“Are there any secret rules I should know about?”

  “Gareth! For the hundredth time, it is just dinner. Focus on the path or the shadows will drag you off.”

  “It's fine- ooof!” He grunted as something yanked his ankle out from under him and started dragging him into the depths of the catacombs. The catacombs: tunnels lined with skulls, bones, and embalmed corpses mummified in linin cloth wraps.

  Luckily his flame breath had been practiced relentlessly and it came easily enough. Kgaaa!!! A great billowing flame spewed from his mouth but he didn't wait to see the consequences. The moment he felt the grip on his ankle loosen he yanked it free and sprinted for the path.

  They had only dragged him a few yards, but that felt like the longest ten yards in his Life,as he could feel the shadows gaining on him, pressing in, scratching at his clothes and tugging at his short hair. It was horrifiyng Gareth in a way that every person understood: turning off a light on the wrong side of a dark room, and having to navigate a dark maze of obstacles while knowing something was watching you.

  He dove as he reached the path, safe and sound. Behind him a bright white wall lit up, briefly allowing him to see through the shadows to the scrawny and slender forms of the creatures within. Before he could make out further details, they fled...

  “I told you to be careful.” Guanji said while polishing his nails.

  Sigh* “Yeah I know. That was stupid of me.”

  “Why do you think a simple dinner is impacting you so heavily?” Guanji asked philosophically and took out a pipe, packing it with a rich cherry tobacco.

  Gareth looked around at the dimly lit mausoleum of crypts, tombs, and earthen mounds. In Mogeel’s temple, each form of ritual burial was observed to consecrate the dead. Each culture was respected, because if you didn't respect the dead, they tended to come back. The guardians who protected the dead, and kept them dead, were the true dangers within its hallowed halls. Shadows writhing in pools of blackness circled like schools of barracuda, waiting for some poor fool to step... too close... to their crypt.

  “Is this really the best place to have a chat?”

  “Answer the question, since you clearly cannot stay focused. Then we will move on.”

  The horrors had obviously tasted blood, because another bright white dome flashed above them as a shadow tried to drop on them from above.

  Sigh* He ignored the ravenous shades clawing at white shields on either side of them, “I guess it's because I don't want to look bad. These people literally have my future in their hands.” He looked at the emaciated forms of the shadows each time the shield flashed, they reminded him of his own malnourishment. “For the first time in my life, everything is going so well.”

  Guanji conspicuously raised a brow and looked around at the silently raging spectres of death, Gareth only waved him off, “You know what I mean. I just…don't want to go back to how shit everything was. I like it here: the people, the magic, the fighting, even the monsters are pretty cool every now and then. I think I'm just overly aware of how big an opportunity this is, and I don't want to screw it up through some careless word or action that I wasn't aware of.”

  Gareth, who never bothered to stand up after being dragged off, sat cross legged on the path and started fretting with a stray finger bone.

  Guanji sat down in front of him and puffed on his pipe, seemingly content.

  “Many years ago, I had a similar conversation with my mother. A very wise woman” puff puff…blow* “but she taught me a very valuable lesson: People will look at you and immediately create a first impression that is not who you truly are, and there is nothing you can do to stop them. Without needing to say or do anything, they will either love you, or hate you” puff puff…blow*. ‘So what do I do?’ I asked her with great anger in my heart at the injustice. She took my hands in hers and said, ‘Remember the manners I taught you, be polite, respectful, and humble, and everything will be alright.”

  “Wise words.” Gareth tried, but failed, to recall a single motherly figure in his life; they'd all been drug addicts or credit collectors.

  “Wise words from a wise woman. Her teachings have carried me through many high society banquets, for which I felt completely out of my depth. Leave the boasting and grandstanding to the nobles, they enjoy peacocking and it makes them happy.” puff puff…blow* “Just focus on being polite and respectful, and they'll stick to their own business…mostly.”

  “Mostly?!” Gareth laughed at Guanji’s last coy addition.

  “Some people go out just to make the world a darker place.” Guanji sighed at some long recalled memory, “The benefit is that they don't usually survive that long, so just weather the storm until they die out like a brightly lit bonfire.”

  For the first time since he had heard the plans last night, Gareth's mind stopped racing through endless possibilities of what could go wrong. He realised that, of everyone, he had the luxury of taking his time. He wanted to become stronger, he was almost driving himself into the ground to gain that strength, but Guanji was right. He could take his time, get to know the family, and likely survive whatever conflict arose. He had been taught basic etiquette by Ellisandra and knew how to act. He knew to stand when they entered the room, he had learned all the bows and such.

  It was his boss, Margrave, that he was nervous about the most. Not to mention Eillandra's mom, Ellismera. Fuck, I'm still intimidated by that. But Guanji got my back. All I need to do is be polite, be myself, and be respectful to everyone. Easy.

  Guanji felt Gareth's aura settle slightly. He nodded, “Now, we move.”

  He elegantly rose, his dark black and red robes ominously blending with the darkness around them. His gait was so smooth he seemingly floated over stray bones, while Gareh tripped and stumbled. The catacombs they travelled were occasionally lit up by white mage lamps, enchanted to resist the undead influence. Too bad there hadn't been a priest around for coming on four months now to tend said magelamps.

  They made it to the dimly lit inner temple with no further problems and sat on ancient black wood church pews that creaked each time either of them shifted. There was a central altar made from cracked grey stone, behind which hung a portrait of Mogeel, the God of Death. Amber torches and orange candle light bathed what would have been an eerie scene, with warm light. The portrait depicted a man strongly resembling a dark Kreppinfay in skeletal structure and knife-ear, but this one had two downward slanting horns that hugged his pallid grey head. Two piercing blue eyes were looking up to the darkness of Ginnungagap above, and warned of retribution to anyone who woke the dead from their slumber. His posture suggested a quiet confidence as his hands rested on his hips, with his shirtless torso bathed in a pale white light.

  ...

  Brief meditation to settle his mind, and Gareth was ready to go.

  Guanji gave him a blood red orb, which seemed much the same as any other one he had swallowed with the exception being that it was a startling molten emerald, like he was holding solid magma in his bare hand. Its red glow was giving 'sith' energy and Gareth was starting to worry about what he was putting in his body. “Does the colour of the core matter?”

  “Not until later levels. The concentration of a beast's bloodline in a tier 1 core is too weak to affect anything. Past tier 3 you need to start paying attention to it.”

  “What does red mean?”

  “You are stalling.”

  “Yes, but I'm also curious.”

  Guanji unsuccessfully tried to reign in a sigh, “Red is, red is... well we do not really know. Each beast's core is unique, even within the same species. The cores you have been consuming have all been from the same group of slain beasts, each one just looks different.” he shrugged, puff puff…blow* “now focus.”

  Gareth nodded, suspecting that Guanji was still keeping that particular nugget of knowledge a secret for some reason, and got to work.

  -

  Congratulations!

  You have successfully awakened the heart of Moryana bloodline.

  You have awoken one Trait:

  Glacial Heart: Fire/heat resistance, Increased endurance.

  You have awoken one Ability:

  Volgan Gale: The winds of Moryana may speed you on your way. At will, drastically increase your movement speed for one minute, at the cost of high stamina.

  Infusing the heart had been one of the hardest awakenings yet, because it refused to fucking stay still. Much to Gareth's frustration. Least of all was the fact that his vascular system extended throughout his entire body. Veins and capillaries that he never would have considered were even a thing, thinner than a hair, only wide enough to allow a few blood cells through, had to be infused with microscopic amounts of essence.

  It was likewise difficult to not infuse his blood as he went, because his blood wanted to be infused. It snatched at his golden thread of essence like a starving tweaker: once it got a hold, it didn't wanna to let go.

  Luckily they were weak tweakers because it only took a little concentration to get the essence shook off and back on the right track. The only problem was that each time his heart pumped it would send a fresh surge of hungry little white and red blood cells that would yank at his essence. Over the span of 3 hours, the mental strain became intense.

  The transformation his vascular system had undergone was likewise rather drastic, as his heart had somehow completely frozen into a solid beating mass of ice. He could feel its frosty coolness in his chest, clashing with the flames in his lung and golden fire in his stomach. His veins were still largely fine, but his largest veins had undergone a similar transformation to frost, emitting an intense cold. He passed out from exceedingly painful heart attacks, and he did get a little frostbite, but his body soon acclimated. Then his heart kept beating just fine… He even felt it cooling the water lung, refreshing his upper torso like a cool summer breeze.

  They spent the day putting his heart through its paces, either through a metric fuckton of cardio, or by drinking a strong poison that targeted his heart. Classic body forging, only the poison had to be extra strong to overcome his poison resistance. His liver and kidneys' ability to filter toxins had been granted to his entire digestive system, so they needed to introduce a toxin directly into his blood with a needle.

  They likewise tested the [Volgan gale] ability to its limits. The System was never really specific about what an ability did, so Gareth and Oliver had to do a number of tests.

  If rested, Gareth could do a 100 metre sprint in 13 seconds. Not the best. But when he activated the ability? He could somehow focus inward and release a pent-up ball of icy energy in his heart. It would visibly pulse through his vascular system in a blue wave, terminating harmlessly in his fingers, toes, and head. It was like taking a cold plunge, if that cold plunge was infused with a metric ton of caffeine. He could barely stand still when it passed through him, so he didn't. He ran.

  It felt like the wind itself was pushing him along from behind, and the 100 metre sprint flashed by in less than 6 seconds. He didn't stop running though. He kept going, sprinting, for the full minute. When the chill faded he quickly came to a halt as his lungs and legs burned for air. He successfully reactivated the ability, verifying its 'at will' function, and the surge of energy and coolness spread through him once more. Though when it ended he fully collapsed, wheezing.

  "It seems you have some cardio in your future, junior brother." Oliver teased and offered Gareth some water, which he guzzled down.

  Putting words to action, once he recovered he started doing some endurance running. When his body naturally started to heat up with muscle fatigue he thought 'fuck it' and activated the [Volgan gale] again to see what would happen. It once more sent a blast of ice through his entire body, but this time it completely cleaned up his exhaustion. He couldn't increase his pace too much, because his muscles were still fatigued, but he felt that he could run for even longer. Oliver guessed it must have been part of the passive [Glacial Heart] Trait, and given that that System was kinda shitty at giving detailed information on abilities, he just had to go with that guess.

  When they tested activating the ability while in melee combat, they found that because his speed was greater, his hits did land harder. The increased impact also put his muscles and bones under more strain. The skin of his knuckles tore more easily per impact with the cloth-covered wooden training dummy, so they moved to bladed weapons and found more success. He could strike more quickly with daggers, and slash and pierce harder with the added speed of [Volgan gale], so he was really chuffed.

  Not only did he now have two bloodlines that gave him increased endurance, but once his body fully recovered from a lifetime of malnourishment, he would truly be a monster - or at least he'll be able to run real' far, real' quick from said monster.

  Gareth didn't have his usual lessons with Ellisandra, as she had a lot of things to deal with after the Darkling battle. Oliver was a highly ranked adventurer so he had to fill in reports of casualties, material losses, battle and battlefield recovery. Just a bunch of things.

  Ellisandra, as both a ranger and future heir to the Ellis household, and Volun city, had to fill out damage reports, supply provisions to those in need, and catalog the spoils of war, all of which took time.

  -

  It was after a tiring but rewarding day of exercises that Gareth found himself in elegant blue robes with cloud-shaped cerulean and white embroidery, knocking on the back door of the Margrave mansion.

  Guanji wore dark black robes with white and red rose-patterned accents that made him seem very imposing. The air was crisp with a damp, pleasant wet grass smell that calmed his soul.

  Chamberlain Havoc greeted them, then quietly guided them towards a warm sitting room. The mansion didn't have many windows, yet it was neither dark nor stuffy, the warm amber magelamps a comforting change from Mogeel's haunting temple.

  They entered through a lime-green door, beyond which was a bougie antique sitting room. Hard-stuffed leather couches were spaced around a comfortable coffee table while a small fireplace to the right of the room crackled merrily, warming the room comfortably. A large carpet covered the floor and muffled their slippered footsteps.

  They were the first to arrive, which kinda made Gareth nervous. Guanji indicated Gareth should sit at one of the double couches, trying and failing to hide a smirk for some reason. He himself took a single seater couch next to Gareth. It was strange, but while Gareth barely made a dent in the couch, Guanji veritably sank into his, as if he weighed considerably more than him.

  “This one will inform the Lord and Lady of your arrival. Please avail yourself of the drinks table.” the chamberlain said and gracefully bowed out of the sitting room.

  “Pour us a drink there, Gareth.” Guanji said as he laid his head back and closed his eyes.

  “Sure, what do you want?”

  “Do you see the square decanter with pitch black liquid?”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Yeah?” Gareth said and moved a few bottles aside, a light tinkling filling the quiet room. A branch in the fireplace occasionally crackled and sparked, adding to the comfy vibe.

  “Could I please have a tot of that?” Gaunji asked as he stared into the flames of the fireplace.

  “Sure. What's it even called...and why is it so dark?” Gareth eyed the bottle skeptically.

  “It is called Mahackam, a dwarven specialty from a distant land.” The sound of a cork being unstoppered squeaked briefly, “Don't sniff it!” Guanji hurriedly warned him.

  Gareth recoiled before his nose could get close and looked at Guanji with a frown, “Why not?”

  “That brew is considered a volatile poison to most, but it is the only thing that can get a person over tier 5 drunk. One sniff and you can forget about having dinner tonight. You'll be out like a candle...in seconds.”

  “Cool-cool-cool-cool, cool cool.” Gareth held the decanted bottle as far from himself as humanly possible, and carefully poured a tot for Guanji. When he saw that there weren’t any non-alcoholic beverages, he shrugged and handed Guanji his drink.

  “You do not drink?” his dark brow arched with surprise.

  “Nah. It's not for me.” Gareth had quickly learned that telling people your mom was a raging alcoholic was a mood killer, so he refrained from explaining. Guanji luckily chose not to pursue it.

  “Is there anything you would rather have?” Guanji asked neutrally.

  “Tea would be nice.”

  Guanji stood up, poked his head out of the door, and asked someone for a tea set to be brought.

  They both soon had a drink in hand, and were just enjoying the quiet as they made some small talk.

  At Guanji’s prompting, Gareth once again looked inside at the swirling energies that now inhabited his body. It felt strange. His left lung caused a bubbly tingle in his chest every now and then, his right just felt warm. His stomach sent comforting waves of heat through his core. His heart, the newest sensation, spread a cooling ice through his veins, almost as if he were on a drip - if the drip was connected directly to his heart. His stomach felt warm and full, always. It was perpetually the perfect summer temperature for him, even in the torrential winter sleet outside. The most interesting sensations were where those organs brushed against one-another. He felt distinct systems, as if he didn't need to struggle visualising exactly where his heart sat relative to his stomach.

  Parts of me are changing. Changing more drastically than any chrome I'd ever had installed because these lasted forever and can't just be replaced. This shit's fundamental.

  He was shaken out of his introspection by the same door through which they had entered, opening. The first to walk through the door was one of the most beautiful chicks that Gareth had ever seen. Long, dark-brunette hair cascaded over her slender shoulders - modestly covered in a stunning white dress patterned with dark blue flowers, over a silky fabric that missed dragging on the floor by inches. The white upper dress gradually transitioned into black from above the hip, the grey area accented by swirls of white gems - like falling snow on a darkening field of blue orchids.

  Her face was slender and outwardly serene, her green eyes sparkling in the orange light. She had a pale complexion with a smattering of freckles on her prominent cheekbones, which just highlighted her stunning arched brows and hair. He hair was secured by a jade rose, and silver lotus broach. She carried herself with grace and poise.

  The moment she entered, her icy blue eyes pierced through Gareth.

  Guanji rose to bow, and Gareth rushed to mimic him.

  She broke eye contact and briefly curtsied to Guanji before moving to sit in the two-seater opposite Gareth. Behind her followed the equally beautiful Ellisandra, and the imposing bulk of Lord Margrave.

  “It is a pleasure to see you both again.” Lord Margrave said from the back while Lady Ellisandra curtsied to Guanji as well.

  “The pleasure is ours, my lord.” Guanji bowed back and waited for the ladies to take a seat before retaking his own.

  This was when Gareth realised why Guanji had smirked earlier. Lord Margrave and Lady Ellismera took the two-seater across from him, leaving the only available other space next to Gareth for Ellisandra to fill.

  “My lady.” Gareth said and bowed slightly, he also held out his hand to help her sit, as he saw Lord Margrave do for Lady Ellismera. She gratefully, if formally, accepted his hand and sat down all prim and proper-like.

  Once everyone was seated, the atmosphere relaxed a lot and Gareth offered to pour everyone a drink.

  Margrave smiled brightly at the offer, “I will have the same as Elder Guanji, thank you Gareth! My love? What will you be having?” He lovingly looked to his wife, who smiled kindly. A smile that made Gareth's knees weak.

  “I shall have a whiskey, please. Ellisandra,” she looked to her daughter, some of her softness disappearing, her smooth alto voice containing unknown tension, “please help Gareth Elson prepare the drinks.”

  “Oh that's not necessary-”

  “Yes, mother.”

  Gareth and Ellisandra spoke at the same time, but before he could protest further she stood and walked with him to the drinks tray. Choosing to go with the flow instead of putting his foot into whatever tension that was, Gareth happily disappeared into the background.

  “How is the leech problem evolving?” Guanji asked Lord Margrave while the youngsters poured their drinks.

  “Poorly. Without priests to consecrate the land after their deaths, we are starting to find demonic beast manifestations. It also doesn't help that the damned things are so numerous! Luckily, the adventurers love the reward, and are eagerly bringing leeches in by the thousands.” he said smuggle and reclined back into the couch, his arm resting along the backrest. Lady Ellisandra sat comfortably close to her husband, but didn't lean into him.

  “Leeches?” Gareth quietly whispered to Ellisandra as she poured her mother's whiskey, and he Lord Margraves Mahackam.

  “Aye, lad!” Lord Margrave called out from behind them, “Leeches bigger than my-” a soft slap echoed through the room and Gareth turned to see the giant Lord Margrave flinching away from Lady Ellismera.

  He was smiling ear to ear though, and there was little bite in her words when she chided. “Gentlemen! Let us move the matters away from business. Gareth!” She gave him a piercing look, daring anyone to try and change the topic back, “Tell us about where you grew up.” She finished with a smile.

  “Oh-uh.” he stuttered. Gareth realised that he was losing control of himself and steeled his mind.

  If you don't feel confident, fake-it till-you make-it.

  He smirked slightly, cockily, just to get himself in the right mindset, “On surface level, my world is a marvel. We don't have mana, magic, cultivation or beasts,” they looked shocked at this, “but that didn't stop us from reaching for the stars. Technology became so powerful that it was almost like magic: you could call and speak to people in another galaxy. Cars - these big metal machines - could fly through the sky faster than most cultivators; and we had ships that could take us trillions of miles away, in seconds. Cyborgs, people with chrome implants that turn them superhuman were common, and it was considered the height of society to have a full neurolink. It was like a machine in your brain that could instantly translate any language, see any clip, find any product or slice of info.”

  They all looked shocked but Ellisandra cut in to ask what “clips” were, and how they had anything to do with nets.

  “Wow, that's actually hard to explain. Think of the net as a suppository of all human knowledge from the past ten thousand years, like a library, but it's not just books. There are quadrillions of clips, like a moving painting that records real or acted-out events on literally every topic. From nature documentaries, to soap operas, to horror movies. I could honestly go on and on about how cool the tech was, but the reality is that it was a living hell.” They looked taken aback at the sudden change of emotion, “If you don't live on the surface of the planet, of which humans have colonised hundreds, then life is hard. Food is scarce, drugs are everywhere, and depravity knows no bounds…but their ice cream is good.” He finished with a lame joke and a cocky smirk.

  -

  Lord Margrave chuckled ruefully and looked around at his family, deep affection and appreciation in his eyes and soft smile.

  He made eye contact with his wife, daughter, and Elder, each a fully trusted member of his family. He would burn the world to keep them safe. He looked at Gareth, the immortal man who had the potential to be one of the most powerful Body cultivators on the planet.

  He knew that possibly drastic measures would likely need to be taken to secure him on his family’s side, permanently. He was contemplating dark thoughts of blackmail when he felt a hand on his thigh. With the speed of two peak tier 5 cultivators, his wife and he had a ‘couple moment’; they communicated purely with their eyes.

  Margrave’s love of his life knew him so well that she could see when his mind had trailed to darker thoughts, and stopped him. 'We must be better than this.' Her eyes seemed to say as she recognised the desperation in her love's deep pools of grey.

  The love of her life, her soulmate, would do anything to protect his family. Many thought her the more cruel one because of her cold leadership style, but she knew what her husband has done, and will do again, to keep his family safe. She needed to be the voice of reason in matter... and they both knew it.

  With a vicious clench of his jaw and a visible shake of his head, he cast away his darker impulses.

  When his jovial eyes looked back to Gareth, he had regained his composure, but it was his wife that spoke up.

  -

  Gareth carefully held his breath and poured Margrave a drink.

  "I see Elder Guanji got you with his famous, 'that drink is so potent it could kill you saplings' trick." Ellisandra whispered to his and laughed through her nose. Gareth was shocked, and was just about to take a whiff of the drink when Ellismera got his attention.

  “Thank you for telling us about your world, my dear.” She said with true tenderness, “We have all experienced hardships that have left their marks on our souls, and we are all the stronger for it. There are those in this world that grew up soft, spoonfed and told that they are destined to rule from birth. They do not know what it means to fight for survival; and they will lord it over us… to their detriment.”

  She looked around at her family, cold hard steel in her eyes, “We must look to our own because if we do not…no one else will!” Her fierce gaze shifted to Gareth, “We do not know you Gareth Elson, and you do not know us… but we have a shared hardship that transcends mere acquaintance. I make this promise under the Heavens: If you look after my family, we will likewise protect you to the best of our ability.” Golden light seemed to shine down on Lady Ellismera, signifying that a binding oath by the Heavens had been made. If she broke that oath the Heavens would strike her down. Or at least, that's what the book Gareth had read said.

  “I appreciate that, my Lady.” Gareth said and bowed deeply, “My arrival in this world wasn't the best-” the Ladies cocked their heads in confusion, and when Gareth looked at Margrave the large man subtly shook his head.

  His quiet rumble quelled all questions.“It was not my story to tell.”

  Gareth placatingly held up his hands, “I've made this evening serious enough and it's not even started properly yet. I'll save that story for another time.” He deflected with a grim smile and kind eyes, “Your family and the people in your fine city have been so incredibly generous to me. I promise that I will look after your family like they are my own. I know I'm not much to look at yet, but I'm getting better every day.”

  Aura reading was more an art, than a science, yet of the people in the room, only Gareth and Ellisandra were unable to parse other people’s emotions through aura control. Guanji and Margrave were good enough to sense Gareth’s trepidation and mistrust. Ellismera, the most proficient aura reader in the room, was the only one to sense the smallest kernel of hope in Gareth. It flickered like an extremely fragile spark, drifting through the wind, dodging his dogged skepticism and well-learned lessons in betrayal. If there was any way to fan that spark, she would do so, but for now his walls were up, and any attempt at gaining his trust would be seen as poorly-concealed manipulation.

  With a small brush of aura control, she signalled the serving staff. Havoc, their chamberlain, knocked on the door.

  “Come!” Margrave barked.

  “Dinner is served. Please make your way to the dining room.”

  He ended with a bow that carried him back out of the door.

  “Well, saved by the dinner bell. Thank you for telling us of your world Gareth, it seems fascinating. I would love to hear more about the culture and arts, as it seems so drastically different from our own.” Ellismera spoke smoothly to distract from Havoc’s coincidental entrance.

  Gareth had completely forgotten about the drinks in his hand, so he passed lord Margrave his tot of Mahakam as they left through the double doors placed in the centre of the west wall.

  -

  The dining hall was extremely...'well-appointed', as the locals would say. Rich, polished, ebony wood tables bedecked by stark-white leather placemats. Refined silver chopsticks rested on grey stone wedges, and elaborately painted porcelain tea cups stood empty, waiting. The stone walls of the fortress were tastefully adorned with large octagons of elaborately fine wood carvings. The carvings depicted ferocious twisting dragons, bamboo forests, clouds and waterfalls.

  Once everyone was seated and they were served a cold soup, which wouldn’t normally be Gareth's cup of tea because it reminded him of cold days where he’d eaten cold canned soup. Yet, he found that it was refreshing and prepared him well for the next course. Of course, all he needed to do to appreciate any meal, was think back on the slop he grew up with. Not to mention the big heaps of starvation he was served thrice a day, under Ian’s captivity. With that charming reminder, the entire meal became delectable. He even dug into the salad!

  It was just the five of them seated at one end of the large table, but it still felt nice and comfortable, if a bit formal. Margrave sat at the head of the table, Ellismera on the right, Guanji on the left, leaving Gareth and Ellisandra to sit across from one another.

  Conversation during the dinner was light and about broad topics:

  “Elder Mastifson’s grandson was caught with the scullery maid, much to his wife’s embarrassment and horror.”

  “It would be difficult to replicate the modern music from my world because you need machines like a synthesiser, amps, tuning board, and massive speakers.” He got a few strange looks for that one.

  “We are only halfway through Night but our gardeners predict an excellent Leaf yield for the coming fiscal season. The Darkling raids also did not impact our farming district too heavily, so we shall make it through the remaining winter comfortably enough to sell our excess to the Wavestriders, come Dawn.”

  Lord Margrave, as expected of a city lord, spoke about the good things happening in the city.

  “I shot a galloping Earth-scale Badger through its eye the day before yesterday.” Ellisandra tried to contribute to the conversation, but her parent’s reactions seemed muted and tense. Ellisandra actually didn’t talk a lot during the meal, she mostly played with her food and avoided her parent’s eyes.

  Gareth couldn't tell for sure because he did not know the family well enough, but the only thing he knew about that could cause such tensions was the potential betrothal that they had been talking about the day he'd arrived.

  Love-life in general was avoided as a conversation topic that night, for some reason.

  Guanji was the only one to talk about a serious topic; one that completely took Gareth by surprise.

  “The cycle of the darkling attack, someone broke into my home.”

  Everyone's eyes widened in surprise and alarm, “They used the attack as a cover to strike key sections of my house wards, weakening them enough to go down for an hour or so.”

  “Who would dare?!” Margrave bellowed, causing the dishes and cutlery on the table to vibrate. His expression was thunderous, murderous…

  “Whomever they are, they are good. No mana traces to track, no aspect imprints, and they were there for only minutes, at the most.”

  “Did the house spirit not hinder them?” Ellismera asked.

  “It seems they were accompanied by an experienced spiritualist.”

  “What did they take?” Ellismera asked, her eyes narrowed in thought. She was the polar opposite of her husband; where he was loud, aggressive, and ready to jump into action; she was cold, calculated, and analysed each piece of information Guanji gave before acting. Lady Ellismera was the more frightening of the two - in Guanji's opinion - because she very rarely acted rashly...or made mistakes.

  “Exactly the question I had pondered. I therefore did some inventory and found nothing missing. Either they are sending a message that they - whoever they are - can come and go as they please. OR, they did not find what,” he made piercing and loaded eye contact with Gareth, “or who they were looking for.”

  “You think they were there for me?” Cold shivers slithered their way up Gareth’s spine, Could it be Ian’s people?

  “It is possible…I will not say I am without enemies but the timing is strange. It could also be the Maryvalians, though why they would strike at me, I do not know.”

  “Do you think they knew I was in the tree?”

  Gareth tried to keep calm and collected but that feeling of being hunted that had somewhat faded into the background over the past few months, suddenly reared its very ugly and very scary head.

  “It is a secret bunker, kept hidden from city planners. It shields all smells, sounds, mana signatures, and aura signatures from leaking out. So unless they knew it was there, they would not have been able to find it. It leads me to believe that, if their goal was to find Gareth, then it could not have been an inside job - as most manor guards know about the bunker’s existence.”

  “An external group, huh…”

  Margrave sat back and started running his thick fingers through his thicker beard in thought, “I will enquire with the Nightwatchers whether any Marryvalian aliases or spies had entered the city, is that all you have to go on so far?”

  “Yes, my lord. Like I said previously; they were very good. We could not follow their tracks past a few hundred yards, after which they vanished. It is unlikely that they teleported out, as that would leave too-large a mana signature."

  “Impermeability perhaps? Flight?” Ellisandra spoke up for the first time in a while.

  “Impermeability is a possibility, but we would have seen people flying…unless they paired it with invisibility….” Sigh* “It has been quite the head scratcher.”

  “Head Scratcher?! Someone broke into your house!” Gareth nearly screamed with frustration. They're coming for him me, and what had I done for the past few months? Just fucking chilled and waited for them to find me!

  Well, he'd gotten his wish; here they were and he had two thumbs up his ass. He needed to start pro-actively hunting these cunts down; he had to prepare counter kidnapping strategies, traps, secret identities.

  Before the others could respond to his outburst, he sternly corrected himself and apologised, “I am sorry for my outburst. I just refuse to do nothing while I know someone is hunting me. Master Guanji, I would greatly appreciate you bringing me in on the investigation, and giving me advice on certain matters.” Gareth politely bowed at the waist. It looked a bit awkward because of the whole table and chairs thing, but it wasn't bad.

  Guanji questingly looked at Lord Margrave for permission, and when he received a solemn nod he turned to Gareth, “That would work marvellously. This is also the point of a sapling’s training where we introduce them to spycraft, investigation, infiltration, counter/ intelligence gathering…” he smiled as if recalling a fond memory, “It is all quite fun.”

  “Whatever happened to the person who trailed Ivor Hansen and myself the day we arrived in Volun?” Gareth asked in the lull of thoughtful silence.

  Margrave answered in his rumbling voice, mirth dripping heavily, “That was quite the humorous turn of events: it seems Ivor Hansen is more popular with the ladies than was known. I will not disclose her identity, but rest assured that it was harmless lovestruck stalking.”

  Dessert was soon served, and the dinner concluded with a few bows and a “Good evening.”