Sierra knocked on the door to Nathaniel’s house, and once again Ralia opened it. Ralia sighed and gestured for her to come in, and Sierra followed her into the dining room where Nathaniel was eating breakfast with a girl sitting on his lap. He was feeding her directly from his plate, and she was happily humming to herself.
“Morning Sierra,” Nathaniel said getting her attention.
“Morning,” Sierra said keeping her eyes on the girl. She noticed the girls feathery, pointed ear, “Did you get a new slave?” her smile strained.
“In a sense,” Nathaniel said, “She wasn’t in the greatest shape when I saw her, so I bought her to try and give her a better life.”
“You’re so kind master,” the girl said rubbing her cheek against him.
“So, you wanted to take care of her?” Sierra said petting the girl.
“Pretty much,”
“Who are you,” the girl said smiling at her.
“I’m Sierra, I’m a friend of Nathaniel’s,”
“I’m Hope,”
“Good to meet you Hope,” Sierra smiled.
“Please stop humoring her,” Ralia said sitting down, “She’s already spoiled as it is.”
“You’re jealous everyone likes me more,” Hope said with a smirk.
Ralia growled but stopped when Nathaniel glared at her.
“Can I ask a favor Sierra,” Nathaniel said. She nodded and he stood up revealing that Hope’s limbs were missing, “Could you watch Hope for a few hours for me. I need to run to the dungeon for some supplies.”
“Sure,” Sierra said, “I’ll gladly watch over her for you.”
Nathaniel entered the core room of the dungeon, “Welcome back master,” Seneschal said, “How was your trip?”
“It went well for the most part,” Nathaniel said placing the drafted prosthetics into the core, “But I need your advice. I purchased another slave, but… she was abused by her previous owner, and she no longer has any limbs.”
Seneschal projected the draft with updates, “So, you’re wanting to invent robotic prosthetics,” it said, “I notice you are wanting to surgically attach them too, why?”
“For stability,” Nathaniel said, “I should be able to use the runes of this world to make true cybernetic prosthetics.”
“I see,” Seneschal said, “This… will be a costly endeavor. First, I would recommend building the skeleton out of orichalcum,” a projection of the metal appeared in front of Nathaniel, “Orichalcum is naturally infused with magic so it's more effective than arcane alloys. We can then manufacture the outer plating with another metal, perhaps mithril. However, the biggest issue will be the surgery itself.”
“Why,”
“Simply put, I don’t think this world has developed the surgical skills needed,” Seneschal replied, “Together we can develop a surgical robot to aid in the process, but we’ll need a proper surgeon to take part in the operation, and it will need to be one with at least an Advanced rank. Anything less will most likely cause the surgery to fail.”
“The new healer I brought is actually a surgeon, but I think he’s of the basic rank,” Nathaniel frowned in thought, “How many levels would it take to promote him to advance?”
“At least fifteen,”
“Damn, that would pretty much force us to start all over,” Nathaniel said, “Do we have the resources to get the core back up to its current level?”
“No,” Seneschal brought up the dungeon’s inventory, “The most valuable items we have are the seven gold bars. That would restore the core to level twelve. I should be able to reconfigure the domain to encompass our current facilities, barely.”
“How long would it take us to get back to the current level?”
“About…ten months,”
Nathaniel sighed heavily, “An acceptable loss,”
“There’s another problem,” Nathaniel rubbed his face in frustration, “We’re still lacking the necessary components,” the projection returned to the prosthetics, but it broke them down to individual components, “We don’t have enough orichalcum and mithril. It’ll take at least eight bars of orichalcum to make the skeletal frames, and six mithril for the outer plating. Unfortunately, we only have two orichalcum and three mithril, which I should remind you, you were saving for ‘Project Paladin.’”
“And how much would I need for that?” Nathaniel scratched the back of his head.
“Seven orichalcum and ten mithril.”
“I’ll figure something out,” Nathaniel said, “Can we ramp up production on the mugs, knives, and telescopic swords?”
“We could, but that would also drain our resources,”
“I understand,” Nathaniel said, “I’ll bring the surgeon in to get his rank upgraded. After that feed all the golden bars to the dungeon core. After that, I’ll figure it out.”
Nathaniel stepped into the small church sitting in the center of town. It reminded him of the churches you saw in westerns. A small single room with a raised platform and podium for the pastor, and a dozen or so pews lined up neatly. Sister Rose was kneeling at the altar behind the podium. Not wanting to disturb her, Nathaniel sat in the front pew.
After a few minutes Rose stood, and smiled when she saw him, “Good afternoon, Nathaniel, what brings you here?”
“I came to check on our new healer,” Nathaniel said, “How have you been Rose?”
“Blessed as always,” Rose said with a light chuckle, “Even more so now that we have a true healer.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind Elias and Daisy staying here?” Nathaniel said looking around, “Lydia’s house has more than enough room.”
Rose laughed, “Don’t you mean your house,” Nathaniel chuckled and shook his head, “It’s fine Nathaniel. It may be small, but I enjoy having people here. It helps with the loneliness.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize,”
“You’ve had a lot to deal with these last couple months,” Rose said with a sly smile, “And I’m sure you have your hands full now that you have a few women staying with you,” she led him to a single door to the side, “I’ll take you to them.”
Rose led Nathaniel to a sitting room where Elias was sitting next to Daisy. He was reading a fairy tale to her. Daisy smiled as she looked up at the door which caused Elias to stop reading.
“Nathaniel, what brings you here?” Elias said.
“I have something I need to discuss with you,” Nathaniel said, “Is it alright if we speak in private.”
“Sure,” Elias looked at Rose, “Do you mind watching Daisy for me?”
“Of course,”
Elias kissed Daisy’s forehead and followed Nathaniel back into the sanctuary.
“There’s someplace else I want to talk. It’s a little out of the way,” Nathaniel said. Elais nodded and continued following, “How are you liking Treante?”
“Quite well actually,” Elias smiled, “I’m glad everyone was so accepting of us. Daisy has even made friends with several girls around town, especially the barmaid.”
“How do you like staying at the church? You two could have stayed with me until your house is built.”
“I’m thankful for the offer, but I think this is for the best,” he said with a slight smile, “Besides, I think staying with sister Rose is good for us. Daisy needs a motherly figure to rely on and I…” Elias cleared his throat and brushed back his hair, “I have come to enjoy her company,” He glanced over at Nathaniel, “I’m sure you agree.”
“Not in the way you’re thinking,” Nathaniel said with a sad smile, “But I agree. I relied on her a lot before Lydia died.”
“Was that…your wife?”
Nathaniel shook his head, “No, adopted mother,” he said, “I became close friends with her husband when I was stationed at Fort Cadarn. When it fell, I traveled all the way here to tell her the news, and she ended up taking me in.”
“Fort Cadarn!” Elias stared at him in shock, “You were stationed there?”
“Yes sir,” Nathaniel said, “Made a lot of friends there, but none seemed to have made it. Some kind of hero I am.”
“H-hero?”
“What I’m about to tell you needs to stay between us,” Nathaniel said and opened his menu to Elias.
“Y-you’re the Inventor Hero,” Elias said, “Everyone says you’re dead.”
“I’m still alive,” Nathaniel laughed nervously, “I’ve been staying here to level myself up, and working on my new inventions,” he looked to the dungeon entrance, “Speaking of which. [Warp]”
Elias blinked rapidly as the light surrounded them, and then his jaw dropped when he noticed their surroundings. The white lights reflected off the metal walls, and the blue lights coming from the computer consoles were trying to steal his attention, but his eyes eventually fell onto the dungeon core.
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“By the Archons,”
“Welcome Dr. Elias,”
Elias jumped, “Who are you?”
“I’m Seneschal, I assist master Nathaniel in running the dungeon,”
“Dungeon…you claimed a dungeon!” Elias gasped staring at Nathaniel is amazement, “I thought only monsters and demons did that.”
“Why not claim a dungeon?” Nathaniel said, “I don’t understand why no one besides myself have tried it.”
“I…I’m not sure,” Elias said in thought, “Although I can read and write, I’m not as educated as I’d like to be. But from what I know, the Church of the Archons warns about claiming dungeons. Maybe sister Rose could tell you more.”
“Perhaps you should complete this conversation at another time,” Seneschal said.
“You’re right,” Nathaniel said, “Elias, I brought you here to ask for a favor,” he nodded to Seneschal and a projection of the cybernetic limbs appeared, “I’m wanting to invent these for Hope, but the problem is that I need a surgeon of Advanced rank to perform the operation.”
“Are these…metal arms, and legs.”
“Yes,” Nathaniel said, “I’m still working on getting the materials, but I’d like to use the core to increase your rank to Advanced.”
“I-increase…my rank,” Elias stared at the core, “It can do that?”
“Easily, but you’ll first need to become a minion to the dungeon,” Seneschal said. Elias stared at the core in terror, “You won’t be bound to the dungeon, it’ll recognize you as a member and allow you to enter whenever you want.”
Elias stared at the blueprints, “C-could you do the same for Daisy,” he said, “Could you invent something to help her see again?”
“I could,”
“But you’ll still be needed,” Seneschal continued, “Much like the cybernetic limbs, surgery would most likely be needed.”
Elias stared at his shaking hands, “What must I do?”
“Touch the core,” Seneschal said, “A prompt should appear asking if you want to become a member. Accept and I shall begin the rank upgrade process.”
Elias touched the core. Nathaniel waited for him to accept and noticed several maintenance bots bringing in the gold bars. The core started glowing, and Elias fell to his knees, screaming in pain. When the light faded, The dungeon core was back to the size of a mid-sized human. Elias got to his feet, but his legs were violently shaking.
“Did it work?” Nathaniel said holding onto Elias.
Elias was laughing hysterically, “I-I’m now Advanced rank,” he said turning to Nathaniel, “I even have boons now.”
Several loud explosions shook the dungeon, “Seneschal!” Nathaniel looked to the core. The core’s level seven now. Which means he’s no longer active.
“Apologies master,” Seneschal said, “I was taking care of some issue that suddenly arose. I’ll have the maintenance bots feed the gold bars now.”
“You’re still active!”
“Of course,” Seneschal said, “Once an ability has been unlocked, it will remain so until the core is fully extracted.” The core glowed once again, and it grew slightly, “We are now back to level twelve. I’ll begin reconfiguring the domain. I had to permanently shut down a few of the robots since we now exceed the minion limit. Better than letting them go rogue and attacking the dungeon.”
“Good,” Nathaniel sighed, “Focus on gathering high valuable resources first. I want to try and get the core back to level twenty.”
Nathaniel sat at the table looking at the records in front of him. A month had passed, and he still couldn’t think of a way to get the materials. He sighed as he placed his head in his hands. Someone tenderly touched his shoulders, and he felt the tension ease a bit.
“Is everything all right master?” Ralia said, her thumb gently massaged his collarbone.
“I was able to make a new plan to get the core back to level twenty,” Nathaniel said, “But I still can’t think of a way to get the materials needed for Hope's cybernetics.”
“Do you not have the money to buy them?”
“Not even close,” Nathaniel pulled out another sheet, “From what Porman told me, a single bar of mithril is about two hundred gold, and a single bar of orichalcum is three hundred-fifty. I need four thousand gold in total for everything, but what I’m bringing in from the metal works is barely making a dent in that. And I probably won’t see a return on the weapons for several months, if not a year.”
“Then why not breed the Quarmane woman,” Ralia said with a slight growl, “I’m certain the merchant would gladly give you the materials for a child.”
She’s not wrong. Nathaniel shook his head, “No, I won’t do that,” he said, “I need to have some principles if I want to be a hero.”
“I don’t understand why you’re so against it,” Ralia said, “It’s a male’s duty to continue the bloodline.”
“I’m not arguing with you Ralia,” Nathaniel said, “Leave it alone.”
“Fine,” Ralia huffed, “But isn’t Hope worthy of some sacrifices?” She walked off before he could respond.
Nathaniel rose from the table and quietly went upstairs. He stepped into the room next to his and looked down at Hope sleeping. He gently brushed the hair from her face. Ralia’s right.
The next morning, Nathaniel loaded the cart, and dropped Hope off at the church before heading to Rumand. The trip was calm with no issues, and that afternoon he was pulling into the Quarmane trading house. The workers quickly emptied the wagon as Nathaniel and Ralia headed upstairs.
Cymella smiled as he stepped into the office, “Welcome back Nathaniel,”
“It’s good to see you again,” Nathaniel said taking a seat on the couch, “I’ve brought another shipment.”
“Excellent,” Cymella said sitting next to him, “I also have the new sales figures.” She passed him a piece of paper.
Nathaniel chuckled, “Three hundred gold for the last shipment,” he said, “That’s less than I expected.”
“Unfortunately, so,” Cymella said, “Considering that we’ve been selling your mugs for six months it’s safe to say we’ve saturated Rumand’s market, but we’re working to sell them at our other branches. It’ll just take a little longer for the sales to come back.”
“What about the swords?”
“We’re still negotiating with the marquess,” Cymella smiled, “And it looks like they’ll buy the lot for a thousand gold, but we still need to finalize it.”
“And how long before I see my cut?” Nathaniel said.
“A few more months,” Cymella said, “Is there a reason why you need the money?”
“It’s not the money really. I have a few personal projects that require high end materials like mithril and orichalcum.”
“And how many do you need?”
Nathaniel cleared his throat, “fifteen orichalcum bars and sixteen mithril.”
Cymella’s smile broke, “That’s…going to take some time,” she said, “I’m sure we can work something out.”
“Right now, I need six orichalcum and three mithril,” Nathaniel said, “I need those for a project that I’m working on for Hope.”
“Why don’t we sleep on it,” Cymella said pressing against him, “I’m certain we can work something out, tonight. Why don’t you head over to the mansion to get some rest.” Nathaniel nodded as he left.
Ralia watched as Nathaniel sat on the sofa in his common room. His legs were fidgeting, and he stared at the ground. He’d been acting like this ever since they arrived at the mansion.
“Master, did you bring a whetstone?” Ralia said standing behind him, “I noticed my spear was looking a little dull and I want to sharpen it.”
“It shouldn’t be dull,” Nathaniel said, “It’s made of an alloy from arcane steel and adamantium.”
“Still, better to be prepared,” Ralia gave him a small smile.
“I’ll go check,”
Nathaniel headed off to his room, and as soon as the door closed, she quickly ran to her room and pulled out the bulging sack carrying her armor. She quietly stalked down the hall until she ran into a maid.
“Where is mistress Cymella’s room?”
The maid jumped, “It’s over on the other side of the mansion,”
“Take me there, now,” Ralia stared down the girl.
The maid squeaked and quickly led Ralia down the hall. It wasn’t as far as she thought it was, in fact, Cymella’s room was almost next door to Nathaniel’s. She was clearly planning this from the beginning. The maid gently knocked on the door, but Ralia pushed past her.
The guest rooms were luxurious but simple, which was a complete contrast to Cymella’s. Fine paintings and curtains covered the walls. A mahogany liquor cabinet was fully stocked and a few steps from the soft sofa that could snuggly sit two people. Fresh incense gave the room a lovely lavender and cinnamon scent.
Cymella simply stared at Ralia, “You’re not who I was expecting,” she said holding a vial.
Cymella’s sheer silk nightgown clung tightly to her hips and bust, and in the right light it silhouetted her curvaceous figure. The deep neckline exposed the beauty mark on her right breast, and the high slit on the left side allowed her to show off her supple legs. I can’t deny her beauty.
“Well, what do you want?” Cymella said cocking her hip, “I’m expecting someone in a few minutes.” She smiled coyly.
“I’ve come to make a trade,” Ralia threw the bag onto the ground, “My armor for the materials my master needs.”
Cymella smiled in amusement and snapped at the maid. The maid pulled out the armor and laid it onto the small table in front of the sofa. Slowly, Cymella inspected each piece, her eyes taking it in greedily.
“Obviously Nathaniel’s work,” Cymella cooed, “It’s so…beautiful,” she looked to Ralia, “But do you truly think this is worth the six orichalcum bars and three mithril?”
“No,” Ralia stared daggers at the woman, “I think it’s worth twice that, if not more,” She tapped the armor, “It’s made from an alloy of adamantium and arcane steel which makes its stronger than any other armor out there. It even has runes that can be found on no other armor like the awareness rune on the helmet and recall rune on the right gauntlet for the spear. There’s even a telescopic shield on the left gauntlet, and speed runes on the boots. There is literally no other armor like it.”
“Quite impressive, but who would buy it?”
“A noble obviously,” Ralia scoffed, “They’ll easily buy it for themselves, whether to wear or for decoration. They could even gift it to the heroes,” the thought caused Ralia to growl, “Or even sell it to the Guild. Mother knows they would pay any price to get their hands on it.”
“True,” Cymella smirked as she stepped close to Ralia, “But I think I’d rather discuss this with Nathaniel. He has something…more valuable to me and my husband.”
Ralia growled, but underneath the heavy scent of incense and perfume there was another. A sweet smell that reminded her of milk.
Ralia smiled back, “Have you laid with your husband recently?"
“No, I haven’t,” Cymella said, “But I did enjoy a few nights with the Champion at a ball over in Opren. It was a celebration in honor of their next expedition to the front lines.”
“A pity,” Ralia’s smile turned victorious, “It’ll be difficult to sire master’s child, seeing as you already pregnant.”
Cymella’s smile vanished, “What are you talking about?”
“You reek of a woman becoming a mother,” Ralia said touching her nose.
“Dammit, you’re lying!”
“Am I?” Ralia said standing over her, “I could always call master over. His [Intuition] can settle this matter for sure,” Cymella bit her thumb, “You’re in quite the predicament,” Ralia chuckled, “You could terminate the filthy spawn, but that would be waste of a hero’s child, and by the time you’ll be ready for another, master will easily have enough saved to buy the materials outright.”
“Dammit,” Cymella glared at the armor, “Fine, I’ll take the trade,” she said staring at the potion in her hands, “Looks like I won’t need this fertility draught,” she smiled waving in front of Ralia, “Do you want it?”
Ralia stared at the small glass vial. Her hands itching to take it, “No thanks,” she said.
“Suit yourself,” Cymella said tucking the vial between her breasts, “It’ll take me a few days, but I’ll have the materials gathered before you both return home,” her smile vanished to a challenging glare, “It’s only a matter of time before I have my way with him, you know.”
Ralia returned the glare, “It’s my job to protect him, even from you.” She turned and quickly left the room.
Ralia walked down the hall for a few feet before she let out a deep sigh. Her tail shivered and a sad smile came to her lips. Ralia walked boldly back to Nathaniel’s common room. When she entered, Nathaniel rose from the sofa and approached her.
“Where’d you go Ralia,” Nathaniel said, “I thought you wanted to sharpen your spear.”
Ralia hugged herself, “I…won’t be needing it, now,” she said trying to fight the tears, “I’m sorry…about that.”
Nathaniel’s eyes went wide, “Ralia, what did you do?”
“You bought me to protect you,” Ralia said, “And I will protect you from everything, even yourself,” she gently touched his cheek, “I…couldn’t stand seeing you suffer, so…I made the sacrifice for you,” she rested her head against his chest, “I’m sorry…I won’t be able to cherish the armor you made.”
Nathaniel embraced her, “Thank you,” he said petting her hair, “Thank you for doing that for me. I promise, the next armor I make you will outshine this one.”
“Can…I ask for something else,”
“You can ask for anything,” Nathaniel smiled at her.
Ralia kissed his cheek, “Please…take me to your bed.”
“All right,” Nathaniel kissed her back.
Nathaniel let his head rest against the pillow. He scratched at the bruises that were starting to form along his neck and chest. Ralia was a bit overzealous in showing her affection. Apparently, dragon-hearts prefer rough lovemaking. He let his left arm drape around Ralia’s middle, and he pulled her close.
“I regret not taking that fertility potion,” Ralia sighed as she took his hand and moved it to her breasts.
“Why didn’t you?” Nathaniel kissed and gently bit her shoulder.
Ralia moaned, “Because I didn’t want to owe that woman anything,”
“I think it’s good you didn’t take it,” Nathaniel smiled, “What would I do without my beautiful dragon-lady protecting me.”
“You’d figure something out,” Ralia chuckled kissing his knuckles. She playfully nibbled his fingers, “You’re a hero after all.”
“Maybe,” Nathaniel kissed her neck, “But I still need you by my side.”
Ralia rolled around and kissed him deeply, “I’ll never leave you,” she said, “Not until you get rid of me.”
“I’m never getting rid of you,” Nathaniel said fingering her collar, “If anything, I want to set you free.”
“I’d rather keep the collar, if it means I can stay.”
“I’d want you to stay even after I remove this shitty collar,”
Ralia tightly hugged him, “I look forward to that day.”