sight.
CONTACTS
Silira of New Highwater; White Mage (57); in range; Cloaked
Andrew of Highwater Fold; Paladin (54); out of range
Sam of the Red Waste; Necromancer (53); in range
Ravi of the Deadmoors; Barbarian (53); in range; Uncloaked
Annelyn of Soren Free State; Sorcerer (52); out of range
UNVERIFIED CONTACTS
Four missed contacts: out of range
ALERTS
none currently set
Now we're talking.
She couldn't stop herself from grinning. Unless the others could see things this way and just hadn't let her know, then there was a good chance she had received the ability from the Demon Crown itself. An ability which trumped not only Silira's magic but Ravi's artefact. For the first time she felt like she might actually have some kind of advantage over all the higher-level players. There was no way on earth she was going to let anyone know about this, but how best to use it required some thought. Plus investigating the alerts function as well of course, though since it was positioned on the contacts screen it didn't seem like a big mystery.
Tomorrow.
She stared lazily at the fire and wrapped the furs around herself. The twinge from the still-healing wound that Remrag had given her was barely even an irritation.
But please everyone just leave me the fuck alone for one evening.
A hesitant knock at her door caught her not-really-by surprise as she was drifting off to sleep and she snorted a brief laugh.
She stumbled out of bed, stark naked but wrapped in furs. When she cracked the door open a touch, she found one of the Knolls down near the floor, staring up at her. It had a huge package in it's hands, held out. Her two Goblin guards stood on either side of the door, ignoring it completely.
"We cleaned your robe, all nice and shiny again now. Plus your other things," it rattled off at high speed.
"Awesome," she said, and opened the door wider for it. "Please put them on the table. You have my thanks, really."
She flopped into bed and barely even noticed it when the little creature scampered out again, shutting the door quietly behind itself. Briefly she felt a twinge of discomfort over the notion that eager little hands somewhere had been washing her underwear for her.
But then she shooed that thought away.
That's what servants are for. They should be glad for the opportunity.
But she couldn't help herself. She got up again and did a complete circuit of the room, looking into every likely hiding spot for unexpected White Mages before she finally committed to falling asleep.