If anyone spots problems, let me know. I try to fix them as I find them. I struggled on pacing here, but came to certain decisions. I'm hoping to get to a point soon where I can progress the story. I'm just trying to finish laying groundwork for a specific arc. As always, enjoy.

****

It took us almost an hour to reach the townhouse. Charles took us down a different tunnel than which we took going in, which emptied out further up along the river bank. From there we managed to find a carriage to move us the rest of the way. The trip happened in silence, as my traumatized mother spent the trip with her arms wrapped around me.

In the quiet of the embrace, I was able to break the curse placed on her. There was a feeling of resistance as the warmth passed between us, and a psychic grinding. The pressure built up, before finally snapping, and falling away. The psychic rebound caused Jasmine to become tense for a moment, and then faint, though being curled up in the carriage at the time, she just slumped over onto me.

Name: Princess Jasmine Lusatra

Race: Noble Sun Elf

Age: 264

Sex: Female

Class: Bard 31, Noble 15

Subclass: Sunsinger 16

Profession: Whore 33

Strength: 40

Dexterity: 92

Endurance: 60

Intelligence: 82

Power: 95

Luck: 180

Health: 972 HP Health Regen: 6 HP/day

Mana: 820 MP Mana Regen: 9.5 MP/Day

Skills:

Athletics: 52/400

Climbing: 80/400

Herbalism: 75/400

Instruments:

-Harp: 150/400

-Ocarina: 80/400

Lore: 101/400

Persuasion: 127/400

Singing: 205/400

Survival: 102/400

Swimming: 40/400

Combat Skills:

Archery: 34/400

Longsword: 40/400

Blessings: Blessing of Aphrodite, Noble Birthright, Blessing of Faith

Traits: Sun-Kissed, Exiled-Noble, Superior Magic Regeneration

Checking my mother's status, I felt a sense of relief to see her curse gone. Her luck had changed, and quite dramatically at that. If that had been her luck before the curse, it was easy to imagine someone who had suffered little hardship or resistance in life, finding the world being destroyed around her. She had a new trait, which I thought might be associated with my blessing, but I wasn't really sure how traits appeared. She had apparently suffered quite a bit of trauma today, as her levels had risen slightly.

The carriage finally reached its destination, and I was...surprised. The house took up an entire city block. Twelve foot stone walls surrounded the place, and a set of wrought iron gates blocked the entrance. As we reached the front gate, a more than a dozen familiar women approached looking haggard and tired. Aisha and Lily waved at us, eliciting a gasp from Jasmine who rushed forward to look at Aisha, wrapping her in a hug.

“How! That horrible man, he killed you! I saw it!” my mother said pulling Aisha close, “But you look fine...and your face!” she said brushing Aisha's cheek.

“Faith healed me! I don't know how, but I was dying, and she arrived and the next thing I knew the pain receded, and my wounds healed...” Aisha said crying herself.

“But your face...You look so young!” mother said while the other women gathered around to check on her.

“I don't know, it just happened! It's a miracle!” Aisha said as I moved toward the gate, finding it bound with a rusted chain and lock. Not feeling like putting thought into it, I slammed my foot into the center, causing the gate to swing open as the chains and lock popped. The gate didn't swing very far, having rusted at the hinges. The women jumped back startled, but I just walked past the gates exhausted.

Beyond the stone at the entrance was a large courtyard with gardens gone to seed. There were fountains and walkways covered in algae and dirt. Vines hung across eaves, and up the walls of the 'town house'. The gardens spread around the house, though the sections of the garden were separated by walls or overgrown hedges. The house itself was four stories along the outside, with tower at its center extending up two additional floors. The place had obviously once been a jewel in the rough architecture of the cityscape, but it had fallen into disrepair.

“They said the town house was in good condition.” I said with a frown, a sudden concern about structural integrity endangering someone. Turning back around I saw my mother and the others standing in the entrance nervously, while Charles wandered through. “Ahh, The Castle Caliburn.” he said wandering over to me with a grin on his face.

“I thought this was a town house...not a castle.” I said looking back at him, the frown not leaving my face.

“Well, it is now. The Castle Caliburn was once the seat of the kingdom of Caerleon. Kisk itself was named Camlann, for the river. The Kingdom fell ages ago, but the castle held up as a relic and local bit of flavor, I suppose. When the Empire of Atarack spread across the continent, Camlann was absorbed and renamed Kisk for the High Priest of the goddess Alethea at that time.” Charles said wandering over to stand next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“The walls were mostly dismantled, and the bulk of the lands surrounding the castle were absorbed into the city, but the castle was handed down in family for several centuries, until the Duke of Flavia's heir became emperor something like three hundred years ago, at which point I think it was gifted to one of the branch families. They used to throw parties here during the winter. I attended one when I was seven...that was the last since. The count took ill or something, and moved out to his country estate. The gardens went to seed shortly after, though the interior was supposedly tended to until a few years ago. When the count died, I don't think the Marquis had the funds to throw at it. A shame really.” Charles said with a sigh, “In any case, it's a sturdy old place.” he said walking forward, ahead of us.

As I began to follow, I stopped and turned back to see my mother and the other women still standing in the gateway looking confused. “Well come on...This is home.” I said raising a hand and motioning to the overgrown building.

Mother looked between the other women and moved forward through the courtyard, the others following a small distance behind. “...How did you get permission to stay here?” Mother asked with obvious confusion.

“I...came into some money today, and apparently bought it, along with a title. I'd be happy to explain everything, but I'm exhausted. Can we discuss it tomorrow? As it is, I'm sure finding a clean surface to sleep on in there is gong to be difficult...” I said, causing her to grimace. I took her hand in mine, and we walked together up the stone steps. Charles pulled out a wrought iron key and smiled at me, unlocking the door with some difficulty, before tossing it to me.

The doors groaned as they opened, the old hinges needing oil. The entrance hall was perhaps once a grand affair, though was now just dark, and covered in dust. Large pictures hung from the walls, draped with cloth. Tattered sheets were hung over the furniture, which I was frankly surprised to see. A brief scan of the furniture with the fabrication system showed me frayed and damaged surfaces in need of repair. The floors made of marble were in good condition, though the hard wood floors would need to be sanded, stained, and waxed. Luckily the stairs seemed in good condition, but I didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt upstairs until I checked the floors. This place would take me days to get into order even using the fabrication system, and that's assuming I didn't need to create anything special.

“Let me go upstairs and check a few of the rooms, to make sure they're safe...Charles, could you see if we can get the fireplace lit?” I asked as I headed for the stairs.

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“Which one? This place has numerous fireplaces.” Charles said looking around happily. He paused to look at the host of fifteen women standing in the entrance hall. Aisha and Lily were looking around at one of the sitting rooms, and had taken seats on a couch. “We should probably see to food. After we put up some lights, I'll go procure some.” Charles said before heading into one of the back rooms.

I ascended the stairs to the second floor and began scouting for bedrooms. There were a half dozen in immediate proximity to the stairs on the second floor, and half of them were usable. The beds were damaged, but a little repair work with the fabrication system restored them, and the floors, some of which were drooping slightly. I figured three women per room would work, given the size of the beds, and spent forty minutes doing some basic maintenance. When I finished I went back downstairs to find everyone chatting in the sitting room with Aisha and Lily, in front of a fire. There were four glass lanterns with candles in them, set on top of tables and mantle. Their spirits were far higher than mine, but that might just have been exhaustion speaking.

“I got some bedrooms on the second floor ready. The doors are open.” I said yawning, as I walked over to the couch my mother was on. I slipped next to her and curled up, her arms wrapping around me. I left my satchel and belt on the table in front of me, and just relaxed in her arms while the ladies bantered. Quite a few came up to hug me, or thank me, but I just dozed off.

*****

When I awoke the next morning I was curled up in a bed with my mother. I was still wearing the brown robe Charles handed me the night before. The light streamed through the windows illuminating the overgrown gardens outside, and the stone wall blocking out the cityscape beyond. There were a few people glancing at the busted entry gate from the sidewalk, but no one ventured inside.

Pulling myself from the window I descended downstairs and was hit by the scent of food being cooked. There was some commotion down one of the hallways, and I entered to find four men in the kitchen, two of them were cooking while the other two were scrubbing the room, and dishes, clean. I blinked confused, as Charles came into the kitchen through another door from outside. He smiled at me and raised a glass of something in my direction. “Good Morning, Countess of Montevue.” Charles said heading toward me.

“...Who are these men, and what are they doing here?” I asked, though their actual activities were obvious.

“Ahh, sorry about that. I met with Antoinette last night, and she was arranging for a skeleton staff. That's Henry, your chef, and Louise his sous-chef.” He said motioning to the two men who were cooking. “Daniel is your butler, and that's David, he's a 'chef in training'.” Charles said, making introductions.

Daniel wiped his hands off on a towel, and approached with a smile. “You'll forgive the lack of staff. I'll be handling hiring, but it could take weeks to have a full staff. I understand from the ladies in the house that they were interested in acting as maids, though I'll still want to bring in a seasoned housekeeper. Ms. Bastier said you had a separate estate that would need to be seen to; if you wish to move anyone there, they could be trained here first.” he said warmly.

I cleared my throat and looked back at the hallway, “Can I speak with you privately Charles?” I asked.

“Hrm? Of course.” Charles said looking at me confused.

“The dining room is cleaned and ready to be used whenever you're ready. When breakfast is finished, I was going to go rouse the ladies.” Daniel said went back to cleaning.

Stepping into what looked like an office of some sort, I pulled Charles inside and closed the door. “Do you think it's wise to be bringing strangers into my home, immediately after an assassin's guild tried to kidnap and kill my mother?” I asked coldly. “What if one of them is an assassin? What if one of them tells them where we are!” I said, my voice getting more irritated.

“That bunch? Daniel's an old friend of the family, while Henry and Louis have only arrived recently in Kisk, and worked for the Duke of Caprice until recently. Can't really speak for David, but he's a relative of Louise, who says he wants to be a chef.” Charles said trying to calm me down. “Relax, I've arranged for guards. And besides, the Shadow couldn't have had any clue who you are. He deals with underworld trade, not the politics of nobility. If it becomes an issue, we'll just pass a complaint up the line. The Shadow won't want a war with the nobility, Faith.” Charles said.

I looked at him and took a deep breath, before relaxing. “I'm going to take some of my own precautions...just let me interview any of the applicants.” I said, mentally making a note to use my divine identify on everyone coming into this house.

Charles frowned and scratched his chin, “I suppose so, though that might upset Daniel. Not that it isn't your right, but it might be seen as distrusting his judgment and ability..” he said.

“I..I just need to meet them before hand. Besides, I'll need to learn how to select staff for Chateau Montevue, right?” I asked, causing Charles to cough.

“Sorry...You're a very active countess. I'll let Daniel know. It'll be a day or two before applicant interviews will start anyway, and then you have to check credentials.” Charles said and shrugged.

“That's fine...I'm getting hungry. Let me go wake everyone up.” I said, moving past Charles, and heading back upstairs to wake the house.

Breakfast was a simple fare, mostly eggs, bread, and cheese. The ladies didn't seem to mind, and there was a look of hope in their faces that I hadn't seen before. It was as if the weight of the world had been lifted from them, or like they had been cured of a terminal illness. The way they chatted, I got the feeling that Faith had grown up around the majority of them, and they cared deeply about her and Jasmine.

Mother, for her part, got the other women to start cleaning. Daniel procured mops, buckets, and other accoutrements for the task. Watching them, I decided that I would make sure these women had a home here or whatever we went. Something told me that they all deserved one.

While everyone was cleaning, I went searching the 'town house', looking for structural damage or wear in the floors, walls, or ceilings, using the fabrication system. There was quite a bit of wear where weight wasn't perfectly distributed. It was also obvious that the place had seen numerous renovations over its long history. It was while searching the library near center, that I found odd structures beneath the floors and walls. The floors looked to have a honeycomb structure beneath the marble tile, and at one place I could make out interlocking mechanisms.

It took me several minutes to puzzle things out, but I eventually traced the levers and pulleys to a section of wall that had an ancient looking engraven 'mural'. Parts of it were rubbed away, but there looked to be massive creatures covering the sky, sea, and earth. At one side was a small figure of a woman standing atop a lake, which is also where one of the triggers for the mechanism were. Taking a few minutes to analyze, I pressed in small symbols, trying several 'orders', before something clicked.

The floor at the center of the library began to shake and recess, a stairwell appearing leading down into the depths.