Chapter 21: Chapter Twenty: So Many New Friends, I Could Just Die!

            Leo and Hugh had been walking for over two hours, trying to find their way through a city of over a hundred thousand. A city they had never been in. Finding one lady’s house, when they didn’t have house numbers or any kind of registry, was quite challenging—the proverbial needle in the haystack.

            Lily had stayed with George to be the formal opposing part in the negotiation for the sale of the two Bloodline scrolls, with the understanding that Hugh was owed half of whatever the net was, rather than the lesser of the two sales.

            Leo had been asking the locals the way to find Ola the Seamstress, and he got directions… but mostly, he made it one to two streets over before needing new ones in the winding hell of narrow stone and dirt streets that made up the city. An orderly grid it wasn’t.

            But completion of the side quest lay within his grasp. He stared at a decently-sized house, two stories, perhaps with a dozen rooms, and a ‘seamstress’ sign hung out front. The windows were all covered in closed shutters, and there was no yard at all. It wasn’t the most inviting place. Leo took a few steps to the stained, wooden door and rapped sharply.

            A moment later, a feminine voice yelled, “Who calls?”

            “I’m Leo,” Leo shouted. “I have a message from George and an offer he requested me to make.”

            A moment later, an elf woman opened the door. She had deep-copper-colored hair and bloodshot, watery-green eyes, and she was quite thin. Her face was lined with sorrow, however, lines that no amount of makeup would permanently remove.

            “What does George want?” the woman asked. Hugh walked up and she gave the dragon an odd glance before continuing. “Has he found the money with which to buy our son?”

            Before Leo could respond, a younger woman walked to the door beside Ola. She had slightly pointed ears but otherwise just looked Irish to Leo’s sense—copper-red hair, green eyes, pale skin, lithe frame.

            “You’re Ola?” Leo asked of the first woman.

            “That’s right,” Ola said, narrowing her eyes at Hugh. “This is my daughter, Valynrae—‘Val’ to the humans.”

            “Thank Merdrek,” Hugh muttered. “We finally found her. I swear mortal cities are hives. And you all look alike. Even the elves.”

            As Hugh complained, a young boy, who looked to be about eight or nine, ran up and peeked out the door at Leo. He was a thin child with the clear markings of an elf—long ears and the metallic hair, in this case, copper. Despite his thin body, he seemed a happy kid, smiling bravely at Hugh. The older woman put her hand on the boy’s shoulder.

            “Again,” Ola said, obviously ignoring Hugh. “Did George find a way to rescue our son?”

            “And brother,” Val added.

            Leo nodded. “Um, sort of. He convinced me to declare war on the outpost where he’s being held and rescue all the elves.”

Ola rolled her eyes. “That man never could do anything without overdoing it.”

Val put her hand to her throat. “What? Are you serious?”

“Yes. Old Chao has disappeared, and I’m aiming to re-establish the Kingdom of Averia.” Leo motioned to himself and then Hugh. “Lilianae Kuvela ap Willowynd is with us, and George wanted me to offer a spot in the expedition to you.”

            “You’re going to settle old Averia again? You? Actually, back up. Who are you?” Ola asked, her brow furrowed.

            “I’m Leo—never Leonard, that’s my dad—Evans, like I said. I’ll lead the kingdom, yes.”

“Did he tell you who I am?”

            “Ola-something the seamstress?” Leo internally winced when he couldn’t remember her name. I need to get better at that.

            “I’m… well, I was, Olanalinae Turventi ap Belmoria. The Ducal family. By what right do you claim the Kingdom of Averia?”

            “Well, um, I was asked by the ghost of the old king to take the throne.”

            The two elves’ eyes were getting so wide that they were threatening to declare a coup against the rest of their faces, but Leo didn’t see disbelief in either.

            “And I am, magically speaking, of the line of Stardew… and I would remind you again that Duchess Willowynd supports me.”

            Leo shuffled from one foot to another, unsure if he wanted to continue.

            “But the real right isn’t any of those,” Leo said, drawing his sword. “The real right is the oldest argument of kings.”

            He expected some sort of pushback, but Ola nodded. “Excellent. I’m glad to see that you’ll be able to defend us, Your Majesty. And that you have some wisdom, at least.”

            Hugh let out an explosive bark of a laugh. “‘Majesty’? Oh, man, Leo, no matter how cool you are, I don’t think I can do that.”

            “How dare you, wyrm? Where do you get the audacity?” Ola cried out.

            “Actually, I don’t really have a title yet,” Leo said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head with his free hand as he put the sword away. “I’m just ‘Leo.’ Don’t need any fancy titles.”

            “Well then, Not-King Leo,” Val said, smiling at him, “why are you here? You don’t need to tell us to rescue our brother.”

            “George said that you might want to come, you and your mother.”

            Val and Ola exchanged glances, but Ola looked down at her young son. “I think… I think I’ll pass.”

            “I would go,” Val said, her eyes shining with excitement. “If you would have me.”

            “Yeah, of course.”

            “Did you want to join the expedition at least, to make the new town?” Leo asked Ola.      

            She gave a deep sigh. “I was a noble, technically, from one of the greater dukedoms. I miss those days… I have a bloodline, as do my children. All of them. I do feel as if I have a duty to the kingdom and its people. And I would love a chance to return to a society where I am truly free, not called a ‘slavey.’ A society where my children can be free and prosperous…” Her voice trailed off for a moment. “I’ll think about it and talk to my husband. I’ll let you know.”

            “Can I ask what George is to you?” Leo asked. “I don’t fully understand the dynamic of what’s happening here, just the dark basics, and he wouldn’t talk about it.”

            “He was my master,” Ola said bluntly, her brow furrowing and her eyes narrowing. “I was captured by the orcs in the wars. When George was twenty, I was purchased and given to him to try to bring the bloodline perk into House Orsini… He was the up-and-coming genius of the house, destined to be its leader. He never let anyone forget it. And they wanted the children of the house to have a magical advantage that the others didn’t.”

            Oof. Ola’s one statement implied an incredible number of terrible things. First the orcs, and then sold to be a breeder, a cheap way to gain a bloodline… I heard all this from George, but still… This world really does have a set of mores I despise. But I’m going to build a new place, one where I can set the rules, and we, as a society, can do better. I can show this world how to be better.

            “What happened?” Leo frowned. “You don’t seem to hate him…”

            Ola smiled a sad smile. “I don’t, truthfully. He is, at heart, a good man. What happened is he fell in love, and my happiness became a prerequisite for his own. He manumitted me, and my children, against the wishes of his House, knowingly giving up his right to lead as well. Now he’s their most talented banker and dealmaker, but he’ll never be trusted again.”

            “I see.”

            Ola sighed again. “I can even appreciate his kindness and sacrifice. And he’s certainly paid enough—he spent most of the last forty years growing old, alone, without any real authority in his house. And he’ll die soon… Plus, he watched the woman he loved leave, marry another man, and have new children,”—Ola reached down and patted the boy on the head—“but, given how our relationship started, I could never be happy with him, so this isn’t really about him. It’s about me.”

            Leo was briefly nonplussed by the blatantly young-twenty something daughter next to Ola, but then he remembered the differing lifespans of elves, and assumed half-elves got some of that lifespan. But still, that makes total sense. Not sure you can come back from what he did to her, even if he didn’t understand it fully. Not sure how I feel about this all, either.

            Ola continued. “But he’s bright, very bright. And I think he does have my best interests at heart. If he says this has a chance of success, I’m sure it does… but I still need time to think and I certainly need to talk to my children and husband.”

            “If I wanted him to be the city manager of my new town, the burgeoning new empire, would that make a difference to you? Do you think he could do it and be respected by the elves, even after the evil he inflicted on you?”

            Ola blinked, and Val glanced at her sideways.

            “It would actually increase my chances of going,” Ola said, her voice a touch surprised. “Being enslaved was horrible. But I had slaves, humans like George, when I was still the young duchess. I had them whipped for mistakes, not even intentional laziness. I thought it right and natural that I rule over others… I give credit to George for concluding it’s wrong to enslave people without having to be enslaved himself. And I would speak on his behalf with any elves who objected if it came to it. I truly harbor him no ill will, intellectually… I could just never willingly be with a man when our relationship started… like that.”

            Excellent. I wouldn’t want to start a settlement with that kind of rift, Leo thought. “Thank you, ma’am. And sorry to bother you.”

            “Not at all. Good day, Leo Evans. Whether I join or not, may Livesti, goddess of Luck, shower her blessings upon you. My people could surely use some luck for once.”

***

            Leo pushed his way back through the door of the Dragon’s Rest Inn, and Val followed him closely. She was now dressed in a shiny, new chain shirt over padding and a leather skirt, and she carried a short-sword. A fancy bow was strapped to her back, alongside a quiver. They walked in to nary a glance from the large evening crowd, a thankful change from the usual disdainful stares that elves got.

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As Hugh entered behind them, however, a couple of people gave sodden cheers. A lot of people are already in their cups, and I presume they’re hoping the entertainment has arrived.

            Hugh raised one forepaw and waved in the general direction of the largest grouping of people.

            Leo’s eyes roved the tables. He quickly picked Lily out of the crowd, sitting at an otherwise unoccupied table. She was absolutely beautiful, her long, silver hair covered in a fine net of silvered lace and pearls as it hung straight down her back, and the dress she wore was green this time but still intricate and complex and fancy.

Leo made his way over, but as he did, a man stepped up beside Lily, holding a glass of wine out.

            “Hey,” the man said. “You’re so beautiful, I wish I were cross-eyed, so that I might see you twice.”

            Lily glanced at the man, a muscled, crop-haired brute of medium height, who was dressed in leather armor and carrying a short-sword on his hip—obviously a merc or guard. “I thank you for your compliment, but I wish not to be courted at this time.”

            “C’mon. A slavey like you isn’t going to find a better option. You should give me a shot.”

            Leo sighed. Apparently, even in other dimensions, some guys just don’t know how to handle rejection.

            Leo felt for the guy—putting yourself out there for potential rejection was hard. But you still couldn’t be an ass about it, period.

He made his way through the tavern crowd, hoping to intervene before things could go too far, but Lily stared at the man for a moment and then spoke, still in reasonable tones. “I’m willing to take my chances, but I do thank you for your interest. For the now, however, I’d rather just wait for my companions.”

For a wonder, two rejections were enough, and the man wandered off without further trouble.

“Sorry that guy was such a jerk,” Leo said as he took a seat across from Lily, Hugh moving up to the table between them. Val stepped back a few feet, giving them a sense of privacy.

“He seemed a perfect gentleman,” Lily said. “Not even a third try after I said no twice, and he didn’t try to press himself up against me.”

Leo wasn’t sure how to process that beyond a vague thought, again, that the mores of this world really were darker.

Then Lily flicked her hair back. “Although, he was very obviously unworthy of me, but still, I saw nothing wrong with his conduct beside that delusion.”

Not touching that, right or wrong, with a ten-foot pole, Leo thought. Time for a distraction. Leo pointed back at Val. “This is Val—Val Belmoria, descendent of the ducal family. She’s going to be joining us for her brother’s rescue.”

Lily’s eyes went wide, and Leo knew she was absorbing most of the story’s outline from his few words.

“Pleased to meet you, Val,” Lily said, starting to get up.

“Please,” Val said, waving her down from her position a few feet away. “We can talk more later, lady Willowynd, for now, let me guard you.”

Lily gave a regal tilt of her head to Val and turned back to face Leo.

“So, how’d we do?” Leo asked.

Lily leaned in close. “Five thousand, seven hundred, sitting in our new account at the Shield Bank.” She smelled of rosewater.

Leo whistled. “About where we suspected, maybe a touch less. But good enough. Means we have almost three thousand to purchase everything to establish our new settlement. We’ll be a bit short, but we can do it. We’ll need to wait on the special projects till later.”

Lily nodded, grimacing a bit. “And the dragon has an amazing hoard.”

“Actually, the dragon, who is right here, has been thinking,” Hugh said. “I feel weird, and my dragon soul is very uncomfortable with what I’m about to do, but, well… I’ll just take a thousand gold for my hoard and leave you with the rest of it. Well, I’ll do it if you promise me I’ll get it back someday when your bright and shiny new city doesn’t need it, and maybe a bit of extra if I’ve earned it.”

Hugh preened a bit.

Leo lifted an eyebrow.

“I mean, I keep dwelling on the fact that most of our victories have been Leo’s, and he did save my life…” Hugh snorted. “And yet he was the one helping everyone for basically nothing. It’s making me feel like an ungrateful jerk.”

“Is that right?” Leo muttered.

Hugh smiled sheepishly. “That icky feeling is my conscience, right?”

Leo chuckled. “Your memory for small details impresses me.”

Hugh’s smile widened, which on a dragon was a threatening baring of teeth. “Point is, it doesn’t feel like I really earned all this… but I plan to stay with you a while, so maybe once I’ve helped you grow and protect the stuff you care about, it’ll feel like I earned it for real.”

Leo reached over and rubbed Hugh’s eye ridge before Hugh batted his hand away.

“Thanks, buddy,” Leo said. “Really.”

“Eh, it’s fine. I know I owe you, and you’ve had my back since I met you. First person who ever did—shame you aren’t a dragon and will die so soon. But I doubt your personality will change now, so I know you’ll at least try to have my back forever, so long as I don’t go villain or something dumb like that.”

“Yeah.”

“And I know you’ll try to get my money back to me someday. I can cackle over my hoard, bone hot dragonesses, and ignore the world when I’m older, and you’re dead and gone.”

Leo smirked. Weirdly morbid for a heartfelt friendship-is-magic speech.

“Still,” Lily said, bowing toward Hugh in her chair. “That’s extremely generous. I thank you as well, friend Hugh. And don’t worry too much about Leo being selfless—he gets to be king now, and it’s good to be king.”

Funny, Leo thought. We have the same saying.

“Don’t you be getting all mushy on me,” Hugh said back to her. “I still need someone to argue with.”

“Fair enough, foul wyrm,” Lily said without any heat at all. “Tomorrow is shopping day, where we need to purchase what we need for the expedition. You joining us?”

Hugh snorted. “Nah. I’m gonna go convert part of my thousand gold into a lot of jewels and gems and art objects and whatever, really spruce up the lair I plan to make near wherever you guys build your mortal hive. For when the lady dragons might come visit.”

“Polly?” Leo asked.

“Yeah.”

“All right, well, fair enough. Although given how much trouble we got into today, I almost wish we were still going to be traveling together while we run errands tomorrow.”

“You’ll be okay, buddy,” Hugh loudly said, pulling himself half-standing with one claw so that he could pat Leo on the head. “I believe in you.”

Lily laughed, and Leo was pretty sure he heard a strangled snort from Val as well.

“Ass.” Leo leaned backward as Hugh dropped down to the ground.

“So, what’s the next step?” Lily asked.

“Find Commander Meryl Cavendil, that lady we met last night—the same one that was recommended by George,” Leo said. “We need to hire Cavendil’s Coterie.”

“You’re really gonna hire me?” a voice came from behind him, and Leo turned.

There she was. The captain of the mercenary group, in all her glory.

“Hire me for what, by the way?” Meryl asked, one hand on the hilt of her sword, the other on her hip.

Leo smiled. “So, here’s the plan…”

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