Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Eight — Taking a Friendtrip
Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Eight — Taking a Friendtrip The final summit thing was going to happen in one week, which was a very long time. Still, we’d spent half of our first day in Goldenalden already, which left us with closer to six and a half days to have fun and also stop a war.“I think we should put off any sort of preparations for the summit,” Amaryllis said. “We don’t know what the local fashions are like, and we don’t want to accidentally imply something with the way we dress and prepare for it.”We stepped out into the full light of day, and I had to squint to protect my eyes. I didn’t notice just how dark it was inside the Exploration Guild, at least not once my eyes had gotten used to the relative lack of light. “So, if we can’t go shopping, should we play tourist? I bet there’s all sorts of things to see. Didn’t Jared mention a parade ground?”“Broccoli.” I turned towards Awen, then followed her gaze. She was looking to the side where a sylph was walking towards us. He was the tallest sylph I’d seen so far, coming right up to my eyes in height, and he wore the same sort of dark armour as Bastion.The paladin came to a smart stop a pace away from us and bowed at the waist. “Greetings, ladies,” he said with a gruff, formal voice. “Are you Broccoli Bunch, Awen Bristlecone, and Amaryllis Albatross?” he asked.“And if we are?” Amaryllis asked.“Please just confirm your identities,” he said.“We are,” I said. It would be rude to lie, and besides, there weren’t exactly a wealth of bun-human-harpy threesomes on the street.The paladin nodded and tugged a small scroll out from his belt. It had a wax seal on the front, with pretty yellow tassels sticking out from beneath. “This is for you,” he said.Amaryllis took the scroll gingerly, as if it might explode at any moment. “And who exactly is it from? For that matter, what is it?”The paladin obviously hesitated, but not for very long. “It’s from her royal highness, Princess Caprica. As for the contents, that isn’t something I’m aware of.”Amaryllis quirked an eyebrow. “Very well. Is it your professional opinion that this should be opened in private?”“The princess isn’t known for sending ultimatums, threats, or matters of intrigue in this fashion,” the paladin replied.“I wanna see what it says,” I said as I crowded over Amaryllis' shoulder. Awen got onto her tippy toes to peek over Amaryllis’s other side.Amaryllis sighed, but she edged a talon under the seal all the same and popped it open with a practiced flick. The scroll unrolled itself to reveal a letter written with very pretty calligraphy.Dear Ladies Albatross and Bristlecone, and Captain Bunch,I wish to cordially invite you for tea sometime this early evening or, if such isn’t convenient to you, sometime tomorrow morning.Please don’t fret, this isn’t a grave matter, I merely heard some very interesting stories and wished to speak with those responsible for them, we have at least one mutual friend already, and I consider it a wonderful idea if we could become friends ourselves.If you’re unable to attend, then please write back, I’m certain we can arrange something.Sincerely,Caprica.“Aww,” I said.“It could be a trap,” Amaryllis said.I scoffed. “It’s an invitation for tea and to make friends!”“Yes, which sounds like exactly the sort of bait I would use if I intended to lay a trap for you,” Amaryllis said. “I would be attracted by the political machinations and Awen... well, honestly I think she’d just come along because we’re going.”“I like tea too,” Awen said with just a hint of a pout.Amaryllis nodded. “Yes, but bait specifically designed for you would involve the kind of machinery that wouldn’t be present near a princess, or my sister.”“If it helps, the princess also isn’t known for trapping people,” the paladin said.Amaryllis waved the comment off. “You could be on her side. For all we know, you’re not even an actual paladin.”The sylph blinked. “Impersonating a paladin is illegal.”“Well, at least you have the right amount of stick up your-”“I think we should go,” I cut in before Amaryllis could say anything too rude. “This Princess Caprica sounds nice, and the friend she’s mentioned sounds like Bastion. He wouldn’t lead us into a trap.”Amaryllis gave me a look.I retaliated with a pout.“Very well,” Amaryllis said. “Sir paladin, would it be possible for you to lead us over to the princess? The time given in the letter suggests that we should arrive this evening, but we have little else to do at the moment and we aren’t familiar with the quarters where the princess resides.”“Of course, Lady Albatross,” the paladin said with another short bow. “Would you like to stop by your inn on the way? It isn’t too far from our destination, and it would give you the opportunity to freshen up.”I let out a quick burst of Cleaning magic, then combed my fingers through my hair and straightened my ears. “I’m freshened,” I said.Awen giggled and nodded. “I’m ready too. I don’t really have the kind of dress that would be appropriate for tea with me. Ah, unless I wear the same outfit I wore at the ball?”“Oh, that would be cute,” I said. My own outfit was pretty cute too. It wouldn’t hurt to get niced up for tea.Amaryllis shrugged. “If you insist. I’m more comfortable in my current outfit. A dress would get in the way if fighting broke out.”The paladin cleared his throat. “I doubt that there would be any fighting at the palace.”I nodded. “Better to stay in armour then, just in case.”I don’t think he expected me to interpret his words that way, but I knew from experience that when someone said not to expect trouble, that was the ideal time to start expecting trouble.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Taunting fate to have more fun adventures was one of my favourite pastimes, after all. “Too bad we can’t bring all of our gear with us,” I said.“I don’t think I can bring a repeating crossbow into a palace,” Awen said. “It might be seen as an insult, or as a threat.”I nodded, that sounded wise. “So, mister paladin, could you guide us over to the princess? Oh, should we tell her that we might be a bit early?”“I’ll dispatch a runner as soon as we arrive near the castle,” the paladin said. “Follow me, we’ll take the quieter route.”“That’s fine by me,” I said. A nice walk would be refreshing after the rather heavy conversation we had with Reginald. I had a bit of stuff to think about, I had a bit of stuff to think about, mostly Rainnewt and his involvement in ... in ... Amaryllis' kidnapping, and... I couldn’t help but remember Amaryllis, bound up by those cervid, disappearing into the swamps. I tried to put it out of my mind and think, but then all I could remember was crying on that bridge.Rainnewt had caused that, hadn't he? Then the ball, with the explosion. There had been so many nice people screaming, so many innocents hurt.How could someone just... be that way?No, that wasn’t a fair question to ask. Sometimes I wanted to do mean things too, to be rude and to put others down because-even though I knew better-it felt good to do that. Not good-good, but still... a squicky yucky kind of good. Did Rainnewt feel that when he blew up the Ball?I was probably not the best when it came to philosophy, I knew.Usually, I only dealt with little problems of morality. How to be careful not to tease someone too hard, how to help a friend while still taking care of yourself. Little problems that a bun like me could handle just fine. What Rainnewt was doing was a whole order of magnitude more complicated than what I was used to thinking about.Actually killing people, and not during some morally grey-ish thing, like self-defence. He was harming people because... I didn’t know why and I really wanted to. Maybe there was some excuse out there for what he’d done. I didn’t know if I’d accept it, but it would be nice to know that the violence and hurting wasn’t just senseless.I did have an inkling of what it might be, but it made me nervous to think about it.The Evil Roots.Rainnewt’s trick with his false name.Was it possible that he really was a riftwalker, like me?If so, I didn’t know why the World picked him of all people.I felt a bump against my shoulder, and when I looked up I found Awen looking at me. She had a small smile on, but there was no mistaking the concern in her eyes. “Are you okay, Broc?”“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” I said.“Okay,” she said. “It’s just you’re not looking around as much as you usually do, and your ears are all, you know.” She brought her hands over her head and loosened her wrists so that they wiggled before her.I tilted my head, ears twitching up. “What did my ears do?”“They were droopy,” she said before she giggled. “They looked sad.”I sniffed. I loved my bun ears, but sometimes they came with quite the disadvantages, like bonking on doorframes and giving away how I was feeling when I didn’t mean to worry my friends.Reaching up, I tugged my ears up by the little tufts on their ends. “There, is that better?” I asked. When I let go, then both flopped right back down like a pair of wet rags.Awen laughed, and I joined her a moment later. It was kind of funny. The look from the paladin ahead of us only made me laugh harder. After that, my ears actually did perk up a bit.We were getting a few looks, mostly because we were in a part of the city that had fewer tall homes. Most of the buildings around the walls of what I guessed were the palace were a fair bit smaller and wider. Homes that looked more like small mini-mansions than they did family homes, with gates and fences and small well-tended gardens out front.I didn’t know enough about sylph fashion to say anything definitive, but I had the impression that the people we were crossing were dressed a lot better than the average citizen. Nobles? Or just the upper crust of sylph society out and about.“If you don’t mind,” the paladin said. “We can use one of the more discreet side-gates to enter the palace.”“Certainly,” Amaryllis said after I glanced her way. She knew this kind of thing better than I did, so of course I deferred to her.We were technically still in the Yellow District, but there weren’t any more shops or businesses around. I guessed that the area was too small to be worthy of having its own colour name so it was folded into the Yellow District, even though it was mostly residential.We reached a small road that led right up to a wall. Unlike the much larger city walls, this one was only maybe a floor and a bit high. I could probably leap right over it if I spent a bit of stamina and had a running start.A gatehouse sat in the wall, flanked by two soldiers in all-black uniforms. They had very strange hats on, part helmet, part fluff, with long crests of purple feathers sticking out the top. A third soldier stood above, protected by a small roof over the gate, and I imagined there were a few more around.The paladin stepped up to the gate and spoke a few words to the guard next to it who then turned smartly, stepped to the side, and pulled a cord.The gate-a big wooden thing with iron bands across it-thunked before opening up from within.The paladin saluted the guard who saluted right back, then he turned towards us. “Welcome to the Purple Palace,” he said.
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Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Nine — Royaltea
Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Nine — Royaltea The palace was a grand building, long and tall, with carefully laid stone walls with huge windows. Cleanly trimmed hedges encircled it, only broken up when there was an entrance into the mansion-like building.All along the exterior wall were small guard posts, not visible from the outside, where sylphs in uniform were standing at attention in the shade provided by their stations.“This way,” our paladin escort said. He took a sharp turn to the left and led us along a cobbled path around the estate. There were little rock gardens, some more normal flower gardens, and a couple of enclosed greenhouses. The paladin stiffened just a bit as we crossed one such greenhouse.I looked past the green glass walls and saw a young sylph girl, maybe a year or two younger than me, staring up from where she was trimming something looking like a rosebush. I grinned and waved, and she eventually waved back, though she looked confused about it.“That’s princess Gabriella,” the paladin said. “She’s the youngest member of the royal family.”“She likes gardening?” I asked.“Her flower arrangements are admired and often treasured,” he said. “Don’t repeat it, but she’s often doted on by the staff and her guardians. She was frail when she was younger. Gardening was an attempt to get her outside to take in some fresh air, and she seems to have taken to it quite well.”“That’s cute,” I declared.“This way,” the paladin said.He led us over to one of the side entrances, this one flanked by two more guards with plumed hats and halberds by their sides. After speaking with them for a moment, they opened the door and let us into a long corridor. There was a long carpet across the length of the room, with tiled floors visible along the edges. Every meter, there was a light sconce, with picture frames between each.I noticed even more guards at the end of the hall. “There’s a lot of guards here,” I said.“It’s considered a great honour to be a guard at the royal estate,” our guide said. “They receive additional training, as well as additional pay, though the real prize is the right to wear the uniform and crest of the royal family.”I didn’t quite get it, but I nodded along and followed as we crossed the length of the corridor, turned at a junction, then came to a stop before a pair of double doors.The paladin knocked twice. “Guests, for her highness, Princess Caprica,” he said.“Enter!” someone called out from within.The door was opened and we were ushered into a large, high-ceilinged room. There was a small shelf to one side with some few dozen books, and half of the room was taken up by a small stage on which sat a grand piano. The other half of the room was occupied by plump looking sofas and seats, as well as a small table in the centre.“You’re here, wonderful!”The girl that I assumed was Princess Caprica stood with the grace I’d expect from a princess. She wasn’t wearing a very princess-y outfit though. Instead she wore a uniform not too dissimilar from the one I’d seen soldiers wearing. It looked like it was made of a finer cut, and instead of being the same black as all the other uniforms I’d seen, this one was a deep, nearly-burgundy red.“Hello!” I said with a cheery wave.The princess approached us and paused a metre or so away from me. She stared at all three of us before chuckling. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Princess Caprica, but please, just call me Caprica.”“In that case,” I said. “I’m Broccoli, let’s be friends!”CapricaDreams: To marry her crush and live a long, happy life.Desired Quality: Someone who will accept her for who she is, another romantic soul.“Hello,” Awen said next. “I’m Awen.”“And I’m Amaryllis,” Amaryllis said. “It’s a pleasure.”Caprica nodded, almost a short bow. “It is! I hope you don’t mind, but I suspect I know more about you than you do about me. Unless Bastion said anything?”I shook my head. “Nope, he didn’t speak too much about his work with the royal family.” Actually, I could remember him telling me a story about one of the princesses breaking his foot, but that sounded a little embarrassing. “How come you know about us?”“Oh, nothing sinister. Bastion handed in his report and I had a quick peek at it. But come, let’s sit down. There’s tea being brewed as we speak, and the staff make excellent little pastries.”Caprica led us over to the seats, leaving a larger sofa on one side for us while she sat primly on the edge of a seat opposite.“So, what did the report say?” Amaryllis asked. “I have to admit to a certain level of curiosity.”“Oh, I can imagine,” Caprica said. “I have never been exactly keen on gossip, that’s the purview of some of my sisters more than myself, but I can’t imagine not being curious about a document that mentions me.”I nodded along. Caprica seemed very nice so far. A bit excitable? She still had the poise and bearing of a noble lady, but it felt like she was just brimming with excitement under the surface. She was bouncing on her seat, sitting right on the edge, and her wings were fluttering every so often. Quite the opposite of Awen, who was more of a born introvert, and certainly nothing like Amaryllis who was all sharp and rough on the outside with a soft squishy inside.“I hope Bastion didn’t exaggerate our adventures,” I said.“Oh! I hope he did. The report was a little light, owing to the limited time spent on it, I suppose, but it was positively terrifying to read. I can’t imagine Bastion facing so many challengers, and you with him, of course,” Caprica said.I nodded. “He was a great friend. We were lucky that he was there with us.”“He is pretty great,” Caprica said.“Have you known him for long?” Amaryllis asked.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.Caprica shifted on her seat. “Oh, for some time now. He was mostly attached to my older sister when I was a little younger. He’s always been someone that I admire, of course.” She smiled demurely, but I didn’t miss the faint blush touching her cheeks.“You called us over for tea, are there any tea-drinking traditions in Goldenalden?” I asked. It wouldn’t just be nice to know, I also wanted to shift the subject just a notch. It would be embarrassing to be caught bragging about our adventures.“Oh, nothing too complicated, I don’t think,” Caprica said.Tea arrived, served by a pair of sylph ladies in maid outfits who set a tray down on the table between us and then poured us four cups of a fragrant tea. They left some honey on the table, next to cream and milk in little porcelain saucers.“Thank you,” I said as I took a cup and breathed it in.A cup of mountain berry and sweet leaf tea, steeped overnight and served with aged honey. Professionally brewed. Provides a boost of energy and assists in stamina regeneration.“Oh, this is great,” I said as I took a sip. It was sweet, even without the honey. The honey did help, smoothing it. “Do you think I could buy some sweet leaves?”“You recognized the tea leaves from just a taste?” Caprica asked. “That’s impressive.”“Oh, I have a Tea Making skill,” I said. “It’s great for making good tea. A big part of my, ah, build, is about buffing and helping make new friends.”Caprica laughed. “That’s excellent. I don’t think you’ll find many people here who have skills of that sort. We tend to have a more martial focus, though you will find some excellent craftsylphs. My littlest sister is considering dipping her toes into potion-making, for example.”“Oh, that does sound nice,” I said. “What’s your class? Mine’s Cinnamon Bun Bun.”One of Caprica’s eyebrows rose. “You didn’t inspect me on entering?”“Isn’t that impolite?” I asked.“Oh, it is, but that hardly stops people.” Caprica said. “But if you want permission, then you have it.”I grinned and fired off my Insight skill at her.An Indomitable Bastion, Level ??, IntriguedI blinked. “Your class is Bastion?” I asked.“It is,” she said quite demurely. “It’s a respectable though uncommon class. Mostly it means that I’m quite hard to move when I don’t want to be moved. I think a few of my siblings have some unkind things to say about the hardness of my head, for example.”“That’s a neat class!” I decided. “I bet you’re tough in a fight.”“I can stand on my own, though there hasn’t been too much fighting in my life. Being a princess doesn’t lend itself to many life or death battles. Though, from what I understand, two of you are noble ladies in your own right, and you certainly haven’t shied away from any fights.”“We’ve been in our share of scraps,” Amaryllis said. “Though I wouldn’t call any of us expert fighters or combattants.”“Yeah,” I agreed. “Fighting isn’t usually any fun, it’s all scary and you spend more time worrying about your friends and thinking you might get hurt rather than enjoying it. There’s stuff that’s fun around it, though. It’s nice to be able to really trust your friends with your life, and exploring dungeons is super cool. I’ve seen places and things that I’d never have seen if I didn’t take that risk.”“Interesting,” Caprica said. “I never really had too many opportunities to go out and explore on my own, or in a small group, like that. I must admit to a certain amount of envy.”‘Aw, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring things up that way,” I said.She waved the comment off. “It’s entirely fine,” she said. “So! Bastion’s report didn’t mention why your group flew all the way over to Sylphfree. Though I imagine it has something to do with the summit coming up.”Amaryllis nodded. “Indeed. We’re here to deliver a few letters and such. The usual political riff-raff.”I blinked. That didn’t sound entirely right. Was Amaryllis doing something?“Speaking of, what do you know about the summit? We might attend, especially if there’s still room for a few extra people to be present,” Amaryllis continued.“Honestly, not all that terribly much,” Caprica said. “My interests tend to lie more on the military side of things, which I know has had some small changes as of late. But I can’t say that I’m well versed with the political side. Some of my brothers care about that a lot more than I do.”“We’re a bit worried,” I said. “That's why we came.”“Worried?” Caprica asked.I nodded. “Yeah. A lot of the nations on Dirt, or this part of it anyway, seem to maybe be thinking of fighting each other. A war would be terrible.”Caprica shook her head. “No one would be foolish enough to challenge Sylphfree in an open war.”Amaryllis snorted. “Some harpies would be eager to do just that, and the cervid outnumber any force Sylphfree could muster ten to one. Your nation has an impressive military, but only when viewed in a vacuum. I think a war on the scale now possible would be a disaster for everyone involved.”Caprica looked genuinely confused for a moment. She took a slow sip from her tea while considering it. “Maybe I have been a little naive,” she said. “I suppose it’s easy to believe stories about your own nation’s greatness.”“I’m impressed you can look past that so easily,” Amaryllis said.“I happen to know that a lot of the stories that are spread around are quite inaccurate. You wouldn’t believe what people think of the royal family. It’s almost as if my siblings and I can do no wrong according to some. They’ve never seen little Gabrielle sick, or my father trip over a loose bit of rug.”I laughed at the mental image of a fancy king losing his crown to a crooked carpet. “I guess not. We should talk about nicer things though! Being all sad isn’t any fun.”
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