It was almost sunset when the coaches from Brettholz stopped for the night in a small town called Lomonn. The marquis had booked the town's best inn in advance, so when the group arrived several servants were waiting for them right outside of the building, ready to carry their baggage to their room and tend to their needs.

Marcus was the first one to jump down from his coach, eager to stretch his legs a bit after the long trip. As he moved around, shivering slightly because of the cold air of the evening, he noticed that a few locals were looking at him with curiosity, clearly surprised by his peculiar appearance, but luckily they limited themselves to a few glances, which was not nearly enough to bother him.

In fact, it seemed that Trakk was drawing much more attention than him. A few members of the inn's staff even stopped working to stare at the Goblin General, prompting the owner to reprimand them into resuming their work.

“Weird.” Marcus thought. “Have they never seen a goblin before? I thought that they were quite common in this world, unlike the Vex.” He then shrugged. “Well, whatever the reason, all the better for me. At least they won’t focus on me if they’re busy staring at Trakk.”

He was still looking at the General when he realized that someone was calling for him.

“Ehm... excuse me, ma'am.” A female voice said.

“Yes?” He turned towards the one talking to him, and saw a woman bowing politely to him.

“I'm here to guide you and your lady in waiting to your room.” She said, as a porter started grabbing their baggage.

“My... lady in waiting?” Marcus asked, a bit confused.

“Yes. She’s called lady Klara, if I'm not mistaken.” The maid clarified. “Unfortunately we don't have enough rooms to accommodate everyone separately, but marquis Eisen's envoy said that it wouldn't be a problem for you to share a room with your lady in waiting.”

“Yeah, it's fine.” The Vex Queen nodded, and then, with a smile he turned around and said: “Hey Klara! Apparently you are my lady in waiting now! How do you feel about that?”

However the girl didn't seem to be in the mood for jokes.

“I don't really care.” She replied in a neutral tone.

“Geez. Ain't you a ray of sunshine today.” Marcus thought, starting to feel a bit annoyed himself.

Ever since her discussion with Felix earlier that morning, Klara had been quite despondent and had barely uttered a word. That had also soured the mood of the trip quite a bit, since no matter how hard the apprentice sorcerer and the Vex Queen had tried to keep each other company, it was nigh impossible to ignore the girl's glacial presence.

Still, this wasn't the time and place to start a discussion, so he ignored her and turned back to the maid.

“Alright. Show us our room then.” He replied, and then turned to Felix: “I guess I'll see you later then, Felix.”

“Yeah, don't worry.” The young man nodded. “See you later!”

Marcus and Klara then followed the maid inside of the inn, with Cooper trailing behind them, while the young man went with the other male servants of the marquis's retinue.

The room that Marcus and Klara would share for the night was located on the first floor, and according to the maid that guided them there it was the best room in the inn. And after only a quick look, the Vex Queen decided that the woman was probably telling the truth, as the place was really nice. A stove had also been lit for a few hours judging by the warmth of the air, everything was sparkling clean and the huge, king-sized bed looked very comfortable indeed.

As soon as the porters had finished carrying their baggage inside, the maid announced that dinner would be served in an hour before closing the door and leaving the two guests alone.

Klara silently started going through her luggage, taking out the things she would need for the night, while Marcus instead immediately headed for the bed and let himself fall on it without hesitation, literally diving into the fluffiness of the mattress.

“That's better!” He thought, stretching his limbs and tail. “I would have never thought that traveling on a coach could be so exhausting. Though maybe that was also because I couldn't really relax with Klara being all sour like that.” He glanced at the girl, who was still unpacking her stuff. “And now I’m supposed to sleep in the same bed with her... well, that seems as promising as trying to sleep next to a piece of ice. Maybe it's better to try and solve things a little before dinner then.”

“So, Klara...” He said out loud. “May I ask what's up between you and Felix?”

“He's being an idiot.” The girl replied coldly, without even turning around. “That's all there is to it.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Marcus replied. “But I wonder just how he can be so oblivious. I mean, when I was his age I'd have killed to spend some time alone with my girlfriend, so I find it weird that he seems unable to take a hint.”

“I don't know either!” The young woman cried. “I've tried everything I could to make him understand that I'd like to spend some time alone with him, but still he never seems to acknowledge it! He just keeps treating me like he always did, like a friend or a sister!” She shook her head, angry tears starting to form in her eyes. “Sometimes he makes me wonder if that's really how he feels about me... and if my feelings for him are actually one sided.”

“Nah, he's definitely attracted to you. At least as much as you’re attracted to him, if not more.”

“How can you tell?”

“I can read emotions, remember? Besides, it's kinda obvious just by looking at you two. But that makes it even more weird that Felix keeps trying to treat you as if you’re just a friend. I mean, didn't you two get officially together during your stay in Oakfell?”

“Yes we did.” Klara promptly answered. But then, almost as an afterthought, she added: “Kind of, at least.”

“Kind of? What do you mean by “kind of?””

“Well... we didn't actually say anything about being a couple.” The girl replied. “But we made it clear that we care about each other, and we slept together.”

“Ah, so you did kind of make it official then.” The Vex Queen nodded. “That makes Felix's behavior even more weird though. I mean, I don't know how he can stay oblivious to your hints after you two... ehm... already did the deed, if you catch my meaning.”

“Not like that!” Klara cried, blushing violently. “We just slept together in the same bed, but we didn't do anything else.”

“What? Really?” Marcus raised an eyebrow in surprise. “No kissing or touching or anything like that?”

“No.” The girl shook her head. “Well, we did hug each other, but nothing beyond that.”

The Vex Queen gave his friend a level stare.

“So...” He asked. “If you didn't actually say anything about being a couple and all you did in bed was just hugging each other, what makes you say that you two officially got together?”

“Well, it's pretty obvious, no?” Klara said. “I mean, we told each other that we would always be there for each other and cuddled until morning! How much more official do you want our relationship to be?”

Silence reigned in the room as the two stared each other in the eyes for a few seconds, but then all of a sudden Marcus let out a chuckle.

“What's so funny now?” Klara asked, sounding both confused and irritated.

“You poor naive soul!” The Vex Queen said, still giggling. “You really have no idea about how boys think, do you? Take it from someone who used to be one: when it comes to their first romantic experiences, anything less subtle than a hammer to the face will usually pass right over their head.”

“Do you mean that Felix didn't realize how I feel about him?” The girl asked, looking rather incredulous.

“Yes.” Marcus replied. “Or maybe he did but he's too scared of being wrong to actually acknowledge it.”

“Mmmh.” Klara nodded. “I see. That would certainly explain his behavior. Still, I find it hard to believe that he could ever be this dense!”

“You better believe it.” The Vex Queen smirked. “Romance can turn even the smartest boy into a complete dunce. Trust me, I've been there and I've made a fool out of myself more times than I can count. Heck, one time I didn't get a girl's hints until she forcefully dragged me into a closet and then proceeded to...” He stopped, realizing that it would be a bit awkward to tell the details to Klara. “Well, let's just say that afterwards there was no doubt left about the fact that she liked me. Anyway, I'd advise you to cut Felix some slack. I'm sure that he's not annoying you on purpose, so giving him the cold shoulder will not solve anything.”

“So, in your opinion what should I do instead?” Klara asked.

“Well, personally I think that you should just tell him straight that you love him.”

“Well... that's...” The girl hesitated, looking rather flustered all of a sudden. “Well... shouldn't he be the one to do that to me? I mean, usually it's boys that confess to girls...”

“Maybe.” Marcus shrugged. “But are you willing to wait for him to do that? It could take weeks or even months. And besides, this whole courting situation is getting a bit awkward at this point, so personally I'd like for you two to move on already.”

After hearing these words, Klara looked pensive for a few seconds, nervously biting her lower lip.

“I... I guess I'll think about it then.” She then said. “Thank you for your advice, Marcus.”

“You're welcome.” The Vex Queen replied. Then, with a mischievous smile on his face, he added: “And by the way, if you prefer a more direct approach, you could always use the same tactic as my ex girlfriend. I'm sure that visiting this famous Red Light District will offer plenty of chances for settling the matter in a physical way.”

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“W-what!?!” Klara cried, blushing violently. “Marcus! How can you suggest something as scandalous as that!?!”

“Well, scandalous or not, it would still be effective, wouldn't it?” He replied, grinning from ear to ear. “But if you don't want to wait until then, I'm sure that you can find a suitable closet before we reach Rennhafen!”

The girl remained silent, far too embarrassed to even articulate a sentence, and watching her face turning into a bright shade of red Marcus couldn't help but burst out laughing.

“Oh, you’re just teasing me now.” Klara accused him, anger replacing the embarrassment enough to allow her to talk.

“Just a little bit.” The Vex Queen admitted, still shaken by bouts of giggles. “But still, that’s actually my advice. The specific method doesn't really matter, but you should really make things clear with Felix.”

“Alright. I'll try to think about what you said then.” She sighed. “Still, this is harder than I thought it would.”

“Well, as they say: nothing worth having comes easy.” Marcus said. “And now... what do you say about getting ready for dinner? I admit that all this talking has made me quite hungry.”

“Sure.” Klara replied. “Let me just finish unpacking my stuff and we can go.” She turned to her baggage, but then hesitated for a moment and added: “Oh, and by the way, thank you for your advice, Marcus. Though I could have easily done without the teasing to be honest.”

“Well, that’s what friends are for.” The Vex Queen said cheerfully. “After all, a true friend will always be ready to help you… after they’re done making fun of you, of course!”

----------------------------------------

Later that evening, in the inn's common room, Marcus watched with a smile the opposite end of the table, where Klara and Felix were busy talking with each other. The girl had sat beside the young man to try and talk things over with him and, after a rather awkward start, the two had hit it off splendidly. By now, they were cheerfully laughing and discussing together as usual.

The Vex Queen felt very relieved seeing his friend getting along once again, and was also kind of proud of having been able to help smooth things out between them with his advice.

Still, now it was better to give them some space for themselves, so he tried to ignore them and instead turned his attention to his other dining companions. In particular, he focused on Trakk, who was sitting right in front of him.

Though the goblin just ate in silence and with perfect dining etiquette —much better than Marcus's— the waiters serving him seemed utterly nervous, dropping the dishes in front of him and then retreating quickly as if they feared that he could bite them. This did strike the Vex Queen as odd, and he wondered what was the reason for this behavior.

“Uhm... Trakk?” He said, as his curiosity finally got the better of him. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” The goblin replied, raising his eyes from his dish. “What do you want to know?”

“Well... I noticed how the people here seem to be rather wary of you. Do you know why?”

“That's probably because I'm a goblin.”

“Yeah, I get it, but... well, people aren't this scared of your kind in Brettholz, and you attacked the bloody place.”

“Oh sure. But do keep in mind that the people of Brettholz also had more contacts with us over the years, and thus got to know us better. Meanwhile, the people in the inner regions of the kingdom know us only through rumors and grapevine, which sadly do not really paint the prettiest picture of us.”

Marcus raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.

“What contacts?” He asked. “I thought you goblins just stayed hidden in the forest and came out only for raids and such.”

“Oh, that's a common misconception.” Trakk said, a sad smile forming on his face. “It's true that some tribes did raid the lands of the kingdom from time to time, but it didn't happen that often. Most of our contacts actually came from trading with humans.”

“Weird. I didn't hear anyone ever mentioning trading with goblins.”

“That's not surprising. After all, those trades happened sporadically even at the best of times due to the dangers of crossing the Caligare Forest, and they all but stopped in the last five years due to all the trouble stirred up by the Blue Terror and his rivals. Still, the people of Brettholz at least had some first hand knowledge about us, which is more than I can say about the inhabitants of this region.”

“So you’re saying that people are scared of what they don't know, right?” Marcus asked. “But in that case, shouldn’t they be even more scared of me? I mean, as far as I know the Vex are even less known than goblins are.”

“That's true.” Trakk agreed. “But your kind is new to these lands and it doesn’t share our bad reputation. Besides, your own appearance is not exactly intimidating, at least for human standards. Some of your more fierce looking drones would have likely caused a much more fearful reaction, I think.”

“Yeah… that makes sense.” The Vex Queen nodded. “Guess that looking kinda like a human girl does have its perks.”

“Indeed.” Trakk said. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added: “Also, now that I think about it, it’s possible that some of the locals may still remember the time we raided this region about twenty years ago. If they do, I can understand why they might feel uneasy around me.”

“I'm sorry, what?” The Vex Queen raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Well, as far as incursions go it wasn't anything major, so they might actually have forgotten about it.” The General continued. “After all, we just raided a few small villages and isolated farms, stole a few things and ran back to the forest. It's really not something worth holding a grudge about.”

Hearing those words Eisen, who had evidently overheard their conversation, decided to intervene.

“Trust me, Trakk, they remember.” He said. “This region hadn't been attacked for at least a century before your merry bands of raiders appeared, so it was quite a shock at the time. And it caused a lot of trouble for Brettholz as well. Since we are technically supposed to defend the rest of the kingdom from the creatures of the forest, we got blamed a lot for allowing your raiders to reach these provinces.”

“It wasn't really your fault though.” Trakk reassured him. “Your defenses back then were quite good, but they were made just to counter direct attacks. You couldn't have predicted that we would decide to bypass Brettholz entirely and attack other provinces instead.”

“Yes, but you know how politics work.” The nobleman replied in a bitter tone. “Someone always has to take the blame. Though at least, we got a bit more funds to properly watch our borders afterwards. That’s how I was able to get a Divination Array and hire enough telemancers to make it work.” He paused, glanced at the goblin and then added: “Though even that didn't do us much good since you were able to somehow neutralize it during your invasion.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that the Array was completely useless though.” The General argued. “It's true that we were able to neutralize the Array by having our shamans stir up the Etherium, but it was because of that disturbance that you sent an expedition to scout the Caligare Forest, which resulted in you making contact with the Vex and getting informed of our presence anyway. So, in the end that investment ultimately paid off, albeit indirectly.”

“If you put it like that, it seems like it was actually money well spent.” The nobleman nodded.

“Uhm... I'm sorry, but what's a Divination Array?” Marcus asked, trying to insert himself back into the conversation.

“It's a telemantic system that is used to watch over large areas.” Eisen explained. “It works like some sort of Aura Scan over very long distances, picking up disturbances in the Etherium. We have one in Brettholz that we use to monitor the northern part of the Caligare Forest. It's not very reliable to be honest, but if used together with more conventional surveillance methods it usually allows us to find out most threats before they can reach our borders.”

“I see. I think that Felix or Klara did mention something about it back when we were in the forest.” The Vex Queen smirked. “Well, it's nice to know that the borders of the forest are well guarded then, especially since I live there.”

“Indeed.” Trakk said. “That’s true for us goblins as well, since now we are also part of the kingdom. Though to be fair, I doubt that there is anything left in the forest that could pose a serious threat to us now that the Blue Terror is dead.”

“Are you sure?” Marcus asked. “Because I remember the forest being full of dangerous creatures.”

“Yes, of course. But keep in mind that most of those creatures are essentially wild beasts. Though they might be very dangerous on an individual level, they are really unlikely to band together and attack us in large numbers. And as for those who could, they were mostly exterminated during the conflict between the Orcs and the others.”

The Vex Queen nodded, but still he felt reluctant to let go of his wariness. After all, life had a habit of striking him whenever he dropped his guard.

“What about creatures like that dragon in the Ashwood Hills?” He argued. “They would be a huge problem even if just one or two of them attacked us.”

“That's certainly true.” The goblin conceded. “But it's also very unlikely to happen. Creatures strong enough to pose a significant threat even in low numbers do exist, but they are usually confined to the Dark Heart and almost never come out. And even those who can be found outside, like dragons, are usually highly territorial and don't leave their nests unless forced to.” He paused, noticing that Marcus still wasn't entirely convinced, and then added with a reassuring smile: “Still, even if one of those creatures decided to attack us, the Divination Array should have no trouble picking them up well before they get close, since they tend to have a very powerful aura.”

“That's correct.” The marquis confirmed. “The stronger a creature's aura is, the more likely the Array is to pick them.”

“Good.” Marcus finally capitulated, albeit rather reluctantly. “I'll trust you on that. Though I hope it's not a problem if I keep watching over my borders, just in case something manages to slip through.”

“Of course not.” The nobleman replied. “That'd only be prudent. After all, it's the Caligare forest we're talking about. Not being careful around it is bound to bite you sooner or later, both literally and metaphorically.” He paused and then added sardonically: “Though right now, the biggest threat might actually be coming from the opposite direction.”

“What do you mean?” The Vex Queen asked.

“Well, as you may already know, the kingdom's political situation is a bit tense right now.” The marquis replied. “Tensions between the Council of Nobles and the Royalists have been brewing for years, and now they might just have reached the boiling point.”

“Yeah, you and Magister Orr told me about it, but I don't think it's anything too bad, at least not when compared to a horde of ravenous orcs invading us.” Marcus shrugged. “Besides, there is not much I can do about it, besides trying to stay out of politics as much as I can.” He smirked and added in a joking tone: “Unless you want me to have my drones eat the members of the Council of Nobles, of course.”

“Wouldn't that solve a lot of problems!” The marquis chuckled. “Alas, that's not an option. And also, while I do agree that trying to not get involved at all would be the best course of action, I don't know if the members of the Council will let you do that.”

“Splendid. Some political intrigue is just what I needed in my life!” Marcus commented sarcastically. “So what? Am I going to have to watch out for assassins trying to put a knife in my back now?”

“Hopefully not.” Eisen replied. “However, they might try to smear your reputation or something along those lines.”

“Again, there isn't much I can do to prevent that.” The Vex Queen said, starting to feel a bit annoyed. He had been looking forward to some peace and quiet, but from the nobleman’s words it seemed that the future only held more strife instead. “I can't really control what other people think or say about me.” He paused for a moment, and then corrected himself: “Well, maybe I could, but it’s probably better that I don’t.”

“Indeed.” The marquis promptly agreed. “I don’t think that there could be anything quite as damaging to your reputation as being discovered using your powers on people. Still, while it’s true that there isn’t much we can do to prevent our political adversaries from trying to run a smear campaign against you, what we can do is to give them as little material to work with as possible.”

“Well, if you're afraid that I'm going to make a fool out of myself, you don't need to worry.” Marcus tried to reassure him. “I'm not a complete idiot, so I won't do things like sleeping with the king's daughter or something like that.”

“I know that and I trust your judgment, sir Marcus.” Eisen said. “But still, I'd feel safer if we did some preparations beforehand.”

“What kind of preparations?” The Vex Queen asked.

“Oh, nothing too complex. Just things like preparing some of your speeches in advance and deciding which topics you should avoid. Do you think you could do that?”

“Well, if it's absolutely necessary... I guess I could.” The Vex Queen said, a bit reluctantly. “But when are we going to do it?”

“Well, if you're willing, we could do some rehearsals on my coach on our way to Rennhafen.” The nobleman replied.

Marcus thought about it for a moment. He really, really disliked this kind of thing, as he found politics to be unbearably frustrating at best, but he trusted the marquis's judgment, and if he said it was important then it probably was. Besides, he thought while glancing at Klara and Felix, leaving his friends some alone time on the coach was probably for the best. Some intimacy was probably what they needed to finally go forward with their relationship.

“Alright then.” He answered. “I'll do it. But you better have some snacks available, because I do get peckish while studying.”

“Excellent.” The nobleman smiled approvingly. “I'll have some refreshment prepared for you then.” He then stood up and said. “And now, I think it's time for us to head to bed. It's getting late, and tomorrow we shall depart early.”

“Alright.” Marcus replied, getting up as well. Now that his belly was full he was starting to feel a tad sleepy, so he was really looking forward to the comfort of his bed. “I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight, marquis. And goodnight to you too, Trakk.”

“Goodnight, sir Marcus.” The two replied as one, before they each went to their bedroom for the night.