© 2026 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.

Nick's cure for his nightmares is a complete success. Nick and Octavia settle down for a happy Yuletide holiday as the snow piles up in the Snowcross Mountains. Marlon will be born soon, and the kingdom is excited to greet the young marquess, - then the unthinkable happens. Pirates attack, and a friend attempts to kill Nick and Octavia as Octavia goes into labor.

Gods Save the Queen

Book 3 - Part 3, The Last Elf King

Chapter 21 - A Girl's, Guy's, and Dragon's Night Out

The girls got drunk pretty quickly, even Queen Elinor was tipsy and laughing at the obscene jokes that were coming out. Octavia wished she could join them drinking wine, but Nick insisted that she avoid alcohol. He would allow half a pint of beer a day, more if he found some with a low alcohol content. Unfortunately for Octavia, the people of the Snowcross Mountains take their beer seriously, and they take riotous laughter followed by passing out onto the outhouse floor just as passionately, so low-alcohol ale didn't exist. Octavia passed up the wine and drank juice, watching her friends around her get drunk, which has a high entertainment value.

"So, WHAT are the boys doing?" laughed Seldanna of the Rofir.

Octavia had never seen a drunk elf before, but Seldanna was cute and giggling, and when she broke into her shivery laugh, she caused everyone else to laugh along with her. The head of the queen's guards, Darragh O'Keeffe, who was acting as bartender, was laughing along with them and not paying attention to Private Albert McAllister, who was sitting in front of him, drinking ale and playing solitaire with a tarot deck. McAllister was kind of slovenly for a soldier, dark and quiet, and he didn't get along with his fellow soldiers in the King's army. He was there to assist Lieutenant O'Keeffe, but had yet to lift a finger.

"They went to the college library in Steil Thein to sign out a book," said Octavia to answer Seldanna's question.

"They went all the way to Steil Thein just to sign out a book? Why?" laughed Princess Sophie, who was getting very drunk.

"Because it's there," said Octavia with a shrug, and she sipped from her wine glass that contained unfermented grape juice. For some reason that seemed riotously funny to Sophie and Seldanna and they both laughed so hard they ended up clutching each other to keep from falling.

"Amateurs," grumbled Eryri with a belch into her tankard of ale.

Queen Elinor realized she had reached her limit and did not want to wake up hung over, so she called to the bartender, "Lieutenant O'Keeffe, may I have one like Queen Octavia is having?"

"Yes mum," said the head of the queen's guard Darragh O'Keeffe, and he set a wine glass on the bar and poured it half full of grape juice and set it on a tray to carry out to the Queen.

"Please your majesty, I am a duchess, not a queen," said Octavia.

"Nonsense my girl, you were a queen, it wasn't long but you were a queen. Once a queen, always a queen," said a tipsy Queen Elinor.

Eryri saw Darragh setting out the queen's drink and called, "And some crisps please!"

Suddenly crisps sounded delicious to Princess Sophie and Seldanna, so they echoed, "PLEEEEEEEEASE!"

"Yes mum," said Darragh, who could never deny Princess Sophie anything. He turned around and grabbed a large cardstock can of crisps, poured some out into a bowl, and turned to place it on the tray, but something was very wrong. He watched Private McAllister tear open a small envelope and pour the powdery contents into the queen's glass of grape juice, then stirred it up with his finger. "What the hell are you doing?" demanded Darragh.

McAllister looked shocked, as if he were suddenly aware of Lieutenant O'Keeffe's presence. He looked around for a way out and saw the royal guardsmen at the door seal the door so he couldn't get out. The soldiers playing a riotous game of Lost Harem slapped their cards down on the table and ran into the front room to see what the bartender was shouting about. Before anyone realized what he was doing, Private McAllister snatched up the queen's glass of juice. "Sic semper tyrannis!" he shouted in Vespil, and he drank the juice in one long gulp.

The soldiers moved between the queen and Albert McAllister, who dropped to the floor and writhed in agony. There was a sapphire flash around McAllister and the would-be assassin vomited up every drop in his gut. "Senseless turd!" snarled Lieutenant O'Keeffe. "You're supposed to say that AFTER you kill the king. Cunningham! Johnson! Drag this waste of skin down to the dungeons. Let Stan take care of him. Barker, MacPhee, escort the ladies up to the royal apartments. I will be along in a minute."

Soon it was just Lieutenant O'Keeffe and the wizard Izhar. The lieutenant grabbed a mop and a bucket and mopped up the floor. Then he collected glasses and started washing them. "What happened?" demanded the Lieutenant without looking up from the sink.

Izhar was shocked; it was the first time the lieutenant acknowledged that he was there. "I uh, I saw that the guy was up to something. To me it seemed like he was waiting for you to turn your back, so when you turned your back, then turned back to him, I let him believe you had left and nobody was watching."

"What else?" demanded Lieutenant O'Keeffe.

"That's all, I made sure most everyone saw him do that."

"You didn't make him vomit?"

"No sir," said Izhar. "That was the duchess. Her magic had a tell-tale blue flash."

"She made him vomit?"

Izhar shrugged. "I figured that would be an excellent skill for a young mother to have. Children have a tendency to eat odd things so I taught it to her."

"What is your function here?" demanded Lieutenant O'Keeffe.

"Primarily I am here to continue Octavia's training and monitor her for the king. I'm an astronomer and I watch the stars for the king and the duchess."

"So, you tell the future?"

"Oh no, nothing that simple. Lord Baltimore has eight wizards on that task right now and they're able to see a month into the future. No, Lady Octavia and I do something much more difficult. We are of the Hodie school of wizardry. We tell the present."

"Present? What do you mean?"

Izhar sighed. He was sweeping the floor for the lieutenant, and he stopped and leaned on the broom. "We humans lie. We lie to each other and we lie to ourselves. Most of the time we do it because we want to be nice. We don't want to give someone bad news, or we don't want to believe the worst about someone. Look at you, you stood there and watched Albert McAllister pour poison into the queens drink, and you didn't believe it until he stirred it up with his finger."

"Well... I was stunned, I couldn't believe he was doing that."

"That's lying to yourself. You're trained to watch out for that kind of thing. Then when he drank the poison, you stood and watched. You may tell yourself that you didn't know what to do, but you and I both know you wanted to watch him die."

Lieutenant O'Keeffe finished washing up behind the bar, gathered up the tips he had earned and said, "Follow me Mister Wizard. I want to introduce you to my friend Stan."

"The jailer?" said Izhar.

"You know him?"

"I've heard of him." Izhar had planned to visit Stan. A living skeleton - the magic it must take!

Lieutenant O'Keeffe led Izhar to the jail portion of the dungeon, and there was Stan, an actual skeleton wearing a breastplate and helmet. "You responded quickly," said Stan. "I just sent a page for you."

"Why? What are you talking about?"

"Follow me," said Stan, and he led the wizard and the guard to a cell where Albert McAllister sat tied up on his bunk. He was babbling insanely. "He just started this," said Stan. "He was striking his head against the wall; we had to restrain him."

"What is he saying?" asked Darragh O'Keeffe as he leaned in to hear his babble more clearly.

Izhar heard one name from the sea of babble that spouted from the murderer's mouth: Nithe Skelm. "I need to do some research," said Izhar hoarsely, and he left Darragh O'Keeffe with the mind-shattered prisoner.

<><><><><>

"We're not going to make it," said Vesstan. In the distance, the locomotive on train number sixty-three gave a bark, and the wheels began to turn.

"It'll be fine," said Buggy as he watched a huge golden dragon pass overhead. It was monstrous. Buggy couldn't believe something that big could actually fly. It had to be over fifty feet from wingtip to wingtip. The dragon's body was lean and muscular, and from head to tail he had to be over a hundred feet long. His golden scales were so shiny and polished that Buggy saw the lights from the college reflecting on the dragon's abdomen and wings. With an easy flap, the dragon gained altitude and flew toward the locomotive.

That dragon had to be Nick.

Behind him Vesstan heard his pursuers stop and gasp. "Bloody fucking hell!" said one pursuer as the college students watched the dragon flying in awe. Vesstan wasn't used to seeing enormous dragons flying overhead, but he was used to Nick doing some odd things, so the elf kept his eyes on the train and ran as hard as he could.

The dragon passed over the locomotive, then dropped its right wing and made a spectacular two-hundred-and-seventy-degree turn to the right and landed on the tracks in front of the locomotive. It reared up, spread its wings, and roared, spewing a bright column of flame hundreds of feet into the night sky, lighting up the snow for a half mile around them. The locomotive's dim headlight reflected off those bright golden scales, and the engineer closed the throttle and yanked the brake lever, which locked up the locomotive's wheels. There was a loud Bang! Bang! Bang! as the locomotive stopped and the slack ran in, the cars slammed into each other. The shuddering engineer just sat in the cab blowing the whistle, calling for the brakemen to set the brakes on all cars to stop a motionless train. Terrified of what he would see, the engineer kept his eyes closed.

As the engineer blew the whistle, a fellow in a military uniform walked past the cab of the locomotive on the fireman's side of the locomotive. He waved to the fireman and kept walking toward the rear of the train. "What did ya stop for Clarance?" asked the fireman.

"The... the... the dragon!" said the engineer, pointing forward.

The fireman leaned out his side of the cab and saw nothing, but to be sure he leaned out the engineer's side and only saw a green lantern in the distance urging them to get going. "There ain't no dragon Clarance. Nearest dragons are up in Teurnia... ya know up where it's warm. They don't like snow. Everyone knows that."

"Yeah... yer right Chauncy." With a trembling hand, the engineer grabbed the whistle cord and gave two toots of the whistle, telling a confused brake crew to release the brakes they had just cranked down. He eased open the throttle, and with a bark and a spin of the wheels, old number nineteen dug in, gave a yank, and train number sixty-three was rolling again.

There was a repeated Boom! Boom! Boom! as the slack between the cars ran out, and just as the last car started to roll, the Duke of Wægn swung up on the rear vestibule and stepped into the train car. The conductor, Zander McKenna, glanced up from his waybills. "Told ya we'd be leavin' at the stroke of midnight. Almost left without ya."

"Time flies when you're having fun, Mister McKenna. I was just lucky that a cow or something stepped in front of the train."

"Happens all the time," sighed Zander as he went back to work.

Nick looked around; the brake crew returned from setting and releasing the brakes, and they joined Buggy in a game of Diamond Queens (at a dollar a rook). Nick sat down in the seat nearest to the heater and said, "Dragons don't like the cold at all!"

"Are you feeling all right your grace?" asked Vesstan as he tried to read Vanemate Rasside Jõud.

"I'm fine, I haven't felt this good in weeks. I'm up and ready to fly! I can't wait until we get to Skydancer Pass, Moira Darby says it's incredible, why do you ask?"

"No reason," said Vesstan. "When Seldanna was a couple of months from delivery I was going out of my mind. The duchess is almost there!"

Buggy made a farting noise from over at the card table, followed with "Married men! Bah! What do you humans call folks like them... vaginas?"

"Close, we use a different word," said one of the tramway workers.

"I was just saying," said Vesstan. "Your Xuantang empire is falling apart, it's winter, and your farm is shut down so if you don't have enough food to feed your wife, two dwarves and a barn full of demi-giants they'll probably eat you, your county has almost six hundred people expecting you to pull a miracle out of your ass about the bandits creeping around the forests, you're going to have a baby, and you have a goddess that's hot for you..."

"Two goddesses," said Buggy.

"Two goddesses?" asked Vesstan.

"Saatus and that short haired wanton wench," said Buggy.

"Oh flaming hell, I'd be wide awake too," said Vesstan. "Awake for the next three months... Nick?... Nick?"

The duke was sound asleep with his arms around the book they had come all this way to get, and he would remain that way for the next six hours.

<><><><><>

Neither Thaldir nor Horatio Tinsmith could sleep on that reeking old barge, the Sudenstern. Below decks, the boat reeked of fish and other vile cargos that the Sudenstern has hauled in its lifetime. The crew of thieves and disgraced sailors didn't seem to mind; in fact, they added to the stench. They wouldn't even go up on deck to take a piss or a dump; they just used any convenient corner below deck. Horatio Tinsmith, a failed wizarding student, went up on deck to empty his stomach.

"No sleep again tonight?" rumbled Thaldir as the old scow pitched and rolled like a dying whale in the moderate swells. It was said that much of the ballast was removed from the old dhow because it was a barge, and that would make it easier to tow if it was riding high in the water. Besides, who cared if it pitched and rolled constantly? It was just a barge!

"Whose idea was this?" groaned Horatio as he finished puking over the side.

"That was yours." The dragon curled up as a wave broke over the bow and splashed over his body.

"I hate sailing," groaned Horatio.

"Technically you're not sailing, you're being towed by someone who is sailing."

"You're so helpful," groaned Horatio as the Sudenstern wallowed in the trough of a minor wave. The old dhow had no stability at all, and Horatio wondered how the crews survived when the old thing had masts and sails.

Another wave crashed over the bow, and Thaldir said, "I've had enough; I'm going to find an island that's not bouncing and spend the night there."

"That's a great idea, but you're not allowed to be more than a mile away from me at any time," said Horatio. "Wasn't that Saehrimnir's decree?"

"I know. Hop on," said Thaldir.

"You're going to take me with you?" asked Horatio Tinsmith.

"Yeah, it's like hauling in my anchor. Hop on." Horatio climbed onto Thaldir's back and hung on tight. There were no scales or spines to clutch onto like a typical Edux dragon, nor any fur to grip like a Xuantang dragon. A black dragon is like a huge salamander with wings, smooth and slippery, so it was terrifying to hold on to. "Here we go," rumbled Thaldir, and before Horatio realized what was happening, they were skimming out over the ocean.

They landed soon on a sandy, warm island, and it just felt good to have solid ground beneath his feet. "How did you find this place?" asked Horatio.

"Dragons know things," said Thaldir. "It's like we have maps in our minds from birth, so we know where to land."

"This is incredible!"

Horatio quickly found a place where he could bed down, and he fell asleep immediately. Then, the next morning, as Thaldir grazed on bushes and trees, Horatio found edible fruits and fresh water before returning to the Sudenstern before sunrise. This pattern continued as long as a suitable island was nearby. The bums and thieves didn't seem to notice that the dragon was gone, and they hoped that Horatio Tinsmith had gone overboard.

One night, when the wind was just right, Thaldir spread his wings and lifted off the carcass of the ancient open-ocean barge and slowly gained altitude. He kept climbing while he flew huge lazy circles around the flotilla until the air became so thin that Horatio could barely breathe. "This is where black dragons live," said Thaldir. "Fifteen thousand feet and higher."

"I thought dragons hate the cold," said a shuddering Horatio Tinsmith.

"That's scaled dragons, gold, silver, and copper dragons hate the cold, they put up with it but would rather hibernate. Black and gray dragons have an insulating layer that keeps us warm."

"What about Xuantang dragons?"

"Don't know, don't care," said Thaldir. The dragon then turned towards the warm north and headed for an island that was much closer to the equator than their flotilla. When he landed, Thaldir cried, "HA! One hundred and five nautical miles and I never flapped my wings once!"

"A noble feat, sir lizard," said Horatio as he curled up in the sand and fell into an exhausted sleep. He had only been asleep for a few hours when Thaldir awakened him. "What?" groaned Horatio as the dragon's claw poked him in the ribs.

The enormous dragon huffed; a puff of black, foul-smelling smoke emerged from its nostrils. "Your agent has been activated."

"Is she dead?" demanded Horatio Tinsmith.

"No, the queen of Uduithia appears to be alive," rumbled Thaldir, god of tricks who occupied a black dragon's body. They were on a dark, moonlit beach; the bright glow of the giant moon Kuu was fading as it sank below the western horizon, giving Rahn, the red moon, the moon of blood, full reign of the night sky.

"How can that possibly be?" demanded Horatio.

Thaldir made a deep rumbling sound as he queried his fellow gods, then he shrugged as only a dragon can shrug. "By not dying."

"What happened? Did she survive the assassination? Did he fail?"

Thaldir rumbled some more; it sounded like a lion purring, then he said, "He failed spectacularly. He was caught."

"He was caught? Emilios Ganas doesn't just get caught, and if he does get caught, he promises to commit suicide."

Thaldir stretched and yawned. "Promises are made to be broken."

"Who sent you this information?" demanded Horatio.

"That's not for you to know."

"What do you mean not for me to know?"

Thaldir sadly watched the giant moon Kuu setting; only the edge of its massive ring showed over the horizon. He was silent for a while, then the dragon said, "We should return."

"You didn't answer my question."

"No I didn't." Thaldir got up on his four legs, then crouched down so Horatio could climb up on his back. Then the black dragon climbed up on a large sand dune and watched Kuu set. "Good by sweet home," muttered the dragon, then he leaped from the dune and glided out over the ocean, gently paddling his huge wings and slowly gaining altitude. The first time they did this, Horatio was afraid that Thaldir would lose his way back to the squadron of thieves, but he always finds his way back to the Sudenstern as it's being towed by the Ayrshire.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 22 - Elm Springs

"The duke! The duke is here!" The cheering crowds waved and shouted as train number sixty-three eased into the station at Slate Bottom Creek.

Nick shook his head. This was Slate Bottom Creek County, part of the Barony of Überskeld, not part of the Duchy of Wægn, but the crowd was out here cheering for him. They weren't his people, merely fans of royalty. Then again, it doesn't take much to look better than Baron Aaron Cantor, who appeared to be competing with Baron Lionel Carnysmut for most corrupt. Since Überskeld could afford them, Nick and King Uric twisted Baron Cantor's arm into taking the former Royal Mounted guard to guard the tramway, shipments, passengers and the town of Slate Bottom Creek, and the people loved Nick for it.

"I wonder how they know I'm on this train," said Nick as he glared at Buggy.

"Oi! I just used the flash station at Red Cliff Canyon while you were asleep. I notified the local constable that you would need a ride to Elm Springs," said Buggy.

"I was their commander for nearly eight years, I could have just walked into their office and asked for a ride," said Nick.

"Eight years?" asked a startled Vesstan as he looked up from a game of chess with the conductor, Zander McKenna.

"The constabulary down here is the men and women of the former Breazian Mounted Royal Guard," said Nick. "They followed me here and I found the money and the king put the men to work in the area of his kingdom that had the highest crime rate."

The train stopped with his car right at the passenger platform. "Well, we're off the clock, you can do what you want," said Zander as he and his men picked up their duffel bags and walked to the front of the coach portion and into the baggage compartment. Zander turned around and said, "The T.P. and E. needs this car so you best unload yourselves."

"Yes sir, and thank you," called Nick. He handed Vanemate Rasside Jõud to Buggy and said, "Both of you need to protect this book. We don't know what else it can do. Soon as we get back to Elm Springs, I'm going into the temple and I'm going to lock it up safe."

"Yes sir," said Buggy, holding the book as if it were toxic.

"Let's go." They stepped out onto the rear vestibule, and the crowd went wild, cheering and clapping in the cold mountain weather. Nick, Vesstan and Buggy were still wearing their fine clothing that they had worn for Hugues and Lucy Anne's wedding, so it looked like they were dressed for a public event. "Thank you all so much for coming out to greet me. I always wanted to ride a train through the mountains; I wanted to see Skydancer pass so much because I've been told that it's spectacular. Unfortunately, I fell asleep and missed the entire trip."

When the laughter died down, someone called out a question, and Nick grinned at him. "Why did I take a seat on a mixed freight and not a fancy first class chair car? Was that your question?" The fellow nodded and Nick said, "The answer is simple, the ticket was fifty cents. I may be a duke, but I'm still just a farmer." That brought riotous laughs and long, loud applause.

Another question was shouted at him. "How come I'm not rich like the previous duke? Is that what you want to know? I don't know how to be rich. I was a kid from the slums in Torwin-Armistad, then I ended up on my great-grandma's farm alone, trying to figure out how to feed myself. I ended up as a guard in Breaze, then came back here with a wife on my arm and the king said, 'ok, it's your turn to be duke,' and here I am. Every dime that Wægn makes, I spend back on Wægn. I want to make Hay-on-Wægn county the best county in the kingdom, and help Slate Bottom Creek county, and West Pennshire counties do the same. We're spending money here to make our counties a better place to live. Thanks to King Uric, Slate Bottom Creek has the finest guard and law enforcement unit in any kingdom, and I know because I trained them. I'm trying to add men, horses, and equipment to stretch that unit into Hay-on-Wayne county. I just sold the duke's mansion for a nice sum and ordered Wægn four ox drawn road graders to plow the roads, fill the potholes and clear the ditches and if your baron asks nicely, I'll lend them to Slate Bottom Creek if they're needed."

There was a lot of applause. Because of the tramway, there was a lot of cargo heading into Waleston, but the tramway ends miles short of Waleston, so everything goes by wagon, and the roads are a vital part of the Uduithian economy. "One more question: how is the Duchess doing? The duchess is fine; the baby is coming along nicely; we're getting ready to spend our first Yuletide together here in our own home. Now I want to chat with some old friends, thank you for coming out to greet me."

Nick, Vesstan and Buggy got off the train and were met by Claus Hillingham, the commander of the Mounted Guard, and Dante Fletcher, first sergeant. There were also Sergeants Benedict Blum and Preston Prescott. Hands were shaken and introductions were made. "I'm sorry to have caused a stir at six o'clock in the morning," said Nick.

"It's almost always like this," said Claus Hillingham. "Cargo starts moving about now, and most of these folks are coming on shift or going off shift. Our first cargo wagons to Waleston leave in about ten minutes."

"I'm going to try to be on one of them," said Nick. "I would like to see Baron Cantor; would he be available at this hour?"

"I've never seen the baron moving before noon, your grace," said Captain Hillingham.

"Fine. Send a trooper to his office, tell him I would like to speak to him before his appointment to speak with the king next week," said Nick, frowning. This was part of being royal, which he hated, but he was good at. "His appointment is one hour before the general council meeting next Thursday. Be sure the trooper tells him that. If the Baron wants to find out more, he can reach me at my farm."

"Yes your grace," said the captain, and he made a note of that in his pocket notebook with a pencil. "Anything else?"

Nick scanned the three cargo wagons that were lined up, heading for Waleston. "I want to put a house and stable at the border of the counties and move a few men and horses there. I also want our detective unit ready to move anywhere along the main road, from Slate Bottom Creek to Warwickshire. Sergeant Prescott and Private Schultze are making names for themselves. When we get a few more men, I want those two to train investigators. I'm tired of unsolved crimes."

"Yes, your grace," said Captain Hillingham. "Warwickshire? That's not even in Uduithia."

"I'm going to meet with the Duke of Warwickshire in the near future. He seems to be a good man. If he ever needs help, I want to be able to provide it."

"But what about West Pennshire? The barony and county of West Pennshire lies between Wægn and Warwickshire. Baron Leaby isn't going to like that."

"Baron Leaby will have to get over it," said Nick with a smile. "Warwickshire depends on our main road for all its cargo from the east. If there is a problem between here and there, I want to prevent it now."

Then a call from the wagon master came. "Yo! Duke! We're leaving!"

"That's my ride," said Nick, and he gave everyone a handshake. Then he surprised everyone and gave Preston Prescott a hug and said, "We need to get together one of these days. Octavia and I miss you two." With that, Nick climbed up on the wagon with Buggy and Vesstan.

"The driver wants fifteen cents a head," said Buggy.

"Here, for his trouble," said Nick, and handed Buggy a dollar coin to give to the driver.

Buggy paid the driver, and they were off. They got down between the crates and the driver's seat. "Your grace, if you go around tipping like that, you're not going to make it to your fortune."

"I used to haul freight over Breeders Peak, so I know what he goes through. Now he can get a hot meal in Waleston tonight."

"Here," said Vesstan, and he handed Nick the copy of Vanemate Rasside Jõud, "I can't decipher a word in that book."

"It doesn't want to be deciphered," said Nick. "The moment you think you've got a word translated, it moves somewhere else on the page, and the move can completely change the meaning of the word. It drove me crazy, but it was such a well-crafted book that I went all out when I repaired the spine and cover."

It was an uncomfortable ride from Slate Bottom Creek to Elm Springs. The Main Road through northern Uduithia linked three royal districts: the Barony of Überskeld in the east, which includes Slate Bottom Creek, The Duchy of Wægn in the center with Hay-on-Wægn County, and the Barony of West Pennshire in the west. The road follows Creel Creek the entire way, and several times the creek passes under the road to change sides. Creel Creek's source of water is water run-off from mountains on both sides, and Nick remembered fondly his days with Wayne and Silver, playing in the creek, swimming in the many ponds, fishing, catching frogs and crayfish to show to Nana Peacock. He wished with all his heart that those days had never ended.

Nick's reverie was interrupted by a wagon wheel banging in a pothole or stopping because of a weight limit on a bridge. Twice they were beleaguered by bandits; the first set was chased off by a mountain lion which sprang from the back of the lead wagon. The second set found themselves under attack by a furious dwarf, elf, and duke; all were carrying very sharp swords.

"Roads and bridges, roads and bridges, damn it all to hells," snarled Nick as he climbed back into the wagon. "Aww look, that fat bastard got his blood on my uniform. Octavia is going to be furious."

"She's probably going to be more furious that you chased that fat bastard a half mile up the road so you could poke him in the ass," grumbled Buggy as Vesstan handed the dwarf up to Nick.

"What about roads and bridges?" said Vesstan.

"That's all I've been dealing with since I came back. I wish I had control of the king's army so I could do with them what I did in Xuantang," grumbled Nick.

"Why, what did you do in Xuantang?"

"Oh, the roads and bridges there were horrible. Much of the famine is because they can't get the food to market. So, I got my generals together and informed them that an army needs roads and bridges to move, an army that cannot move is not an army, therefore they do not need generals. However, if said generals got his men to fix and build roads and bridges as a team building exercise, the emperor would be grateful and provide actual armor to those men."

"Did it work?" asked Buggy.

"It's working great, the surviving generals are delighted, they said their units are more cohesive than ever."

"What do you mean, 'surviving generals?'" asked Vesstan.

"A few generals were not on board with the plan, so I let the generals that were on board deal with the problem in the traditional way," said Nick. He refused to answer Buggy's question about what the 'traditional way' means.

<><><><><>

"Water stop, yer grace," called the wagon master as the three wagons stopped in Elm Springs. Nick blinked his eyes open and sat up. He was home. The wagon men were getting water for themselves and their horses from the faucet that Nick had affixed to the bookstore on the side of the temple. "By Royal Appointment to HRM Uric II" said the sign that advertised free spring water.

Next to the temple was Trei Metsger's smithy, and as always, there were the boys. Sieffre Merrick, Merle Rorie, and Tiernan Brighid stood around watching as someone hammered away inside the three-sided shelter. He noticed that Octavia and Seldanna were there with the boys, watching and laughing. "What is going on over there?" asked Vesstan as they climbed out of the freight wagon. A light snow was falling, and everyone was laughing. Nick remembered when Trei was teaching himself and his son, Wayne, to smith. Nick never really got the hang of it, but Wayne became the pride of his master blacksmith father and the finest apprentice that Trei ever taught. Now Wayne was acting as the teacher.

Nick came up behind Octavia; they were watching the dwarf widow Eryri hammer out a horseshoe with Wayne's instruction, and she was doing an outstanding job. Nick put his lips next to Octavia's ear, hidden behind her luxurious raven locks, and whispered, "Boo!"

Startled, Octavia whirled around and broke into a joyful smile when she saw Nick. So refreshed from the sleep on the train and in the wagon, he was a new man. They kissed long and passionately until Wayne started saying, "Hey, hey, hey! My student is getting jealous!"

"Sorry Master Metzger," said Nick as he held Octavia close.

"This is why my father said, 'No royals at the forge.'"

"Your father never said that."

"He should have," growled Wayne, sounding so much like his father.

"If you will excuse me, the duchess and I have something to discuss," said Nick, and he began leading Octavia by the hand to the temple.

"You have the book?" asked Octavia as the snow began to fall.

"Yes I do," said Nick, showing off the book in his free hand. He asked Buggy to make sure Alfie and Dexter put Teddi and Kaleb up properly. As they got to the temple, a guard on horseback rode up, and Nick recognized her immediately. "Yes trooper McLeod?"

"Captain... your grace... I mean..." started the small, cute trooper. She blushed and leaped from her horse, and knelt before the duke. "I apologize your grace."

"I'm sure you met no insult and were speaking out of habit to an old friend. It's still a new title to me as well. Now stand like a trooper and tell me why you are here."

"Your grace, the baron, Baron Cantor says he will receive you at four PM tomorrow at his office."

"That insolent bastard," muttered Nick. "I told Baron Cantor to present himself at our farm and this was his response."

"That's the first time I've heard you say something like that," said Octavia.

"What, bastard? I say it far too often."

"No, insolent. I like it," said Octavia with a smile. "You don't use it often enough with these cheeky high-born mongrels. May I respond?"

"Of course, Trooper McLeod, your note pad please?"

"Aye sire," and she pulled out the notepad that Captain Hillingham ordered all his troopers to carry and use. She handed it to Octavia along with her pencil. As Octavia carefully wrote on the small page, Sara said, "Did I do something wrong sir?"

"No, you were simply given a message that never should have been uttered."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a duke, that makes me royalty, right?"

"Yes sir."

"And Aaron Cantor is a Baron which makes him royalty, right?"

"Yes sir."

"Wrong both times. Dukes and barons are not royalty; we are nobility regardless of how we got the title. However, here in Uduithia, we dukes, marquess, and earls are considered peers of the realm which indicates a connection to the monarchy. You might say that King Uric considers me his kid brother. A duke is the highest rank in Uduithian nobility, above marquess, earls, viscounts, and finally barons, which means that I outrank the living shit out of Baron Aaron Cantor."

"Well said," said Octavia as she finished her note and handed the notebook back to Trooper McLeod, who was laughing at Nick's outburst. "Refresh yourself and your horse," said Octavia. "The water at the temple is sweet, and the gang at the smithy is quite entertaining."

"When you get to the Baron's abode just give the note to his butler, you can tell him this is what the duke ordered if you want. DO NOT wait for a reply. Go back to your unit," said Nick. "And it was great to see you again Sara."

"Thank you sir," said Sara as Nick and Octavia disappeared into the temple.

Sara smiled as she watered her horse; Nick was still the Captain Montesquieu that she had fallen in love with years ago. He's going to be a father soon, and Sara realized that she needed to find someone she could love unconditionally. The only men who came to mind were Captain Montesquieu and Sergeant Prescott, both spoken for. What the hell was wrong with her? The little brunette patted the withers of her beautiful black Phocis pony. A handsome black stallion from the far land of Phocis, only fifteen hands high, perfect for a small woman like her. He's strong, fast, and sweet. The horse was a gift from King Ranzau of Teurnia, and she named him Pommy.

While Pommy drank his fill, Sara watched the female dwarf hammer out a near-perfect horseshoe. The dwarf displayed it to the male dwarf and said, "To hang over our first mine's entrance." That caused everyone to laugh, including the elf couple that was there, and Sara was sure that elves didn't laugh. "Come on Pommy," said Sara sadly.

"Why doth a shadow darken thy countenance, young mortal?" asked the seven-foot-tall naked man who stepped out of the temple. She couldn't stop staring at the god's penis as he spoke to her. Of course, it was nearly at eye level. She swung up into her saddle, and that helped, and she was finally able to make eye contact with Tervis, the god of health.

"Oh, it just seems like everyone is taken."

"Verily, I have witnessed a mortal man, known to you, lament a familiar burden. Those women he deems worthy are either bound to another or dismiss him due to the station he inhabits."

"I know how the guy feels," sighed Sara.

"The first human who offers gratitude twice this day, such a soul may hold the key. Lend thine ear, and time may reveal his worth, for destiny often whispers in echoes repeated."

"Thank you sire," said Sara, and she swung Pommy eastward and headed back to Slate Bottom Creek, cursing the miles between her and Captain Montesquieu. She took out her notebook and glanced at the note Octavia wrote and began to laugh. She wrote it in Wädendrisi, a fairly rare language, but being from Wädendris, Sara spoke it fluently, as did her fellow Wädendris native Baron Aaron Cantor. Did Lady Octavia know that?

Several hours later, Sara carefully tore the page out of her notebook and handed it to Baron Cantor's butler, and then left. She went to the guard's stables to end her day. There she unsaddled Pommy and walked him, then combed him out until his mane and tail gleamed. Then she reported to Captain Hillingham. "Sir! I gave the duke the message from the baron. He gave me a reply message to bring back. He ordered me to give the message to the butler when he answered the baron's door then to leave and report to you."

"He did? What did the final message say?"

"Well sir, it was written out by Lady Octavia, and she wrote it in Wädendrisi."

"Which I know you are fluent in. What did it say?"

"It said, and I quote, 'Get your lazy fat ass down here or start looking for a new job, Ronnie.'"

Captain Hillingham laughed loudly. "Holy dancing gods! You gotta love Lady Octavia!"

"Yes, I suppose you do sir."

"Thank you, Sara. Thank you very much for doing this for me," said Captain Hillingham.

Sara turned to leave but stopped and turned back to Captain Hillingham. "Sir, my landlady, Missus Donahue is making rabbit pie for dinner and it's far too much for the two of us, would you care to join us? I know she won't mind."

Captain Hillingham looked down at the paperwork on his desk, then finally said, "I would be glad to join you trooper. Let me lock up and I'll walk with you."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 23 - Artafána

Nick led Octavia into the Temple of the Woods and said to Tervis, "We're going to the Temple of Saatus in Artafána. She has permission to travel there without me, and her duress word is Pommy. "

Tervis smiled and bowed to Nick. "Proceed your grace," then he stepped outside to enjoy the snow. Nick led Octavia through the temple portal to the Temple of Saatus, and they emerged in a room with rock walls; a few torches lit the room with their flickering flames. There was a wooden bench along one wall where people could sit and recover from the journey. Since the Temple of the Woods was just a few miles away, it wasn't very stressful at all.

"Are you ready?" asked Nick. "Is the baby rested and ready to continue on?"

"Marlon is well!" insisted Octavia. "He doesn't notice the temple portals."

"Well, then," and he held out his hands and helped Octavia to her feet. "Let's go explore" and he led her to a narrow walkway that led to a wooden door.

"That was it? One room for the temple of Saatus?"

"No, that was just her foyer." He opened the door to reveal a long white corridor that was lined with doors on either side. "This entire underground castle is her temple."

Octavia looked around in shock. "What is behind all these doors?"

"Nothing for many of them, but I updated a few." He opened the door across the hall from the temple entrance and exposed a library that seemed to go on forever.

"The Library of Nolmë!" gasped Octavia. "This is supposed to contain all important elvish knowledge!"

"It does now," said Nick, and a special stand at the entrance to the library sat empty. He placed the Vanemate Rasside Jõud on the stand, and he felt a tingle run through his body. Looking up, they noticed that much more of the library was visible far off in the back. "Saatus said that there's knowledge from worlds that are just myth on Kodu," said Nick.

"My gods below," whispered Octavia as she fingered the books on the nearest shelf, touching them one by one. She turned and saw the card catalogue, shelves and shelves of cards; there had to be over a million cards in that catalogue. Then she turned to Vanemate Rasside Jõud, which seemed to be happy with its bookstand. "Can I look?" she asked.

"Normally I'd say yes, but as your witch I advise against it," said Nick. "I worry about the baby." He and Octavia have been having long discussions about magic and how it could affect the baby, and Octavia has been avoiding magic as much as she could. As far as any witch could tell, the baby was developing normally, but they decided that the baby should not receive any more exposure to magic or magical elements than necessary.

"Let's try it like this." Octavia leaned over the stand and spoke to the book, "Vanemate Rasside Jõud, I just want to see the magical field you're emitting. I ask because we don't want it to hurt our baby."

Not hearing or feeling any complaint from the book, Octavia stood, waved a hand over its cover, and the air around the book began to tingle and change to a brilliant, deep blue-purple, the color of magic. It was quite a bold-colored field, showing that the magical field radiating from the book was incredibly strong. The field politely avoided Octavia, yet it engulfed all of Nick. "I think the book likes you. Thank you Vanemate Rasside Jõud." With another wave of her hand, the colored field was gone.

"Is it strong?" asked Nick.

"Oh yeah, it's really strong. I'm glad I did that before blindly flipping through the pages."

"I looked through it a few times. It's handwritten in that curly alphabet they used on the cover. There's a lot of hand drawn charts inside. Words move around as you try to decipher them, they're fighting against the reader. Vesstan was completely stumped." He patted the ancient tome and said, "There you go, just for you, old boy," then suddenly he froze with his hands on the book, his head tilted back and he began to tremble, tiny bolts of lightning crackled from the book, and he shuddered in throes of pain, then he slumped to his knees.

"Are you well?" Octavia gasped as she knelt next to him.

"Yeah, the book, it just finished fixing a few things then reinforced what it gave me last year. I think the emperor's dragon messed up the power they gave me. It said no more than ten animals a day until I mature."

"Mature?" laughed Octavia. She nipped at his ear and said, "I hope that never happens." Nick's boyish playfulness was precious to her, although she would never admit it to Nick. She helped him to his feet and held his arm until he stood steady. Wisely, Octavia stepped away from the book and took a long look at one of the most beautiful libraries that she had ever seen. It was filled with light that didn't cast shadows, a whitewashed rock wall and ceiling, beautiful plants, comfortable seating, and clearly marked restrooms. It even had a stream that flowed through the reading area and filled a pond populated with coy fish. "It's beautiful!" gasped Octavia as she did slow turns, trying to see the entire library. "You made this?"

"No, I just suggested what you said was what you wanted for your ideal library and Saatus did the rest."

"How?"

"I just go to one of those doors, think to myself what I would like to see behind the door, then open it. I asked for the grandest library in the world for you and Saatus said it's already here. I'm going to leave it to you and Seldanna and Eryri to play with," said Nick. "There should be dwarven history in here too. I don't read much elf."

"This is wonderful," said Octavia with that sexy purr that let Nick know she was truly happy. "Is this truly Artafána? Is this where we dropped off Rhys Oladi?"

"This is Artafána the fabled refuge to elves. The Ergonian elves built it, but the forest and plains elves didn't trust them so it went unused thousands and thousands of years ago. Only the caretakers that the Ergonians hired remain. It gets even better, come on."

He led her across the hall to an empty room where the door hung open. He closed the door and said, "This would make a nice personal office for the Duke of Wægn." He opened the door again, and this time the room contained a large desk, bookshelves, easy chairs, and a fireplace. "It will stay like this until I decide to change the room into something else."

Octavia gasped in shock. Nick doesn't have the magic to change a lantern wick, but he just furnished an entire room! She examined the room, but everything was real and there wasn't a hint of malignant magic being used; in fact, there was no hint of magic anywhere. She had heard that the Mountain Ergonian Elves were powerful and corrupt, but so far, she couldn't find a hint of corruption in anything. "This is amazing..." she stood in the room with her arms stretched out, fingers pointing straight up. She turned side to side and said, "This was ancient magic, and it wasn't from you. It was the castle doing it because you asked." She looked at her husband and smiled, "I know what you mean to me, but what do you mean to this castle... or fort... or whatever it is?"

Nick could only shrug. "Saatus and Saehrimnir have their reasons. Come on, I made something just for us." He led her to the next room, where a beautiful apartment was waiting with a large, relaxing area for guests with a beautiful dining table, and a warm, cozy bedroom with an enormous bed and a crackling fireplace. There was even an oliphant-foot umbrella stand for Teivas and Virga, but Teivas refused to be left behind, so Nick kept her with him.

"It looks like a rustic cabin!" gushed Octavia.

"I love log cabins, the cabins that Vesstan is building in their village are so beautiful to me. There's more surprises, but this one is the big one." He led her to a door in their cottage and said, "I've never seen anything like this so I don't know if I got it right..."

She gave him a sideways look, then opened the door and shrieked with delight. "A water closet! It's perfect! It even has a lantern for light!" She closed the door, leaving Nick standing alone and confused in the bedroom.

"Maybe I should have made a two-holer?"

"No, there's sometimes when a woman needs to be alone," came Octavia's voice from the other side of the door. Indoor plumbing! So warm and cozy compared to a frigid outhouse on a frosty winter's day. Octavia had to employ magic to keep her outhouse warm, but there's still that short but glacial walk outside to get to the outhouse. "Why all this?" asked Octavia through the water closet door.

"I figured this would be our home away from home," said Nick. "All the truly rich and powerful in Uduithia have hunting cabins in the mountains, I figured this would be ours." He took off his uniform and hung it in the closet, knowing that when he took it out and put it back on, it would be clean and pressed. He made sure that all closets in all the guest rooms he made were imbued with the spell that Octavia put on their closet in Nana Peacock's cottage.

"An ancient elven fortress where a goddess lives as a weekend cabin?" asked an amused Octavia as she washed her hands in the water closet.

"Sure, Buggy and Eryri have eyes on a dwarven mine on Spatz Mountain and Vesstan is looking at an oak grove at the base of Black mountain. We all have our dreams."

It was little more than a wooden stool with a water flush and a small sink to wash in, but it was everything she wanted. Octavia came out of the water closet refreshed and happy, and in the mood to explore. Another door on the other side of the bed contained a huge copper bathtub with a magic well pump like they had at Nana Peacock's cottage. "Why are you in a bathrobe?"

"You will see in the very near future," said Nick as he unbuttoned her gown and let it drop to the floor. "On a similar note, remember those hot springs we found near the sweet wood grove? Our camping spot?"

"Yes. Why?"

"This place is connected to that. I believe we can get there from inside this fortress." He hung her dress in the closet and handed her a robe to put on, then led her deeper into the redoubt, past door after door open to empty rooms. A pair of fairies joined them to light the way. "Flitterdance, Dazzlepuff," said Nick, "this is the mistress of the house, Octavia Stein."

"The Enchantress!" gasped the two fairies. "We are your hand maidens!" The fairies swirled around maddeningly, and when they realized that she was pregnant, they hovered in front of her stomach, crooning songs to the baby.

"I'm having a hard time trying not to swat," said Octavia through gritted teeth.

"Girls! Lead us to the garden," Nick told the fairies.

"This way! This way!" Apparently Nick led Octavia too far because they had to head back toward the library, then they turned down a hall. Soon they were standing in an empty room with a glass wall that looked out on a marvelous garden. Plants and trees, flowers, and butterflies, Octavia gasped at the splendor of it all.

"Come on," said Nick, and he took Octavia's hand and led her through a glass door and out into the garden. It was dark, but glowing flowers lit a path that led between flowering plants of all kinds. Here and there were chairs and tables to sit and enjoy the beauty. The path led them through an orchard where all kinds of fruit hung ripe. Ready to pick. "Bananas!" gasped Octavia. "I haven't had a banana in ages!" The sound of flowing water led them to a pond where the water temperature was perfect for a refreshing dip. Beautiful aquatic plants grew around the edge of the pond, except at the end where there was a lawn to recline and watch the swimmers. Flowers bloomed, and small lights floated around in the evening garden. "This is where we will teach the children to swim during the winter," said Nick.

"This is impossible," said Octavia. "It's much warmer here than it was down in the valley."

"It's a cave," said Dazzlepuff knowingly.

Flitterdance gave a little melodious cry, and one by one, other fairies appeared from their hiding spaces. "Come out! It's the Viimane Päkapikk Kuningas and the Enchantress!"

Nick and Octavia looked at each other in confusion. "What's a Viimane Päkapikk Kuningas?" Nick asked.

"It's you, silly!" giggled Flitterdance.

"I'm just Nick," said the exasperated Duke of Wægn and Emperor of the Xuantang Empire.

"Viimane Päkapikk Kuningas, is the Last King of the Magical Realm," whispered Teivas.

"I'm not a king, and I'm not magical" said Nick.

"You were twice in the past, and you will be again," hissed the walking stick. Suddenly Nick was yanked out of the underground cavern and found himself on top of Black Mountain. It was bright, he could see for miles, but there was no sun. Stars fell from the sky, lighting Kodu as they fell. Most burned out as they plunged through the atmosphere, but many struck the ground and demolished whatever they landed near. Fires raged, and the mountain shook. Nick watched as shining cities were smashed and burned. Humans, elves, dwarves, and trolls ran to the mountains for cover, but many were slaughtered as the rain of burning meteors showered down on Kodu. "This is Esimene Tähetants, the First Stardance," said Teivas. "Before this day, there was no stardance. Cities holding hundreds of thousands of humans, elves, dwarves, trolls, were destroyed."

"When was this?" asked Nick as he looked toward Elm Springs and saw a large city that filled the valley. Almost all of Hay-on-Wægn county was a city in flames, and terrified people were streaming over Breeders Peak and running toward him, looking for shelter in Black Mountain. "Come Here! We have room here!" shouted Nick, but they ignored him.

"Artafána had not been built at that time," said Teivas. "Artafána was built for another purpose."

They continued past Black Mountain on the road Octavia uncovered to the Gjorgiev River Valley, where they sought cover. Nick watched in horror as a meteor struck a reservoir dam, and in a matter of minutes, a wave of water washed tens of thousands of refugees out to sea, scores of miles away.

"When was this?" demanded Nick.

"Esimene Tähetants happened four thousand, nine hundred forty seven years before your current calendar was invented."

"That was eight thousand years ago," said Nick.

"Eight thousand three hundred, seventy seven years ago."

"The gods! Why didn't the gods stop it?" Nick asked.

"For one thing, the gods don't have that kind of power. For another, that was the day the gods appeared among us," said Teivas.

"Honey? Are you well?" asked Octavia.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," said Nick. "I was talking with Teivas about... history." Nick looked about, and there were fairies fluttering about, chattering softly, welcoming the Viimane Päkapikk Kuningas and his Enchantress. Tiny gnomes in their silly lederhosen appeared from under the shrubs, and they bowed and greeted Nick and Octavia.

An older gnome bowed to Nick and said, "I am Torger Undershrub, your head gardener here in Artafána. We are glad you are here."

"Do you know Bjorn Highgrower?" asked Octavia. "He's our gardener down at our cabin."

"Oh ya! Cousins, don'tcha know. He winters here. When he and his clan arrive, we know winter is not far behind. He has a winter vegetable garden in the next cavern and it will soon be ready to harvest. "

"Did Nana Peacock ever come here?" asked Nick.

"Oh no, she was not Päkapikk."

Octavia put her lips to Nick's ear and whispered something naughty. Something based on the words, "Päkapikk, Nick, and dick."

"You say the sweetest things." Then to Torger he said, "I think my bride and I are going to go for a swim. Is that ok?"

"We will give you some privacy, your grace!" and with that, the gnomes slowly withdrew under their shrubbery.

"Torger, what is Viimane Päkapikk Kuningas?" asked Nick as the old gnome went to duck under a shrub.

"You opened the front door to the keep, did you not?" Nick nodded, and Torger continued, "and you assigned rooms did you not?" Again, Nick nodded. "Only the Viimane Päkapikk Kuningas can do that, so it must be you."

"What does it mean?" but Torger had disappeared into the plants, and his answer was lost in the rustling leaves.

<><><><><>

The thieves and pirates of the flotilla had been well-behaved; there had been no assaults, attacks, knifings, strangulations, beatings, decapitations or the like in the past week. But the night was young and had a lot of potential. Down in the hold of the Lady Meredith, the clan gathered to hear the plan spelled out. Thieves and murderers were waiting to hear what their next target was; freelance men were looking to make a living without federation interference, and were ready for anything. The only thing they all had in common was boredom. The lights were low; the mood was dark, and the talk was conducted with a lot of glances over shoulders.

"Gentlemen!" called Commodore Whitbeck, known to all who sail as the Black Dane. "It is time we reveal our destination to our crew." There was evil laughter among the officers and the dozens of thieves and mercenaries that were hired on a promise leaned forward to hear. "What do ye know of the Xuantang Empire?"

"Oi hears that the emperor of the Xuantang Empire is dead, he were kilt by one o' his own prisoners," said Scurvy Edward.

Even with the flash network sending information from Waleston to the Pirangi Plains in a matter of minutes, news from far-flung places still travels slowly on Kodu. It's been months since the brat emperor Fu Ki had his wish come true and he got a good close look at a dragon, the hard way. Now the news of that event was finally reaching the depths of Torwin-Armistad society.

"Aye, 'tis true," said Dalton, "Black Eyes" Ross, first mate of the Lady Meredith. "Oi also heard that there was no successor to the throne so the bloke wot kacked the emperor is now the new emperor."

"Wot's all that got to do with us?" whined Crafty Breeden. Crafty isn't really crafty, but he follows orders well and he's a passable pickpocket.

"Wot's that got to do with us?" asked Commodore James with a grin. "There's a Torwin-Armistad boy sitting on that throne and All That Gold."

"We could walk in there and start scooping up All That Gold," chuckled Mortimer Sweeny. "That way, the emperor would have less to worry about. Har, Har, Har."

"Wot's a Torwin-Armistad boy know about runnin' an empire?" asked Dunstel Marvin rhetorically. "NUFFIN! That's wot! The entire empire is ours for the pickin'. The empire and All That Gold!"

Knowing laughter spread through the group of mercenaries and thieves, as Splinters Nottly said, "Now I know why oi'm on this ship, when do we get off this ship and get at All That Gold?"

"You'll need more than a few ships and a small army," said a voice in the corner.

"Wot would you say that we need, Mister Failed Wizard," the Black Dane taunted the man who was sitting back in the shadows.

Leaning into the light, he said, "You need a dragon," and Horatio Tinsmith returned to the shadows.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 24 - Nick's First Payday

They walked down to the water's edge, and Nick stuck a toe in the water. "Oh, my gods the water is perfect!" He gasped as he dropped his robe. "Come join me!" but she twisted away, and he had to chase Octavia a little.

"It's not fair! I can't run with your baby in me!" she shouted, trying not to laugh.

"I have no problem with taking advantage of the situation," he said. As he caught her wrist and pulled her close, they kissed. He gave the tie of her robe's belt a gentle tug, and it opened. Kissing her, Nick gave her robe practiced tugs, and between kisses he gave her that smile, and her robe slipped to her ankles, and she was naked. Her swollen belly and breasts could barely contain their precious cargo, and her skin felt so perfect touching his own bare skin. He led her by the hand, naked, to the pond as she laughed and called for the fairies to come to help her. All she got for her cries for help was twitters of laughter from the underbrush.

"What if it's too hot for the baby? We'll cook him!" The water was not even as warm as a hot bath that she loves in front of the fireplace so much; the underground pond was like a warm summer day in their pond at the cottage.

"He might come out a little over-done around the edges, but you're a superb cook. I have faith," teased Nick as they entered the water.

Octavia felt the warm mud squeeze between her toes as she took tiny steps into the pond. She was terrified that she would fall, but Nick was there at her side with every step. Soon she was deep enough for the water to lift her heavy breasts, and Nick pulled her to him. Octavia put her arms around Nick's neck, and their eyes melted into each other's, and before they knew it, they were kissing sweetly as she floated gently in the warm, soft water of the fragrant pond.

"Why didn't you tell me about this place," sighed Octavia as their kiss finally ended. "Were you saving it for your girlfriend?"

"Yes, and it took me forever to get you up here." Nick walked around in the water, cradling Octavia, one hand on her back, one hand on her bum, letting her float in the heavenly water. She looked up and saw what she thought were stars glowing above her. They were different soft colors and intensities, and she could pick out constellations. So peaceful, so wonderful, and she allowed the tension of their hectic schedule and terrible responsibilities to drift away...

"We will retire here," one of them said, although neither could say who said it.

"We could hike under the red leaves in the sweetwood forest outside. The hot spring isn't far," said Nick.

"And there's good fishin' in the stream, west from the keep," called a garden gnome.

"This is our refuge in times of trouble and our escape in times of joy," said Nick. "A place where our children can be safe and cared for."

It all sounded so appealing to Octavia, but right now it was just her and her men, one holding her safe in the water, the other floating happily in her womb. She placed her hand on the back of Nick's head and pulled him down for another kiss, their tongues gently dancing with each other.

Nick supported his floating enchantress with one arm while his free hand roamed over her body, gently sliding up between her legs, fingertips whisking the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs, now daring to brush up and down her sensitive lower lips, eliciting a shudder.

He moved into shallow water and was sitting on the bottom with Octavia floating in his lap, her hair fanning out in the water. Her eyes rolled back in pleasure as his fingers circled around and around, dancing on her sensitive inner thighs, eliciting little yelps and sighs of pleasure. He leaned over and started suckling her breast gently, and she gasped, her eyes flying wide open. "That's for... Marlon!"

They were so young and unaware of this world, and everything was a new discovery. Nick got a little taste of what was in store for their child, and he smiled at his wife, "That is so amazing."

It was all amazing as they made love on the shore of the pond, gently and sweetly. Octavia had almost forgotten how heavenly it felt to make love with her husband, and soon he was bringing her to the climax she had waited so long for. Her cries of passion filled the garden, and at her peak, she fainted...

She awoke a couple of moments later, and Nick was gently cuddling her, his head spinning from his own resolution. They lay side by side, clutching each other tightly in case they fly off the face of Kodu. Panting breath soon eased, and they lay side-by-side, kissing gently.

"What are you thinking?" she asked with a smile.

"Nothing really."

"Come on, I see it in your eyes. Tell me."

"I think," Nick started, "I think we have to cut back on our work schedules and work on our us schedules."

<><><><><>

Another day, another meeting with the men who control the Xuantang Empire. Nick looked out at the sea of faces, all looking up at him either in anger or adoration, there's no middle of the road with these people, but he's got to get going, It's almost Yuletide and he wanted to get home to Octavia. She can be away from the bookstore for ten minutes and get a full day's work done over here. Nick doesn't have that skill. "Could you repeat that?" he asked the Minister of the Treasury. Nick's formal high collar robe hid Sundrop, a male fairy who translated what was said for Nick in his ear. He still used Lung Mist to translate officially. Their excuse was that Nick's accent made Xuantang sound funny, and he didn't want to insult the court, which the ministers approved.

"How do you want your salary paid?" said Sundrop, translating for the minister.

"I didn't realize I got a salary." The idea of receiving money for showing up a couple of times a week and just talking seemed strange.

"Yes, minus palace expenses, of course, and you're never here, so your expenses are incidental."

"I want ten percent of whatever it was he just said and hold on to the rest," said Nick. He couldn't fathom the number that was given to him earlier because Sundrop said it started with a three and there were a lot of zeros.

"The Minister says all or nothing," said a worried Sundrop.

"Oh damnit," muttered Nick. He didn't want a sack of pretty Xuantang coins that he couldn't spend, but he had a child on the way, and they didn't even have any diapers for him. "Tell him I have to pay foreign agents; I'll need twenty five percent of it in one-ounce ingots, the rest in coin." That should shake him. The ingots they can convert to cash in Waleston, but the rest they'll lock up somewhere... maybe Artafána has a safe. Actually, Artafána IS a safe.

"He said he will have the money for you before you retire for the afternoon," translated Lung Mist.

"Thank you Lung Mist. What is next?"

"Transportation your eminence."

Nick listened to a lot of ministers, and it seemed to Nick that the number one complaint was the condition of roads and bridges throughout the empire, and that was making the famine worse. The farmers were producing more than enough food; they just couldn't get it to market. Nick turned to the Minister of the Army and asked, "How is your plan?" A month ago he had asked the minister, "What happens when your army comes to a weak or collapsed bridge?"

After relaying through Lung Mist, the answer came back: "we would march around it or return to base."

Nick thought for a moment, then said, "If we were invaded and we couldn't get our army in place because of bad roads and bridges, we would be in danger, would we not?" The minister agreed, so Nick continued, "If we want to defend ourselves, we need good roads and bridges to move our armies swiftly and protect our beloved empire, right?"

"Yes, your highness, but previous emperors wanted the army marching, not building."

"You can't march if the bridges are broken, or the roads are terrible. If you would like teamwork exercises, then you have my blessing to fix every bridge and road that your army finds that prevents them from completing their mission. Call it training for the soldiers."

"What if the generals disagree?" asked the minister.

Nick shrugged. "A group of men that cannot march properly are not an army. If they are not an army, we have no need for generals. You may dispose of them as you wish."

The minister of the Army brightened. This wasn't an order, and it didn't countermand previous orders directly. It was something that needed to be done. "Your highness, how do you suggest we approach this problem?"

Nick shrugged. "It's your army, you run it as you see fit, sit down with your officers and devise a plan, then show it to me next week and then we'll decide whether to go with your plan or not."

That was a month ago, and now they're bearing fruit from their labor. "Your holiness, your army has rebuilt forty-two bridges in their zeal to train and two hundred miles of road have been rebuilt. Food is now moving into the seven blessed cities, and more roads are under repair."

When Lung Mist translated those words, the entire staff looked both shocked and delighted. Nick guessed that every previous emperor in memory didn't give his staff the freedom to run their departments as they saw fit, but Nick studied the King of Uduithia and the Dominus of Torwin-Armistad, two very different but very successful leaders who knew how to delegate.

Orazio Laurita, the Dominus of Torwin-Armistad used threats of violence and an occasional outing to the snake pit to get things done, but in truth, the day-to-day operations of Torwin-Armistad were delegated to the different guilds and federations, everything from construction to managing the graft that comes with construction. It was a self-perpetuating system.

They talked some more now with a more eager board of ministers who realized they could ask questions without their heads being cut off. When a functionary with a long braided ponytail set two sacks of coins and ingots next to the throne, the Emperor said, "That is all I have for today, in a few weeks I will introduce our new Prime Minister. I want an apartment set up for the Prime Minister and family here in the palace."

"Your highness! We haven't had a prime minister in nearly a hundred years!" gasped one minister. "We had a Grand Vizir."

"And what did that get you?" asked Nick. He knew the answer. A lot of beheadings. "The Shì Pha constitution, which required Grand Vizirs, was never ratified, so I am forced to go back to the Hong Chau constitution." There was murmuring of approval from a series of advisors who had just received a stay of execution. "Our new Prime Minister will do a great job, I guarantee it."

"His pay and the cost of his apartment will come out of your salary, your highness," said the Minister of Finance.

"That's probably why we haven't had one. Make it a pleasant apartment. Better yet, give the prime minister my apartment." He clapped his hands and said, "Gentlemen, is there anything else we need before I go?"

One small, tiny man stood and bowed several times and said one word. Lung mist turned to Nick and said, "He wants a Navy."

Nick's brow furrowed, and he rubbed his chin, "We have a Navy right?"

"No your highness. The last emperor was afraid of the water so he ordered all ships scuttled."

Nick pointed to the little man and said, "Start drawing up plans for the navy, quickly. Conscript no more than fifteen junks to protect the river inlets and harbors. Man them with any army units that don't want to fix roads or bridges."

Lung Mist was translating Nick's words, and his order to conscript junks and man them with soldiers drew applause as the curtain closed on another productive staff meeting. Lung Mist said that since Nick and Octavia took over, the Xuantang government has never been so responsive to the men and women of Xuantang, both the peasants and the elite. Sundrop, who had no idea what an apartment was, started whispering in Nick's ear that the board was confused but happy to hear that the Office of the Prime Minister would be filled, and they were embarrassed about the navy.

With the board and the onlookers murmuring, the curtain closed, and Lung Mist came up to Nick and said, "Your excellency, a Prime Minister?"

"It won't be a problem, Lung Mist. The Prime Minister knows the job, and you'll still get to yell. The Empress is getting close to having the baby and I want to spend time with her and the baby." Nick patted the old guy on the back and said, "You understand, right?"

"No, I truly don't."

Lung Mist was a eunuch. Of course, he didn't understand. With a shrug, Nick lifted the two sacks of coins and headed to the little temple. "One stop first before we go home Sundrop."

Sundrop wiggled out of the collar and sat on Nick's shoulder. "Wherever you go, I go. I'm just along for the ride."

As Nick left, the murmuring started. There were members of his court who were still wed to the Shì Pha constitution, which was the ruination of the Xuantang empire, but it richly rewarded nobility that was obedient to its invalid format. "We must speak to Ning Po Shi, she has the ear of the true emperor. We can convince her of the crimes that Long Won Di (Nick) and Ying Won Ho (Octavia) are committing."

<><><><><>

They stepped out of the Temple of the Woods because that had a tunnel to the Temple of Phuelia in the palace in Xuantang, so there was no exhaustion from the globe-spanning temple hop. Then Nick turned right back around and stepped back into the temple portal and emerged in the Temple of Saatus in Artafána. He went to the closest room he could find, a small, empty room, and closed the door. Nick held onto the doorknob and said, "this room would make a nice security vault."

He opened the door again, and there was another door there, with a combination lock dial in the middle of it. Somehow he knew that if he dialed a combination, that would set the combination to the lock. He dialed 8 - 28 - 6, which was Nebula 28th, 3406, the day Octavia was born. He turned the big handle and opened the heavy vault door, and in there were shelves and safety deposit drawers and even a desk and chair.

"Test the lock again, just so you don't lose anything," said Sundrop.

"Good thought," agreed Nick. He stepped outside, closed the vault door, spun the dial a few times, and made sure it was locked. The big handle wouldn't budge. Once again, he dialed 8 - 28 - 6 and turned the handle, and the door opened. Smiling, he put the two bags on a shelf and kept a small handful of the ingots in the original velvet bag, then closed it up.

"Ok Sundrop, let's go," and he jogged back to the temple portal and emerged in the Temple of the Woods. "Home again, home again, do you and the girls need anything?" asked Nick as he placed a fresh apple from Mister Undershrub's garden in the fairies' portable cottage. He brought a small sack of apples for an after-dinner snack.

"That apple should last us the rest of the week," said Sundrop, as Nick changed out of his Emperor's robe.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning. I have a few children to teach." Nick stepped out from the screen in his heavy trousers and flannel shirt, and he pulled on a jacket. He adjusted the crystal heater in the potbelly stove and said good night to the fairies who now live on top of the stove at night. He stepped outside, the weather was cold and dreary, too cold and damp to be walking home so he clutched the bag of gold ingots in his teeth and suddenly he changed into a horse that galloped to a warm, cozy cottage a mile up the hill.

"You're late," called Octavia from over by the stove. She was setting out ingredients for tonight's dinner.

"It's payday, so I stopped off at the Bent Fyfe with the boys," said Nick as he hung up his coat and put his walking stick, Teivas, in the Oliphant Foot umbrella stand.

"The boys? You didn't entertain the wenches?"

"Wot? and sign their death warrants?" He said with a grin as he hugged Octavia from behind.

"I have some good news," she said in a singsong voice.

"We're having twins?"

"Better! Buggy and Eryri's miners struck a very rich lode of nearly pure iron." She jingled a coin purse and handed it to Nick. There were nearly thirty Torwin-Armistad dollars in there, more than double what they had stashed in the empty cookie jar.

"I didn't know emperors were salary workers, but we got paid today," and he handed her the bag.

She counted out seventeen ingots and a dozen solid gold coins. With the current price of gold hovering over 350 Torwin-Armistad dollars per pure ounce... "Oh my god we're rich!"

"Well, that's about six thousand dollars at a money exchanger. I have no idea what the sack full of Xuantang gold pieces is worth." Six thousand dollars is how much the average person in Torwin-Armistad will be paid in twelve years of hard labor.

"There's more?" she gasped.

"Yep, I locked it up in Artafána. There are more ingots, but it's mostly large denomination Xuantang coins." He took a trio of Xuantang coins out of his pocket as he led his pregnant wife to the table, and they sat down excitedly, discussing what they were going to do with All That Money. Baby furniture, a sleigh, baby clothes, an actual horse so Nick can ride on the cart with the family, a baby bed... the world was theirs. "We will be done with Xuantang by the end of the year and we can just stay home and love our family."

"I can't wait," sighed Octavia. "Come in!" her call to come in was followed by the sound of knuckles rapping at the front door. Suddenly the cottage was filled with the scent of freshly baked bread and roasted pork as Octavia's kitchen magic produced dinner from the raw ingredients she had placed on the counter. The door opened and two witches stood at the doorway, dressed in black from head to toe, wearing their iconic pointy black hats with wide brims.

"Please, enter, sisters," said Nick, and two witches entered. The witch, who summoned up her courage and entered first, took her hat off and bowed. Witches only curtsey to kings; dukes get a bow.

"My apologies for being so late, but we represent the witches of Uduithia and want to thank you for the life of Guendolen Borsen." Both witches faced Nick and curtsied deeply, holding their curtsies. Nick looked at Octavia, confused, and she just shrugged. A curtsey from a pair of witches? Something was brewing.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 25 - Readying for Yuletide

"Uhh, you're welcome?" Saving Guendolen Borsen happened almost nine months ago. Nick stood and pulled a chair away from the table and said, "we were about to eat. Please join us. We have plenty."

The witches looked nervously at each other, not knowing what to expect. This was a young couple who looked completely out of place here. He was a tall, energetic young man with dark, well-kept hair and a trimmed beard. Everything about him said nobleman, but he was dressed like a farmer. He normally wore an eye patch, but he had it off and the witches could see his golden eyeball. Octavia was almost as tall as Nick was, and was a pleasant young woman, and she was obviously pregnant. She was clearly a city girl who had been dropped on a farm and told, "Here's your new home, survive."

"Let me take your shawls and brooms please Aunt Agness," said Nick, and finally, the witches slowly handed their shawls to him and placed their brooms in the oliphant foot umbrella holder.

"I am Matilda Potts and this is Agness Dempsy... wait... AUNT Agness?" Matilda glared at Nick's great-aunt who just shrugged. "You never said you were his aunt!"

"You never asked. Everyone else at the meeting knew."

"Agness, be nice. She's young," scolded Octavia as she and Nick set the table.

Matilda soldiered on. "We have come belatedly to thank you for saving Guendolen Borsen."

Agness then spoke. "Witches in the Snowcross Mountains believe that all children in Uduithia are our responsibility, and saving one like you did is the greatest gift a witch can give to their sisterhood... or brotherhood as the case may be," she added with a scowl. She still hates the fact that her great-nephew was a witch. Agness spoke forcefully and stiffly, but Agness says everything forcefully and stiffly.

"We should have been here long before to thank you," said Matilda. "I apologize for the snub. It was cruel and uncalled for."

Nick and Octavia bustled about like a well-oiled machine, placing wooden dishes with roast pork, potatoes, and beans, and a large loaf of bread and freshly churned goat's butter on the table. Every time they passed each other, they kissed. Finally, they sat down with a kiss, and dinner began. They chatted through dinner, and Matilda and Agness were shocked to find out how much Octavia loved living in a small cottage on a farm on the mountain. "We have so many friends here!" gushed Octavia. "We have elves and dwarves and demi-giants in and out constantly. The girls in Irla Stein Anore are teaching me elven quilt making." She pointed to a quilt on the chaise that had colors that slowly changed.

"Where?" asked Agness.

"Irla Stein Anore, it's the elf village about six miles up the old West Shoulder Road."

"I hadn't heard there was an elf village in Uduithia."

"All three tribes are represented there," said Nick. "I was allowed to assist when the first baby elf was born in Uduithia in over five hundred years. The king is incredibly happy about that."

"I hadn't heard of that," said Matilda.

"I thought Nick was going to cry when he handed the baby to his father. It was such a beautiful moment," said Octavia.

"Jhaan Torlar Aedi," said Nick as he cleared dishes from the table. "I swear I saw Vesstan cry, but he'll deny that with his dying breath."

"We're sorry to intrude," said Matilda. "it looks like this is one of the last evenings together at home alone for you."

"It will be a few more weeks before Marlon joins us," said Octavia. "He'll be here after the new year begins." At the sound of Marlon's name, Pepin woke up from his soft bed before the fire and wandered over to the table to see if there were any scraps that would need liberating.

"You know it's going to be a boy? How?"

Octavia pointed to Nick and said, "He told me."

"How many babies have you delivered?" asked Matilda, trying to get some small talk going.

Nick just shrugged, but Octavia said, "Fourteen. If nothing changes, Marlon will be number sixteen. There's a girl up in Widdershin that will be joining her family next week."

"Darindra," nodded Nick.

"Da-reen-dra," corrected Octavia, who got a kiss.

"I'm not far from Widdershin," said Agness. Agness was a big, blocky woman. Under her shawl and robes, Nick wouldn't be surprised if he found out that she was made of shoeboxes. "Do you mind if I assist?"

"Um... sure?"

"We just want you to know that we're here for you," said Matilda. "Being a male witch makes you an outsider, and we want to draw you in and make you welcome." She was saddened when Nick slowly shook his head.

Nick sat down and said, "I understand what you are doing, and it's OK. I thank you for it, but I don't fit in. I'll just make everyone uncomfortable and I don't want to do that. I'll stitch wounds, make poultices, and deliver babies. I study the craft and am willing to learn more, but I'm an outsider, an outcast, always have been, and I found my coven." He raised his hand, showing that he was holding Octavia's hand.

Octavia kissed his hand and said, "Honey, do you mind if the girls and I talk?"

"Ok," said Nick.

Octavia touched his forehead, and Nick slumped to sleep. She then kissed his cheek, then turned to the witches and said, "Let's have some tea." A few minutes later, they were sitting by the fire, sipping tea and nibbling on biscuits and apple slices while Nick snoozed at the dinner table.

"Why did you do that?" asked Agnes with the force of a sledgehammer.

Octavia refilled her teacup and said, "This lets us girls talk openly. You were talking about babies, and I know exactly how many babies I'm going to have. I don't know how I know, but I know. Nick doesn't want to know; he wants it to be a surprise. And when the first one inherits the duchy and the next one becomes a witch and inherits this cottage, Nick and I will move out to live in a larger place that we are preparing now."

"Could he do the same thing to you?" asked Matilda, still shocked after seeing Octavia put Nick to sleep.

"What, put me to sleep with magic? I don't think so, even if I taught him how to do it. His magic is very specialized. It's mostly typical witch's magic, you know, herbs and potions, he's even able to enlist an animal and ride along with them. But there's some ancient elven magic underneath all that."

"What kind of elf magic?" asked Matilda

"The magic is a form of Polyeidus, it allows him to assume the form of an animal. He says it's more humane than jumping into an owl's brain." Octavia looked over at her dozing man. There was so much more to the magic, but he refused to explore it. He doesn't want to know. Most wizards that Octavia knew would kill for the opportunity that Nick is ignoring.

"He wants to be there for everyone in this valley, as their children's teacher or as their witch or their duke, and if he has time, as their husband." Octavia looked at the witches, and there was thunder in her eyes. "We've been separated twice in the past. I almost died of terror each time. No more. If you want to have Nick at your meetings, prepare to have me along. We're a team, we work together."

Matilda looked around and realized that up on the mantel over the fire there were nervous eyes watching from several hiding creatures. Most likely fairies, but then she realized that huge colorful bird wasn't stuffed, and it wasn't happy with her. "ICK!" it shouted.

"Gula, be nice," scolded Octavia.

"No ma'am! That's not what we want to do," said Matilda. "We want to help you. If it's ok with you and Nick, Agness and I want to cover the west end of the valley, that's about twenty farms and homesteads that won't be calling you for help, they'll be calling us."

Octavia slumped back into her chair happily, somebody who wanted to help. Tears of joy, driven by uncertainty and exhaustion, flowed down her cheeks. "Thank you so much."

"And we will finish training up Nick's silly cousin Bella," said Agness with a scowl. Nick's silly cousin Bella was Agness's youngest granddaughter. The poor homeless girl that Nick found on the road and got her on her start to witchcraft. That brought out sobs of relief from Octavia; they worried about Bella so much, especially with winter setting in.

Matilda came over and hugged Octavia and whispered, "It's ok, that's what we're here for."

"How many babies are you going to have?" demanded Agnes.

Octavia looked over to see if Nick was still sleeping, then held up six fingers.

<><><><><>

The wizards tried again to deal with the problem that nobody wanted to talk about but everybody wanted solved - the Enchantress. One evening they met on neutral ground, ground so sacred that any wizard acting out of order would get their staff broken, their pointy hat flattened, their robes rent, and they would be removed from magical society permanently. The location: The Bent Fife.

The Bent Fife is a tavern and eatery run by Kuba Banaszak, near the Temple of Saehrimnir University on the Torwin side of the river. The customers at The Bent Fife don't need to ask for a menu; they just read what is scrawled in chalk on the wall. The Bent Fife is not known for great food, or even good food, but it is known for large portions and low prices, which to an older wizard is far more important than anything else.

The eight wizards gathered and glumly steeled themselves for the meals ahead. One of the younger wizards mumbled something to his neighbor, who reacted as if he had just been jolted by an electric wand. "WOT?!?"

"I simply said she's pregnant," whispered Kup Flanagan of the Ancient and Truly Original Sages of the Unbroken Circle.

"The female wizard is pregnant. Is that what you said?" demanded Szandor Obsidian-Moon of the Mystics of the Autumn Stardance. "How is that possible?"

"Well," Kup made a circle with his left thumb and forefinger and pointed to it with his right index finger, "When momma wizard and daddy witch love each other very much..." He slid his index finger into the circle and...

"NOT THAT!" demanded Szandor. "The vow of chastity! The mandatory vow of chastity we all must take to become a wizard!"

"There's no mandatory vow of chastity," said Kup.

"None," said Jemaex the Bringer of the Ancient Brothers of the Silver Star. "It's all completely voluntary. Mostly symbolic, you might say."

"No..."

"Quite so, young chap," said Anidalf Skyshaper as he puffed his cigar to life without striking a match. The smoke from his stogie changed color from time to time, so everyone in the room chose (wisely) not to ask him what was in his cigar. "It's a wonderful prank we pull on our first-year students... Who else would believe such a thing?" The smoke from his cigar changed from deep blue to brilliant green.

While Szandor Obsidian-Moon quietly wept for his lost youth, Ernas Nythor, of The Brotherhood of the Grand Allusion, reported. "The female wizard has been quite active recently. Our spies kept her cottage under observation, and recently it was reported that she turned a horse into a man."

"She wot???"

"She turned a horse into a man!" Ernas took a small scroll out of his sleeve and read aloud, "Upon arriving at thee home thee hoarse 'twas pulling her cart became sorely cantankerous and stubborn. Thee enchantress smite thee hoarse thusly upon thee rump a good one at which point it become a man."

"And then what?"

Ernas Nythor looked through his notes and muttered, "She took him inside and gave him dinner..." followed by a series of knowing chuckles. "Then the next day she sent him to the temple bookstore to work."

"Blimey! She turned her horse into a shopkeeper?"

"That was her husband, you dolt. He's a magic user too," snarled Fallewraith Flanagon of the Brothers of the Order of Midnight. "Look, if we do anything to this woman, we have to make it look like an accident. Her husband is the Duke of Wægn and is currently seated as the emperor of the Xuantang Empire."

"They never go nowhere but that bookstore of theirs," said Ilore Kalvaris of The Sages of the Unknown Shadow. "Now, if there was a fire wot breaks out..." His remark brought grins and nods.

"Aye. You know it's a mile long trek through a dark and haunted forest to reach that bookstore," chuckled Xanin Flameborne of The Brothers of the Order of Midnight. "A Snowcross mountain lion could pop out anywhere along the path." His implication brought chuckles.

"They live in a witch's cottage," said Anidalf Skyshaper of The Ancient Sages of the Unbroken Circle. "All those potions and chemicals, one never knows what the fumes can do to a human body, in the winter with the windows all shut tight."

"Let them be," whispered a hooded stranger who appeared at their table. "I shall watch over them."

The eight wizards looked at each other, then Fallewraith Flanagon said, "Why should we leave the Enchantress to you?"

"Because," was the simple but forceful answer.

"Oh, really?" chuckled Astral Feek. "What if I decided to do something about it?"

"Try." The wizards watched in shock and horror as the hooded stranger rose to his full height of 12 feet and crushed a wooden chair to a flat paste of splinters without touching it. "It shall be an easier task when wrought upon the human body," said Saehrimnir, the god of Divine Fools.

Seven of the eight wizards ran for the exit while Astral Feek stammered, "Uh... if you need help with the Enchantress, call us for backup."

<><><><><>

"I don't believe you never heard of Saint Heldus!" said Octavia.

"I've never heard of Saint Heldus," mumbled Buggy.

"He's the god of generosity."

"The god of Generosity is Maz Dracus," said Buggy, "and he doesn't exist."

"Oh stop!" cried Eryri, and she hit Buggy with a pine bough. "He thinks Yuletide is a human holiday." She hit Buggy again. "Saint Heldus is what Elf and Dwarf children were calling Maz Dracus long before humans joined in the celebration."

"Humans brought it to Kodu," mumbled Buggy. Octavia chuckled at Buggy's growling; he's almost always wrong, like the time he said that there's no sun, it's just a bright moon, but she was sure he did that just to keep up his image of being a contrarian. Eryri had to stay mentally ready around Buggy because occasionally he's right.

It was the first day of the first week of the two week "month" of Yule. Two weeks of holidays, celebrations, and generosity, each week containing eight days. The eighth of Yuletide was the ancient holiday known as Yule, a celebration whose origin is completely lost, and scholars all over Kodu continue to scour ancient surviving texts to discover where Yule began. The last day of the 258 day long year is Yule 16, which is celebrated with going-away parties. The first day of the year is Astra first (Astralar first using the ancient calendar name) which is a Sunday and is traditionally a day of rest, recuperating from the holiday season.

Octavia and Eryri were busy decorating the cottage with pine boughs, holly wreaths, pinecones, berries, and lots of candles. Buggy taught Eryri and Octavia how to weave grape vine baskets from the wild grape that grew in the forest between the cottage and Elm Springs, and they wove two dozen baskets. Then Octavia came into the cottage with her shopping bag packed full of fresh fruit and half a dozen fairies. The fairies fluttered around the house, glowing bright colors and singing Yuletide hymns.

"What is this?" cried Eryri as she pulled a fruit out of Octavia's shopping bag.

Buggy looked up from the basket he was weaving and said, "Humans call that a donkey di..."

"IT'S A BANANA!" said Octavia forcefully. You don't have to read minds to figure out what Buggy was implying. She took fruit out of the bag and made little piles: apples, oranges, tangerines, bananas, grapes, grapefruit, and more. "I decided to hand out a basket of fresh fruit to everyone for Yuletide." She started arranging fruit in the baskets.

"That is a perfect gift! Where did you get all this fruit?" asked Eryri.

"From a hole in the mountain," said Buggy as he finished the last basket.

"BUGHAC!" shouted Eryri, and she swatted him with the pine branch. "Seriously, where did you get all of this?"

"From our cave," said Octavia.

"Fine! Don't tell me," huffed Eryri.

Just then, Nick entered; his head and shoulders were covered in snow. "Happy Yuletide to one and all!"

"Oh you're all covered in snow, is everything well?"

"Yes, I'm fine," said Nick as he shook off his overcoat and hung it up. "It's just so beautiful out that I walked the last mile."

"And the baby?"

"My last baby for the year thirty four thirty one is hale and hearty and cuddled in her parents arms. Even big brother Heimrad was happy with Darindra," said Nick as he took his wife in his arms and gave her a kiss. "He wanted to hold her."

"He's two," said Octavia. "Leave that decision up to Merlind and Dankmar Kassebaum" Then Nick noticed the baskets on the table. "What are you doing with the fruit?"

"I can't think of Yuletide gifts, then I realized we had all this fruit, and Buggy helped us with the baskets," said Octavia as she clung to Nick and rested her cheek on his chest.

"Where did you get all this fruit?" asked Eryri as she studied an orange.

"From our cave garden," said Nick. Then he asked Octavia, "Why is she screaming?"

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 26 - Yule

As they rolled through the half-month of Yule, it was painfully apparent that Nick wasn't ready. He didn't quite understand Yuletide yet, because his early adult years were spent in school and the military in Breaze. They celebrated Yule differently in Breaze than they did in Elm Springs; there, everything was parties in the streets. The prairies of Breaze up north closer to the equator were much warmer than the southern mountains of Uduithia. Nick was alone for his first twelve years of his life. In Torwin-Armistad, Yule was the most profitable time for a small child to beg for pennies, and because he wasn't aging, he did quite well, especially when he clung to his wolf pup, Pepin.

However, Yule in Elm Springs was completely different from Yule in Breaze and Torwin-Armistad. When he was dropped off at Nana Peacock's cabin, Nick usually slept through winter and ate out of jars from the cellar. Nick cut as much firewood as he could, but being a small boy alone in a cottage, he couldn't cut and gather as much as he needed. Firewood was a gift that he received on "Woodpile Wednesday" the fifth day of Yule. He didn't realize it, but when he poked his nose outside and saw the big stack of wood on the rear porch, it was a charitable gift. Woodpile Wednesday was the day that the poor and destitute were remembered, and the lonely boy Nick was included.

Nine-year-old Nick was invited to spend Yuletide at Trei and Erin Metsker's house, and his first Yuletide with friends ended in utter heartbreak. Yuletide falls on the 8th of the truncated month of Yule on what would normally be called a Saturday. Trei and Erin treated him like one of their children; they fed him and plied him with gifts. They gave him hand-me-down clothing, cleaned and repaired like all their other children received, and each gift they gave Nick made his stomach hurt because he had nothing to give them in return. Most of the gifts they gave him were clothing that he needed because he was growing, but it was the first time in his memory somebody gave him something other than a beating or a penny that he begged for. Suddenly he couldn't take the guilt and the shame anymore, and he ran out into the snow in tears.

"What happened?" asked a shocked Ena Metsker. She was fifteen at the time and was hoping to spend the rest of the holiday with Calum McCrory.

"I think he's just not used to so many people," said Trei. "He's been living in the gutter since he was four."

"He didn't take his jacket," said Trei's wife, Erin, which was her way of begging Trei to go find the boy.

"No worries," said Trei, and he went outside and followed Nick's footprints in the newly fallen snow. They went straight to the temple. In there he found Nick kneeling in the middle of the temple portal, Pepin at his side as always, but Nick was shrieking.

"Why did you do this to me?" the boy demanded over and over. "I have nothing to give them!" Trei felt tears of sympathy welling up. He fully understood the boy's dilemma; his pride and generosity didn't allow him to accept those gifts until he had something to give in return. "WHY DO YOU DO THESE THINGS TO ME?" Nick demanded.

Suddenly, they weren't alone in the building. They were joined by a twelve-foot-tall man who was handsome with masculine features and curling sandy hair. The man radiated an aura of power and wore a simple toga with a belt that showed off his muscular physique, the common clothing of 3000 years ago. It was Saehrimnir himself, and he crouched down and placed a calming hand on Nick. "I hold the most wondrous plans for thee, my son, yet much wisdom thou must still acquire."

"What did I learn living in the street and eating rotting garbage?" shrieked Nick.

"Empathy, my son. The memory of your humble origins shall forever be etched upon your soul, and compassion for the downtrodden shall eternally guide your hand."

"Do you know what it's like to have wonderful, poor people give you so much and you have nothing to give in return?" shrieked Nick.

"Child, poverty dwells not merely in coin. Trei and Erin Metsker, blessed with familial love raised a happy loving family and extend their overflowing grace. Know that this is not to diminish thee, but to guide thy understanding. To give love's grace, one must first know how to open their heart to receive it. Behold, I am crafting the destined love of your life. You must be ready, so when you meet her, you may offer her your complete devotion."

"Me?" asked a startled Nick, but Saehrimnir was gone.

"Come on back son," said Trei.

"I can't," said a heartbroken Nick. "You give me so much and I have nothing to give in return."

"We didn't want to tell you, but all those gifts... they're clothing that doesn't fit Wayne anymore. And they came from Luke Ivers, who outgrew them too. And he got them from a cousin over in Deasil. We just want to fold you into the family some is all. Ya know, tradition. Seeing you warm and happy, that's all the thanks we need. And knowing you're safe and not alone, that's gift enough."

Overcome by emotions he was unable to understand; Nick threw himself at Trei and wept in the blacksmith's arms until he fell asleep.

<><><><><>

The gangs of mercenaries, thieves, and pirates that left Torwin-Armistad and Port Meabras were already counting their profits in their minds. There was a Torwin-Armistad boy on the throne in the Xuantang Empire! Corrupt is as corrupt does, and he should be ready for their arrival any time. They could picture the gold coins piled up knee deep in the streets and the lonely wenches crying out for Real Men as the pirates arrived and showed them what Real Men were all about, then tossed them a thousand dollar coin as a tip. The unknown Torwin-Armistad boy on the throne will shout, "COME ON IN!" eager to share this bonanza with his brothers. All that gold, all those wenches, it's all too wonderful.

Before they left Port Meabras, a wizard in Steil Thein had conjured up a black dragon for their assault on Chéngshì Jin, the capital city of the Xuantang empire. The wizard had no intention of conjuring a dragon, but he needed the money, so he produced a dragon. The pirates and thieves were not aware that the dragon was actually a minor god who had run afoul of Saehrimnir, the ruling god in the pantheon. Thaldir, the god of tricks, played several tricks when setting up financing for this voyage that angered Saehrimnir. A cardinal rule of gods was financial; any alms given to any god must be given completely voluntarily and placed in the offering plate in the god's own temple. Thaldir used an office at the University and posed as a professor and conned people out of thousands of dollars to finance his study of atheists. This was a journey to Xuantang, the land of atheists, which was in itself a plan to enrich Thaldir so he could build a better temple to himself. Or so he thought...

Horatio Tinsmith recruited the dregs of the underworld for this journey; he also arranged the ships. Next, he convinced the pirates that they would need a dragon to provide cover from above and to report on advancing government troops. The plan was to attack Chéngshì Jin, scrape its streets clean of gold, then depart before the army could respond.

"Not a swamp dragon, we want a proper dragon," said Berwyn Stanton, the pirate's self-appointed "ground commander." He let Horatio Tinsmith know flat out that they needed "a Xuantang dragon!"

"That's quite a tall order," said the wizard as he leafed through his catalog of dragon conjuring spells. It was hard to hide the smile because there was no such thing as a Xuantang dragon. Their long, snake-like dragons with lion's heads were acts of fiction that were molded into parade displays from paper mache.

"That's the one!" said a pirate standing next to Horatio, pointing at a snarling dragon in his catalog.

"A black Xuantang dragon?" said the wizard with a grin. "Very good choice." The image was indeed a black dragon, but the word Xuantang appeared nowhere on the page. The image also showed the dragon breathing fire; only golden dragons can do that, so this catalog wasn't very accurate.

"Yeah, black," insisted the pirate. "I mean, it sounds good, ay? A black dragon for black operations. Right? Har, har, har."

"That's as good as any other reason I guess," said the wizard, and after a sack of coins changed hands, a few rites (and a bunch of wrongs) were said, Horatio Tinsmith finally had a dragon. Now all he needed was for the dragon to appear. When the pirate commander assured Horatio that they had a barge to tow the dragon on, Horatio Tinsmith then went to Saehrimnir and reported everything that Thaldir had done.

"Please don't turn him into a black dragon," pleaded Tinsmith. "I would hate to be burdened with caring for a black dragon."

"Thy tongue lacks the silver of deception. I perceive thy desire for the ebony dragon and I know the threads of thy schemes. Thy true name echoes in My halls and I may unveil thy concealed name. Let contemplation precede any yearning to return to these shores again." With that, the god Thaldir was turned into a black dragon as punishment, and Horatio Tinsmith realized that someone very powerful knew his real name.

The black dragon is docile and easily trainable, and the easiest dragon to ride. It is vastly smaller than the Golden Dragon, and they're easier to wrangle because they're exceedingly stupid. That's ok, on this mission its principal job was to terrify the populace. Unfortunately, the black dragon doesn't breathe fire. It's too late for buyer's remorse; All That Gold was calling.

The hard crossing of the western ocean went more smoothly than expected, but entering the Sea of Grafstino, Haslett Morley, the lookout in the crow's nest of the Lady Meredith, shouted, "AH HOY!"

"What is it lookout?" called the sailing master, Mister Reeve, as he peered up into the gloom, hoping to see the crow's nest far above him.

"Sir! Something moving in the water."

"Can you see what it is?" shouted the sailing master.

"It looks like a peck o' snakes, it's heading for the Dufferin!"

"Stand to your stations!" called Mister Reeve, and suddenly the deck crew leaped to their feet. "You, you and you, lay aloft, see if you can see Mister Morley's snakes."

Hearing the commotion, Captain Brainard Alby emerged from below deck and ascended the steps to the poop deck, avoiding hurrying sailors. He buttoned up the jacket that he took from a dead Breazean sailing captain. "What do you have Mister Reeve?"

"Lookout reports something odd in the water, sir. He said it looked like a series of snakes."

"Oi! There it is!" shouted one of the crewmen in the rigging.

Captain Alby and Mister Reeves turned to the rail in time to see it. Two huge tentacles rose out of the water, one on either side of the smallest boat in the flotilla, the Dufferin. The tentacles rose high in the air as men dove overboard and began swimming toward other vessels. The huge tentacles crossed and slammed down on the deck of the Dufferin, and broke its keel, and pulled it under. More tentacles rose out of the water to pull the boat down.

"Get us out of here Mister Reeves," said Captain Alby as he watched his brother go down on the Dufferin.

"Aye, aye sir."

Already the first mate was down on the main deck shouting orders, "Hands to the braces! Hoist away! Haul Taut!"

The other ships, seeing the destruction of the Dufferin, were doing the same thing. A few of Dufferin's sailors were hauled aboard, but all the thieves and mercenaries were below deck and didn't get out. Horatio Tinsmith was far above the mayhem on Thaldir's back, watching the show, and both enjoyed the grizzly event.

Losing the Dufferin crushed the spirits of the crews; however, two more ships full of pirates, the Balmain, a two-masted, square-rigged brigantine, and The Red Dolphin, a huge, wallowing galleon, joined the flotilla. The Balmain was quick and agile, while the Red Dolphin was slow and ponderous, but she had a large, seasoned crew.

As they passed the fabled islands of Rohtua and Ercoidem, the sirens started their calls, luring the ships closer to shore where they would be crushed on the rocks, but the helmsmen had wax in their ears and steered clear. They continued on with their dragon because All That Gold needed liberating.

They were the most efficient sailors on Kodu because their goals were clear, precise, realistic, and obtainable: gold and wenches. Everyone's mind was focused on those two goals, everyone except Thaldir. Thaldir was discovering something that Nick had discovered himself as an eagle. The longer you're in the body of an animal, the more your mind becomes that animal. Nick was able to fight it off, but for Thaldir, it wasn't possible. The god of Tricks was becoming a dragon in mind as well as body.

The pirate ships neared the lighthouse at Gao Yating and lay in wait, and soon the pirates were able to capture four large boats of local design known as junks. These "liberated" ships were able to sail in shallow waters without raising any suspicion, so with their dragon in tow, the pirates started their journey into the Xuantang interior. No one stopped them as they entered Tian Zan Bay, the normal stop for the Navy to inspect their ships. There was no Xuantang Navy to be found, so the pirates headed inland, following the Lu Yazi River to liberate All That Gold.

River traffic was heavy, so the sight of other junks heading upstream in the gentle river currents soon became the norm. Lookouts became lax as they sailed past endless seas of grass without a village or even a hill in sight. Soon dreams of All That Gold were interfering with their duties on lookout.

"Hey, Benny," whispered one of the younger mercenaries, "what about th' army?"

"Git some sleep Harold," groaned Benny. "Their army ain't no matter to us. They can't git nowhere with all the roads and bridges out."

"Th-thanks Benny. Not exactly a walk in the park for them, eh?"

"Har, har. Good one Harold." After the sound of a fist striking flesh, Harold was peacefully snoring.

For two weeks they sailed up the Lu Yazi River, getting closer and closer to the seat of power. Swords have been sharpened, oaths have been said, last letters home written. It will soon be time.

<><><><><>

"What are you thinking about?" asked Octavia. It was Yuletide Eve, and they were snuggling on the chaise, watching the fairies flit about on the small decorated tree that Octavia had asked Nick to set up in the corner. Nick was playing the dulcimer, and his playing was improving. The fairies sang with him as he played. When she asked him this question, he hit a few sour notes and fought to get back into "King of All I See," a song that somehow became identified with Yuletide and New Year's Eve.

"Oh... I suppose I'm thinking about my first Yuletide in Elm Springs, it was a bit of a nightmare. Trei and Erin gave me so much stuff and I had nothing for them. It hurt; I felt so guilty. My stomach was tied up in knots because I had nothing for them, so I ran to the temple and demanded that Saehrimnir kill me for being so evil. Then I just knelt there demanding that he tell me why he was doing all that to me." Nick sighed and played a complex bit of music, then said, "It was a typical Yuletide for me."

"Typical Yuletide?"

"My first memory of Yuletide was watching my father beat my mother to death. A few days later he tossed me out of a moving carriage. My best Yuletide I made forty three cents begging for pennies. I spent half of it on ice cream for Pepin."

Tears filled Octavia's eyes. She looked over by the fire where Pepin was watching them. "It was vanilla," said the wolf.

"It took years for Saehrimnir to answer my questions," said Nick. "When he answered me, I didn't understand a word, but Trei heard Saehrimnir; he explained it all to me later."

"What did he say?" asked a concerned Octavia.

"I thought it was all a lie, I thought he was torturing me because it was fun, but Saehrimnir said he was teaching me about empathy and love. He said he was getting me ready for you."

"Do you believe him?"

"I don't know, I don't know who to believe. Saehrimnir? He tortured me for years and had me so confused someone couldn't give me hand-me-down pants without making me feel guilty because I wasn't worth it and I didn't have a gift for them. Vesstan? His mountain elf buddies think I'm their king, them and the fairies say I'm the last elf king..."

"That's what Viimane Päkapikk Kuningas means," came a female voice from over by the front door.

"... and my walking stick, but she had a bit more credibility."

"Your walking stick has more credibility?" said Octavia with a laugh.

"She came to me from Saatus. I think the god of Fate has to be honest, being fate, she has no choice." He kissed Octavia and said, "Let's go snuggle together naked before inquisitive little eyes start roaming the house."

"Let's," said Octavia with a nod.

"Fairies, can you blow out the candles?"

"YES!" cried the fairies, and they flitted from candle to candle, blowing them out.

"No spitting!" called Nick as three fairies had a problem with the last candle. A fourth fairy joined the effort, and finally the room was plunged into darkness, and Nick followed Octavia up the stairs. "Are you off balance, love?" asked Nick, as it looked like she was leaning back. He steadied her and stayed close as they climbed the steep and narrow stairs.

"A little."

"I think we'll sleep downstairs until Marlon is born and you got your balance back, ok?"

"It's warmer up here," insisted Octavia as she entered the dark bedroom. "Where's my Yuletide present?" she demanded as she stripped down in the dark.

"If you feel up to it," said Nick as his hands roamed over her body.

"You know what I want, kitty," she crooned, and she lay down and pulled him down with her. He got comfortable and lay on his side facing away from Octavia, then quietly his space was filled with a snow white Snowcross mountain lion. "Kitty!" said Octavia with a sigh, and she wrapped herself around the lion, who purred and kept the woman he loved toasty warm on a snowy Yuletide eve.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 27 - The End of 3431

"Happy Yuletide my love," said Nick as he gently kissed the tears away from Octavia's cheeks. "Why are you crying?"

"It's our first Yuletide together."

"We were together last year," insisted Nick.

"We were in Bovuka and you were unconscious most of the time last year," said Octavia. "This is my first real Yuletide ever."

As Octavia wept, Nick chose to not try to figure out why she was crying. He's seen enough pregnant women to know their emotions are as confusing to them as they are to their husbands. He just held her close and tried to project his love to her. "Come on down," whispered Nick, "or should I get your pot out for you?"

"No, I'm coming," and Nick helped her on with a night gown, it was pretty, covered in flowers and bows.

"Is this new?" asked Octavia.

"It's a Yuletide gift, something pretty to wear when we meet Marlon."

"You're so sweet." They headed down the stairs with Nick leading the way, reminding her to use the handrails and take careful steps. He sat her down on the chaise, covered her in a quilt she had made for him, then stoked the fire and went into the kitchen to prepare their tea.

"Oh my, you were busy last night," said Octavia.

"What do you mean?"

"You got up and put so many presents under the tree," said Octavia. "I can't wait to see what they are."

"That had to be Saint Heldus," said Nick, using the popular name for Maz Dracus, god of Charity. Nick did indeed get up during the night and gather presents hidden in the basement and put them under their scraggly little tree. He returned to the living room and the scraggly little tree looked fuller, more richly decorated with glass ornaments and strings of colorful beads. And the pile of gifts was much higher than it was at two in the morning. "Pepin, was somebody in the cottage last night?"

Pepin was lying next to the fire, gnawing on a huge beef thigh bone that Nick had never seen before. "Nobody was here last night, and he certainly wasn't Maz Dracus."

"You are the worst liar," said Nick with a chuckle.

"He said he wasn't here, and I believed him," said Pepin, and he went back to gnawing on the bone.

"Stop, both of you!" said Octavia as Nick handed her a mug of tea. Nick noticed gifts he did not wrap, so he carefully picked one up and looked at it. It was wrapped in brightly colored paper, the color of the Wolfe family flag. Once upon a time, his mother's family was rich and powerful, but dynasties fade, and now the remaining Wolfes were farming in Uduithia. He looked at the tag and it said, "For: Marlon. From: The spirit of love of Grandma Catrin."

"What is this?" demanded Nick. "What sick joke is this?"

"What?" asked a terrified Octavia.

"THIS!!!" he practically threw the gift at her. "My mother is dead! I watched my father beat her to death on Yuletide because she didn't have any beer in the house for him. Whoever sent this sick..."

"Now stop!" demanded Nana Peacock. Nick looked over at her rocking chair, and there was Nana Peacock, sitting peacefully as ever, like she did when he was a boy and she was trying to teach him to grow into his gift of witch's magic. "I'm trying to hear the fairies sing, and they're singing so pretty."

"Thank you grandma!" said the fairies in a chorus. Then they settled into the branches of the Yule tree and began singing again.

"Now Pommy," said Nana, using his old nickname, "A mother's love transcends the boundaries that keep us apart, a grandmother's love doubly so. Whatever Saint Heldus brought in the spirit of our little Catrin's love is the gift that she would give Marlon if she were here."

Octavia rooted through the pile and found a package wrapped in a tartan colored paper; the blue and green tartan was oddly familiar to Octavia. "Here's one that says, from the spirit of love of Grandma Corina."

"Corina is your mother dear," said Nana.

"Was my mother."

Nana nodded and had a look like she was tired of correcting a stubborn child. "Was your mother. Of course dear. I suggest you open your gifts and relax, that's what today is all about."

Nick sat down, and Octavia opened the gifts, and the spirit of Catrin sent a dressing gown and a series of receiving blankets for Marlon. "So soft!" gasped Octavia. "Now we don't have to wrap Marlon in flannel." She opened the gift from Corina's love and found a series of baby mittens, booties, hats, full length shirts, and soft swaddling blankets.

"This is why I hate Yuletide," groaned Nick. "There's no way to repay a gift like this."

"That's not what Yuletide is!" demanded the ghost of Nana Peacock. "It's not a tit for tat; it's an expression of love. You gave the people of Hay-on-Wægn county the greatest gift they could have imagined: an entire year tax free! It cost you a fortune, and did you demand a reimbursement for your largess? No, but in the end you're now sitting on a mound of gold and you still haven't collected a dime of tax money. Now hush up and enjoy the love."

"Nana, I..."

"I know that tone of voice Pommeraie de la Montesquieu, and you're not too old to be taken over my knee."

"Ooo, she used the old name!" said Octavia, laughing.

"Actually that's the new name, Grandpa gave it to me because he thought Nick Stein was too short for a king."

Octavia snorted through her nose, then started laughing. "King? You?" Soon she whooped and squealed because Nick was tickling her.

"Ah, yes. My work here is done," said Nana as she faded from sight.

Once Nick and Octavia stopped their tickle war, they opened their gifts. Octavia gave Nick a beautiful six string guitar because he mentioned he had the knowledge to play it. "It's beautiful!" he gasped. "Give me an A." The Yule tree soon rang with all the fairies singing the note of A, and Nick used that note to tune the guitar. Soon he was playing a very simple traveling song that children over Uduithia sing from the back of the wagon as they head into town. In return, Nick gave Octavia an autoharp because she showed that she understood the rhythm of the songs and the chord progression, and she did quite well playing it.

Their gifts were varied, and some were humorous. From King Uric and Queen Elinor, they received an official pardon from having to attend the kingdom's Yule festival and formal dinner, and Octavia was excused from attending the next three royal court meetings. They received many gifts for the baby, and most of them were brand new. "I have a special gift for you," said Nick, and he led her to the back door and out onto the back patio. "There."

"It's a pile of lumber," said a confused Octavia.

"It's a Sauna, it hasn't been assembled yet," said Nick proudly.

"I'm sure there's a reason why you gave me an unassembled sauna," she said suspiciously as she led him back into the cottage.

"If I had assembled it, you'd be sitting in there right now, wouldn't you?" said Nick. "No extreme temperatures until after baby is born and you are healed."

"I have a special gift for you," said Octavia.

"Oh? Is it nice?" asked Nick. He waggled his eyebrows, hoping it was naughty.

"It's the most wonderful gift I could make," said Octavia. She gently took his hand and placed it on her distended belly. His eyes opened wide in wonder, and he felt her stomach; it was rock hard. She was in the earliest stages of labor.

"Oh my love!" gasped Nick. His eyes brimming with tears. He pulled her onto his lap and said in an earnest voice, "This is the most wonderful, extraordinary gift ever." He gave her a long, sweet kiss and said, "We must thank the king for his disinvitation."

As they were kissing, Nick heard firewood being stacked outside. They looked at each other and shrugged. "I'll go look." He pulled on his boots and went outside to find two workmen and a freight wagon full of firewood. "What is going on?" asked Nick.

"A Yuletide gift from Lord Baltimore," said the lead workman. "Three cord of cut, split, and dried white oak." He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and said. "His Grace says, 'Happy Yuletide, Pommy. I don't want my grandson frozen before I meet him, signed Duke Fraser Baltimore.'"

<><><><><>

"What do you want?" demanded Hau Chung Ning as she answered the door to her apartment in Waelmore Castle. She had been watching the city wide parties that were going on throughout the half month of Yule, and the celebrations were getting larger every day. It was the fifteenth day of Yule, New Year's Eve-Eve, the night of King Uric's year-end extravaganza. She did not appreciate being interrupted by Baron Silas Singe.

"My lady, I bring sad tidings," began Singe. "Duke Stein will not be attending tonight's celebration so it falls to me, the chief international advisor to King Uric, to escort you and the young prince to dinner tonight."

"Prince imperial!" snapped Ning. She didn't want her son, the next emperor of the Xuantang Empire, to be confused with a lowly prince who could only aspire to the throne of a king.

"Ah yes, my deepest apologies my lady..."

"Empress Dowager!" she rumbled with a brusk tone that caught Singe by surprise.

Not until he's crowned, said Singe to himself under his breath. Ever since this woman met the wizard Nithe Skelm, she's become a hate filled asshole. There was no other way to put it: nothing and nobody were good enough for her. The training her son was going through was invaluable, but there were rumors she wanted to end it. Singe took a deep breath to calm himself. "My apologies. I shall escort you to the year-end extravaganza."

"And where is the duke?" demanded Ning.

"My apologies, he gave no reason for his absence," lied Sing.

"And all an emperor rates is a baron as an escort?" Ning said 'baron' like it made her nauseous just to say.

"I am the chief international advisor to the king," repeated Baron Silas Singe. Singe looked like a weak man, pink skinned, balding, stooped shoulders, beer belly.

"I know my way around the palace; I don't need an escort. Leave us."

"But my lady..." he tried to speak, but she slammed the door in his face.

"Was that Nick?" called Jia from his room.

"No dear, Mister Nick isn't coming," replied Ning as she headed to his room to see if he was dressed. She was terrified that he would be dressed western style like that roughian, Prince Exavier. When Jia and Exavier, and Pepin get together, they run non-stop all day long, miss their lessons, eat everything in sight, and sleep until noon the next day. She sighed in relief when she saw he was wearing a proper longpao, the dragon robe of the emperor. It was presumptuous to wear before the official proclamation, but that will be soon. His robe was yellow with complicated patterns and designs woven with gold thread. Far more regal than the red longpao worn by the false emperor Long Won Di, the Xuantang name for Nick Stein.

"I shouldn't wear this," said Jia. "It's not for me."

"Who told you that?" demanded Ning. "Some western pig like Uric or Stein?"

"They are friends trying to help our people," said Jia. "You will not speak falsehoods of them." There was something in his words, something terrifying. They were filled with a power that she couldn't disobey. She wanted to tell him of how they were ruining the country, making the army dig ditches instead of drilling, of a navy made of merchant junks, but she couldn't speak. It never occurred to her that he banned her from speaking falsehoods with the power of the emperor, and now she couldn't say those things. It never occurred to her that the accusations were false.

"Since you alienated our escort, you will be the escort this evening, mother," said a clearly angry Jia. With a nervous nod and a mumbled "yes dear," Ning led the future emperor of the Xuantang Empire to his first public event.

The grand front hall of Waelmore Castle was decorated beautifully for Yuletide. It was a winter miracle garden indoors, and the public came to ooo and ahh over the decorations. The public could see the lucky few who were invited to the king's event from behind a velvet rope, which was a better arrangement than in most kingdoms where the party would happen and the public would not be told. King Uric II believed the public should know, and if possible, watch. Royals and nobles from all over the continent of Edux and other parts of Kodu were invited. Many of the royals were eager to meet Duke and Duchess Stein, the king's proud new addition to his court, but with the Duchess so near to deliver, the king actually sent a message to Nick and Octavia asking them to stay home and relax and additionally said that the king's friend Trei would deliver the present after the baby was born.

The rich and powerful who were invited gathered in a portion of the grand front hall and sipped their gin drinks and chatted up their ideas of saving Kodu from financial ruin. "Your majesty, are the rumors true? Have you befriended a common blacksmith?" asked Anika Dawson, a snotty rich wench from Steil Thein.

"Dear!" said Cillian, her tall and scrawny husband with a huge walrus mustache. He warned her to moderate her tone with a glare.

"Mister Metsker is anything but common," said Queen Elinor. "He taught me how to make a horseshoe."

"YOU made a horseshoe?"

"I did, and it's hanging above the main entrance to the castle," said Elinor proudly.

"Her ironwork is so much better than mine," said King Uric proudly, and he gave his queen a kiss.

"Mister Metsker said if we keep improving, he'll teach us how to work with steel!"

Meanwhile, General Sir Ned Sinclair Darby and his wife Moira were dancing on the dance floor, a beautiful dance known as a Moonshift. It was simple and could be danced to almost any music, which was why Ned liked it so much. "Do you see them my dear?" asked Ned as he scanned the crowd. It's been over a month since they were last in Uduithia, and he didn't have time to talk as much as he would have liked to with Nick.

"Honey, your friend Nick is not here. The last time we were here poor Octavia was ready to burst! She must be in such agony right now, and if he was any kind of husband she would be resting with a mug of tea and her feet up." said Moira. "Maybe when we head back to the rail station, we will get a chance to pop in and say hello." They danced some more, then Moira said, "Look, over to the right... my right... there's Nick's shadow, Jia, and who is that he is dancing with?"

"That is Princess Selina, eight-year-old daughter of King Calum of Elbreshowth on the Moor."

"I hear she's half werewolf!" gasped Moira. Werewolves were demi-humans who mostly lived in Elbreshowth on the Moor. There's no truth to the rumor that they changed into wolves on the full moon. With three moons orbiting Kodu, they'd never switch back to humans.

"Well, my dear, if Queen Klara is a werewolf, then Princess Selina is a full-blooded werewolf.

"NO!" gasped Moira, realizing he implied that King Calum was a werewolf. Then she giggled that pretty, girlish giggle that Ned loves. "So, if she gives Prince Jia a nip on the neck, he could be the first werewolf emperor of Xuantang."

"I don't think that's how it works." It was fun watching the young couple dancing. Jia looked calm and self-composed as he danced with Princess Selina, who stood a full head taller than Jia. "Look who's next to them."

Moira looked and saw it was eight-year-old Prince Exavier of Uduithia, and he was dancing with an elf maiden, six-year-old Princess Almedha, daughter of Lars and Rania Ranzau, king and queen of Teurnia. Next to that couple was Exavier's older sister Sophia dancing with Crown Prince Eroan of Wädendris, and the way they were studying each other's eyes, you could tell this wasn't their first dance.

"Someone should ask Ning to dance," said Moira. "She looks lonely over there." The mother of the future emperor was standing off to the side, watching her son like a hawk, and woe be to any fair maiden that got near her chick. However, young daughters of heads of state and rich petitioners were lining up to talk with Jia and, if incredibly lucky, dance with him.

"Who is going to ask Ning to dance with that shadow over her?" said the Duke of Torwin.

"She is truly scowling," said Moira.

It wasn't the scowl that Ned was remarking on. Behind her Ned saw a blur, like he still had some sleep in his eye, forcing what he saw to go out of focus, but it was just that area behind the tiny Xuantang woman that was blurry. He looked and tried to concentrate on the blur, but it went away. "Are we dancing or is there something else on your mind?" asked Moira.

"Sorry, just the cop in me seeing things that aren't there," said Ned softly.

Soon the band played the last dance, and it was time to introduce the guests of honor. Jia stepped off the dance floor and walked up to Ning with a young elf maiden. Exavier followed with a young human girl, Elise Baltimore, granddaughter of Duke Frasier Baltimore. Both girls were elegantly dressed in beautiful, flowing gowns made for this evening. "Who is this?" demanded Ning.

Jia tried to introduce his dancing partner. "She's Alyndra Xillee, her father is king of the elf kingdom of..."

"No." Ning was firm; she didn't want Jia seen escorting an elf.

"My lady," whispered Harold Lorchester. "This event is where young gentlemen learn to associate with young ladies. It's traditional."

"No!" insisted Ning. "I don't know MISS Xillee, he will not be seen in public with her." She did not see Exavier and Jia bumping elbows and grinning behind her back.

"Yes, Ma'am," said Harold. He cleared his throat and read from the card that Exavier gave him. "Presenting Prince Exavier Chandelier of Uduithia with Princess Alyndra Xillee of Silvanor, and Prince Imperial Hau Chung Jia of Xuantang with Duchess Elise Baltimore of Uduithia."

Ning watched the two young couples take their seats. They were giggling and happy because they got to spend a couple more hours together, but Ning thought they were laughing at her. She did a slow burn; the boys switched dates at the last moment so she couldn't object. That's it, she's had enough. She turned to Harold Lorchester and said, "Tell the king I wish to speak with him," and she turned and went back to her room.

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Chapter 28 - Bad Tidings

On New Year's Eve, Buggy and Eryri, Vesstan and Seldanna with their son Jhaan, and Hugues with his new wife Lucy Anne met Nick and Octavia at the Temple of the Woods. There, the village of Elm Springs was having a New Year's celebration. A bonfire was started in the middle of the street, and all the villagers gathered around for hot cider or mead, and the fellowship of neighbors. "The Duke!" cried the crowd as Nick neared the festivities, pulling Octavia on her toboggan.

"Mayor Vesstan!" said Trei happily. "Don't you celebrate New Years in your village?"

"No, sadly we don't. The New Year celebration is something that has yet to creep into elven custom. We prefer to celebrate the start of spring when life begins again."

"It's truly a beautiful celebration," said Seldanna. "You are all invited to attend. It will be a village wide craft fair and music festival."

"Will any acts from here in the valley be playing?" asked Wayne Metsker as he and his wife, Silver, joined the party.

"You mean besides the Duke and Duchess?" asked Eryri, which brought plenty of laughter from the crowd and a lot of good natured ribbing.

"We just started playing last week," said Nick. "I'm sure by the time of the spring festival we'll be able to play a scale without tripping over each other."

They shook hands with their friends and neighbors until Nick said, "shall we?"

"Let's go!" said Buggy with a belch as he finished a tankard of mead, and the four Pirates of the Eldrin River, along with Wayne and Silver Metsker and their children Nicole and Oliver, followed Nick and Octavia into the temple.

<><><><><>

"A courier hath been dispatched hence to Elm Springs, to ascertain Duke Nicholas' availability to conduct you to Xuantang.," said King Uric for the fourth time.

"I want to leave NOW," demanded Ning.

"Then depart, but until such time as I am assured that Duke Stein is available to provide escort through a temple portal, I shall withhold conveyance. Pray tell, are you even cognizant of your intended destination?"

"I don't need a temple portal; I can take a boat."

"Lady Ning, with utmost dispatch, your journey to Port Meabras shall require four days, wherefrom a vessel to Bovuka may be procured, and thence, perchance, passage to Xuantang obtained," said the king who was losing his patience with the woman. "An' if time and tide be favoring ye, ye shall be returned to Chéngshì Jin ere the commencement of autumn."

"LIES!" screeched Ning, and she stormed out of the dining room.

"Pray tell, what precisely is the matter with that woman?" groaned the king, his appetite ruined. Queen Elinor patted his hand, but it was no help. Then a snow covered guard arrived and stood at attention, giving the king an "indoor salute" of fist on breastplate. "Pray tell, Saunders, to what do I owe this intrusion?"

"Your majesty, the duke and duchess disappeared early last night. They and several other couples entered the temple of the woods and have not been seen since. I entered the temple but only a ghost was there."

"Grigeor de la Montesquieu, the guardian spirit of the hallowed temple, is, in fact, the Duke's great-grandsire, seventeen times removed. It would behoove you, perchance, to repose and converse with the spectral gentleman," said the king. "Pray, did he happen to mention the Duke's destination?"

"He just said they're relaxing and waiting for the baby, sire."

"Just as well," sighed the king. "Remove yourself from those dampened garments forthwith, partake of a warm repast to restore your constitution, and be prepared to resume the search for his Grace, both on the morrow and the days to follow, until he is found."

"He and the duchess are both temple key holders, they could be anywhere," said Queen Elinor as they got up to return to their apartment. "They're probably on a warm beach waiting for the baby to arrive."

"I am reasonably certain of their whereabouts, though passage thither is quite impossible without the Duke or Duchess."

"Oh yes," said Queen Elinor, who had heard rumors of Nick's ancient find under Black Mountain. "I would quite like to see their private getaway."

"I believe it is imperative that I confer with Lord Baltimore. I shall rejoin you anon, posthaste to my present task," said the king. He headed to the Peer's Entrance at the portcullis and walked out through the heavy snow to the outbuilding where Lord Baltimore and his team of wizards worked at reading the future. He entered the building and no one even bothered to say hello; they were all quite busy.

"So sorry sire," said Lord Baltimore when he noticed the king. "We've started recasting our targets, things have been quite busy. Now the hard part is trying to determine what information is worthwhile."

"Recast your target? Pray, elucidate."

"We started trying to tell the future of Uduithia, and we could never get more than four months into the future with any accuracy, but when we tried four days..." The Duke of Pellingham gave a self-satisfied chuckle. "We found we could read the newspapers in the future."

"So?"

"At best a newspaper can tell you what happened yesterday, so if we can see a newspaper four days in the future, we know what's going to happen all over the world in three days. Instead of scanning all of Kodu searching for meaningful events, we just have to look at a few newspapers."

"Pray tell, has there been any intelligence concerning the Duke and Duchess?"

"Not a word," said Lord Baltimore.

"I inquire, is it within your purview to access documents pertaining to the distant future?"

"Sorry, no sire. The documents become fuzzy, more out of focus the further into the future we look," said Lord Baltimore.

"Might a pair of spectacles remedy that?" said the king ruefully. He meant it as a joke, but Lord Baltimore's eyes lit up.

"Spectacles! Yes!" he turned back to his wizards, and there was a lot of excited chatter as everyone went back to work.

King Uric returned to the main building of the castle, and as he entered, he was greeted by Ning, who nearly shouted, "I want to return to Xuantang as soon as possible."

King Uric was not in a mood to put up with her nonsense. He turned to a young guard and said, "Guard, attend to Miss Hau, escort her to her chambers and ensure her utmost comfort."

"The title is dowager empress!" Ning shouted.

Fed up with her childish behavior, the King whirled on Ning. "That title shall be bestowed upon you only when your son hath been crowned Emperor by the rightful government. Until such time, you remain his mother, and within my palace, you shall endeavor to conduct yourself accordingly."

Ning stumbled back against the guard who was tasked with guiding her. Never had she felt the full force of a king's words. The Voice of the King is a gift bestowed on a rightful sovereign upon his coronation by the patron god of his kingdom. The Voice of the King compels obedience, and Uric hated with all his soul to use it. The only thing he hated worse was the need to use it.

The king headed deeper into the castle, then took a staircase down into the cavernous dungeon area. He walked across the vast open area where prisoners were once tethered to support posts until their time at the inquisitor's bench. He came to a wooden door and gave it a solid rap with his knuckles, and entered and was faced with a stone wall where there should have been a portal into a large room.

He thumped his fist on the stone wall that shouldn't have been there and shouted, "What manner of unmitigated lunacy is this, damn it?"

Suddenly the wall disappeared, and he was looking into Izhar's laboratory. He entered the laboratory, and it was deserted; many of the items he was used to seeing: the hanging globes, the clockwork system of comets, planets and moons as they orbited their central star Thaal, all gone. "Wizard! Present yourself before your King!"

There was an old wooden door leaning against a wall on the other side of the room. When King Uric demanded Izhar to show himself, the door fell away from the wall and slammed onto the stone floor. Slowly the left side began to raise and King Uric could see someone peering at him from under the door. "This morn, I engaged in a spirited game of Peek-a-boo with Prince Abraam; however, such frivolities are now concluded!" snarled the king. "SHOW THYSELF!"

The door opened more and Izhar was seen. It appeared to the king that he was climbing a flight of stairs. The old wizard was pale and sweaty, and he spoke in a shuddering voice. In a terrified voice he gasped, "Your majesty... grab the queen and your children and run!"

"What manner of folly dost thou speak of?" demanded the king.

Izhar stepped into the room and looked down the stairs. Someone was following him up. The wizard reached down, and a feminine hand reached up and took his hand. The king was confused; the woman's hand had a specific glow about it. The woman who followed appeared to be a freedom fighter, with long flowing crimson hair combed straight. She was wearing a man's trousers, a flannel work shirt, and over that she wore a leather combat halter and had a sword slung at her hip. Her facial features were saddened and her entire body had a glowing aura around it. When she finally emerged, she stood over a foot taller than the wizard Izhar.

"Goddess?" asked the king.

"This is Ruhena, goddess of revenge," said Izhar.

"I harbour no desire for vengeance," said King Uric.

"Not you," said Ruhena. "Stephan Roem claims revenge."

"Stephan? He hath committed patricide. He has been absent these several years."

"He's going to kill Duke Stein for stealing his title, then he's coming after you," said Ruhena. "He's got your court acting against you and he has brought Nithe Skelm into this world."

"Pray tell, what manner of thing is this 'Nithe Skelm' of which you speak?"

<><><><><>

"How do you feel?" asked Nick as he propped Octavia's feet up on an ottoman.

"It's cold, my back hurts, my stomach feels like it's going to burst, and my feet have swollen to the size of dinner plates, but I'm happy to be home." They had spent the past few days at Artafána with their friends. They laughed and drank, swam in the underground pond, picked fresh vegetables and fruit to take home, and dined on the most incredible meals that Nick and Vesstan could devise. Octavia was waited on hand and foot by Nick and everyone around, especially Silver Metsker, who spent the time giving Octavia as much baby advice as possible.

It was a birthday celebration. Neither Nick nor Octavia knew when their actual birthdays were, so they used whatever official date followed them around, but they chose Astra first, the first day of the new year, to celebrate their birthdays and they took their friends with them to Artafána to celebrate. Octavia listened to Silver's advice, but most of all, she wanted to hear Silver's tales of when Nick was young. "He looked like he was four when he first arrived and our parents told us to watch out for him because he was an orphan," said Silver. "But we didn't know what an orphan was. Wayne and I thought it meant short person, but he had a pond we could play in, and we became friends, and by the end of the year he was the same size as Wayne."

Now back in Nana Peacock's cottage, Nick had a fire crackling in the fireplace, and their instruments were set up near the fireplace to warm up so they could play a few tunes. Octavia loved to study her magic tomes while Nick played softly in the background. "Ok, I'm going to shovel the porch in case you have to go outside," said Nick. What he meant was that he was going to shovel a path to the outhouse, which was built at the same level as the porch so generations of Wolfe and Peacock women didn't have to trudge through mud.

He hung a small plaque on the front door that said, "I'm out back," something that most people in the Snowcross mountain farming communities did, especially in a cottage like Nick and Octavia's home that had an inviting looking front porch. Then Nick headed out back with a shovel to clear the snow from the porch, but he saw that the framework and the roof for the sauna were in place. He had hired Eric MacClenny to put it up for twenty-five dollars in silver, and it looked like it would be up and useable by the time the baby was born.

After shoveling, Nick checked on the farmhands Alphie, Bert, and Dexter. Ever since the attack at the Black Mountain mine, Carl took a long time to heal, and he said, "I feel like this is charity pay, yer grace."

"No, it's thank you pay, and once you're healed and hearty, you'll earn your pay." But one day Carl went off to earn his fortune. Carl's empty bunk glared at Nick when he went to check on the boys. Chores were done, and they were gathered for lunch in their cabin, which was bigger than Nana's cottage. "You fellows doing ok? Got enough firewood?"

"We're doing fine yer grace, it's good to have you back," said Alfie.

"Any word from Carl?" asked Nick hopefully.

"No sire, but I hear rumors that he's working at Copper Mountain," said Carl's cousin Alfie.

"A giant in a mine shaft. I hope he doesn't get stuck. After lunch can you hook Teddi and Kaleb up to the drag plow and do the drive down to Elm Springs? I feel snow coming on."

"Aye sire," the three remaining demi-giants said.

Just then, the muffled sound of hoofbeats was heard coming up the drive, and Nick stepped out to see who was approaching. He gripped his ever present walking stick as the armored palace guardsman raced up the drive. "What tidings from the castle?" wondered Nick.

As this first snow of the year 3432 settled in, a breathless messenger on a fast horse raced up "Nana Partridges' Driveway" and leaped off his steaming horse. He dashed up onto the porch, knocked on the cabin door, causing Gula, their brightly colored bird, to bellow "IIIIIIKKKK!"

"Back here!" came a voice from the sheds behind the cottage. The messenger walked back there to find the Duke of Wægn hitching up a pair of mules to a drag plow, being helped by a pair of demi-giants. The rider was followed by two furious dwarves on foot.

"I have a message for the Duke of Wægn from King Uric," said the young, breathless messenger.

"That's me," said Nick as he found a rag to wipe his hands clean before handling the message that the young man was carrying. "I assume you were so focused on obeying the kings orders that you ignored my guard when they shouted at you to stop?"

"How can I be sure that you're the duke?" The young man looked nervous. Dukes don't tend to livestock; they eat them.

Nick sighed; he's used to it. "Tell the young fellow who I am, Eryri."

"He's Sir Nicholas Pommeraie de la Montesquieu Stein, the Duke of Wægn and the last person you will ever talk to," said Eryri as she lifted her battle axe to kill the intruder.

"Bughac, Eryri, put your weapons down. He was following the kings orders and got a bit excited." Disappointed, the dwarves lowered their weapons. "That should be proof enough," said Nick, "dwarves don't disarm unless on orders from nobility."

The lad just noticed the angry dwarves behind him. "Sorry your grace, but Lady Ning has everyone on edge." The messenger handed Nick a scroll that he opened and read with a frown. "Tell the king we'll be there."

"Yes, your grace," and the messenger dashed off to his horse.

"What was it?" asked Octavia as she peered out the kitchen door.

"It came from King Uric. He said that Ning is demanding to return to Chéngshì Jin. Ning was ready to take over as the Grand Vizier and she demands that Jia is named prince imperial to the empire and they need to be escorted home."

"I don't understand," said Octavia, "Jia was doing wonderfully in his classes and learning economics. He was supposed to come play in the snow with Pepin tomorrow."

"Let's go wash up," he escorted her into the cabin where they changed and asked Eryri and Buggy, "Can you keep an eye on the place till we get back? Then we'll talk about that business venture you mentioned."

"What about me?"

Nick reached down and scratched Pepin behind the ears. "There's always next time, old friend, you need to watch the sheep."

"They're so stupid," muttered Pepin.

Nick joined Octavia in the cottage as she filled her colorful shopping bag with baby blankets. "Do you think you're getting that close?" asked Nick as he tried to hug her.

"I don't know. You've done this fifteen times more than I have." She was pretty unsteady on her feet as the snowflakes continued to spiral down from the slate gray sky. "I also put your medical kit in my shopping bag."

Nick helped her down from the porch, then called out, "Virga! Your mistress needs you!" Soon Octavia's

Walking stick stepped out on the porch and hopped down to where Octavia was waiting, and Octavia leaned heavily on her stick. Nick pulled the Ralli cart out of the shed and brought it right to Octavia, then he stepped between the traces. He draped a couple of straps over his shoulders and became a horse that she could buckle to the traces. Even with Eryri's help, it took her four attempts to get up on the driver's seat. With everything in place, Octavia flicked the reins, and they were off.

"The snow is so pretty!" said Octavia as they eased along the mile path into the village. Both Nick and Octavia loved watching the snow fall. Snow in Torwin-Armistad was gray long before it reached the ground, sometimes other colors; it depended on what was being burned that day and tainting the clouds. Other than the slush it brought, snow in Torwin-Armistad was just soot with a different name.

Here in the Snowcross Mountains, the snow was almost magical. The bare trees and bushes were being covered with a fine white dusting, and the evergreens were becoming a work of art. "This is what we sing about on Yuletide Eve!" sighed Octavia. Since moving into the mountains, all those carols about snow that she heard as she grew up began to make sense. "Let's not go. Let's stay and watch the snowfall, and we'll cuddle by the fire and maybe Marlon will come join us."

"King's orders," came Nick's sad reply. He'd never disobey his king. Fifteen minutes later, they were at the bookstore. The morning coach from Uduithia Town with Ning and Jia would arrive soon.

"Where to, your grace?" asked Trei Metzgar.

"We're escorting our guests home," said Octavia as she daintily stepped off of her two wheeled Ralli cart. She clutched her stomach and occasionally winced as Nick returned to human form. He took the weapon that Octavia found from the cart and brought it to Trei. "What do you think of using this for digging potatoes?" He held up a weapon that Octavia found in Artafána and brought back with her.

Trei studied the five pointed head and nodded, then held it up. "It would be pretty good. If you didn't like potatoes, this seven foot long handle makes the job a bit impersonal."

"I was thinking of exchanging that with a shovel handle," said Nick.

"I can do that, and I think I need to file down the tips as well. The points are pretty dangerous. They don't need to be that sharp. I'll have it ready by the time you get back yer grace."

Octavia wasn't listening; she was now focused on the baby as they waited for Ning and Jia, and soon enough, the Day Coach arrived.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 29 - Escape from the Palace of the Jade Lotus

Ning and Jia hopped off the coach and were arguing fiercely; they stomped straight into the Temple of the Woods without a word directed toward Nick or Octavia. The driver of the coach hopped down and opened the coach door. "You folks ok in there?" The two passengers who left argued with each other in a foreign language for the entire trip.

"Just as long as the lecture tour is over," said one traveler.

"My ears are exhausted," grumbled the other.

"Ok, next stop, Deasil!" The coachman swung up onto the seat and with a snap of the whip, the coach was back on the road.

Inside the bookstore, Ning was impatient and insisted that Nick and Octavia hurry on with their robes. "Is anything wrong, Ning?"

"Nothing you would understand." Just as they were ready to enter the temple portal, Nick peered into the little box that he took off the top of the heater and said, "Is everyone inside?"

"We're all here!"

"Let's all go this time," and Nick pushed the fairy's box inside Octavia's shopping bag, then he followed Octavia into the temple portal that was connected by a special portal tunnel to the tiny temple of Phuelia inside the palace of the Jade Lotus.

Ning reverted to Xuantang, and neither Nick nor Octavia understood what she was complaining about. When Jia tried to talk, she snapped at him. Instead of crying or pouting, Jia was getting angry, but he kept his mouth shut.

"I have no idea what you are accusing me of, Ning."

"Ankh-Morpork boy on throne of the Xuantang Empire!" shouted Ning. "Money in streets!"

Nick grew angry. "I AM the rightful emperor of this land, not you, you do not give me orders. I'm trying to give you the throne back without a civil war breaking out! We've started to rebuild the country, and end the famine. We've laid out the groundwork for returning the true constitution to power, so Jia is the true heir to the throne and I will turn it over to him."

"And you fill his head with Edux tradition! Dangerous ideas! Jomitry!"

The moment they emerged from the temple in Xuantang, Ning began muttering. "You will see!" she waved a hand, and four heavily armed guards blocked the entrance to the temple, cutting Nick and Octavia off from home. "Sit on throne, one last time!" Ning demanded as Jia ran off.

As Nick and Octavia sat on the throne that resembled a couch, the exchequer hobbled out with two sacks, "Here as you required, coins and ingots." He held a clipboard out, and Nick signed for their pay. He took the small pouch of ingots and stuffed it in Octavia's shopping bag, and the other sack sat at the end of the throne with them, and then they sat and waited.

And waited.

Voices were murmuring on the other side of the curtain; shouts were heard occasionally, but most importantly, Octavia whimpered in pain.

"What's the matter, honey?" Nick asked.

"I think it's Marlon." Her face twisted in pain, and she leaned forward, holding her stomach.

"Ok, lay back, bring your knees up" Nick traced his hands over her silk-covered tummy and felt the movements of the little man just a few layers of tissue away from him. It felt like Marlon was ready to meet his folks.

<><><><><>

Tam Foo Docks, Chéngshì Jin City, Xuantang

The four ships of the pirate fleet slammed into the Tam Foo docks in the center of the warehouse district and disgorged their motley horde. A sword wielding rampage began throughout the industrial section of the city of Chéngshì Jin. The pirates and thieves from the slums of Torwin-Armistad knew that there was gold in the streets, but all they could find was fish and baskets. "Keep moving men! The gold is here!" shouted Commodore Whitbeck James. Soon several warehouses were burning and neighborhoods were being sacked. Women ran screaming, and old men armed with bamboo sticks tried to drive the thieves back.

Above them, the black dragon swooped and bellowed. It terrified everyone who didn't know that a black dragon was the equivalent of a flying Labrador retriever. Horatio Tinsmith held on to the dragon as best he could. The man who engineered the greatest kidnapping of all time was now leading the greatest pirate raid of all time. He swooped and soared over the melee. The dragon was barely controllable, and Thaldir was not answering Horatio's pleas. The only thing Horatio didn't count on was Thaldir's conscious being lost to the conscious of the black dragon... and safety straps.

<><><><><>

Palace of the Jade Lotus, Chéngshì Jin City, Xuantang

"Emperor! Pirates on the river!" cried Lung Mist. Nick wanted to address Lung Mist's cry for help, but a guard stood next to him, ready to shove Nick back onto the throne if he tried to rise.

"General, move your armies into position!" shouted Nick as Octavia cried out in agony.

"Ignore him, I am the Grand Vizier," shouted Ning. "Guard! Arrest them! Throw them in the dungeon!"

"I advise against that," Nick growled in Xuantang to the guard next to him as he continued to help Octavia through her contraction. "Applewhisp, come up here and keep Octavia company."

"What?" squeaked the fairy.

"Sing to her, tell her stories, and hold on tight." He had taken a sheet from Octavia's bag and wrapped it around the throne, tying Octavia to the throne. He intended on dragging her through the temple portal like that.

"Guards! NOW!" shrieked Ning. "ARREST THEM!"

"Emperor! They're burning the city!" cried Lung Mist, ignoring the shrieks of Ning.

"Would someone shut her up?" demanded the general.

Then the curtains opened, and it was pandemonium on the other side of the curtain. Landowners and peasants united in the need for leadership were demanding action. "THEY HAVE A DRAGON, THEY'RE BURNING EVERYTHING!"

Ning was being overwhelmed with bad news from all sides, but she wanted Nick and Octavia to pay for bringing pirates into her land. "BURN THE TEMPLE" she shouted.

Flames sprang from the silk curtains around the temple, and armed guards approached. He had Teivas so Nick could say "Cutlass" and protect Octavia the old-fashioned way, but those were his men approaching. And they were hungry; their families were starving; a soldier's pay is a pittance.

"Sorry guys," said Nick, and he plunged his hands into the sack of coins that the exchequer made him sign for, and grabbed a huge handful and flung them to the guards on his left. The coins and ingots turned slowly in the air, mesmerizing the starving troops who gazed hungrily at their first real payday in years. The guards sprawled for the coins that rained down on them, which stopped the guards advancing from that direction. In fact, everyone on the right side of the palace raced to the left side to grab some of that money.

Nick stood and clapped his hands three times; the sound of the claps rang over the melee in the palace. Taking a deep breath, he shouted in ancient Metsa Keel, the language of the forest elf, "Issand Onn! Ma anun teid!" (Lady Onn, I beseech you!)

With a screech that threatened to shatter eardrums, the goddess Onn exploded out of the burning temple. Onn, the patron goddess of Xuantang, was shocked at what she saw. She saw the rightful emperor and empress of her land being driven from their throne by a woman who dared to seize power? The goddess of luck gave her blessings to Nick and Octavia, then turned to face Ning, who shrieked in terror and dropped prostrate to the floor.

"We're leaving now Octavia," cried Nick. He suddenly became a huge western golden dragon, massive, muscular, and covered with an armor of golden scales. He glared at the audience, who drew back in horror as the dragon bellowed its defiance. Then the dragon climbed over the couch-like throne, covering Octavia completely. She gave a shriek of agony in reply, then looked up as a huge gold dragon squatted over the couch she lay on.

Nick clutched the four corners of the couch-throne in his fore and hind claws, spread wide his wings and bellowed a fountain of flame toward the now empty right side of the palace. The stick and paper construction of the palace wall burst into a blazing inferno. Grasping the throne tightly with all four claws, Nick gave a powerful thrust of his wings, and they launched toward the flames. The dragon lowered his head and pulled the couch close as he burst through the burning wall of paper. The wall exploded outward as the dragon shot out of the Palace of the Jade Lotus and flew over the Forbidden City at rooftop level.

The huge Forbidden City was a square mile array of palaces and luxury houses spaced far apart that Nick and Octavia never got to see, having never stepped outside during their time in Xuantang. Most of the buildings in the Forbidden City have stood empty for centuries, waiting for despotism to come back into style. Nick flew over the Forbidden City at rooftop level and when possible he dropped between the buildings if he thought they were being watched, he could feel his tail hit a tile roof occasionally, and guards were rare except at the palace now fading in the distance. In a flash, they passed over the wall that separates the Forbidden City from the city of Chéngshì Jin, where nearly a million people lived.

Chéngshì Jin is like many other cities in the recovering Xuantang Empire, crowded and vibrant. The months of Nick and Octavia's direction have helped end the famine. People are up and moving around, and a few even noticed a giant golden dragon clutching a couch pass right over their heads.

"I wanted to see that, down there," Nick's words appeared in Octavia's mind. "I wanted to meet those people."

"See what?" she screeched as she clutched tight to Virga and Teivas with both hands.

"The city, the people, I'm a Torwin-Armistad boy. I want to see it all."

"Why did you bring that up now?"

"Because we're flying over it."

"WHAT?" All Octavia could see was the glittering golden breast scales of the enormous dragon. The elbows of both fore claws were on either side of her so she couldn't see anything. It was like being in a comfortable golden coffin. Nick shared what he was seeing with Octavia, and suddenly she saw ornate tile rooftops rocket past just beneath them. People on crowded streets doing business flashed past in the blink of an eye. Many looked up and saw the golden dragon and waved happily. Everyone knows that golden dragons are good luck. "STOP SHARING!" Octavia shrieked as her lunch threatened to come up.

Occasionally, an arrow was fired at them, but at their speed, there were no lucky shots. Nick saw a diversion that might work, and he turned toward the river. Smoke was rising from almost every building thanks to the pirate attack, and he flew toward it and into the smoke. To someone on the ground, all they could see was a dragon clutching a couch darting into the smoke cloud. Somewhere inside that cloud, another dragon lurked, and they avoided each other. Dragons can feel the presence of each other. One dragon felt a huge, menacing relic of the Bad Old Days when dragons and Sourcerers ruled Kodu; the other dragon felt an annoying puppy with wings. The black dragon came out of the smoke above the melee, sootier and dirtier.

Nick emerged over the river, and he dropped as low as possible. He skimmed the surface of the river, keeping a line of buildings and warehouses between him and the guards who might have been watching for him. Nick's quick plan worked, fooling the guards at the forbidden city who were tracking them. They now believe that the dragon circling over the flames had to be Nick and Octavia. They never saw the other dragon fly upriver at wave top level, hiding behind the buildings, factories, and warehouses of the waterfront, flying to save his family.

<><><><><>

Palace of the Jade Lotus, Chéngshì Jin City, Xuantang

Lung Mist directed firefighting efforts in the palace, and they put the fires out so quickly that they saved the palace and the library. A little first aid was needed, mostly for fingers that were stepped on trying to grab the coins that Nick threw. Then the old eunuch turned to the general, who was wringing his hands, waiting for an order. Before Lung Mist could say a word, Jia took care of that and gave the general the order. "Recall the Northern army to quell the riots, then recall the southern army to support. Reinforce all ports."

Impressed with the lad's orders, the army general nodded and gave the orders. His armies could move quickly and decisively with all the bridge and road repairs that were done as team-building exercises. And they could move as a single man because the team-building exercises built the greatest teams in Xuantang Army history. "We won't have anyone available to find the escaped Westlanders," the General advised Lung Mist. His last order was to kill the Westlanders Nick and Octavia, and "Westlander" was not a compliment. His use of that caused Jia to bristle with anger, but Lung Mist laid a fatherly hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Sometimes these things happen. When your armies have the uprising under control, General, we need to talk about the constitution. Jia will join us, I'm sure he has many ideas to continue the improvements that have been made."

Jia looked at his mother, cowering on her hands and knees, the fifteen foot tall goddess Onn glaring down at her. "Not all luck is good luck mother," he said. Then he turned to a guard and said, "Take her someplace where she can contemplate her sins. Then we shall talk." He turned to Lung Mist and said, "My ancestor tore down the Temple of Onn. That must be corrected immediately. I will be consecrated as temple priest."

Lung Mist looked down at the young boy in surprise; the young master has learned so much.

<><><><><>

Tam Foo Docks, Chéngshì Jin City, Xuantang

The battle for the waterfront was hard fought. The only things to plunder in that area were fish, shaved ice, and dried squid. To make matters worse, the army arrived quickly in shining steel armor and counterattacked the pirates. A handful of pirates got back aboard one of their stolen junks and Cpt. Ryley Karver, formerly of the Ayrshire, took command. "Cut loose the anchor me boys, let the current take us where she will!" They cut loose the anchor, and the river's current moved them away from the docks. "Hoist the main sail! Hoist the top sail, be ready at the mizzenmast!" The terrified pirates worked with a fervor he had never seen before. They got the mainsail up and were heading downstream smoothly. "Aye, that's the way to do it, me boys."

As they sailed down river they drew alongside a junk commandeered by the new Navy. The navy's job was to let the army slug it out and make sure no one got away by sea. "Fire arrows," the captain of the Navy junk calmly said. "Loose!" The fire arrows began impacting the dry wood of the ancient pirate junk. It burned down to the waterline in minutes.

Sword fights in the streets were growing in number as more troops arrived. The Northern Army arrived first and held the pirates from gaining ground, and when the Southern Army arrived, they joined forces and forced the pirates back to the docks. Soon, the pirates were being disarmed and marched off to a life of slave labor in the gold mines where they would soon be knee deep in All That Gold.

Horatio Tinsmith didn't fare so well. The dragon he rode was happy to be free and overjoyed to be in the land of his ancestors, and had great fun swooping and sailing. At some point Horatio said to himself, "I got this! I know how to fly a dragon!"

That was when the dragon realized that the annoying person on his back had lost his grip. Free from the annoying tugs on his horns, the young dragon flew off, looking for adventure. He would find it in the western mountains of Xuantang, where, when he died of old age, the minor god Thaldir would be free from his punishment and return to the pantheon.

Meanwhile, Horatio Tinsmith floated downstream on the Lu Yazi River, alive and barely conscious. The battle raged on between the pirates and the two army groups. He was shocked that they were able to respond so quickly. He rolled over onto his aching back, floating past the mayhem, and wondered how he would get back to Uduithia and complete his revenge.

<><><><><>

Sunhae Village, Xuantang

"I really need to stop, please!" said Octavia in a tiny voice. They were soaring over marshland, and it was hard to tell what below was dry land and what was marshy tufts of swamp grass. Dragons are a marvel of navigation. They know where they are at all times, and they know where everything that is of importance to them is, too. All Nick had to do was convince the dragon that Elm Springs was a place of importance, and the dragon could sort out many routes. Right now, the absolute fastest way would take a month or more. But Nick noticed that a place called Bovuka was much closer.

Nick made a slight turn to the right, and the land rose up from the river. Soon the land they were passing over was covered with terraced rice paddies, and little walled villages sprang up here and there. "Please, I need to stop," called Octavia in a small, terrified voice.

Nick landed on a hill where Virga could spot threats from all directions. Below the crest of the hill was a small village. He set down, returned to human form, and immediately checked on Octavia. Her eyes were wide open, and she was clutching Virga and Teivas as tightly as she could. "Oh, gods, I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of any way to get you out of there."

She threw her arms around Nick and started crying. "What happened? I thought we were friends with Ning."

"I don't know. When I mentioned that she was a potential choice as Prime Minister, she must have let it go to her head."

Nick glanced over at Octavia's bulging shopping bag and the fairy box was still there. "Are you guys still with us?"

Sundrop peeked out and said, "How long have you been flying?"

"Almost a year."

"You need to practice."

"He did good," insisted Octavia, who rarely spoke to the fairies.

"How is Marlon doing?" asked Nick.

"He's ok, he's quiet now but I think he will be here soon."

"Let's get you on your feet," and with a smile, he helped her up.

"I'm so sorry to be a burden," she whimpered.

"It's our burden. We're a family and we help each other." And that was it; Octavia realized that he understood. She clung to Nick and started to weep again.

"Captain Pommeraie de la Montesquieu... I still remember how my heart leaped the day we met," and their lips met in a sweet, long kiss.

"Mine still leaps every time I see Queen Octavia smile at me."

"Mmmm, wait until you see what you get for next Yuletide... now don't watch while I pee! Just hold my hand so I don't fall."

When they returned to the throne, there were six men there, and Sundrop was explaining to them how Nick and Octavia were escaping a tyrant. After a lot of chatter and investigating the couch, four of the men departed for the village but soon returned with bamboo, saws, and a hammer. Some brought large gourds, and another brought a basket. With a lot of chatter and laughter, the men built side rails out of some strips of bamboo. The gourds were hollowed out, dried and filled with water, and the basket they brought was full of rice balls and fruit.

Nick and Octavia bowed deeply and said, thank you. "They know who you are," whispered Sundrop.

"How did they find out?" Nick was worried that they knew him in a tiny village a day's walk from Chéngshì Jin.

"You're the only two Westlanders in Central Xuantang. They also believe you're the Viimane Päkapikk Kuningas."

"How would they know the term Viimane Päkapikk Kuningas?" demanded Nick. "It means the last elf king. I'm not an elf; I'm not a king."

"You're the elf that's not an elf." To Nick's confused look, the fairy explained, "You are the last human to practice elf magic and you carry the sword of the king."

"How many humans practiced elf magic before me?" demanded Nick.

"None, but that's not the point," said Sundrop.

By now several women, young and old, had arrived and were running their hands over Octavia's tummy, making jokes she couldn't understand. "What are they saying?" asked the expectant mother.

"Mostly they're saying that this is the first of many, but they want to know how you keep your skin so soft."

Virga was scanning left and right and suddenly stopped while looking to the east, in the direction of Chéngshì Jin. "Soldiers approaching on horseback," said Virga, and soon everyone started saying, "Go, go, GO!"

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Chapter 30 - Marlon

"Sundrop, what should I give them? I want to thank them," said Nick.

"Don't give them anything. If the soldiers find it, they'll be killed."

"Let's go," said Nick, "everyone aboard." The fairies made a beeline to their box, and Octavia lay down on the couch. The men put the wooden rails on each side so there's no way she could roll out, then they started packing in the basket and the gourds full of water around her, and she was pretty snug. "Let's get out of this country," said Nick. He "shoo'd" everyone away, then standing at the end of Octavia's throne he smiled and blew her a kiss. "No worries mate!" and the familiar golden dragon was standing there. He crouched over the throne, got a solid grasp of all four corners, and with a tremendous beat of the wings, they were off.

"You gained some weight, girl!" was the thought that came into her head.

"It's all this water. Are you able to hold me?"

"My talons all lock in place somehow, but I feel the weight change in my wings."

"Show me what you see," she asked.

"Ok just be careful you don't lose your grip on yourself." Suddenly, she could see what Nick was seeing: the Xuantang Empire spread out before her for thousands of miles. Nick did a slow, wide turn to the north, and Octavia could see the grasslands stretching off to her right, as far as the eye could see. She saw the enormous beasts that roam the lands, the herds of bison and the ornery horned camels. To her left were the mountains rising high above them. The mountain goats watched from miles away as they glided along. Looking straight ahead, far, far off in the distance, she could see the sea glittering, and she knew that's where they were headed. Suddenly, she felt a sinking feeling in her belly, and it scared her. "What was that?"

"Some air just pushed us up higher. It happens all the time. Just relax, take a nap."

She watched some more; the scenes didn't change, but now and then something would grab her attention like a flash of light. "What is that?"

"I don't know, something a dragon would be interested in, like a potential adversary, or something to eat. I will avoid them for now and maybe check it out some other day. Let's just go."

"Captain?"

Nick smiled; she hadn't called him that in a long time. "Yes, m'lady?"

"Take me home."

"Yes, m'lady."

<><><><><>

Throne Room, Waelmore Castle, Uduithia

"Your highness? You wanted to keep in touch with everything that happened on the Xuantang mainland."

King Uric II, King of Uduithia and Nick's liege lord, opened one eye and saw that it was Lord Baltimore, his head of intelligence. The king had been listening to an instrumental performance of the Soft Valley Suite. He was hoping to get some cheerful spirit going in the old castle, but Ning's behavior has ruined the post-holiday spirit. "Excuse us, but could everyone please take a break? We need ten minutes." The string octette left for a hot cuppa while Queen Elinor approached the throne with trepidation.

Lord Baltimore seems to have agents everywhere, and they can get information back to Lord Baltimore fast, very fast. When asked by the king how that was possible, Lord Baltimore gave an explanation that went like this. "In four weeks' time, we will receive information from distant shores that would be of vital importance now. We have wizards in my office that will simply take that information and send it back to themselves four weeks previously and give it to me. I'm relaying to you old news that we got next month."

Now his time dilating wizards are invaluable. "Sire, my agents report that war has broken out in the Xuantang empire," began Lord Baltimore. "At approximately ten fifteen AM this morning, our time, the government split with one faction demanding that the Shi Pha constitution be ratified and put in place. This faction is being led by Hau Chung Ning, who sees herself as the next Grand Vizir. The other faction claims that the Hong Chau constitution is still in place and must be obeyed, and this faction is being run by an eighty-year-old eunuch named Lung Mist and the seven-year-old heir to the throne, Hong Pha Jia."

"Oh, merciful lords," groaned Uric.

"It gets worse, m'lord."

"How?"

"At the same time the government was disintegrating, four boatloads of mercenaries landed in Chéngshì Jin, came ashore at an area called Tam Foo Docks and began looting in the industrial sector of Chéngshì Jin."

Uric shook his head. Chéngshì Jin is in the middle of the continent. The pirates could sail that far inland without being caught? Don't they have a Navy or Coast Guard? Then again, one must mention the huge Oliphant that is in the room: "What about the Army? Who are they loyal to?"

Lord Baltimore flipped through his notes, "They are obeying the eunuch, but claim to be loyal to the emperor his grace Sir Nicholas Stein and await his orders."

"And where are the Duke and Duchess of Wægn?"

"They seemed to have slipped out when the palace caught fire."

King Uric chuckled and gave a half smile. "I'm sure they did."

<><><><><>

Unknown Location, Xuantang Empire

Nick was exhausted. They've been flying for sixteen hours with only the occasional pee break to break the monotony of flying. Just after sunset they set down and as Octavia got up from the throne, the dragon flew off! She cried out in shock, but the fairies fluttered around her, telling her, "The dragon is hungry."

The dragon came back, and Octavia got the distinct mental image of the dragon hunting down a wild horse, then slaking its thirst in a nearby river. The images overwhelmed and scared Octavia, but the dragon's overwhelming desire was to return and protect her, and soon they were back in the air.

It was dark, and it was getting cold, so they started flying lower. Nick was reassuring her as they flew gently, continually heading north, staying far ahead of any pursuit. Octavia's contractions started coming regularly, and the intensity of each one was getting stronger. "We have to stop," cried Octavia as a tremendous contraction overwhelmed her. She almost doubled over, but her forehead hit the dragon's armored belly.

"I'm looking for a place to land," whispered Nick. Dragons have great night vision; their night vision is almost as good as human day vision, but they were flying over hundreds of square miles of thick bamboo forest with no openings. Nick's artificial left eye works the same way when he's in his human body, which is great. It saves on candles. "This is the only place I can find."

"I. DON'T. CARE!"

Flapping his wings like a hummingbird, Nick eased down into the bamboo forest, shoving the flexible stems aside. Once down, the dragon made a clearing by tearing up plants, braking and crushing bamboo, trying to create a flat place for them to stay. Huge dragon claws scraped away broken bamboo until the soft, leaf covered earth was exposed. Then Nick's gentle hands spread out sheets and blankets on the couch, and Octavia lay back down. "Virga, could we get some light? Soft like a candle?"

"Yes, Nick." The Orb of Jørn on the head of the walking stick started glowing, lighting up the dense bamboo forest around them.

"Virga! You called me Nick!"

"It's a new year sir. 'tis the season."

"Actually, that was days ago. You're just getting misty, aren't you?" Nick bantered with Virga, but his attention was on his wife, who was in so much pain and so afraid. She wanted her mother more than anything, but her mother gave her to an orphanage twenty-five years ago. "Look in my eyes, honey, look." When she finally made eye contact, he said, "I'm not going to lie to you. You and the baby are in good shape. We're not going to have any problems."

"What if we do?"

"Then we fix it, simple as that."

"Why am I naked?"

"Because it's hot, it's muggy, and in just a couple of minutes, a handsome young man is going to want to hug you and he doesn't want clothes in the way." Nick washed his hands and checked her dilation again, and he could feel the top of his son's head. "He's almost here."

The fairies started chanting, "Almost here! Almost here! Almost here!"

"Sing something relaxing, can you girls?"

The next series of contractions seemed to run into each other for Octavia, and Nick kept encouraging her, "Deep breaths! I can see his head!" Excitement shot through Nick, and the crown of his son's head was visible. "He's almost here! He has your hair!"

Through the veil of pain, she heard Nick call, "this is the one! PushPushPushPush!" and suddenly he was out! Now Nick seemed to be doing a million things at once, and Octavia was too tired to watch and see what he was up to. All she knew was that the pain was over.

Octavia tried to get up on her elbows and see what was going on. Why isn't Nick talking to her? Why doesn't she hear the baby? Then about that time the baby started squalling, a high pitched squeaky cry of indignation. Nick has seen fifteen babies in his life and none has been so precious, so beautiful as this tiny boy that was curling up in his hands. Everything has been worth it; every moment of pain, every day of hard, backbreaking work preparing a home for this one tiny child has been worth it. "Marlon, let's go meet your mommy."

Nick laid a tiny naked wonder on Octavia's chest that stopped crying and started looking around. His big blue eyes like his daddy's eyes sought her out, and he smiled... "He's smiling at me!... he looks just like you!" Thousands of miles away and two decades after they were abandoned by their parents, two orphans tearfully welcomed the living personification of their love into the world.

Laughing and crying as they kissed and stared at this tiny marvel that looked up at them with a huge, open-mouthed smile. Normally a witch would say, "He's too young to smile," but Nick held Octavia and son and said, "Yes, he is smiling. He loves you... Ok, I have to clean up."

Nick cleaned up everything, making sure clean blankets and sheets were available. Then he crouched over and gently scooped up Octavia, swapped out the sheets and laid her back on the throne. He gazed at the two most important human beings on the disc, then finished the cleanup and sagged to the ground next to her. This crazy day has worn him out, and even though he wanted nothing more than to gaze at his family, his eyelids sagged. Octavia started to drop off to sleep herself, so she rousted herself. She blearily said, "Take the baby and the fairies and walk about twenty feet away. I need to do something."

Wrapping the baby in a blanket, Nick scooped up Marlon and, carefully stepping off the paces, he and the fairies moved away from Octavia. Nick said, "Ok, do it."

There was a series of thundering flashes around Octavia. Colored flashes lit up the bamboo, and puffs of smoke filled the air, and once she stopped, a small bamboo cottage stood in the clearing that she had created. Entering the cottage, they found Octavia propped up in a large, comfortable bed with a cup of tea in her hand. "Gods, I missed doing magic."

Octavia and Marlon rested for several days. After 12 hours of sleep, Nick was circling high above the cottage in the body of an eagle, looking far and wide for threats and food. Several times, he flew for hours to find something and ended up with fish quite often. This must be good territory because several other eagles challenged him for the right to hunt in his area. Those other eagles were devoured by a dragon who also needed food.

Nick would drop his catch on the roof of the cottage, and Octavia would use her kitchen magic to turn whatever he caught into a meal for them. Combined with the water and rice balls, they ate well, considering. While Nick was off hunting, Octavia learned about her son. When he started nursing, she wept with joy; she was doing something her mother was never able to do. She used to be so angry with her mother for dumping her at an orphanage, but now she felt sorry for her mother; she wasn't able to do this for whatever reason.

"Are you two able to do some flying?" Nick asked Octavia.

"Maybe flight will rock him to sleep," said Octavia. She looked down at her breast and saw a tiny face looking back up at her. It gave her such a look of love and trust, just like his father did when she went sailing with him off the shore of Breaze so long ago... "Let's do it." Octavia and the baby settled on the couch, and Nick made sure his family was secure. Then, with a small magical pop, the roof disappeared and the walls of the cottage fell back. "Everyone ready Sundrop?"

"We're ready!" came his voice from Octavia's shopping bag. The female fairies haven't been around at all. They all went into hiding after watching Marlon's birth. The sight of the birth terrified them, and they were afraid that Nick would make them do the same thing.

With the beat of dragon wings, they were off, and in two hours, they were flying out over the sea. "You need to give me a lot of warning. If you need me to land, I will have to find an island."

This was truly nice for Nick; he had his entire family clutched to his chest, and he was gently soaring from one island to the next, mentally conversing with Octavia the whole time. She gave him updates every time the little guy moved and told him stories of her growing up in the orphanage. In return, Nick showed her the islands they were passing over. Some were tiny spots on the water; others were quite large. Some had live volcanos, and some disappeared when the tide came up.

They followed the chain of islands between the Agatean coast and Bovuka, and as they flew, Nick would tell Octavia how far away the next island was. She held on to it as long as she could until she begged to be put on the ground. "I'm sorry, but I really have to go and I have to change the baby."

"That's ok, that was a long stretch," came Nick's reassuring words into her mind.

They did several hops like that until at sunset an exhausted Nick settled down of his own volition. As the throne touched the ground, he said, "We're free from Agatea. Welcome to Bovuka."

<><><><><>

Bovuka

Bovuka is also called the Terror Incognita because almost all animals and plants on Bovuka want to kill you. There is an evil creature in Bovuka, evil beyond evil, and it's called the dingaroo. Picture a cute pink and white long eared, cotton tail bunny that is seven feet tall with six inch long fangs and has one of your limbs stuffed into its pouch "for later." One of those darlings cost Nick his left eye, and now Nick is a 100 foot long dragon roaring over the Bovuka desert looking for a pack of dingaroos. His swooping and turning as he chased the monsters rocked the baby to sleep, but they were losing time. "Let's go see Bruce!" called Octavia.

"Ok," said Nick with a sigh. He was getting good at slapping dingaroos on the head with his tail as they rocketed past, even though a few survived. Nick gained as much altitude as he dared and saw their target far off in the distance. Locking his wings, he prepared for one long final glide. "We're going home, baby."

The University of Cloacina is the top school for wizards in Bovuka and is the top {actually only} higher-education institution on the continent of Bovuka. The institution is unique in that the sound of a beer can opening is the signal that class is about to end -- or begin.

Bruce Dinkum, the assistant head librarian at the University of Cloacina, cleaned the dust off the university library windowsills and neon beer signs as a sudden gust started blowing through the university quad. Hats, books, and underclassmen were blown around as a huge golden dragon landed right in front of the library. Bruce watched in amusement as the dragon became an old friend, and he helped another friend off the couch he had just deposited on the front walk.

Nick scooped up the shopping bag, the food basket, the water gourds and as many blankets and sheets as he could gather and followed Octavia into the library. "G'day mate! What is it this time?" As usual, Bruce Dinkum was tending bar, which was the most important part of being a librarian in Bovuka.

"Same old, same old. How ya doin' mate?" said Nick as he shook hands with Bruce, then accepted the beer Bruce offered. It was still early; class was in session, which means the only people in the library drinking were administrators.

"Well, where were y'at this time?"

"We were in Xuantang."

"Bloody hell, Nick, you walked all the way from Xuantang? This is your third trip there."

"They had to carry me home last time. She shot off my foot."

"And a damn fine shot it was!" said Bruce.

"I'd like ya to meet the newest member of the family," said Octavia, and she uncovered Marlon's face, but the little lad was asleep.

"What a heartbreaker. Where did you find him?"

"On the way here," said Nick. "Just about a thirty six hour flight out of Chéngshì Jin city."

Octavia leaned on Nick's shoulder and said, "He took a peek between my legs and there he was." She gently, lovingly, eased the beer out of her husband's hand and drank every remaining drop.

"Look, we have to get going. We've been gone forever and we want to get some sleep in our own bed. Let's do something next week," said Nick as they shook hands.

"Oi! What about that couch you left on the lawn?"

"Oh. That. That is the ancient and honorable throne of the Xuantang Empire. They may be along later to pick it up... or I might."

"You stole the emperor's throne?" shouted Bruce.

"Ta!" And with that Octavia led Nick into the Temple of Cloacina and exited in the Temple of the Woods a moment later.

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Chapter 31 - The Marquess of Black Mountain

They hung up their royal robes and pulled on their jackets and boots, then stepped outside. It was bitterly cold, and the fairies were shivering in their box, even though it was wrapped in a blanket. They wrapped Marlon up in several light blankets, then went outside to buckle Nick up to the Ralli cart, but it wasn't there. Instead of a Ralli cart, there was a sleigh waiting in their spot. They looked at each other and shrugged, and Nick stepped between the traces of the beautiful white sleigh with red trim. A huge white vermin blanket lay on the seat, and it looked so inviting. With a smile, Nick became a large black quarter horse.

"Pretty! I like this one!" said Octavia.

Nick's words, "I haven't done the quarter horse thing in a long time," eased into her mind, making Octavia smile as she got Nick buckled in.

"Let me go get the babies." She ducked into the bookstore and came back out with the shopping bag containing the fairies and gold, and Marlon. Soon everyone was in and seated and ready for the Last Mile of their journey. With a cluck of the tongue, they were off.

"Where are we going?" asked Nick as she pulled the reins away from the turn toward the cottage.

"It's early. I've never rode in a sleigh. It's a pretty night and we have a new toy... let's see some high stepping!"

The Stein family trotted up and down Main Street of Elm Springs, amazed at the smooth and silent ride you get from a sleigh. They did three lengths of the tiny village when Octavia said, "Are you ready to go home?"

Without being prompted, Nick whinnied and turned up Nana Peacock's driveway and trotted the entire trip to the cottage. Octavia laughed as she held the reins in one hand and the baby with the other while they trotted up the drive through the dark woods. As they came into the clearing, they could see their cottage lit up with a candle in every window. "Candlelight! Our house looks so good in candlelight!" They stopped the sleigh, set the brake and stepped back to admire the thatched roof cottage, a wisp of smoke coming out of the chimney and a candle in each window. "I wish I were an artist!" gasped Nick. The light snow and the moonlight made it a perfect picture.

"I wish you were too, I want a painting of my baby," said Octavia.

"Let's go home," prompted Nick as he kissed the chilly Mrs. Stein.

"Let's do," she agreed, and they happily climbed the steps as Buggy opened the door from the inside.

"Welcome home!" boomed the dwarf's basso profundo voice, which caused a hail of squawking and wailing from under the bundle that Octavia carried so close to her breast. "Oh! I'm so sorry," the dwarf said. "I did not know!"

"You tunnel ape," growled Eryri. "Let me see the little fellow," and Octavia transferred her precious cargo to Eryri's arms. "There, there, such a brave little human," said Eryri as she rocked the baby in her arms and calmed him down. "Did you see any dingaroos? Your daddy loves them."

"I was able to pet about seventeen of them," said Nick.

Swaddled tightly, Marlon seemed amused at Eyrir's hair, but his little eyes were getting droopy. Nick and Octavia sat on the loveseat with Nick holding the baby while Buggy and Eryri sat in rocking chairs opposite. After tea was poured, Buggy said, "So... how was Chéngshì Jin? Was the weather nice?" which earned him an elbow from Eryri, "And how was the old guy... Lip Sink? Was that his name?"

"I'm over them. But I love Jia and Lung Mist. I hope they do well," said Nick sadly. It was a lie; he had a deep affection for Ning before something happened and she went nuts.

"Where's my Ralli cart?" snapped Octavia, woe be to whoever nicked her Ralli cart.

"It's in the barn. Don't worry, Mister Trei thought that you would like the sleigh when you get back." Then Buggy picked up a pad of paper and read the notes for Nick. "You have a luncheon and debriefing at Lancre Castle tomorrow, the king highly suggests attending. Octavia, on Mid Winter's eve you need to pick up your professor at the train station in Slate Bottom Creek. Mid Winter's day dinner will be at the castle."

Nick fought his way awake and said, "I'm sorry, it's been a rough trip. We need some sleep."

Wordlessly Octavia stood up and said, "Good night" and took the baby out of Nick's arms, then climbed upstairs. As she reached the top of the stairs, she called, "Let the fairies out before you come to bed."

"We're out!" chimed the fairies on the mantle over the fireplace. But muffled noises from Octavia's shopping bag reminded Nick of the quartet wrapped up against the cold in her bag. As he let them out to meet their new friends, Nick turned to Buggy and Eryri and hugged them both. "Thank you." He whispered hoarsely.

"Tough trip?"

"It got better when Octavia could make some magic, we left a few cottages between Chéngshì Jin and Bugarup Station, but it was terrifying, and it was tedious, and I'm going to go sleep in a proper bed for the first time in what feels like weeks. Thank you for being here for us," and he guided the dwarves to the door, and they said their goodbyes, then drew the shades.

Nick still felt gritty from crossing Bovuka; the dust there gets everywhere. He needed to wash up. He pumped a large pot full of water and placed it on the stove, then put a large bucket on the floor, large enough that two people could stand in it.

Octavia heard the water flowing and tucked Marlon into his bassinet, then headed downstairs and appeared at Nick's side. "Bath night?" Nick nodded, and Octavia clutched the water pot and heated it with magic until the temperature was just right. "I love bath night." By the light of one candle and eight curious fairies, they undressed each other. Being naked first, Octavia got to stand in the pan while Nick washed her body from head to toe, rinsing off the soapy water with a dipper of clear hot water. As he began to wash her breasts, she pushed his hands away. "Easy, let me get the special bits. I'm recovering from our hungry, hungry monster."

"I love our hungry, hungry monster." And with a playful swat on the butt, they changed places, and Octavia began washing Nick.

"You got some nasty scratches. What happened?"

"Not sure, probably looking for food." Nick had become adept at finding edible roots and veggies in the field in Xuantang, but most of Bovuka was a barren desert. Most of the time, he changed into a bird or a dragon and plucked fish out of the ocean. Some fish plucked back.

When she washed down lower, Nick shook his head no for the first time in their marriage. "Not me tonight either," said Nick with a yawn.

Together they dumped the drip pan down the kitchen sink, then washed out the kitchen sink with the remaining hot water, then scrambled naked through the cooling house to bed, where they curled up with Marlon between them and slept like rocks for the next three hours.

<><><><><>

The next morning after chores and cleanup, Octavia buckled Nick as a quarter horse, into the traces of the new sleigh, and he pulled Octavia and Marlon into the village, where they parked the sleigh next to the bookstore and they checked the mail. Nick hung a sign on the door that said, "Classes Resume on Astra 10." Then they walked next door to the Black Smith Shop where Wayne Metzgar stood at the forge heating a piece of iron and grinning. "Oh, there you are! Come for the horse?"

"What horse?"

"That sleigh and horse are a gift for Marlon, or so I'm told." Wayne's mom, Erin, came out to take a peek at the tiny boy and sat in the sleigh next to Octavia, while Trei went to get the horse out of the stable.

"As duke, I don't know if I'm allowed to accept a gift like this," said Nick.

"If the king gives you a sleigh and a horse and says it's yours, it's yours," said Trei as he led a black and tan standardbred mare out to the daylight. "Her name is Trixie. She's a two year old and she's really gentle and she'll take to the saddle as well." He backed Trixie into the traces, and Trei taught Nick how to buckle the horse in. "Oh, and you need this," he placed a collar of bells around Trixi's neck. "Horse and sled can be so quiet you can't hear them coming, so when there's snow on the street, there are bells on the horses. King's law."

"I didn't want to get a sleigh because I thought they were frivolous," said Nick as he climbed in and grabbed the reins. "How many months in the year can I use this sleigh for?"

"About six," said Trei as he and his wife stepped back. Nick was excited; he only gets to do this with the mules, and they're not exactly high steppers. Octavia gets the horses. He clucked his tongue and snapped the buggy whip, and they were off. It was so good riding together that the three of them huddled for warmth under the heavy blanket. They must have kissed every time a snowflake landed on Trixie.

"We need warmer coats if we're going to live here for the next six decades," said Octavia as she checked on Marlon for the eleventh time.

"Is there some place that you'd rather be?"

"I want to be wherever you take me."

From the top of the pass on Breeders Peak, they could look down on the entirety of the Duchy of Wægn. From the village of Widdershins on the west, to Elm Springs in the center, to the village of Deasil in the east; the entire valley was laid out below them. The borders of the farms and the roads and paths were hidden under the snow, but it looked peaceful. "I like it here," Octavia finally said as the snow spiraled down again.

"Good, because I think we're going to stay," said Nick, and with a flick of the reins, they were heading down into the town of Waleston.

The snow was coming down heavily by the time they reached the castle, and Waleston still truly had the holiday feel to it. Shoppers from all over the kingdom were strolling from shop to shop; hot cider stands were still on several street corners, and the jingling of Trixie's bells made the young family happy they accepted Nana Peacock's invitation to live there which seemed so long ago.

When Nick reached the castle, it was such a joy to stay with his wife and turn Trixie over to the footmen who whisked her away to the stables. Every previous time, it was Nick, ending up in the stables. Inside the castle, the Yuletide holiday decor was changed to Mid-Winter Day decor, the next big holiday, and it gloriously combined white, silver, and crystal to make the castle look like it were made of ice.

"Right this way," said Harold Lorechester, and he led Nick and Octavia through the castle they'd been in and out of for the past year. As they turned the corner, Herald led them to the formal dining room and stopped. The room was packed with nobility from all over the kingdom and the king's entire court. When the king looked up from the head of the table and smiled, everyone turned to look at them.

"Why are they all smiling?" whispered Nick. "I usually piss them all off."

"It's what you do best."

Nick and Octavia stood in the doorway elbowing each other until Harold announced, "Your highness may I present their grace, the Duke and Duchess of Wægn, Sir Nicholas and Lady Octavia Stein and son Marlon Jehans Stein, Marquess of Black Mountain."

They slowly walked the full length of the table while everyone applauded them. They went all the way to the head of the table, and Nick let Octavia sit next to the queen so she could fawn over Marlon. "It sounds like you had quite a harrowing journey," said King Uric.

"It was quite an enlightening journey," said Nick. "I was just glad for the company." Harold whisked away their coats and hats while Octavia sat next to Queen Elinor, ruining her boy-girl-boy-girl seating arrangement, but there was a newborn to be coddled. Babies have priority.

After the meal was completed, the business of the kingdom for the fiscal year of 3432 was laid out and the year's tax burden distributed. Many of the new initiatives the king requested were because of the things that Nick introduced in the Duchy of Wægn, such as the highway maintenance crews and the local police, which were paid for by the county and not the kingdom. The new requirements were met with complaints and groaning from the nobles, but Nick reviewed the new requirements with a nod. "Not a problem your highness. I can meet these obligations without impacting my people's tax burdens."

"How in the names of a half dozen gods is that possible?" roared Lord Diggory Harcourt, the Earl of Mallburg and the Exchequer of the kingdom.

Nick shrugged, "Lord Diggory, if anyone should know how to do it, it would be you. As for me, I do all my own cooking."

The room bristled with anger, and the king tried desperately to hide his amusement. Finally, in a gruff voice, the king said, "Lord Stein, a word regarding your conduct at the King's table is in order. I shall require your presence in my study upon the meeting's adjournment."

When the meeting was adjourned, Nick and Octavia stood at the door of the King's study, and they knocked on the door. "Enter!" snarled the king, and the door opened. In the king's study were the king and queen and young prince Abraam, not yet two years old. "I apologize for my statement at the king's table..." started Nick.

"Ignore that," said King Uric. Then Nick recognized what the king was doing; he was throwing darts at a dartboard. He handed Nick three darts and said, " You administered precisely what that preposterous buffoon merited. Those powdered, frivolous dandies, subsisting on inherited wealth; were it within my power, I should relieve them of their estates and set them to the plow, that they might earn their daily repast!" The king threw three incredible darts and stepped aside. "Intelligence suggests you were the champion of the barracks within the Breazian Royal Guard, were you not?"

"I was, sire."

"Good tidings! It has been an age since a worthy challenge presented itself. A game of three hundred and one, is it?"

As they played, they talked, and as they talked, Prince Abraam met Marlon. "Duke Stein," said the king finally. "'twas said you were Breaze's keenest blade, and Major Leomaris Autumnfall of Teurnia doth report that you could vanquish any human or elf within his ranks. Is this assertion, in truth, accurate?"

"Yes, it is," said Octavia before Nick could speak. "His humility will prevent him from answering your question, and instead you would find yourself in a conversation about raising cabbage or some other thing."

"I require your steel by my side," said King Uric. "There are murmurs that the King is enfeebled, his affection for the peasantry cited as evidence. I did not initially aspire to this position, yet now that I occupy it and perceive what we might achieve for our subjects, I intend to keep the throne. To do so, I require staunch allies." The king plucked the darts from the dartboard and handed three to Nick and said, "Will you again don the mithril-steel cutlass?"

"Sire, I was a failure the last time, the only person I could save was the queen..."

"That is owing to the conspiracy being as much directed at you as it was at King Alfrich. Should you serve me thus, you shall have carte blanche to act as you see fit in the throne's protection."

"If you order me to..." started Nick, but the king stopped him suddenly by throwing three triple twenties.

"There shall be no directive; this is a voluntary undertaking."

Nick looked at Octavia, who nodded her agreement with the king. "I shall take it sire, but my family is still my primary love."

"Precisely. Henceforth, you shall serve as Minister of Health and a member of my court. You shall devote Friday to consultations with Lord Baltimore, acquainting yourself with his intelligence-gathering apparatus. Your second-in-command shall be Captain Sean Fahy, accompanied by Lieutenant Darragh O'Keeffe."

Nick's head spun, and his next dart went wide of the board. "Yes sire."

"Sir Nicholas, as Minister of Health, I allude not merely to the Shire of Hay-on-Wægn, for you now possess an entire kingdom to administer. Should the specter of an outbreak loom, I require immediate notification."

"Yes sire," said Nick, and he threw a double eighteen, a five, and a triple twenty to win the game by three points. "Sire, do you know where the horse and sleigh I was given came from?"

"Oh, that? A bribe offered by the Prime Minister of the Xuantang Empire, Mister Lung Mist, in the quaint hope of inclining your heart to persist in tutoring the future Emperor."

"I shall speak with the Prime Minister in a few days, after things calm down a bit." By 'things' he meant Ning.

"Excellent. His Lordship, Professor Tidor Dhukonn - presiding viceroy of the Temple of Saehrimnir University of Mystic Arts - shall arrive on Celest the second for the Midwinter Celebration. Pray collect him from the tramway station at Slate Bottom Creek."

"Yes your majesty," gushed Octavia, eager to see her old professor. "But if you excuse us, the Duke has a wedding ceremony to conduct. We will be in Waleston again tomorrow to speak more."

"I do?"

"Yes, you do. I was asked if you would do it this morning."

"Let's go then."

This time it was Octavia's turn to drive, and the snow continued to make the ride smooth and quick. Trixie was a high-stepping horse who loved the trip, regardless of the steep climbs and the winds at Breeders Peak summit. Trixie reached speeds on those snowy mountain roads that terrified Nick, but Octavia grinned with joy as her raven tresses waved in the wind. "What is this Marquess of Black Mountain thing? What is Marlon going to do about it?"

"That's a courtesy title, you and I have several titles, Duke of Wægn, Marquess of Black Mountain, and Earl of Widdershin. By courtesy, our oldest son may use one of my peerage titles but I continue to be the substantive holder of the title, so I allow him to use Marquess of Black Mountain. If he has children, his oldest son may use Earl of Widdershin title as a courtesy. Their wives can use the feminine of those titles."

"What about our other sons?" asked Octavia.

"Much of Kodu is run by a system called primogeniture, meaning the spoils go to the firstborn son. We will need to teach Marlon to care for his brothers and sisters and treat them with love." Nick was suddenly reminded of Stefan Roem. He killed his father and his older brother to get the title of Duke of Wægn, but disappeared. Ned Darby was sure Stefan was a Zeddicus follower and died at Tähelepanek Point.

Finally, they reached their farm, and Octavia left, leaving the chore of putting Trixie and the sleigh away to Nick. Trixie was put in a large pasture so she could commiserate with the sheep, goats, and mules, as Nick and Dexter shoved the sleigh into the barn. "Thanks Dexter," said Nick.

"How long were you gone, yer grace?" asked Dex as he fed Trixie, Kaleb, and Teddi pieces of apple.

"It feels like a month but it was only five days," sighed Nick. Crossing Bovuka was the toughest part. They entered Bovuka at the south-western corner and had to make it to the northeast city of Bugarup where the temple of Cloacina was located. Nick didn't want to get far from the sea where most of their food was coming from, so they followed the coast.

"It's good to have you back sire, and..." the giant looked like he was going to cry. "I want to try to ask Carl to come back."

Nick patted Dexter's shoulder and said, "Yeah, I miss the big guy too... and Hugues... and Jehans." Now Nick felt like he was going to cry. "I have to go do a wedding, we'll talk about Carl later, ok?"

"Yeah, yer grace."

Nick stepped into his cottage and hung up his coat and said, "Where is our anxious young couple that desires to be married?" He turned and saw Buggy and Eryri standing hand in hand, smiling nervously.

"That would be us."