The ride to the Keep was a bumpy one. The cobbled streets were well worn, but there were holes, bumps, and dips that could easily be felt under a carriage’s wheels. The carriage seemed like it had some form of basic suspension, but the jostling was only mitigated, not eliminated. Not to mention the ceiling was a bit low for Ann’s new height.

Kat sat to one side with Annita, while Bren sat on the other. The fighter’s mood was dark as she sat in silence, looking out the window.

“You seemed to know the General,” Annita started. “Are they that bad a person?”

“Nae, not a bad person,” Kat replied. “Hells, any other day I’d love tae see ‘er. Just wanted tae relax fer the first night outta the wilderness. That an’ the general peoples knowin’ I’m here makes shite a bit more complicated. Woulda been nice tae just come an’ go unannounced besides this meetin’.”

“You really don’t like being noticed, do you?” Annita asked. It was a rhetorical question, but Kat answered, anyway.

“Yeah, I sure do. Makes me feel normal, ya know? People all treat me like this special feckin’ thing when I’m just born tae someone important. Not like you with yer important Goddess quest an’ shite like that. I fight, I get bloody, dirty, everythin’ else a normal person does. Wish they’d treat me like it. Ugh, never mind.”

“Kat, remember what I have said before,” Bren said calmly. “You need not worry about it, for it is your reality. Just try to do what you can to feel as you wish.”

“Aye, aye. Yer right, as usual. Just pisses me off when I get reminded o’ that reality,” Kat huffed.

“It will pass. Most likely the next day, we will be free to roam. It is not like the common man knows your face,” Bren said as he glanced out the window.

They were passing through the outer wall of the inner Keep. A large portcullis could be heard ratcheting up as the guards driving the carriage chatted with their colleagues. Once the loud clacking stopped, the carriage moved on.

It wasn’t long before guards ushered them from the carriage and through large wooden doors in the main keep’s southern face. Down an entryway decorated with arms and armor of centuries past. Numerous doors lead off to other wings of the buildings to the left and right, while a grand staircase rose and branched directly ahead of them. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, lighting the room along with torches on columns throughout.

The guards took them up the grand staircase and off to the right, down a hall, down around a corner, another hall, another corner, and at the end of this last hall, to a large set of doors.

“Through here. She is expecting you,” the female guard who’d greeted them directed.

Opening the doors for them, the trio was ushered into a large office. It was warmly lit, with more candles strewn throughout, and a couple of glowing stones in sconces along the walls. The left wall was comprised entirely of dark wooden shelves. They were filled with books and other trinkets. The right wall was lined with cases containing weapons, pieces of armor, a trophy or two, and several larger books or tomes. A rectangular table dominated the center of the room, a map spread across its surface. Figurines were arrayed upon it, with several dome shapes scattered here and there. At the far end sat a woman behind a large desk, a mountain of papers to her left, and another to her right, back-lit by a window. She looked up at the sound of their arrival.

“Ah, Katlyn. Good to see you! Sorry to take you away so soon, but the commotion at the gate required it. You look healthy, a bit more muscle on you?” General Polaris rose from behind her desk. She was tall, even to Annita. Lanky arms and legs indicating she was a Thrundol. Despite her long arms and legs, she was well proportioned with a thick body full of muscle. Her black, straight hair fell across her shoulders in an inky waterfall over her uniform. Her face was comely, a brownish red, sporting a distinctly hooked nose accentuated her angled cheeks and protruding tusks. Bright eyes fell upon Annita as she stared.

“Good to see you too, General,” Kat responded stiffly.

“Ah, cut the shit, kid. No one’s gonna hear you in here,” General Polaris chided Kat.

“Fine, fine. How’ve ya been Candaleria? Office work treatin’ ya right?” Kat sighed, physically relaxing for the first time since they left the Mercenary building.

“No, frankly, it’s not. I’m bored to tears. Miss being out there on the front lines, guarding people and fighting monsters. I guess this is what you get for being too good at it.” The general let out a derisive snort and turned to Bren.

“And how have you been, bean sprout? Twenty six and you somehow look skinnier than last time we met. Guess that’s a healer for you, though. Keeping safe? Keeping Kat safe?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Bren returned with a broad smile. “I can not say if I have lost weight, though the rigors of travel can take their toll. It is a pleasure to see you again.”

Candaleria nodded, smiling back, and turned to Annita.

“Who’s this?” Candaleria gestured to Annita. “Don’t remember you having her as a friend the last time you passed through. Interesting Vulhardrin. There’s a lot of the beast in you, girl.”

“This is Annita. We found ‘er out east, patrollin’ the wilderness. Honestly, we needed to talk to ye about her, so this meetin’ was gonna happen, anyway.” Kat gestured Annita forward.

“Annita Kronforst. I, uh. I guess I’m pretty new here.” Annita introduced herself with a slight bow. “Pleasure to meet you, General Polaris.”

“Oh Gods, you picked up another Bren?” the General chuckled. “Relax kid. You’re not one of my soldiers. Unless there’s an emergency or you mean harm to one of ours, you’re a citizen and we can just talk.”

“Thanks,” Annita said as she shuffled nervously.

“C’mon, grab a chair and sit. I can tell this is going to be an interesting story if Kat’s all cagey about it.”

They gathered chairs and formed an informal circle beside the large table. The General pulled a flagon out from a side table, pouring them each a cup of wine.

“All right, get to it.” Candaleria grunted as she sat down. “I don’t stand on propriety with you lot, but I am busy and that stack of paper frustratingly has my name on it, or needs to have my name on it.”

“Well. I guess the best place to begin would be finding Annita,” Bren began. He told the General the story of how they had gotten to the building they’d found Annita in. When describing their adventures together, he thankfully left out the lewder parts he’d either suspected or witnessed.

“All right, but that doesn’t tell me why you needed to talk to me specifically?” Candaleria leaned forward as she spoke, fixing Annita with a stare. “What’s the secret here? You’re dancing around something and I don’t like it. Especially from you, Bren.”

“Candaleria,” Kat said flatly, “the next bits here aren’t tae leave this room. Need ye to swear ta secrecy. I guess ye can tell me ma, but that’s about it.”

The General’s eyes narrowed and a frown crossed her face, pushing against her tusks. “If it’s that serious, then you have my word as General of your kingdom, Katlyn. Now, out with it.”

“Annita, you wanna take this?” Kat asked, looking over at the Lupine.

“Yeah, sure. So, I guess we’ll start with something you picked up on. I guess I’m not a normal Vulhardrin.” Annita leaned back on her chair as she spoke. “Technically, my race is listed as Lupine (Warped). With parentheses around the Warped part. I guess that classifies me as some kind of subspecies? I’m not sure. Regardless, that is what I am.”

“Interesting. Since Captain Gwindon checked you out, I won’t ask you the same questions. That these two are with you would be credibility enough. That’s unusual, and potentially dangerous, but doesn’t seem world shattering to me,” Candaleria said as she pressed her lower face into her hands.

“No. I guess it isn’t. That’s just me. The bigger part is my Path, and who I got it from.” This got an eyebrow raise from the General, but she stayed quiet, waiting for Ann to continue. “My path is ‘Warrior of Orenous’, and since Kat seemed to freak out about it, I have a title as well, ‘Chosen of Orenous’. Not really sure what that means, but it sounds important.”

Candaleria sat there for a moment, before sucking in air between her teeth. “And she didn’t explain it to you.” A reproachful glance was shot Kat’s way. “Titles are rare. They only show up after someone’s achieved a magnificent feat or done something of significance. From what they’ve told me, you’ve done neither. Though your face, right now, is telling me that you know why you have it, correct?”

“Yeah. I do. This is the big part that needs to be a secret.” Annita paused, letting the gravity of the room settle in. “I’ve met Orenous. Talked to her, sat with her. She told me a lot of things, but the most important thing was her giving me a quest of sorts. She wants me to figure out what’s going on with the Seeds, and see if I can fix it. Best she could tell, something about me was different. Something related to the corruption of the Seeds that might help unravel whatever is going on.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Ah, yeah, there it is,” Candeleria said as she sat back. “That definitely qualifies as a secret worth swearing over. Anyone else know about this?”

All three of the others shook their heads.

“Good. Keep it that way for now. This is going to be relayed to the Queen directly. A week is the earliest I can make the trip. It’s going to cause chaos with the churches, no doubt. So, Chosen, what’s your plan for all of this?”

Annita shifted nervously in her seat. “That’s the thing. I don’t really have much of a plan right now. Orenous basically told me to wing it, and I’ve been doing the best I can with that. I don’t have much to go on, so for now I guess just exploring more Seeds would be the plan?”

“Figures,” Candaleria grunted. “Leave it to the Gods to be vague. Guess it’s not just a thing their priests do. Well, at least you know what you’re wanting to do. You have a good team here to support you as well.” At the compliment, Kat and Bren both grinned and shared a glance. “I do suggest you find someone good with magic, considering you don’t have one currently. I have a few people that might fit with your group. You’ve got a healer, a guardian, and a sort of rogue. You need a big hitter.”

“Aye,” Kat agreed. “Three front line tae two back line is generally the best groupin’. Was meanin’ tae scout out someone while I was here.”

“Any preferences?” Candalera asked.

“Could we get back tae ya on tha’? Think we need tae talk about that first, and we’ve literally just gotten off the road.”

“Of course. Sorry, got lost in the weeds here. You three must be exhausted and I pulled you right out to meet me. Before you go, just want to let you know that I will be posting a guard on you all. Annita, specifically, since she’s a fairly low level for now and her status makes her safety a priority.”

“A babysitter? Really?” Annita scoffed.

“Yeah, a babysitter. They’ll be quiet and keep out of the way. You won’t be arguing this point, understood?” As she spoke, the General rose to her full height, head scraping the ceiling. “Or would you prefer I keep you under strict guard here in the Keep? For something like this, I can override even dear Katlyn here.”

Annita shrunk back as she felt the force of the words. “Ok, sure. That’s fine. I guess.”

“Good. Now, you all have rooms sorted out?” Candaleria asked, lowering herself into a more casual slouch. “If not, we have a couple rooms here you could spend the night in.”

“We do already have rooms reserved in the Mercenary Association,” Bren informed her.

“Speakin’ o’ which, that’s the other part o’ why we wanted tae talk to ye,” Kat interjected. “Need tae get Ann registered as an Affiliated Merc. Couldn’t go through the normal channels fer obvious reasons.”

Candelaria looked back at the pile of papers on her desk and sighed. “You just added a new sheet to the pile, but that’s fine. Merc paperwork is easy enough. I’ll get it all set up confidentially and get it filed. I’ll need to borrow your Badge, Annita. The guard I send in the morning will return it.”

“Oh, right, here.” Annita passed her wooden badge over to the Thrundol. The woman’s hand eclipsed her own as she took the disc.

“Well, that’s all the time I’ve got for you. Sorry to rush you out, but an army doesn’t run itself. It was good seeing you two.” Candelaria reached out and ruffled Kat and Bren’s hair. “And nice meeting you too, Annita. Now shoo. The guard can take you back in the carriage.”

With that, the General returned to her desk and sat heavily on her chair. A deep sigh escaped her lips before she picked up her quill and got back to work.

“So, you guys know each other WAY better than I thought you did.” Annita laughed as they settled back into the carriage.

“Yes, I guess Katlyn did give off the impression she was dreading this visit.” Bren said with a chuckle of his own.

“She trained me in how tae fight,” Kat explained. “She’s been around me family a good while, an’ we grew somewhat close. I’d mark it up tae friends, though can’t really be too friendly when she’s all business nowadays.”

“How long have you known her?” Annita asked, leaning in.

“I said childhood. So… thirty years, give or take?” She blushed, being pressed for the information.

“Longer than I’ve been alive. Wow.” Ann sighed, leaning back. “She seems nice enough, though. Except for when she gets all authoritative. I was about to curl up and die.”

“Imagine ‘er holdin’ a weapon, standin’ over ye after kickin’ yer ass tae the Hells an’ back. Then she starts tae lecture ye about how ye didn’t parry this right, yer footwork was sloppy, hold your shield up more. Love the beast, don’t get me wrong. Kinda a formative person in me life, but damn she could be scary.”

“Not to mention when she caught you slacking off,” Bren snickered. “I got a lot of practice healing sore muscles in those days.”

“Hell-beast made me run laps around the castle. Not just the grounds, nae, the entire feckin thing. Walls an’ all. At the tender age of twenty! Monster.” Kat huffed with a wry grin. “But she got me ready fer a fight. That’s for damn sure. Honestly, ye’d probably benefit from a few lessons with ‘er Ann. Yer skills help ya, but it doesn’t make up fer yer fundamentals bein’ shite.”

“After hearing all that, I’m not sure I want to.” Annita balked, ears flattening back.

“Oh, c’mon. Ye’ll survive. Bren’ll make sure of it. Wontcha?” Kat tapped Bren with her foot.

“Of course. I would not let a member of our team endure such distress unaided.” A wicked grin crossed his face for the first time.

Annita had a really bad feeling about this. “Anyway!” She interjected. “Let’s move on. So, the Queen is going to hear about me?”

“Aye, that part was expected. No way in Hells she’d keep that from ‘er. At least she’ll be goin’ ‘erself. No chance o’ the secret gettin’ out before we’re ready fer it. Shit’s gonna be a mess, Ann. Yer gonna be the most influential religious individual in the Godsdamned world.”

“Your own personal Jesus,” Annita laughed.

“What?” Both bren and Kat looked at her, incredibly confused.

“Nothing. An old song from my hometown.” Annita explained, trying to hide her slip-up in case the guards driving were listening in.

“Right. So, regardless, it will be a massive event. We will need to coordinate with Her Majesty on when best to reveal the information.” Bren continued.

“The Hells is Ma gonna think about me hitchin’ up with a Chose - er - a person like ye?” Kat sighed.

“She wouldn’t approve?” Annita asked, suddenly concerned. If the Queen didn’t like her, and Kat was committed to her, that could get messy, even if it was a normal family.

“Eh, maybe? Depends on how ye two get on. The whole Vulhardrin thing shouldn’t be much o’ a problem. Ye bein’ a girl fer all intents an’ purposes shouldn’t either. Just worried about a personality clash,” Kat sighed, waving a hand through the air. “She’s strong willed. Yer gettin’ involved with ‘er eldest daughter. Probably gonna be a bit protective. Then there’s Da’. I honestly don’t expect you two to get along. Stick up his arse is puttin’ it mildly, that one. Yer way too much fun.” A twinkle sparked in her eyes as she gave Annita’s body an appreciative glance.

Blushing, Annita tried to change the subject again. “So, we’ve got a security detail on us?”

“Yes. It is standard procedure for persons of high importance when residing within city limits,” Bren explained. “They should not impose upon us overmuch.”

“Yeah, still not too thrilled about that. I guess I can’t really blame General Polaris after what we told her. She seems confident in you two. It’s just me that’s a weakling.” Annita sighed, ears flopping as she looked out the window. “Eventually I’ll get there. Just wish I could be more useful.”

“None of that,” Bren chided. “You have existed in this world for just over a week, and you’re already at level eight of your Path. And you have divine help to accelerate yourself, and us.”

Annita gave him a halfhearted thumbs up and rested against the wall of the carriage, watching the city pass by.

During their conversation, the sun began to set, and by the time they neared the Association it was getting dark. Lanterns sprung to life across the city, lighting the way for the denizens whose business wasn’t restricted by the light of day.

They were driven up to the doors of the wooden building and stepped out into the frosty night air, stretching their stiff limbs.

“All right!” Annita groaned. “Anything else to do tonight?”

“Feck no. I just wanna sleep.” Kat said with a yawn. “I’m exhausted. You look all perky though.”

“Yeah,” Annita responded, looking around excitedly. “It’s a new place and the first time I’ve been in a city like this.”

“Well, not much is gonna be happenin’ around these times. It’s mostly bars that’re open. Rest o’ the city is gettin’ ready tae turn in.”

“Damn, no night life at all?” Anni asked, a bit disappointed. She was sure in a world of magic something fun would be happening at all hours.

“Eh? Me bein’ who I am, wasn’t much time fer me tae explore things like tha’. Probably something to…” another yawn “explore when I’m not knackered. Maybe tomorrow? Been lookin’ forward tae some down time with ya.”

“Hey, we get our money tomorrow right? I can finally buy you that dinner.”

As the conversation turned flirty, Bren abruptly said his goodnight and went inside.

“I hope we’re not making him too uncomfortable,” Ann said, slightly worried at his reaction.

“Nae, we’re not. It’s just how he is around more intimate stuff. Private is the best word I have fer it. He’ll get used tae it an’ stick around more. Give ‘im some time.” Kat said as she leaned up against the outside of the Association. “Cause I doubt from tomorrow on we’re gonna be subtle.”

“I sure hope not, depending on circumstances,” Ann grinned, leaning next to Kat, staring up at the cloud-streaked sky. The moon lit the fluffy trails with silver light as they slowly made their way overhead. “Be nice to have a girlfriend again.”

“I can agree with tha’.” Kat smiled to herself. “Been a while fer me too. Lots’a fightin’ an’ bein’ out in the wilderness doesn’t really give ye much chance at datin’.”

“Try being asleep for five thousand years,” Annita laughed. “I think I have the whole world beat on a dry streak.”

“No shit ye do,” Kat laughed back. “It’s a wonder ye’re not fallin’ all over yerself at the sight o’ me.”

“Now that’s a bit vain, isn’t it?” Ann asked, cocking an eyebrow at the Alf.

“Look at me. I remember the looks I got when ye first saw me. If I can get those looks from someone who looks like ye do, I’m sexy.” Kat laughed again, her upper body shaking with mirth as she tried to puff out her chest in a false bravado.

“Says the woman who was drooling over me just as much, but I’ve got an excuse. A Goddess given one.” Ann retorted.

“Aye, but that just makes me all the more impressive. All natural.” Another cheeky grin split her lips as she wave her hands over her curves. “But, fer real, I am tired. Gods I’m lookin’ forward tae tomorrow. Hope ye’ve been thinkin o’ ideas. I’ve got a few of my own.”

As she talked, she turned and lead Ann up the stairs to their room, the boards of the stairs creaking softly under their weight. They opened the door and undressed, down to their small clothes. Ann was topless, just in boxers while Kat had her simple bra and panties.

“I will apologize though,” Kat yawned again. “I’m exhausted, an’ I’m probably not gonna be up tae helpin’ ye tonight. At least not as intensely as normal.”

“That’s fine,” Ann reassured. “You’ve done a ton for me today, get some sleep. I’ll just handle it the old fashioned way.”

Kat flopped back on her bed, her hair and braids splaying out behind her. She stretched with another yawn. “An’ after tomorrow, can have a lot less self imposed restrictions.”

Annita felt her cock twitch with the implication. “Yeah, we can. Get some sleep, you sexy Alf. You’re going to need it for tomorrow.”

“You too, Ann. Don’t be up too long fantasizin’ about me.” Kat let out a deeper yawn that shook her body. “Night.”

“Good night.” Ann smiled at her friend as she drifted off. Once she heard the slow steady breaths of Kat’s sleep, she got up and handled her business in the washroom. Flashes of Kat’s body kept racing through her mind, the feeling of her skin, the strong muscles wrapping around her. It didn’t take much before she had finished.

Slipping under her sheets, she laid facing Kat, watching the woman sleep softly. She quickly dozed off herself, eagerly anticipating the day ahead.