Chapter Five

Over the next three days, the masters of Coodly manor only showed up sporadically, taking advantage of the spectacle that the prince's funeral had become. Never was there quite enough time for another golden moment for the staff. Lord Tyler was gone completely, which was unusual for him to be away so long from his collection when not traveling.

Harmony found herself altering the looks of several members as the old lady encouraged others to get in on the act with a promise of secrecy. [Beautician] leveled twice, and [Style and Grace] once.

Work was light for cleaning and serving, and Bates relaxed more on schedules. This was why Harmony found herself at Ambrosia's side, the taller woman dragging her out into the city. The necromancer might have protested more if she hadn't run out of new books.

"You will hear my babies sing. A practical demonstration is better than pestering me about my pets. You also need to live a little."

Some house boys loved to talk about gambling on the colosseum matches between pets, but it was all fancy movies and wild names. The manor's books on pets were a light for Harmony's taste. As a beast tamer, her fellow maid was the best information source for the necromancer.

Along the streets of Hazeldown, the celebration was dying down. Paper masks with the prince's face littered the streets. Vendors sold little puppets of him astride his rainbow-colored coatl for a discount. The attention on the prince and his pet had brought Harmony a touch of worry about her plans eased. People's interests quickly changed topics, and she looked forward to whatever would distract them next. Even if that made her task easier, there was no point if she didn't level up in time.

A hard jerk from Ambrosia pulled the necromancer out of her thoughts. They were there, Cogg and Hall Brews. The tavern had a line leading up to the two open doors of the entrance. You could see a controlled rowdiness inside the place, but the coming and goings were policed by the bouncer at the door. Pulled past the line, Harmony gasped at the mountain of a man keeping guard at the entrance, her head barely past his waist.

"Hey, Duke." Ambrosia piped up.

"Songstress, I was afraid you wouldn't show." The bouncer's eyes went to Harmony. "And this is?"

"My adorable roommate. The shy one."

Harmony wanted to say she was reserved, but all she managed was swallowing her words with a gulp while under Duke's looming shadow.

"Go on in. It's been too calm without you." The big man told Ambrosia.

Harmony considered the inside of Cogg and Hall to be the opposite of calm. Several groups were amid tests of strength, arm wrestling, iron bending, and rock crushing. Tables were being danced on. Sounds of Laughter and boisterous tales clashed in the air.

Ambrosia whistled as she walked inside, her hands pulling along the diminutive necromancer.

A second whistle shrieked into the room as a red songbird let lose a cry as it dived in through an open window. Then another yellow bird joined it. A blue and green one glided over, and the birds circled the center of the room.

Some confused looks, but mostly knowing ones, appeared on faces in the room. The ruckus switched, and loud voices stopped their laughing and tall tales. "Songstress!" Cried a voice.

"Songstress!" Others followed up. "Songstress, Songstress, Songstress!" The chant overtook the room.

Ambrosia stepped up onto a table at the center of the room. Harmony dragged up with her. The birds tightened their spiral, their tweets elevating the chant. Ambrosia raised her arms.

Stolen novel; please report.

The birds swooped down, landing on her outstretched arms, except for the red one, who landed on Harmony's head.

"Does everyone want a song?" The beast tamer addressed the crowd.

Eager roars of affirmation and vigorous pounding answered back.

With a twist of the songstress's wrist, her birds started singing. A lively tune. Ambrosia's voice began to accompany it.

"There once was a maid, brave as can be.

Frightened of nothing, you will see.

Took all the worst the lord did give.

Fought off death, so brave boys live.

So I sing this song for she."

A nudge snapped Harmony to attention. She knew this song as Ambrosia liked to practice whispering by her bed. The beast tamer encouraged her to sing along. "While difficult, singing can strengthen your [Style and Grace]. It's good practice."

Another nudge told the necromancer Ambrosia expected her to join in now. So she lent her voice as well.

"The cellars flood, and the ceilings fall.

The maid cleaned it all.

Twisting every skill she could make.

Every advantage she would take.

She would not shirk adventures' call.

Together they sang the silly song of mostly made-up adventures. A long ballad of cleaning, politics, slaying gnome gophers, and servitude.

"So I sing this song for she."

The audience's roars increased as the song ended. Accompanied by the slapping percussion of them pounding on the tables. A barmaid brought two full mugs to the singers.

Ambrosia drowned hers with relish while Harmony took a mouthful. The brew's bubbles tickled the necromancer's nose, and the sweet and sour drink warmed her throat.

"I got this," Ambrosia assured her.

Harmony hopped off the table, a little relieved and a little heady from the attention. From there, she joined the crowd in watching her fellow maid entertain the crowd, better than many who take bard as a class.

A large ham of a hand patted Harmony's head. "She's great, isn't she." Harmony recognized the voice of the doorman, Duke. "Tried to get her to swear fealty, offered a mighty good deal to make her a permanent fixture, but she's unwilling to leave her family at the manor. Didn't even want to entertain my offer to buy her employment contract."

Family? Ambrosia, like most of the staff, was an orphan. Less outside influences for when you lived in the manor dorms. Or you could be disowned. Harmony remembered her own expulsion when she decided on the necromancer class. Ambrosia tended to be everyone's friend. The young necromancer couldn't picture herself giving up on advancing to something better because of friends. As fun as the tavern was, she wasn't sure anyone would want to tie their life to the rowdy excitement of this place every day. Family at the manor seemed an easy excuse to use for a no.

Ambrosia sparkled from the attention, bonded pets darting around her, joining the song. There might be a better place for the beast tamer's future than a dive of a tavern. Harmony promised to help Ambrosia grab this moment while the devoted crowd sang along.

"What's true today may not be true tomorrow." She told the big man.

Two more songs and the blonde had to bow out from another one to the groaning disappointment of her fans.

"That was Amazing," Harmony told her as she helped the beast tamer down from the table. Her birds had already departed through an open window.

The two girls moved through the crowd into the now crisp, cool night air. "Glad you enjoyed it. I wanted to do something special for you with everything coming up."

"What's coming up?" there was that little worming bit of disappointment for Harmony at the revelation that this was not a random outing due to the relaxed schedules. Not that she doubted Ambrosia might do something like this without prompting.

The confident table-striding singer fell away as Ambrosia shifted and struggled to find words. "Lord Tyler has reserved you for three days as his personal maid for a trip to his dungeon lodge. The old lady has already approved it." With that, the beast tamer embraced the petite necromancer.

Rather than be shocked or scared, the first reaction was a flat acceptance. This wasn't an entirely unexpected development, as the lord had wanted to equip her before bringing her into his dungeon diving group. Three days, though? That was where she tensed up. Tyler could be amazing or awful, sometimes alternating between the two in short bursts. The idea of three days felt like too much. Slowly Harmony inhaled, telling herself this was just one more obstacle to her goal that she had to overcome. Soon, she'll have her levels, spell components, and an undead pet.

"It will be alright, Harm," Ambrosia told her, misreading the girl's reaction, hugging her tighter before they returned to the manor.