Chapter 4 An Adventurer Wedding

“Is it Lord and Lady Wexler now?” Edward asked as he approached. “Aria ended with a proclamation of husband and wife, not your names.”

“It is the one thing that we cannot agree on.” Lenna confessed.

“V’Nova just rolls off the tongue too well. To anyone who didn’t know about the V’Nova clan, it sounds like a really amazing, mysterious, and fantastical name.” Isaac argued. “Wexler is just, plain. It sounds too normal.”

Edward nodded in thought. “I see.” He said with a contemplative look. “So how should we address you?” He asked.

“Lord Wexler.” Lenna began.

“And Lady V’Nova, as before.” Isaac finished.

“What about your children?” One of the Alice twins questioned.

Isaac shrugged. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” He replied. “For now, that is something that can easily be pushed back.”

“Fair enough.” The other Alice replied.

“So, we picked out the gift but the boss paid for it, because, well, we are kind of broke.” The first Alice explained.

“Yes.” Edward said with a sigh. “I do pay them well enough.” He defended himself with a glare towards the girls. “Rather than stuff your library full of books you have already read that probably aren’t worth reading again, I commissioned an entire set of The Plant, Beast, Monster, and Elemental Encyclopedia. It will take a while but you should get all thirty two volumes delivered to your house within the next year or so.”

“That couldn’t have been cheap.” Isaac commented. “Books are expensive, let alone those massive tomes.”

“I commissioned them from the main Guild branch so I am only paying for shipping. Consider it also a gift from the Guild Leader. It will require use of the teleporter and two couriers so yes, it was not cheap, but it was within the bounds of a wedding present.” He assured them. “Now, I believe we have held you up long enough.” He said and glanced over his shoulder at the four left who hadn’t had their turn to congratulate the newlyweds.

“Thank you, all three, four, of you for the volumes.” Isaac told them before they left. “Knowledge is life for an adventurer and you have commissioned it in abundance for us.”

“See, I told you it was a good idea.” The second Alice bragged to her twin and their boss.

“They still totally would have been happy with an entire section of books from the fiction section.” The first Alice argued.

Edward just shook his head and waved at Isaac and Lenna as they left with a few final parting words: “Adventures are only adventures if you live to tell about them. Be careful on your travels.”

Isaac nodded seriously towards the Guild Master. “We will.” He promised him.

“If it wasn’t your honeymoon I would be insisting to come with you.” Lucius told them with a smile. “Unfortunately, there is not much I can give you as everything I own is more or less bought and paid for by my parents.” He confessed honestly. “I can do you a bit of a favor though.” He grinned and handed them an opened envelope.

Isaac took it and opened the letter to see a confirmation of a work order being completed and ready to be picked up. “What is this?” Isaac wondered.

“Sapphirestone Fine Glassworks.” Lenna read the name of the company. “What is it?”

“Lenses for your helmet.” Lucius declared proudly. “They are enchanted so they won’t break unless something hits them hard and directly. You will have to use a binding agent of some kind to hold them in place on the inside of your helmet but they will darken based on how bright the area is that you are in.” He explained. “In total darkness they will be completely clear but if you try to look at the sun they will be completely black, so be careful when fighting something that shines divinely bright.”

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“Those will be perfect.” Lenna complimented the gift.

Lucius scratched the back of his head. “Well, I paid for it with my allowance so my parents more or less paid for it but, you're welcome.” He replied. “They will hold them for you until someone arrives with the confirmation letter to claim them.”

“Thank you.” Lenna said. “This is a very well thought out gift that will see almost immediate use.”

“Yeah, uh, congratulations.” Lucius looked like he was about to leave but then stopped himself. “You don’t happen to know someone who would be willing to pick me up as a party member do you?”

Isaac chuckled and Lenna smiled at him. “What level are you?” Isaac wondered.

“I’m a fifth level magic knight.” Lucius explained. “I’m decent with a rapier and my casting is good but I don’t have a lot of battlefield experience.”

“Fifth level is pretty good for not having any battlefield experience.” Isaac commented.

“I’ve been trained by some of the best and I do have some real battle experience, but not a lot.” Lucius replied. “So? Any ideas?”

“None that would be a good fit for you I’m afraid.” Isaac replied with a consoling smile. “Besides, you want to explore the sunlit Overworld before you get stuck down here for a few decades.” Isaac told him. “Get two more magic knights and find a crazy cleric of knowledge to follow around. I’m sure you guys will get in plenty of trouble that way.”

“Hey! I heard that!” Aria called from a dozen feet away where she was waiting her turn.

Lucius laughed. “‘Healers are important in any team that wants to survive’, that’s what my father told me. Thanks for the advice.” He told them with a nod. “Now, I will let your friend, the ‘crazy cleric of knowledge’, have her turn and, in case I don’t see you before you leave, have a great trip and never forget about the home you have here.”

“We won’t.” Lenna assured him. “Take care of yourself, Lucius.” He gave one last nod before he stepped away so the three from Outpost Charles could have their turn.

“A crazy cleric of knowledge huh?” Aria questioned indignantly.

Isaac looked up at Claus who was next to her. “I’m not wrong.” He told the giant man.

Claus shook his head. “No.” He replied in his gravely bass voice. “You are not.” He agreed.

Aria shot him a look that screamed disbelief that he took Isaac’s side instead of hers. “Anyway,” She began and turned back to the pair. “It took me a while, and there are a bunch of rules for this, but I can take an educated guess at your future for you. That is my gift, you can choose if you want to know it or not but if I realize that something specific will lead to your death I’m going to tell you regardless.”

Isaac’s eyes widened in surprise. “You can do that?” He questioned.

“One of the rules is that I can’t see myself when I do it, so it’s more or less useless to use on Claus or myself because even if we are separated, my involvement up until that point will make the reading almost impossible.” She explained. “So, unless you decide to help Claus and I look for the secret vampire civilization, it should be pretty accurate.”

“Okay, don’t ruin any good surprises. I trust you to use your judgment to reveal any really bad things that you see.” Isaac told her.

“We will have to do it back at our suite where I already have the ritual laid out, so come by before you two head off to bed.” She winked to punctuate the last bit.

Isaac rolled his eyes and Lenna forced a stoic expression as if she hadn’t heard her. “Thank you, we will.” Isaac assured her.

“My gift.” Claus said and pulled out a glass lidded wooden box, with a brand new pair of sets of cards inside. Cards for the very first game Isaac had ever played upon arriving in their world. “For when you get bored, on the road.” He told him with a grin.

“Thanks, Clau-” Isaac was cut off as the massive man wrapped his tree trunk arms around him and hauled him off the ground in a big hug. A moment later Claus dropped him back down to the ground. Isaac chuckled and took the offered box. “Thanks, my friend. Every time we play I’ll be reminded to come home after our adventure. Maybe when we get back, Lenna and I will help you two on Aria’s quest for a little while.”

Claus nodded. “Good. It’ll be fun.”

Isaac chuckled again. “Yeah, it will be.” He agreed. “Speaking of quests, adventures, and the first time I played this game, I see you brought someone along. Chris, I’m surprised you agreed to travel with these two after what happened last time.”

Chris wheeled around from behind Aria and Claus. “I decided to move here. I’m gonna take you up on your offer to find me work here that’ll pay better than at home. As for traveling with the totally-not-together pair, I think I learned my lesson about staring into the dark whenever I hear a noise. It was a bit nerve-racking for the first few nights though.” He told them.

“I’m glad you made it.” Lenna told him. “Your mother decided to stay I take it?”

Chris scratched his cheek. “Well, she still seemed like she was on the fence about it but, if I’m being honest, I don’t think she really wanted to get here two days before the wedding. The whole thing is kinda awkward and there was no way that she was going to have a gift for you. I don’t.” He confessed with a chuckle and a grin. “I’m afraid that all I can offer you is congratulations.”

“That’s fine.” Isaac replied with a smile. “Honestly, we got way more than we had ever expected. I was expecting to have a full wine cellar but instead everything we’ve been given has been, or will be, directly useful.”

“That’s an adventurer wedding for you.” Aria chimed in. “Adventurers don’t need plateware and new bedding for wedding presents, we need potions, maps, boons, and items.”

Isaac and Lenna looked around and both had a realization at the same time. Everyone there either worked for or with adventurers, were retired adventurers, or were adventurers. “I guess this really is an adventurer wedding. Sera had made it sound like it was much more grandiose.” Isaac commented.

“That’s because we didn’t open the ballroom to more people after the wedding. Everyone here was also there for the ceremony.” Lenna explained.

“Okay boys, let’s let the newlyweds get something to eat before it’s all gone.” Aria said to wrangle the wheelchair bound teenager and her goliath guardian. “Don’t forget to come by… actually, come by in the morning. Claus and I can work around the ritual for tonight. You two are bound to be worn out by now.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan.” Isaac agreed. “Tomorrow morning, maybe late morning.”

Aria laughed. “Late morning.” She echoed in agreement before leaving with the boys.

“Alright, my love, I believe it is time to sample every dish the Arbencroft head chef could come up with with semi local ingredients.” Isaac said to Lenna while he offered her his arm.

“Agreed.” Lenna replied while taking it. “I am starving.” She said before adding in a whisper with a sly grin: “And not just for the food.”