I thought Emily would stay quiet and concentrate on our surroundings but that wasn’t the case. She continued to chat like we were still back in the safety of the castle. It seemed like she was indifferent to the dangers of the abandoned city. I couldn’t help wondering how powerful a mage she actually was.

It didn’t take long for me to get lost with all the twists and turns she was taking through the streets and alleys of the capital. I just had to trust that she knew where she was going. Finally, the surroundings started to look familiar. Soon enough we reached the inn we had been using.

At first I didn’t see anyone around. It could be they were still all out looking for me. Then I heard a meow and saw Shadow sitting on a nearby wall. I was about to go over to her when Emily beat me to it. She shrieked in excitement while rushing over to the startled cat. Before I knew it, she had scooped Shadow up into her arms.

Shadow seemed concerned at first but as the petting began, she was soon purring loudly. “This must be Shadow, she is so cute and fluffy.” Emily gushed, smiling brightly. She then began to talk to Shadow like a baby. “Um, yeah that’s her. I’ll go check inside.” I replied, leaving the pair to bond.

Before I could reach the door, Nix came out with weapon in hand. “I wondered what all the noise was about. Good to see you safe and sound.” She said, surveying the area before putting her weapon away. “You really had your wives worried about you. They are still out looking with Torg and Lux. I’ll signal them that you came back.” She continued, pulling out a metal rod and firing it into the air.

It was the magical equivalent of a flare gun which shot a colorful burst into the sky that could be seen for miles. “There, they should see that and come back running. Now how about you introduce me to your new friend.” She said with a wink while gesturing at Emily who was still cuddling with Shadow.

“Sure. Emily, I’d like to introduce you to Nix. She is one of the members of our party.” I said, walking over to her with Nix by my side. Emily had been too busy with Shadow to notice Nix but when she did it was another big reaction. “Wow, a real-life cat girl. Amazing!” Emily exclaimed, going around Nix while looking her up and down intently.

I was afraid that Nix would get offended when I translated what Emily said but luckily she seemed amused. “And where did you find this one? She seems fun.” Nix asked, chuckling. “She found me actually. She saved me then took me to the castle.” I decided not to go into too much detail until everyone was back so I wouldn’t have to repeat myself.

“Oh, I can’t wait to get a look inside the castle.” Nix replied, with a greedy look in her eye. Emily continued looking over Nix and even tried grabbing her tail but Nix skillfully kept it away from her. “You’ll need to get to know me a lot better before I let you play with my tail.” Nix said suggestively. I didn’t know if she was into girls too or just teasing. In any case I told Emily to calm down.

Shadow had enough of being in Emily’s arms so squirmed and jumped down before rubbing against my legs. This made Emily pout cutely while Nix just laughed. We all went inside the inn to wait for the rest of the party. We didn’t have to wait too long before the girls came charging through the door. They made a beeline for me, ignoring Emily and Nix.

I could see the relief on their faces as they hugged and kissed me. That didn’t last long however, and soon I was being chastised for being too reckless. About that time Torg and Lux entered the inn as well. Both smiled at my predicament which then turned into curious frowns as they spotted Emily.

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For her part Emily seemed overly excited again seeing my wives. She followed their swishing tails with eager eyes. I just hoped she could control herself. My wives finally noticed the stranger in our midst and gave her a once over. Afterwards they both rounded on me with raised eyebrows, demanding and explanation.

“So, now that we are all here I’d like to introduce Emily. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be spider food by now. She was summoned here just like me but has been alone longer than I was so you’ll have to forgive her excitement at seeing people again. She also can’t understand your language yet.” I explained.

I translated for Emily while introducing her to everyone. Then she seemed to remember something. “Oh right, I always wanted to try that spell out.” She said while mumbling some incantation to herself. She was then bathed in light for a few seconds. “Can you understand me now?” she asked. Whatever she had done worked and she was now speaking the same language as everyone else.

Ann was intrigued. “Was that a language spell?” She asked curiously. “Yup, I learned it just in case but never met anyone to try it out on. I’m glad it worked.” Emily replied happily. “If you are all alone how did you learn any spells?” Ann asked moving closer to Emily. “Oh, I learned from books in the library. It was a lot of work but fun. When we go back to the palace I can show you.” Emily replied.

At the mention of the large castle in the middle of the city, everyone’s eyes lit up. For Ann it was probably the mention of the library though. It was quickly decided to move ourselves to the castle before nightfall. Everyone went to their respective rooms to pack while Emily waited with Shadow who she had managed to grab again.

After everyone was ready Emily began leading us back to the castle. It looked like she was taking the same route we had taken before which made sense. We hadn’t encountered any problems on the way so hopefully going back would be the same. She chatted the whole time with the other girls while us guys brought up the rear.

Emily hadn’t let go of Shadow during our trek and kept petting her lovingly. I could tell Shadow would rather be loose exploring though. I couldn’t really tell what the girls were talking about but every so often they would look back at me and giggle. It made me feel very uneasy. I asked Torg if he could hear what they were saying but he just smiled at me.

We reached the palace as Emily called it without incident and she began to give us the grand tour. She hadn’t shown me around yet either so I was just as curious as everyone else. First, she showed us to rooms we could use which were similar to the one I woke up in after she saved me. Then it was to the large dining hall and kitchens.

After that she guided us to a fancy training hall which we would definitely try out later. She even showed us to the old throne room. It was empty of course but lavishly decorated. I had half expected to see a skeleton sitting on the throne with a crown on its head. There was also a vault but unfortunately she hadn’t figured out how to open it. We practically had to pry Nix away from the vault door.

She could tell Ann was getting antsy so finally showed us to the large royal library. It was certainly impressive. I had a feeling we wouldn’t be getting Ann out of it anytime soon. The rest of us were getting hungry so headed to the kitchen and dining room. On the way she showed us some of the larger storerooms filled with various goods. She didn’t neglect to show us how to open the seemingly locked doors.

Emily was all smiles as she gave the tour. I would say she was very happy to have company after all this time. My group seemed to be getting along with her fine, especially the women. Maybe a little too fine if you asked me. I still didn’t know what they had been talking about but nothing was off limits to these girls.

It would be extremely embarrassing if they had been talking about our love life. I could feel my cheeks getting red just thinking about it. Emily chose that moment to look over at me. For some reason she gave me a wink and giggled. I didn’t know what that was about but had a bad feeling.