Chapter 264 - After Party

Nate stood at the edge of the living room observing the dinner party he had organised. Weirdly, it made him feel like something of an adult.

Nate stood at the edge of the living room observing the dinner party he had organised. Weirdly, it made him feel like something of an adult. He could recognise that he was an introverted individual. That didn’t mean he was antisocial, just that he normally preferred to deal with small groups, and of course, that he needed time alone with his own thoughts and projects to recharge his social battery.

Having dinner with his friends had happened on plenty of occasions, but never one where he organised the event. It was a nice feeling, having all his friends and family in one place. The living room of his house was huge, with a table piled high with food off to one side and plenty of plates and bowls for everyone to grab what they wanted and mingle. On the mingling front the furniture had been a bit limited so Kiri had gone on a spending spree. 

Where once they’d possessed a few wooden chairs that Nate had crafted while in the Wild Realm, now the room was a mix of pillow piles, comfortable cushioned chairs, small tables and even an indoor fire pit. The enchanting work on that one had been interesting as it seemed to store the smoke in a canister that would need to be routinely emptied. The ambience the fire pit provided made everything feel more personal, chatter taking place in the flickering light of the roaring fire. That ambience was further improved thanks to Jacque himself, who had brought along the latest iteration of his sound capture device. The runecrafted item had an entire selection of songs from a number of operatic events that Jacque had attended over the last six months. According to the man the music was his one and only vice, the rest of his time taken up by the Artist’s Emporium. The man's work had not gone unrewarded and the mana he had been paid had seen him gain over ten levels in the past six months. For Etrua, where crafters had struggled to hit the second evolution, Jacque’s soaring level was a sign of the changing times and fortunes of the populace.

Nate sensed as Aisling moved to join him, spinning on her heel to match him in observing the room. Off to the side Kiri was with her parents along with Cutter and his family. Kiri had explained how Jorge and Cutter had become fast friends during his and Kiri’s absence.

“It’s a nice party,” Aisling commented.

“It’s nice to be back,” he countered.

“Are you staying for long?”

Nate felt the barest tingle of Reciprocity at the question. The feeling was an annoyance and ever since learning he could escape its limiting clutches he found himself growing more and more irritated by it every time it warned him in the back of his mind. The whisper might as well have been screaming at him ‘stick to your own strata’.

With a slight frown, he hedged his bets.

“Probably not, but who knows.”

The answer seemed vague enough to satisfy Reciprocity.

“Well, after you left last time, I got a request, although calling it an order wouldn’t be incorrect. My superiors in the Adventurer’s Guild demanded to be informed when you return.”

Nate heard the unasked question. Do you want me to tell them? That was what Aisling was asking without asking, as if Kali’Terra could be so easily fooled. Reciprocity was stirring again, but he likely had information he could give to Aisling to satisfy it. Or something else perhaps.

“You can tell them,” answered Nate. “Though if you waited a few more days, I wouldn’t be opposed.”

He could feel the small debt between them fade. Aisling had wanted to know what to do, and by giving her the option to delay answering them he had given her a path to balancing the scales between them.

“I’ll do that. It’s good to have you back, Nate. Even if you’re not staying long. And try not to let the politics bother you.”

Nate smiled as Aisling patted his shoulder and excused herself as the source of her last comment approached.

“Evening Nate,” greeted Morgane, her golden eyes like those of a predator as she stared at him.

“Good evening, Morgane. Funny thought, I don’t recall sending you an invitation.”

“Oh I just assumed your little painted bird got intercepted by my guards. A Platinum son of Etrua returning would surely have wanted to let their Minister know that they were back in the Capital after all,” replied Morgane coyly.

Nate rolled his eyes slightly.

“What do you want, Morgane?”

“I was hoping to pick your brain on a few projects we were considering, and to see if the Artist’s Emporium would be willing to get involved.”

“You would need to speak to Luc about that,” Nate commented, trying to shut off the line of inquiry.

“Luc is all well and good for sorting out contracts, but we both know that the difference between your direct involvement in a project cannot be understated. I heard some interesting stories from Etrua around their Champion’s Armour and a certain individual providing them some routes for improvement. The word ‘genius’ came up more than once.”

Nate shut his mouth before he could utter his reply. He’d been about to comment that ‘genius’ was a low bar in this backwater but Reciprocity had whispered a warning, after all, Morgane wasn’t in the ‘know’ about where Galle fell in the multiverse.

“Can Etrua afford me?” Nate asked.

“I’m sure we can work something out to everyone's satisfaction,” Morgane replied diplomatically.

“Are these projects time sensitive?”

“...I suppose not,” hedged Morgane.

“Then ask me again after two months have passed,” Nate stated firmly.

“Not even curious about what the projects are?”

“Not yet,” he said, holding his ground.

Morgane agreed before excusing herself, moving off to speak with Luc who was currently regaling Jacque and Hildi. It wasn’t that Nate was opposed to helping Morgane with her projects. The ex-Princess had, in his experience and for the most part, seemed intent on helping the people of Etrua. If her projects fell into that same category then the problem was that Nate would want to help. But the cost of his help, as demanded by Reciprocity, was almost certain to be too high. In two months' time, he wouldn’t be here, and when he returned to Galle after his time in The Heartlands, he would hopefully be free of the Law of Reciprocity. Then they could revisit the topic.

Nate smiled slightly as he sensed Null enter the house, ignoring Frick’s demands for payment at the door. Behind his old companion came Britt and Nate felt a flicker of bittersweet happiness in his chest. His ex-girlfriend looked as radiant as ever. Short, with her blonde hair tied back in a pony-tail, she hadn’t changed much over the past months. Her blue eyes found him quickly enough and he watched as she excused herself from Null’s company and moved over to join him.

Unlike Aisling, who had sidled up by his side like the close friend she was, or like Morgane who had approached him from the front like a supplicant, Britt approached like a slow rolling avalanche. Undaunted and inexorable, she marched up to him and smiled sadly.

“It’s been a while,” were the first words out of her mouth.

“It has. You look like you’re doing well,” he replied.

“I am. We’ve been hitting the Dungeons pretty hard. Most of those held by the Nobility have been ‘gifted’ to the Adventurer’s Guild. Though Minister Morgane is charging us a higher percentage take of the rewards and processed mana. With the Guild’s numbers decimated as well, it’s fallen on Null and our team to handle the Epic Dungeons. I’ve spent more time in Dungeons since we last spoke than outside of them. And whenever we’re outside of them we’re resupplying and then off to the next one. Though it should quiet down for a few months now. They don’t recharge as fast as they used to, what with the mana collectors being changed to cover the towns as well as the Dungeons.”

“Sounds like you’ve been busy,” Nate commented with a smile. “But, it sounds like you’re happy as well.”

“I like your new robe,” muttered Britt, changing the topic. “It feels weird seeing you without the golden stars though. You always wore it. Even sometimes when you slept.”

“It served its purpose,” Nate replied. 

He didn’t miss how her eyes hardened slightly at the comment, though he didn’t press, instead motioning to her.

“Come with me? I’ve got something to show you.”

Reciprocity hummed a warning, but he was confident he could find balance. After all, Britt had always enjoyed seeing his paintings as much as he enjoyed showing them to her. After a moment of hesitation she followed him as he led her deeper into the house and then out into the warehouse that housed all his various artworks.

Reciprocity finally went silent as Britt entered his gallery. She glanced at him for permission and he gave a small nod as he activated the light runes embedded in the walls. He followed a couple of steps behind as Britt went from one painting to the next, taking her time at each. There were paintings of the space between the worlds, of the Wild Realm, of the Calikex and the City of Pinoreth, of the depths beneath the waves. Paintings of his sky ship sat next to paintings of Ankh’Aris and Luci. There were a couple of paintings of Kiri and even one of Frick as a Chieftain leading a horde of blue goblins. All works Nate had created to satisfy his endless need to capture his thoughts and perspectives.

“You’ve been busy,” Britt commented, staring at a painting of Luci carrying Frick in her mouth. The blue goblin was pretending to be dead but Nate had painted a small smile on the goblin Spirit's face. In truth Frick had been laughing when Luci had caught him, parading her successful ‘hunt’ around the mountainside with her small wings flared and neck arched in pride.

“Did you really meet a dragon?” Britt asked.

“Something like that,” Nate answered, keeping it vague. “Do you like them?”

Britt smiled, the sadness still leaking through, “I do. Thank you for showing them to me.”

“It was the first thing that drew me to you, you know? How much you enjoyed my art. I’m glad you like them.”

Nate’s own comment felt hollow. After all, it was he who had ended it between them. He hadn’t seen a path forward with Reciprocity in the mix. Raising Britt to even Lesser Divine had seemed like an impossibility. But, now he knew differently. Now he knew there was a path outside that of The System. He couldn’t tell Britt that. Couldn’t guarantee anything or make promises. Both because of Reciprocity and because he didn’t want to get her hopes up only to disappoint her. But the thought lingered in the back of his mind. Was a future between them possible if he freed himself from The System?

“We should get back to the party,” whispered Britt.

He nodded his agreement, escorting her back to the dinner party as he locked up his gallery with his various runic wards and protections and turned out the lights.

Britt gave him a small wave before drifting back to join Null who was in conversation with Deverell, almost certainly discussing Guild work. The night continued on, filled with laughter, jokes and good food. Nate spent a little time with almost everyone. To Jacque he promised to come see what they were working on, and if possible, to provide some direction or new knowledge, assuming he could. Rania made sure he ate something and gave him a hug, talking about how glad she was to have him back and how she needed to return the favour and he should come over for dinner. He readily agreed. Null shook his hand and shared a few stories about his time in the Epic Dungeons. Cutter spoke about the work with the shipping company Luc had acquired for the Artist’s Emporium. 

Everyone had a little to say and as the wine flowed the conversations got wilder and wilder until people started taking their leave to stumble home. Morgane had been the first to leave and with her the floodgates had opened. Rania and Jorge were the last, bidding Kiri and Nate a good night before Jorge carried Rania home. That had been partially Kiri’s fault as she had heavily gotten into the wine with her mother, the pair having probably the best time out of anyone.

Nate stood at the door with Kiri beside him, watching as her parents headed down the street in the direction of their own small mansion.

“This was a great idea. I haven’t had this much fun in… ever, I think,” whispered Kiri, her tone happy even as her eyes had turned hard. “Shame it had to come to an end. Even worse that they want to spoil it. You can sense them, right?”

Nate nodded as he waited for the street to clear, the sound of his and Kiri’s voices being kept from carrying by a Sound rune, “Mmhmm. Four of them.”

“Want a hand?” Kiri asked.

Nate shook his head, “No. I’ll handle it. Seems like they’re here for me and not our guests.”

“Good-o!” Kiri muttered. “Give em hell. Frick! It’s butler time!”

Frick was already marching to the huge bathroom, now appearing to wear a formal black and white butlers outfit and carrying a tray of leftover snacks from the table along with a glass of chilled wine. As Kiri left, Nate stepped out of the door to his house and walked around the back to the open area behind the building. The sandstone beneath his feet felt so familiar after being away for so long and he had a moment of sadness that he would have to leave again so soon.

Standing in the middle of what was effectively his barren backyard, Nate followed the four would-be assassins with his sphere of awareness. They had cloaked themselves in Shadow and he was getting a sense of Concealment from them as well. Their problem was that none of those things seemed to be focused on the Concepts themselves, which meant he could feel them with Conceptual Insight. A weakness he did not expect to encounter in The Heartlands.

Once he’d sensed the Concepts, focusing on them with his sphere of awareness had been childsplay, and even now he could feel them arraying themselves around him so that they could strike from all sides at once. He felt as they carefully applied some alchemical to their short, sharp blades. They were almost ready, but that didn’t mean Nate wasn’t going to mess with them.

As his Regalia shifted slightly, runes forming on its surface, the protective shield just above his skin became reinforced by Divine Paint forming a Divine Sigil for Barrier. He was ready.

“Are you going to make me wait all night?” he asked, a small smile forming on his lips.